Saturday, October 9, 2010

A DEADLY DINNER - Share a bite with eight crime scene authors

On October 23, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, A Deadly Dinner will be held at the Harris Arts Center in Calhoun, Georgia.

A lovely sit-down catered dinner will be provided, and you will have time to meet and chat with all eight crime fiction authors.

The roster includes:


- Mignon Ballard

- Kathleen Delaney

- Mary Anna Evans

- Gerrie Ferris Finger

- Marion Moore Hill

- Randy Rawls

- Fran Stewart

- Jaden E. Terrell




Cost of attendance is a measly $25, and there will be many, many autographed books given away as door prizes, as well as the opportunity to get books signed by the authors.

This is the first time the event will be held, and literary events of this nature are important, even in less cosmopolitan areas, and if you are (or will be) in the southeastern U.S., I encourage you to check out the event on the website, and possibly register to attend the dinner. We'd love to have you there!

http://www.cgarts.org/Programs/LiteraryGuild/tabid/800/Default.aspx

Sponsors include the Southeastern Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, Wolfmont Press, Kevin M. Weeks (author), Barnes & Noble Booksellers of Rome, GA, and others.


Written by Tony Burton

Posted by Gerrie Ferris Finger

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

THE KINGDOM WHERE NOBODY DIES - A CARL BROOKINS REVIEW

THE KINGDOM WHERE NOBODY DIES

by Kathleen Hills

Poisoned Pen Press, January 2008

hard cover,316 pages

ISBN: 978-1-59058-476-7



The author of this novel has a strong background in rural America, particularly in the Upper Midwest. It shows in many of the nuances that affect the progress of this story. The novel is replete with icons of small towns, some of which are isolated from the mainstream.



The book is set in the tiny Upper Peninsula Michigan town of St. Adele where once again we ride along with one of the most reluctant and phlegmatic lawmen we are likely ever to encounter. His name is John McIntyre and he is the town constable. He didn't want the job in the first place and he can think of a hundred things he'd rather be doing and places he'd rather be than the sun-blasted hay field of former conscientious objector, Ruben Hofer.



Hofer has been murdered, that's plain to see. His head was blasted open by a rifle shot while he sat on his tractor raking hay. It is almost immediately clear that the man's family is one likely source of murderous intent. Hofer was not a nice man. He drove his two teen-aged sons in cruel and oppressive ways; and his eleven-year-old daughter, Claire, has already been pushed to warped and dangerous attitudes about life. His wife is morbidly over-weight and only the youngster, Joey, constantly playing with his make-believe farm in the yard outside the kitchen of the school-house-turned-family-home, seems almost normal.



Author Hills continues to invest her stories with an array of intriguing characters although I got a little tired of the sheriff's on-again-off-again almost incompetent investigation. Moreover, the two teen-agers do not become distinct characters in this book until very late, which I found to be a weakness.



Nevertheless, the story is informed by very real human emotions and conflicts and the author's handling of the religious, political and historical elements of the book tell us she has done careful research. The book is, as is true of all her books, well-written.



Carl Brookins

http://www.carlbrookins.com/, http://www.agora2.blogspot.com/

Case of the Greedy Lawyer, Devils Island,Bloody Halls, more at Kindle & Smashwords!