Plot or Premise

A funeral home is doing above-average business, shipping a lot of dead bodies from Florida back to their home states. Something doesn’t smell right, so the company’s financial officer asks Archy to look into it.

What I Liked

It is very clear that the officer isn’t telling the whole truth about the source of angst, but Archy and his father think at first it will turn out to be nothing significant. Meanwhile, Binky convinces Archy to train him as a discreet detective, although Binky ends up swinging with some of the suspects, so the discreet part is gone. There is one character in the book, the wife of the CEO, who is dying of cancer and is absolutely delightful in every scene with Archy. She’s written in almost the same terms as Archy’s mom, and the affection shows.

What I Didn’t Like

There is a whole substory with the FBI to help with the investigation problem for other jurisdictions, but it rings false and unnecessary. Even the motive for what is going on seems light for the outcome.

The Bottom Line

Buy a casket, get a mystery for free

Plot or Premise

Sara Flores is living off the grid after a divorce, and gets to know an Indigenous neighbour who teaches her about wilderness and remote living. He seems like a pretty good friend until he performs a ritual one night as he’s dying and turns her into a werewolf without any warning or information.

What I Liked

The collection of eight shortstories gives the backstory of how Sara actually became a werewolf (no, she wasn’t bitten) and started figuring out how to use her newfound “gift” to help others.

I really liked “The Too-Smart Kid” who tried to get a job with some people who worked at a factory, only to accidentally trip over a drug operation. The “Werewolf at the Zoo” added some decent mythology to the story, with her communicating with a wolf. Similarly, “Werewolf Seeks Lupiti Wisdom” showed some of the backstory for the original werewolf and his links to his tribe.

The short novella, “Curiosity Kills”, was relatively fully fleshed out and had all the elements for a more fulsome story (her being “hired”, her getting involved, and her solving the case aggressively).

What I Didn’t Like

I felt the first story, “What Are Friends For”, was good but way too short. I would have liked to know more about her and Joe before the “hey-now-you’re-a-werewolf” moment, without those actual words telling her anything. But “A Wolf In Sheep’s Clothing” (running in the woods) and Choices (psycho friend of a friend) are not even really stories, just short vignettes with some extra exposition. Finally, there is a pretty good basis for a longer story in “Why I Need To Stay Away from Texas”, but it ends really abruptly and very oddly, where she suddenly has almost ninja / special forces abilities, but continues to talk about her not having any actual training. It didn’t quite work for me.

The Bottom Line

A decent premise and a good origin story

Plot or Premise

A college student drives off suddenly into the night, never to be seen again, while her car is found abandoned at the side of the road. Did she meet someone? Walk off into the woods? Commit suicide?

What I Liked

The main part is Jason Wade, a reporter who starts to link her disappearance to a broader storyline and a psycho who preys on women. The story jumps around a bit, with him as a newbie reporter trying to win a coveted full reporter job, and it backfires on him. Then he pursues it further, at potential further cost to him.

What I Didn’t Like

There are a couple of “complications” as plot devices that don’t work for me. The boyfriend has some info that he holds back that would help improve the search, or at least inform the search, and while the reasons are explained, they’re not very believable. And the ending is a bit stretched with poor cell service and heroic efforts by individuals. Didn’t really work for me.

The Bottom Line

Only mildly thriller-ish