Private Investigator Matt Cramer is on a hot case, doing a solid for his buddy Harry and his insurance company on an arson case. Liberta Pharma backed a start-up company working on a cutting edge vaccine. The fire took out the research and the custom equipment. Matt knows it’s somebody in the lab with an accelerant and fire. He needs our help with the ‘somebody.’ Here’s his shallow suspect pool in the order we met them: .
Paul Larson, former Liberty researcher turned entrepreneur with ValenceTech
Alexa Holder, investment manager who is reeling in the investors
Randy Cline, vaccine manager on whose work ValenceTech is built
Leslie Ellis, former assistant who mistrusted the group’s ethics
Josh Walker, influencer and anti-vaxxer looking for a conspiracy
Listen here or wherever you find Mysteries to Die For Podcast
Ed Teja is a full-time writer and part-time martial arts instructor. His stories (which have little or no respect for genre and take place in one or more of the surreal worlds he lives in) have appeared in a variety of magazines and anthologies. His new thriller series about Tina Clarke, the world’s first Storefront Assassin, is available on Amazon.
Check out the upcoming episode for Season 8: Anything but Murder on our new website m2d4podcast.com
I am fortunate in that the Toe Tags I do as part of Mysteries To Die For exposes me to many authors and titles I wouldn’t ordinarily find on my own. Add to that list the books that are recommended by other readers and the ones my husband gives me and, well, I read a lot of mystery, crime fiction, and thrillers. This post contains those that I gave 5 start ratings to. To earn 5 stars from me, a story has to have flawless logic, no loose ends, great characters, and, of course, be entertaining. Happy Reading Detectives!
Detective Connolly is back. This time he’s dying to meet Staniel Purquees. The problem is the fungus king is dead. The four suspects have been sequestered in a hangar in dire straits. To survive, Connolly has to deduce the role each has played – rock, paper, or scissors – to find the killer known as shoot.
Listen here or wherever you find Mysteries to Die For podcast.
Mic Garcia loves Halloween. In his most elaborate party theme ever, he transformed his back yard into the beloved game world of Candy Land. But all is not well inside Gumdrop Mountain and Sheriff Cantalone has to figure out who gummed up this Halloween party.
Listen here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For Podcast
Meet Kyra Jacobs
Kyra Jacobs is an extroverted introvert who writes of love, humor, and mystery in the Midwest and beyond. When this Hoosier native isn’t pounding out scenes for her next book, she’s likely outside, elbow-deep in snapdragons or spending quality time with her sports-loving family. Kyra also loves to read, tries to golf, and is an avid college football fan. Connect with her on social media, links can be found on her website at http://kyrajacobsbooks.com
On the Horns of Deathis historical mystery. Sixteen-year-old Martis volunteers as a bull dancer in Knossos on the isle of Crete. An ordinary day of practice turns dark when she discovers the body of another dancer inside a bullpen. But why would he climb into the pen? Answer: murder.
Bottom line: On the Horns of Death is for you if you like amateur sleuths and the rich sights, scents, and sounds of Ancient Greece.
Listen to the first chapter and full review here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcasts
The On the Horns of Death was released from Severn House and is promoted by Partners In Crime Tours and is available from AMAZON and other book retailers.
Eleanor Kuhns is a previous winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel competition for A Simple Murder. The author of eleven Will Rees mysteries, she is now a full-time writer after a successful career as the Assistant Director at the Goshen Public Library in Orange County, New York.
Partners In Crime Tours represents a network of 300+ bloggers offering tailor-made virtual book tours and marketing options for crime, mystery and thriller writers from around the world. Founded in 2011, PICT offers services for well-established and best-selling authors, as well as those just starting out with their careers. PICT prides itself on its tailored packages for authors, with a personal touch from the tour coordinators. For more information, check out their website partnersincrimetours.com
Toy store owner Andy Clay is called to the scene of a murder. Detective Lansing is up to his ears in suspects, rooms, and weapons. And like it or not—and he does not—he needs Andy’s expert help to make a spot on accusation. The body belonged to Gene Dockary. He died in the library with a rope. Everyone seemed to have a reason to want Dockary dead. His wife. His investors. His business partner. Even the people who owned the inn where he died weren’t particularly fond of him. So many suspects…so little time.
ABOUT Clue
The game of Clue had a simple beginning. Anthony Pratt, a British factory worker and musician, created a way to pass the time in air raid bunkers during WWII that took the concept of a game he played at parties and reduced it to a board. In the game called Murder, players would run around the host houses, sneaking up on other players, who would scream and “die”. In turning into a board game, Mr. Pratt borrowed the dice and token moving action of Lido (think of the game Sorry) and the detective novel concepts of suspect, weapon, and location. During the years of 1943 – 1945, Mr. Pratt and his wife, Elva designed the game board and the rules.Mr. Pratt patented the game and sold it to Waddington’s in the UK and Parker Brothers in the US.
Interesting tidbits:
The game was released as Cluedo in England but Clue in the US as Lido wasn’t / isn’t a well know game here
Pratt’s original concept had four more characters: Mr. Brown, Mr. Gold, Miss Grey, and Mrs. Silver. Nurse White was renamed to Mrs. White and Colonel Yellow renamed Colonel Mustard.
The original concept had two additional rooms: the gun room and the cellar
The original concept had some different weapons including a bomb, syringe, shillelagh (which is a wooden walking stick), a fireplace poker.
Differenced between UK and US editions including lead piping vs lead pipe, spanner vs wrench, and dagger vs knife
In the UK, the victim ws known as Mr. Black. In the states, he was Mr. Boddy. In the 2023 update by Hasbro, the victim is known as Mr. Boden “Boddy” Black, Jr.
Unlike some of the other games we’ve featured, Clue was constantly updated for the times. The rules of the game stayed basically the same but the character depictions, like on the box cover, were updated for the styles and tends of the times. Characters were given back stories and some had major career changes. There is a lot more to the history of the game Clue. Check out the links in the shownotes.
Chuck Brownman has spent the last twenty-five-plus years working on becoming an “overnight writing sensation.” Concentrating on writing mystery / suspense short fiction, his work has been published in several anthologies, including those listed at the top of the episode. In his “real life,” Chuck is a Houston-based corporate and energy attorney, advising and working for some of the country’s most entrepreneurial companies. He is also an Adjunct Professor of Law, and has spoken at legal seminars for many years.
Rogues & Patriotsis an PI thriller. Los Angeles PI Nick Crane does a friend a favor by taking on the two-headed case of investigating the murder of a Confidential Informant and saving his young daughters from the horrors of the juvenile immigration. But his time isn’t his own as an underground group of vigilantes are after him and something they think he possesses.
Bottom line: Rogues & Patriots is for you if you like ballsy private investigators, conspiracy thrillers, and blurred lines between the good guys and the bad.
Listen to Chapters 1 & 2 with our full review here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For Podcast
About Patrick H. Moore
Patrick H. Moore is a Los Angeles based investigator, sentencing mitigation specialist, and crime writer. In the field since 2003, he has worked in virtually all areas including drug trafficking, sex crimes, crimes of violence, and white-collar fraud. Mastering this job, which combines art, science, and intuition, has given Patrick the tools to write realistic crime fiction that depicts the unpredictable and violent world of cops, convicts, prosecutors and defense attorneys. Rogues & Patriots was the second in a three-part series in which veteran Los Angeles private investigator Nick Crane battles a group of aristocratic domestic terrorists known as the “principals.”
The community pickleball court is directly below Harvey and Melaine’s cosy hillside home. While Harvey is furious over the game, Melaine is curious. He speaks out against it while she secretly begins playing it. But things get out of hand for both of them. Now Harvey is dead and the evidence is pointing to Melaine. She needs your help to get out of this pickle.
Listen here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcast
MEET Kaye George
Kaye George is an award-winning novelist and short-story writer who writes cozy and traditional mysteries and a prehistory series, which are both traditionally and self-published. Her two cozy series are Fat Cat and Vintage Sweets. The two traditional series feature Cressa Carraway and Imogene Duckworthy. The People of the Wind prehistory mysteries take place within a Neanderthal tribe. She has a suspense novel coming out in early 2025 called SOMEONE IS OUT THERE. About 50 or more short stories have also been published, mostly in anthologies and magazines. With family scattered all over the globe, she makes her home in Knoxville TN.
A series of windshields shattered by projectiles had California drivers nervous. In the most recent attack, the driver lost control and died. To protect people attending the popular Fun Day at the Park event, Chief Rollins amped up police presence on area streets. That left just himself and Detective Stephens, frest from maternity leave, inside the park. As she watches the marbles tournement, she starts to wonder if there was more to the mibsters than just their marbles.
Listen here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcast
ABOUT Marbles
Tombs of ancient Egyptians, ashes in Pompeii, Native American archeology, marbles have been found literally everywhere. They date back so far and to so many places, that the origins of marbles has yet to be discovered. According to the website Mental Floss, the earliest marbles were stones polished smooth by rivers. Artists made marbles from clay, stone, and glass. For centuries, these were made by hand. In 1884, mass production of clay marbles began in Akron, Ohio. The manufacturing invention lowered the price of marbles from about a penny each to a bag of 30 for a penny. Mass manufacturing of glass marbles was also an Akron, Ohio invention, this time in 1915. There’s a link in the shownotes to the article with a video of how they’re made.
When it comes to the game, Mental Floss gives us the conundrum that there is no single game called “marbles” and any game played with marbles can me called “marbles”. There are a lot of games, including the one described in today’s story.
Judge Debra H. Goldstein is the author of Kensington’s five book Sarah Blair mystery series, Should Have Played Poker, and IPPY Award winning Maze in Blue. Her novels and short stories, which have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies, have been named Agatha, Anthony, Derringer, Claymore, and Silver Falchion finalists and received Silver Falchion, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, and Alabama Writers Conclave awards. She serves on the national board of Sisters in Crime and previously was a national board member of Mystery Writers of America and president of the Guppy and SEMWA chapters. Find out more about Debra on her website: https://www.DebraHGoldstein.com
In the middle of a live action D&D game, Darrell “The Dungeonator” Mahoney is dead. The audience saw the virtual Catstaff points his cat staff at The Dungeonator and electrocute him. Mary Watson and her BOT Doyle are investigating worlds real and imagined to see if Catstaff did the impossible or if something else was at play.
Listen here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For Podcast
ABOUT Dungeons & Dragons
Dungeons & Dragons is a role-playing game originally developed and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. First publication was in 1974, which means this is the 50th anniversary of the game that launched the modern role-playing industry. According to Wikipedia, D&D was an advancement in traditional wargaming that allowed players to create their own characters and take on adventures in a fantasy setting. Other games on the market in the mid to late 1900s had elements of character-based role playing, game-world simulations, fantasy scenes designed. D&D was the first to put it all together. Early on, D&D experienced criticism from some religious groups for alleged promotion of witch craft, murder, satanic theme, and the presence of barely contained breasts. While the game made changes to reduce the controversial content, the controversy worked to increase sales in defiance of the outrage. D&D is playable now on table tops and online.
Erica Obey is the author of The Brooklyn North Murder, the first full-length Watson & Doyle mystery, as well as five other novels set in the Hudson Valley, including the award-winning The Curse of the Braddock Brides. Erica is the Past President of the MWA-NY chapter, and a frequent reviewer and judge. She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature and published academic work on female folklorists before she decided she’d rather be writing the stories herself.
TG Wolff 