Sleuthsayers: Drinking With Archivists

Up at the Sleuthsayers mystery blog today, I’m sharing the story of a real-life mystery that popped up during World War II.

I first learned about it from an archivist at the National Archives in Atlanta, who told me how researchers there had found a couple of cryptic advertisements that ran in the New Yorker magazine during the war. Back in the 1940s, US Naval Intelligence thought the ads looked suspicious, and flagged them for further investigation.

Interestingly, one of the blog’s readers did some more research, and discovered that at least some parts of the story did check out. You’ll find it all at the Sleuthsayers blog today,

You can check out the post here.

If you like my work, kindly consider bookmarking Sleuthsayers. The next post will be in three weeks, when I’ll be talking about the time, as a kid, when I launched a detective agency in my parents’ garage.

If you’re looking for reading material during your pandemic down-time, I hope you’ll consider one of my books or my wife’s. If ever there was a time for escapism, it’s now!

Check out Denise’s book here: We Gather Together.

The e-book versions of both of my two most recent books, Murder on Book Row and the fantasy novel, Sorceress Kringle, are available at almost every online retailer. You can order print copies at the usual suspects online, or autographed copies from Malaprop’s, the bookstore in my nabe. Yes, this wonderful bookstore is still operating, and shipping books all over the world.

---

Credit: Bookshelf image at top by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash

Sleuthsayers: How I First Met Sherlock Holmes

My first blog post of 2021 talks about my first encounter with the great detective, Sherlock Holmes.

The post, which is up at the mystery blog, Sleuthsayers, features a couple of old paperback covers from the first set of Holmes books I received one Christmas.

I’m running the story this month because among Sherlock Holmes fans, January is the unofficial month of Sherlock’s birthday.

You can check out the post here.

If you like my work, kindly consider bookmarking Sleuthsayers. The next post will be in three weeks, when I’ll be talking about a real-life World War II mystery that popped up in the pages of the New Yorker magazine. Yes, the New Yorker.

If you’re looking for reading material during your pandemic down-time, I hope you’ll consider one of my books or my wife’s. If ever there was a time for escapism, it’s now!

Check out Denise’s book here: We Gather Together.

The e-book versions of both of my two most recent books, Murder on Book Row and the fantasy novel, Sorceress Kringle, are available at almost every online retailer. You can order print copies at the usual suspects online, or autographed copies from Malaprop’s, the bookstore in my nabe. Yes, this wonderful bookstore is still operating, and shipping books all over the world.

---

Credit: Bookshelf image at top by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash

Three December Announcements!

Buy my books! There—I said it. What more could any writer have to say to the world in general (and this world in particular) during the month of December?

Actually, you know what? Buy our books. My wife’s and mine, I mean.

We both have some delightful offerings that we’ve cooked up for you lovely people during this disturbing pandemic holiday season we’ve got going on. Specifically, I launched a new book some weeks ago that I need to tell you about.

But let me march through these here announcements one by one, in the ever-popular ascending price order. Which means, let’s start with the deal you cannot miss.

Thing 1: The e-book of my Christmas epic fantasy, Sorceress Kringle, is on sale right now for the ridiculous price of 99 cents. Yes, I’ve gone nuts for Christmas. This gender-swapped, female Santa Claus story is probably my best book and I’m practically giving it away. Why? Because Santa. Because Christmas. Because ho-fucking-ho. So snap it up at wherever you buy your e-books. (Just do it soon before the price goes up.) Tell your friends. Tell your pets. And then, when you’ve immersed yourself in the Christmasy juices of this lush, evocative book, and you’re ready to burst with goodwill toward men, write a freaking review of the book where you bought it. Don’t read e-books? No problem. You can buy a paper copy wherever fine books are sold. You can order a copy from the bookstore in my town and they’ll get me to autograph it before they send it out. Get the deets on Sorceress Kringle right here.

Thing 2: My new book, Ear of God, is just out and it continues The Mesmerist thriller saga I started a few years ago. The new book’s a bizarro tale of a sweet harmless child with special gifts who gets himself kidnapped and unleashes hell on the world. I apologize for pubbing such a story during a freaking pandemic, but as I’ll try to explain a future post, writers gotta write, and I don’t write expecting my literary nightmares to become reality. So go grab Ear of God, and begin worrying about my sanity. The e-book’s $4.99, the paperback’s $16. And yes, you can get a signed copy from my local bookstore. All the details for Ear of God are here. Remember: if you do get it, please consider reviewing it at some online retailer. It’s one of the best things you can do to help an author out.

Thing 3: Lastly, the New York Times bestseller in the house—my lovely wife Denise Kiernan—just pubbed a nonfiction book called We Gather Together, which tells the remarkable story of how Thanksgiving (and thanksgiving) came to be. Among other things, it’s a book about a little-known woman, stirring events in the Civil War, the pursuit of love, honor, duty, and grace, and it includes what I think is one of the most compassionate, forthright portraits of Abe Lincoln I’ve seen in a book in a long while. The hardcover retails for $25; the e-book is $12.99. This book is destined to be a hit with book clubs, and a perennial bestseller. The book everyone needs to read around the holidays. If you don’t believe me, go hunt up the Wall Street Journal review and see for yourself. Get the details on We Gather Together right here.

So there you have it. Three important announcements to get off my chest before year’s end and the jangle of a hopefully better New Year.

There! Go! Buy! Crack some spines and snuggle in front of a fire and read thyself to thy heart’s content.

As for me, I gotta go vacuum the pine needles out of the carpet.

Thank you all. Hug the family for me. And stay safe out there!

WE GATHER TOGETHER with Denise Kiernan

My wife — the New York Times Bestselling author Denise Kiernan — introduces her new book on the Sleuthsayers blog today.

The post is in the form of a Q&A. I fire off the questions, and her answers give us all a glimpse of her new book, WE GATHER TOGETHER, which is a look at how the American holiday of Thanksgiving came to be.

The link to the blog post is here.

If you like my work, kindly consider bookmarking Sleuthsayers. The next post will be in three weeks, in December, when I’ll be talking about a surprising Christmas literary mystery that endures to this day.

If you’re looking for reading material during your pandemic down-time, I hope you’ll consider one of my books or my wife’s. If ever there was a time for escapism, it’s now!

Check out Denise’s book here: We Gather Together.

The e-book versions of both of my two most recent books, Murder on Book Row and the fantasy novel, Sorceress Kringle, are available at almost every online retailer. (The Kringle e-book will be on sale for the duration of November, right up until Christmas!) You can order print copies at the usual suspects online, or autographed copies from Malaprop’s, the bookstore in my nabe.

---

Credit: Bookshelf image at top by 🇸🇮 Janko Ferlič on Unsplash