Tag: book recommendation

What Am I Reading These Days?

What am I reading these days? Mysteries!

By necessity. Although I do very much enjoy mysteries, in spite of my reading them of necessity. 

But why by necessity? Because I’ve started writing my next Magnolia Bluff mystery and if I don’t read in the same genre I’m writing in my mind starts coming up with ideas in the genre I’m reading. 

Don’t know why that happens, but it does. And I don’t particularly want flying saucers in my murder mystery.

And at the moment I’m reading the delightful Mr. and Mrs. North mysteries.

The Mr. and Mrs. North mysteries were the creation of Frances and Richard Lockridge.

The novels ran from 1940 to 1963, when Frances died and Richard decided not to continue the series alone.

The setting is New York City, where Pam and Jerry North live and get involved in the murder investigations of their friend, Homicide Lieutenant Bill Weigand.

These thoroughly enjoyable mysteries are pretty much unknown today. But the series was very popular in the ‘40s and ‘50s. The books spawned a Broadway play, a movie, a radio show that ran from 1942 to 1954. And a TV series that ran for 2 seasons (1952 to 1954), totaling 57 episodes.

What’s the attraction? Colorful characters with whom you fall in love, plenty of humor, a good measure of suspense, and clever whodunit storylines.

The books are great fun. Thoroughly entertaining. A pleasant way to spend a few hours. I can see why they were so popular in the 40s and 50s.

But like all old books some of the novels contain language and attitudes that are no longer accepted as belonging to proper society today.

So if you are easily offended by how our parents, grandparents, or great-grandparents may have acted or spoken — it’s probably best if you not read the books.

If you aren’t so offended, pick yourself up a few. You will be in for a rollicking good time.

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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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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10 Favorite Private Detective Novels

People often ask me for book recommendations; especially PI mysteries, as they can be difficult to find.

A recent look at the Amazon Top 25 in the Private Investigator category had me dumping most of them because there wasn’t a shamus in sight.

When the category is Private Investigator I don’t know why Amazon allows FBI agents, amateur sleuths, DCIs, vampire hunters, and who knows what else to take over the category. ‘Tain’t right. ‘Tain’t fair.

So without further ado, I give you 10 bona fide Private Detective novels for your reading pleasure.

      1. This Doesn’t Happen in the Movies by Renee Pawlish. This the first book in the Reed Ferguson series, and it is a goody. A bit hardboiled, a bit noir, and a bit cozy.
      2. The Italian Affair by John Tallon Jones. The Penny Detective is fast becoming one of my favorite PI series. Moggs and Shoddy are super characters. You will love these guys. And this book is especially fun.
      3. Deadly Passion by Joe Congel. Tony Razzolito, aka The Razzman, is a great character. This is a fab series. I keep praying Joe will write faster.
      4. Turn on the Heat by Erle Stanley Gardner (as AA Fair) is one of the novels in the Bertha Cool and Donald Lam series. Not as well known as Perry Mason, the series, though, is quite good. Although, I think Gardner missed a bet by not giving Bertha a bigger role. She is a stupendous character.
      5. China Trade by SJ Rozan. I love Rozan’s Lydia Chin. A very refreshing character. Bill Smith, on the other hand, I’m not so taken with. Lydia and Bill aren’t partners. But they help each other out. Friends without benefits, one might say. Although Bill would love for their relationship to get to the benefits stage. The odd numbered books are in Lydia’s POV; the even, in Bill’s. Super series.
      6. The Golden Spiders by Rex Stout. I love the Nero Wolfe mysteries. Put me on a desert island with the Tom Barnaby Midsomer Murders and the Nero Wolfe mysteries and plenty of tea and I’m in heaven. Nero Wolfe is the yardstick by which I judge a mystery’s quality.
      7. The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler. I just finished reading the Marlowe mysteries. They are fab. Especially the later ones. This novel is probably my fav. I’ll be re-reading these in the near future. No one can beat Chandler for uniquely engaging descriptions. Do read the Marlowe books. They are amongst the best books you’ll ever read.
      8. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. Poirot is, IMO, rather one dimensional. He’s peculiar, and noticeable, but not in a way that makes him a fan favorite like, say, Sherlock Holmes. Christie’s strong suit, IMO, is her complex storylines. Not her characters.
      9. The Case is Closed by Patricia Wentworth. The Miss Silver mysteries are good reading. Wentworth is on par with Christie, and deserves to be more widely known.
      10. The Shoulders of Giants by Jim Cliff. Excellent mystery. My great sadness is that Mr. Cliff didn’t write more than 2.

The above are 10 gumshoe novels I very much enjoyed and I think you will too.

I’m even going to throw in an eleventh:

But Jesus Never Wept

Tina and Harry quickly find themselves immersed in a bloody murder, an online sex empire, church politics, art forgeries, and the Yakuza.

And when the bullets start flying, will they survive long enough to pin the murder on the culprit?

Head on over to Amazon and find out!

That’s all for now.

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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The Dog Gone Diamond Dilemma Review

Esther Williams is missing. Has been for months. Now her dog is stolen right in front of Caroline McCluskey, Esther’s friend and neighbor.

Caroline decides she has to do something. The police aren’t getting anywhere, and somebody needs to find Esther.

So begins The Dog Gone Diamond Dilemma by Linda Pirtle. The 10th book in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles.

This year 10 authors continue to tell us about the mayhem, the shenanigans, the murders, and the excitement of small-town living.

Join us for the ride! The Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles at Amazon.

So what does Caroline, our friendly librarian, do to find her friend? She calls together the Friends of the Round Table: her buddies Magnolia Nadine and Daphne.

The trio start gathering clues and paying attention to gossip. And then things start happening. Heads get whacked. Bullets are flying. And bodies are falling.

Will the Friends of the Round Table be able to solve the problem of their missing friend? Or will they end up as numbers in the body count?

The Dog Gone Diamond Dilemma is an uncozy, cozy mystery. It’s not all tea and crumpets, or coffee and doughnuts in this installment of the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles.

While keeping the feel of a cozy mystery, Linda Pirtle has infused plenty of thriller elements into her book. The result is an intriguing and exciting hybrid of thrills and spills, along with warmth and love, and plenty of sleuthing.

The Dog Gone Diamond Dilemma, Book 10 in the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles series, brought to you by The Underground Authors. Available at 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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Indie April Reading Suggestions — Part 1

Crispian Thurlborn

Welcome to Indie April!

Every year, I solicit independent authors/publishers (aka “indies”) to recommend books for me to read, and if I like them, to promote.

My caveat is that I don’t want bestsellers. Nor any book ranked in the top 300,000 on Amazon. And they must be self-published. Small press does not count, as that is just downsized traditional publishing.

If you have any suggestions, please put them in the comments.

This month, I’m adding blog posts promoting 13 authors who have impressed me over the years with writing that lingers in my memory. Lingers in a good way, that is.

These writers are not bestsellers. Although they should be, and would be if we lived in a fair world. But, alas, we don’t. Their writing, though, is top-notch and will entertain you. That much I can guarantee.

Crispian Thurlborn

First up is Crispian Thurlborn, who is truly an author par excellence. He is a master craftsman. A meticulous craftsman. He does magic with words.

He writes stories that will chill you and impart a subtle terror that lingers long after the story has ended. He also writes stories filled with whimsy and humor.

All of his published work is top drawer.

Today I’d like to focus on his short novel, A Bump in the Night. It’s a ghost story, of sorts. It’s a philosophical story, of sorts. It’s sad, yet ends well. It’s filled with humor. And the prose would make Dickens envious.

It’s a tale of two ghosts who try to stop their friend, Mr Bump, from fading away. But the best laid plans of mice, men, and ghosts… Well, you know, Mr Murphy and his law even transcend the grave.

A Bump in the Night is not a tale of terror. Yet, in a subtle sort of way, the story confronts us with death, that thing which terrifies us all.

The book is one of my favorites. But then all of Mr Thurlborn’s work can be listed amongst my favorites. He’s that good.

So this Indie April, do yourself and Mr Thurlborn a favor: buy his books, enjoy them, and review them. Both you and he will be very happy.

Here are links to his Amazon pages:

US

Canada

UK

Australia

Germany

And if you subscribe to his mailing list, you’ll get the chilling story “Wednesday Girl” for free! It is very good.

Watch for Part 2, which comes out Tuesday.

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

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