Scan barcode
A review by marlan
Footsteps in the Dark by Meg Perry, Z.A. Maxfield, C.S. Poe, L.B. Gregg, Nicole Kimberling, S.C. Wynne, Dal Maclean, Josh Lanyon
4.0
I've been trying to read more romance - one of the genres I don't regularly read - and I've found that mystery/romance satisfies both sides of my brain. All the plot and puzzles of a mystery with all the relationship development of a romance. This was a great sampler piece, introducing me to several authors.
Entré to murder by Nicole Kimberling ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A chef in a small island town gets entangled in a murder - and the local cop.
Good introductory story. I loved the banter between the two leads and their semi-antagonistic roles. Reminded me of 40s-style comedies like His Girl Friday.
Twelve Seconds by Meg Perry ⭐
An investigator and space reporter look into the explosion of a Elon-Musk-style rocket.
The one dud in the bunch. If you came here because you got stuck on this story and wondered if it was worth reading on - yes, it is. Just skip this one. Poor characterization and relationship development ("Justin shared [Greg's] enthusiasm for fishing, reading, travel, and classic rock." A romance for the ages!) I don't even remember who the murderer was, as it had so little emotional impact. I'm also sick of reading about billionaires and their toy rockets, so that may have colored my opinion.
Reality Bites by S.C. Wynne ⭐⭐⭐
Lights. Camera. Murder. By C.S. Poe ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm grouping these together because they're similar in premise and tone: a hard-nosed detective/P.I. investigates the set of a TV show. Both stories are told in a clipped noir style. Of the two, I enjoyed "Lights" more. The characters felt more well-rounded, showing anger, insecurity, and wit. The mystery was multi-layered. And it did a better job of parceling out the resolution in stages. Maybe it's a genre convention, but a lot of the stories had a villain monologue to explain the mystery at the end, which was too much info to absorb at once. "Lights" gave me more time to process, and felt more satisfying as a result.
Blind Man's Bluff by L.B. Gregg ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A group of teacher friends go play capture the flag in an abandoned mall and get trapped inside with a killer.
This was almost horror/romance, albeit on the light side of horror. A nice change of pace mid-book (whoever organized the stories did a great job). A bit rushed in the ending, but the descriptions of the decaying mall set a delightfully creepy tone. I think the author was going for a theme on immature adults growing up, but often it felt like a YA book where the characters had been aged up at the last minute. Still great fun, but an odd duck in this anthology.
A Country for Old Men by Dal MacLean ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A closeted police officer moves home to the Outer Hebrides (western Scottish isles) and investigates a murder where a possible ancient artifact is found at the scene.
One of the best in the anthology. In addition to a romance and mystery, there is a bit of history and terrific world-building. The Outer Hebrides felt very specific and real as a location and culture, and the resolution of the three mysteries all had emotional resonance. I teared up at the end.
Pepper the Crime Lab by Z.A. Maxfield ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A man recovering from a long illness moves into a new apartment and discovers a dead man next door.
Comedy rarely gets the same respect as drama, and I feel like this story is just as good as A Country for Old Men, with the added challenge of being funny. The relationship between Lonnie and his dog is endearing, and it ties into his emotional development and the themes of the story. There were so many interesting background details to the characters - I felt like there was more story to tell.
Stranger in the House by Josh Lanyon ⭐⭐⭐
An art teacher moves into a mansion he mysteriously inherits...but strange things are happening there at night.
Miles was incredibly appealing as a main character, and this was probably the most mysterious of the mysteries: an old mansion inherited for unexplained reasons, a suspicious death, a creepy housekeeper. The twists never quite felt twisty enough, though. I also couldn't stop thinking about how a teacher would pay property taxes on a $9 million mansion, which is probably a sign that the story wasn't gripping me enough to shut down the nit-picking part of my brain.
Overall: this was a great vacation read. A nice long book that is just challenging enough to be diverting, with a group of well-selected stories that clipped along.
Entré to murder by Nicole Kimberling ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A chef in a small island town gets entangled in a murder - and the local cop.
Good introductory story. I loved the banter between the two leads and their semi-antagonistic roles. Reminded me of 40s-style comedies like His Girl Friday.
Twelve Seconds by Meg Perry ⭐
An investigator and space reporter look into the explosion of a Elon-Musk-style rocket.
The one dud in the bunch. If you came here because you got stuck on this story and wondered if it was worth reading on - yes, it is. Just skip this one. Poor characterization and relationship development ("Justin shared [Greg's] enthusiasm for fishing, reading, travel, and classic rock." A romance for the ages!) I don't even remember who the murderer was, as it had so little emotional impact. I'm also sick of reading about billionaires and their toy rockets, so that may have colored my opinion.
Reality Bites by S.C. Wynne ⭐⭐⭐
Lights. Camera. Murder. By C.S. Poe ⭐⭐⭐⭐
I'm grouping these together because they're similar in premise and tone: a hard-nosed detective/P.I. investigates the set of a TV show. Both stories are told in a clipped noir style. Of the two, I enjoyed "Lights" more. The characters felt more well-rounded, showing anger, insecurity, and wit. The mystery was multi-layered. And it did a better job of parceling out the resolution in stages. Maybe it's a genre convention, but a lot of the stories had a villain monologue to explain the mystery at the end, which was too much info to absorb at once. "Lights" gave me more time to process, and felt more satisfying as a result.
Blind Man's Bluff by L.B. Gregg ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A group of teacher friends go play capture the flag in an abandoned mall and get trapped inside with a killer.
This was almost horror/romance, albeit on the light side of horror. A nice change of pace mid-book (whoever organized the stories did a great job). A bit rushed in the ending, but the descriptions of the decaying mall set a delightfully creepy tone. I think the author was going for a theme on immature adults growing up, but often it felt like a YA book where the characters had been aged up at the last minute. Still great fun, but an odd duck in this anthology.
A Country for Old Men by Dal MacLean ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A closeted police officer moves home to the Outer Hebrides (western Scottish isles) and investigates a murder where a possible ancient artifact is found at the scene.
One of the best in the anthology. In addition to a romance and mystery, there is a bit of history and terrific world-building.
Spoiler
And while I understand the sentiment that LGBT stories need to move past the coming-out drama, I feel like there are still plenty of settings where that is appropriate. Not every story is set among generation Z in NY and California.Pepper the Crime Lab by Z.A. Maxfield ⭐⭐⭐⭐
A man recovering from a long illness moves into a new apartment and discovers a dead man next door.
Comedy rarely gets the same respect as drama, and I feel like this story is just as good as A Country for Old Men, with the added challenge of being funny. The relationship between Lonnie and his dog is endearing, and it ties into his emotional development and the themes of the story. There were so many interesting background details to the characters - I felt like there was more story to tell.
Stranger in the House by Josh Lanyon ⭐⭐⭐
An art teacher moves into a mansion he mysteriously inherits...but strange things are happening there at night.
Miles was incredibly appealing as a main character, and this was probably the most mysterious of the mysteries: an old mansion inherited for unexplained reasons, a suspicious death, a creepy housekeeper. The twists never quite felt twisty enough, though. I also couldn't stop thinking about how a teacher would pay property taxes on a $9 million mansion, which is probably a sign that the story wasn't gripping me enough to shut down the nit-picking part of my brain.
Overall: this was a great vacation read. A nice long book that is just challenging enough to be diverting, with a group of well-selected stories that clipped along.