Valentine's Day

"Trust me, I'm almost a detective." The ink is barely dry on Richard Valentine’s private investigator’s license before his very first client frames him for a homicide, forcing Rick to accept help from ex-boss and top LA sleuth Dako Farona to get himself out of trouble. Rick has no love for Farona, who paid him only slave wages during three years of legwork, but he gets caught up in one of Dako’s cases after learning it links back to his own father, a police officer killed in the line of duty while Rick was still in kindergarten. When someone sabotages the case by shooting Farona, Rick steps in to take over. With a little help from the women in his life—including his octogenarian landladies, the duplicitous receptionist at Rick’s old job and Dako’s beautiful daughter—the neophyte detective morphs into a semi-seasoned P.I. while unraveling the heartbreaking truth about his father’s murder.

Valentine’s Day (P.I. Mystery)

By April Kelly

Flight Risk Books

ISBN #978-0692477977

Price $12.95

304 Pages

“Filled with drama, humor, and the required bumps on the head.”

Newly licensed private detective, Richard Valentine is happy to be on his own after working for the hugely successful Farona Investigations. But things aren’t panning out, so Valentine goes to his ex boss, Dako Farona to ask for handouts of some clients; instead, he’s asked by Laurel, whom he believes is merely Farona’s secretary, to guard an envelope. But like everything else about this story, Laurel isn’t all that she’s supposed to be, and the envelope he’s holding could well get him killed.

The mystery surrounds the hotly pursued political race for city mayor of L.A., and Valentine fears that Dako (for Dakota) Farona may be blackmailing one of the political opponents.

This is a character driven story with a great plot, and readers will love the characters. The author keeps the story moving at an easy pace, never losing the reader, and keeping them turning the pages. An award winning television writer and creator, the author knows how to set the scenes so each play is clear in the reader’s mind, yet never suspecting the final end. It’s filled with drama, humor, and the required bumps on the head. For a great read, I highly recommend this to mystery lovers.  

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories

Killer's Law

Killer’s Law (Murder Mystery)

By L. Ron Hubbard

Galaxy Press www.goldenagestories.com

ISBN #978-1592122875

Price $9.95

136 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“A fast-Paced Fun Read.”

This short story collection contains four short mystery stories from the era of the pulp magazines. The first story, KILLER’S LAW, was published in the September 1947 issue of NEW DEDECTIVE MAGAZINE. This collection also contains THEY KILLED HIM DEAD, the THE MAD DOG MURDER, and THE BLOW TORCH MURDER.

In KILLER’S LAW, Sheriff Kyle arrives in Washington D.C. from Deadeye, Navada, with paperwork against a certain criminal being investigated by Senator Morran. Bur upon reaching the senator’s apartment, he’s knocked out and the paperwork stolen. Upon waking up, he finds him surrounded by local police and charged with the murder of the senator. His knife is sticking in the senator’s chest. He escapes from custody and switching clothes with a bum, conducts his own investigation of the people involved, and comes up with the killer.

In THEY KILLED HIM DEAD, “Careful” Cassidy of the homicide squad hears a shot just before turning the corner of a sidewalk, and spots a man holding a smoking gun, and a dead man prone on the pavement. Figuring he had the murderer at the scene, he arrest the fella and calls for the Black Maria (paddy wagon). At the police station, the coroner tell him the man didn’t die from the gunshot, he died from stab wounds by a knife. So Cassidy follows this new lead back to the scene, where he discovers a path of blood. Following the blood leads him to Greek cook who admits killing the man after he attacked him from behind. Once more the Black Maria and another murderer taken to a cell. But the coroner drops another bomb on Cassidy; the knife didn’t kill the man, either. His spine was broken. That must have killed him. By now Cassidy is becoming the laughing stock of the police station, but off he goes again to look for another clue, this time back to the Greek café. Spying the wall behind the café, where the man must have fallen on the cook, Cassidy climbs up and sees a rooming house next door. Venturing there, he finds a nervous janitor, and with a little persuasion, gets a confession. The janitor found the man on the bench where he shouldn’t be, and pushed him. Finding him dead, he panics and tosses him over the wall. Cassidy doesn’t like his story, so a call for the Black Maria. Back at headquarters, the coroner once again tells Cassidy he was wrong, and he choked to death on a ring. Cassidy already figured the guy was a thief, so he examined the dead man’s property and finds a woman’s pocket book with a name and address. Once more he heads for the house of another suspect. This time finding a man and woman who quickly admit killing the thief. Another ride to headquarters in the Black Maria. Will Careful Cassidy finally unravel this puzzle, and find a murderer in the mix, or will his reputation be forever ruined on this strange killing?

In THE MAD DOG MURDER, Patrolmen Tommy Farrell and Butch Harmon receive a call about a mad dog. Upon arriving at the hotel, they find a dog foaming at the mouth, and an elderly man with tooth marks in his hand where the dog had bit him. The elderly gentleman dies from rabies at the hospital. But Tommy, wanting to become a detective, doesn’t like the scenario, and has the dog tested for rabies and does his own investigation. It helps that the owner of the dog is a beautiful young girl, of course. Using a little trick he learned, he brings a murderer to light.

The final story is THE BLOW TORCH MURDER. Weasel Martin, Chink Edwards, Papa Johnson, and Joey the Mick, walk into police headquarter and each report committing a crime, and are stuck in a cell. At a certain time a lawyer, not their own, arrives to force their release. The next day their real lawyer is found murdered, supposedly by a blowtorch stuck inside his throat. The coroner claims the autopsy proves the time of death was during the four men’s incarceration. But Detective Ham Logan thinks the victim’s watch might tell a different story.

These four short stories were well written, and great fun, though my favorite of the four was THEY KILLED HIM DEAD. Each story was fast-paced, had an interesting plot and characters, and kept me turning the pages. Highly recommended to readers who love good mysteries with a twist.

Tom Johnson

DETECTIVE MYSTERY STORIES

The Mad Money Caper

The Mad Money Caper (Hard Boiled Detective)

By R. Archer

Hard Boiled Books

ASIN #BO154X7II4

Price $1.99

17 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“A Fun, Quick Read.”

Sam Hill, private detective, receives half of a thousand dollar bill, and a promise of the other half if Sam will meet the sender. Despite his secretary’s advise against taking the case, Sam makes the meet. He learns from Alex Anders that someone is threatening to kill him, and wants Sam to guard him. Sam takes the case, and prepares to protect his client, but then everything turns upside down, and Sam may be in front of the gun.

This was another fast, and fun, read. There is profanity in them, though, so be warned. These short hardboiled tales help kill thirty minutes of otherwise wasted time, so I highly recommend them to the old style hardboiled mystery fans.

Tom Johnson

Author of PARTNERS IN CRIME

Code Name Wolf Girl

Near the wild national forests of northeastern Pennsylvania, a wolf girl is discovered hiding in a farmer’s barn. She is dangerous, beautiful and can’t speak. Named “Candy” for the way she gobbles down a chocolate bar, she is transferred to a treatment facility near Pittsburgh. No one knows who Candy is or where she comes from, but the center where she is interred begins round-the-clock psychiatric evaluation. Also, the federal government is very interested in her for reasons which are not clear.

Jason is a human behavior specialist with his own practice off the Main Line near Philadelphia. He’s always had a fascination with the legend of feral children raised in the wild, such as Mowgli and Tarzan. He’s suffering through a bitter divorce when he receives a job offer to become part of the team which is examining “Candy Doe”. Jason travels to the center where Candy is kept and immediately takes the job.

Months later, through the diligent efforts of Jason and other people, Candy is able to learn human speech and live in a monitored cottage on the center’s ground. But she’s still very much a wild creature, even if she’s all-woman. Jason finds himself developing feelings for her which are not professional. He worries if Candy has feelings for him. But he still can’t figure out where she came from and how she ended up in the barn.

And why does the federal government have such a deep interest in Candy?

Code Name Wolf Girl (Dark Fantasy)

By Timothy Mayer

K-Mark Publishing

ASIN #BO14VPK900

Price $0.99

48 Pages

Rating 3-Stars

The story starts when Josh Hollins discovers a wild girl in his barn. He calls the county sheriff’s office, and Sheriff Chester Simms arrives to capture the woman, but after a fierce struggle in which the farmer almost loses an ear. Calling for the state police, Simms thinks a higher office might be needed to handle this case. It isn’t long till the girl is placed in an institution for study and evaluation at the bequest of Captain Arch Saunders, an Army officer attached to some office in the government. Saunders calls in Dr. Jason Moon, a behavior specialist to study the wolf girl, now being called Candy.

Except for the action at the beginning of the story, there is none afterwards, and the story moves at a slow pace. The only real characterization is Jason Moon, the rest of the characters are really little more than names on paper. The only thing of interest in the story is the study of feral children, and the author talks about Tarzan and The Jungle Book through the eyes of Jason Moon. To further complicate matters, the inside lists this as Book 1: “Wolf In The Forest.” A story should have a beginning, middle, and end. This story has a beginning and middle, but no ending. There is no conclusion or solution to anything at the end of this story. The reader has to read Book 2 to see what happens next. I found Book 1 quite boring, and the typos a distraction, so I won’t be picking up Book 2.  Unless the reader is interested in the study of feral children, I see nothing else to recommend the book for.

Tom Johnson

Author of PARTNERS IN CRIME

Spy Killer

This story takes place in the then Shanghai which is occupied by the Japanese troops before the rule of the Chinese Communist Party. Kurt Reid is farmed as a killer and has to flee to Shanghai, where many new things emerge which is full of mystery as a result of the open and secret strife among the few forces. When he was taking refuge in the tea house, Kurt Reid saved a girl named Varinka Savischna from the Republic of Belarus and later met his old acquaintance Annie. Unfortunately, he was caught by the Chinese villains and had to make a deal with them: to kill a Japanese spy to get the evidence that may help prove that he is innocent.

Spy Killer (Adventure/Thriller)

By L. Ron Hubbard

Galaxy Press www.goldenagestories.com

ISBN #978-1592123025

Price $9.99

121 Pages

“A Thrilling Spy Adventure.”

Bucko sailor Kurt Reid is accused of killing his captain, and placed in the brig. When a chance escape is presented, he takes it and jumps ship, figuring he can disappear in China. But things seem to conspire against him, and he meets a beautiful White Russian woman who asks him for help. From then on, he’s either threatened by the Chinese or Japanese conquerors for immediate death. Ordered by the Chinese to assassinate a Japanese spy, he must penetrate Japanese-controlled area, and avoid capture. Was his escape actually a set up to throw him into this mess, and if so, will he get out of it with his life?

The author is a master storyteller, and weaves a thrilling spy adventure in the heart of China during the Japanese occupation. This is an exciting tale, and lots of fun. Highly recommended to the spy adventure lovers, or just reader who love a good tale.

Tom Johnson

Author of PARTNERS IN CRIME