Scan barcode
comedywriter's review
4.0
Any short crime lovers will be lucky to add this anthology to their bookshelf. So much better for you than a dozen doughnuts, and just as tasty. This killer short story collection features lucky charms that aren’t always so lucky…
In SERVERS by Kathleen George, an actress with an addiction to the finer things in life realizes just how lucky she is when a cushy job comes to an abrupt dead end.
A Zippo lighter that makes it through a war is lucky for its owner in Martha Reed's STRANGLER FIGS. But stealing someone else's lucky charm…that's not only tasteless, it's pure bad luck for a bully who doesn’t have the sense to say No to crime.
A cheating heart has worn the luck right off a golden heart locket in MARRYING WELL by Tamara Girardi where Rebecca Mason takes care of some last minute travel details for her spouse in a story that proves a dog is a woman’s best friend.
Lucky socks couldn’t save the life of baseball player Johnny Pierce, but they can point the way to his killer in Liz Milliron’s BATTER DOWN. Sometimes it’s what you’re not wearing that says the most about you.
You’ll want to read every word of Gina Sestak’s ALVA ADKINS AND THE INTENSITY OF PAIN and then go back and read it again. One of my favorites and a killer read! This shining gem featuring another good luck charm that’s made it through a war is about a time-wizened woman who isn’t just blowing smoke from her Lucky Strike cigarettes on her smoke breaks—she’s got a story to tell, a real war story.
When Dick Gibbs is shot in the head at the Lucky Charm tavern, Pam Warren, owner of Lucky Charm, gets to spend part of her new year washing Dick out of her hair. A great way to start to the new year? Maybe so, since Pam thinks that bullet was meant for her. In gritty, FAMILY VALUES by Lee Ann Dawson, murder’s on someone’s To-Do list.
CELTIC KNOT by Gail Oare, a mystery where a trip to the mall snags an aging parent a new good luck charm. But does it stand for luck, or something darker? Read this tragic tale about a dedicated daughter who’s getting a history lesson she didn’t ask for.
Sales for Reveal Cosmetics’ lucky charm necklace are about to go as cold as the dead body found wearing one in Annette Dashofy’s SWEET DEADLY LIES. Maybe if the stone in the necklace had been real turquoise instead of fake…or if our murder victim, Reveal Lady Mona Peterson hadn’t had such a gift for gossip…oh well. Those bits of trivia will be buried along with Mona’s body but the secret of who did the dirty deed will be Revealed to those who dare to journey to the end of this terrific tale of the murder of a make-up lady.
Jane Quinn inherits an enchanted bracelet in this shining short story, ADHUIL, by Jennifer Little Fleck. There’s just one teeny catch, a family curse. Discover Jane’s fate in this tale that’s just the right amount of light and dark.
Marcy Bennett’s a no-show for her regular playdate—and she’s the one who brings the donuts! The mommy left behind in Kristine Colblitz’s A PLAYDATE WITH CRIME, the mom who didn’t get her Thursday morning donut, quickly slips sleuthing to the top of her to-do list and goes looking for her missing friend, proving the saying: when you need something done, give it to someone who’s really busy—a mother.
A lucky diamond horseshoe necklace is small enough it could easily be misplaced, but losing the necklace, a bottle of scotch, and a husband? Maybe wife Maired in Paula A. Smith’s SWEET MURDER should keep a map of where she puts her stuff. Regardless, you’ve got to admire her loyalty getting right to work looking for her missing man, when another woman might have been more energetic about finding that lucky diamond necklace.
One of my two favorites in this collection, LUCKY ON THE CHARM by Susan Thibadeau is all about the big catch. I’m glad Ms. Thibadeau didn’t let this story idea get away, it’s a killer read!
In SERVERS by Kathleen George, an actress with an addiction to the finer things in life realizes just how lucky she is when a cushy job comes to an abrupt dead end.
A Zippo lighter that makes it through a war is lucky for its owner in Martha Reed's STRANGLER FIGS. But stealing someone else's lucky charm…that's not only tasteless, it's pure bad luck for a bully who doesn’t have the sense to say No to crime.
A cheating heart has worn the luck right off a golden heart locket in MARRYING WELL by Tamara Girardi where Rebecca Mason takes care of some last minute travel details for her spouse in a story that proves a dog is a woman’s best friend.
Lucky socks couldn’t save the life of baseball player Johnny Pierce, but they can point the way to his killer in Liz Milliron’s BATTER DOWN. Sometimes it’s what you’re not wearing that says the most about you.
You’ll want to read every word of Gina Sestak’s ALVA ADKINS AND THE INTENSITY OF PAIN and then go back and read it again. One of my favorites and a killer read! This shining gem featuring another good luck charm that’s made it through a war is about a time-wizened woman who isn’t just blowing smoke from her Lucky Strike cigarettes on her smoke breaks—she’s got a story to tell, a real war story.
When Dick Gibbs is shot in the head at the Lucky Charm tavern, Pam Warren, owner of Lucky Charm, gets to spend part of her new year washing Dick out of her hair. A great way to start to the new year? Maybe so, since Pam thinks that bullet was meant for her. In gritty, FAMILY VALUES by Lee Ann Dawson, murder’s on someone’s To-Do list.
CELTIC KNOT by Gail Oare, a mystery where a trip to the mall snags an aging parent a new good luck charm. But does it stand for luck, or something darker? Read this tragic tale about a dedicated daughter who’s getting a history lesson she didn’t ask for.
Sales for Reveal Cosmetics’ lucky charm necklace are about to go as cold as the dead body found wearing one in Annette Dashofy’s SWEET DEADLY LIES. Maybe if the stone in the necklace had been real turquoise instead of fake…or if our murder victim, Reveal Lady Mona Peterson hadn’t had such a gift for gossip…oh well. Those bits of trivia will be buried along with Mona’s body but the secret of who did the dirty deed will be Revealed to those who dare to journey to the end of this terrific tale of the murder of a make-up lady.
Jane Quinn inherits an enchanted bracelet in this shining short story, ADHUIL, by Jennifer Little Fleck. There’s just one teeny catch, a family curse. Discover Jane’s fate in this tale that’s just the right amount of light and dark.
Marcy Bennett’s a no-show for her regular playdate—and she’s the one who brings the donuts! The mommy left behind in Kristine Colblitz’s A PLAYDATE WITH CRIME, the mom who didn’t get her Thursday morning donut, quickly slips sleuthing to the top of her to-do list and goes looking for her missing friend, proving the saying: when you need something done, give it to someone who’s really busy—a mother.
A lucky diamond horseshoe necklace is small enough it could easily be misplaced, but losing the necklace, a bottle of scotch, and a husband? Maybe wife Maired in Paula A. Smith’s SWEET MURDER should keep a map of where she puts her stuff. Regardless, you’ve got to admire her loyalty getting right to work looking for her missing man, when another woman might have been more energetic about finding that lucky diamond necklace.
One of my two favorites in this collection, LUCKY ON THE CHARM by Susan Thibadeau is all about the big catch. I’m glad Ms. Thibadeau didn’t let this story idea get away, it’s a killer read!
More...