Somehow Murder Under the Big Top: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Magic slipped by me last year. But, I finally requested a copy from my local Public Library and read it. Plenty of Big Names: King, Hill, Gaiman, Armstrong, and Bradbury. Editor Brian James Freeman provides a wide range of stories with Circus connections so there’s something here for almost every reader’s taste.

My favorite stories in Murder Under the Big Top are “The Great White Way” by Robert McCammon and “Buried Talents” by Richard Matheson. If you’re a fan of three-ring circuses with a dollop of murder thrown in, Murder Under the Big Top is your ticket to clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclists. GRADE: B+

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

ACT ONE:
“The Night of the Tiger” by Stephen King — 9
“Twittering from the Circus of the Dead” by Joe Hill — 25
“The Facts in the Case of the Departure of Miss Finch” by Neil Gaiman — 53
“The Girl in the Carnival Gown” by Kelley Armstrong — 71
“Herd Immunity” by Tananarive Due — 89
“Pickled Punks and the Summer of Love” by Lisa Morton — 109
“Courting the Queen of Sheba” by Amanda C. Davis — 127
“The Circus Reborn” by Nayad Monroe — 143
“The Black Ferris” by Ray Bradbury — 155

POETRY INTERMISSION FEATURING:
Norman Prentiss — “Apology to the Ape-Girl” — 167
G.O. Clark — “Hitchhiker” — 173
G.O. Clark — “The Old Clown Reflects” — 175

Marge Simon — “Carnival of Ghosts” — 179
Bruce Boston — “The Daily Freak Show” — 183
Robert Payne Cabeen — “Clowns” — 189
David E. Cowen  — “The Murder of Great Pieter” — 205
Alessandro Manzetti — “The Cage” — 209

Terri Adamczyk — “The Carnie’s Confession” — 213
Christina Sng — “Magic Show” — 217

Christina Sng — “The Clown” — 221

Christina Sng — “Lucifer at the Carnival” — 225

Christina Sng — “Cages” — 229
Stephanie M. Wytovich — “Admission Price to CarnEvil” — 231
K.A. Opperman — “The Circus in the Corn” — 243

K. A. Opperman — “The Clown Witch” — 245
Ashley Dioses — Beneath the Fullest Moon” — 247

ACT TWO:
“The Great White Way” by Robert McCammon — 251
“Buried Talents” by Richard Matheson — 263
“The Carnival” by Richard Chizmar — 271
“Mr. Bones’ Wild Ride” by Billy Chizmar — 291
“Fair Treats” by Jeff Strand — 299
“Smoke & Mirrors” by Amanda Downum — 309
“Circus Maximus” by Robert Brouhard — 329
“Laughable” by Dominick Cancilla — 335
“Count Zardov’s Circus and Museum of Terrifying Grotesques” by Heather Graham — 347

THE GRAND FINALE:
Dandy, a short novel by Josh Malerman — 373

Tom Hardy is having a moment. He’s starring as the “fixer” for a crime family in London in MobLand on Paramount+. Now, Hardy switches sides as he plays a homicide detective named Walker who descends into a violent criminal world in Chinatown full of explosive fighting and gunplay.

If you like the John Wick movies, you’ll enjoy this clone of Wick’s unrelenting fight scenes, shoot-outs, and outlandish, savage volcanic action. GRADE: B-

I read plenty of Chris Offutt’s father’s SF and Fantasy novels growing up. Andy Offutt was a prolific writer and his son is certainly following in his footsteps with the Mick Hardin mystery series. I read and reviewed the first two books in the series–The Killing Hills and Shifty’s Boys–a few years ago (you can read my reviews here)

Now I’m getting caught up with the next two books in the series, Code of the Hills (2023) and The Reluctant Sheriff (2025). “Three months ago he’d retired from the army with a plan to live on a French island, and here he was trapped like a mouse with no choice but to eat the cheese.” (p. 36)

After serving in the U.S. Army for 20 years, mostly as a CID officer, Mick Hardin returns to visit his sister, Linda, who lives in a small town in eastern Kentucky called Rocksalt. Linda is the Sheriff and Mick’s plans get upended when Linda is shot. Mick becomes “Acting Sheriff” and focuses on finding out who tried to kill his sister.

Pete Lowe, an in-demand mechanic for local race cars, is found murdered. Is this murder connected to Linda’s shooting? Mick uses all of his investigative experience to untangle the plot behind the violence.

Mick Hardin is tired of being interim Sheriff in The Reluctant Sheriff. His sister, Linda, is recovering from her gunshot wound but not ready to return to duty. The murder of a local bar owner brings in Mick’s ex-wife to complicate matters. The murder leads to two more fatal shootings. The conclusion of The Reluctant Sheriff presents a confrontation worthy of a Jack Reacher novel. Very cinematic! If you’re in the mood for some Rural Noir, Code of the Hills and The Reluctant Sheriff will satisfy your craving. GRADE: B+ (for both)

Today, Diane and I are going to see Waitress: The Musical. We saw the movie version of Waitress back in 2007 when it starred Keri Russell as the woman who could bake incredible pies. Of course, the waitress has problems: an abusive husband and a baby on the way. In 2013, Waitress was turned into a musical with music and lyrics by Sara Bareilles, and a book by Jessie Nelson. The musical opened on Broadway in 2015 (Diane and her friends saw it). Then the touring company arrived in Buffalo in 2017 and played to sold-out performances (you can read my review of the performance we saw here).

Today we’re going to a local theater group’s performance of Waitress with some of Diane’s retired teacher friends. We’ve enjoyed performances at Musical Faire in the past so this afternoon should be fun. Have you seen Waitress? Did you like it?

SONG LIST:
Act I
“What’s Inside” – Jenna and Company
“Opening Up” – Jenna, Becky, Dawn, Cal and Company
“The Negative” – Becky, Dawn and Jenna
“What Baking Can Do” – Jenna and Company
“Club Knocked Up” – Nurse Norma and Female Ensemble
“Pomatter Pie” – Band †
“When He Sees Me” – Dawn, Jenna, Becky and Company
“It Only Takes a Taste” – Dr. Pomatter and Jenna
“You Will Still Be Mine” – Earl and Jenna
“A Soft Place to Land” – Jenna, Becky and Dawn
“Never Ever Getting Rid of Me” – Ogie, Dawn and Company
“Bad Idea” – Jenna, Dr. Pomatter and Company
Act II
“I Didn’t Plan It” – Becky
“Bad Idea” (Reprise) – Jenna, Dr. Pomatter, Becky, Cal, Dawn, Ogie and Company
“You Matter to Me” – Dr. Pomatter and Jenna
“I Love You Like a Table” – Ogie, Dawn and Company
“Take It From an Old Man” – Joe and Company
“Dear Baby” – Jenna †
“She Used to Be Mine” – Jenna
“Contraction Ballet” – Jenna and Company †
“Everything Changes” – Jenna, Becky, Dawn and Company
“Opening Up” (Finale) – Company

It’s 1896 and Sherlock Holmes (David Thewlis) seeks the kidnapped Doctor Watson and Watson’s wife. Holmes’s maid has been murdered as a warning for Holmes not to take active investigations. A young woman from California arrives in London and seeks out Holmes. Her name is Amelia Rojas (played by Blu Hunt) and she claims she’s Sherlock’s daughter. Sherlock is skeptical, but sees that Rojas has potential to assist him without endangering Watson and his wife.

Amelia Rojas has her own agenda: she wants to discover who murdered her mother. Holmes promises he will train her in his detective methods. Together, Holmes (in disguise) and Rojas, posing as a maid, investigate the kidnapping of the daughter of the American Ambassador to England. Plenty of suspense!

I’ve watched the two episodes available for viewing and intend on watching all eight episodes that drop on Wednesdays. If you’re a Sherlock Holmes fan, Sherlock & Daughter will entertain you. GRADE: Incomplete, but trending towards a B+

My favorite character in Garth L. Powell’s Embers of War (2018) is the sentient starship (now semi-decommissioned by having most of her weaponry removed) called Trouble Dog. The war between two human factions has more or less been resolved by a gruesome act that destroyed much of the opposition. But the embers of war (hence the title) are burning and plots are being hatched to start another war.

While this is going on, mysterious alien artifacts become the object of desire by both human factions and some other aliens. The artifacts are constructed by advanced technology that no one can understand.

Needless to say, shooting begins and Trouble Dog yearns to return to her warlike ways. If you’re a fan of Space Opera, you’l enjoy the action and strategy of Embers of War. The Good News is that Embers of War is the first book in the Embers of War trilogy. I’ll be reading and reviewing Fleet of Knives (2019) and Light of Impossible Stars (2020) in the weeks ahead. GRADE: B+

Lost and Found in the Seventies: Songs You’ll Never Forget is a mixed bag of tunes. I love “I’ll Take You There” by The Staple Singers but I could do without Sweet’s “Ballroom Blitz.”

Some of the choices are a bit obscure. I haven’t heard Roxy Music’s “Love Is The Drug” since the Seventies. The same for the Dwight Twilley Band’s “I’m On Fire.”

My favorite song on this CD is Linda Ronstadt’s “You’re No Good.” How many of these songs from nearly 50 years ago do you remember? Any favorites here? GRADE: B

TRACK LIST:

I started reading the New Yorker in the mid-1960s. I loved the cartoons and some of the short stories, especially Donald Barthelme’s loopy tales. I admired John Cheever’s crafted stories…but they are all downbeat. I became a fan of Isaac Bashevis Singer and Cynthia Ozick.

During the 1970s and 1980s I subscribed to the New Yorker erratically–when I got a 6-month inexpensive offer, I’d jump on it…then let it lapse when the full-price offer arrived. Also, it seemed that every doctor’s Waiting Room had copies of the New Yorker so I caught up on issues that way, too.

A Century of Fiction in the New Yorker 1925-2025 is a massive tome: 1125 pages! It includes 78 stories from that 100 years of publishing. Some years are favored with multiple stories, other years…nothing. Some of the famous stories are included: Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” and J. D. Salinger’s “A Perfect Day for Bananafish.” Almost all the famous writers of the century are represented.

I could quibble about the choices Editor Deborah Treisman made. Is “The Ladder” the best V. S. Pritchett story ever published in the New Yorker? I have my doubts. But, all in all, this weighty anthology does capture the morphing of the New Yorker from a humor magazine to a literary standard bearer. Do you read the New Yorker? How many of these 78 stories have you read? GRADE: A

Table Of Contents:

Why is our political system so dysfunctional? The Dark Money Game–a two part documentary–lays it all out. “Inspired by investigative reporter Jane Mayer’s book Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right, Gibney’s project traces the impact of the Supreme Court’s Citizens United v. FEC decision on modern politics. That 2010 ruling struck down laws limiting independent spending by big corporations and unions on political races, opening the door for deep-pocketed companies and individuals to place millions into sometimes-secretive groups categorized as 501(c)4 organizations, which largely aren’t required to disclose their donors. They are supposed to operate independently from political parties and candidates – but sometimes, as Gibney shows, they do not.” (NPR)

Money is warping our Congress, Executive Branch, Judicial system, and even local politics. Elon Musk spent millions of dollars in Wisconsin trying to affect the Election of a State Supreme Court Justice. Basically, the Supreme Court has legalized bribery with their rulings and we’re seeing massive corruption at every level of government in the United States.

If you were hopeful that our political system might be improved by a mid-term Election in 2026 , The Dark Money Game shows how deep the problem is. No quick fixes… GRADE: A

I’ve been a big fan of The Vinyl Detective series for almost a decade. You can read my reviews of the previous books here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Underscore (Titan Books, 2025) is the eighth book The Vinyl Detective series. The Vinyl Detective and his girlfriend, Nevada, are approached by Chloe Loconsole–a record producer– with a dual proposition: find a rare copy of the soundtrack to Murder in London (aka, Bikini of Blood, The Black Dog Murders, The Mermaid Murders, and The Doberman Murders) from 50 years ago. Murder in London was shot in London but the movie was aimed at an audience of movie goers in Italy.

The gifted composer, Loretto Loconsole–Chloe’s grandfather–created a brilliant soundtrack to Murder in London with the best British musicians of the 1960s. But, just as the soundtrack was about to be released, the body of one of the lady frogman from the film was found murdered. Loretto Loconsole–who was having an affair with the stunt woman–was accused of the crime. But Loretto was able to provide an alibi which cleared him of arrest. But, the scandal caused the record company to cancel distribution of the soundtrack. Loretto had distributed copies of the soundtrack to the musicians working on the record, actors in Murder in London, and a few copies to record reviewers.

The Vinyl Detective realizes that finding a 50-year-old vinyl record that was never released by a record company was a nearly impossible task. But he and Nevada accept the challenge and actually find some clues to where the soundtrack might be found. But one of the record reviewers of Murder in London gets attacked by a Doberman–just like in the movie. A podcaster, who is investigating the murder of the lady frogman, gets bashed in the head. Someone is trying to silence any links with the murder.

If you have any interest in vinyl records and a twisty plot with some humor thrown in, give Underscore a try. GRADE: B+

THE VINYL DETECTIVE SERIES:

1 Written in Dead Wax (2016) 
2 The Run-Out Groove (2017) 
3 Victory Disc (2018) 
4 Flip Back (2019) 
5 Low Action (2020) 
6 Attack and Decay (2022) 
7 Noise Floor (2024) 
8 Underscore (2025)