Since 2005, Murder & Mayhem in Muskego has welcomed and hosted over 150 authors a thousands of fans of crime fiction to the Milwaukee area. Just in time for the 8th annual benefit, a short story anthology featuring bestselling, Edgar and Shamus award-winning writers who have attended the day-long convention has been created. The collection is edited by Jon and Ruth Jordan. Contributors include: Megan Abbott, Dana Cameron, Reed Farrel Coleman, Hilary Davidson, Sean Doolittle, J.M. Edwards, Andrew Grant, Ted Hertel, Jr., Chris F. Holm, Brad Parks, Gary Phillips, Kat Richardson, Greg Rucka, Marcus Sakey, Tom Schreck and Nathan Banks, Zoë Sharp, Bryan VanMeter and Jeri Westerson. All profits from sales of this anthology will benefit the Murder & Mayhem in Milwaukee crime festival.
Since 2005, the Muskego Public Library has welcomed and hosted over 150 authors and a few thousand fans of crime fiction to Muskego, WI. Just in time for the 8th annual benefit, MURDER & MAYHEM IN MUSKEGO is accompanied by a short story anthology featuring bestselling, Edgar and Shamus award-winning writers who have attended the day-long convention. The collection is edited by Jon and Ruth Jordan. Contributors include: Megan Abbott, Dana Cameron, Reed Farrel Coleman, Hilary Davidson, Sean Doolittle, J.M. Edwards, Andrew Grant, Ted Hertel, Jr., Chris F. Holm, Brad Parks, Gary Phillips, Kat Richardson, Greg Rucka, Marcus Sakey, Tom Schreck and Nathan Banks, Zoe Sharp, Bryan VanMeter and Jeri Westerson. All profits from sales of this anthology will benefit the Friends of the Muskego Public Library.
From murder and matchstick men to all-consuming fires, painted women, and Great Lakes disasters--and the wide-eyed public who could not help but gawk at it all--"Milwaukee Mayhem" uncovers the little-remembered and rarely told history of the underbelly of a Midwestern metropolis. "Milwaukee Mayhem" offers a new perspective on Milwaukee's early years, forgoing the major historical signposts found in traditional histories and focusing instead on the strange and brutal tales of mystery, vice, murder, and disaster that were born of the city's transformation from lakeside settlement to American metropolis. Author Matthew J. Prigge presents these stories as they were recounted to the public in the newspapers of the era, using the vivid and often grim language of the times to create an engaging and occasionally chilling narrative of a forgotten Milwaukee. Through his thoughtful introduction, Prigge gives the work context, eschewing assumptions about "simpler times" and highlighting the mayhem that the growth and rise of a city can bring about. These stories are the orphans of Milwaukee's history, too unusual to register in broad historic narratives, too strange to qualify as nostalgia, but nevertheless essential to our understanding of this American city.
Mongo becomes entangled in an international hunt for "the world's most dangerous terrorist," whom Mongo comes to discover may not be at all what he appears to be.
For a limited time only! Purchase BIRD LIVES! for just $2.99 and get a link to download the first book in this series, SOLO HAND, for FREE! For jazz pianist Evan Horne, things couldn’t be better: His hand has healed, he’s getting gigs at some of the Southern California clubs, and he’s even been approached about a recording contract. He couldn’t have planned it any better. What he never considered, though, was that a murderer was going to add some startling improvisations… The dead sax player was someone many in the traditional jazz community wouldn’t miss; he was, after all, just another Kenny G clone, someone capitalizing on an uneducated public’s willingness to support “smooth jazz” while the heirs to the tradition and music of Charlie Parker—“Bird” to the real fans—were starved for work. It is immediately clear to Horne that the murderer must have known that Parker was one of the greatest and most influential men to wet a reed. That’s the only reason the words “Bird Lives” were scrawled on the wall above the body, the same words that appeared on walls all over the world after Parker’s death…and that soon appear next to a second corpse. With a tie-in like that, it is no surprise that the cops turn to Evan; he’d helped them before when death stalked the music community. This time, though, helping could cost him his future…and his life. Praise for BIRD LIVES! “The jazz esoterica and the unusual serial killer should keep Evan Horne fans reading.” —Publishers Weekly “The witty premise and all the jazz talk will more than satisfy series fans.” —Booklist
You don’t stand and wait as Hurricane Katrina barrels down on New Orleans, unless you don’t have a choice, and maritime lawyer Jonathan Brooks has none. His career in shambles and duty bound to help a figure from his past locate her missing nephew feared drowned in the Mississippi, Brooks is burdened with responsibility and devoid of options. But Mariya is no friend. The sultry Russian provocateur saved his life a decade ago but not without dragging him into a world of murder, mayhem and deceit. As darkness bleeds into the Crescent City, Brooks’ search for the truth behind a body in the river catapults him into an international storm that sweeps into the espionage underworld of Russia, the intelligence centers of Washington, D.C., the politics of North Korea, the waterways of the Panama Canal, the back streets of Havana and the barrios of Caracas—and into the heart of Jonathan’s own darkness.
The sound and the fury… On a dark night in Pennsylvania, a jazz legend met his death. But now, in the heat and light of Las Vegas, the sound of Clifford Brown’s soaring trumpet is coming back to life. Because a man named Evan Horne, who knows all about jazz and pain, is unraveling a puzzle that reaches back forty years to Brown’s last hours—and that has already gotten one person killed. Horne was called to Las Vegas to authenticate some recordings purported to be the lost tapes of Clifford Brown. But when a murder interrupts his listening session, Horne becomes the key player in a dangerous duet. Carrying a worn old trumpet that may have belonged to Clifford Brown himself, Horne is pursuing the truth behind an audiotape that may be worth a fortune, may be a hoax, and may be just one haunting melody in a killer’s murderous obsession… Praise for THE SOUND OF THE TRUMPET: “Well written, plausible, and down to earth; recommended.” —Library Journal “Fascinating insider information on various aspects of the jazz world. A must for jazz fans, who will appreciate Moody’s grasp of the music.” —Booklist “When Bill Moody writes about dead jazz musicians, you can hear the blue notes bouncing off the walls.” —The New York Times Book Review “Moody writes beautifully…a gallery of colorful figures…distinctively pleasurable.” —Publishers Weekly “For a lively trip into the…world of jazz musicians, and murder, there’s no better guide than Bill Moody.” —Tony Hillerman, author of the Leaphorn and Chee mysteries
The Origins Game Fair is proud and pleased to present Mystery!, our 2018 fiction anthology. The collection features stories by authors in the convention's Library program. This collection brings together fourteen tales of mystery set across genres, in a legion of times and places. Each author has provided a story which will give you an excellent opportunity to sample their skill and imagination.
Dark, gritty, disturbing. Those are the types of characters you’ll encounter in the award winning stories within this collection. Tough people in a tough world. But also real people, struggling with difficult decisions when faced with unthinkable circumstances. What happens when you discover a dead body but can’t go to the police because of your own dark past? Or your father’s dark past? What might a woman resort to when her husband doesn’t hold up his end of a bargain? What frightening surprises lie buried beneath the beaches of North Carolina? Or in the desolate hills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains? Or in the swamps of the New Jersey Pine Barrens? These are stories that are as dark, gritty, and disturbing as the characters who inhabit them, yet there is a pervasive humanness which forces us to empathize. That asks us to understand why people sometimes do what they do. Perhaps that’s the reason these stories have been chosen for the Best American Mystery series, honored by The Atlantic Monthly’s Student Writing Contest, not to mention various other awards and honors. Perhaps that’s why these stories will stick with you well after the reading has commenced. Always gnawing at you, unrelenting, asking, “What would you have done in that situation? Would you have behaved any differently?” Praise for SHOOTING CREEK AND OTHER STORIES... “This excellent collection transcends any genre label. Ultimately, these stories are mysteries of the human heart's darkest regions. Scott Sanders is the real deal and deserves a wide and appreciative readership.” —Ron Rash, The New York Times bestselling author and winner of the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award. “Each story is a gem in this dark, atmospheric, treasure box of a collection. Scott Loring Sanders digs deep and peers unflinching into the frail, twisted human heart, revealing its many facets and glittering truths. A stellar collection!” —Lisa Unger, The New York Times bestselling author of The Red Hunter. “In Shooting Creek and Other Stories, you’ll find ne’er-do-well husbands, drunken fathers, tough-as-nails women and mothers, and murderously unfaithful wives in a rogue’s gallery of dangerous characters in bad situations. These are stories that will keep you up late reading and thinking, stories that mute the concerns of the everyday world while turning up the volume on thrills and excitement. This is a collection that will fire the imagination while raising moral and ethical issues, which is the true heart of Scott Sanders's fiction. If you’re looking for something good to read, this is the book you want.” —Ed Falco, author of The New York Times bestselling The Family Corleone. “Scott Loring Sanders’s stories are always rich in atmosphere, and his characters are often presented with difficult moral dilemmas. He’s an author who prefers a degree of ambiguity to an easy resolution, and that makes his work thought-provoking, as well as unpredictable. Readers in search of well-written, complex suspense tales won’t go wrong with a Sanders collection!” —Janet Hutchings, Editor-in-Chief, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine.
Wall Street’s miasmal garbage washes up on the Jersey Shore when a small time broker falls in love: Is he attracted to the beautiful lady — or her brother’s inside information? Held spellbound by a steamy, auburn-haired woman with a dubious past and a get-rich-quick, insider trading scheme, Austin Carr knocks down a beehive of bad-acting Bonacellis, including the ill-tempered “Mr. Vic” Bonacelli, who wants his redhead back, and local mob lieutenant Angelina “Mama Bones” Bonacelli, architect of a strange and excruciating death trap for the fast-talking stockbroker she calls smarty pants. To survive, Austin must unravel threads of jealousy, revenge and new affections, discover the fate of a pseudo ruby called the Big Mojo and slam the lid on a pending United States of America vs. Austin Carr insider trading case. Can Austin and his Jersey Shore mouthpiece possibly out maneuver the savvy U.S. District Attorney from Manhattan? Will anything matter for Austin ever again if Mama Bones flips that switch? Praise for BIG MOJO … “Darkly comic and always entertaining — with an outrageous cast of characters including a scheming grandmother and a mysterious redhead. Our engaging hero, fueled by honor and passion, does the best he can in a world where the bad guys seem determined to do him in. Gordon Gekko meets Janet Evanovich in this wry and winning caper — Jack Getze does it again!” — Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony and Mary Higgins Clark Award winning author of Truth Be Told “If Jack Getze’s Austin Carr novels aren’t on your must-read list, you don’t know what you’re missing. Austin Carr’s that buddy your wife doesn’t like you to hang out with. Fast-talking, wisecracking, and hard-living, he’s the type of guy who swears he’s only ever looking for a good time, and yet every night out with him seems to end in a fight. But you can’t deny he’s got heart — and BIG MOJO is Carr’s most epic adventure yet. It’s got frame-ups. Insider trading. Stolen jewels. Double-crosses. Triple-crosses. Love potions. Gunplay. And enough outsized characters it could only take place in the great state of New Jersey. So pick it up. Give it a read. But maybe tell the missus you’re hanging out with someone else.” — Chris F. Holm, author of the Collector Series “There’s no way you can lose with an Austin Carr novel with a gorgeous redhead, a character with the moniker of “Mama Bones”, a double-crossing business partner, more bad guys than can be seen in one place outside of the White House, and Austin’s smart mouth that surely he learned by reading lots of Robert B. Parker’s character Spenser … A truly rollicking, fun, action-filled read with more twists than a fevered revival of Hula Hoop fanatics at a Jersey Shore ballroom … And then, there’s that redhead. Always that redhead … ” — Les Edgerton, author of The Genuine, Imitation, Plastic Kidnapping and others “The irrepressible Austin Carr is back, and he’s sly and sardonic as ever. Jack Getze’s BIG MOJO is a rollercoaster ride you don’t want to miss!” — Hilary Davidson, Anthony Award Winning Author of Blood Always Tells
