Every Seven Years by Denise Mina

First Line: I am standing on a rostrum in my old school library.

Denise Mina's "Every Seven Years" is a worthy addition to the Bibliomysteries series of short stories about deadly books, all written by top authors for the Mysterious Press.  In it the main character reminds us that "the human body renews itself every seven years." Lo and behold, it's been seven years since Else last visited the remote island off the coast of Scotland on which she spent such a miserable childhood. Has she renewed herself?

Now an actress in London, Else is making an appearance on the island when her old nemesis hands her a library book that triggers terrible memories. It's the very same book that made her leave all those years ago, and the only reason why Karen Little gave it to her was to remind her of all the bullying Else had to endure. Or is it?

Mina has written a very quiet, very menacing story in which the reader will definitely side with Else after all the misery she's gone through. Else has a memorable voice, fierce emotions, and the determination never to be bullied again. But the problem with strong emotions and indelible memories is that they can be misleading. Nothing is quite what it seems in "Every Seven Years," and that makes for one very enjoyable ride.
  

"Every Seven Years" by Denise Mina

eISBN: 9781504025966

Open Road Integrated Media © 2015

eBook, 32 pages

Short Story, Standalone

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley 


 

Book Club by Loren D. Estleman

First Line: Chief Dockerty knew the shadiest spot in New Mexico wasn't the Santa Rita copper Mine in Silver City.

No, he knew that the shadiest spot was Avery Sharecross's bookshop, housed in a three-hundred-year-old mission right there in the town of Good Advice. Chief Dockerty is there to interrupt the meeting of Sharecross's book club because he needs the former police detective's help. The body of Good Advice's premier book collector has been found on the floor of his family library, and Dockerty needs the sharp eye of a fellow collector to help him find a killer.

I stumbled across this short story while looking for something else, and the line "Bibliomysteries: Short Tales about Deadly Books" -- and its price-- sold me. "Book Club" is a neatly crafted and swiftly moving tale that will please any book-loving sleuth. How could you not be lured in after reading one of the descriptions of the bookshop:

Generations of children had dared one another to approach the place after dark, when the ghosts of William Shakespeare and Mark Twain prowled among the stacks (or during the day, when the proprietor did the haunting); none accepted. Even at high noon, a visitor needed a flashlight to explore the place without running into Thackeray or Gibbon and cracking a tooth.

I really enjoyed watching Sharecross spot evidence and put the clues together. Combine the little mystery with the author's obvious love of books, and this story is a winner. Moreover, like one of those late night commercials, you're going to hear me say, "But wait-- there's more!" This is only one of the short stories in the Bibliomysteries series. Others are written by talented crime fiction authors such as Anne Perry, Jeffery Deaver, Laura Lippman, C.J. Box, and Ken Bruen (plus others). I feel as though I stumbled upon a small treasure box of gems, and I fully intend to indulge myself by reading the rest.

I would recommend that you read "Book Club" (and the others) if you love books and you love crime fiction. These short stories are perfect palate cleansers between full-length novels, and they're also a wonderful way of test driving authors you've heard about but may not have read yet.

Book Club by Loren D. Estleman

ASIN: B00BI9VYVG

Open Road © 2013

eBook, 21 pages

Short Story, #8 Bibliomystery

Rating: B+

Source: Purchased from Amazon.