Category Archives: murder mysteries

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Circles of Death by Marcia Talley is the twentieth book in her Hannah Ives series.

Noel, a young friend of Hannah’s, appeals to her for help. Noel and her sister both took a DNA test and discovered that, not only are they not sisters, but they are not related at all.

Hannah uses her genealogical skills to begin tracking down relatives of Noel’s. With those relatives, they can begin finding someone who might be able to shed some light on the mystery.

At the same time, Noel and Hannah look into the poisoning of several eagles nearby and discover a farm that is using a banned pesticide. The man Hannah suspects of using that pesticide is murdered, his body floating to her dock.

The twin investigations lead to a long ago murder. Although the identity of one of the murderers is not difficult to figure out, the identity of the other was a total surprise.

I’ve read that this might be the last of the Hannah Ives mysteries. I am sorry to hear it. I so enjoy spending time with her and her family and friends.

Giveaways and More

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I am giving away five copies of In the Shadow of the Bull on both Goodreads (sign up here: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/384416-in-the-shadow-of-the-bull) and on Fresh Fiction (sign up here: https://gleam.io/iwKi2/eleanor-kuhns-march

I am celebrating the release of the second book in the series – On the Horns of Death, which will be released April 2nd. Look for another giveaway at the end of March for the second book.

Last call to attend the all online conference Murderous March on Saturday (March 9.) Yes, I will be on the first panel on Saturday morning but there are plenty of other great panels and our featured speaker :
EDGAR AWARD-WINNING AND BESTSELLING AUTHOR
NAOMI HIRAHARA

If you are in Suffolk, I invite you to the Mystery Festival on Saturday, March 16. All day. This is one of my favorite events. Participants have a chance to meet many different mystery writers, attend panels, and, of course, buy books. Contact them here: Telephone: 757-514-4130

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L.A. Chandlar is the moderator for my Murderous March panel, The Reluctant Sleuth, on March 9. Since I will be reading all the books for my panel mates, I decided to read hers as well.

The Silver Gun.

Chandlar’s series, The Silver Gun is the first, is called the Art Deco mysteries. They take place in the late 1930’s in New York City. This is after Jimmie Walker and Tamany Hall. Fiorella LaGuardia is currently mayor and on a mission to clean up the city.

Lane has been his assistant for six months. Life is exciting as she rushes around, trying to keep up with his schedule. But then she is thrust onto the subway tracks right in front of an oncoming train. Then she realizes a gangster is following her. He doesn’t trouble to hide it, grinning at her and making threatening gestures.

What is going on? Lane had to understand her own past, and the mystery of her parents’ deaths, before she can figure out why the gangsters have targeted her.

An illicit romance with a mysterious many further complicates Lane’s life.

This is a lot of fun. Recommended.

Games and gambling

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Gambling is one of humanity’s oldest vices. ‘Knucklebones’, an ancient term for dice (since they were made of bones), was used right up to modern times. We know that the ancient Greeks gambled with knucklebones since Homer mentions it in the Odyssey.

One of the games I’ve read about is Aphrodite’s throw which involved throwing four of these dice at the same time. It is thought that the sides of each die had a different number, like contemporary dice do. The rules have been lost in time although there are plenty of guesses.

Contemporary sources from both Ancient Greece and Rome mention gambling on the throw of a die.

Carved wooden boards for games have also been found. We know the Egyptians had games, some of them involving boards, (Hounds and Jackals) so it would not be surprising to find the Bronze Age Cretans did as well.

I must also mention that knucklebones were used for divination, again right up to modern times. ‘Casting the bones’ meant throwing them and then trying to read the future from their positions.

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With tax season, and since I am redoing my kitchen, I only managed to read one book this week: The Twilight Queen by Jeri Westerson.

Jeri is the author of the medieval noir series featuring Crispin Guest. I loved that series and was sad when she called a halt to it. (Although, as a series author myself, I understand how difficult it is to write something fresh.)

The Kings Fool series takes place during the Tudor era. In this second mystery, Henry VIII is disappointed that Anne Boleyn has not produced a son and is eyeing Jane Seymour. So, it is easy to understand how dismayed Anne is when she finds a murdered man in her bed. Someone is trying to discredit her. And cuckolding the King is treason, punishably by death. The situation worsens when a ring, given her by the King, is found in the murdered man’s belongings. She asks Will Somers, the Fool, for help.

Will, and his much put upon wife Marion, investigate. Weirdly, Nicholas Padgett, one of the fool’s male lovers, also becomes involved.

I love the style these books are written in with all the appropriate slang of the era. The mystery is great and the different characters are well-drawn. My only problem is Will Somers himself. I don’t care for him and I think he treats poor Marion very poorly.Twilight Queen

Artemis

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As I’ve discussed in earlier posts, Artemis is one of the Gods who, it is believed, was a goddess in Bronze Age Crete and was adopted by the mainland Greeks. She remained virtually unchanged, unlike Hera who diminished from a goddess in her own right to the jealous wife of Zeus in Classical Greece.

Artemis was a virgin goddess and a goddess of the hunt, of vegetation, and of birth. Women in labor prayed to her.

In the myths of Classical Greece, Artemis was the twin sister of Apollo. (Daughter of Leto by Zeus.) And since those myths all seemed to be dark and full of cruelty, Artemis too could be cruel. She turned a young hunter, Acteon, who accidentally saw her bathing, into a stag and his own hunting dogs took him down.

In my Ancient Crete mystery series, Martis, my protagonist, is a follower of Artemis.

Coming April 24, 2024

As a devotee of Artemis, Martis plans to remain a virgin her whole life.

As part of my research, I hope to visit Ephesus where the ruins of a temple to Artemis still stand. Enormous in scale, the temple boasted a double row of columns that became a model for other Greek temples. Besides honoring Artemis, the temple also served as a place of sanctuary. Recent excavations have shown the stalls, where refuge seekers slept.

Historical note: Cleopatra’s sister Arsinoe was double-crossed and murdered on the temple steps before she could reach the safety of the temple.

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Drowning with others is one of the four novels (so far) produced by the combined talents of Keir Graff and Linda Joffe Hull.

I met Keir at the San Diego Bouchercon when we were on a panel together. I frequently read the books produced by my fellow panelists. (One way to find new authors, right?)

Andi and Ian Copeland are the perfect couple. Except for one short breakup, they’ve been together since they were teenagers. Now their daughter Cassidy is attending the elite prep school, Glenlake, the sameone attended by her parents.

Then a car with human remains is pulled from the lake and the mysterious disappearance of a writer in residence, Dallas Walker went years ago, suddenly blows up into a homicide investigation. Both Andi and Ian knew Dallas and both had reasons to want him dead.

Cassidy, now taking a journalism class, begins to find evidence her parents knew Walker better than they claim. Were one, or both, of her parents involved in his murder?

In Ian’s and Andy’s journal entries, all secrets are laid bare. Gradually the facts of Walker’s disappearance become clear.

But there are still more secrets. The ending is a shocker with a twist I did not see coming. Recommended.

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After enjoying the Michael Curravan series so much, I chose an earlier Karen Odden book to read.

Lady Elizabeth Frasier is returning home from a humiliating third season in London when the train derails. She pulls her unconscious mother from the wreck. They are treated by a railway surgeon, Paul Wilcox. Elizabeth feels an immediate connection although Society would never accept a marriage between an Earl’s daughter and a doctor.

While waiting in the hotel for her mother to recover, Elizabeth assists Wilcox and they become friends. She is shocked to learn the train accident was probably not an accident. Further investigation reveals Elizabeth’s family owns shares in the railroad and the profits directly affect her dowry.

Odden is a good writer and her mysteries are layered. My only criticism is that the ending (no spoilers here) was too rapid and seemed artificial.

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Barbara Hambly has been one of my favorite writers for years. She is such a good writer. I read her Science Fiction/Fantasy novels, following her through the Dog Wizard fantasy and James Asher vampire novels to the Benjamin January mystery series.

The Nubian’s Curse is number 20.

The arrival of a woman January knew in Paris to New Orleans raises memories of a suspicious death in a haunted house. Was it really haunted and was the death from a malevolent ghost – or was it murder?

Now the murder of the man on scene in Paris, who arranged to marry the wealthy heiress left orphaned, raises more questions. Ben is asked to investigate.

As usual, the society in New Orleans – the Quadroon Balls, the custom of keeping a placee, a free woman of color who is mistress to a wealthy white man, the casual racism and the slavery, are front and center in these amazing mysteries. Highly recommended.

It is not necessary to read these in order but I would.

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I read another of Marcia Talley’s Hannah Ives mysteries, Mile High Murder, this past week and I started Final Heir by Faith Hunter.

In Mile High Murder, Hannah joins her friend Claire on a trip to Denver to research legalized marijuana.

Claire, a cancer patient, has a prescription for medical marijuana. She is trying to see marijuana legalized in Maryland. Claire and Hannah are put up in a B and B that provides recreational cannabis in all forms.

Then one of the other guests is murdered and the safe is broken into. Are both crimes linked? Don’t worry, Hannah is on the case.

Regular readers know that I love the Hannah Ives mysteries. I did not care for this one, however. I did not find the characters engaging and the identity of the thieves was easy to guess. I am still looking forward to the newest Hannah Ives, however. Circles of Death will be released March 5.

I am about halfway through Hunter’s Final Heir. The story engages the reader immediately – but these books are long.

Jane and her crew are anticipating the arrival of Mainet Pellisier, grandfather of Leo. Leo, three times dead and reborn, can’t help Jane. Mainet has bound Leo and although he wants to help, he can’t.

Mainet brings the battle to Jane’s house and her friends, the Trueheart witches, come to help. They are almost destroyed as the plane lands.

Besides the non-stop action, one of the features that I admire in this series is the layers. Hunter has thought about the politics of the vampires, the witches, and the humans and of course the baddies whose nefarious aims drive the plot. Although Jane herself is not political, Hunter has clearly thought about the different goals of the various species and how those goals interlock.

Return next week for the full review once I’ve finished the entire novel.