{"id":12316,"date":"2019-12-12T20:12:31","date_gmt":"2019-12-13T01:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=12316"},"modified":"2022-08-14T09:17:29","modified_gmt":"2022-08-14T13:17:29","slug":"the-bellingham-mystery-series-volume-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12316","title":{"rendered":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1<\/a><\/em> (2015) Nicole Kimberling<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>This is a collection of three novellas: Primal Red, Evergreen, and Black Cat Red.<\/p>\n

Primal Red<\/strong><\/p>\n

Peter Fontaine is an investigative journalist for The Bellinghamster, or just The Hamster, the free local paper in Belligham, WA. <\/p>\n

In addition to writing articles, Peter was in charge of circulation, which meant that every Thursday morning he drove bundles of the free weekly to various locations in the city and in greater Whatcom County. A glorified paperboy position, true, but at least it was in his field.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He wants to break a big story–to make it as a journalist–and stumbling upon a local murder might just be his ticket to an award. Unfortunately, the guy found with the body is Peter’s crush, Nick Olson.<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t tell them about the Pierogy Tea Caf\u00e9. Not yet. He didn\u2019t have enough material to write his piece. So he said, \u201cI was trying to get up the courage to ask Nick Olson out on a date.\u201d <\/p>\n

The two police officers glanced at each other then Officer Clarkson said, \u201cI think you might want to re-evaluate your plans.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The first story is, unsurprisingly, the weakest of the three. That does NOT make it a bad story, but it definitely feels like an early story.<\/p>\n

It’s cute. It’s fun. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou mentioned the shellfish farm down the road in your sleep last night,\u201d Nick said. <\/p>\n

\u201cDid I?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYou did. You mumbled that we should bike down there and get a couple dozen kumamotos since we were so close.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd why didn\u2019t we?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cBecause it was midnight,\u201d Nick said. \u201cAlso because you were, much like the shellfish farmers, asleep.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And it was an interesting mystery.<\/p>\n

Evergreen<\/strong><\/p>\n

The second story finds Peter and Nick on a New Year’s Eve camp-out \/ snowman building contest. <\/p>\n

Peter and Nick are definitely a couple, but Peter wants more from his career, and is considering interviewing for a paper in Texas, which would mean leaving Nick.<\/p>\n

Speaking of that, one of their snowmen\u2019s tree-branch arms had fallen off. He rose and started pushing it back in, careful not to wreck the image of super gay happiness that they had created. Above all, he didn\u2019t want the straight people to see him weep.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The murder here was an interesting one–it’s a bit of a locked room mystery, and one of Peter’s suspects is Nick’s cousin. <\/p>\n

I did feel like there was one continuity issue, but it was a major one. If the murdered man had already spoken to Janelle, how did he not share everything he meant to? It seems to me that if he could not have spoken to her, for the reason for the murder to have remained.<\/p>\n

But it was still an interesting story.<\/p>\n

Black Cat Red<\/p>\n

This was the strongest story of the lot, because the characters are all well-settled into their personalities, and the mystery was interesting.<\/p>\n

Evangeline (Peter’s best friend and ex-roomate)’s cousin has been working for the paper as a delivery guy, but when he takes off to get away from some trouble, it causes a bit of trouble for Peter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw him about a week ago. He is really taking the wrong drugs. I don\u2019t know which ones they are, but they are definitely not right for him.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The secondary arc, however, was very interesting, since we finally discover a little but about Nick’s ex–the one who died and left Nick the house\/studio. Nick still remains a bit of an enigma, but it fits with the story, since Peter is a little bit self-absorbed, and the entire story is from his POV. <\/p>\n

And the mystery was–for a Halloween story involving possible satanists–not exceedingly heavy.<\/p>\n

\u201cHas it occurred to you that it might actually be more dangerous to go poking around the property of an animal mutilator than a cracked-out Satanist?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy? You\u2019re not a cat.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Also, there’s a kitten.<\/p>\n

I also decided to give her an interim name so that I\u2019d have something to yell apart from No.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I very much enjoyed the stories and immediately started the next book.<\/p>\n

Publisher: One Block Empire
\nRating: 7\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[193,18,292,8,148,26,56],"tags":[50,544,351],"class_list":["post-12316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-10","category-anthology","category-ebook","category-mystery","category-queer","category-romance","category-sexual-content","tag-boinking","tag-mm","tag-nicole-kimberling"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-3cE","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":17747,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/17747","url_meta":{"origin":12316,"position":0},"title":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1","author":"Michelle","date":"September 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1 (2015) Nicole Kimberling Primal Red Evergreen Black Cat Ink Like Grilled Cheese and Goblins, the story is fun and enjoyable. In addition to writing articles, Peter was in charge of circulation, which meant that every Thursday morning he drove bundles of the free weekly\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/The-Bellingham-Mystery-Series-Volume-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14140,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14140","url_meta":{"origin":12316,"position":1},"title":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1","author":"Michelle","date":"March 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1 (2015) Nicole Kimberling This is a collection of three stories: Primal Red, Evergreen, Black Cat Ink \"Primal Red\" finds Peter Fontaine hoping to break a big story. He likes working for The Bellinghamseter, but he wants a story that will be noted, that will\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/The-Bellingham-Mystery-Series-Volume-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":17749,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/17749","url_meta":{"origin":12316,"position":2},"title":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2","author":"Michelle","date":"September 17, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2 (2015) Nicole Kimberling One Man's Treasure Birds of a Feather Pentimento Blues This book starts in 2011. Which is important since events changed quickly in the world (specifically the legality of gay marriage). \u201cBut,\u201d Kjell continued, his brow still crumpled in confusion, \u201cam I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/The-Bellingham-Mystery-Series-Volume-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14142,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/14142","url_meta":{"origin":12316,"position":3},"title":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2","author":"Michelle","date":"March 25, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2 (2015) Nicole Kimberling This is three stories: One Man's Treasure, Birds of a Feather, and Pentimento Blues. One Man's Treasure (Set in 2011) Evangeline needs help with her food truck, and although she'd prefer Nick she gets both Nick and Peter. In addition to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/The-Bellingham-Mystery-Series-Volume-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12326,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/12326","url_meta":{"origin":12316,"position":4},"title":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2","author":"Michelle","date":"December 15, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2 (2015) Nicole Kimberling One Man\u2019s Treasure Birds of a Feather Pentimento Blues When I read The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 1 I noted that the first story was the weakest, and each successive story got better and better. This volume takes off where the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Bellingham Mystery Series Volume 2","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/The-Bellingham-Mystery-Series-Volume-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":24234,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/24234","url_meta":{"origin":12316,"position":5},"title":"Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector","author":"Michelle","date":"February 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Grilled Cheese and Goblins: Adventures of a Supernatural Food Inspector (2018) Nicole Kimberling Lulu\u2019s Flapjack Shack inhabited a space that had certainly been continuously used as a hospitality venue since linoleum had been invented. \u201cMass media doesn\u2019t cover actual vampire deaths,\u201d Keith remarked before he realized how callous his statement\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Grilled Cheese and Goblins","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Grilled-Cheese-and-Goblins.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12316\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}