Murder Across the Map [Paperback]

et al J. M. M. Halloway (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2005

Pack your bags and join twelve mystery writers as they set out on a road trip they call MURDER ACROSS THE MAP Day One: Golfing in San Diego Day Two: Thurber Peanut Festival Day Three: Mail call - Chicago, Illinois Day Four: Board games in the Adirondacks Day Five: Story-time at Grand Central Station Day Six: Tours the walls of Babylon with Daniel Day Seven: Burro ride in Puerto Vallarta Day Eight: Lingerie Festival in Germany Day Nine: Live entertainment at the Club Alabam Day Ten: Relax on a houseboat at Hayden Island Day Eleven: Open house in Elk Springs, Oregon Day Twelve: Beer and back roads in Desolate, Texas Murder Across The Map where your next stop, may be your last...

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Top Publications (October 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1929976348
• ISBN-13: 978-1929976348
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,552,261 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Road Trip to Murder, February 13, 2006

By 

Mystery BookWorm (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder Across the Map (Paperback)

As the cover says, "Murder Across the Map" is a compilation of short stories from across the nation or nations. While most of the stories are set in the USA, two are in Iraq, and one of those is actually about ancient Babylon, the precursor to Iraq.

It's refreshing to see new and not quite so well known writers getting their stories published not just because of who they are, as is the case in so many anthologies and magazines, where the quality of the story matters less than the author's name on it.

And it seems that at any given point in time great author minds think alike. Here we have multiple stories involving peanut allergy homicides. Clever. But how many do we need?

My favorite stories include Paul D. Marks's "The Good Old Days," set at the famous, or infamous, Club Alabam in South Central Los Angeles in the 1940's when it wasn't generally acceptable for blacks and whites to commingle in most venues. What worked for me in this story are the surprising twist of character and the multi layers in which the story is told, something missing from many short stories these days. Roberta Rogow's "Death in the Gardens" brings a Sherlock Holmes type character to the gardens of ancient Babylon. A mystery that's cleverly solved through a process of deduction. What would Holmes have thought of Nebuchadnezzar and his hanging gardens? It's nice to see a couple stories that have a different take on the mystery by virtue of their location and time. "Letters from Iraq," by Kadi Easley, is a good attempt and an interesting way to try to tell a story that just doesn't quite come off, especially as the mystery is the least interesting part. "A Desolate Death," by Cindy Daniels and "How to Kill a Peanut Queen," by J.M.M. Holloway, both have their moments, the former has interesting characterizations, the latter with a surprise ending.

So take a chance on a road trip of murder and mayhem.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars marvelous murderer's tour, November 28, 2005

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Murder Across the Map (Paperback)

This anthology "calmly" focuses on murder as if it was tea time at different locales with nine spread across the United States and one each in Mexico, Babylon, and Germany. Each tale is fun to follow as the reader joins the culprit, victim, and others on "normal" family outings whether it is out of bounds golf in San Diego, playing Scribble in the Adirondacks, or riding a Burro in Mexico. Fans of the previous Sisters in Crime short story collections (see MURDER ON SUNSET BOULEVARD) will appreciate the well written tales whether it is sharing beer in Texas, deadly lingerie in Germany or tracing history with Darius in the ancient ruins of Persia or the Duke and Cab in Club Alabam in L.A. Though most of the contributors will be relatively new to readers, each input entertains the armchair mystery traveler while, though some are upbeat and others are sober, remain in "SINC" with the overall theme of MURDER ACROSS THE MAP.

Harriet Klausner