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13+ Works 78 Members 6 Reviews

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Includes the name: Barb Goffman

Works by Barb Goffman

Chesapeake Crimes: This Job is Murder! (2012) — Editor; Contributor — 12 copies
Chesapeake Crimes: They Had It Comin' (2010) — Editor; Contributor — 12 copies
Malice Domestic 12: Mystery Most Historical (2017) — Editor — 11 copies
Malice Domestic 11: Murder Most Conventional (2016) — Contributor; Editor — 10 copies
Chesapeake Crimes: Homicidal Holidays (2014) — Editor; Contributor — 8 copies
50 Shades of Cabernet: An Anthology of Wine Mysteries (2017) — Contributor — 7 copies
Chesapeake Crimes: Storm Warning (2016) — Contributor; Editor — 5 copies
Chesapeake Crimes: Fur, Feathers, and Felonies (2018) — Editor — 4 copies

Associated Works

Writes of Passage: Adventures on the Writer's Journey (2014) — Contributor — 17 copies
Chesapeake Crimes 2 (2005) — Contributor — 16 copies
Chesapeake Crimes 3 (2008) — Contributor — 14 copies
The Killer Wore Cranberry (Anthology 9-in-1) (2010) — Contributor — 6 copies
The Killer Wore Cranberry: Room for Thirds (2013) — Contributor — 2 copies
The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Second Helping (2012) — Contributor — 2 copies
The Killer Wore Cranberry: A Fourth Meal of Mayhem (2014) — Contributor — 2 copies
RIDE 2: More Short Fiction About Bicycles (2012) — Contributor — 1 copy

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Black Cat 10

After a brief introduction by editor Michael Bracken, Black Cat Mystery Magazine #10 opens with “The Last Gasp” by H.K. Slade. With the department short staffed and three gang related shootings that morning, Senior Detective Ambrose Broyhill is out in the heat at a murder scene that hardly has any police presence. Once officer, who looks to be the same age as his young grandson, is out on the street and a second officer is the house with the suspect and the dead body. The officer inside is Friday Hampton, daughter of the department legend, Tony Hampton. She’s young, smart, and has a gut feeling that the Broyhill believes is important. She just has not put all the clues together yet.

“Spook” by Emilio DeGrazia comes next where the narrator is pretty sure that they saw Rondel Collins on Sunday night just outside of Chisolm. Problem is that allegedly he was not in Minnesota Sunday night as he was killed by police in Alabama Saturday night. This happened just a few hours after he supposedly killed Ginny Gunderson. The police there said he was barricaded in a stall inside a barn. He would not come out. So, since they had no idea what weapon or weapons he had, they shot him dead in self-defense. That means that, somehow, a black outsider originally from Detroit with no car, killed a local gal, and then a few hours later and more than a thousand miles away, dies in a barn in Alabama. Does not make sense at all and that is not the only local weird thing going on.

Getting dumped the week before Thanksgiving hit her hard in “Out of a Fog” by Barb Goffman. It takes her some time to plan after she realizes the depths of his betrayal. She has the time to plan since she does not have a boyfriend anymore. One way or another, he’s going to get his.

Captain Ernesto Guillén hates the new posting, but when you embarrass a major businessman and political donor to the mayor, you get yourself banished to the hinterlands. In his case, he was sent to Manglaralto, a tiny Ecuadorian fishing village where it is too damn hot and humid and his clothing constantly itches and scratches because of it. Everything combines to irritate his senses as does the increasingly vocal villagers clustered outside the small station. They are demanding the police release the suspected killer to them so they can deal with him directly. That is not going to happen and not just because Captain Ernesto Guillén is sure that the arrested suspect did not do the crime in “El Pescador Zurdo” by Tom Larsen.

Rebecca Sweeney had it coming for what she did. That means Allison has a problem in “A Blue Umbrella Sky” by R.S. Morgan. Part of her problem is guilt and embarrassment. Part of her problem is that she is going to have to talk to the Kentucky State Police. It is karma at work, after all.

“Death Will Give you A Reason” by Elizabeth Zelvin is next and death certainly explains why Cindy had to cancel her dinner plans. A floater found by professional dog walkers who compromised the scene is the first of several problems with the case. Her sobriety is going to be tested in a new way as the floater is Shane Dougherty and a man she knew long ago when they were kids. She intends to find out why he wound up in the river and then on a morgue table in New York City.

Marc is in hiding somewhere in the very northern reaches of New England. He has been sent to see Woody at a house at the end of a winding dirt road that does not show up on any maps. It is a sanctuary, in a sense, in “The Mannequin Graveyard” by Gregory L. Norris.

“Saving the Indiana Dae” by Vicki Weisfeld comes next where Bruce Pritchard loves his new get away home. It used to be the schooner Indiana Dae before the ship was thrown on to land during a storm in the late 1880s. The old ship had eventually become a tourist attraction by the sixties and then had fallen into considerable disrepair. In the here and now, Mr. Pritchard spent a lot of money fixing it up to be livable and a cozy weekend getaway. He isn’t the only one invested in the old schooner and things are about to take a strange turn.

While the past was a major piece of the preceding tale, the future and what can be done with technology is a major piece of the story. Securing the border so effectively means that the local economy cratered and what crime there is mainly involves the personnel working out of the security towers. Most of the staff has computer chips installed in their earlobes. The fact the body is missing both ears thanks to clean cuts that no predator could duplicate means that the dead person is probably somebody on staff. That makes it his case in “The Control Tower” by Janice Law.

Many of us suffered the hunt for X in algebra and very well understand why Tiffany hates it all so much. Algebra certainly does nothing to help her ADHD. Her inability to understand algebra and her ADHD are two of several things her Dad does not understand in “Slow Down” by Steve Liskow. He also does not understand how music is a such a great help to her at all times and especially when she is stressed.

Competitive eating is a thing these days, thanks to ESPN and other outlets. The national media folks may not have made it to “Burnin Butt, Texas” for the jalapeno eating contest yet, but they might next year. A murder at the contest gets the attention of a lot of folks in this tale by Mark Troy.

The issue closes with “The Affair of Lamson’s Cook” by Charles Felton Pidgin and Jim Taylor. The tale originally appeared in The Chronicles of Quincy Adams Sawyer, Detective back in 1912. In this case, Quincy has not been having a lot to do lately so his reserves, mentally and physically, are in good shape when Herbert Lamson shows up in his touring car looking for him. Lamson wants him to take a ride out to his country home where his cook has been found dead that morning. Her name was Mrs. Elizabeth Buck. Known to be a shrew when not cooking, Lansom has no idea who would killer her.

Edited by Michael Bracken, Black Cat Mystery Magazine #10 is another solidly good read. The twelve mystery tales included in the new issue showcase a wide range in author styles, time periods, and mystery flavors. Some are cozy style while others have a slightly harder edge. Once again, some folks deserved their killing. Suitable for readers of nearly all age groups, Black Cat Mystery Magazine #10 is another comfortable and fun mystery read.

I purchased this in eBook format last month after I received an Amazon gift card from an online friend for my birthday.

Kevin R. Tipple ©2021
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kevinrtipple | Dec 22, 2021 |
This is a collection of mystery short stories by the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime, to which I belong as a reader, not a writer. The stories all had some element of the weather, often a storm of some type, which made for a good atmosphere. The stories were well written and were mostly light and easy to read, although a few were pretty suspenseful. I liked some better than others but overall it was an enjoyable read.
½
 
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gaylebutz | May 24, 2017 |
From Malice Domestic, the eleventh cozy anthology series takes a new direction with original stories set at conferences, conventions, and other such gatherings. Readers will recognize the authors included here; of special note: Hank Phillippi Ryan’s tale set at a Nancy Drew convention; Charles Todd’s Ian Rutledge investigating a death at the Royal Geographer’s Society; and a Lady Georgiana Rannnoch tale taking place at the Scottish Gathering of the Clans.

Twenty-two cozy tales offer readers a delightful smorgasbord of choices; there’s something for everyone here.

Highly recommended.
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jfe16 | Dec 31, 2016 |
These 15 “Tales of Revenge and More” provide an amusing look at the way put-upon individuals’ revenge fantasies, carried out, can deliver juicy justice or go amazingly awry. Though some of the stories—many of which have been award-nominated—are told straight, in most, you can picture the diabolical twinkle in the author’s eye.

The collection offers a chance to reflect on the recent the holiday season, too, as a number of the stories feature the special opportunities for mayhem inherent in Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas traditions—all that tricky family togetherness, all that food and gifts-with-a-message, that white carpet—as as well as tyro reporters with unorthodox ways of getting a story, deathbed confessions, and yard sale treasure.

If you enjoy clever short stories, the lively and refreshing reads in this Goffman’s tales will be right up your alley
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Vicki_Weisfeld | Nov 3, 2015 |

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Associated Authors

Marcia Talley Editor, Contributor
Rita Owen Editor
Hank Phillippi Ryan Contributor, Introduction
Donna Andrews Contributor
Carla Coupe Contributor
Karen Cantwell Contributor
Art Taylor Contributor
Shari Randall Contributor
Cathy Wiley Contributor
K.M. Rockwood Contributor
Alan Orloff Contributor
C. Ellett Logan Contributor
E.B. Davis Contributor
Debbi Mack Contributor
Rhys Bowen Introduction, Contributor
Linda Lombardi Contributor
Robin Templeton Contributor
Trish Carrico Contributor
Harriette Sackler Contributor
Bonner Menking Contributor
Audrey Liebross Contributor
Meriah Crawford Contributor
Smita H. Jain Contributor
Sasscer Hill Contributor
Shelley Shearer Contributor
Elaine Viets Foreword
Smita Harish Jain Contributor
Jill Breslau Contributor
Ellen Herbert Contributor
BV Lawson Contributor
Lisa M. Tillman Contributor
G. M. Malliet Contributor
Helen Schwartz Contributor
Ann McMillan Contributor
David Autry Contributor
Mary Ellen Hughes Contributor
Leone Ciporin Contributor
Mary Ann Corrigan Contributor
Gigi Pandian Contributor
Charles Todd Contributor
KB Inglee Contributor
Neil Plakcy Contributor
Nancy Brewka-Clark Contributor
Kate Flora Contributor
B.K. Stevens Contributor
Victoria Thompson Contributor
Ruth Moose Contributor
L.C. Tyler Contributor
Frances McNamara Contributor
M. Evonne Dobsonv Contributor
Su Kopil Contributor
Larry Mild Contributor
Meg Opperman Contributor
Clyde Linsley Contributor
Rosemary Mild Contributor
Rosemary Shomaker Contributor
Kristin Kisska Contributor
Teresa Inge Contributor
Douglas Lutz Contributor
Ken Wingate Contributor
Heather Weidner Contributor
Maggie King Contributor
Lyn Brittan Contributor
Jayne Ormerod Contributor
Nancy Naigle Contributor
Betsy Ashton Contributor
Maria Hudgins Contributor
Debbiann Holmes Contributor
Tina Whittle Contributor
Jenny Sparks Contributor
James M. Jackson Contributor
Chris Grabenstein Introduction
Maddi Davidson Contributor
Adam Meyer Contributor
Linda Ensign Contributor
Josh Pachter Contributor
Kim Kash Contributor

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Works
13
Also by
8
Members
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Rating
3.9
Reviews
6
ISBNs
17

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