Eight Mystery Writers You Should Be Reaing Nowwww Read online

  EIGHT

  MYSTERY WRITERS

  YOU SHOULD BE READING

  NOW

  Lisa Alber

  Kathleen Cosgrove

  Michael Guillebeau

  Chris Knopf

  Jessie Bishop Powell

  Larissa Reinhart

  Jaden Terrell

  Lisa Wysocky

  Edited by

  Michael Guillebeau

  Stacy Pethel

  Madison Press

  Copyright © 2016 by Michael Guillebeau.

  “Kilmoon, A County Clare Mystery,” originally published by Muskrat Press. Copyright 2014 by Lisa Alber.

  Whispers In The Mist, A County Clare Mystery #2, Copyright 2015 by Lisa Alber.

  Engulfed, published in Parthenon Press. Copyright 2012 by Kathleen Cosgrove.

  Entangled, published in Parthenon Press. Copyright 2012 by Kathleen Cosgrove.

  “Sam Heart and the Case of the Pinned-Up Knickers,” copyright 2012 by Kathleen Cosgrove.

  “The Man in the Moon,” originally published in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Copyright 2013 by Michael Guillebeau.

  Josh Whoever, originally published by Five Star Mysteries. Copyright 2013 by Michael Guillebeau.

  “The Best Is Yet To Come,” copyright 2015 by Chris Knopf.

  Cop Job, originally published by The Permanent Press. Copyright 2015 by Chris Knopf.

  The Marriage at the Rue Morgue, originally published by Five Star Mysteries. Copyright 2014 by Jessie Bishop Powell.

  “The Tomato Paste Murder: A Story in Soupçons,” copyright 2015 by Jessie Bishop Powell.

  Portrait Of A Dead Guy (A Cherry Tucker Mystery Book 1), originally published by Henery Press. Copyright 2012 by Larissa Reinhart

  “Rhapsody In Red,” copyright 2013 by Jaden Terrell.

  River of Glass, originally published by The Permanent Press. Copyright 2014 by Jaden Terrell. Cover by Lon Kirschner.

  “Searching for Bubba,” copyright 2015 by Lisa Wysocky.

  The Fame Equation: A Cat Enright Equestrian Mystery, originally published by Cool Titles. Copyright 2015 by Lisa Wysocky.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the authors’ imaginations. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Cover design by Charlie Wetherington.

  Eight Mystery Writers You Should be Reading Now/ Edited by Michael Guillebeau. —1st ed.

  ISBN 978-0-0000000-0-0

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  INTRODUCTION

  Foreword

  LISA ALBER

  Kathleen Cosgrove

  MICHAEL GUILLEBEAU

  CHRIS KNOPF

  JESSIE BISHOP POWELL

  LARISSA REINHART

  JADEN TERRELL

  LISA WYSOCKY

  Introduction

  It’s easy to find a book; it’s hard to find the book, that new author who sets your life on fire.

  That’s why we put this collection together. This book gives you an easy way to sample a group of 8 up-and-coming mystery writers who you may not have heard of, but who critics and award committees have noticed. We’ve assembled eight very different styles to let you sample a wide array of stories and find new voices you might have trouble finding on your own.

  We have hard-boiled detectives, and we have crime-solving animals. We have deeply flawed characters, and we have cute youngsters. We have damaged women, kick-ass women, noble women and mean women, sometimes in the same character. We have tough guys in spades, and we have funny in spades.

  Each writer contributed a story, a sample chapter from a book, and an interview. Because of our variety, there’s sure to be something here you’ll love, and maybe love for life.

  So come on in for a taste. Here’s our menu:

  Lisa Alber – Murders surround an Irish matchmaker. Brooding, atmospheric and literary with beautiful writing set in the Irish countryside. Pushcart Prize Nominee.

  Kathleen Cosgrove –Florida weird with a middle-aged woman returning home. Kick-ass funny.

  Michael Guillebeau –Broken war hero has to navigate the oddballs and save the girl to get back to the bar he’s been hiding in. Reminiscent of Elmore Leonard and Carl Hiaasen. Silver Falchion Finalist, and Library Journal Mystery Debut of the Month.

  Chris Knopf –Hardboiled in the Hamptons. Ex-boxer Sam Acquillo is a noir descendent of Travis McGee and Spencer, and one of my favorite characters. Nero award winner.

  Jessie Bishop Powell— Cozy noir mysteries that embrace the genre’s extremes. In The Marriage at the Rue Morgue, police suspect an orangutan of murder. Primatologists Noel Rue and Lance Lakeland have to save the ape and still find time to get married. Sounds light, but Powell’s stuff is as intense as it is funny.

  Larissa Reinhart—If you like Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum, you need to read Reinhart’s Cherry Tucker. A damaged artist with twice the depth, twice the funny of Plum and set in small-town Georgia. I dare you to put this down. Daphne du Maurier Finalist

  Jaden Terrell—Hardboiled PI with a Soft Heart. Nashville PI Jared McKean has enough emotional issues to carry a book by himself, and then Terrell throws him into big issues like human trafficking. Shamus Award Finalist.

  Lisa Wysocky—Multiple awards for Lisa’s books about a horse trainer with a smart horse who helps her solve crimes. One of the most realistic and loving use of animals in mystery. Winner of American Horse Publication Awards, and the National Indie Excellence Awards.

  We invite you to see what looks good, and take a bite for yourself. If you find something you like, our chefs will be happy to give you a full meal.

  And we all deliver.

  Foreword

  http://www.mm

  What are you reading? It's a question as personal and compelling as any we ask. And it’s irresistible. New acquaintance or old pal, we're curious and eager—and a little hushed as we await the answer. Maybe the title we’re about to hear will be our best book of the year! There’s always the possibility, the intrigue, the moment of revelation.

  If it’s a book we've already read—ah. Then yes, we get a different kind of connection. Yes, I loved it too, we say, and proceed to compare notes on the fictional world that—through the magic of words—we two real people have entered together.

  But ah, that mention of a new title.

  Oh, I’ve never heard of that one, we say, our eyes widening with the prospect.

  Oh, yes, our fellow reader explains. It won the—fill in the blank here—award, or got a star from Library Journal, or is on the new list of nominations for the Pushcart prize. Or, they say, I heard about it from someone I trust—a librarian, a friend, another writer, a bookseller. Or a reviewer I respect. Oline, maybe, or Hallie or Joe or Jon or Lesa or Jeff or Kris.

  Aha! We say. That sounds terrific. And we wonder—how did we miss it?

  For any number of reasons, right? Gone are the days of the leisurely stroll in the neighborhood bookstore, the class assignments, even, for some, the book club. Our schedules and our pressures, the Internet and the economy have conspired, sometimes, to keep us
carefully apprised of all the books we'd hear about anyway—but not the secret treasures just waiting to be found.

  These eight authors, talented all, would love to entice you to sample their mystery wares. Isn’t it thoughtful of them to make it so easy to find your next unputdownable read?

  So now? Do what you love the most in life: turn the page.

  HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN is on-air investigative reporter for Boston's NBC affiliate, winning 33 EMMYs and dozens more journalism honors. Bestselling author of eight mysteries, Ryan's won five Agathas, two Anthonys, two Macavitys, the Daphne, and Mary Higgins Clark Award. Her TRUTH BE TOLD won the 2015 Agatha, and she edited the 2015 Agatha-winning non-fiction anthology WRITES OF PASSAGE. Critics call her “a superb and gifted story-teller.” A founder of MWA University, Hank was 2013 president of Sisters in Crime. Her newest book is WHAT YOU SEE, a Library Journal Best of 2015.

  http://www.HankPhillippiRyan.com

  LISA ALBER

  Lisa Alber spent many, many years writing before her debut novel, Kilmoon, was published and nominated for the Rosebud Award for Best First Novel. Along the way, she graduated from Berkeley with a degree in economics, worked in international finance while living in Ecuador and Brazil, and moved to New York City to change her career to book publishing.

  She finally got her break after working with New York Times bestselling novelist Elizabeth George in three writing workshops. Ms. George invited Lisa to apply for a writing grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation. Lisa won a grant that allowed her to quit her day-job for a year so that she could devote full energies to her fiction. What a year! She completed the manuscript for Kilmoon and started writing her second novel, Whispers in the Mist (Midnight Ink, August 2016).

  In addition, Ms. George invited Lisa to write a short story for the Two of the Deadliest anthology (HarperCollins), which includes such notables as Laura Lippman, Dana Stabenow, and Patricia Smiley. Specifically, Ms. George thought of Lisa for inclusion in an “Introducing. . .” section to spotlight up-and-coming writers.

  Nowadays, Lisa lives in Oregon with a spunky Chihuahua mix, an accident-prone cat, and her trusty laptop. She likes photography, red wine, and scary movies. She’s at work on her third novel, tentatively titled Touch of Death (Midnight Ink Books, August 2017).

  Lisa wanted to address you in her own words:

  Dear Readers,

  Thank you for picking up Eight Mystery Writers You Should be Reading Now. We writers, we love readers. We do. And I’m tickled to be part of this project, getting to address myself directly to you.

  We’re unapologetically tooting our horns to entice you, the almighty book lover, to share in what we do. You love to read, and we writers were all readers before we started writing. So we get it. In addition, I love interacting with readers, and I admit to the thrill of receiving kind words such as these:

  Kilmoon has captivated me and transported me to the land of my ancestors. It won’t relinquish its grip! Thank you.

  Isn’t that sweet? It fills my heart with quiet joy to know that my writing spoke to this reader. It’s like magic.

  I often get asked why I write. I write because it’s in my heart to do so. Writing is who I am. It’s how I process the world and my life. And then there’s the question: Why write mystery rather than, say, romance or science fiction? For as long as I can remember, I’ve been asking “why.” As in, why do people act the way they do, especially when they’re being bad? Crime comes with a psychological context. I love exploring the roots of crime in my fictional world.

  Also, the ultimate mystery of human existence is death itself. It’s the fact of life we all share. What happens to us after we let loose our mortal coils? I have no answers. Exploring these themes through storytelling is my way of pondering the big eternal questions.

  I hope you like my excerpts and also the interview. My series takes place in County Clare, Ireland. The stories are traditional in many ways; you’ll discover the final solution at the end of the books with twists along the way. But they’re also what might be called “psychological suspense” because I love delving into the whydunit aspect of the crime as much as the whodunit.

  Please feel free to look me up on Facebook and Twitter. I look forward to hearing from you!

  Happy reading!

  Lisa Alber, December 2015

  P.S. Just for this book, I included a deleted scene, too!

  EXCERPT

  Kilmoon, A County Clare Mystery

  “Brooding, gothic overtones haunt Lisa Alber’s polished, atmospheric debut. Romance, mysticism, and the verdant Irish countryside all contribute to making Kilmoon a marvelous, suspenseful read.”

  —Julia Spencer-Fleming, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of Through the Evil Days

  “This first in Alber’s new County Clare Mystery series is utterly poetic … The author’s prose and lush descriptions of the Irish countryside nicely complement this dark, broody and very intricate mystery.”

  —RT Book Reviews (four stars)

  “In her moody debut, Alber skillfully uses many shades of gray to draw complex characters who discover how cruel love can be.”

  —Kirkus Reviews

  “Newcomer Lisa Alber’s stirring debut Kilmoon … exudes Irish countryside atmosphere. The murder plot is solved neatly and the door is open for Merrit’s further adventures.”

  —Library Journal

  “Lisa Alber’s assured debut paints Lisfenora, County Clare, at the height of the local matchmaking festival, when the ordinarily sleepy village is crammed with revelers, cadgers, and con men galore. Amid mysteries and mayhem, Alber captures the heartfelt ache in all of us, the deep need for connection, and a true sense of purpose.”

  —Erin Hart, Anthony and Agatha-nominated author of The Book of Killowen

  You can order Kilmoon from online retailers or through your local booksellers.

  June 28, 2008

  Northern California

  Merrit McCallum rolled a plastic vial between her palms so that the liquid morphine sloshed against the sides. Red and viscous—like blood—the liquid coated the plastic on the inside of the vial while her slick palms left smudges on the outside. She was tempted to squirt the opiate down her own throat rather than contend with Andrew, who waited her out from his rolling bed. She no longer called him father.

  If only he would shut up, but no, his whispered voice penetrated the leaden exhaustion that she had succumbed to weeks ago. “You know you want to,” he said.

  She turned away from Andrew’s shrunken almost-corpse to gaze at a large framed photograph that hung above the fireplace mantel. A mist-enshrouded church stood among Celtic crosses. It was a nothing of a place, a moldering heap of rocks so old that without the crosses, it could be any artifact left to crumble in the North Atlantic rains. Andrew had insisted on hanging the image on this prime section of walled real estate. Merrit’s mom, meanwhile, had banished it to the coat closet during Andrew’s frequent business trips. All Merrit knew was that her parents had met in a village near the church. In Ireland.

  She stared at the picture in an attempt to drown herself in the imagined sounds of whipping winds and pounding rains. It didn’t work. Andrew’s voice irritated like the fly that bounced against the window. The fly, like Andrew, didn’t mean anything by its incessant buzzing. The fly, like Andrew, was nothing but a miserable prisoner inside this morgue of a house. Both of them irritant buzzes, no more, no less.

  Just a buzz, she told herself. Don’t let him get to you.

  “I’m in excruciating pain,” he said. “You hear me?”

  She dropped the oral syringe onto the swiveling bedside table, now parked near the Barcalounger and far away from Andrew’s bird-claw fingers. “It’s too soon for another dose.”

  “Check my nightstand,” he said. “You can read your mom’s notebook for yourself. Then you’ll see.”

  Notebook? What notebook? He’d never mentioned a notebook before. Or maybe he had. No, surely she wasn�
�t so out of it that she’d forgotten something as important as words written in her mother’s hand.

  Merrit wished she could steady her voice, but it wobbled out of her, giving her away. “I don’t understand what you’re getting at. I’ll see what?”

  “Oh, you know.”

  But she didn’t know anything except that Andrew exuded more energy now than he’d shown for weeks. Despite the morphine, he held her gaze with the steadiness of a combatant on the battlefield.

  Merrit pressed trembling hands together and struggled to maintain her poker face. If only she could think straight. If only she hadn’t been stupid enough to assume she could care for Andrew on her own. She’d forgotten why she’d insisted. Something about duty, or devotion, or loyalty. Now, six months after returning home to help him, her efforts felt pointless.

  She fumbled for the cell phone that she’d left on the mantel, knocking over her inhaler in the process. It rolled under the Barcalounger. A worm of tension squeezed Merrit’s lungs as she pressed in the hospice phone number. Unfortunately, sunlight barely lightened the eastern horizon. She’d have to leave a message with the answering service. She steadied her voice, requested a hospice visit, and hung up.

  Merrit listened with her back still facing Andrew. She didn’t need to see him to know the cracks of bitterness that etched his face. He’d been awake all night, restless and demanding, and with a strange light in his eye. She sniffed against the oppressive odor of illness in the stuffy room and eyed the knitting needles sticking out of a ball of yarn. For a while the new hobby had helped her cope. She’d even gifted Andrew with her first afghan, which now lay in a discarded heap beneath the bed.