Sheila's Guests and Reviews

Sometimes I want a book that will take me out of myself, out of my world and all the cares of my world, and away into somewhere safe where problems are solved, disasters averted, and relationships healed. Then I'll read a cozy mystery perhaps, an fast-moving thriller, or a romance, and I'll enjoy the gentle respite they offer. Other times I want something to absorb my attention, involving my thoughts and concerns in someone else's life, with that gentle hint that what I learn might, maybe, help in my own. Then I'll go for something literary; something longer perhaps, or more "different," more intriguing. And sometimes one book will fulfill both purposes. I've read a number of mystery novels recently, and some of them certainly leave me seeing the real world, or real history, slightly differently. Others just offer rest and relaxation. And all are fun. So here are just a few book reviews for you. Drink coffee. Enjoy! First are a couple of stories fr...

I like mysteries. Sometimes I like them just as quick reads with satisfying characters and that sense of having completed a jigsaw puzzle at the end. My husband does complex puzzles on his tablet while I read on mine. But sometimes I like a mystery with deeper characters and plot, the sort of book that keeps me up in the evening while husband plays chess. And maybe that's the difference - mysteries like chess or like jigsaws. Here are a few "chess" jigsaws, worthy of reading long and late in the day. Find some coffee and see if any of them entice you. First is the third omnibus edition of Inspector Morse novels by Colin Dexter . Why can't I find copies of the first and second omnibi? Anyway, this third one starts with the first Morse novel, so it's very satisfying seeing him slightly younger at his first meeting with Lewis. Find some elegant, complex four-star coffee to go with these well-structured mysteries. Still in England, my next new favorite detective...

Once mystery is odd, twice mystery is odder, three time, four times, five times mystery... Actually I'm sure I read way more than five mysteries over Christmas, but I'm searching my files for notes and turning notes into book reviews while I catch up on catching up, so here are reviews of just five mysteries--like five gold rings perhaps (four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a cockroach in a pear tree?) The cockroach shares a room with Mr. Smith in J. J. DiBenedetto's Mr Smith and the Roach . It's a delightfully odd mystery, humorous and distinctly thought-provoking, blending Raymond Chandler with Douglas Adams perhaps. Enjoy its elegant complexity with some elegant complex four-star coffee. The Bluelight Special: A Cyril Landry short story by J. Carson Black is a short story set in the world of horse-racing, but you don't have to love (or know) the sport to be quickly drawn in. Pitch-perfect dialog creates great characters, but the ques...

I love cozy mysteries; they're usually light, crisp reads, like eating an apple neatly cut up on the plate. But I love dark mysteries too, messy and sharp, like plums dripping juices like blood. Sometimes I just want an easy, quick read, then I'll pick up my kindle and start one of those easily downloaded cozies, or raid the library or bookstore for a pretty cover... And sometimes I want something meaty and long, to draw me away from the present day and trap me deep in someone else's problems. Those are the dark mystery days. On a dark day, I'm too far from here to write reviews. On a light day, a couple of hours off from reading and imagining seem light as sun on flowers (yes, it's not yet winter), and book reviews get posted post-haste, before the weather can change. So here are some mystery reviews for your enjoyment. Drink more coffee! Starting light: The Georgie Shaw Cozy Mystery Series: 1-3 by Anna Celeste Burke offers the first three in a series with m...

I've been rereading Divide by Zero ready for its rerelease (with Ink-Filled Stories... watch this space!). I guess there's something appealing about actually enjoying my own book. I like the way each chapter is a story in its own right. I'm enjoying getting to know so many characters. And I've realized it really is still a mystery, though I changed my mind so many times while writing it. It's a mystery because I didn't know (really... I have a really bad memory) quite where it was going. I remembered the crime and whodunnit of course, but, while reading, even that was gone from my mind. Whodunnit why, and how did he get from here to there? All of this was a mystery again and I loved revisiting it. Meanwhile I've been reading some "real and literary" mysteries. It must be something to do with having been in England for my mum's birthday. I picked up some English mysteries (reviewed some a week or so  ago), then came home and started picking up...

I had just started high school. We had to borrow books from the school library, but there were rules. We had to borrow one fiction and one non-fiction book every week. And we were meant to read them. Anyone who knows me knows I love to read. I read quickly, and I'd happily have borrowed way more than two books. But... one non-fiction book! Every week! No way! The trouble was, I really didn't enjoy reading non-fiction. Then I discovered the "mythology" shelf. I couldn't believe my good fortune. Here were all these wonderful short stories and novels, all those amazing fantastical words, all these great characters, and they weren't fiction! I was hooked. I've loved mythology ever since. And so I couldn't possibly resist when someone suggested I try reading a middle-grade novel called Minotaur, by Phillip Simpson . It's a wonderful reimagining of the familiar story, with mostly human heroes and monsters, beautifully researched history, and fascinat...

Perhaps we all hide shadows in our past. Perhaps dark fiction appeals to us because it sheds light on someone else's shadows, making ours less scary without ever threatening them. Perhaps... But I must admit, I've read some pretty dark stories recently. Maybe it's just the lengthening darkness of evenings drawing in as the year moves to fall. Or perhaps I just enjoy dark fiction because it allows me to "experience" the adrenaline rush of danger without ever having to face the risks involved. After all, when asked as a teen, would I prefer a long boring life or a short exciting one, I chose long and boring because of all the short exciting lives I could enjoy in imagination. Anyway, here are some book reviews of dark, definitely not boring lives. Find some coffee - probably a dark cup - and see what you think. Scar Tissue (The Mindsight Series Book 1) by M C Domovitch , starts with a young woman escaping a captor who has been torturing her. Her physical scars b...

The news is of danger. The world's not as safe as we'd choose. Though, to be fair, we never thought London was safe. Not when I was growing up and gangsters were a strange phenomenon. Not when the IRA held sway. Not when friends asked if we really wanted to risk taking our children there before we left the country. And surely not now, because nowhere is safe. Because safety is an illusion. So I read for escape... maybe. But which books help you escape? Self help books perhaps? They'll tell me how to protect myself against everything I've thought of that might go wrong. Except my protection goes wrong and I never thought the basement would flood that way. Children's books? I've read lots of those. They gather me back into innocent certainties with beautifully illustrated calm. But then I grow up when I close the book. Fantasies? They help, I guess, though I always end up ascribing fantastical beasthood to modern day fears. Action and adventure? At least f...

I've fallen behind with posting book reviews, so now I'm going to try my best to catch up before Thanksgiving... before Christmas... before New Year... before... Before sometime, but it's a mystery (and so are the books I'm reviewing here). A friend suggested I should retire before the mountain of incomplete reviews completely swamps me. She might be right. Anyway, the deaths and sorrow in these tales aren't caused by book reviews or mountains, but by people and the various trials of life. I loved reading them. I'm just sorry it's taken me so long to post my reviews. (Blame birthdays. Blame old age. Blame dry rot... Just don't blame the coffee. I need coffee!) First is the book whose author visited my blog yesterday (at  http://sheiladeeth.blogspot.com/2016/11/have-you-visited-world-of-literature.html ). The Valley by Brandon Daily is a haunting tale of Appalachia, told through the eyes of vivid characters, and glimpsed through the mist and fog of yea...

Death scenes are strange--in fiction I mean. We authors choreograph the steps of a fight, as if the characters are puppets compelled to their fatal dance by our tune. Or else we stand aside and watch, trying to make sense of what we see in our minds, drawing those steps so others might see them too. Or else we wait for the conclusion and weep. But characters die, and we who made them are compelled to see their demise. Like them or hate them, the characters we've made all belong to our minds, and we bear that strange responsibility for death or life. I've seen a few strange characters lose their lives in books recently. So pull up a chair, pour some coffee, and see which books and deaths most appeal to you. Because, I guess, the reader who chooses to imbibe the book's strange brew must bear some responsibility too. First in my list today is One False Move by David Callinan . Protagonist Delaney is a trained assassin who has made a vow to kill no more. Graphic well-staged...

I started writing children's stories about dogs and cats when our writers' group challenged its members to write mysteries. We came up with a neat short template for the creation of a "quick" mystery: At number one, write down who is going to misunderstand something. At number five, write down the dire consequence of the misunderstanding. At number seven, write down the resolution – all is calm, mystery solved, misunderstanding corrected. Back to number three: What did your protagonist misunderstand? What incorrect conclusion did they draw? Number four: How did they act on that conclusion and how did it cause the dire consequences at number five. Number two: How did they come to hear/see/learn the thing they misunderstood? Number six: How did they come to realize they’d got things wrong, and how did they fix it to land us at number 7. It works for a short story, maybe, but not for a novel. After all, novels need multiple peaks and troughs, problems that bui...

The mystery section must have been one of the biggest in the Dan Poynter Global eBook Awards . There were lots of wonderful books there--many that I'd already read, but so many more it was hard to choose which I wanted to read. I really enjoyed browsing those virtual shelves. And I drank lots of coffee! Healey's Cave, by Aaron Paul Lazar , made the winners' circle in Mystery/suspense, much to my delight. A gentle mystery with deep family relationships, pleasantly aging characters, genuine heartache, and a lovely feel for scenery in the Genesee valley; drink a heart-warming balance full-flavored 3-star coffee with this one. Memories (Firehouse Family #1) by Laurie Loveman , by contrast, is set in Depression-era Woodhill,  Ohio, and brings the world of horses, arson, prohibition and firefighting to vivid life with gentle romance and generous wisdom. Memories won the award for Mystery/suspense, and this looks like being such a good series I had to read the second one too...

It seems like a while since I posted a list of reviews. I think I must have been distracted by something. I think I'm still distracted--runs round the room. And no, the housework's not getting done; at least, not just now. But the contract's been sent and I really need to get down to reading and writing. So, what have I read recently on that reading journe y? Too many books to list I think, so I'll put the mysteries and cozies here first and write another post with some more... As usual, if you click on the links you'll find my longer book reviews on gather. Murder in Winnebago County , and Buried in Wolf Lake , by Christine Husom: Two murder mysteries set around the very likeable and believable Sgt. Corky Aleckson, with a very authentic feel, down-to-earth characters, and villains that are scarily real. A Miracle at Speedy Motors : The 9th Number One Ladies' Detective Agency novel by Alexander McCall Smith, and I'm still addicted. I love the way he ...

Helen Ginger who writes a really interesting blog at Straight from He l, awarded me the Kreativ Blogger Award last weekend, but it’s been such a busy week I decided to wait a while before accepting it. There are a couple of major requirements to this award: 1. I have to pass it on to 7 other creative recipients, which requires choosing 7 from all the wonderful blogs out there, which requires making decisions, which requires time… And 2. I have to list 7 favorite mystery authors: Help! I always answer “too many to name” when people ask who my favorite authors are; and no, specifying mysteries and asking for 7 really doesn’t help. So what should I do? It’s a pretty award, and I’d really like to post it… The phone rings. The clock ticks. The dishwasher needs to be emptied and the next load of washing awaits. Meanwhile I search through my favorite blogs, and inspiration strikes. How about I just find seven really neat blogs that feature great mystery authors, and do both lists in one? So h...

Three posts in one day! This is surely a little excessive, but I really can't help it. I'd like to shout it from the mountain tops except it's too far to drive at this time of night. So I'll just post it here... My story won in the Second Wind mystery contest , and will be appearing together with other stories by new and established authors in their Murder in the Wind anthology. I won! I'm going to get another story published. So thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who voted for me, for your votes and for your kind comments and encouragement. I really enjoyed reading the other two finalist's stories, and I'm just over moon at my good fortune. Thank you. And thank you Second Wind.

I entered Second Wind Publishing’s “ Murder in the Wind ” competition, and my short story is one of three short-listed for inclusion in the anthology. Now I just need to garner some votes and I might get published in the same volume as Pat Bertram and other favorite authors… Well, at least I can dream. So, if you want to read three really fun murder mysteries, just follow the link, or go to secondwindpublishing.com and click on "mystery contest." All three stories are printed together on the page, and there’s a place for you to vote down at the bottom. Second Wind are really great about voting in their competitions—they don’t ask you to join anything or offer up your firstborn or other valuables. All they want is your email so that one lucky voter can win a free copy of the book! So, happy reading, and please vote for one of us: “Distractions” by Deborah Watson “Jack” by Sheila Deeth “Lady Blue” by Carla Damron

I’ve just finished reading the second Claire Hanover mystery, and I’d have to say Beth Groundwater’s main character is another one strong enough to my interest through a series. Claire, of course, is a very different character from Sam Acquillo or Gus LeGarde . For a start, she’s a woman. Plus, while enormously resourceful, she really doesn’t have the kind of background or physical strength to be an action hero. But she does have lots of character, or chutzpah, as one of her friends has been known to say. Claire has the confidence to believe what she sees and to tell it like she sees it. Just because no one else saw the ski tracks doesn’t mean they’re not there. Just because no one else sees the danger doesn’t mean she shouldn’t protect her daughter. Just because… So she walks into police stations and describes exactly the sort of details that someone unaccustomed to such places would notice—the presence or absence of family photographs, the pictures on the walls… She walks into a ni...

Another series I’ve recently started reading is the Gus LeGarde mysteries by Aaron Paul Lazar. I’ve sort of started at the “wrong” end with them, having just read an advance copy of Mazurka which doesn’t come out until August, but I’m already hooked. Gus LeGarde is a very different character from Sam Acquillo . If I saw Gus in a coffee shop he’d probably be reading a fascinating book or magazine, or talking music with a friend. He’d be kind, polite and moderately sociable. And I’d feel safe if he were to nod and smile at me. Gus lives in a beautiful house with land and views, and has a fascinating family. He travels to France in Mazurka and I love sharing the trip. I know Gus has had his dark times, but I don’t get the feeling that he ever sets out to make trouble. It’s not just the background of the characters that’s different. Gus is much more open about himself than Sam Acquillo, who seems always on his guard. Aaron Lazar writes generous passages about Gus’s past, answering his r...