I’m spending the weekend reading books for Library Journal, so I’m grateful for Kevin Tipple’s reviews. I know several of you mentioned Mystery Magazine the last time he reviewed an issue. Here’s the August issue. Thank you, Kevin.
Mystery Magazine: August 2024 opens with the cover story “A Tale Of Trucidation” by
Tracy Falenwolfe. Daphne Peters just escaped a nearby house and is contemplating the
closed Edgar Warner Memorial Library. The three story Victorian mansion is dark and
she could hide in the bushes around it. First, she needs to swipe a bottle of water or
three as she sees cases are stacked on the porch. Once she gets some water in her,
she can think and make a plan. Whatever happens, she can’t get caught as she is in
considerable danger. She isn’t the only one.
Leah is at her neighbor’s apartment when the detective came to say that the body of
Sarah’s husband, Paul, had been found. How that came to be and a lot more is
revealed in “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” by Matt Kingcroft.
Next up is “The Poppy Flower Forgeries” by Richard D. Hallows. Leaving the antiquities
shop in the hands of Jonathan might have proved to be a serious mistake. He isn’t the
brightest nephew. Now she has a serious problem that she did not need. What to do
with a stolen Van Gogh?
Readers go back in time with the next short story, “The Eyes Ff St. Thomas” by S. B.
Watson. People in the area know that a local establishment, The Masse D’armes, is full
of bad folks, doing bad stuff. Among the various things that happen there, fake relics are
bought and sold. A knight has just ridden to the place and gone inside. He can’t be
there for any good reason.
An antiquity of sorts, is also at work in the next tale where a young teen, Draymond, is
poking around a hole in a riverbank. He works at the hole and soon finds a soggy old
candy box. Inside that he finds a confession on a sheet of paper dated 1998. There is a
mastery to solve. Draymond is on the case in “a Small Town Mystery, Solved” by M.C.
Schmidt.
He likes to hide out in a certain very isolated spot in the park. He is always alone until
that day when she first shows up. Pretty soon, they meet up every day in “Here Is
Where My Amy Lies” by April Kelly. The place is pretty, peaceful, and isolated— much
like their evolving relationship.
It is off to Italy in “The Trade” by Dale Phillips. This final story features the Italian Mafia,
a man who is in great fear of being killed, and a smart investigator, Dante LaGuardia. Vincent has managed to cross Roberto Pazzi, the most dangerous man in Florence, and needs LaGuardia’s help. Good thing LaGuardia has an idea.
Mystery Magazine: August 2024 is another fun filled issue. Plenty of interesting
characters, complex storylines, and twisty tales make the issue entertaining. As always,
things are not excessively dark, violent, or too much in terms of language. All in all, a
good read and another issue sure to have at least a couple of stories, you will really like.
For quite some time now I have been gifted a subscription by the publisher with no
expectation at all of a review. I am very sad to see that the September 2024 issue will
be the final one from this publisher.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2024
