Tag Archives: thriller

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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Assault by Fire, plus a DNF

Posted on May 17, 2025 by smellincoffee

As a kid, my friends and I often pretended to be soldiers and play-acted in the woods and fields as we might were we actually being attacked. We crawled on our bellies through the grass, took cover behind trees, looked … Continue reading →

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Red Metal

Posted on May 15, 2025 by smellincoffee

Something wicked this way comes. In Taiwan, the pro-China candidate has been assassinated, ostensibly by militants who want to protect the current anti-China candidate from not being reelected. China is threatening war and loading troopships as a reprisal. The Russians … Continue reading →

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Battle Mountain

Posted on May 6, 2025 by smellincoffee

WARNING: This review contains a prominent spoiler for Three Inch Teeth and Shadows Reel. Proceed with caution, pilgrim.  Joe Pickett and Nate Romanowski are both wounded men,  having come close to losing all that was dearest to them at the … Continue reading →

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Three Inch Teeth

Posted on May 5, 2025 by smellincoffee

Joe Pickett’s future son-in-law just got eaten by a bear. Granted,  like most men Joe was a little wary about idea of son-in-laws in general, but Sheridan was fond of the boy and he’d rather no one get eaten by … Continue reading →

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Storm Watch

Posted on May 3, 2025 by smellincoffee

While out and about doing Game Warden-type things,  Joe Pickett notices something odd. There’s a movable building of some sort hidden  away on a ranch property, and a man who appears to be stuck with his head in the window.  … 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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Shadows Reel

Posted on May 2, 2025 by smellincoffee

Game Warden Joe Pickett has been told about a dead moose on someone’s property, and has gone to investigate to see if it’s natural causes or someone winging a moose out of season and then living the poor creature to … Continue reading →

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Dark Sky

Posted on May 1, 2025 by smellincoffee

Joe Pickett has been asked by the governor to do something he’d….really, really, rather not do.  The governor wants him to take Elon Musk hunting. Well, not really:   the character’s name is Steve-Two, and he’s an eccentric techbro who … Continue reading →

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Wolf Pack

Posted on April 30, 2025 by smellincoffee

Joe Pickett is back on the job riding the ranges, documenting wolf expansion into the Bighorns, and trying to figure out who is using a large drone to frighten elk and deer herds around. He doesn’t just find the drone … Continue reading →

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