Here’s where you’ll find fantastic new voices in crime fiction.  These are debut authors that MBR believes will go on to achieve fame and stardom.

The Cold Millions

By |2020-10-01T20:15:58+00:00October 6th, 2020|Murder Mystery, Mysterious Book Report|

The Cold Millions Mysterious Book Report No. 421 by John Dwaine McKenna Spokane, Washington, just after the turn of the 20th century is the setting for Edgar Award-winning author Jess Walter’s stunningly well-timed new novel entitled The Cold Millions (Harper, $28.99, 352 pages, ISBN 978-0-06-286808-4), which tells the story of the International Workers of the World, or IWW—also known as the Wobblies—beginning their fight for free speech . .

Ivy Is A Weed

By |2020-09-03T20:08:26+00:00September 7th, 2020|Murder Mystery, Mysterious Book Report|

Ivy Is A Weed Mysterious Book Report No. 417 by John Dwaine McKenna Author Robert Roseth is a man with a strong sense of humor, an ear for sarcasm and a talent for satire.  He puts all of those elements together in his first novel, Ivy Is A Weed, (Self-published, $13.99, 336 pages, ISBN 978-0-578-62246-0) a tongue-in-cheek, hysterical behind-the-scenes look at the foibles, follies and free-for-alls that go on

The Bone Hunger

By |2020-08-18T20:43:05+00:00August 24th, 2020|Murder Mystery, Mysterious Book Report|

The Bone Hunger Mysterious Book Report No. 415 by John Dwaine McKenna All novelists are bright.  That’s because writing is a craft that demands much, and promises nothing more than thousands of hours of solitary and challenging work, putting together what we hope will be a story with an engaging plot, interesting characters and a few surprises along the way that will entertain and involve our readers, maybe even

Charlie 316

By |2019-12-17T20:41:34+00:00February 17th, 2020|Murder Mystery, Mysterious Book Report|

Charlie 316 Mysterious Book Report No. 376 by John Dwaine McKenna Charlie 316, (Down & Out Books, PB, $18.95, 398 pages, ISBN 978-1-948235-68-6) by Colin Conway & Frank Zafrino, is an electrifying and propulsive police procedural that takes place in Spokane, Washington . . . out near the Idaho state line.  It combines elements of race, heroism, crime, treachery, violence and murder into a tale that you just can’t

Hudson’s Kill

By |2019-12-17T20:38:20+00:00February 10th, 2020|Murder Mystery, Mysterious Book Report|

Hudson’s Kill Mysterious Book Report No. 389 by John Dwaine McKenna Although they’re few and far between . . . “Rare as hen’s teeth,” as my old Irish mother used to say . . . some authors show early on in their careers that they are on the way to literary greatness, and destined to leave a wordsmith’s mark on the world.  Writer Paddy Hirsch is such a one. 

Old Anger

By |2020-12-31T21:11:28+00:00January 4th, 2020|John McKenna Publications, Murder Mystery, Mysterious Book Report|

Old Anger  Mysterious Book Report No. 430  by John Dwaine McKenna Although this novel was released in late 2020, it’s still as timely as tonight’s news.  That’s because it’s about racism and how it’s felt from both black and white perspectives. Old Anger, (Brash Books, PB, $18.99, 277 pages, ISBN 978-1-7343480-7-1) by Phillip Thompson, takes place in present day rural Mississippi and features a white, small town sheriff named

The Dead Beat Scroll

By |2019-11-12T21:02:56+00:00November 11th, 2019|Murder Mystery, Mysterious Book Report|

The Dead Beat Scroll Mysterious Book Report No.  395 by John Dwaine McKenna August Riordan is “an old meat-eating dinosaur” type of Private Investigator who’s returned to San Francisco to track down the person that killed his friend and one-time partner, Chris Duckworth, in the soon-to-be-issued, (Nov. 19, 2019), murder mystery entitled The Dead Beat Scroll, (Down & Out Books, PB, $17.95, 265 pages, ISBN 978-1-64396-031-9) by award-winning author

Beijing Payback

By |2019-11-05T21:46:54+00:00October 28th, 2019|Murder Mystery, Mysterious Book Report|

Beijing Payback Mysterious Book Report No. 393 by John Dwaine McKenna Victor Li, the protagonist in a hot new crime thriller entitled Beijing Payback, (ECCO/Harper Collins, $26.99, 308 pages, ISBN 978-0-06-288664-4) by Daniel Nieh, is a twenty year-old California college student living the American dream as the novel begins.  His only interests revolve around himself.  There’s basketball, booze, his classes at San Dimas State University, keeping his scholarship, losing

Death Notice

By |2019-09-15T21:48:59+00:00September 16th, 2019|Murder Mystery, Mysterious Book Report|

Death Notice Mysterious Book Report No. 388 by John Dwaine McKenna Death Notice, (Anchor Books, PB, $16.00, 301 pages, ISBN 978-0-525-43594-5) by Zhou Haohui, is the most fiendishly clever, diabolically complex and wickedly inventive novel to ever cross our desk here at the Mysterious Book Report! The mystery begins and ends in the city of Chengdu, the dynamic capitol of central China’s Sichuan Province, where, after an interlude of

One Small Sacrifice

By |2019-09-01T19:13:48+00:00September 9th, 2019|Murder Mystery, Mysterious Book Report|

One Small Sacrifice Mysterious Book Report No. 387 by John Dwaine McKenna Don’t let the innocent sounding title fool ya . . . . One Small Sacrifice, (Thomas & Mercer, $24.95, 351 pages, ISBN 9781542042116) by Hilary Davidson . . . is an utterly engrossing. finely wrought and thoroughly entertaining murder mystery and thriller that will keep the reader guessing from the very first page to the very last.

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