Category: Prometheus Books

Author Interview | In conversation discussing the #AnnaBlanc series whilst highlighting portions of the third installment “The Body in Griffith Park” with the author Jennifer Kincheloe

Posted Thursday, 20 February, 2020 by jorielov , , , , , 0 Comments

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Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

Guess whose had the joy of interviewing one of her favourite Cosy Historical Mystery writers!? Yes, that would be Jorie! I had planned to listen to this third installment of the #AnnaBlanc series on audiobook – as it has become a bit of a tradition now – per each new release, wherein I was able to first read the story in print and then watch how the lovely Moira Quirk retransitioned the story into a beautiful rendition of giving us a stage worthy performance of Anna as we’ve come to know her through the imagination of Ms Kincheloe!

I’ve had the pleasure of hosting her during my chat @SatBookChat (in 2019) whilst keeping in step with her series ever since I first spied it as a book I could request from Seventh Street Books – it was my first choice and I still stand behind what drew me into Anna Blanc’s life & world! There was something immediately connective about how the vision for this series was fusing to the idea of what I felt the series would become – as soon as I dug my heels into “The Secret Life of Anna Blanc” – I was a goner!

I was wickedly excited about this independent & spirited young woman who was determined to live her life on her own accords and never let into the pressures of her society. Anna has become a heroine for all women who are striving to raise their voice, stand their ground and be the unique light they are free to be in a world who might not be ready for their individualism. And, for me – that is what carries through the series itself.

Whenever I re-engage with the series through Ms Quirk’s narrations – I find myself noticing subtle things I might have either a) overlooked or b) not have noticed the first go-round of reading this series in print. Her performance has instincts about how to draw out the characters in a truthful way of representing each of their unique personalties whilst bridging the world of Anna Blanc and the pacing of her life into our own readerly lives in the manner of performance only audiobooks can grant a reader.

I still fully intend to listen to this installment – I am awaiting renewing my #Scribd subscription in *March!* as I had a small bit of downtime whilst focusing on my health & wellness these past several months. I was grateful to see it was available on the streaming audiobook site because of how I had originally attempted to get it placed inside my regional library via a purchase request for OverDrive. I will never quite understand the issues facing libraries with how some audiobooks are just not available to be purchased or added to their collections. This is a continual issue as I even learnt the new Clare Chase novel isn’t able to be acquired either which has left me pensively museful about the situation overall.

For the audiobook blog tour – rather than removing myself from the line-up – I decided to host an Author Interview as I never tire of learning more “behind-the-book!” secrets of Anna Blanc nor would I ever tire of talking about a series I truly LOVE to read! I am hoping through this conversation – you might walkaway with a few more keen insights of your own and perhaps, if you haven’t given Anna a chance to entertain you – perhaps this interview might convince you – its high time to start @ the beginning and properly “meet” Anna Blanc!

Without further adieu : brew your favourite cuppa & enjoy the convo!

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why i enjoyed reading “The Body in Griffith park”

You have to love Anna’s spunk – if she’s typing nonsensically at her typewriter or asking the most off the chart curious enquiries from Joe (such as every notation of insight she has on flowers!) – she finds the balance between being completely devoid of the requirements of her job and the spontaneity of fiercely believing she has what it takes to succeed as a detective who breaks the rules but maintains a high success rate of closed cases. In a nutshell, what isn’t to love about Anna Blanc? Stepping back into her shoes is like going home – you know your going to be on this wicked adventurous ride where only her compass knows the route you’ll traverse but ooh, the memories once you return from the experience is worth the anxieties of knowing you’ll get into the fire alongside Anna!

Betwixt the joy of finding her own case to investigate and the dalliance she’d love to have with Joe, Anna once again finds herself pulled into two different directions. Happily self-taught and well read on criminological topics of insight, Anna has the tendency to be a few steps ahead of both Joe and the other detectives in how she pieces together not just the scenes of the crimes she wants to solve but the methodology of how those crimes were left behind to be found. This is where the series is a joy to be reading because you get to see inside her process for sleuthing inasmuch as seeing her disdain at being re-directed by Matron Clemens into more ‘matronly duties’ she was hired to achieve.

Although emboldened by her choices for independence from her father (and family) – her choices do have after effects on her heart, if you take into consideration how much Anna still worries about the conditions of her father’s business affairs and what the choices she made in her own life might have reverberated into his own trials of tribulation. I was firmly against the antics of her father, as he had such a controlling interest in pushing Anna into a life which would have rendered her miserable but at the same time, the empathy, compassion and love she still has for him shows her own humanity in a light that I am not sure would reflect through his own eyes. And, that shows again the stark contrast how Anna Blanc is different from the rest of the Blanc family.

Never let it be said Anna Blanc is short on ingenuity when it comes to sorting out resolutions to problems which fall outside the normal realms of conventional society! When you reach the section on how she needs to start influencing the lives of streetwalkers who might be open to reformation, the interesting bit is how her original idea is now blooming towards fruition but how the ladies society who was attempting to step forward into this niche of charity outreach found they understand very little when it comes to the needs of working ladies! In true Anna Blanc spunkified fashion, Anna herself has to step forward into the hurdles of balancing the influence of a better path in which the women could hope to embark against and the truthfulness of their station, situation and financial needs. In essence, her answer to that particular problem was wickedly inventive and creatively appropriate!

You never know what kind of folly of joy you’ll find within an Anna Blanc Cosy Historical Mystery – one thing is wickedly certain though – Kincheloe is going to give you a hilarious romp of delight in how she carves out the dramatic crime narrative alongside smitten sleuthers Anna Blanc and Joe Singer! Keeping me fast on me feet and in the delightful joy of her seriously #awesomeauce sense of humour – Kincheloe made an early-on reference to “Bosom Buddies” wherein Anna cloyingly encourages Joe to get his groove together and switch how he presents himself in order to sneak into visit Anna at her flat!

When it comes to serial fiction, there is always a need for newfound adversity, ripples of angst and a dash of the unexpected – scenes and sequences to keep you on your toes, itching to dive into new chapters and to see how things will wick out in the end. For this installment of the series, Ms Kincheloe has expertly given us a heap of strife in regards to the relationship between Joe and Anna! She’s inserted quite a heap of drama into their young lives – given them reason to trust and mistrust each other and to confound each other as well – they move between absolute admiration and devotion to bouts of uncertainty and disillusionment. Their each struggling to find the rhythm of what makes their relationship work and how to fuse their connection stronger when they both like to butt heads like those fierce mountain sheep who lose their hooves!

-quoted from my review of The Body in Griffith Park

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Author Interview | In conversation discussing the #AnnaBlanc series whilst highlighting portions of the third installment “The Body in Griffith Park” with the author Jennifer KincheloeThe Body in Griffith Park
Subtitle: An Anna Blanc Mystery
by Jennifer Kincheloe
Source: Direct from Publisher

Los Angeles, 1908. Anna Blanc is a former so-so socialite, a flailing police matron, and a killer detective.

Ex- heiress, Anna Blanc, is precariously employed by the Los Angeles Police Department, reforming delinquent children and minding lady jailbirds. What she really wants is to hunt criminals and be alone with Detective Joe Singer--both no-nos that could get her fired. On a lover's tryst in Griffith Park, Anna and Joe discover the body of a young gambler. Anna can't resist. She's on the case. With a murder to solve and her police matron duties piling up, a young girl shows up at Central Station claiming to have been raped by a man from Mars. The men at the station scoff, but Anna is willing to investigate. Meanwhile, Anna begins getting strange floral arrangements from an unknown admirer. Following the petals leads her to another crime--one close to home. Suddenly pitted against Joe, Anna must examine her loyalties and solve the crimes, even if it means losing the man she loves.

Genres: Cosy Historical Mystery, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1633885400

ASIN: B0823YYS51

Also by this author: The Secret Life of Anna Blanc, The Secret Life of Anna Blanc [audiobook], The Woman in the Camphor Trunk, The Woman in the Camphor Trunk [audiobook]

Series: Anna Blanc


Also in this series: The Secret Life of Anna Blanc, The Secret Life of Anna Blanc [audiobook], The Woman in the Camphor Trunk, The Woman in the Camphor Trunk [audiobook], The Body in Griffith Park


Published by Jennifer R. Kincheloe Ltd

on 2nd December, 2019

Format: Audiobook | Digital

Length: 11 hours and 42 minutes (unabridged)

Available Formats: Trade Paperback, Ebook and Audiobook

Converse via: #AnnaBlanc + #HistoricalMystery or #HistMyst

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Posted Thursday, 20 February, 2020 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, #SaturdaysAreBookish, 20th Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Cosy Historical Mystery, Crime Fiction, Historical Fiction, Historical Mystery, Historical Romance, Historical Thriller Suspense, History, Indie Author, Jorie Loves A Story Features, Prometheus Books, Realistic Fiction, the Nineteen Hundreds

A #WyrdAndWonder Book Review | “Nebula Awards Showcase 2016” (edited by) Mercedes Lackey

Posted Wednesday, 8 May, 2019 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

#WyrdAndWonder Book Review badge created by Jorie in Canva.

Acquired Book By: I am a reviewer for Prometheus Books and their imprints starting in [2016] as I contacted them through their Edelweiss catalogues and Twitter. I appreciated the diversity of titles across genre and literary explorations – especially focusing on Historical Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction and Scientific Topics in Non-Fiction.

I received a complimentary copy of “Nebula Awards 2016” direct from the publisher PYR (an imprint of Prometheus Books) in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein. Note: This review is part of my backlogue of reviews and predates PYR being acquired by Smart Publishing who now owns both Seventh Street Books and Pyr.

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission.

Why I love reading the Nebula Awards Showcase:

I loved how Bear championed the integrity of writing what you know to be true even if editors later change that truth for their own needs (i.e. regards to his article being altered for publication) even if it has consequences you cannot foresee. He wrote with a lot of levity and insight – how the Awards come regularly like any natural season and how writers are both on pins to hear whose won but also, elated if their name is called. It’s a quirky balance of anxiety and exultation of joy – the brilliant combination of emotions any writer can claim as their own. Writing is such an intrapersonal experience – we put our imagination and our words on the line, hoping to inspire a reader to feel as connected to our stories as we do ourselves and thus, I could concur with Bear about the curiously curious attachment we have to seeing how our peers interpret our stories and if the stories resonate with our peers inasmuch as the readers.

This particular collection of stories, antidotes and murmurings of Science Fiction had within it’s pages such a cartography of human emotions! You could quite literally feel every ounce of your humanness by reading it’s collection because each of the writers in turn found a way to etch a catalyst of emotional fortitude into their stories. Their characters were facing incredible odds and had to somehow find a way to stomach the vacuumed despair or else, find their lives empty of all hope.

The words these writers have used to paint their portraits of life in futuristic places are humbling and eagerly on-point to curtain off a certain sense about the world today. There are cross-applications to these stories – of origins you can perceive of what inspired them and of why these stories were being penned when they were and how they were being expressed. It’s a collection to take to heart – to ponder and lay thought upon long after you put the stories down the first time you’ve read them. Most are cautionary in nature, others are thought-provoking social conscious works of creative expression. All of them hold a kernel of where Science Fiction and Consciousness co-merge into a working consciousness of forward thought and internal supposition of what a near-off future could hold inside it’s palm. Truly a remarkable reading for today’s inquisitive reader seeking stories which speak towards the edge of where truth and reality blur and find their own voice.

-quoted from my review of the Nebula Awards Showcase 2015

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission.

A #WyrdAndWonder Book Review | “Nebula Awards Showcase 2016” (edited by) Mercedes LackeyNebula Awards Showcase: 2016
Subtitle: Stories, Excerpts and Essays
by Mercedes Lackey
Source: Direct from Publisher

The Nebula Awards Showcase volumes have been published annually since 1966, reprinting the winning and nominated stories of the Nebula Awards, voted on by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).

The editor of this year’s volume, selected by SFWA’s anthology Committee (chaired by Mike Resnick), is American science fiction and fantasy writer Mercedes Lackey.

This anthology includes the winners Ursula Vernon, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Nancy Kress, and Jeff VanderMeer, with Alaya Dawn Johnson winning the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book.

Genres: Anthology Collection of Short Stories and/or Essays, Fantasy Fiction, Science Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781633881389

Published by Pyr

on 3rd May, 2016

Format: Paperback ARC

Pages: 412

Published By: Pyr (@Pyr_Books)

The Nebula Awards Showcases I’ve read:

Nebula Awards Showcase 2015 (edited by) Greg Bear. Published by PYR.Nebula Awards Showcase 2016 (edited by) Mercedes Lackey. Published by PYR.

Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook

(edited by) Mercedes Lackey ( Site | @mercedeslackey )

Converse via: #NebulaAwards + #MercedesLackey

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted Wednesday, 8 May, 2019 by jorielov in #WyrdAndWonder, Asteroid Science, Blog Tour Host, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Climate Change, Ecology, Environmental Conscience, Environmental Science, Hard Science Fiction, Horticulture, Prometheus Books, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event

#WaitingOnWednesday No.6 | Book Review | “The Bloody Black Flag” (Book One: of the Spider John Mysteries) by Steve Goble

Posted Wednesday, 29 August, 2018 by jorielov , , , , 0 Comments

a word about ‘waiting on Wednesday’:

#WaitingOnWednesday badge created in Canva by Jorie using Unsplash.com photography (Creative Commons Zero).

I have decided to start participating in this book blogsphere meme with a few small changes of how it’s regularly blogged about by my fellow book bloggers. I will either be introducing my current reads of upcoming releases as I am in the process of reading them and/or I might be releasing a book review about a forthcoming title by which I had been blessed to read ahead of publication. The main purpose behind the meme is to encourage readers and your fellow book bloggers to become aware of new books being released which caught your eye and which held your interest to read. Sometimes if your still in the process of reading the books, its the titles which encouraged your bookish heart. I look forward to spending the next seasons of the year, talking about the books I have on hand to read, the books I’ve been reading and the books I might not even have a copy to read but which are of wicked sweet interest to become a #nextread of mine.

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Book Review badge created by Jorie in Canva using Unsplash.com photography (Creative Commons Zero).

Borrowed Book By: I am a reviewer for Prometheus Books and their imprints starting in [2016] as I contacted them through their Edelweiss catalogues and Twitter. I appreciated the diversity of titles across genre and literary explorations – especially focusing on Historical Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction and Scientific Topics in Non-Fiction.

Whilst I was browsing through upcoming titles this Autumn [2018] I spied a #piratefiction title I had overlooked last year [2017]!! The sequel is forthcoming this September which is why I quickly checked to see if I could ILL (inter-library loan) this through my local library and happily found I could! I had to remain patient whilst this title was fetched from an out-of-state library and then, had the wicked anticipation of hoping it would be a) as quirky as watching Captain Jack Sparrow in the film series ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ whilst b) owning to the genre it befits and would give me a sweet swashbuckling adventure!

The copy of “The Bloody Black Flag” I borrowed via interlibrary loan through my local library was not a title I was obligated to post a review as I am doing so for my own edification as a reader who loves to share her readerly life. I was not compensated for my thoughts shared herein.

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Why a #PirateFiction title sounded wicked good!

Ever since I was quite young, I’ve been fascinated with stories of Pirates! It started when I saw my *first!* Gabriel Bryne film where he was of course, a ‘pirate’ and his character felt real enough to scare me during the scenes he was featured! Fast forward to when Johnny Depp portrayed ‘Captain Jack Sparrow’ and you could say, it was all down-hill from there! There quirkiness of Cap’t Jack, the heart of the film series for me was inter-connected to Sparrow’s character – I went to the theater *four!* times to see the first one, twice for the second & at least three times for the third whilst only one viewing of the fourth – yet, by the time the fifth came out I was worried the integrity had left – thus, it remains the ONLY one I’ve not seen!!

I am unsure how this particular series slipped past me – as I have found *Seventh Street Books* to be publishing the kind of Historical Mysteries I can find myself curled inside more oft than other publishers – they are publishing my current favourites you see! You’ve most likely have seen my gushing praise over the Hiro Hattori, Anna Blanc, Samuel Craddock and my beloved Marjorie Trumaine series – two of these are dramatic crime series & the other two are what I refer to as ‘Cosy Historical Mysteries’ – where the focus isn’t on the grittiness of where a crime story could alight you but rather, the historical backdrop in which we alight to walk beside the lead characters!

This ‘Waiting on Wednesday’ is about discovering a #newtomeauthor and getting caught up inside the first novel of a new series which whet a thirst of curiosity to be reading ahead of the second installment’s release!

Part of me was slightly concerned this title might become a bit ‘too much’ for me – as when it comes to ‘pirates’ & #piratefiction, I will definitely be the girl whose more into the glossing over the rougher bits than to have any of the stories (by book or film) to be more graphically explicit. Still. There was something uniquely alluring about ‘attempting to read outside my comfort zone’ which is where the #SpiderJohn Mysteries fall under for a girl who loves high seas adventures but sometimes falls a bit short of fully embracing the cutthroat lifestyles therein!

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#WaitingOnWednesday No.6 | Book Review | “The Bloody Black Flag” (Book One: of the Spider John Mysteries) by Steve GobleThe Bloody Black Flag
Subtitle: A Spider John Mystery
by Steve Goble
Source: Borrowed from local library (ILL)

Agatha Christie meets Patrick O’Brian in the first book in a new series of swashbuckling historical mysteries featuring Spider John Rush, a most reluctant pirate.

1722—aboard a pirate ship off the American Colonial Coast.

Spider John Rush never wanted to be a pirate, but it had happened and he’d learned to survive in the world of cut and thrust, fight or die. He and his friend Ezra knew that death could come at any moment, from grapeshot or storm winds or the end of a noose. But when Ezra is murdered in cold blood by a shipmate, Spider vows revenge.

On a ship where every man is a killer many times over, how can Spider find the man who killed his friend? There is no law here, so if justice is to be done, he must do it. He will have to solve the crime and exact revenge himself.

One wrong step will lead to certain death, but Spider is determined to look into the dying eyes of the man who killed his friend, even if it means his own death.

Genres: Action & Adventure Fiction, Amateur Detective, Crime Fiction, Historical Thriller Suspense, Pirate Fiction



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781633883598

Published by Seventh Street Books

on 12th September, 2017

Format: Trade Paperback

Pages: 237

Published By: Seventh Street Books (@SeventhStBooks)

Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook

About Steve Goble

Steve Goble is the author of The Bloody Black Flag and The Devil’s Wind in the Spider John mystery series. A former journalist, Goble now works in communications for a cybersecurity firm. Previously, he wrote a weekly craft-beer column called Brewologist, which appeared on USA Today Network–Ohio websites.

The Spider John Mysteries:

Series Overview: Historical mystery series featuring a reluctant pirate who doubles as an amateur sleuth whilst setting sail on the high seas.

The Bloody Jack Flag by Steve GobleThe Devil's Wind by Steve Goble

The Bloody Black Flag | Book One

The Devil’s Wind | Book Two | Synopsis ← forthcoming release 11th September, 2018!

Converse via: #SpiderJohnMysteries OR #SpiderJohn + #HistoricalMystery and #piratefiction

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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

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Posted Wednesday, 29 August, 2018 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 18th Century, Action & Adventure Fiction, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Bookish Memes, Boston, Colonial America, Content Note, Crime Fiction, Debut Novel, Equality In Literature, Fly in the Ointment, Historical Fiction, Indie Author, Pirates and Swashbucklers, Prometheus Books, Vulgarity in Literature, Waiting on Wednesday

Book Review | “Idyll Fears” (Book Two: of the Thomas Lynch Novels) by Stephanie Gayle

Posted Friday, 4 May, 2018 by jorielov , , , , , 0 Comments

Book Review badge created by Jorie in Canva using Unsplash.com photography (Creative Commons Zero).

Acquired Book By: I am a reviewer for Prometheus Books and their imprints starting in [2016] as I contacted them through their Edelweiss catalogues and Twitter. I appreciated the diversity of titles across genre and literary explorations – especially focusing on Historical Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction and Scientific Topics in Non-Fiction.

I received a complimentary copy of “Idyll Fears” direct from the publisher Seventh Street Books (an imprint of Prometheus Books) in exchange for an honest review. The copy of “Idyll Threats” I borrowed via interlibrary loan through my local library I was not obligated to post a review as I am doing so for my own edification as a reader who loves to share her readerly life. I was not compensated for my thoughts shared herein.

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On why I thought I’d enjoy this series and how I approached starting to read it:

As this is a series in progress, I wanted to seek out the first novel in the series Idyll Threats – seemingly easy at first, as it was simply a matter of queuing into my ILL-cat (ie. Interlibrary loan catalogue) to fetch a copy and then awaiting the book to arrive. However, the trouble ensued shortly after it was borrowed as for whichever reason, the copy I had been sent by the lending library not only smelt oddly but it was difficult to read – the ordour and the condition of the pages were quite horrid – I could barely handle reading a few passages, so I skipped around a bit in the opening chapters, trying to ascertain an instinct of insight into the lead character: Thomas Lynch before returning it to the library with a critical complaint on its condition.

What I gathered in my short readings was a man who reminded me of Jesse Stone but without the warm sympathetic personality; Lynch was hardened, not just due to life but due to the fact he was living within a region where there is staunch prejudice towards different lifestyles – as he’s an openly gay police chief, you can well imagine the difficulties he faces on the job and in his down-time.

I was a bit concerned with the undertone of the series, as at first reading, I noticed the series is ‘clipped and short’ in both temper and style. It’s hard to put it into words, but this had a decidedly ‘different’ approach to telling a police procedural story. In many regards, I was aching for Jesse Stone to walk into scene as Lynch himself is hard to approach – his personality is edgy at best but it’s his dedication to the job and to the citizens he’s protecting which does (sort of) win you over. I say this as even before I picked up Idyll Fears, I had a keen suspicion what I forethought about the series was ill-placed, as this could soon become a DNF for me instead. Still. Despite the false-starts, I kept trying to begin reading it – to see if I could gleam insight into who Lynch is and to gather a better feel for how Gayle plots us through his life.

In essence, wherein I warmed immediately to Marjorie Trumaine, Anna Blanc, Hiro Hattori and even Samuel Craddock – the four investigators I love most from Seventh Street Books authors, Lynch unfortunately was a hard person to feel inclined to know more about simply because I found the series more than a bit off-putting by how it was told and developed. It had nothing to do with Lynch being openly gay either – as I regularly read LGBTQ+ stories wherein there are many lead characters who are gay or lesbian including my beloved sleuthing series spearheaded by the lovely Willa Cather and Edith Lewis. No, it has to do with tone, delivery and the undercurrents of how this series is set to life – it just didn’t jazz well with me to be honest.

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Book Review | “Idyll Fears” (Book Two: of the Thomas Lynch Novels) by Stephanie GayleIdyll Fears
Subtitle: A Thomas Lynch Novel

Police Chief Thomas Lynch investigates the disappearance of a six-year-old boy with a serious medical condition while coping with disrespect from townspeople and colleagues who don’t like the fact that he’s gay.

It’s two weeks before Christmas 1997, and Chief Thomas Lynch faces a crisis when Cody Forrand, a six-year-old with a life-threatening medical condition, goes missing during a blizzard. The confusing case shines a national spotlight on the small, sleepy town of Idyll, Connecticut, where small-time crime is already on the rise and the police seem to be making mistakes left and right. Further complicating matters, Lynch, still new to town, finds himself the target of prank calls and hate speech that he worries is the work of a colleague, someone struggling to accept working with a gay chief of police.

With time ticking away, Lynch is beginning to doubt whether he’ll be able to bring Cody home safely…and whether Idyll could ever really be home.


Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 9781633883574

on 5th September, 2017

Pages: 320

Published By: Seventh Street Books (@SeventhStBooks)

Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook

About Stephanie Gayle

Stephanie Gayle Photo Credit: Sayamindu Dasgupta

Stephanie Gayle is the author of Idyll Threats, the first Thomas Lynch Novel, and My Summer of Southern Discomfort, which was chosen as one of Redbook’s Top Ten Summer Reads and was a Book Sense monthly pick. Gayle has also published stories and narrative nonfiction pieces, including two Pushcart Prize nominees.

Photo Credit: Sayamindu Dasgupta

The Thomas Lynch Novels:

Series Overview: A gay police chief in small-town Connecticut must deal with close-minded attitudes and threats to his career while he investigates serious crime.

Idyll Threats by Stephanie GayleIdyll Fears by Stephanie Gayle

Idyll Threats | Book One | Synopsis

Idyll Fears | Book Two

Idyll Hands | Book Three | Synopsis ← forthcoming release September, 2018!

Converse via: #ThomasLynch + #Mysteries

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Posted Friday, 4 May, 2018 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 20th Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Crime Fiction, Detective Fiction, Prometheus Books, Small Towne USA, Texas, Vulgarity in Literature

Book Review | “The Necessary Murder of Nonie Blake” (Book No.5 of the Samuel Craddock Mysteries) by Terry Shames

Posted Monday, 12 February, 2018 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

Book Review badge created by Jorie in Canva using Unsplash.com photography (Creative Commons Zero).

Borrowed Book By: I am a reviewer for Prometheus Books and their imprints starting in [2016] as I contacted them through their Edelweiss catalogues and Twitter. I appreciated the diversity of titles across genre and literary explorations – especially focusing on Historical Fiction, Mystery, Science Fiction and Scientific Topics in Non-Fiction.

I was happily surprised finding “A Reckoning in the Backcountry” arriving by Post; as this is one title I hadn’t remembered requesting. I tried to back-track if I had requested it but never could sort out if this was one title the publisher felt I might enjoy as I read quite a few of their Mystery authors or if I simply had forgotten one of my requests. Either way, I decided to sort out which installment this was in the sequence – finding the series has five titles previously released. Unfortunately, my local library didn’t have a copy of any of them thereby giving me the chance to seek them through inter-library loan. As I pulled together the synopsis of each of the novels, I uncovered a pattern of interest threading through three of them which seemed to speak to the greater whole of the series: A Killing at Cotton Hill (Book One); Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek (Book Three) and The Necessary Murder of Nonie Blake (Book Five). I knew I wouldn’t have time to borrow all five and felt by moving in and out of the sequential order with these three I could have a proper overview of the series before moving into the sixth release “A Reckoning in the Backcountry”.

I borrowed the fifth novel in the Samuel Craddock series “The Necessary Murder of Nonie Blake” in trade paperback from my local library via inter-library loan through the consortium of libraries within my state. I was not obligated to post a review as I am doing so for my own edification as a reader who loves to share her readerly life. I was not compensated for my thoughts shared herein.

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on why i am loving reading #samuelcraddock mysteries:

 As I move through the series, I notice different things about Craddock’s character – how tenacious he is to solve crimes using clues which you could almost overlook as ‘clues’ (reminding me of why I love watching Det. Goren, Columbo and Due South‘s lovable Mountie Fraser) whilst he strives to keep his personal views at bay even if there are moments where he struggles with this balance. He also has a lot of compassion for the people involved as life is never cut and dry nor are the circumstances which put people into situations which can alter the course their lives will take. He’s the kind of Chief of police you truly feel empathy for whilst watching how he handles the cases and tries to seek the truth out of complicated crimes. In this way, he does remind me a heap of Jesse Stone who always led with his heart and strove to improve the lives of his community whilst realising sometimes his community will break his heart, too.

There is a truly poignant change of opinion about the previous Chief, the one who was giving Craddock the most angst in A Killing at Cotton Hill and the one where he felt might be a fair share too incompetent to do the work well whilst avoiding his addictive habit as anything more than a secondary interest when it was really overtaking his life. Now, as the tides have turnt against Rodell, Craddock sees how broken he is after he’s had time to address his health. In this, Craddock realises no man is an island – even those who have a harder walk to live and a major crisis of health to overcome have a point where the choices they made eventually catch up to them. The interesting bit is how Craddock reacted to a favour Rodell asked of him and how this proves the truer heart of Craddock of being a man for the people without having a prejudicial heart.

I *knew!* I loved Craddock – yet the way in which he realises a misguided youthful joyride was not befitting the start of a criminal life is what gives your heart a squeeze of joy! He sees people – just as they are and the potential for what they could be – he doesn’t judge out of hand nor does he quickly assess their reasons. He let’s the people he’s speaking to find a way to feel comfortable round him, giving them the chance to lead with something they might wish to impart to the Chief of police but without having to outright put them on the spot. He’s wicked good at his job but it’s how he’s trying to effect change even in subtle ways which makes him a keen role model for his small towne.

-quoted from my review of Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek

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Book Review | “The Necessary Murder of Nonie Blake” (Book No.5 of the Samuel Craddock Mysteries) by Terry ShamesThe Necessary Murder of Nonie Blake
Subtitle: A Samuel Craddock Mystery

Nonie Blake is back home from a mental institution where she has spent the last twenty years, and people are worried. Maybe too worried, for within a week of her return, Nonie is murdered.
Police Chief Samuel Craddock thinks the only possible suspects are members of her tight-lipped family. Ever since Nonie tried to kill her sister when she was fourteen and was sent away to the institution, the family has kept to itself.

Clues are scarce and Craddock is stumped. So he checks with therapists at the mental hospital to see whether they can add anything useful to his investigation. But he discovers that she has not been there for ten years. Now Craddock has to find out where Nonie has been all this time.

Soon Craddock finds himself dealing not only with murder, but layers of deception and secrets, and in the midst of it all—a new deputy, one Maria Trevino, sent by the sheriff to beef up security in the small town of Jarrett Creek.


Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

Find on Book Browse

ISBN: 9781633881204

on 12th January, 2016

Pages: 270

Published By: Seventh Street Books (@SeventhStBooks)

Available Formats: Trade Paperback and Ebook

About Terry Shames

Terry Shames Photo Credit: Margaretta K. Mitchell

Terry Shames is the Macavity Award-winning author of the Samuel Craddock mysteries A Killing at Cotton Hill, The Last Death of Jack Harbin, Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek, and A Deadly Affair at Bobtail Ridge. She is also the coeditor of Fire in the Hills, a book of stories, poems, and photographs about the 1991 Oakland Hills Fire. She grew up in Texas and continues to be fascinated by the convoluted loyalties and betrayals of the small town where her grandfather was the mayor. Terry is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

Photo Credit: Margaretta K. Mitchell

The Samuel Craddock Mysteries:

Series Overview: The well-respected, retired police chief of a small Texas town is called upon to solve crimes that the current chief is unwilling or unable to solve.

An Unsettling Crime for Samuel Craddock | Prequel | Synopsis

→ I hadn’t realised this series had a prequel when I first went to gather my ILLs from the library; therefore I missed getting the chance to read the prequel ahead of ‘Cotton Hill’.

A Killing at Cotton Hill | Book One (see also review)

The Last Death of Jack Harbin | Book Two | Synopsis

Dead Broke in Jarrett Creek | Book Three (see also review)

A Deadly Affair at Bobtail Ridge | Book Four | Synopsis

The Necessary Murder of Nonie Blake | Book Five

A Reckoning in the Backcountry | Book Six | Synopsis

Converse via: #SamuelCraddock + #Mysteries

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Posted Monday, 12 February, 2018 by jorielov in #JorieLovesIndies, 20th Century, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book Review (non-blog tour), Crime Fiction, Detective Fiction, Prometheus Books, Small Towne USA, Texas, Vulgarity in Literature