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The Untreed Detectives
Sleuth...private investigator...detective. Many names for the same job, but the role itself comes in all shapes and sizes.
Presenting a variety of detectives, culled from the various novels both published and distributed by Untreed Reads. Whether it's a gritty clown or a children's book author, a pig or an investigator of crimes in the nursery rhyme universe, you'll discover a wide variety of short mysteries here from both best-selling authors and fresh voices.
This anthology contains the first new Amanda Pepper mystery in nearly a decade from award-winning mystery author Gillian Roberts, as well as original stories from Kara L. Barney, Amber Rochelle Gillet, Janet Majerus, Lesley A. Diehl, Neil Plakcy, Kaye George, Whit Howland, Albert Tucher, Herschel Cozine, Rodolfo Peña and Wade J. McMahan.
Presenting a variety of detectives, culled from the various novels both published and distributed by Untreed Reads. Whether it's a gritty clown or a children's book author, a pig or an investigator of crimes in the nursery rhyme universe, you'll discover a wide variety of short mysteries here from both best-selling authors and fresh voices.
This anthology contains the first new Amanda Pepper mystery in nearly a decade from award-winning mystery author Gillian Roberts, as well as original stories from Kara L. Barney, Amber Rochelle Gillet, Janet Majerus, Lesley A. Diehl, Neil Plakcy, Kaye George, Whit Howland, Albert Tucher, Herschel Cozine, Rodolfo Peña and Wade J. McMahan.
118 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 18, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 22, 2014
After a short introduction to the book by, publisher J. Alan Hartman, it is on to the twelve short stories. Some are written by names you may recognize. Others by names that are unfamiliar to you. All authors involved have weaved a complex tale very worthy of their inclusion in The Untreed Detectives anthology released last year.
Kara L. Barney leads things off with “A Knife in the Dark.� This story is set in the time before Sherlock became legendary. Watson has been injured by a killer as this story opens and Mrs. Hudson is urgently needed to save his life. She will also need to do far more then stitch Watson's stab wounds in order to bring this case to be a successful conclusion.
Paula and Mitexi run the uniquely named PMS Private Investigations in “Angus Wants a Peanut� by Amber Rochelle Gillet. According to Mitexi, the two have to be in Lilli Pad Park at 11m by the statue of the bull frog to meet a Mr. Ryan Majors. He insists on meeting there and won't discuss what he requires until that time. After the very serious previous story, this occasionally amusing tale is nice chance of pace. Mr. Ryan as well as his case are quite surprise.
Jessie Schroeder has moved back to her small town of Riverport in the wake of a brutal divorce. She has resumed writing while moving on with her life. In “Breathing Under Water� by Janet Majerus, Jessie has traveled to La Cumbre, New Mexico, to teach a writing workshop for her friend Sharon. Fortunately for her she won’t be the only instructor. The small workshop of ten students in this mountainous location in northern New Mexico is going to be interesting. She had needed a break from home on many levels, but this is not what she had intended at all in this serious story.
“Dessie's Jaded Past� by Lesley A. Diehl comes next. Like Jessie in the story before this one, Kaitlin Singer is starting over after her divorce. She has come home to the Catskill Mountains to write children's books and get on with life. Her plans for solitude have been interrupted as Mary Jane and her son, Jeremy, have moved in with her. So too has their potbellied pig, Desdemona. She has helped capture the killer of the newspaper's advice columnist and will play a vital role again in this tale.
Known for his book In Dog We Trust and others, author Neil Plakcy contributes “Dog Is in the Details� next. Rochester, a two year old Golden Retriever, helps Steve Levitan not only find his father's sport jacket, but how to deal with some painful aspects of the past.
Halloween in Philadelphia is the setting for “Faint Heart� by Gillian Roberts. For Amanda Pepper, a teacher who should be working on the essays of her seniors, she is instead thinking about how the magic of Halloween isn't around anymore. That is until Rosalie Tucker, new to the faculty, comes into the lounge talking about the scary gorilla outside in the square across the street. Something may have been out there, but it is Halloween and there are private school students to teach. Soon there will be a murder case to solve.
Imogene Duckworthy has been solving cases since she was a child. We see a little bit of that childhood here in “Immy Goes to the Dogs� by Kaye George. It began near her home of Saltlick, Texas when she pet sat Mrs. Yarbrough's two Cocker Spaniels. It is the summer and Immy is supposed to let out Sweetums and Tweetums so they can do their business and get them back into the house. Should have been a simple deal, but there were complications.
If you don't like clowns you probably won't like a story where clowns are an actual species. In “Scandalous Silence� by Whit Howland, not only are clowns a species they bleed makeup and not blood. Cheating happens on that world just like they do here and Huey Dusk’s latest case is about somebody cheating on somebody. It is a dark and twisted world and Huey travels the mean streets of Kermisberg doing what he needs to do to make a buck. At least the clown gangs and mime syndicates don't exist anymore and one can get Bubble Gum Whiskey.
Diana Andrews is being asked by Detective Breitwieser if she knows anything about a certain guy as “Split the Difference� by Albert Tucher begins. She does not know him, but she knows of him. As a prostitute she knows to stay well away from the man known as “The Baker.� The detective wants her help and she really has no choice.
Instead of sitting in a car conducting surveillance on a cheater, P. I. Nathaniel P. Osgood III works cases involving nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters. In “The Cinderella Caper� by Herschel Cozine we learn the real truth about that tramp Cinderella and lots of other things in this occasionally amusing tale.
P. I. Guillermo Lombardo is at work in “The Wrong Move� by Rodolfo Pena. Chess, a complicated case, and Mexico City combine well here in a tale that is part mystery and part thriller. Not all chess games are on boards.
“The Trident Caper� by Wade J. McMahan is the final story and features private detective Richard Dick in a mystery tale that has paranormal elements as well as fantasy elements. Interrupting Dick's chess game with Percy (a ghost) she walked into his Chicago office. Great body, great legs, but the hair is green. She says her name is “Coral� and has no last name as the merpeople don't have them. Coral is a mermaid who is on a long trip from home looking for more than her father's treasure chest. The chest does not matter for her, but they also took her father's golden trident and she wants that back.
A section of author bios brings the book to a close.
This is an interesting anthology of twelve stories where each one contains a mystery of some type. Not all mysteries have a murder case and several that do not are contained here in The Untreed Detectives. The stories fluctuate widely in tone as some are light hearted and even playful while others are far more serious. Most of the tales here are short stories featuring series characters from novels which gives readers an excellent way to sample various author's works. It is an interesting smorgasbord of cases that will provide plenty of good reading.
The Untreed Detectives
Edited by J. Alan Hartman
Untreed Reads Publishing
December 2013
ASIN: B00HEXNVAW
E-Book
160 Pages
$5.99
Material was supplied in the form of a PDF by the editor some time ago in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
Kara L. Barney leads things off with “A Knife in the Dark.� This story is set in the time before Sherlock became legendary. Watson has been injured by a killer as this story opens and Mrs. Hudson is urgently needed to save his life. She will also need to do far more then stitch Watson's stab wounds in order to bring this case to be a successful conclusion.
Paula and Mitexi run the uniquely named PMS Private Investigations in “Angus Wants a Peanut� by Amber Rochelle Gillet. According to Mitexi, the two have to be in Lilli Pad Park at 11m by the statue of the bull frog to meet a Mr. Ryan Majors. He insists on meeting there and won't discuss what he requires until that time. After the very serious previous story, this occasionally amusing tale is nice chance of pace. Mr. Ryan as well as his case are quite surprise.
Jessie Schroeder has moved back to her small town of Riverport in the wake of a brutal divorce. She has resumed writing while moving on with her life. In “Breathing Under Water� by Janet Majerus, Jessie has traveled to La Cumbre, New Mexico, to teach a writing workshop for her friend Sharon. Fortunately for her she won’t be the only instructor. The small workshop of ten students in this mountainous location in northern New Mexico is going to be interesting. She had needed a break from home on many levels, but this is not what she had intended at all in this serious story.
“Dessie's Jaded Past� by Lesley A. Diehl comes next. Like Jessie in the story before this one, Kaitlin Singer is starting over after her divorce. She has come home to the Catskill Mountains to write children's books and get on with life. Her plans for solitude have been interrupted as Mary Jane and her son, Jeremy, have moved in with her. So too has their potbellied pig, Desdemona. She has helped capture the killer of the newspaper's advice columnist and will play a vital role again in this tale.
Known for his book In Dog We Trust and others, author Neil Plakcy contributes “Dog Is in the Details� next. Rochester, a two year old Golden Retriever, helps Steve Levitan not only find his father's sport jacket, but how to deal with some painful aspects of the past.
Halloween in Philadelphia is the setting for “Faint Heart� by Gillian Roberts. For Amanda Pepper, a teacher who should be working on the essays of her seniors, she is instead thinking about how the magic of Halloween isn't around anymore. That is until Rosalie Tucker, new to the faculty, comes into the lounge talking about the scary gorilla outside in the square across the street. Something may have been out there, but it is Halloween and there are private school students to teach. Soon there will be a murder case to solve.
Imogene Duckworthy has been solving cases since she was a child. We see a little bit of that childhood here in “Immy Goes to the Dogs� by Kaye George. It began near her home of Saltlick, Texas when she pet sat Mrs. Yarbrough's two Cocker Spaniels. It is the summer and Immy is supposed to let out Sweetums and Tweetums so they can do their business and get them back into the house. Should have been a simple deal, but there were complications.
If you don't like clowns you probably won't like a story where clowns are an actual species. In “Scandalous Silence� by Whit Howland, not only are clowns a species they bleed makeup and not blood. Cheating happens on that world just like they do here and Huey Dusk’s latest case is about somebody cheating on somebody. It is a dark and twisted world and Huey travels the mean streets of Kermisberg doing what he needs to do to make a buck. At least the clown gangs and mime syndicates don't exist anymore and one can get Bubble Gum Whiskey.
Diana Andrews is being asked by Detective Breitwieser if she knows anything about a certain guy as “Split the Difference� by Albert Tucher begins. She does not know him, but she knows of him. As a prostitute she knows to stay well away from the man known as “The Baker.� The detective wants her help and she really has no choice.
Instead of sitting in a car conducting surveillance on a cheater, P. I. Nathaniel P. Osgood III works cases involving nursery rhyme and fairy tale characters. In “The Cinderella Caper� by Herschel Cozine we learn the real truth about that tramp Cinderella and lots of other things in this occasionally amusing tale.
P. I. Guillermo Lombardo is at work in “The Wrong Move� by Rodolfo Pena. Chess, a complicated case, and Mexico City combine well here in a tale that is part mystery and part thriller. Not all chess games are on boards.
“The Trident Caper� by Wade J. McMahan is the final story and features private detective Richard Dick in a mystery tale that has paranormal elements as well as fantasy elements. Interrupting Dick's chess game with Percy (a ghost) she walked into his Chicago office. Great body, great legs, but the hair is green. She says her name is “Coral� and has no last name as the merpeople don't have them. Coral is a mermaid who is on a long trip from home looking for more than her father's treasure chest. The chest does not matter for her, but they also took her father's golden trident and she wants that back.
A section of author bios brings the book to a close.
This is an interesting anthology of twelve stories where each one contains a mystery of some type. Not all mysteries have a murder case and several that do not are contained here in The Untreed Detectives. The stories fluctuate widely in tone as some are light hearted and even playful while others are far more serious. Most of the tales here are short stories featuring series characters from novels which gives readers an excellent way to sample various author's works. It is an interesting smorgasbord of cases that will provide plenty of good reading.
The Untreed Detectives
Edited by J. Alan Hartman
Untreed Reads Publishing
December 2013
ASIN: B00HEXNVAW
E-Book
160 Pages
$5.99
Material was supplied in the form of a PDF by the editor some time ago in exchange for my objective review.
Kevin R. Tipple ©2014
February 20, 2014
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Kim
the-untreed-detectives-j-hartmanThe tough part of publishing is that you see so many great stories come through, enter the anthology. Where a full length mystery novel can be a hearty meal, the anthology be a tasty set of appetizers.~ Comments by Editor in Chief, J. Alan Hartman
The Dastardly Crew of The Untreed Detectives.
A Knife in the Dark By Kara L Barney
When times were good, home life could be pleasant enough�.. but when times were hard, the line between good and evil blurred- Sherlock Holmes
I really loved this, murder, mystery and mayhem. Who’s behind the murder and the maiming of young beautiful women? The only ones who can find this out is Sherlock Holmes and Watson but Watson is injured and the housekeeper, the trusty and ever loyal Mrs. Hudson. has to fill Watson’s shoes.
This might be a short story but it was action-packed and amazing. Sneaking in the dark and looking for clues of what may be a serial killer, chilling to say the least. This will take you back to the time when you hear the clip-clopping of horses hooves and candles that can be snuffed out as quick as a knife to your throat.
Will Sherlock be too late to save his housekeeper from being maimed or worst yet murdered and are they going to find love in the dark as well as A Knife in the Dark?
The only thing wrong with this story was that it was too short.
Angus wants a Peanut by Amber Rochelle Gillet
“Well…do you know where the farm is?� his bright green eyes stared straight at us both with the innocence and intensity.�
A beloved parrot has died and he wants them to bring him back.
So what do two P.I.’s do when asked this question and are handed the “life� savings from one of their youngest clients. Why they find the parrot of course.
Breathing Under Water by Janet Majerus
“My heroine, Jessie Schroeder, has returned to live in her hometown, Riverport, a small town on the Mississippi River, in an effort to resurrect her life and writing career after a devastating divorce. Surrounded by family and old friends, she rediscovers what it is like to live in a “fish bowl� where everybody knows everybody’s business. Some people claim Jessie is my alter ego. I do wish I had her insatiable drive to seek out answers no matter how many people tell her not to get involved, but not if it means I’m going to trip over bodies and uncover acts of malfeasance every time I turn around. As her on again, off again boyfriend, Sheriff Gil Keller says, “Jessie attracts trouble like a magnet attracts iron filings.�
I thought this was a cool story and wonderfully written and the statement Breathing Under Water, has true meaning in this story. For some strange reason Jessie’s attention keeps wandering into what happened to the student in the corner that wrote such a wonderful piece. Worried about her, she takes it upon herself to look in on her and when she does a few startling revelations come to light. Sadly she watches someone lose a life and hears the unassuming student say �
“I guess Jimmy didn’t know how to breathe under water.�
Dessies Jaded Past by Lesley A Diehl
You just never know about a person’s past, much less the past of someone’s pet pig. Both Dessie and companion both end up snooping somewhere they don’t belong and the next thing you know bullets are flying.
“No!� She threw herself down the alley, knowing she’d never make it in time to save Dessie.
What’s better than a drug sniffing dog? Well it’s Dessie, the drug sniffing pig.
Dog is in the Details by Neil Plakey
Faint Heart by Gillian Roberts
She had a brooch with colored stones and she explained that the first letter of the name of the stones spells out a word.
Scandalous Silence By Whit Howland
This is one has a great story line and is taking place in an alternate universe. It has mimes and clowns as characters using 1920′s lingo.
“What a crazy box this life is and we’re all running around inside like rats�
Split the Diffence by Albert Tucker
“She comes on all motherly with a new girl, getting all the details about her life. Then when the girl says she’s quitting Trudy drops the hammer. � You think so? If you try, I’ll tell your mother, father, your boyfriend, husband, boss in your day job, your dean of students, and so on. Trudy knows exactly what to threaten her with.�
The Cinderella Caper by Herschel Cozine
A modern story intermingled with a children’s classic. A detective is hired to search for Cinderella.
This is a really great spin on the Children’s story Cinderella.
The Wrong Move by Rodolfo Pena
Check and Mate
“Seems I am always making the wrong choices,� Rodriguez
The Trident Caper By Wade J McMahan
It was funny, cute and strange and any one who likes humor, imagination and fairy tales will love this one.
“No, Merpeople don’t have last name’s,� she said.
Bottom line for this book, it’s a smorgasbord of talented writers and all of the stories are different and you will not be disappointed. I recommend this to anyone who loves mystery, fantasy and fairy tales with wit and humor thrown in.
April 15, 2014
I must say these short stories are interesting and well written by different authors. I did enjoy one story Scandalous Silence which other readers may have enjoyed. I would recommend this book to readers who like short stories. Great quick read.
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