Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection, Audio Book (2020) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by: the author, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Ben Elliot, Felix Grainger, Sam Peter Jackson, Alex Kingston, Shvorne Marks, and Penelope Rawlins (Rivers of London) Part One: The Peter Grant Stories The Home Crowd Advantage The Domestic The Cockpit The Loneliness […]

Bodies from the Library: Lost Tales of Mystery and Suspense from the Golden Age of Detection (2018) ‘Before Insulin’ by J.J. Connington (1936) ‘The Inverness Cape’ by Leo Bruce (1952) ‘Dark Waters’ by Freeman Wills Crofts (1953) ‘Linckes’ Great Case’ by Georgette Heyer (1923) ‘Calling James Braithwaite’ by Nicholas Blake (1940) ‘The Elusive Bullet’ by […]

The Mysterious Mr. Quin (1930) Agatha Christie The Passing of Mr. Quinn Grand Magazine (1923) The Shadow on the Glass Grand Magazine October (1923) At the ‘Bells and Motley’  A Man of Magic Grand Magazine (1925) The Sign in the Sky The Police Magazine (1925) / A Sign in the Sky Grand Magazine (1925) The […]

Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson, Audio Book (2014) Patricia Briggs narrated by Lorelei King and Alexander Cendese Silver Fairy Gifts (previously published in Naked City) Gray (previously published in Home Improvement: Undead Edition) Seeing Eye (previously published in Strange Brew) Alpha and Omega (previously published in On the Prowl) The Star […]

Knowing Why: Adult-Diagnosed Autistic People on Life and Autism (2018) Autistic Self Advocacy Network This is an anthology of essays from a diverse group of adult-diagnosed autistic people. Introduction by Elizabeth Bartmess Emerging From Burnout by Erin Human Being the Dictionary: On Passions, Diagnosis, and Integration by A.J. Odasso Sensory Issues and Social Inclusion by […]

Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (1985) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) The first half of this edition is The Thirteen Problems / The Tuesday Club Murders, which I earlier. The second half has the following stories: From The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (1939) “Miss Marple Tells a Story” first in Home Journal (1935) [“Behind […]

Thirteen Problems (1932) Agatha Christie (Miss Marple) The Tuesday Night Club (1927) The Idol House of Astarte (1928) Ingots of Gold (1928) The Blood-Stained Pavement (1928) Motive versus Opportunity (1928) The Thumb Mark of St. Peter (1928) The Blue Geranium (1929) A Christmas Tragedy (1930) The Companion (1930) The Herb of Death (1930) The Four […]

Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection, Audio Edition (2020) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by: the author, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Ben Elliot, Felix Grainger, Sam Peter Jackson, Alex Kingston, Shvorne Marks, and Penelope Rawlins PART ONE: THE PETER GRANT STORIES The Home Crowd Advantage: set between Rivers of London and Moon Over Soho […]

Of Claws and Fangs (2022) Faith Hunter (Jane Yellowrock) This is a collection of stories from the world of Jane Yellowrock & Soulwood. Candy from a Vampire Make It Snappy It’s Just a Date Life’s a Bitch and Then You Die Black Friday Shopping How Occam Got His Name Shiloh and the Brick Beast Hunts […]

Liberty & Other Stories (2018) Alexis Hall (Prosperity) Shackles Squamous with a Chance of Rain From the Journal of Mrs. Miranda Lovelace Cloudy Climes and Starless Skies Liberty This is collection of stories about the characters from the Prosperity. The first story, Shackles, was my least favorite. Because I don’t much like Milord, and I […]

Monster, She Wrote: The Women Who Pioneered Horror and Speculative Fiction (2019) Lisa Kröger and Melanie R. Anderson It’s (somewhat) common knowledge that Mary Shelly wrote the first SFF book: Frankenstein. But there were so many other women at the start of the horror, science fiction, and speculative fiction genres, and this book tells you […]

Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018) Nicole Kimberling This books is simply a delight. I mean, supernatural food inspector. What more could I want? Keith was momentarily too stunned by the idea that the vampire realm had a publishing industry to think of a follow-up question. Gunther saved him. I […]

Parker Pyne Investigates: A Short Story Collection (1934) Agatha Christie “The Case of the Middle-Aged Wife” was first published as “The Woman Concerned” in Woman’s Pictorial, 8 October 1932. “The Case of the Discontented Soldier” was first published in the USA as “The Soldier Who Wanted Danger” in Cosmopolitan, August 1932, then as “Adventure—By Request” […]

The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories (2015) Ian Rankin ‘Dead and Buried’ © 2013 ‘Playback,’ ‘The Dean Curse,’ ‘Being Frank,’ ‘Concrete Evidence,’ ‘Seeing Things,’ ‘A Good Hanging,’ ‘Tit for Tat,’ ‘Not Provan,’ ‘Sunday,’ ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ ‘The Gentleman’s Club,’ ‘Monstrous Trumpet’ from A Good Hanging (And Other Short Stories, Featuring Inspector Rebus) © […]

Sweetest in the Gale (2020) Olivia Dade (There’s Something About Marysburg) This is actually three novellas, all set in the town of Marysburg: “Sweetest in the Gale”, “Unraveled”, “Cover Me” “Sweetest in the Gale” Griff Conover has worked with Candy Albright since moving to Marysville, and he’s always had his eye on her. But his […]

Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018) Nicole Kimberling This is such a fun book. I mean, supernatural food inspector! Keith could have epitomized the word “average.” Not good-looking or bad looking. Brown hair and eyes. Nothing beyond that to report. He was the kind of man nobody noticed for very […]

Scenes from the Holidays (2021) K.D. Edwards (Tarot Sequence) “The Playground” (7 pages) “The Sanctum” (7 pages) “The Ghost” (10 pages) “The Principality Ciaran” (13 pages) “The Tree” (7 pages) “The Dinner” (20 pages) “The Equinox” (13 pages) Scenes from the Holidays consists of short Tarot Sequence vignettes, released serially beginning in December 12, 2020, […]

Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection (2020) Ben Aaronovitch narrated by: the author, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Ben Elliot, Felix Grainger, Sam Peter Jackson, Alex Kingston, Shvorne Marks, and Penelope Rawlins PART ONE: THE PETER GRANT STORIES The Home Crowd Advantage The Domestic The Cockpit The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Granny King […]

The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal (2013) KJ Charles Set in England 1894 to 1914 He was covered in writing. It was scrawled in black and red ink, from wrist to shoulder of both muscular arms, across his broad, powerful shoulders and chest. None of it was in a language I recognised, or could read, […]

Interlude: Snow & Winter Collection Volume One (2021) C.S. Poe (Snow & Winter) This is what it says on the tin: A collection of Snow and Winter short stories. Dopamine: Take Only as Directed Lunch Date Credit Scores and Cohabitation The Ghost of Durango Interpersonal Relationship Studies on the Way to the Coffee House Someone’s […]

Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018) Nicole Kimberling “Cherries Worth Getting” from Irregulars (2012) “Cookie Jamboree” “The Little Golden Book of Goblin Stories” “Magically Delicious” from Charmed and Dangerous (2015) “The Most Important Meal of The Day” “Bring Out Your Best” Keith Curry is a supernatural food inspector. He works […]

Right after New Year I stumbled across Prolific Works Winter Giveaway and picked up a bunch of free ebooks. Since many were short stories, I decided to only do individual reviews if the ebook was a novel or novella and if I really liked it. I haven’t read all the stories yet, but I have […]

Let Your Heart Be Light (2019) J.R. Lawrie This is a collection of three short stories, two of which are about the same couple. Kind Of A Big Deal For Services Rendered The Farringdon Club This first story is “Kind Of A Big Deal” features Zack, who is a stand-up comedian, and Richard, who is […]

An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good (2018) Helene Tursten translated by Marlaine Delargy “An Elderly Lady Has Accommodation Problems” (2013) “An Elderly Lady on Her Travels” (2013) “An Elderly Lady Seeks Peace at Christmastime” (2007) “The Antique Dealer’s Death” (2018) “An Elderly Lady Is Faced with a Difficult Dilemma” (2018) Maud is 88 […]

Tales: Short Stories Featuring Ian Rutledge and Bess Crawford (2015) Charles Todd This collection is four short stories with Bess Crawford and Ian Rutledge. “The Kidnapping” “The Girl on the Beach” “Cold Comfort” “The Maharani’s Pearls” “The Kidnapping” – Ian Rutledge, London 1920 I actually have a copy of this short story, but it had […]

Gay All Year (2020) Richard May These are twelve short stories–one for each month of the year–with a variety of men in a variety of situations, including age differences, second chances, friends to lovers, some supernatural elements and a BDSM story. Which is a lot. As with most anthologies, I didn’t love all the stories, […]

Kitty’s Mix-Tape (2020) Carrie Vaughn “Kitty Walks On By, Calls Your Name” (2020) “It’s Still the Same Old Story” (2011) Down These Strange Streets “The Island of Beasts” (2018) Nightmare, December 2018. “The Beaux Wilde” (2014) Urban Fantasy Magazine, December 2014. “Unternehmen Werwolf” (2013) Halloween: Magic, Mystery, and the Macabre “Kitty and the Full Super […]

Love All Year: A Holidays Anthology (2020) Stacey Agdern, Hallie Alexander, Savannah J. Frierson, Felicia Grossman, Farah Heron, Celestine Martin, Ekaterine Xia This is an anthology of romances set around holidays that are NOT Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Valentines Day. Three Stars in The Sky by Stacey Agdern It Happened One Yule by Celestine Martin Queen […]

Valor: Swords (2015) edited by Isabelle Melançon and Megan Lavey-Heaton Fairy tales do not inform children that there is such things as monsters. Children already know that there are monsters. What fairy tales really teach is that monsters can be transformed or destroyed. “Prunella” By Isabelle Melançon And Megan Lavey-Heaton “Little Fish” By Emily Hann […]

The Deadly Hours (2020) Susanna Kearsley, Anna Lee Huber, Christine Trent, C.S. Harris Theses are four novellas, each connected by a cursed time piece. “Weapon of Choice” by Susanna Kearsley “In a Fevered Hour” by Anna Lee Huber “A Pocketful of Death” by Christine Trent “Siren’s Call” by C.S. Harris “Weapon of Choice” by Susanna […]

Gifts for the Season: Winter & Christmas MM Charity Anthology (2020) This is an anthology of short stories, which are always to have some stories that don’t work for me. The issue with this anthology is that there were short stories–most of which were quite good–and there were tales that could not stand alone outside […]

Tales from the Folly: A Rivers of London Short Story Collection (2020) Ben Aaronovitch This is a collection of Rivers of London short stories. About half the stories are are Peter stories, the others features other characters from the world, including Abigail and Dominic Croft (from Foxglove Summer). PART ONE: THE PETER GRANT STORIES The […]

He’s Come Undone: A Romance Anthology (2020) Emma Barry, Olivia Dade, Adriana Herrera, Ruby Lang, and Cat Sebastian Appassionata by Emma Barry Unraveled by Olivia Dade Caught Looking by Adriana Herrera Yes, And… by Ruby Lang Tommy Cabot Was Here by Cat Sebastian This is five romance novellas by five authors, three M/F and two […]

Trickster: Native American Tales (2010) edited by Matt Dembicki This is a collection of 21 stories, told by 24 Native American story tellers and drawn by 21 artists. Coyote and the pebbles / Dayton Edmonds and Micah Farritor Raven the trickster / John Active and Jason Copland Azban and the crayfish / James Bruchac, Joseph […]

The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1 (2015) Nicole Kimberling This is a collection of three novellas: Primal Red, Evergreen, and Black Cat Red. Primal Red Peter Fontaine is an investigative journalist for The Bellinghamster, or just The Hamster, the free local paper in Belligham, WA. In addition to writing articles, Peter was in charge of […]

Grilled Cheese and Goblins (2018) Nicole Kimberling Keith Curry is a food inspector for NATO’s Irregulars Affairs Division (NIAD). He may carry a mage gun, but most of the time his tools are thermometers and glasses that allow him to see the supernatural. This book is six interlinked stories. “Cherries Worth Getting” “Cookie Jamboree” “The […]

Charmed and Dangerous: Ten Tales of Gay Paranormal Romance and Urban Fantasy (2015) edited by Jordan Castillo Price “Dim Sum Asylum” (2015) by Rhys Ford “Swift and the Black Dog” (2015) by Ginn Hale “A Queer Trade” (2015) by KJ Charles “Magically Delicious” (2015) by Nicole Kimberling “Everyone’s Afraid of Clowns” (2015) by Jordan Castillo […]

Footsteps in the Dark (2019) L.B. Gregg, Nicole Kimberling, Josh Lanyon, Dal MacLean, Z.A. Maxfield, Meg Perry, C.S. Poe and S.C. Wynne Entrée to Murder by Nicole Kimberling Twelve Seconds by Meg Perry Reality Bites by S.C. Wynne Blind Man’s Buff by L.B. Gregg A Country for Old Men by Dal Maclean Pepper the Crime […]

Point Blank: Five Dangerous Ground Novellas (2017) Josh Lanyon This is a collection of five novellas, featuring Taylor MacAllister and Will Brandt, agents for the Department of Diplomatic Security. Dangerous Ground (2008) Six weeks earlier, Taylor was shot during an investigation. Now, as Taylor is preparing to return to work (desk duty), the two have […]

The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal (2013) K.J. Charles Set in England between 1894 and 1914. The Caldwell Ghost Butterflies Remember, Remember Silver Cakes and Ale Devils on Horseback An Eye for an Eye The Writing on the Wall Turn of the Century The End Simon Feximal helps the dead to rest. He doesn’t exorcise […]

Short Stories: 2007 – 2013 (2015) Josh Lanyon This is a short story collection (obviously, from the name) but to be clear, these aren’t mysteries like most of her longer works I’ve read. It wasn’t a bad thing, just different. Perfect Day A Limited Engagement In Sunshine or In Shadow The French Have a Word […]

Salsa Nocturna: Stories, Audio Edition (2012/2014) Daniel José Older, narrated by Daniel José Older This is a collection of stories set in his Bone Street Rumba world. “Tenderfoot” published in The Innsmouth Free Press (2011) “Salsa Nocturna” published in Strange Horizons (2010) “Skin Like Porcelain Death” “The Collector” published in The ShadowCast Audio Anthology (2010) […]

Another Place in Time (2014) by Tamara Allen, Joanna Chambers, K.J. Charles, Kaje Harper, Jordan L. Hawk, Aleksandr Voinov This is an anthology of historical M/M romances. “Office Romance” by Tamara Allen “Introducing Mr. Winterbourne” by Joanna Chambers “The Ruin of Gabriel Ashleigh” by K.J. Charles “Unfair in Love and War” by Kaje Harper “Carousel” […]

Dreams Underfoot (1993) Charles de Lint “Uncle Dobbin’s Parrot Fair,” Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, Nov ‘87 “Stone Drum,” Triskell Press chapbook, 1989 “Timeskip,” Post Mortem: New Tales of Ghastly Horror, ed. Paul F. Olson & David B. Silva, St. Martin’s, 1989 “Freewheeling,” Pulphouse: The Hardback Magazine Issue 6, ed. Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Pulphouse, 1990 […]

The Beat Goes On: The Complete Rebus Stories (2015) Ian Rankin This is a collection of all the Inspector Rebus short stories. ‘Dead and Buried’ (2013) ‘Playback,’ ‘The Dean Curse,’ ‘Being Frank,’ ‘Concrete Evidence,’ ‘Seeing Things,’ ‘A Good Hanging,’ ‘Tit for Tat,’ ‘Not Provan,’ ‘Sunday,’ ‘Auld Lang Syne,’ ‘The Gentleman’s Club,’ ‘Monstrous Trumpet’ from A […]

Shifting Shadows: Stories from the World of Mercy Thompson, Audio Version (2014) Patricia Briggs narrated by Alexander Cendese and Lorelei King Flailing around for something to listen to, I decided that I’d listen to the Patricia Briggs short story collection and then go from there. This collection has very few Mercy stories in, and several […]

Hamilton’s Battalion: A Trio of Romances (2017) Rose Lerner, Courtney Milan, Alyssa Cole Set in the Americas in 1781 and 1820 This is three stories with some overlapping characters, including Alexander Hamilton, who appears at least in the background of each story. PROMISED LAND by Rose Lerner Rachel ran away to join the army as […]

Cat o’ Nine Tales, Audible Version (2013) Faith Hunter narrated by Khristine Hvam This is the audio collection of the stories set in Jane Yellowrock’s world. It has many–but not all–of the stories in Blood in her Veins. “WeSa and the Lumber King” “The Early Years” “Cat Tats” “Kits” “Haints” “Signatures of the Dead” “First […]

Mockingbird Vol. 1: I Can Explain (2016) Chelsea Cain, Kate Niemczyk, Ibrahim Moustafa, Joelle Jones I said after the first time I read this it was going to need a second reading. But I decided to wait until I had a paper version of the comic, since the ebook versions of comics don’t work well […]

Salsa Nocturna: A Bone Street Rumba Collection (2012) Daniel José Older I was feeling out of sorts and unsure what I was in the mood to read, so I decided to re-read Salsa Nocturna since I knew I’d enjoy it. “Tenderfoot” published in The Innsmouth Free Press (2011) “Salsa Nocturna” published in Strange Horizons (2010) […]