I am a huge fan of the Vera TV show, as well as Shetland, and I love Ann’s Matthew Venn books, but I had never read any of her other books until this one. Because I have seen the TV series twice I didn’t feel lost at all jumping into her new Vera Stanhope book, The Dark Wives, and honestly now I can’t wait to read more Vera books.
“And, Johnny, don’t drag your little brother up that hill.” Backlit on the porch, our mom planted hands on hips.
My big brother Johnny sighed and snapped his white pillowcase in the black Halloween night. It cracked beside my ear.
As I stare out my window, transfixed by the bejeweled leaves tumbling to the ground, I can't help but wonder where October went. Of course, the fall décor slowly being pushed to the clearance racks at stores, as Christmas decorations infiltrate every aisle and endcap doesn't help.
Study Guide for Murder is book two in the Master Class mystery series by Lori Robbins and reads easily as a standalone for those new to the series.
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!
by Sarah Peterson-Camacho
What began as a joke by a San Francisco pundit in 1906—the earliest Joaquin Murrieta ghost reference I could find in the California press—would become a headless paranormal powerhouse by mid-century.
First appearing as a put-upon spirit placating the weepy wraith of Scottish pirate Captain Kidd in A.J. Waterhouse’s “Occidental Accidentals” humor column in The San Francisco Call and Post, the ghost of Joaquin Murrieta retained his head—but not his sense of humor—in Why Kidd’s Ghost Wept.
I watch them, the young Americans with trendy $200 haircuts and designer clothes straight from the front pages of Vogue. I listen to their carefree laughter and idle chatter regularly punctuated with a giggle or an OMG! They haven’t a care in the world. Their charmed lives lie ahead of them. Dinner and dancing with handsome men who drive fancy sports cars. Trips to Europe and exotic islands. They take it all for granted. Like their lives are unfolding in a script of their own making.
About ten years ago I learned that, during World War Two, Julia Child had served in America’s first espionage agency, the Office of Strategic Services—OSS—on the front lines of Asia. India...Ceylon...China.
I am a big fan of Emmeline Duncan’s Ground Rules Mysteries, so I was excited to see that she was starting a new series as well, and this one takes place in a Halloween-themed town called Elyan Hollow, Oregon. I love Halloween, so what could be better than that? This series features Bailey Briggs who has taken over her grandfather’s bookshop Lazy Bones Books. So Halloween and a bookstore—perfect!
Did you know there are demons, angels, and a few vampires lurking in a small Central Valley town just south of Fresno? If you don’t believe me, ask local author, James Garcia Jr. He’s the man responsible for these spooky residents. James is a writer of horror fiction, and the creatures in question inhabit his books, most of which take place in and around his hometown of Kingsburg.
