For the TBR pile

As I promised, it's going to be all mysteries, all the time soon here at Kattomic Energy, but life has been interfering. For one thing, I've been busy finishing DAUGHTER OF THE MIDNIGHT KING, the sequel to my debut fantasy romance, BRIDE OF THE MIDNIGHT KING. Bride started out as a lark--write a vampire version of Cinderella--and to my surprise, it's turned into my best-selling book. Who knew? The sequel weaves "Sleeping Beauty" into the mix. It's been a lot of fun. But I digress. Coming very soon, I will have reviews of the following:

Eve Paludan and Stuart Sharp's "witchy detective" series, which sounds like way too much fun. Dale Phillips' books A Memory of Grief and Fall From Grace. Fireproof by Gerard Brennan. Fireproof is another book from Blasted Heath, which consistently offers interesting fare. Also upcoming is the first book that my new bookclub--the Bellingham Mysterians--will be reading. It's Finding Nouf by Zoe Ferraris.

It's going to be a great month for reading mysteries.

The Big Thrill is available

And as always,this publication from The International Thriller Writers is packed with goodies, Go get it.

the Stats Don't Lie! Women Love Thrillers

there's an interesting article over at The Telegraph today, a story by Rebecca Whitney filled with facts and figures about how many women read thrillers. (Spoiler--way more than men.) This is interesting in the face of the ongoing frustration among women crime fiction writers being dismissed or ignored when it comes to things like...annual anthologies of best stories. Read the story here.

Eric Beetner's The Year I Died Seven Times--coming next week

It's the beginning of March mayhem@! Coming next week from Eric Beetner and Beat to a Pulp Press!

Free Historical mystery--for your Saturday reading

A Layer of Darkness by R. A. Niles is set in 1945 San Francisco. Get it here. Here's the book's description: In 1945 during the closing months of World War II, British statesman Nigel Cunningham lies dead, burnt and smoldering in the fetal position on a cold garage floor in San Francisco. As the crime scene begins to reveal numerous irregularities, Police Inspector Andrew Johnson senses a twisted case of appearances and realities and a frightening truth ultimately revealed by the grisly corpse at his feet. After FBI agent Ryan Kinahan is brought in with a rush of justice to convict local war veteran Mario Romano, Johnson becomes convinced of federal corruption. He finds himself pitted against his lifetime nemesis of dirty cops, but at a new level as the case opens links going up the chain of command in war time politics.

Rachel and the Pink-haired Pundit

My parents didn't watch a lot of television but they were news junkies, so every night it was Chet Huntley & David Brinkley delivering the news to the Tomlinson household. I switched to Walter Cronkite in college because he was the majority pick of the dorm and everybody watched in the commons room. After college, CNN came along and it was Wolf Blitzer. And Bobbi Batista!!! I can't tell you how awesome it was to see a woman anchoring the news. Yes,there'd been women reporters out there--the glamorous doomed Jessica Savich, UN reporter Pauline Fredericks, disgraced White House correspondent Helen Thomas, and the awesome Andrea Mitchell, but on the networks, the women didn't fly solo but were paired off with men. Barbara Walters and Diane Sawyer made their marks and paved the way. And then came Rachel Maddow. Rachel Maddow is a force of nature and a breath of fresh air. And last night, she had two guests on her show who just seemed to epitomize what 2015 is all about. One was the new mayor of my hometown, Washington DC. Muriel Bowser is African-American. Rachel's other buest was journalist Xeni Jardin, co-editor of the BoingBoing.com site. Xeni Jardin has pink hair. (She mostly writes out tech culture but she also writes openly and movingly and with humor about living with breast cancer.) I (heart) Xeni Jardin.

And she is great on TV--comfortable with the camera and able to communicate complex issues in a relatable way. And I just thought--pundits with pink hair. A mayor who is a woman of color. A lesbian anchorwoman who is the smartest person in the room. This is a feminist's dream come true. This is 2015. Good night Chet. Good night David. I love this century

the Miss Zukas Mysteries by Jo Dereske

The Miss Zukas mysteries (twelve in all) are wreitten by Bellingham, WA resident Jo Dereske, who has written another series as well as a moving memoir about caring for relativdes with Alzherimer's Disease. Miss Zukas is a librarian, and the first book in the series is Miss Zukas and the Library Murders. The books are cozies and set in a city very like Bellingham. I can't wait to dig into the series.