Here is your weekly reminder that there are also new articles up on our other website KRL News & Reviews! Every week there will be book reviews and giveaways, plus sometimes pet articles, theatre articles, and more! And listen to our new podcast!
This is a complicated tale of greed, corruption, and madness set in the world of 1995 Japan with flashbacks to the end of WWII as the atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima.
In 1934, Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler testified as to the existence of a group of wealthy businessmen planning a coup d’état during the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Pulp mystery author Gary Phillips uses this premise as a jumping-off point for an anthology of short stories by both veteran and rookie noir authors. Jeri Westerson, Paul Bishop, and Joe Gentile are among those who join him in creating tales of daring-do, evil villains, and femmes fatales.
Eric Carter is back in LA after a fifteen-year absence (a revenge-killing forced him to leave), a mage with a power problem. He’s able to do things he couldn’t do before, maybe because he’s now married to Santa Muerte/Mictecacihuatl, the patron saint/Aztec goddess of Death. He longs for the widow of his best friend, Alex, but she can’t get over the fact that Eric put a bullet through Alex’s head.
Inigo Montoya insisted on going “back to the beginning” in The Princess Bride and we get to do just that in Jeri Westerson’s most recent novel, Cup of Blood. Can we be at the seventh volume in the Crispin Guest series already? I began reading the books a little over a year ago, intrigued by the notion of “medieval noir,” and curious as to how the author would make noir traditions work in the time of Richard II. In addition, I hadn’t read a book set in the 14th century since Anya Seton’s Katherine.
Blood Kiss is a vampire/noir movie written by award-winning writer Michael Reaves (Batman The Animated Series, Gargoyles, Star Trek TNG). It also stars Amber Benson of Buffy fame and writer Neil Gaiman in his first real acting role (where he's not playing himself).
Marilyn Meredith interviews mystery/noir author Ed Lynskey, and reviews his latest book Lake Charles. At the end of this post is a chance to win an e-book copy of Lake Charles.
This week KRL mystery fans get a little bonus with a St. Patrick's Day related original mystery short story never before published, written by Jack Bates, a 2011 Deringer Finalist for Best Short Story. This story is rated PG-13 for some strong language, violence & sexual content.
