Job hunting can be a daunting task for applicants, especially if you aren’t getting interviews. There are many reasons why job seekers struggle to land key interviews at the company of their dreams, but the most common is an underwhelming or detrimental resume. Some professionals have resume creation down to a science, but if you […]

It has been fifteen years since Ike Randolph walked out of Coldwater State Penitentiary. He changed his life and built a business. He has a good life now, but he is still a black man in America with all that entails. Cops on the doorstep does not bode well. Their arrival means that his world […]

It is the middle of September 2019 as The Night Hawks: A Ruth Galloway Mystery by Elly Griffiths begins and locals are on a spit of land jutting out into the North Sea. It is dangerous to be out on the spit of land as the tide is coming in, but the group is out […]

A murder has happened again in the same areas as others as The Silenced Woman: A Violent Crime Investigations Team Mystery by Frederick Weisel begins. For Violent Crime Investigations (VCI) leader Eddie Mahler, the body on the bench in Spring Lake Park, Santa Rosa, California, is clearly yet another kill by a man he has […]

Over the past year and a half, the WWE continued to entertain fans both watching on television and virtually. In April 2021, the company held Wrestlemania spanning two nights at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The crowd topped 25,000 each night. But after those two shows, they returned to virtual events. In my mind, those […]

In my op-ed in The Washington Examiner, I argue that the Voice of America (VOA) in USAGM, the $800-million taxpayer-funded U.S. Agency for Global Media, gives a false sense of security to Afghan women with some of its one-sided reporting from Afghanistan that goes against the requirements of the VOA Charter, the 1976 bipartisan law […]

It is early September 2019 as Jordan’s Branch: A Willie Black Novel by Howard Owen begins. Reporter Willie Black knew that Stick Davis has been dead for quite a while when he sees the body. More than half a dozen times somebody shot the man. Once someone had thoroughly through ventilated Stick David, he or […]

DUKE: Inspector Mislan and The Expressway Murders by Rozlan Mohd Noor is the second in the series that began with 21 Immortals: Inspector Mislan and the Yee Sang Murders. This book is also set during a holiday. In this case, it is about to be the Eid or the Hari Raya holiday at the end […]

Mick Hardin, an agent in the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID), is back home in the Kentucky hills as The Killing Hills by Chris Offutt begins. Home on leave with a family problem that is not going to get fixed by drinking himself to sleep each night, he is at his grandfather’s place. That makes […]

    On August 17, 2021, the Voice of America (VOA) primary English-language news website, VOANews.com, showed at the very top a large photograph of several Taliban leaders and the following headline:   “Taliban Vow to Respect Women’s Rights ‘Within Islamic Law’“   The lead sentence in the report reads:   ISLAMABAD/KABUL – The Taliban […]

Black Cat Mystery Magazine #9 opens with a brief word from Editor Michael Bracken and then moves on to the stories. First up is Stacy Woodson with “Last Rites” where Colonel Wilson and a few of his unit were lucky enough to survive an ambush. Several were killed. The survivors have suffered significant physical and […]

Painters Mill, Ohio, Police Chief Kate Burkholder has responded to a lot of crime scenes. The one at room 9 of the Willlowdell Motel as Fallen: A Kate Burkholder Novel by Linda Castillo begins is one of the worst she has ever seen in her career. From the carnage, it is clear that the woman […]

Maine Game Warden Investigator Mike Bowditch had a plan for the day as Dead By Dawn: A Novel by Paul Doiron begins. The plan is a vet visit for Shadow. The hybrid wolf/dog needs a vet visit as he continues to recover from recent events. Bowditch may also have to relocate Shadow from the acre […]

Zofia Korbońska, a Voice of America refugee journalist, was a remarkable Polish-American woman who fought against two of the 20th century’s deadliest totalitarian ideologies. She was a World War II anti-Nazi resistance hero during the German occupation of Poland, and later, she was my colleague for many years in the Polish Service of the Voice […]

With Cubans protesting against the communist regime, Cuba is again in the news, including news by the U.S. government-managed and tax-funded Voice of America (VOA) in the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM).     This graphic was produced by the Voice of America Latin American Division in 2016 after Fidel Castro’s death and was […]

For those who don’t know, online live dealer gambling is a thing. A thing that is developing faster than any other aspect of one of the most ancient human activities. At the moment, Evolution Gaming is the market leader, trendsetter and innovator, and they have a range of Blackjack games on offer. So, what is […]

There are lots of reasons that a person might be forced to curtail their bachelor’s degree early, but that doesn’t have to be the end. It’s now possible to pursue a bachelor’s degree completion program, bringing your studies to a successful culmination. Not only will this close a chapter of your life, but it will […]

Choosing a major can be a particularly daunting task. Not only do you have to want to study your choice and commit to it properly, but you also want to know where it can lead you if you do not have a solid idea in mind of what you would like to do when college […]

Dead of Winter: A Novel by Stephen Mack Jones reflects the way things are changing in local neighborhoods all across the United States. Places that were ignored for years and residents were left to fend for themselves are now the cool place to be and rehabbers and others are snapping up properties. Some homes are […]

Guilty Crime Story Magazine: Issue 1, Summer 2021, opens with “Midnight At The Oasis” by Robb T. White. His uncle, Rexford Allan Roisch, likes to call himself, “the Notorious Double-R.” He also has mood swings, a prison rap sheet, and a plan. The plan tonight is for Uncle and nephew to grab stuff from a […]

Mickey Finn Vol. 1: 21st Century Noir, edited by Michael Bracken, is a dark read as one would expect. After all, as the title makes abundantly clear, this is an anthology of noir style short stories so one does not expect sweetness and light with sunshine and flowers with flying unicorns and rainbow kisses. That […]

A Good Kill by John McMahon marks the return of Detective P. T. Marsh first seen in The Good Detective and The Evil Men Do. Both books made my favorite of the year list. This is a series that must be read in order. This is especially true for A Good Kill as this read […]

Darkest Corners of Texas: An Al Quinn Novel opens with Al Quinn working on his boat at Lake Travis. He would rather be on the water fishing, but the bilge pump had other ideas. Fergie is at the boat with him and is the first to spot the boat coming at high-speed right to their […]

Professional sports are about competition, training, representing one’s team or country, as well as a desire to win. It is also about achievements, both individually and as a team. We see the joy of victory and the agony of defeat. In 1993 the Phoenix Suns and Montreal Canadiens made the championship game of the respective […]

As The Drummers: A Josie Gray Mystery by Tricia Fields begins, it is January in Artemis, Texas, and cold with overcast skies. The cold snap is not something Police Chief Josie Gray or any of the other locals want as they prefer the sunshine and warmth the rugged and of southwest Texas near the Big […]

It’s official: this is the era of high tech! Technology is everywhere and always seems to be evolving, from labour-saving devices like robot hoovers to the latest smartphones and smart speakers, there’s always something new on the market. With so much available, it’s no surprise that for many, tech is more than an interest: it’s […]

Connie Berry is the author of the Kate Hamilton Mysteries, set in the UK and featuring an American antiques dealer with a gift for solving crimes. Like her protagonist, Connie was raised by antiques dealers who instilled in her a passion for history, fine art, and travel. During college she studied at the University of […]

Moonlight & Misadventure: 20 Stories of Mystery and Suspense opens with a powerful tale by Joseph S. Walker titled “Crown Jewel.” Keenan Beech has brother issues. Specifically, twin brother issues. Xavier has now taken something that rightfully belonged only to Keenan. Xavier knew how to stick the knife in–figuratively– and Keenan intends to restore balance […]

The Caretaker: A Short Story by Paul Doiron begins with Maine Game Warden Mike Bowditch sitting on the porch with retired Game Warden and good friend, Charley Stevens. The quiet calm of Sixth Machias Lake is broken by Violet and Josiah Baker driving a brand new and now very dusty, Tesla. Sent by the local […]

It is five months after it happened when Lucas Davenport is finally brought into a case. The FBI got nowhere, as did the DEA and just about every other law enforcement agency, and a certain U.S. Senator has been made aware of Lucas’s special skill set. He solves cases. Especially ones those other folks have […]