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#historical fiction murder mystery

annafromuni · 2 months

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Is Stalking Jack the Ripper a Good Historical Fiction Murder Mystery?

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco is an introduction for YA readers into the marvels of historical fiction, more specifically, the historical fiction murder mystery realm. But the problem I have with it is that it doesn’t feel like a truly memorable book, and its subject matter is the Jack the Ripper case which is an attention-grabbing case. In Stalking Jack the Ripper, you get a…

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#book review #Historical Fiction #historical fiction murder mystery #historical fiction mystery #historical fiction reads #historical fiction series #historical romance #kerri maniscalco #stalking jack the ripper #ya books #ya historical fiction #ya romance

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hussyknee · 25 days

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Gave up on Cat Sebastian after seven books (I'll go back and try her 20th century period novels later since I'm told they might be better) and started reading KJ Charles's new Death in the Spires instead. Instantly grabbed by the heart, mind and balls (or whatever the female anatomy equivalent would be). No plodding, skimming or patience necessary. Already blown through 75 pages. If I had this much chemistry on every date with another human being I might actually marry them, and my jaded and divorced ass does not say that lightly.

It's a bit of a departure this time because it's a murder mystery set in the Edwardian era (which includes the 1890s for me personally bc if there's cars around Victoria is as good as dead) rather than yet another 19th century romance. The protagonist is queer and the vibe is def Be Gay Do Crimes but Charles has taken care to plaster everywhere that this is NOT a guaranteed HEA. Idk whether that means we're going to be left with an uneasy, reeling Agatha Christie ending or it just went without saying because why would a murder mystery have a HEA?

I'm really interested to see whether Charles can pull it off though. She's the kind of confident and intelligent plotter that makes you think could write clever whodunits, so this feels like putting her money where her mouth gave the impression it might be. The Christie vibes are hella strong in this one so far and the pacing is, as ever, a study in excellence.

Edit: what do you mean St. Anselm's is a fictional Oxford college?? There's entire fantasy franchises with less involved world building than what KJC gave this place??

#kj charles #death in the spires #historical fiction #queer historical fiction #historical mystery #historical murder mystery #queer media #book recommendations #book reccs #knee of huss

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gardenfeather-book-reviews · 19 days

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The Spirit Bares its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

Silas Bell, a young autistic transgender man living in the 1880s in England, wants to be a surgeon. Not a wife and mother. After a botched escape from a future devoted to a husband, he is diagnosed with “veil sickness,” a disease that causes violet eyed women to open the veil and communicate with the dead, an act that is illegal for women to do.

He is sent to Braxton's Finishing School and Sanatorium and engaged to a wealthy lord's son. But Braxton might not be what it seems. And Silas is the only one who can save the life of his new friends by uncovering the secrets of the school, all while fighting the voice in his head telling him to just do as he is told. For Silas, doing as he is told is not an option.

Andrew Joseph White has crafted an incredible story. All of the characters are complex and every character has so much depth. White is able to balance the main character, Silas, with all aspects of his identity. They are all woven throughout the story in an authentic way that gives him personality outside of those defining traits while still acknowledging how important they are. It is one of the best representations of autism I have ever read.

The setting and accuracy to historical detail makes the stakes seem real and send you to the time period. He uses the time period to bring light to the story he wants to tell. His use of imagery is terrific.

White is able to discuss so many important topics throughout the book, all of which apply in some way to our society today. He somehow is able to highlight and tackle each complex theme in one book while giving them each the space to be recognized for their individual importance.

Gory and dense while also romantic, The Spirit Bares its Teeth is an amazing novel with an incredible message to fight for your life and happiness, even if the whole world is against you.

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haveyoureadthismgyabook · 2 months

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Series info:

Book 1 of Wells and Wong

Book 2: Arsenic for Tea

Book 3: First Class Murder

Book 4: Jolly Foul Play

Book 5: Mistletoe and Murder

Book 6: A Spoonful of Murder

Book 7: Death in the Spotlight

Book 8: Top Marks for Murder

Book 9: Death Sets Sail

#books #middle grade #mystery #historical fiction #murder most unladylike #wells and wong #murder is bad manners #robin stevens #poll

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just-an-enby-lemon · 28 days

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H.G started to speak, still unsure of this ghostly gathering but at the same time hopefull this time he and his ... friends (huh) would have a good time. "Hello guys, for starters I'm both sad and surprised that all of you had such tragic horrible deaths."

"Mine was actually fab." Lenore joked and H.G smilled at her.

"Most of us." he ammeded.

"Uh... Not to be rude but didn't most of us died in front of you?" George Elliot said apollogetically. She was right of course, they had mostly died at the same night they met at Poe's party but H.G was not sure if it was an observation that should've been pointed.

"The ones that didn't. " He corrected himself once more.

Except, well, Edgar send a very offended and hurt look in his direction, one very similar to the looks he sent Lenore when she pointed out that ghost ravens were even harder to find and raise than normal ravens and he should at least consider it before creating another rapiary. And as it always happened when he got an idea from a new invention H.G was suddently hit with the realization that for someone like Edgar dying a tragic and premature death was not only something he expected but something he took pride in and that having it as a surprise was actually a genuine blow to his ego.

"With the exception of Edgar's of course." He said. Poe smilled proudly. "It was very unsurprising."

Mary raised her hand and H.G was touched. He knew pretty well Shelley only did that because she had noticed his dificulty following a room with too many people.

"Ignoring the fact she shouldn't even be at this party as she helped kill us all, I would say that dying of health complications is a Brontë classic and Charlotte's death was deeply expected."

Lenore high fived her as Charlotte made an offended sound.

"Well if we're going by that" Charlotte started "Than Hemmingway's whole 'life is suferring' and drinking habits would definitivaly point to him dying tragically."

"Hey!" Ernest complained "You're right but also fuck you."

"Fine! I'm surprised at Oscar's tragic death." H.G corrected hoping it would be the last time. "He seemed very put together last time."

"Oh, well, thank you." Wilde answered with one of his charming smiles and an almost bow, always the drama queen.

Just like last time Agatha Christie had not even made her appearence yet and things where already decending into petty bickering. This would surely be an event.

#i wrote this in class like a loser #edgar allan poe's murder mystery dinner party #shipwrecked comedy #fictional versions of historical figures #poe party #shipwrecked

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bestlaidplansproductions · 3 days

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Local villainess asks existential questions about her existence.

Overworked authors working on upcoming Kickstarter & demo respond with more bad endings.

Interested in a fully animated black comedy murder mystery game with unique love interests that may or may not want to destroy you?

🦋Join Save the Villainess' Kickstarter & Demo Pre-Launch.

🦋Wishlist Save the Villainess on Steam.

🦋Follow Save the Villainess on Itch.

🦋Sign up to the Mailing List for exclusive character cards every month.

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jessread-s · 9 months

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✩🚂❤️‍🔥Special Edition Collection:

To no one’s surprise, Fairyloot has knocked another exclusive edition out of the park!

As a huge Chloe Gong fan, I’m thrilled to display this Fairyloot rendition of “Last Violent Call” on my shelf. The foil on the hardcover and the stencil sprayed edge done by @blanca.design are beyond stunning. I refuse to cover it up with the dust jacket, which is a good thing too because I want to frame the reverse dust jacket artwork by @imedmi. They beautifully captured my two favorite couples. Seeing them all grown up and in love gets me in my feels 🥺

If you haven’t read this novella bind-up set in the same world as “Foul Lady Fortune,” what are you doing?!? Get to it before the final novel in the Secret Shanghai series (“Foul Heart Huntsman”) comes out this fall. I promise you won’t regret it 😏…just power through the tears and heartache.

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

@chloegong

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a-skirmish-of-wit-and-lit · 10 months

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Book Review: A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales

A Most Agreeable Murder is many things: a regency romp, a comedy of manners, a satire, a subtly teasing romance, and a murder mystery with a side of cozy plus an extra slice of whimsy. It's a clever and inviting debut, bursting full of the lovably absurd characters that you might find in the pages of an Austen or a Heyer novel.

In fact, if Catherine Morland of Northanger Abbey could have penned a novel herself, I think it might've come out something like this--with plenty of folly and fancifulness to spare.

The plot centers around Beatrice Steele, a resident of Swampshire, a small English town in the country, as she attempts to solve a murder that takes place during the Stabmort ball. Though it's not considered ladylike to be interested in such things, Beatrice loves true crime, dreaming about one day being able to solve cases and pursue justice for real. So when Croaksworth croaks (the pun was there, okay?) in the middle of a minuet, she is enlisted to help Vivek Drake, a surly, disgraced, eye-patching wearing detective, solve the mystery and apprehend the culprit responsible.

However, with Beatrice up against the wall with the etiquette demands of Swampshire as well as Drake's facts-first-and-foremost way of investigating, things do not proceed smoothly. Or easily, for that matter. So as the evening continues to descend into madness and mayhem, the storm outside keeping them all locked inside the manor house, will she be able to rise above it all to catch the killer? Will she be able to solve the case before anyone else dies?

I had such a marvelous time with this book!

Even though there were times the satire could be too heavy-handed, I mostly reveled in all of the ridiculous antics (like Miss Bolton and her hats, like Daniel and his rhymes) because it added to the hilarity. It poked fun at all other "dramatic" mysteries of the time period. Plus, the puns were phenomenal - STABmort Park, Edmund CROAKSworth - I couldn't help but laugh.

I also enjoyed Beatrice as a heroine because she's plucky, passionate, and intuitive. She's the type of gal (and investigator!) who follows her gut instincts, which sometimes prove to be right and other times turn out to be fifty shades of wrong...And that, of course, made for half the fun!

She and Inspector Drake were good partners. Well-balanced. A formidable team. They're like the head and the heart of crime-solvers, with a dynamic that is Darcy-Lizzie-esque in nature because it was all bad first impressions, reluctant attraction, acerbic wit, and slowly evolving trust and cooperation. It was fabulous. Truly. As such, the stage was set for their personal and professional partnership to continue in the future, and I, for one, sure hope it does!

A perfect pick for Jane Austen and Agatha Christie fans. Especially ones who don't mind some quirkiness stirred into their regency manners or murder mystery soup.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for my review.

4/5 stars

**Follow me on Goodreads

#ashlee bree's book reviews #a most agreeable murder #julia seales #arcs #historical fiction #murder mystery #cozy mystery #mystery #regency #recs: ashlee approved!#read july 2023 #available now #bookblr #booklr #book reviews #book recs

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lousmoonshine · 2 years

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Angel of Small Death and the Murder Scene (20.6k)

written for the @1dhistoricalficfest | Prompt 10

Ever since Louis read about the new up and coming Detective in town, he had immediately disliked the man, despite never having met him. So, naturally, it can only be the worst thing that could have happened to Louis when he gets stuck with Detective Styles trying to solve a murder during his supposed to be relaxing vacation over the seas.

#trackinghome #hlcreators #trackinghappily #tracksintheam #yourlarrysource #my fics #larry fic #ao3 #enemies to lovers #historical fiction #murder mystery #bottom louis #1dhff #1d historical fic fest

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lena-rambles · 6 months

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long live the queen — may she fall to illness long live the queen — may she fall in the armistice

LONG LIVE THE QUEEN

a victorian-adjacent royal murder mystery. it’s five years after vallera’s civil war, and tensions are still running high. when the queen suddenly dies, her oldest daughter believes there was more to it than simply illness.

themes of grief, familial bonds, loyalty, coming of age, politics, war and its effects, arranged marriages, and what it means to be a just queen when all you want to do is protect your siblings.

vibes ; pinterest, spotify

characters //

caterina algren ; the main character, eighteen years old. goes by erin. she grew up second in line for the crown, and perfectly content with that. now she's grappling with the heavy weight of it on her head.

erin's family ; cornelia, twelve years old, goes by cora. and hugo, eight years old, simply hugo. erin's younger siblings who struggle with the shifting dynamic and what it means for their relationship with erin. the last algren sibling is zacharias, the oldest brother who died in the war and left erin in his footsteps.

theodore evander ; erin's betrothed, seventeen years old. goes by theo or theodore. his father fought against the royal family in the civil war and led the siege that killed zacharias. part of the peace agreement was a marriage between theodore and erin.

tag list //

@memento-morri-writes @sarandipitywrites

ask if you'd like to be added or removed :)

#writeblr #wip intro #oh my god i finally got the intro up #aren't y'all proud of me lol #wip. long live the queen #murder mystery #family #grief #royalty #royal fiction #dark academia #court politics #historical #ish

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lakecountylibrary · 5 months

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Book Review: The Darkness Surrounds Us by Gail Lukasik

Chicago, 1918: Nellie Lester flees her home in the city to be a nurse on a remote Michigan island for a wealthy lumber baron's pregnant wife. She is haunted by her mother's past and her own demons.

Nellie has more than the Spanish flu motivating her to leave Chicago. This gothic murder-mystery with a touch of romance will keep you guessing! Perfect for a cold, dark night, this novel takes place during a typical Midwest winter. I found it to have an interesting premise, although it was a little slow in sections.

Will Nellie make peace with her demons and solve the island's secrets, before the lake freezes over? Reserve your copy today to find out!

See more of Brenna's recs

Check out The Darkness Surrounds Us

#book recommendations #book review #murder mystery #gothic fiction #historical fiction #Spanish flu #the darkness surrounds us #gail lukasik #LCPL recs #brennasrecs

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annafromuni · 4 months

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Questions are Answered in A Fatal Illusion

I’ve been wondering for some time now when we will get some explanation in regards to the way Lord Gage speaks of and treats his family. He has been such a prevalent character in the latter half of the series and it seems strange the murkiness surrounding such backstory would be pushed back time and time again. Alas, in A Fatal Illusion, the eleventh book in Anna Lee Huber’s Lady Darby Mystery…

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#a fatal illusion #a lady darby mystery #anna lee huber #book review #Crime Fiction #crime mystery #Historical Fiction #historical fiction murder mystery #historical fiction mystery #historical fiction series #historical romance #kiera darby #kiera gage #sebastian gage

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linkloki · 5 months

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a thing I learnd that made me happy - Jules Vern wrote and published Edgar Allan Poe fanfiction

#fanfiction #history fandom #fandom #jules verne #edgar allan poe's murder mystery dinner party #edgar allan poe #history #historical #science fiction #sci fi

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principiumindividuationis777 · 27 days

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Curtains Fall Lightly (Historical Noir)

Chapter I

At a leading manufacturer of aircraft, especially military aircraft, in the Summer and Autumn of 1963, events unfolded as described.

Philip Morris was a dying man, having received a dire prognosis from his physician. A leading contact between the firm and United States government agencies, he attempted to teach the much younger George Blythe to replace him, briefing Blythe on a situation as grim as Morris's own.

"Young man, you must understand that this company is under attack from within. It's not the Soviets primarily, but a woman named Rosalind Kerr, ostensibly a consulting advisor. Even I don't know who she works for, but she uses blackmail of our board and our employees to advance her own position, and what she wants, as far as I can tell, is an escalation of warfare, in any and all parts of the world, to increase sales of our aircraft, receiving a generous percentage in her own accounts of the resulting profits and cash flow."

"The compromising data is seldom obtained by Mrs. Kerr personally, you understand," continued Morris, "But by her mousy little male secretary, Joseph Wheedle, aptly named if ever anyone was. I have never seen anyone so good at a show of false humility, and he gains trust, and thereby ruins lives."

"Why does he share this information with Mrs. Kerr?" asked Blythe.

"Ah, that's the key. I have rumor and conjecture. I believe that Wheedle, some fifty years old and unmarried, may have homosexual tendencies, taboo to many, even illegal, and that most likely Mrs. Kerr knows this and compels him to share in her goals, and to share his ill-gotten gains with her."

Morris added a hint that perhaps Blythe should uncover proof of Wheedle's secret life, to leverage against him, and continued to explain the company's sinister cabal.

"Now, as you can see, Kerr is a woman, and not a young one, and Wheedle is a small man of little physical prowess. When blackmail is not an option, they have a man, Michael Pocius, though I am one of the few who knows Michael's real name. Nearly everyone calls him 'Clawboy'. He was born elsewhere, but by age fourteen, was a student in America, and at that age, did something so gruesome to the Principal of his school that the papers would not describe it, but the nickname Clawboy has been with him since. Do you remember the Cleveland murders of the 1930's? The ones even Eliot Ness couldn't solve? No? Well, such is your youth. I have every reason to believe Pocius was the culprit, though he deflected blame on to some mental hospital patient. Six foot three and never gave man or woman a quick death, he is as dangerous as they come, and he works for Kerr, who pays him well, though he will still hurt most anyone for sport."

"Why isn't he arrested?"

"Because Wheedle has compromising information on policemen and judges too."

"Surely, not all of this company is part of Mrs. Kerr's plot?"

"No, just those three, as far as I know. In this wing you will find Ramon Germanos, as he is legally known. It may be a poor translation of his Spanish name- he's from Mexico- but that is beside the point. He is a bitter bureaucrat who obstructs everyone in his path. His father died in a riot, I hear, and he hates the system for failing him."

"If he hates the system, isn't this company the essence of, well, the system?"

"Exactly, and from this very vantage point he can make life miserable for the people he quietly and, technically, law-abidingly hates, which is all of us."

"A job much like mine is done by the less experienced Leonard Collins. He is loyal, but much too impulsive for such secretive work, I believe. The one other person you'll need to know of is someone I know only as Three Eyes- never knew his real name. He's from India, I think, and every now and then you'll have to meet him at a planned location so he can give you the latest on Soviet aircraft, giving us, and the USA, a great advantage. Three Eyes is a spy, though I don't know who he works for- some say Britain, but I'm unsure, and now, if you'll excuse me, I am rather tired, so I'm going to rest in my office."

Chapter II

Morris had not considered Ramon Germanos's wife, Jayne (maiden name unknown), important enough to mention, and this is understandable. As far as the world knew, she was a bleach blonde imitation of Marilyn Monroe, but without the talent. Relying on Ramon's money, she had a résumé of only a few unprofitable films of the lowest quality, such as "Snake Women of Acapulco"… or so she wished the world to believe.

Morris also failed to mention Trenchcoat, often just called Trench. His existence was considered something of a legend. From the aeronautics firm up to governments around the world, many had heard the legend of Trenchcoat, but most disbelieved in it. The stories went that he was supposed to live in an abandoned building somewhere near this airplane manufacturer, and though some CIA agents initially took the stories seriously enough to search abandoned buildings around the city, no trace of this semi-mythical being was found.

No one had ever seen Trench's face, though some claimed to have heard his voice, either by telephone, or in person, in his pitch black lair, they said, though these supposed witnesses were often less than credible. No one knew Trench's agenda or loyalties, or if he even existed, at least not until Mrs. Kerr's schemes brought matters to a head.

Finally, in my attempts to keep the stranger than fiction nature of this report comprehensive, there is Linda Aeons (real name unknown), the only person in America who could openly assert being a Soviet agent and remain at liberty, because no one believed her. Supposedly a Romanian immigrant, she would hang around important government and corporate buildings, point her fingers like a hypnotist, believing that she was hexing passersby, mainly the employees, go into strange dances, have conversations with spirits (or so she claimed)… aside from several stays in mental hospitals, which generally found her to be harmless, as she never became violent, no institution took Linda seriously.

Having apprised the reader of those involved, the reader can now understand what transpired that fateful year. (Excuse the poetic touch, dear reader.)

Chapter III

George Blythe quickly became acquainted with the ways of Ramon Germanos. Blythe filed a report comparing American and Soviet aircraft, only to have Germanos interfere and claim it was "written unprofessionally". When Blythe asked how he should change it, Germanos replied, "You are supposed to be a professional. You should know." Thus, a report he could have finished in two days took four rewrites and three weeks to meet with Germanos's grudging approval.

Blythe once sneaked into Germanos's office, and found a treatise on anarchism. Confronting Germanos with it, Ramon explained it away as "understanding subversives- to defeat them, we must understand them." With what Morris had told him, however, Blythe doubted this explanation.

This soon became moot, however, as Germanos overplayed his hand attempting such obstructive tactics against Rosalind Kerr. Soon after this, photographs of a most graphic nature, proving what many already knew, became widely available within the firm, and to law enforcement, and to anyone else who wanted the information that they contained.

Ramon Germanos had married Jayne to keep up appearances, but much preferred men. His face was very recognizable in the photographs, but the other man's face could not be seen. Philip Morris, however, though by now like a walking cadaver, and straining to speak, insisted that the other man was Joseph Wheedle, and told Blythe that, to undermine Mrs. Kerr's schemes, Blythe needed to prove this.

"How could I prove it? We can't see his face."

"W-we [here a coughing fit interrupted Morris's speech]… we can see a scar on his ribs, near his left elbow… here. Prove Wheedle has this."

Blythe could think of only two ways of proving this: One would be to find some reason to have Wheedle throughly searched, but no such reason could be found. The other was far more distasteful to the very heterosexual, as some might later say, George Blythe, but he went through with it.

Not an unattractive young man from Wheedle's point of view, Blythe saw enough of Wheedle one night to be certain that yes, Joseph was the other man in the photo.

In the meanwhile, however, Ramon Germanos had done in himself, and Blythe, himself more than a little shaken over how he had to obtain the information on Wheedle, went off drinking at various bars during work hours, rather against regulations, and at one such bar, met with, it seemed, a grieving Jayne, but it was there and then that we would find that the sad-eyed blonde was a myth, and a cold heart and head lived beneath that façade.

Chapter IV

A less than sober Blythe had mentioned to Leonard Collins his encounter with Wheedle, and Collins thought that he might try the same, but with the more drastic aim of ending Wheedle's life, hoping this would put an end to Mrs. Kerr's hold over the corporation. Ransacking Wheedle's place to make it look like a robbery, Collins reported to an abandoned building, an old warehouse, devoid of any lighting, proudly boasting of what he had done.

"I did it Trench. Got that little scoundrel once and for all, and even if Mrs. Kerr has his info, she'll be too scared now to act."

An eerie, quavering voice replied out of the darkness, none too pleased.

"You foolish whelp. Kerr has ten times the physical courage of Wheedle. You should have killed her to frighten him. Employing you was my biggest mistake. This is an easier death than Clawboy would give you."

A dim shadow in the room's darkness flung a knife at Collins, hitting his target, and Collins was never found.

Chapter V

At the bar, Jayne, red eyes and running makeup, seemed to be the most pitiable sight Blythe had ever seen, until his vision began to blur, and over he fell, dead. Jayne looked confused and frightened. The bartender assumed that George had just been drinking too much, and would soon recover.

Jayne kept up her dumb blonde act for about three blocks, then her face set to stone, and she got in a car with an up-to-date telephone, calling the man Collins would refer to as Trench.

"Blythe was drinking on the job. I made the drink his last."

"You always were one for drastic action, but I suppose weak wills have no place in our line," replied the same strange, quavering voice, though distorted a bit by the phone.

"Say, Trench, aren't you concerned someone might bug our phones?"

"No, because the man they send to do that had a car accident, Jayne. They don't make brake lines so reliably in those foreign makes."

Needless to say, even when coroners found the poison, no one suspected the grieving, not overbright widow, as they reckoned her, but authorities were out looking for someone who fit their idea of a dangerous spy or criminal.

"One more thing before you hang up, Jayne: You must act against Mrs. Kerr now. Wheedle swore revenge if anyone got him, and something terrible is coming. Kerr would take full advantage of it. No time to explain. Take care of her. You know how."

Chapter VI

Jayne, seemingly an intoxicated mess, sobbing for "Ramon", went to Kerr's home, as if to seek a maternal figure. Kerr disdained the girl utterly, considering her, as she had once said to Wheedle, "a waste of hair dye", but did not want Jayne to make a scene outside her home, a home always watched by agents of more than one country.

Inviting Jayne, who acted as if she could barely stand, into her home, Mrs. Kerr sent Carlos, her servant, to get coffee for Jayne. By the time Carlos returned, Jayne had already dispatched with Mrs. Kerr, using Dim Mak, I am told. As an unfortunate witness, a petrified Carlos discovered that Jayne, like Trench, was an adept thrower of knives.

Rosalind Kerr being gone, Clawboy had no loyalties, but would continue to be the most physically dangerous criminal on the streets, for profit and sport, beginning with an armored car robbery in early November, 1963, an incident that left two guards dead.

What Trench said about Joseph Wheedle's threats was, according to the best sources, true. He had threatened more than once that if anything happened to him, he had a "Communist cell" that would "remove" the most important man on Wheedle's long list of compromised individuals, and the "cell" did so, on November 22, 1963.

Chapter VII

By the end of November, several more robberies and deaths, some too terrible to describe, marked wherever Clawboy had traveled, hitting several cities so that a pattern would not, by most, be noticed.

Some took notice, however, including Jayne. She was back on the car phone.

"I know Clawboy has no agenda anymore, but in a way, he is off his leash. Enough more of this, especially if he did too much in one city, and it would worsen the crisis in public trust that is already inevitable, after what happened to the President, and given what the new President is."

"You are correct, Jayne," said the by now familiar, quavering voice, "And I intend to act."

"You know better than anyone where he is, Trench. Just tell me and I'll do it."

"Jayne, have you ever read of Clawboy's idea of amusement back in Cleveland? You are a deadly woman, but if you and Clawboy ever met, you would go that way. I must insist. The only person alive better at violence than Clawboy is me, and I must do this one personally."

Chapter VIII

A limping, elderly hobo hobbled down a rural road not far from Baltimore. A blue Bel Air drove up behind him, driven by a grinning Michael Pocius, who thought he would play some games with the old man.

Clawboy drove the car directly at the hobo. There were no witnesses in sight, so it was just the two of them. The old man managed to throw himself to one side, but could not return to his feet. Pocius parked his car on a dime, and got out, strutting triumpantly and chuckling, pulling out a knife in his gloved hands, one with a finely carved handle.

The transient seemed resigned to his fate, smoking one last cigarette, as Clawboy, like Trench and Jayne, was about to practice his knife throwing skills, but suddenly, Pocius fell over, and was obviously no longer living when he hit the ground.

The "cigarette" had been a blowgun, and one assumes, the "elderly hobo" was an elaborate disguise of Trenchcoat.

Philip Morris passed away in 1964, and last I heard, Three Eyes and Linda Aeons had joined a commune in the vicinity of San Francisco, California.

Sincerely,

Trenchcoat