ctsquirrel 's review for:

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
5.0

4.5/5 overall, best anthology yet this year.

Entrée to Murder by Nicole Kimberling
4/5
Tags: small town murder mystery, chef, an island in Puget Sound, Washington State, law enforcement
Quote: On considering suspects “There’s nothing that prohibits a vegetarian from committing murder; just from eating the body”

Twelve Seconds by Meg Perry
4/5
Tags: journalists, military (Air Force Special Agent ["the NCIS of the Air Force"]), law enforcement, Florida (Cape Canaveral/Patrick AFB)

Reality Bites by S.C. Wynne
3/5
Tags: law enforcement, California (Hollywood/LA), TV Producer, Reality TV

Blind Man's Buff by L.B. Gregg
3/5
Tags: Teachers, Action, Adventure, Teachers, Friends to Lovers, Thriller, No Sex

A Country for Old Men by Dal MacLean
2.5 My notes say my reason for rating is that is it was "too Scottish," but there was a Scots Gaelic glossary at the end.
Tags: Scotland (Stornaway), Law Enforcement, Archaeology (Viking settlements in Scotland)

Pepper the Crime Lab by Z.A. Maxfield
4/5 Very funny, but the murderer was easy to figure out because
Spoilerof the dog's reaction

Tags: Chef, No sex, Dogs (labrador in the title, belgian malinois, pug, and shih tzu), bodyguard (former cop/current private security)
Quotes: Lonnie's telling the cop why his knives are portable “Do you leave your weapon at home in the hope that someone has a nice one you can borrow at a dangerous traffic stop?”
Lonnie Boudreaux on his ex's Cajun fetish "I didn’t have a Cajun accent, I rarely cooked Cajun food, and Dillon’s fetish creeped me out. It forced me into a boudin casing that didn’t fit."

Lights. Camera. Murder. by C.S. Poe
4/5 Good mystery, I didn't guess it.
Tags: Age Difference (45yo PI and 15-20yrs younger actor), Actors, New York City
Quotes: Rory on his PA supervisor "I was certain Davey held his dick with five fingers and pissed on four of them."
Rory on Marion (and about to get on Marion) "He wore a suit like it’d be a sin to undress him."

Stranger in the House by Josh Lanyon
3/5
Tags: Montreal Quebec, Teachers, Artists, Art Theft