In this fifth and final Truman Smith mystery, Galveston Private Investigator Truman Smith still has no interest in looking for anyone. Dino wants him to quit trying to figure why alligators and birds get killed and get back to finding people. Because of the backstory that series readers are familiar with, Truman is not remotely interested. Dino has pushed this same idea before, but this time he swears things will be different and wants Truman to trust him.

Truman knows better than that having heard the “trust me” line before. Instead of looking for folks, these days Truman works as a freelance contractor of sorts running a credit check or background on folks. It is the middle nineties and he can easily accomplish both from home when he is not reading a book. But, Randall Kirbo had come to Galveston back in March for spring break and vanished.  Nine months later the son of Jack Kirbo, who used to play football at the same time Truman and Dino did back in day, is still missing and Galveston PD has gotten nowhere. Jack and Dino were friends on the football team and still are as well and have had some business dealings that have worked out well for both parties. Because of all that and more, Dino wants Truman to see if he can find the kid.

December on the island means it is time for the annual “Dickens on the Strand” and the accompanying throngs of tourists and traffic. Certainly not two of Truman’s favorite things and neither are Mr. and Mr. Kirbo. Definitely not the boorish Jack Kirbo. His wife is devastated and just needs some sort of answer as to what happened to her son. It is because of her that Truman agrees to investigate the situation. That investigation will lead him to the underground party scene, a murder, and a lot more in Murder Takes A Break: A Truman Smith Mystery.

Fifth in the series that began with Dead on the Island, the character of Truman Smith is pretty well fleshed out as is his occasional sidekick, Dino. Readers know what makes Truman tick and what demons continue to haunt him. That leaves the book to be about the mystery and several are at work here in this complicated tale. As expected regarding anything from Texas legend and author, Bill Crider the book works on all levels. The twists and turns are many, the humor is occasional, the action is frequent, and the read is mighty good from start to finish.

Murder Takes A Break: A Truman Smith Mystery
Bill Crider
http://www.billcrider.com
Walker And Company
http://www.bloomsbury.com
October 1997
ISBN# 0-8027-3308-5
Hardback (also available in audio and e-book formats)
184 Pages
$21.95

Material supplied by the good folks of the Plano Public Library System. 

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

https://www.amazon.com/author/kevintipple
Reviews and More http://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/
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Five short mystery stories make up the Three-Minute Mysteries Bonus Pack by Stephen D. Rodgers. Each short mystery is designed to give the reader enough clues to solve the case. Once you think you have the mystery figured out, you turn the page, and see if the solution is the one you came up with to solve the case.

Store owner Alice Mendoza needs to forget about her insurance claim to focus on the questions of Police Detective Carol Simmons. In “Think Globally, Steal Locally” an armed robbery of a store that specializes in hand-crafted items from all over the world has few suspects.

Stacy is the new widow in “A Dying Clue.” Detective Laura McKinley has to figure out what role, if any the restaurant partly owned by Stacy’s husband, Matt, played in the death.

The Boss is dead in “Cream of The Crop.” Detectives Wilson and Handler have to go figure out who killed Mr. Baldwin at work.

As in the first tale, robbery is also the subject of the “All-Knowing Eye” where Detective Pamela Yates tries to catch the thief that hit the Nyman House. A character name change part of the way through the story is not a clue though the error does mar the read a little bit.

It is a far different world than Officer Dana Cooke is used to as she does perimeter duty in “Models of Bad Behavior.” Blending into the background and being ignored by several suspects who just can’t be quiet could be a very good thing for her career wise.

The tales in the Three-Minute Minute Mysteries Bonus Pack are all good ones. Author Stephen D. Rodgers makes sure that there are multiple possible suspects in each tale who are capable of various crimes. An entertaining and fast read, the book moves quickly and offers quite a few surprises.

Three-Minute Minute Mysteries Bonus Pack
Stephen D. Rodgers
http://www.stephendrodgers.com
Self-Published
ASIN: B00VH5NL1W
March 2015
E-book
25 Pages
$0.00

Amazon reports that I picked this up in the middle of August to read and review. I have no idea now how I came across it, but am sure I saw it online somewhere.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

https://www.amazon.com/author/kevintipple
Reviews and More http://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/
https://www.pinterest.com/kevintipple/

By way of “Kindle Worlds” comes Slip the first novella of the G.I. Joe Interstellar Cadet Corp Series by Jack Bates. Mission commander Josie Llewellyn has a major problem. Her trip with the seven young cadets has gone horribly wrong. It was supposed to be a simple in and out mission onboard an experimental spaceship to test the capabilities of machine and give the cadets a little flight experience. That was before they encountered the worm hole and were flung far off course. Where they are and how to get back are just two of the obvious issues from the start.

The fact there is a COBRA mole onboard is just going to make things much more difficult for all involved. A damaged ship, a stressed and very inexperienced crew, and more are at work in G.I.  Joe Interstellar Cadet Corps: Slip by Jack Bates.

A few typos marred this otherwise very enjoyable read that shifts in point of view between the various members of the crew aboard ship and people at the COBRA base. As it is a 66 page novella, character development is somewhat limited as the focus is on setting up the future books of the series while proving plenty of action. That is done very well by the author who has created a read that is quite enjoyable. The book serves as a good solid foundation of what clearly is going to be an interesting series.

G.I. Joe Interstellar Cadet Corps: Slip
Jack Bates
Kindle Worlds
September 2015
ASIN: B015JKV44Q
E-book
66 Pages
$1.99

Material was purchased to read and review using funds from my Amazon Associate account because of the author’s recent mentioning of the book on Facebook.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

https://www.amazon.com/author/kevintipple
Reviews and More http://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/
https://www.pinterest.com/kevintipple/

Sometimes you know that your foe of the moment has no future. That he is too far down the wrong road so you put him down because you have to end his misery. That and you can rescue the three young girls held in the back of the van. It is just part of the job.

The woman in his living room also has a job in mind. A far more personal job for the man who used to be Special Forces and now is a vigilante killer working out of Los Angeles. A job that is complicated and also very much needs doing in the short story Daughters by Nathan Walpow.

Told in the first person, this is a hard edged fast moving short story featuring a nameless and very interesting main character. Borderline sociopath with a touch of humor our antihero is very much of the opinion that the world is a place that needs cleaning up after on a fairly frequent basis. One can’t reveal much about the short story without giving away too much, beyond what has been said above, but there are a couple of twists in this tale that help create a mighty good read.

Daughters
Nathan Walpow
http://www.walpow.com
Self-Published
August 2015
ASIN: B014GBR6SC
E-book
14 Pages
$0.00

I picked up this free read to read and review thanks to the author mentioning it on Facebook.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2015

https://www.amazon.com/author/kevintipple
Reviews and More http://kevintipplescorner.blogspot.com/
https://www.pinterest.com/kevintipple/