Tag Archives: mystery

Back of Beyond

Posted on February 16, 2026 by smellincoffee

Who’s up for a horror movie, western style? The story begins when an older man is found dead in his half-burned cabin, with a hole in his head and an empty bottle of liquor beside him. When Cody Hoyt arrives … Continue reading →

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Treasure State

Posted on February 14, 2026 by smellincoffee

Who watches the watchers? Or in this case, who investigates private investigators? Cassie Dewell is intrigued by an odd phone call she gets: a wealthy Florida patron had hired a P.I. to investigate a man who swindled her out of … Continue reading →

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The Bitterroots

Posted on February 11, 2026 by smellincoffee

Cassie Dewell, formerly of law enforcement, is now a private investigator. Exhausted by dealing with corrupt or obfuscating police bureaucracy, she’s put out her own shingle. Now, in service to a defense attorney with a horrible case in front of … Continue reading →

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Badlands

Posted on February 5, 2026 by smellincoffee

Cassie Dewell is the new girl on the block, having just been hired as a senior investigator away from her former position in Montana.  But that’s OK: that last position ended with her winning a shootout against corrupt cops, one … Continue reading →

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SHELLI: MurderMind

Posted on June 13, 2025 by smellincoffee

One of my favorite reads of 2024 was SHELLI, a SF mystery featuring a pair of detectives — one human, one synthetic — who investigated crimes relating to sythentic lifeforms, i.e. androids. Jake and Shelli are back in MurderMind, but … Continue reading →

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Dead Man’s Wake

Posted on May 9, 2025 by smellincoffee

Game Warden Mike Bowditch is not on duty. He is at a party. His engagement party. He is not on duty. He is not on duty. Yes,  there’s someone jet-skiing at night and that’s illegal and every bone in his … Continue reading →

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The Highwayman read a western! Plus, game wardening in Maine

Posted on May 2, 2025 by smellincoffee

I’m going to short-round a bunch of Paul Doiron books and just comment on them in general, since the quality is fairly consistent from book to book. But first, on Willie Nelson’s birthday, I searched his name in Audible just … Continue reading →

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Stone Cold

Posted on April 22, 2025 by smellincoffee

There’s something rotten in the state of Wyoming – and specifically, the county of Medicine Wheel, in the northern reaches of the state.  Seems in the last few years some financial grandee retired there and has been buying up everything, … Continue reading →

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Breaking Point

Posted on April 21, 2025 by smellincoffee

While on patrol counting herds and listening for sounds of poachers,  Game Warden Joe Pickett notices a Forestry fence that’s been cut. Upon investigation the warden realizes this fence was cut relatively recently, and whoever did it may still be … Continue reading →

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Cold wind

Posted on March 31, 2025 by smellincoffee

Joe Pickett, Game Warden, is not a fan of his mother-in-law, but he wouldn’t figure her for murder. One morning while making his rounds and checking herds, he notices something odd about the wind turbines being installed on the far … Continue reading →

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