Posts labeled Mystery
Review - A Fall In Autumn by Michael G. Williams
My rating: 
More than 9,000 years in the future, civilization is again in decline, having clawed back from a complete collapse of technology, the environment and society. Of the great flying cities that were originally built to lift people above a polluted world, only Autumn remains. The city is populated mostly by genetically enhanced humans, along with human-animal hybrids providing manual labor, and a very few “artisanal” humans — those born the traditional way of un-enhanced genetic stock.
Tags: Speculative Fiction Mystery
Review - Lock Nut by J.L. Merrow
My rating:
Psychic plumber Tom and private investigator Phil should be busy planning their big gay wedding, but a friend of a friend asks for their help finding her husband who disappeared a few weeks before. Then things get complicated, as they always do, when the pair find the missing man, and then he turns up dead. This fifth and presumably final book in the Plumber’s Mate series delivers another intriguing mystery along with the conclusion to the story arc of Tom and Phil, two very different men who somehow work well together, most of the time some of the time manage not to kill each other.
Tags: Mystery
Review - Blow Down by J.L. Merrow
My rating:
Psychic plumber Tom Peretski is definitely not enjoying the publicity engendered from his last case, as recounted in Heat Trap. People either don’t take him seriously, or expect him to do tricks like a performing monkey. Among the latter is a hi-so acquaintance of his sister Cherry, who ropes Tom into demonstrating his abilities at a village fête. But when he sets out to find what’s hidden, he doesn’t expect to stumble over the dead body of the woman herself.
Tags: Mystery
Review - The Lovely Pines by Don Travis
My rating:
Albuquerque-based private detective BJ Vinson is back with another case. The job starts out with the simple question of who is breaking into a local winery, The Lovely Pines, and not taking anything of value. But things get serious when one of the winery employees is killed. Is it connected to the break-ins, or is it something to do with the man’s past, or his connection to the family that owns the business?
Tags: Mystery Private Eyes
Review - Heat Trap by J.L. Merrow
My rating:
Psychic plummer Tom is still struggling with the revelation he received at the end of the previous book, Relief Valve, that the man who raised him was not really his father. It makes him doubt what he thought he knew about both of his parents. Meanwhile, Tom’s maybe-boyfriend Phil is asked to look into a stalker bothering one of the barmaids at Tom’s favorite pub. This third installment of the Plumer’s Mate series is a bit of a departure.
Tags: Mystery
Review - Restraint by AJ Rose
My rating:
Psychologist Ben and ex-police detective Gavin are back for another adventure. Things start innocently enough, as they always do. The two men are just married and off on their honeymoon at the Puget Sound island cabin that Ben spent many summers at when he was younger. But when Ben starts reading through his monther’s old journals he uncovers evidence that the car crash that killed his parents may not have been an accident.
Review - Relief Valve by J.L. Merrow
My rating:
Tom, the plumber with a supernatural knack for finding things, is back for another adventure. Tom is settling into his relationship with private detective Phil, whom he reunited with in the first book of this series. But Tom isn’t the only one in a new relationship. His sister Cherry announces that she is going to marry a priest. When Cherry gets poisoned at her engagement party, Tom and Phil are naturally on the case.
Tags: Mystery
Review - Pressure Head by J.L. Merrow
My rating:
Tom’s life took a sharp turn at the age of 17 when he was hit by a car while running away from bullies. Rather than pursue a high flying career in law or medicine like his siblings, Tom settles for a quiet life as a plumber in the town of St Albans, where he occasionally puts his ability to “find things” to use helping the local police. He thinks he has made peace with what happened to him, until, that is, he meets up with one of the bullies who chased him, who also happened to be Tom’s first crush.
Tags: Mystery Contemporary
Review - All the World's an Undead Stage by Angel Martinez
My rating:
The Offbeat Crimes series [finally] comes to an end in this sixth and last book. The squad’s not-quite-completely-a-vampire Carrington takes the lead, along with his boyfriend Erasmus. All the officers are hot on the trail of whoever it is that keeps throwing all manner of paranormal creatures in their way, as recounted in the first five books. The main threats this time are zombie actors, who seem to be menacing most of the squad in general, and one officer in particular.
Review - The City of Rocks by Don Travis
My rating:
Time for another adventure with private detective BJ Vinson. The case this time involves the theft, or “duck-knapping”, of a prize duck from a ranch in the boot-heel of New Mexico near the Mexican border. As BJ digs into the crime, the border, and what comes across it plays a key part in unraveling the case. Like the previous books in the series, “The City of Rocks” has strong element of travelogue about it as it explores yet another part of the state of New Mexico.
Tags: Mystery Private Eyes