The Beekeeper's Dilemma
Eric B. Ruark
Mystery Weekly Magazine

An elderly bee keeper makes the rounds of a small British village with his mongrel dog, delivering jars of honey. He comes across a crime scene. The old man takes a keen interest. It wasn't until the end that I realized clues to another mystery were being scattered along the way. Nicely written.

Case Study on the Principles of Morals and Legislation
Aislinn Batstone
Shhhh... Murder!

Set in Sydney, Australia, the body of a stranger in a university library disrupts a professor's day. A spilled baggie of cocaine adds to the mystery. A library book the professor is certain she did not check out ends up in her tote bag. There is a ticking clock as a class approaches which two of her suspects attend. Kate faces an ethical dilemma with her law students, and works out the solution with the aid of legal precedent.

I continue this week with a look at four more stories from the Shhhh... Murder! anthology, edited by Andrew MacRae.

In Elsinore Noir by Warren Bull, a library patron unfolds a unique theory about Shakespeare's Hamlet. The reader drops by frequently to update the librarian about his developing concept. Hamlet is treated as a noir whodunit in this very entertaining tale.

The Wrong Coffee Shop by Sharon Marchisello is a story of mistaken identity and two coffee shops with the same name. This had a slice-of-life feel, and left me wanting to know what was on that piece of paper! The story had beautifully worded scene descriptions. Nicely done.

When a librarian goes missing from an exclusive and mysterious private library, his replacement becomes too curious for his own good. Ask a Librarian by Jacqueline Seewald is a fast-paced mystery with a light touch of romance and a heavy dose of what's-going-to-happen-next. 

Nudger is a PI in DDS 10752 Libra, by John Lutz and Josh Pachter. I kept wondering when a library or librarian would be involved, and was rewarded with a clever twist.  

A collection of cozy murder mysteries using a librarian character or library setting. Sounds like my cup of tea!

Shhhh... Murder!, edited by Andrew MacRae, pulls you in from the first story. This anthology introduces each story with a bit about the author, and his or her attachment to libraries. Some had careers as librarians, while others grew up as I did, considering the local library a second home. 

Wuthering Stacks by Deborah Lacy and Pat Hernas hops right into the world of libraries and librarians with a difficult patron dangling the promise of a big donation over the hapless librarian. Add a body and a pile of torn-up books, and you have a mystery in dire need of a solution.

Mr. Sugarman Visits the Bookmobile by Michael Bracken: Graham Sugarman is the primary patron of the bookmobile when it stops in the dried up town of Quarryville, Texas. He selects five books because this is the limit. Graham spends his week reading the books. An accident driving a school bus left him a local hero, but also a bit damaged. His world is upended when the bookmobile fails to arrive the next week. He was the last person to see the librarian/driver alive, but he's not sure what he witnessed. I was delighted when Bracken referenced the Quarryville Smokehouse from a previous story - Smoked - in Noir at the Salad Bar. Excellent wordsmithing combined with vividly drawn characters and an emotionally engaging plot makes for delightful reading.

I'll be sharing my thoughts on more stories in this fun anthology as I make my way through the fictional stacks.

Today on the Pikes Peak Writers blog, I share thoughts and tips on participating in NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month. If you start November with a detailed outline, is it cheating? Join me at Writing from the Peak for a shot of inspiration and motivation.
​When you announce you are dedicating the month of November to writing a novel, magical things happen.
Writing from the Peak - NaNoWriMo - Is it Cheating?

I've been invited to join a one month, one-time, classic mystery novel reading group. The book is The Mystery of a Butcher's Shop by Gladys Mitchell. Who is this author, a contemporary of Agatha Christie? I intend to find out.

Details about the group here: announcing-the-mitchell-mystery-reading-group  

During the month of October, Pikes Peak Writers​ will be giving advice on how to NaNoWriMo. November is National Novel Writing Month. We all need inspiration to begin this endeavor to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Always wanted to write a novel? Haven't had the time to finish your novel? Need a jump start on your new project? Check into the PPW blog, Writing at the Peak, for helpful how-tos.

The first NaNo article is by Margena Adams - You're Doing WHAT in November?

The Money Mattress by Jude Roy is an enjoyable read. A heist is planned by an ex-con, a dimwit blonde, and her less than competent boyfriend. I just knew everything was destined to go to hell in a hand-basket. The author surprised me with this clever tale.

​You can read this, and many other fine stories, on the Mystery Weekly Magazine website.

I finished reading the September/October 2018 issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Rats, by Tom Savage, starred part-time school teacher Alice Wilson. When a Russian mob boss's nephew moves into her apartment building, the former safe haven becomes a dangerous and depressing place to live. Alice and her retired trapeze artist neighbor are determined to win their peace of mind back from the crude and violent thugs. Anyone who has had unpleasant neighbors move in will appreciate the drastic measures Alice and Marco take.

Two stories are set in Germany, and it is interesting how differently the authors approach the similar settings. Buried Past by Mark Thielman straddles two time periods: WWII and present day. Former lovers meet for coffee. While their story unfolds, another tale is told of un-exploded ordinance peppering the German countryside. I was quite a way into the story before I started catching the connection of the historical story to the modern. Nicely done. In an entirely different era, but still in Germany, Matthew Wilson sets his story The Cook Off on a US Army base in 1977. This is pre-unification, with East German defectors seeking asylum in Western Germany. But that's not the core of this story. Sergeant Jefferson faces racial prejudice from fellow soldiers when he dates a white German woman. The title of this story has nothing to do with food, by the way. With no support from superior officers, the sergeant must find a way to stop a group of rednecks from beating up black soldiers. And prevent his own murder.

Lots of good reading this week!

My mother and sister joined me Sunday at Glen Eyrie Castle. I have been here several times over the years, but this was the first time I saw bighorn sheep on the grounds. This was quite a treat for my sister from Texas. We decided it was a nice gift for my mother's 85th birthday. We enjoyed a Victorian-style tea in luxurious surroundings.

Murder on Lake Okeechobee by Gary Hoffman is a fun mystery. A body, a fishing boat, and an old grudge are pieces to this puzzle. Detective Brown investigates clues and interviews suspects in a short story you can read here.

In The Wildest One by Brendan DuBois, former child actor Harry Cox finds it difficult to capitalize on his once famous past. His impatient wife, part-time special police officer for their small New Hampshire town, pushes him to attend celebrity reunion events. All Harry wants is to putter around his bakery, which is sliding into the red. The past won't let Harry go, from clueless fans to former co-stars. He's heading straight toward losing everything as the story opens.   

Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine publishes several series short stories with recurring characters.

Counterpoint, by John H. Dirckx, features Detective Sergeant Fritz Dollinger, Lieutenant Auburn, and several police department personnel familiar to fans of the series. In this story, two neighbors - lawyer Maynard Millikin and doctor Quentin Nieborg - have a longstanding feud over property boundaries, outbuildings, fallen fruit, and noise. Their disagreements have escalated to a ridiculous crescendo, until they both become suspects in the murder of a handyman.

Scrap Drive - A Four Horsemen Story by Loren D. Estleman is another recurring series featuring four police officers. "The squad, colloquially known as the Four Horsemen, affected matching gray fedoras and black topcoats in order to avoid blackjacking one another by mistake in riot situations." At a WWII scrap drive in a public park, a gangster's body rolls off the pile of toasters, iron stoves, bowling trophies, and galvanized pails. The Four Horseman must track down the killer. What they discover is quite a surprise. 

This year I had less gardening space than in previous years, focusing almost exclusively on container gardening on my deck. Even so, I had an explosion of late summer produce. I spent more time than typical this year putting up vegetables. For those who don't know the term "putting up" in this context, it refers to preserving food for use in the winter and early spring, before new crops are available. 

First I prepared Swiss Chard for freezing. I cleaned and chopped the leaves and stems, then blanched them for 2 minutes in boiling water. I measured out quantities I thought I'd want for meals later into freezer bags. Done!

I have a beautiful crop of jalapenos that's still producing. I decided to get the canning equipment out one more time to preserve this bounty. I just can't eat that many fresh jalapenos at a time. I made baked jalapenos stuffed with cheddar cheese a couple weeks ago, and my husband and I nearly burst into flame. These are some hot peppers!

Canning is the best option. I chose quarter pint canning jars, and a few half pints. Small, usable quantities. Our elder daughter orchestrated the fruit canning and freezing a few weeks back. I decided to go it alone this time.

The recipe warned to wear rubber gloves to avoid getting burned by the capsaicin - the substance in the peppers that makes it hot. I've made the mistake of cutting up jalapenos and then touching my lips. It burns for hours. 

Preparing produce for canning takes the lion's share of time. You want some uniformity. I threw in bits of small sweet red peppers for added color, along with a couple red jalapenos. 

Next comes cleaning your equipment. It's critical to be sanitary. Those jars might sit in your cupboard for a year and a half. Timing sanitizing the jars and lids, boiling the vinegar, and packing the hot jars with jalapenos is a bit tricky. Finally, they go in the canning bath, a huge pot of boiling water.

After a nervous several minutes (lots of extra minutes at high altitude), I pulled the jars from the water bath and waited.

POP! The first lid sealed. POP POP POP! More lids sealed. That popping is the sound of success. The rubber lined lid has sealed to the glass jar, and will now be safe to place on a cupboard shelf for many months.

​My stint as Pioneer Woman is over for the season. I'll put my canning equipment away for another year. Well, unless my bumper crop of tomatoes needs to be canned.....

Summer has been busy, but Thursday night I made time to drive to Denver for a gathering of the Rocky Mountain Mystery Writers of America. This professional writing group hosts speakers on topics of interest to mystery and crime fiction authors. This month's program featured Sgt. Dean Christopherson from the Denver Police Department.

Sgt. Christopherson brought items from the Denver Police Museum. He spoke about how police officers were at a disadvantage in the early days of American history, hobbled by everything from rules about how to carry their firearms to the inadequacy of small caliber pistols against criminals who possessed military firearms.

​He became interested in gathering historical information and artifacts related to police officers, which led to founding the museum. Among the early hats, handcuffs, radio, badges, and pistol he brought to show us, there was also Harry Callahan's badge from the Clint Eastwood movie Dirty Harry. Sgt. Christopherson spoke about the important role movies have had in accurately portraying police work.

​It was an interesting evening, and well worth the drive. More photos below.