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.
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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.
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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.
Misha Soleby-Welkins was looking for some practical experience in geriatric social work. The community center was the antithesis of its name with an overbearing boss, an unsettled group of clients, a lunch that defies classification and a dead body. Now she getting a lesson in means, motive, and opportunity.
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KM Rockwood draws on a varied background for stories, among them working as a laborer in a steel fabrication plant, operating glass melters and related equipment in a fiberglass manufacturing facility, and supervising an inmate work crew in a large medium security state prison. These jobs, as well as work as a special education teacher in an alternative high school and a GED teacher in county detention facilities, provide most of the background for novels and short stories.
Check out her backlist on her website or on Amazon
It’s August, 1968 and the rural community of Titus Town, South Carolina is looking forward to the cow bingo fundraiser. But before Katie Hammet’s Jersey cow can do her thing, Deputy Sandy Buford has to figure out who snuffed out the local hip-pocket lender and emptied his till.
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About Paul.
Paul A. Barra is a chemistry teacher, a former newspaper reporter, and Naval officer. He was awarded the Bronze Star with Combat V and other decorations for his service on the rivers of the Mekong Delta. He is married and has eight children with his wife, the former Joni Lee. They reside in Columbia, South Carolina.
Help support Paul and make writing for Mysteries to Die For the best decision he’s ever made by going to his website and buying his books. Then write a review and help other mystery lovers find him.
The Preacheris a mystery. The body of a young woman is found. Naked and broken, she is found on a blanket. Beneath the blanket are bones, not of one person but two. Patrik Hedstrom has his hands full with the new murder, the old murders, and the imminent birth of his first child.
Bottom line: The Preacher is for you if you like complex whodunnits led by engaging characters set in the beauty of Sweden.
Strengths of the story. With this second book, the story settles with Patrik Hedstrom was the lead. The mystery is a police procedural that brings in everyone at the Tanumshede police station. While Patrik does lead, the other police officers have meaningful assignments, which gives the mystery a rich texture. This is not a story where one man does all the work.
Surrounding the mystery is the drama of Patrik’s home life. He is living with his girlfriend, Erica, in her family home. She is eight months pregnant during a heat wave. And there is the never ending stream of free loading family looking for a few days on the water.
I personally enjoyed the balance between the mystery and the homelife. This mystery is pretty heavy. The homelife gives a nice counterpoint that is a mix of humorous, sweet, and ridiculous.
As with ICE PRINCESS (Book #1), this mystery is very complicated. There is no way for readers to solve this one ahead of Patrik. This book is listed on Amazon as a serial killer thriller, a kidnap thriller, and a murder story. This isn’t especially strong as a thriller – Patrik is working in a police procedural manner. He is not in danger. The categories give away that there is a serial killer element as well as a kidnapping element, both of which give an urgency to the investigation that creates a mood more alike a thriller.
Where the story fell short of ideal: This story crosses lines of mystery and thriller. If a reader prefers one or the other, you may not be fully satisfied with this story. It is for crossover readers. While the reader does get a full explanation of what happened, the author hands it to us, the detective doesn’t earn it. On one hand, it’s satisfying. On the other, the structure of the story did not enable the mystery to be resolved.
As with the first book, I struggled with the author holding back information. This story is written in third-person omniscient from the point of view of the section’s narrator. Intellectually, I know it is supposed to build curiosity and intrigue when the character whose head I am in looks, for example, at a newspaper article but doesn’t say what’s in it. For me, this creates frustration. In talking to other readers, some have the same pet peeve, others don’t. This is definitely a subjective issue.
A day off at a waterpark turns into working day for Detective Connelly when a Kiddie Train ride is derailed, taking out the beloved mascot. With Crocs in sport mode, Detective Connelly goes…where no man should go.
Fans of Inspector Clouseau and Inspector Gadget will love Detective Connelly, a man for whom brilliance and insanity is a razor thin line.
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Detective Connolly closes out Season 5. Check out the anthology, available in print and e-book. Join use July 14 for the start of Season 6: Things That Go Jack in the Night.
Welcome to the Harvest Moon edition of On the Prowl. I’ve been in a lot of rabbit holes since we were last together. We’ll get into equinoxes, world times zones, the prime meridian, and the beginning of the mystery genre. Hope you enjoy!
Picking up from last month, the full moon closest to the Autumnal Equinox is called the Harvest Moon. Most years, the title goes to September’s full moon, but not this year. Before we get into the Harvest Moon, follow me down the rabbit hole of the Equinox. Here’s the what-you-should-know-as-a-human-living-on-earth: an equinox is a day that is closest to 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of night. There are two: one in spring and one in fall. Here’s something to share when you’re in a gathering and need something to say: there is an exact time for each equinox. This is the time when the sun passes across the earth’s equator. This year, the autumnal equinox was September 22, with that magical crossing happening at 9:31 EDT. Check out this video from National Geographic. It does a nice job explaining equinox and shows how it was built into ancient structures like Machu Picchu.
October’s moon is the Harvest Moon. Well, October’s first moon. We have a treat this year with a second full moon on Halloween. But this first moon will rise on October 1 and be visible after sunset. According to The Farmer’s Almanac, the timing of the moon rise increases the amount of light down here, extending the time farmers could work in the fields.
It’s About the Who Dunnit
I’ve been curious about when “mystery” became a genre. Why? I have no idea. I get curious about a lot of things. This is just one. Being impatient, I did some quick internet searching and found the term seemed to come into use in the first part of the 1900s, reflecting a style of writing that began popping up about 50 years earlier. I have begun searching for these first stories, wanting to see how they are different than what we have today and how they were different than other stories at the time. Right now, I’ve completed 4 stories and DNF (Did not finish) 3 stories.
My working theory is that mysteries shifted storytelling from a something happening to a narrator to a narrator as a removed person. Many of these stories of murder and mayhem, the narrator is either the person who did it or the person who it was happening to, which puts the stories more in the horror genre. The stories themselves COULD BE mysteries if they were told with the narrator being the cop / coroner / neighbor who investigated.
Take Edgar Allan Poe’s Black Cat. The story is told by a man in prison the evening before he goes to the gallows. He tells of being tormented by a black cat, which (spoiler) leads to him killing his wife, hiding her body, and being caught. It is an engrossing story, a perfect pre-halloween read, but there is no “who dunnit”. It is a really good horror story. Here’s a link to it on Gutenburg
Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue, for contrast, the murders of a woman and her daughter are read about by our hero C. August Dupin and his unnamed assistant/narrator. The victims lived on the 4th floor, the rest of the house was vacant. The murders happened at three in the morning. The equivalent of a year’s salary was left in the room as was jewelry and other valuables. All the doors were locked from the inside. This story is all about the “who dunnit”.
If the story of the Black Cat was told by the Police Officer who when looking for the missing (cause she’s dead) wife, the story would have been a mystery. They questioned the husband three times because they caught the break they needed. We would not have known the backstory, so it likely wouldn’t have been anywhere near as cool, but it would have been a mystery.
It was popular at the time to have continuing storylines that ran in magazines. In my mind, these were pre-television soap operas. It’s easy to see why mysteries would not fit this model. Once you know who dunnit, the story is over. It’s hard for a writer to make a living on it. Horror stories could run much longer, building the suspense and intrigue. Some of my DNF were in this category. The writing was fine, the premise caught my attention but stories were just coming in bits too small for me right now.
Below is a list of the stories I’ve been reading. These are all available for free. I’ve included the link to the documents through The Gutenberg Project.
This is a podcast where my piano player/ producer/ son Jack and I combine storytelling with original music to put you at the heart of mystery, murder, and mayhem. Episode art is by Shannon. You can find Mysteries to Die For on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, and Stitcher.
We are busy working on Season 2, which will feature adaptations of the story that started the mystery genre. All of the stories were written in the 1800s, They give us a glimpse into everyday life and the hotbed topics of the day, along with murder, mystery, and mayhem. Episodes begin dropping in January.
Episode 1: The Thinking Man. Two women are brutally murdered. They were in a bedroom on the fourth floor with the windows and doors locked from the inside. No money or valuables are taken. After a clerk is arrested, August Dupin takes an interest is the “impossible crime.” This is adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s The Murders in the Rue Morgue.
Episode 2: Desperate Measures. Everyone liked George Gordon. He was a head teller at the bank who was murdered in cold blood for money in the vault. The heads of the Mississippi bank send for the famed Chicago detective, Allan Pinkerton. No costs are to be spared in the search for a killer. This is an adaptation of Allan Pinkerton’s The Somnambulist and The Detective.
October Lady
Use the clues to find a word related to the harvest, then use the numbered positions to discover who our October Lady is. Answers are at the bottom.
Time of year that begins with the equinox: 1 _ 2 _ _ _ Tool used to cut crops: 3 _ _ _ _ 4 When there are no crops to bring in: 5 _ 6 _ _ _ The kind of belt that carries crops: _ _ _ 7 _ _ 8 _ Old school way of harvesting: by 9 _ _ 10 Cutting of grain: 11 _ _ _ _ _ 12
TG Wolff 