Those of you who read my book reviews know that many of them are written for the magazine Bewildering Stories.  Recently, I read Gary Inbinder's new mystery The Man Upon the Stair.  In the process of writing the review, I had a very fascinating conversation with the managing editor of Bewildering, Don Webb, who had great insight on the time period in which the book is set.  In the course of our discussion, we decided to do a conversation-style joint book review, which was published today.  You can read the full review here.

Overall, I thought it was a very fun and fascinating book, with an amazing level of detail about late nineteenth-century France.  The characters are interesting, and the writing style was compelling.  I got caught up in the mystery and couldn't stop turning the page in search of the next piece of the puzzle.

Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did!

I’m not always the biggest fan of starting in the middle of a series; I usually like to go on the ride with the character from the very beginning of their journey. But I had no problem adjusting to Tara Sharp’s world of combating crime with her psychic powers, living the high life, and trying to juggle a bevy of men in Marianne Delacourt's Book Four of the series, Sharp Edge.

For my full review of the book, check it out here at Bewildering Stories.

​Overall, the book is a fun, light read, perfect for when you have a free afternoon and perhaps a mimosa or two waiting. Tara Sharp is a likeable and flawed character who is struggling to figure out her personal life as much as she is struggling to solve crimes. Even if, like me, you’re not starting out with Book One, I hope you enjoy the ride.

It's summer, and to me that means summer reads.  I want something light and fun and fluffy, gosh darn it.  I live near a beach, so I'm going to pick up a few beach books.

Enter The Model Man by Genie Davis.  This book really hit the spot.  It's got thrills, it's got mystery, it's got love and a lot of silliness.  Although marketed as a romance (and there's plenty of romance), it also has a strong whodunit element to the story.  It reminded me strongly of one of my favorite writers, Janet Evanovich, but not in a derivative way.

So if you're looking for a fun read to prop up your piña colada, this might be a good choice.  I'm happy to go look up some of her other books, too - after all, summer's not over yet!  For a full review of the book, check it out here at Bewildering Stories.  Enjoy!

I recently had the pleasure of reviewing the first issue of Occult Detective Quarterly, edited by Sam Gafford and John Linwood Grant.  It's a great magazine, and I would recommend it - a full review is available at TOUGH blogazine.

I'm a bit behind in posting this, but I recently read a very intruiging collection of short stories called Lethal Kisses.  Edited by Ellen Datlow, it contains a number of big names, such as Joyce Carol Oates, Pat Cadigan and Michael Swanwick, to name a few.  As you can probably guess from the title, it's a collection of stories about revenge.  I would recommend it - there were some great and unexpected stories, and all were enjoyable to read.  You can catch my full review at Bewildering Stories magazine here.

I've known Edward Ahern for a couple of years now, and I was pleased to pick up his new collection of short stories, Capricious Visions.  A mixture of fantasy and horror stories, the writing is at times fun and other times macabre, but the stories always held my interest from start to finish.  I've written a more in-depth review at Bewildering Stories, which you can read here.  I hope you enjoy the collection as much as I did!