Warning: strpos(): Empty needle in /homepages/5/d845057890/htdocs/clickandbuilds/LionessatLarge/wp-content/plugins/regenerate-thumbnails-advanced/classes/Environment.php on line 47
Short Fiction – Lioness at Large

Short Fiction

Literature Reviews

Michael J. Sullivan: Riyria Short Stories – The Jester & Professional Integrity

                      The first book of Michael J. Sullivan’s Riyria Revelations has been sitting on my TBR for a minor eternity at this point, but so far I’d been hesitating because some of its descriptions made it sound a bit too much like Scott Lynch’s Gentleman […]

Read More
Literature Reviews

J.R.R. Tolkien: Tales from the Perilous Realm

Blurb: Combined into one volume, this is the collection of Tolkien’s five modern classic ‘fairie’ tales in the vein of The Hobbit: Roverandom is a toy dog who, enchanted by a sand sorcerer, gets to explore the world and encounter strange and fabulous creatures. Farmer Giles of Ham is fat and unheroic, but – having […]

Read More
Literature Reviews

Q1 / 2022 Reading Recap

Well, as it turned out 2022 began as 2021 had ended — all work and no play, albeit with the addition of a hospital detour to boot.  (Nothing serious, just way more painful and, all told, protracted, than it had any right to be.)  So I’m back to posting one summary post for the first […]

Read More
Literature Reviews

Vita Sackville-West: Selected Writings

An anthology giving a taste of every aspect of Sackville-West’s considerable oeuvre, from her memoirs and diaries, letters and travel writing to her literary criticism, her writing on gardening, her fiction (both longer works and short fiction), her poetry, and finally her reflection on animals (which she loved). I haven’t read the whole anthology yet […]

Read More
Literature Reviews

Vita Sackville-West: Seducers in Ecuador & The Heir

Two novellas from 1922 (The Heir) and 1924 (Seducers in Ecuador) that both deal with transformative experiences — and I suppose that is why they are typically published together –; however, in tone and setting they couldn’t be any more different. Seducers in Ecuador was the first piece of fiction writing by Vita Sackville-West published […]

Read More
Literature Reviews

Neil Richards, Matthew Costello: Mydworth Mysteries 1-3: A Short in the Dark / A Little Night Murder / London Calling!

Blurb: This compilation contains episodes 1-3: A Shot in the Dark Sussex, England, 1929. Mydworth is a sleepy English market town just 50 miles from London. But things are about to liven up there considerably, when young Sir Harry Mortimer returns home from his government posting in Cairo, with his unconventional American wife — Kat […]

Read More
Literature Reviews

Neil Richards, Matthew Costello: Cherringham 4-6: Thick as Thieves / Last Train to London / The Curse of Mabb’s Farm

Blurb: Cherringham is a serial novel à la Charles Dickens, with a new mystery thriller released each month. Set in the sleepy English village of Cherringham, the detective series brings together an unlikely sleuthing duo: English web designer Sarah and American ex-cop Jack. Jack’s a retired ex-cop from New York, seeking the simple life in […]

Read More
Literature Reviews

Helena Marchmont: Bunburry 4-6: Death of a Ladies’ Man / Drop Dead, Gorgeous / Murder in High Places

Blurb: Miss Marple meets Oscar Wilde in this new series of cosy mysteries set in the picturesque Cotswolds village of Bunburry. Here, fudge-making and quaffing real ale in the local pub are matched by an undercurrent of passion, jealousy, hatred and murder – laced with a welcome dose of humour. This compilation contains episodes 4 […]

Read More
Literature Reviews

Agatha Christie: A Deadly Affair

Shout-out to WhiskeyintheJar for getting here first! So, HarperCollins’s latest ploy in cashing in on Christie’s undying fame seems to be to repackage her short stories roughly along seasonal lines: to date, we’ve had summer / vacations, Halloween / supernatural, Christmas / winter … and now Valentine’s Day / love and romance as a subtext. […]

Read More
Literature Reviews

Neil Richards & Matthew Costello: Cherringham 1-3: Murder on Thames / Mystery at the Manor / Murder by Moonlight

Blurb: Cherringham is a series à la Charles Dickens, with a new mystery thriller released each month. Set in the sleepy English village of Cherringham, the detective series brings together an unlikely sleuthing duo: English web designer Sarah and American ex-cop Jack.  Jack’s a retired ex-cop from New York, seeking the simple life in Cherringham. […]

Read More
Literature Reviews

Helena Marchmont: Bunburry 1-3: Murder at the Mousetrap / A Murderous Ride / A Taste of Murder

Blurb: Miss Marple meets Oscar Wilde in this new series of cosy mysteries set in the picturesque Cotswolds village of Bunburry. In “Murder at the Mousetrap,” the first Bunburry book, fudge-making and quaffing real ale in the local pub are matched by an undercurrent of passion, jealousy, hatred and murder – laced with a welcome […]

Read More
Literature Reviews

Maurice Leblanc: Arsène Lupin

  Arsène Lupin: Gentleman cambrioleur (Gentleman Thief) The suave adventures of a gentleman rogue—a French Thomas Crown created by Maurice Leblanc during the early twentieth century, Arsène Lupin is a witty confidence man and burglar, the Sherlock Holmes of crime. The poor and innocent have nothing to fear from him; often they profit from his […]

Read More
Literature Reviews

James Baldwin: Giovanni’s Room

Blurb: When David meets the sensual Giovanni in a bohemian bar, he is swept into a passionate love affair. But his girlfriend’s return to Paris destroys everything. Unable to admit to the truth, David pretends the liaison never happened – while Giovanni’s life descends into tragedy. Intense.  Groundbreaking.  Heartbreaking.  What more is there to say?

Read More
Literature Reviews

Denise Hamilton (ed.), Various Authors: Los Angeles Noir

Blurb: Stories by: Michael Connelly, Janet Fitch, Susan Straight, Hector Tobar, Patt Morrison, Robert Ferrigno, Gary Phillips, Christopher Rice, Naomi Hirahara, Jim Pascoe, Scott Phillips, Diana Wagman, Lienna Silver, Brian Ascalon Roley, and Denise Hamilton. A reliable entry in the Akashic Noir series, though given the setting I’d have expected slightly more (especially more of […]

Read More
Fun and Games Lifestyle Literature Movies

Holiday Movies

Festive Tasks Master Update Post HERE Festive Tasks, Door 24 — Cherished Memories, Task 4: What’s your favorite Christmas/holiday movie that you can watch again and again? (This can be any movie that takes place during the holiday season, whether or not it’s in the ‘spirit’ of the season (i.e. Die Hard or Lethal Weapon). […]

Read More
Fun and Games Literature Reviews

Two Christmas Mystery Short Story Anthologies

Festive Tasks Master Update Post HERE Festive Tasks, Door 21 — Good Luck Charms and Traditions: Read a book from the fantasy genre, or one with something on the cover that refers to “luck”. Festive Tasks, Door 24 — Cherished Memories: Read a book with a split timeline, one that takes place in the present […]

Read More
Fun and Games Literature Reviews

Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol

Festive Tasks Master Update Post HERE Festive Tasks, Door 16 — Charity: Read “A Christmas Carol,” or read a book in which poverty or hardship are significant plot elements.   This is one of my annual Christmas rereads; one of the books I’ll never get tired of — in addition to listening to the audiobook […]

Read More
Fun and Games Literature Reviews

Margaret Oliphant: The Library Window

Festive Tasks Master Update Post HERE   Task 3: “Whenever five or six English-speaking people meet round a fire on Christmas Eve, they start telling each other ghost stories,” humorist Jerome K. Jerome wrote in his 1891 collection, Told After Supper. “Nothing satisfies us on Christmas Eve but to hear each other tell authentic anecdotes about […]

Read More
Fun and Games Literature

Festive Tasks: Door 12, Task 2 – Snow Covers

Festive Tasks Master Update Post HERE   Task 2: Make us a collage or display of your favorite snowy book covers. Prepare to be snowed in …

Read More
Fun and Games Literature Reviews

Akashic Noir Series: Helsinki Noir

  Festive Tasks Master Update Post HERE Festive Tasks, Door 6 – Color(s), Book: Read a book with a cover that is more than 50% red or green. Ugh.  I thought I’d seen the most cynically sordid that Scandi-noir is able to produce after I’d read Jo Nesbø and Arnaldur Indriðason, but some of the […]

Read More