Mystery Scene Magazine - Spring 2022, No. 171

The latest issue of Mystery Scene Magazine – Spring 2022, No. 171 – is available at a newsstand near you. Inside is a great selection of feature articles, listed below, along with the usual book reviews and review columns, including my own column, “Short & Sweet: Short Stories Considered”. I should add, this issue includes the popular annual Fave Raves of the Year article where Mystery Scene’s critics (including me!) share their favorite books, short stories, television and films released in 2021. 
      Read on for a snippet of what Kate Stine – Mystery Scene’s publisher and editor – had to say about this issue in her letter from the editor, “At the Scene”:

“The West is not filled with rubes and cowboys,” author C.J. Box tells Oline Cogdill in this issue. “I want to show the West but also this is a contemporary West.... It’s a real place with a lot of myths associated with it, but also a place of diversity and interesting people. Joe Pickett isn’t just a Western hero, he’s a contemporary Western hero.” Indeed he is, and Box’s huge audience is being enlarged by two TV shows: Joe Pickett and Big Sky.

   Whatever side of the political divide you might endorse, you have to agree that political chicanery can liven up a story. In “Capitol Crimes,” Pat H. Broeske has gathered many recent and classic examples of political thrillers. One goes all the way back to Rex Stout’s anonymously published 1934 novel The President Vanishes. Stout’s biographer John McAleer commented that it “portrayed the dangers in the United States of a fascist takeover patterned on Hitler’s takeover of Germany, it was sold at once to Hollywood.… 

[go here for the rest of Kate’s words]

You can purchase single issues at Mystery Scene’s website or (even better) start a subscription.

Spring Issue #171, C.J. Box

C.J. Box No frills, no baggage, Joe Pickett is a contemporary Western hero whose everyday life could not be more average. He’s a decent man, happily married, and the proud father of three girls. Like many people, he lives paycheck to paycheck. The only thing remarkable about him, says author C.J. Box, is that he is honest. But isn’t that enough? by Oline H. Cogdill

Murder by the Stars: Celebrity Mystery Authors  Accomplished in their own fields, these celebrities also wanted to excel in the literary world. by Michael Mallory

Fave Raves of the Year  Our critics have gathered together for your entertainment their very favorite books, audios, films, and TV shows. It’s a dazzling selection and a useful guide to the best of the best of 2021.

Kellye Garrett Anthony Award winner Garrett is bringing a fresh new perspective to the genre she loves and garnering lots of attention herself. by Craig Sisterson

Leslie Meier  Escaping reality in Tinker’s Cove where bad things happen, “but goodness and justice and love always triumph.” by John B. Valeri

My Book: Pivoting to the Dark Side  After much research, a cozy culinary mystery writer turns her talents to the grittier side of the genre. by Lucy Burdette

Capitol Crimes: Intrigue in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial Branches  Even the slings and arrows of an election year can’t compare to the nefarious schemes and incendiary plots of these political thrillers. by Pat H. Broeske

Candice Fox  This prolific Australian crime writer has galvanized readers worldwide. Now her tales of unsettling heroes are coming to the screen. by Craig Sisterson

My Book: Legacy in the Blood  Changing gears and allowing a protagonist to step back and give pride of place to her partner. by Catherine Maiorisi

A Love of Mystery Crossword  by Verna Suit