Steele Mackaye Investigations: The Tarot Problem by Barry H. Wiley
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| The cover is mostly white. |
Synopsis
First volume of a new series.
Sam Milliron writes on the history and anthropology of Polynesia, while using the pen name, Steele Mackaye (emphasis on the second syllable) he writes historical mystery fiction. Truth one day, fiction the next, with fiction paying better than truth as any Californian politician would, quietly, agree.
Steele Mackaye is called a "wandering consultant" by the LAPD, so it was natural for Homicide Lt. Miles Harper to ask Mackaye to provide support to Homicide Detective Toni Rodriguez in the brutal killing of psychic reader, Sister Cynthia, support which leads Steele and Toni into confrontation with a nameless, but very lethal killer.
Meeting at a mystery writers/readers conference, Mackaye invites Elizabeth Vaughn to move her PI firm from Burbank into the excess space at his Century City office. The move would Elizabeth close to her three largest clients, thus opening up new situations -- situations that take Eliabeth and her operatives into unexpected directions.
Sam Milliron writes on the history and anthropology of Polynesia, while using the pen name, Steele Mackaye (emphasis on the second syllable) he writes historical mystery fiction. Truth one day, fiction the next, with fiction paying better than truth as any Californian politician would, quietly, agree.
Steele Mackaye is called a "wandering consultant" by the LAPD, so it was natural for Homicide Lt. Miles Harper to ask Mackaye to provide support to Homicide Detective Toni Rodriguez in the brutal killing of psychic reader, Sister Cynthia, support which leads Steele and Toni into confrontation with a nameless, but very lethal killer.
Meeting at a mystery writers/readers conference, Mackaye invites Elizabeth Vaughn to move her PI firm from Burbank into the excess space at his Century City office. The move would Elizabeth close to her three largest clients, thus opening up new situations -- situations that take Eliabeth and her operatives into unexpected directions.
The Mindful Lifestyle by Gary Green
Synopsis
The self-help and inspirational book The Mindful Lifestyle describes mindfulness practices in detail, with the idea that everyone can benefit by learning and practicing mindfulness meditation. Many examples and exercises are provided. While it is a small and concise book, it covers all aspects of mindfulness in an easy to understand way, and suggests that meditation can be more than a practice one does a few minutes a day. It can be a lifestyle choice. Gary Green grew up on a small dairy farm near New London, Minnesota, where he still lives. He worked much of his life in the mental health field and for 17 years was the director of a mental health residential treatment facility for mentally ill adults. He retired in 2013. This is his second book.
A Hanging at Cinder Bottom by Glenn Taylor
Synopsis
Stylish historical fiction in the tradition of True Grit and Carter Beats the Devil, A Hanging at Cinder Bottom is an epic novel of exile and retribution, a heist tale and a love story both.
The year is 1910. Halley’s Comet has just signaled the end of the world, and Jack Johnson has knocked out the “Great White Hope,” Jim Jeffries. Keystone, West Virginia, is the region’s biggest boomtown, and on a rainy Sunday morning in August, its townspeople are gathered in a red-light district known as Cinder Bottom to witness the first public hanging in over a decade. Abe Baach and Goldie Toothman are at the gallows, awaiting their execution. He’s Keystone’s most famous poker player; she’s the madam of its most infamous brothel. Abe split town seven years prior under suspicion of armed robbery and murder, and has been playing cards up and down the coast, hustling under a variety of pseudonyms, ever since. But when he returns to Keystone to reunite with Goldie and to set the past right, he finds a brother dead and his father’s saloon in shambles—and suspects the same men might be responsible for both. Only then, in facing his family’s past, does the real swindle begin.
Glenn Taylor, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, has a unique voice that breathes life into history and a prose style that snaps with lyricism and comedy.
The year is 1910. Halley’s Comet has just signaled the end of the world, and Jack Johnson has knocked out the “Great White Hope,” Jim Jeffries. Keystone, West Virginia, is the region’s biggest boomtown, and on a rainy Sunday morning in August, its townspeople are gathered in a red-light district known as Cinder Bottom to witness the first public hanging in over a decade. Abe Baach and Goldie Toothman are at the gallows, awaiting their execution. He’s Keystone’s most famous poker player; she’s the madam of its most infamous brothel. Abe split town seven years prior under suspicion of armed robbery and murder, and has been playing cards up and down the coast, hustling under a variety of pseudonyms, ever since. But when he returns to Keystone to reunite with Goldie and to set the past right, he finds a brother dead and his father’s saloon in shambles—and suspects the same men might be responsible for both. Only then, in facing his family’s past, does the real swindle begin.
Glenn Taylor, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, has a unique voice that breathes life into history and a prose style that snaps with lyricism and comedy.
So that's all for this weeks mail call. I'm most looking forward to reading A Hanging at Cinder Bottom. Which of these three books looks the most interesting to you? - Katie
