Crime Fiction Book Reviews | Self-Publishing Review

Review: The Ring of Gallows by Gary Whorley

★★★★ The Ring of Gallows by Gary Whorley

Jake Achilles is an old-school cop: when sh*t hits the fan, he’ll shoot first and ask questions later, and he’ll break the law to protect it. When Jake and his partner, Kruger Odysseus, follow the cooling trail of a beguiling murder, they might just be digging too deep. As gangs form dangerous new alliances, mysterious happenings crop up all over the city, is the New York city of Elysium really all it seems to be, or is there something yet darker below the surface? What will happen when a jealous curse is foolishly let loose? The mystery of The […]

Review: Nine-Tenths of the Law by Glenn H. Mitchell ★★★★

Nine Tenths of the Law by Glenn H. Mitchell is a pulse-pounding noir novel that takes a serious turn for the dark. The center of this tale is Detective Ben Ricci, a fair mess of a police detective with a drug-addled past and drug-addled wife. Continuously under suspicion for his bad behavior, Ricci becomes embroiled in solving a horrifying crime in which a young man has been disemboweled with supernatural underpinnings – taking him to investigate an immortal mannequin, a family of witches, a book on the occult, and the murderous spirit of a dead child. Part crime fiction, part […]

Henry Baum2020-12-23T05:52:26+02:00November 9th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Crime Fiction Book Reviews, Horror Book Reviews|

Review: The Bootlegger’s Legacy by Ted Clifton ★★★★

The Bootlegger’s Legacy by Ted Clifton takes the reader on a wild ride through Oklahoma’s bootlegging history.

When Patrick Allen, an old-time bootlegger, dies and leaves his son Mike a cryptic letter hinting at millions in hidden cash, Mike and his friend Joe follow the clues. They end up traveling through three states and half a century of history.

The mystery starts with a key, embossed with the letters CB, and a puzzling reference to Deep Deuce, a neighborhood once filled with hot jazz and gangs of bootleggers. But what’s really at stake? Money? Memories? And can Mike handle learning […]

T B Markinson2020-12-23T05:53:10+02:00October 27th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews, Lead Story|Tags: Crime Fiction Book Reviews, Mystery Book Reviews|

Review: Death by Romance by Anne Kennison ★★★★★

Death by Romance, by Anne Kennison, is a clever whodunit that’ll keep you turning the pages frantically to uncover the murderer.

The night Gordon Taylor, a prominent businessman and philanthropist, is murdered changes the lives of many people. Detective Ryan Hamlin is about to retire from the force when he’s handed this high-profile case. Gordon’s wife is devastated by his death. To complicate matters, Gordon’s company was about to go public, which would have made many of his associates rich.

At first, there are no leads in the case. A chance conversation months later uncovers a long list of […]

T B Markinson2015-08-10T08:23:04+02:00July 27th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Crime Fiction Book Reviews, Mystery Book Reviews|

Review: Sleeping to Death by G. D. Baum ★★★★

Sleeping to Death, by G. D. Baum, is the second book in the Lock Tourmaline murder mystery series.

Lock Tourmaline is a New Jersey private investigator. Lock, a former cop, is working as a bodyguard for Korean druglords. Jason Heung, the brother of the head of the Korean organization, is murdered in prison. Susan Heung wants Lock to find out who murdered her brother since the authorities aren’t looking into his murder.

While trying to solve the mystery, Lock is also dealing with his ex-wife, who wants to buy DVDs that show her performing a sexual act with her […]

T B Markinson2017-03-24T11:03:48+02:00March 24th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Crime Fiction Book Reviews, Mystery Book Reviews, Noir Book Reviews|

Review: Workman’s Complication by Rich Leder ★★★★★

Workman's Complication Workman’s Complication by Rich Leder is the immensely entertaining first book in his series McCall & Company, following the exploits of down-on-her-luck private investigator/struggling actress Kate McCall. In the first installment, McCall tries to balance starring in an Off-Broadway vampire musical, investigating her father’s death at the Monument Insurance building, inheriting his PI business, and trying to solve her first case: a workman’s comp case where a construction worker broke his back and might be taking a benevolent old businessman for all his money.

Kate McCall is a great character for a private eye series: she’s a reluctant PI, […]

Henry Baum2020-12-23T05:53:47+02:00January 28th, 2015|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Crime Fiction Book Reviews, Humor|

Review: The Alcatraz Rose by Anthony Eglin

alcatraz rose The Alcatraz Rose: A Lawrence Kingston Mystery by Anthony Eglin is a cozy mystery that sticks with the reader well after finishing.

When Lawrence Kingston is approached by a thirteen-year-old child, who wants him to look into her mother’s disappearance, he has no idea what he’s about to get into. The case has been unsolved for eight years. Then another mystery falls into his lap when he learns that an English rose thought to be extinct has been sighted on Alcatraz Island. How did the rose travel 5,000 miles and end up outside one of America’s most notorious prisons?

During […]

T B Markinson2020-12-23T05:54:32+02:00January 14th, 2015|Categories: Lead Story|Tags: Crime Fiction Book Reviews, Mystery Book Reviews|

Review: Cicero’s Dead by Patrick H. Moore

Cicero’s Dead by Patrick H. Moore is hard-boiled Noir at its finest. The book introduces private investigator Nick Crane, who’s investigating the death of drug kingpin Cicero, a victim of a hit and run. His vixen-like daughter, Jade is searching for her brother, Richard, who’s now missing. The case leads Nick Crane to the bowels of crimeridden Los Angeles and face to face with outlaw biker gangs, Hollywood cast-offs, seamy lawyers, and a host of other offbeat characters from L.A’s underbelly.