Category: Reviews

A Chance of a Ghost Review

I’m offering you a vacation. To beautiful Magnolia Bluff, Texas. In the heart of the Texas Hill Country. Beautiful scenery. Wineries. A quaint little town. With murder and ghosts.

My fellow Underground Authors, Rob and Joan Carter, have their book, A Chance of a Ghost, on pre-order for only 99¢.

It’s Book 23 in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series and it’s a spooktacularly thrilling mystery.

I just finished reading an ARC. And it didn’t disappoint. What’s especially fun about A Chance of a Ghost is that we get to see how ghost “busters” actually work.

Rob and Joan are members of the Tampa Bay Spirits, a group that investigates paranormal activity. And they bring their experience to the newest murder mystery in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles.

Mike and Maureen Donovan, (fictional) members of Tampa Bay Spirits, depart Tampa and find themselves in Magnolia Bluff to help Mike’s cousins rid their newly renovated home of whatever it is that is making doors slam and things move.

But they no sooner arrive than Mike has a premonition that someone in town is going to die. And that’s something they hadn’t counted on.

Mike and Maureen meet Harry Thurgood, the owner of the Really Good Wood-Fired Coffee and Ice Cream Emporium (known as the Really Good to the locals), and Mike begins to suspect that Harry is the man who is to be murdered: burned to death in his own coffee shop. And probably not while roasting coffee beans.

Then the Donovans meet Bertram and George, the ghosts who have been causing all the ruckus trying to get someone’s attention to help Bertram solve a century old mystery.

The Carters take us on a twisty-turny rollercoaster of a ride as Mike and Maureen try to help the ghosts move on and prevent Harry from becoming living barbecue.

In addition, we learn how paranormal investigators actually work. How they try to contact the dead and discover what they need in order to stop haunting a house. We also discover that not all spirits are friendly Caspers.

There is plenty of suspense, action, and thrills in A Chance of a Ghost. It’s an entertaining page turner that I found regretting having to put down. You know, like to eat or sleep.

So grab your copy today! It’s on pre-order for only 99¢ on Amazon.

Then put on your deerstalker and get your infrared cameras ready.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

 

 

 

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with two bestselling novels. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

 

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The Magnus Archives: A Review

The fiction podcast format is filled with amazingly talented creatives.

I’m currently listening to season 1 of The Magnus Archives, a Rusty Quill production.

I’ve listened to 22 of the 40 episodes and am very impressed with the quality of the production and voice acting.

Thus far, most of the episodes consist of one actor, Jonathan Sims, who is the head archivist of The Magnus Institute, a fictional agency located outside London that investigates the paranormal.

What began as one off episodes of Sims reading a report of some bizarre occurrence, is slowly developing into a connected story. I’m just about dying to see how this develops and can’t listen to the episodes fast enough.

Each episode is a self-contained story, with a slowly developing overarching storyline.

Jonathan Sims is an incredibly creative writer with an awesome imagination. He is also a very talented voice actor.

The music is top drawer. Spookily eerie. And sets not only the mood, but intensifies the suspense.

You can catch The Magnus Archives here on the Rusty Quill website. The show is also on Spotify and YouTube.

Four complete seasons of the arcane, bizarre, terrible, and horrific. This is horror done up right.

And the best thing about fiction podcasts is that you don’t have to set aside time to watch. You can listen on the go. And podcasts are so much better than audiobooks. Seriously.

Tune in to The Magnus Archives. The YouTube link is here. The show is fabulously well done by the very talented folks at Rusty Quill. Enjoy!

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

 

 

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with two bestselling novels. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

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The Lovecraft Investigations: A Review

Since the 1920s, the BBC has been producing radio dramas. Today, BBC 4, aka BBC Sounds, is still producing radio dramas. They have also ventured into fiction podcasting. And boy, oh boy, do they put on a class act.

I recently listened to all four seasons of The Lovecraft Investigations and was very impressed, for the most part. The production was top drawer. The writing, by Julian Simpson, was superb for the first three seasons, and then hiccuped in season 4.

Mr. Simpson, in the fourth season, lost the story in his fanatical quest to bash fascists in the British government. The propaganda overwhelmed the narrative and, for me, became distracting.

That written, the overall quality of The Lovecraft Investigations is truly superb and I will listen to the next season, should a fifth one be produced. Unless, Mr. Simpson decides, once again, that politics is more important than good storytelling.

The format is a podcast within a podcast and works extremely well. The stories are exceedingly loose adaptations of the work of HP Lovecraft. I would call them Lovecraftesque, with barely any Lovecraft being present. 

It works, though, and that is what is ultimately of importance.

Matthew Heawood and Kennedy Fisher are true crime podcasters who stumble onto the strange disappearance of Charles Dexter Ward — and thereby get sucked into a nightmarish secret world of monsters and occult magic.

The writing is excellent, the voice acting superb, the sound effects are magnificent. There is really nothing here not to like. And if you relish fascist bashing, season four will be your cup of tea.

While each season is more or less complete in itself, Simpson has tied the four together to form an overarching story. So you do want to start at the beginning. That way everything will make sense.

You can listen to the episodes for free on the BBC’s website. They are also available on various podcast services, such as Apple and Spotify.

All in all, I can highly recommend The Lovecraft Investigations. In my opinion, they’re far more satisfying entertainment than most of the tripe on the TV.

Start season 1, episode 1 on the BBC here.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

 

 

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with two bestselling novels. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

 

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

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Meet the Characters of Magnolia Bluff: The Detective

A Review by Caleb Pirtle III

CW Hawes cleverly opens old wounds and reveals dark secrets as his story sets Magnolia Bluff on fire, and we watch it smolder and burn.

Reece Sovern is the chief detective in Magnolia Bluff.

His is not a difficult job.

Magnolia Bluff is usually quiet and peaceful, an eccentric little town near the shores of Burnet Reservoir.

He investigates the usual fare of crimes and misdemeanors.

A few thefts.

Burglaries.

Carjackings.

Nothing serious.

Of course, there’s the string of deaths that occur every May 23.

Been going on for several years.

Never solved.

Probably never will be.

Sovern only hopes the last one has died.

But in Death Wears A Crimson Hat, Book 1 of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles, he has another real crime to investigate.

One murder.

A hit and run.

He has lots of suspects.

He has hardly any evidence at all.

***

Enjoy an excerpt from Death Wears a Crimson Hat, available on Amazon.

Back in his office, Detective Reece Sovern pushed his glasses up and looked over his notes. Three people had seen the hit and run. No one had been able to catch the license plate number, and the three didn’t agree on make or model of the vehicle. They did agree that the car was a dark color. But whether it was black, navy blue, brown, or gray, not one of the three could say.

The vehicle seemed to come out of nowhere, hit Mary Lou as she began walking away from her car, and kept on going. Which told Sovern that the hit was probably intentional, rather than accidental.

He would have loved to talk to her, but at this point Mary Lou was in a coma and not talking to anybody.

“That’s the second Crimson Hat Society member in as many days,” he muttered. “Which is just a bit too coincidental for my liking.”

Aside from Mary Lou’s group, what did the two women have in common?

The cigar rolled from one corner of his mouth to the other. “From the looks of it, that’s all they had in common,” he said to his desk.

He looked at the ceiling and frowned. There was all the gossip flying around town concerning Mary Lou and Reverend Cole, which gave Ember Cole a motive. 

After all, Mary Lou was threatening to get her canned from the church. At least that is what Ray Holden said, and he should know. He was after all the chairman of the pastor-parish relations committee.

Plenty of motive to kill someone who was threatening to destroy your career. And, sad to say, ministers weren’t exempt from the baser human passions.

With the reverend’s car at the garage and the forensics people crawling all over it, he’d know soon enough if her car was the one that had done in the Middlebrook woman.

His gaze shifted back to his notes. Unless Cole had gotten a car from someplace else or borrowed one from someone, she was off the hook for Mary Lou Fight. Unless she’d paid someone to do it. And that was a distinct possibility. In fact, it made a whole heck of a lot of sense to Sovern.

Then there was Harry Thurgood. “Now that’s a guy with a past if I ever saw one,” he muttered. “And he seems to be pretty thick with the Reverend. The gossips can’t miss an unmarried man and a single woman spending time together. Which means they might be in it together. Maybe I should take a look at Thurgood’s car. Although he seems too shrewd to use his own vehicle for something like this.”

Sovern took the cigar out of his mouth, looked at the soggy end, pitched it towards the wastebasket, missed, and took a fresh stogie from his desk drawer to replace it.

He leaned back in his desk chair, cigar jutting out of his mouth, hands behind his head, and said to the ceiling, “Don’t see sufficient motive to pin this on the Reverend or Thurgood. Maybe in time, but not right now.” He sat up. “But somebody had sufficient motive, and if it isn’t Cole or Thurgood, who is it? Then there’s that nutty hat group. Other than the society, what connects Fight and Middlebrook? Or is that it?”

He shook his head and stood. He had more people to interview, and that wasn’t going to happen sitting at his desk.

***

And there’s more of Reece Sovern in the upcoming Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicle release: Second Chances by Joe Congel.

I’ve had a sneak peak of Second Chances and it’s going to be a fabulously good addition to the series. The book’s on pre-order at Amazon.

In the meantime, you can read the other books in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series, if you haven’t already. Find them on Amazon.

And if you’ve read all the books in the series, while you’re waiting for Second Chances, you can read Joe’s Tony Razzolito PI mysteries. Find them on Amazon. 

And you can read my own Justinia Wright PI mysteries, also on Amazon. Mysteries that are gently paced until the whizz-bang endings.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

(This post originally appeared in a different form on calebandlindapirtle.com)

 

CW Hawes is the author of the bestselling Death Wears a Crimson Hat; he’s also a playwright, screenwriter, fictioneer, and an award-winning poet. When not writing, he’s an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

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Review: The Killer Enigma

This month brings us Book 16 in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles: The Killer Enigma by Breakfield and Burkey.

What do you do when people just won’t leave you alone? You get away from it all.

And that’s exactly what supermodel Jo and her husband JJ decide to do when the paparazzi just won’t leave them alone.

Magnolia Bluff, Texas is about as far away as one can get from those camera toting busybodies. And that’s exactly where Jo wants to go. 

She and JJ plan on revisiting old friends and getting in a whole lot of R & R at their favorite B & B. 

Well, that’s the plan. 

And we all know what happens to even the best-laid plans.

At Jo’s insistence, the vacation quickly morphs into a search for vacation property. And when an old ranch that needs some TLC turns up, it does so with a dead body. Of course it does.

But the body is not alone, there’s a half million bucks with it. 

And unfortunately for JJ and Jo, somebody wants that money — and will stop at nothing to get it.

Hopes. Dreams. And murder. Just another day in Magnolia Bluff. Let’s hope JJ and Jo get to finish their vacation. Alive.

The Killer Enigma drops on August 19th. But you can get it now for only 99¢ on Amazon.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

 

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with a bestselling novel. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

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Death in the Absence of Rain

Readers of this blog know I think very highly of Caleb Pirtle’s ability to tell a thought–provoking and heart–moving story.

It doesn’t matter if the story is a historical narrative, a biography, a gripping thriller, or a puzzling mystery. Caleb delivers the goods as few writers can.

He is one of the most successful writers who is not a household name. (You can read about him in my previous post.)

This month he released his latest book: Death in the Absence of Rain. It is the 15th book in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series, and it is a winner.

There’s a dead man walking the streets of Magnolia Bluff. 

A blazing hot sun is drinking up all the water for miles around. The drought is causing Burnet Reservoir to dry up. 

And out of the receding waters rises a town drowned 50 years ago. A dead town with living secrets.

Then there’s a murder. Followed by a second murder.

Law enforcement is baffled. And so is Graham Huston, editor of the town newspaper. But Graham has an advantage law enforcement doesn’t. The dead man talks to him.

And Graham listens. But what is the dead man trying to tell him?

A trip out to the ghost town that’s rising back out of the lake reveals yet another murder. One that’s 50 years old.

Graham’s dogged pursuit of the truth brings an old, old secret to light. It also puts him on the receiving end of a shotgun blast late at night.

Caleb Pirtle tells us a suspense-filled tale and while doing so weaves in observations about life and death and living that only a person with a lot of years under his belt can give us. 

Death in the Absence of Rain is a mystery only Caleb Pirtle could write, and one you won’t easily forget.

It is still only 99¢ on Amazon. If you’re a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, you’ve already paid to read it. So go ahead!

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

 

 

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with a bestselling novel. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

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Book Review: Best Served Cold

First there was a high profile up and coming NASCAR driver. Shot and killed at close range.

Now the victim is an up and coming high profile pro basketball star. 

Private detective Tony Razzolito (a.k.a. The Razzman) isn’t concerned about the latest death until his friend, Captain Rita O’Connor of homicide, asks him to help on the case. 

The only problem for Tony is he has to work with his nemesis Detective John Cahill.

Once again, Joe Congel delivers a well wrought whodunit that kept me guessing all the way to the surprise ending. 

I’ve read all of the Tony Razzolito mysteries. And they just keep getting better and better. A good thing getting better is a very good thing.

What I like best about Congel’s stories are his characters. They have personality. They are three dimensional. They pop off the page because they are real people.

Characters make fiction sing. We remember memorable characters. Rarely do we remember a plot. 

As Ray Bradbury advised writers: create your characters, let them do their thing, and there’s your story.

And Joe Congel lets his characters do their thing. In doing so, a story is created that carries us along from beginning to end. We are right there living the story along with the characters. That’s the work of a master storyteller. And Congel is a master.

While Best Served Cold is laced with loads of humor, the story itself is dark. It is a vengeance tale reminiscent of Jacobean theater. Bloody and unrelenting. It’s a good thing the humor is there – it relieves the darkness of the mystery. 

Best Served Cold is the fourth book in The Razzman Mystery Crime files. I’m already waiting for number five.

Pick up your copy of Best Served Cold on Amazon. 

And if you haven’t read the other Razzman mysteries, you can find them on Amazon, too.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

 

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with a bestselling novel. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

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Review: Men Lying Dead in a Field

Someone is killing psychologists. Is Dr. Michael Kurelek next?

Men Lying Dead in a Field opens with Mike Kurelek, psychology professor at Burnet College, surprised to find his father in Magnolia Bluff after the old man had spent the last year fighting in the Ukraine helping the Ukrainians repel the Russian invaders.

While Mike’s dad, who was a sniper, is waiting for clearance from the State Department to stay in the US, psychologists start showing up dead in a field outside of town.

Mike is worried perhaps his PTSD suffering father has something to do with the deaths and tries to keep him hidden from the police.

When Reece Sovern, Magnolia Bluff’s police investigator asks for Mike’s help, Mike soon discovers there is something even more nefarious at work.

Mysteries are always difficult to review, at least for me, because I don’t want to reveal too much — lest I give away the story.

Suffice it to say, Richard Schwindt has given us another exciting mystery thriller to enjoy.

Richard is an accomplished writer of fiction and non-fiction. His work ranges from psychological and relational self-help, to satire, to mysteries, to literary fiction, and to the paranormal.

Men Lying Dead in a Field is at once laugh out funny and a poignant story of the horrors of war.

This is an engaging book. One you truly don’t want to miss.

Pick up your copy on

Amazon

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

 

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with a bestselling novel. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes 

 

Justinia Wright Private Investigator Mysteries on Amazon!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon!

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When Bad Things Happen to Good Mice

The Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles keep rolling along.

This month, on March 18th, as a matter of fact, Book 11 launches

When Bad Things Happen to Good Mice

And you can pick the book up on pre-order now.

Cindy Davis gives us another fun cozy mystery, filled with great humor, plenty of suspense, and a touch of the paranormal. After all, who doesn’t like ghosts? And the pizza shop owner knowing what kind of pizza you want?

Bliss seems to be the recipient of bad mojo. Here she is camping under the stars, minding her own business, when Chief Jager hauls her back to town on a charge of murder.

Murder of her boyfriend. Well, ex-boyfriend.

Why?

Because a body, presumed to be Bliss’s ex-boyfriend, was found in the ashes of the Annual Celtic Faire bonfire. 

Of course, Bliss was miles away when he died. But not so, according to a witness, someone Bliss considered a friend. 

The witness claims she saw Bliss in town the day of the bonfire. And no one can prove otherwise.

Chief Jager is getting pressure from all sides to solve the murder. And to catch the petty thief who’s been all over town breaking and entering and stealing cash.

With the help of her ability to see people’s auras, get clues from Tom Chapin songs that pop into her head, and the clues her toucan Diablo drops on her, Bliss thinks the murder and the thefts are related.

Chief Jager, though, doesn’t buy it. Well, not until it’s discovered that the body in the bonfire wasn’t Bliss’s ex-boyfriend after all.

So who was he? And why was he killed? And why have the thefts suddenly stopped?

Bliss, with charges dropped, is on a mission to find out.

It’s not every day that a mystery is filled with suspense and thrills, and is great fun. But that’s what Cindy Davis delivers in this latest installment of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles.

So if you’re looking to have a good time while taking a break from spring cleaning, or relaxing in the comfy coziness of your favorite chair or sofa on a lazy afternoon, or while sitting in bed before you hit the hay — then pick up a copy of 

When Bad Things Happen to Good Mice

You won’t regret it!

And if you’re new to the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series, you can start your adventure with

Death Wears a Crimson Hat

And you can find all of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles on Amazon.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

 

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with a bestselling novel. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes

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The Morris Shannon Mysteries

Amongst the slush I am frequently finding on Kindle Unlimited these days, I occasionally run across a real gem.

The Masked Man of Cairo series is one such gem. Another is John Tallon Jones’s Morris Shannon Mystery series, aka The Penny Detective.

I am loving this PI series by Jones. He tells you up front that the sole purpose of the books are to provide a couple hours of entertainment. That’s it. And in my opinion, they do that in spades.

In fact, I’d say that Mr Jones is being too modest. There is plenty of hardboiled grit delivered with plenty of humor, in a style that goes down quite easily. Maybe as easily as fish and chips, or a yummy bacon sandwich.

Morris Shannon is the son of a self-made multi-millionaire, who got his money selling used cars.

However, Morris (or Moggsy as most call him) doesn’t want to take over the family business. So Moggs becomes a private detective instead of the owner of a used car emporium.

Moggsy willingly admits he’s not a good detective. The only reason he’s still in business is because his partner, Shoddy, has the brains to connect the dots. But Shoddy, a former cop, is an alcoholic and is often too inebriated to be overly helpful.

From that background, Mr Jones spins delightfully entertaining stories set in the 1980s. 

It’s great fun to return to life before cell phones and the internet. A life that in some ways was better than what those silicon chips have given us.

Mr Jones is British and some reviewers were put off by the British slang. I didn’t find it at all insurmountable, although I suspect he may have “Americanized” some of the Britishisms in response to the complaints. 

One of the reasons I read British mysteries is because I love to see how our cousins use the common language that divides us. I find British English is often far more colorful than American.

Jones’s writing is straightforward. Nothing fancy. And he tells his stories well.

They are written in the first person, with Morris as the storyteller.

Imagine, if you will, Watson as the detective and Holmes as the sidekick. And Watson still tells the story. That will give you a good idea as to how this series is set up — and it is often hilarious.

The stories are not cozies. They run too dark for that. They are more in the hardboiled category. Except that Moggsy is rather naive and too trusting. Which adds to the humor. And the suspense.

The Morris Shannon mysteries are edgy whodunits. And did I say they are quite funny?

I’ve read the first 4 and loved each one. They are:

The Penny Detective

The Italian Affair

An Evening With Max Climax

The Shoestring Effect

I’ve given the above books 5-star reviews on Amazon. The links above will take you to Amazon US.

Give this series a try. The books can be read in any order, although I’m reading them chronologically.

They are 5-star entertainment. Perfect before bed. Or for reading on a lazy afternoon. Or on the beach. Or to take along on vacation.

I highly recommend them.

Comments are always welcome! And until next time, happy reading!

CW Hawes is a playwright; award-winning poet; and a fictioneer, with a bestselling novel. He’s also an armchair philosopher, political theorist, social commentator, and traveler. He loves a good cup of tea and agrees that everything’s better with pizza.

If you enjoyed this post, please consider buying me a cup of tea. Thanks! PayPal.me/CWHawes

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