Once Upon A Crime: An Anthology of Murder, Mayhem, and Suspense
by: Gary R. Bush & Chris Everheart, Editors
Published by: Nodin Press
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Reviewed by Andrea Sisco
Once Upon A Crime is a mystery anthology. But it also is one of the best independent mystery bookstores to ever exist, anywhere. Owned and operated by Gary Shulze and Pat Frovarp (husband and wife team extraordinaire), they have become favorites of mystery fans and authors. They hand sell books, help authors, feed the fix of their friends (a.k.a. customers) and are generally all-around great people.
Once Upon A Crime is meant to honor Gary and Pat and their bookstore, Once Upon A Crime in Minneapolis, MN. When Gary began treatment for leukemia, the mystery world banded together to support he and Pat. This anthology is in appreciation for their dedication and an opportunity to say thanks.
Once Upon A Crime is exciting because while the stories are fabulous, the authors who offered stories are not just from Minnesota (a hotbed of mystery authors). While unable to list all of the talented writers, I will name a few: William Kent Krueger, Max Allan Collins, C.J. Box, Anne Frasier, Pat Dennis, David Housewright, S.J. Roszan, Sujata Massey–and the list goes on.
The introduction is written by Minnesota’s own Vince Flynn.
C.J. Box’s story “Perfectly Grimm: a Joe Pickett Story” is about Wyoming game warden, Joe Pickett and the Grimm brothers. This is a hair-raiser and I had to remind myself to breathe. “Dumber Than Dirt” by Libby Fischer Hellmann is about Derek, whose father called him dumber than dirt. Will Derek proves that he has more luck than brains. Troy Cook’s “The 17th Rule of Highly Effective Bank Robbers” includes ten-year-old, Tara who is being trained to rob banks. You’ll find big booms, a child brandishing a gun, chaos and mayhem. “The 17th Rule” is one to think about.
I could go on, but the reality is this is an Anthology to take with you to read in spare moments–and you want it to be good. Really good. And Once Upon A Crime is good.
This book is a well-deserved thank you to Gary and Pat for efforts on behalf of authors and the mystery genre.
Armchair Interviews says: A must-have mystery anthology
From our armchair to yours...
