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Book review: ‘Sleeping Dragons’ for the Colorado Review

“At times, the open-ended nature of Baudoin’s stories has the effect of making a narrative seem unfinished and crying out for resolution. Argentine-born writer, translator, and editor Alberto Manguel addresses this issue in his introduction, writing: “We come to the last page of a Baudoin story and we ask ourselves, what exactly just happened?” Time and again throughout the collection, you find there is always more to the story than Baudoin is willing to reveal, and by the end, we are left with an unclear take on things, a feeling that, as Manguel notes, something essential seems to have escaped us.

That said, what makes Baudoin’s atypical writing so distinctive and so critically appealing is her eloquence and subtlety, and her willingness to leave things unsaid and allow readers to interpret a story for themselves. Largely ominous and somber in tone, the concise, intelligent fiction contained in Sleeping Dragons will move, intrigue, and not fade quickly from memory..”

Published today in the Colorado Review is my review of Magela Baudoin’s slim but impactful story collection Sleeping Dragons.

Read the full, in-depth book review here

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Litchfield Reviews Hostage for a Hood and The Merriweather File for the Lancashire Post

LEP.CO.UK - Hostage for a Hood and The Merriweather File by Lionel White

“Influential American crime writer Lionel White is often described as the master of the big caper. His 1955 novel Clean Break was adapted by Stanley Kubrick as the basis for the film noir classic The Killing and a number of White’s other 35 novels have been made into films.

His twelfth novel, Hostage for a Hood, originally published by Gold Medal Books in 1957, is a high-suspense, heist-gone-wrong tale that is finally back in print in this newly released double-novel from Stark House Press.”

The second novel, The Merriweather File, is a startling tale of bloodshed, murder and violence that was first published by Dutton in 1959 and filmed as an episode of the TV series Thriller two years later. It is narrated by New York City attorney-at-law Howard Means Yates, a neighbour and friend of Charles Merriweather and his wife Ann who unwittingly becomes ‘a major actor’ in a complicated murder investigation.”

My review of Hostage for a Hood and The Merriweather File , is featured today in the Lancashire Post and syndicated to 20 newspapers in the UK. The full review can be found at the web link below and elsewhere.

Read more at: https://www.lep.co.uk/lifestyle/books/hostage-for-a-hood-and-the-merriweather-file-by-lionel-white-book-review-1-9267611

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Litchfield Reviews Fugitive from the Grave for the Lancashire Post

LEP.CO.UK - Fugitive from the Grave by Edward Marston

“Identical-twin detectives Peter and Paul Skillen are called on to investigate the strange fate of a missing beggar, a band of shadowy highwaymen, body snatchers, a stalker and a wily thief in the fourth thrilling tale in the Bow Street Rivals mystery series.

Set in London in 1817, with the city ‘awash with beggars,’ and numerous reported incidences of plundered graves and highway robberies, Fugitive from the Grave is the latest novel from Edward Marston, the pseudonym of prolific British author Keith Miles.

Best known for his popular Railway Detective series, set in 1850s England, Marston is also responsible for well over one hundred novels, including numerous critically acclaimed Elizabethan and medieval mysteries and a series set in the Great War.

As with previous books in the series, Fugitive from the Grave is a rollicking adventure that expertly stitches together multiple intriguing storylines, carefully draws its core mystery to the surface, and delivers some dramatic, satisfying surprises along the way.”

My review of Fugitive from the Grave, the newest in the Bow Street Rivals mystery series, is featured today in the Lancashire Post and syndicated to 20 newspapers in the UK. The full review can be found at the web link below and elsewhere.

https://www.lep.co.uk/lifestyle/books/book-review-fugitive-from-the-grave-by-edward-marston-1-9222968

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Lancashire Post Reviews Bill S. Ballinger’s Portrait in Smoke and The Longest Second

LEP.CO.UK - Portrait in Smoke and The Longest Second by Bill S. Ballinger

“[Bill S.] Ballinger, who died in 1980 at the age of 68, wrote scripts for eight feature films, more than 150 teleplays, 30 books, and in 1961, he won an Edgar Award for one of his teleplays for Alfred Hitchcock Presents. His novels, several of which were made into films, have sold more than ten million copies in the States and been reprinted in 30 countries and translated into more than 13 languages. A book critic for The New York Times called him ‘a major virtuoso of the mystery technique,’ and yet Ballinger remains an overlooked writer, with much of his work long out of print.

Fortunately, the gap has now been plugged by the publication of a two-in-one volume from Stark House Press featuring two of the author’s personal favourites, Portrait in Smoke, and the Edgar-nominated The Longest Second, two unique mystery classics that shocked the literary world when they first came out in the 1950s.

In his introduction to this new volume, Nicholas Litchfield, editor of the Lowestoft Chronicle, a quarterly online literary magazine, revels in the republication of these two noir masterpieces, writing: ‘These two powerful, provocative tales from the Fifties are as fresh and impressive today as when they first startled and enthralled the world and earned their place as mystery classics.’

The Longest Second, says Litchfield, is ‘neither gimmicky nor contrived’ but ‘a cunningly deceptive work that is full of twists and shocks, and has a storyline intended to continually keep you guessing about the past and the present.’

Abnormal and packed full of surprises because of the two seemingly unconnected storylines, an unreliable narrator, and the author’s wily weaving between first-person and third-person narration, The Longest Second is ingenious, suspenseful, and memorably intriguing.

Perfectly paired with Portrait in Smoke, these two exceptional novels are as fascinating and entertaining today as they were 60 years ago.”

Pam Norfolk’s review of this new reprint of Bill S. Ballinger’s novels is published today in the Lancashire Post and syndicated to 20 newspapers in the UK.

Read the full, in-depth book review here.

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Litchfield Reviews Carter Brown Mysteries in the Lancashire Post

LEP.CO.UK - No Harp for My Angel, Booty for a Babe, and Eve, Its Extortion by Carter Brown

“Wise-cracking, lecherous homicide detective Lieutenant Al Wheeler investigates the disappearances of pretty ‘dames,’ a complex hit-and-run case, and murders at a science fiction convention in three entertaining entries in the phenomenally successful Carter Brown mystery series. Written in the 1950s and long since out-of-print, No Harp for My Angel, Booty for a Babe, and Eve, It’s Extortion are a trio of swift-paced, tongue-in-cheek stories by the incredibly prolific Alan Geoffrey Yates, writing under the house name Carter Brown.

The playful humour, fast-paced action and lean, uncomplicated plots help make these Carter Brown mysteries quick, pleasurable reads. These three in particular highlight Yates’ ability to add a fresh spin to a familiar story and inject a heavy dose of fun into American ‘gangster’ fiction.”

Read more of my review at: https://www.lep.co.uk/lifestyle/books/book-review-no-harp-for-my-angel-booty-for-a-babe-and-eve-it-s-extortion-by-carter-brown-1-9186683

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Litchfield Reviews Matthew P. Mayo’s Timberline for the Lancashire Post

LEP.CO.UK - Timberline by Matthew P. Mayo

“In keeping with other Roamer adventures, Timberline is a nimbly told tale of rough justice and frontier survival with fierce action, intense danger, and high-grade excitement. A rousing, first-rate read!”

My review of Timberline, another action-packed Roamer western adventure by the always-excellent Matthew P. Mayo, is featured today in the Lancashire Post and syndicated to 25 regional newspapers across England.

A past winner of the Western Writers of America’s Spur Award for Best Western Novel, Mayo is a dab hand at carving out enthralling stories set in the American Old West, and this third installment in the Roamer series in one of the author’s best novels.

Over the past couple of years, I’ve been fortunate to review three of Mayo’s books for British newspapers, and I was tickled pink when I discovered that a snippet of my review of this splendid novel was featured on the front cover of this fine hardback edition from Five Star. Long may the series continue!

Read the full, in-depth book review here.

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Litchfield Reviews Petites Suites by Robert Wexelblatt for the Colorado Review

Colorado Review - Petites Suites by Robert Wexelblatt

“Thought-provoking, entertaining, and eloquent, like so many of his stories in Petites Suites, you can’t help but marvel at Wexelblatt’s ability to move and enchant in just a few concise pages. This inspired and truly original story collection is an exquisite joy, offering the equivalent beauty and charm a fine symphony might accomplish.”

Published today in the Colorado Review is my review of Robert Wexelblatt’s highly inventive story collection Petites Suites, a collection that pulsates with melody, harmony, and rhythm. Wexelblatt, whose novel Zublinka Among Women won the Indie Book Awards first-place prize for fiction in 2008, is the author of three previous story collections. I’ve read a lot of Robert’s stories over the years and his work is always worthwhile. You can read one of his recent excellent stories (“Hsi-Wei and the Good”) in issue #31 of Lowestoft Chronicle.

Read the full, in-depth book review here.

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Lancashire Post Review of Floyd Mahannah’s ‘The Broken Angel and Backfire and Other Stories’ by Lowestoft Chronicle Editor

LEP.CO.UK - The Broken Angel and Backfire and Other Stories by Floyd Mahannah

Floyd Mahannah was a talented but overlooked 1950s writer of hardboiled tales. Although his novels received strong critical reviews and he managed to place his shorter work in numerous popular magazines, Mahannah didn’t achieve the success he was striving for and his writing career fizzled out early.

This week, Stark House Press publishes a collection of his work, including some mighty fine stories that were published in leading magazines of the day.

You can read my review of Mahannah’s work today in the Lancashire Post, and syndicated to twenty-five newspapers in the UK.

“Treachery, revenge, blackmail, theft and murder are rife in The Broken Angel and Backfire and Other Stories, a memorable collection of hardboiled tales by the talented but overlooked 1950s crime writer Floyd Mahannah.

In a literary career that spanned a mere eight years, Mahannah, who died in 1976, produced five reasonably successful novels and eleven short, gritty stories that were published in popular magazines like Argosy, Adventure, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Manhunt.

This new story collection from Stark House Press includes the author’s most accomplished novel and six of his best shorter works, as well as an enlightening introduction by Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Bill Pronzini, who believes Floyd Mahannah’s ‘hard-edged’ work ‘stands the test of time better than many of his peers.’

The Broken Angel, described by New York Times book critic Anthony Boucher as a surprisingly good novel that ‘has much of the appeal of Charles Williams’ studies in temptation,’ is about Roy Holgren, a provincial newspaper editor in Nevada, who is lured into a highly dangerous situation involving blackmail, grand theft and murder.”

Read the full article here.

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Lancashire Post Review of Invigorating Passages: A Lowestoft Chronicle Anthology

LEP.CO.UK - Invigorating Passages Edited by Nicholas Litchfield

Invigorating Passages: A Lowestoft Chronicle Anthology

“Invigorating Passages is a rare and dynamic literary collection which grabs readers firmly and sweeps them away to strange and exhilarating places, presenting intriguing situations, colourful characters, and making us yearn to strap on the backpack and go exploring.” —Pam Norfolk, Lancashire Post

The latest volume in the Lowestoft Chronicle Anthology Series goes on sale on April 1st. I like to think that this book is one of the best we’ve published yet. It even contains a terrific foreword by Matthew P. Mayo who, just two weeks ago, won the Western Writers of America Spur Award for Best Western Juvenile Fiction for his novel Stranded.

Recently, the anthology received high praise from the excellent writer Robert Wexelblatt, award-winning author of Zublinka Among Women. “Two things one wants from an anthology: everything should be different and everything should be good. An anthology of travel writing—generously conceived, like this one–should serve up a variety of trips to surprise and stimulate the mental traveler. Invigorating Passages delivers on all counts, hits on all cylinders too. Here you will find journeys not only to varied locales in space and time but into the inexhaustible intricacies of human psychology, adventures of all sorts and in every genre: poetry, nonfiction, stories. The writing is skilled, the choices rich, the passages manifold, and the invigoration unfailing.”

The book also received a wonderful review today in the Lancashire Post, one of the oldest newspapers still in circulation. Journalist Pam Norfolk had these kind things to say about the book:

“Looking for drama, adventure and a taste of the exotic? Then look no further than the latest anthology from the refreshingly unique Lowestoft Chronicle, Suffolk’s leading literary journal.

Invigorating Passages, the seventh enthralling book in the magazines anthology series, offers up offbeat fiction, stimulating poetry, incisive interviews and engaging creative non-fiction, all with a sharp focus on those spirited souls who revel in taking to the skies, the seas and the roads in order to escape the humdrum everyday and rove the globe.

Once again, editor Nicholas Litchfield, an English-born author who lives in Western New York, has put together an entertaining compendium of original and amusing travelogues, poetic reflections, and tales of far-flung adventure that range from science fiction and fantasy to mystery and crime, offering something for all tastes.

So, take a leisurely literary stroll through Lowestoft Chronicle’s latest offering and lap up the life-nourishing gulps of humour, drama and thought-provoking adventure.”

Pam Norfolk’s review of Invigorating Passages is published in the Lancashire Evening Post and syndicated to 25 newspapers in the UK. You can read the full review here.

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Litchfield Reviews Flight to Darkness and 77 Rue Paradis by Gil Brewer

LEP.CO.UK - Flight to Darkness and 77 Rue Paradis by Gil Brewer

Two more welcome suspense novels from Gil Brewer:

“In two turbulent, mesmerizing tales from the 1950s, a Korean War veteran gets involved with a troublesome beauty and finds himself caught up in immense family strife and murder, and a disgraced former aircraft manufacturer is blackmailed into treason.

Flight to Darkness and 77 Rue Paradis are two early career novels by the late American author Gil Brewer, a prolific writer of compelling crime stories. Author of 50 novels and more than 100 short stories, Brewer was among the most popular noir writers of the 1950s.

Written in just three days, Flight to Darkness was published in 1952, one year after his hugely successful bestselling third novel, 13 French Street, which sold more than 1.3 million copies.”

My review of these two classic tales by novelist Gil Brewer is featured today in the Lancashire Post and syndicated to 25 newspapers in the UK. The full review can be found at the web link below and elsewhere.

Read more at: https://www.lep.co.uk/lifestyle/books/book-review-flight-to-darkness-and-77-rue-paradis-by-gil-brewer-1-9075021