SleuthSayers: A Semifinal Word on Semicolons by John Floyd

SleuthSayers: A Semifinal Word on Semicolons:   Semicolonoscopy [sim-i-co-lun-OS-cah-pee] – An examination to detect abnormalities in the use of a certain mark of punctuation. ...

SMFS Members Published in Mystery Weekly Magazine: October 2020

SMFS list members are published in the Mystery Weekly Magazine: October 2020 issue. The read is available from the publisher in both print and digital formats as well as at Amazon and other vendors.  The SMFS members in this issue are:

 

Teel James Glenn with "The Affair of the Heart" and "The Adventure of Sherlock Hominid.”

 

Bruce Harris with “Beggars Can Be Choosers.”

 

Synopsis:

 

Our annual Sherlock Holmes themed double issue is stuffed full with pastiches, parodies and articles.

“The Case Of The Count Of Saint Germain” by Martin Rosenstock: War is on the horizon, and the German ambassador narrowly escapes an assassin in London. Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson must investigate, and encounter the immortal Count of Saint Germain.

“The Case Of Vigor, The Hammersmith Wonder” by Larry Lefkowitz: Holmes and Watson must solve a locked room mystery with seemingly no clues.

“The Adventure Of The Turned Tables” by Michael Mallory: It is the Diamond Jubilee celebration of Queen Victoria, and Sherlock Holmes discovers a series of puzzling crimes he can only explain in one way: the late, not lamented Professor Moriarty, who presumably died six years earlier, has returned.

“The Adventure Of Sherlock Hominid” by Teel James Glenn: A talking chimpanzee who travels to alternate relies uses deductive reasoning to solve a locked room murder à la Sherlock Holmes!

“The Baker Station Irregulars” by Eric Del Carlo: On a space station a Holmesian character tries to unravel the events which led to the murder and mutilation of a famous pugilist.

“Strangers In Blood” by Adam Beau Mcfarlane: The children of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson live in Jazz Age New York City. They're hired to investigate a seance.

“A Clockwork Crook” by John H. Dromey: A Victorian damsel is in distress. Can a steampunk professor and an opera singer come to her rescue in time?

“The Case Of The Burnt Wires” by J.J. White: Dr. Watson narrates a lost case that could not be revealed until Mr Sherlock Holmes's death.

“The Affair Of The Heart” by Teel James Glenn: Holmes and Watson are not he scene when a young man has a heart attack on a train—but was it natural?

“Death And The Doctor” by Adam Beau Mcfarlane: In New York City during the Jazz Age, the children of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson solve a murder. Did a malevolent soul hide behind the exterior mask of a well-schooled gentleman?

“The Silent Sherlock” by Philip Leibfried: This is an article telling of all the silent film adaptations of Sherlock Holmes. It includes American and foreign films.

“Beggars Can Be Choosers” by Bruce Harris: This Sherlock Holmes essay examines Hugh Boone, the street beggar in 'The Man With The Twisted Lip'.

“Nevermore” by David Bart: In this Poe-ish tale, Lyle Scoggins is a veteran, a cat owner and a successful crook. So, why do they want him dead?

“Birthday Party” by Bruce McAllister: The self-aware artificial intelligence that runs the superyacht of a billionaire who just died hosts a birthday party for him anyway—one with a special theme.

“What Lies Beneath The Bandages” by Richard Zwicker: The monster of Frankenstein has returned to Geneva and reinvented himself as a consulting detective. His motto: no case too monstrous. That remains to be seen when his client is attacked by a mummy.

“Mark Of Shame” by Roxanne Dent: Smart but saddled with a new partner he resents, Detective Martinez investigates the death of a Halloween fanatic in an upscale Massachusetts community.

And we have the special Sherlock Holmes themed “Thiefsgiving”: A You-Solve-It by Laird Long.

Basis Rathbone and Nigel Bruce custom cover art by the talented Robin Grenville-Evans.

SMFS Member Podcast News: Barb Goffman

SMFS list member Barb Goffman reads her short story, “Dear Emily Etiquette” for the EQMM podcast. The tale appears in print in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine: September/October 2020. You can listen to her read the short story here.

 

From the site:

 

Barb Goffman is a mystery author, editor, and anthologist. She has won the Agatha, Macavity, and Silver Falchion awards for her writing, and has received more than two dozen award nominations. In this episode, she reads her tale "Dear Emily Etiquette" from the current September/October 2020 issue of EQMM.

SMFS Member Publishing News: C. W. Blackwell

SMFS list member C. W. Blackwell’s short story, “Dancer in the Pines” appears in the new anthology, Dead Awake: 12 Tales of Darkness.  Published by LOM Publishing, the read is available in print and eBook formats at Amazon.

 

 

Synopsis: 

Twelve tales of darkness from the new generation of horror authors that will seep into your mind as you lie Dead Awake at night.Including tales from new horror standouts: Christy Aldridge, C.W. Balckwell, Jill Girardi, Mark Allan Gunnells, Sylvia Elven, A C Fraser, Sadie Hartmann (Mother Horror), Michelle Renee Lane, Catherine McCarthy, Justin Montgomery, Ethan Pollard, and the Sisters of Slaughter.As horror legend Stanley Wiater stated, "Go revel in their waking nightmares."

SMFS Member Publishing News: Ron Katz

 

SMFS list member Ron Katz has published “The Mystery of The Fishy Retirement” at his The Sleuthing Silvers website. You can read the tale for free here.

SMFS Members Published in Ellen Hart Presents Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Theatrical

Numerous SMFS list members are published in the new anthology, Ellen Hart Presents Malice Domestic: Mystery Most Theatrical. Published by Wildside Press, this is the fifteenth anthology and is available from the publisher, Amazon, and other vendors. The members in this anthology are:

 

 

Micki Browning with “It’s Not O.K. Corral.”

Karen Chantwell with “Mary Alice Imagines Her Life as a Movie.”

R. M. Chastleton with “The Ghost of Hamnet.”

Margaret Lucke with “This With a Kiss.”

Cheryl Marceau with “The Mask.”

Adam Meyer with “True Crime.”

Michele Bazan Reed with “The Ghost in Balcony B.”

Raquel R. V. Reyes with “A Star Goes Dark.”

Merrilee Robson with “Not Your Lolita.”

Elaine Togneri with “Five Words.” 

 

Synopsis: 

The Malice Domestic anthology series returns with a new take on mysteries in the Agatha Christie tradition--original tales with a theatrical bent! Included are:

 

The Rock Star, by Frances Aylor

Perfectly Awry, by Anne Louise Bannon

The Ghost in Balcony B, by Michele Bazan Reed

Drama-Rama Flip Flop, by Cindy Brown

It's Not O.K. Corral, by M. E. Browning

Mary-Alice Imagines Her Life as a Movie, by Karen Cantwell

The Ghost of Hamnet, by R. M. Chastleton

When the Wind is Southerly, by Leone Ciporin

Raising Cain, by Carla Coupe

Death of Another Hero, by Susan Daly

The Stars Are Fire, by Phillip DePoy

Death Plays the Palace, by Margaret Dumas

The Homicidal Understudy, by Elizabeth Elwood

No Final Act, by Daryl Wood Gerber

Deus Ex Machina, by B. J. Graf

The Nine Deaths in Hamlet?, by A. P. Jamison

Heat Wave, by Maureen Jennings

Thus With a Kiss, by Margaret Lucke

Such Tricks As These, by Jaquelyn Lyman-Thomas

Final Curtain, by Sharon Lynn

The Mask, by Cheryl Marceau

The Ultimate Tie-Breaker, by Deborah Maxey

True Crime, by Adam Meyer

A Star Goes Dark, by Raquel V. Reyes

Not Your Lolita, by Merrilee Robson

A Death in Shubert Alley, by Lee Sauer

Dance on Fire, by Shawn Reilly Simmons

Missed Cue, by Lynn Slaughter

You Know How Actresses Are, by C. M. Surrisi

Five Words, by Elaine Togneri

Ask Fred the Usher, by Arthur Vidro

Death Takes a Bow, by Mo Walsh

Deal With the Devil, by James Lincoln Warren

Method for Murder, by Carol L. Wright

 

SMFS Members Published in Chesapeake Crimes: Invitation To Murder

Several SMFS list members are published in the new anthology, Chesapeake Crimes: Invitation To Murder. Published by Wildside Press, the read is edited by SMFS list members Barb Goffman and Donna Andrews and non member Marcia Talley. The book was published on September 18, 2020 in print format and in eBook format today. The read is available at Wildside Press, Amazon, and other vendors. The SMFS members in the read are:

 

 

Karen Cantwell with "The Dame and Thaddeus Birdwhistle."

Maddi Davidson with “Aumakua.”

Adam Meyer with “The Do-Gooder.”

KM Rockwood with "Secrets to the Grave."

Mary Stojak with “The Killing Winds.”

Art Taylor with "All Tomorrow's Parties."

Cathy Wiley with "The Problem with Open-Ended Invitations."

Stacy Woodson  with “Sunnyside.”

 

Synopsis: 

The seventh volume in the Chesapeake Crimes series presents an impressive set of tales by new and well established authors. Included this time are:

 

INTRODUCTION, by Dana Cameron 

THE DAME AND THADDEUS BIRDWHISTLE, by Karen Cantwell 

SECRETS TO THE GRAVE, by K.M. Rockwood 

THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT THE ESCAPE ROOM, by Leone Ciporin 

THE DOGOODER, by Adam Meyer 

THE PROBLEM WITH OPENENDED INVITATIONS, by Cathy Wiley 

MUGGINS, by Josh Pachter 

THE KILLING WINDS, by Mary Stojak 

MAKE NEW FRIENDS, BUT KEEP THE OLD, by Jane Limprecht 

GOOD MORNING, GREEN LEAF CLASS, by Sarah Cotter 

THE GREAT BEDBUG INCIDENT AND THE INVITATION OF DOOM, by Eleanor Cawood Jones 

GUNS AND YOGA, by Maureen Klovers 

RFP/RIP, by Britt Alan 

AUMAKUA, by Maddi Davidson 

THE COLOR OF ENVY, by Joanna Campbell Slan 

TRUE COLORS, by Robin Templeton 

ALL TOMORROW’S PARTIES, by Art Taylor 

SUNNYSIDE, by Stacy Woodson