Reviews

Lowestoft Chronicle #51

Issue 51 of Lowestoft Chronicle

The autumn edition (#51) of Lowestoft Chronicle features fiction by Barbara Bottner, Anne Dorrian, Andrew Edwards, James Gallant, Sharon Frame Gay, and Mark Jacobs, poetry by Cristina Legarda and Joan Mazza, and creative nonfiction by Craig Dicker, Jesse O’Reilly-Conlin, and Lynette Yetter. Among the entertaining stories is “After the Meltdown, On the Hunt,” a provocative dystopic fiction yarn by Mark Jacobs, author of the critically acclaimed novels Stone Cowboy (Soho Press) and A Handful of Kings (Simon & Schuster), in which bankrolled big-game hunters vie for the ultimate prize. The issue also contains my interview with Mark, which covers, among other things, his writing career, valuable advice from mentors, and the Latin American media attack on his most famous short story. Remarkably prolific for many years, Mark’s excellent stories appear in dozens of prestigious venues. As regards this small literary magazine, here’s his splendid assessment of Lowestoft Chronicle: “For those of us driven to know the world, to read it, to write it, Lowestoft Chronicle is an essential way station on the highway. Good writing on things that matter, a clean presentation that’s easy on the eye, and variety that coheres around taste. Check it out.”

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The Big Grab & The Savage Breast by John Trinian (Introductions by Brian Greene and Nicholas Litchfield)

A John Trinian Twofer: The Big Grab/The Savage Breast

The John Trinian (aka Zekial Marko) revival continues with this latest twofer from Stark House Press, The Big Grab / The Savage Breast. The author, a very proficient writer of crime novels, found success with numerous works, most notably Scratch a Thief and The Big Grab, each written in the early 1960s. Both of those crime tales became movies—the first filmed as Once a Thief, the latter as Any Number Can Win. Trinian wrote the screenplays.

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Grey Face & The Green Eyes of Bast by Sax Rohmer (Introduction by Nicholas Litchfield)

Two Haunting Classics from Sax Rohmer

This month sees the reprint of Grey Face and The Green Eyes of Bâst, two masterful mysteries by the king of eerie occult fiction, Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward (1883 – 1959), known to readers as Sax Rohmer. Although best remembered for his sizable collection of stories featuring the fiendish Dr. Fu Manchu, the author enjoyed great success with many of his other works. His standalone novels and book series containing Parisian criminal investigator Gaston Max attracted a large international fanbase. His tales concerning the female supervillain Sumuru went from radio to book and were eventually adapted to the big screen, spawning a couple of movies (produced in the 1960s and 1980s).

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Lowestoft Chronicle #47

Issue 47 of Lowestoft Chronicle

This bumper Autumn 2021 edition of Lowestoft Chronicle features first-class essays, stories, and poetry by returning contributors Sharon Frame Gay, Bruce Harris, Jacqueline Jules, George Moore, and Katherine Pickett. As a matter of fact, the entertaining nonfiction story “An Elegy for Shoes” marks Pickett’s welcome return to the magazine after a ten-year absence.
Newcomers to Lowestoft Chronicle include Robert Luhn, Carolyn R. Russell, Jen Burke Anderson, Amy Barone, Shoshauna Shy, Tim Campbell, and Harper Warner. There’s also an absorbing new story from acclaimed writer Laurence Klavan, author of ‘The Family Unit’ and Other Fantasies and Bed and Sofa, among others. Klavan, who won the Edgar Award for his novel Mrs. White, had this to say of the magazine: “Retro and contemporary, sophisticated and accessible—and beautifully designed—Lowestoft Chronicle is a truly entertaining magazine. Unique in the crowd of online publications, it takes an old world approach to our weird new world.”

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The Sailcloth Shroud / All the Way by Charles Williams (Introduction by Nicholas Litchfield)

Seafaring Thriller Launches Charles Williams Revival

As crime fiction collections go, few will better the latest twofer from Stark House Press – The Sailcloth Shroud and All The Way by Charles Williams. These reprints from the late 1950s, released this past month, are a couple of taut, tough, cleverly crafted stories that firmly hold the reader’s attention all the way to the journey’s end.

The second story, All the Way (sometimes known as The Concrete Flamingo), is a gripping noir that tugs at your heartstrings. Whatever your views regarding the intense ending, few can fault the masterful quality of the writing or the intriguing plot. It’s a noir that deserves to be remembered.

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A Certain Man's Daughter by Timothy J. Lockhart

Litchfield reviews “A Certain Man’s Daughter” by Timothy J. Lockhart for The Virginian-Pilot

In 2017, Stark House published an impressive debut novel by Timothy J. Lockhart titled SMITH. It was a hard-boiled noir that featured an interesting female lead character with plenty of grit and toughness. Lockhart’s subsequent novel, PIRATES, published the following year, was a modern-day high-seas action-adventure yarn set in the Caribbean. This thrilling, blood-and-guts page-turner benefits from a distinctive, memorable lead character – a tough but sensitive loner named Hal Morgan, who is a former Navy SEAL. His latest, A CERTAIN MAN’S DAUGHTER, published recently by Stark House, is another excellent hard-boiled tale that warrants reading. Completely different from his previous work, it is brisk-paced, exhilarating, and just as rewarding as the earlier novels.

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The Lover / The Mistress / The Passionate by Carter Brown (Introduction by Nicholas Litchfield)

THE LOVER, THE MISTRESS, and THE PASSIONATE Bookgasm Review

A couple of weeks ago, Bookgasm published a glowing review of the newly released Stark House Press collection THE LOVER / THE MISTRESS / THE PASSIONATE. These three novels by Carter Brown (pseudonym of the late British-born Australian pulp writer Alan Geoffrey Yates) are part of the publisher’s ongoing Al Wheeler Mystery Series. This collection marks Wheeler’s thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth adventure and is volume number five in the current Carter Brown reprints series.

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The Lover / The Mistress / The Passionate by Carter Brown (Introduction by Nicholas Litchfield)

Carter Brown’s Tales of the Passionate, Mistress, Lover

The phenomenally successful mystery series by Carter Brown, the pseudonym of British-born Australian pulp writer Alan Geoffrey Yates, spawned close to 300 titles and allegedly sold more than 100 million copies. Considering the popularity of these swift-paced, tongue-in-cheek stories featuring wise-cracking detective Al Wheeler, I suppose it’s not surprising that my bookshelf contains almost two dozen of these novels. And, fortunately, my collection is growing, owing to Stark House Press continuing to reissue the early Al Wheeler adventures.

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LowestoftChronicle_issue45

Issue 45 of Lowestoft Chronicle

This Spring edition of Lowestoft Chronicle includes some very good work by returning contributors Mary Donaldson-Evans, Charles Holdefer, Jacqueline Jules, Robert Mangeot, dl mattila, and James B. Nicola. Holdefer, author of the recent micro-story collection Agitprop for Bedtime: Polemic, Story Problems, Kulturporn and Humdingers, provides a particularly memorable fictitious memoir that is truly something to savor. Notable Lowestoft Chronicle newcomers include Shannon Cuthbert, DAH, Catherine Dowling, Christian Harrington, Bruce Harris, and Robin Michel. Harris, author of Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson: ABout Type, had this to say of issue #45 of the magazine: “Come for the covers, stay for the content. This issue, like its predecessors, contains a wide-ranging mix of fiction, poetry, and creative non-fiction. You don’t have to be a detective to deduce that the March 2021 number packs a punch. Don’t take my word for it. Check out a sample, like Charles Holdefer’s, “Espèce de Cowboy.” Here’s the link: (http://lowestoftchronicle.com/issues/issue45/charlesholdefer/). Enjoy!”

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The Money by David Shawn Klein

Debut Novel by David Shawn Klein

In 2012, David Shawn Klein wrote a memorable short story (“The Final Ascent of Hal Tripp”) about a playboy adventurer attempting to conquer Everest. It was a gripping drama, set against a stunning backdrop, published in issue #12 of Lowestoft Chronicle and anthologized in INTREPID TRAVELERS the following year. Immediately, I had high hopes for Klein (forgive the weak pun). Many years have come and gone, and during that time, Klein has had some quality stories published in venues like The Hudson Review. Finally, though, he has a novel due for publication. It’s titled THE MONEY, and it’s an action-packed literary thriller with strong doses of humor and very fine plotting.

I was fortunate to have read an advanced draft of the novel, and all I can say is that the writing exceeded my expectations. Klein’s deft mix of razor-sharp wit, astute observations, and fierce action turn this riveting tale of a knavish lawyer embarking on a perilous moral crusade into a sublime literary debut. THE MONEY will shock, surprise, seduce, and, ultimately, satisfy those who appreciate dry humor and gritty drama.

Late last month, Black Rose Writing finally published the novel.

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