Who? What? Where? How? Why? When?

We open our story in the San Francisco of the 1890s. The detective agency of Carpenter and Quincannon recently solved The Bughouse Affair, a complex case that included a locked-room mystery. They could do without any overly-complex cases for a while. That’s what this job was supposed to be for Sabina Carpenter: she was basically hired as a babysitter, looking after Virginia St. Ives and making sure she doesn’t sneak off for a rendez-vous with her boyfriend, a man of whom her family disapproves. It’s true, Virginia was a little brat, but it seemed like the toughest part of Sabina’s assignment would be to refrain from slapping the girl.

But nobody could possibly have foreseen the outcome: at a fancy party, Virginia confronts Sabina and runs out of the house, only to commit suicide by jumping off a parapet. But when a group is organized to retrieve the body, it’s nowhere in sight… When a suicide note is discovered, the questions only get deeper. Why did Virginia St. Ives commit suicide?

The Legend of the Jolly Roger

One of the first books I read when I started my temporary genre rebellion was Tim Powers’ On Stranger Tides, an outstanding adventure novel involving Blackbeard, the Fountain of Youth, zombies, voodoo, and much, much more. I had a rollicking good time, and it reminded me of my childhood when I simply couldn’t get enough of pirates, real or fiction. I don’t think I’ve ever quite outgrown that phase of my childhood; when I think of pirates, I think of epic adventures, and the name “Blackbeard” is particularly chilling (although I must confess my view of Blackbeard will forever be coloured by Peter Ustinov’s performance in Blackbeard’s Ghost).

But at the same time, I realize that the reality of a pirate’s life was very different from the fictional equivalent. I read quite a bit of non-fiction about pirates back in the day, but it’s been a while. And so, as a refresher of sorts, I decided to read another work of non-fiction on the subject, entitled Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates. The author, David Cordingly, sets out to look at pirates as we typically see them in our mind’s eye, and sort out the fact from the fiction, the embellishments from the simple truth.

Introducing... Tarzan!

Lord and Lady Greystoke were good, kind souls. This played in their favour when a mutiny occurred on their ship. Instead of outright murdering them, the mutineers decided to maroon them on the coast of Africa. But unlike the marooning of pirates, Lord and Lady Greystoke are given all that they need to survive for a while, long enough for another ship to discover their presence. Unfortunately, another ship never comes, and Lady Greystoke gives birth to her child in Africa.

When Lord and Lady Greystoke both die – Lady Greystoke of natural causes, Lord Greystoke viciously killed by the ape king Kerchak — the child is taken in by a female ape named Kala. And thus, an English Lord is raised by apes. He learns of the ways of the jungle and how to survive there. He swings from vines, he fights all sorts of creatures for survival, and due to his environment is stronger than any man on Earth. If you haven’t guessed who I’m talking about yet, I’m talking about Edgar Rice Burrough’s creation: Tarzan of the Apes.

Cyber Monday Madness!!!

Hey everyone!

Today and today only, as part of Cyber Monday, prices in the Kindle store are ridiculously low! Open Road Media, a partner of the Mysterious Press, has slashed its prices across the board and its e-books are up to 80% off. That means you can get most of its ebooks for less than $1.99! Curious? Then follow this link to find out more!

If you're curious, look up "Mysteriouspress.com" in the Kindle store. You'll see plenty of titles steeply discounted, including the work of Ellery Queen, William DeAndrea, Christianna Brand, Jane Haddam, Charlotte Armstrong, Dorothy Uhnak, Stuart M. Kaminsky, and more!

Happy shopping!

UPDATE!

Folks, it’s not too late to take advantage of the “Cyber Monday Madness” as the Mysterious Press (and Open Road Integrated Media) have lost their minds, slashing their prices across the board and giving you a one-of-a-kind chance to stock up on your reading material for the next little bit! I’ve gone ahead and made a lot of purchases. I mean, a lot. And not just mysteries – I’ve stocked up on other genres while I was at it, including sci-fi and Westerns. I spent much of the day skipping merrily along from page to page taking advantage of these incredible deals while they lasted. And at the end of the day… Well, let’s just say the hit list is extensive. But judge for yourself – here it is below!