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We need to step away for about a month our beloved Ann Dark needs to take some time to heal. She can't wait to return to the podcast. Please join her family and freinds in wishing her well. We will be posting further updates on here or our facebook page. Thank you for your continue support and understanding.

Recommendations For Your TBR Show Notes On today's episode, we feature six books that we recommend for our listener's TBR. These are books that have been sent to us for review. There is no way we can read every book but we want to make sure they are highlighted in some way. Ann reported on Good Girls Don't Die by Christina Henry (Berkeley 11/23). This is the story of three woman with one way out. Tracey reported on The Repurposed Spy by Oliver Dowson (self 3/22) A modern spy novel filled with humor and intrigue. Misty had Miss Blaine, The Prefect & the Weird Sisters by Olga Wojtas (Felony & Mayhem Press 3/23) A prefect who time travels to help people. Ann's second book is The Murder of Andrew Johnson by Burt Solomon (Forge Books 10/23) An inspector looks to see if the president was killed in his home state of Tennessee Tracey 's second book is Anna-O by Matthew Blake (Harper 1/24) The story of a woman who commits two murders while sleepwalking and then never wakes up again. Misty's second book is The Lies I tell by Julie Clark (Source books 12/22) The story of a con woman who becomes what her mark needs her to be. Tracey is currently reading “the Carrow Haunt” by Darcie Coates and the “Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern Ann is currently reading “The Deepest Kill” by Lisa Black, “The Waxworks Man” by J.C. Briggs, and “The Huntress” by Kate Quinn. Misty is currently working on her new mystery series based on a diner with dead people.

1-24 WWAR New Beginnings Show Notes For our first WWAR for 2024, we discussed three books that feature new beginnings for the protagonist or storyl Misty reported on her book “Poison Ivy” by Misty Simon. This is the first book she had published in 2004. It has been re-released two more times since then and has just been again re-released. She says the book is still a lot of fun to read. Tracey reported on her book “What Waits In the Woods.” by Kieran Scott It features a ballerina who has to begin over when she damages her leg and has to give up her dream of ballet. On the day she arrives back in her hometown in rural Pennsylvania, a body is found behind her father's house. Ann reported on “Conflicting Loyalties: My Life As A Mob Enforcer turned DOJ Informant” by Aiden Gabor. It is a true story of a teenager who is forced to become an informant for the Justice Department in order to stay out of jail. He remained an informant for almost 20 years when he got out. He then has to start his life over a second time when he was diagnosed with ALS. We also reported on the books we are currrently reading. Misty is reading “Writing A Cozy Mystery” by Nancy J. Cohen, and says she reads it often to make sure she is including everything in her books. Tracey is reading “A Good House For Children” by Kate Collins Ann is currently reading “Seed” by Anya Allborne and “Calico” by Lee Goldberg.

Edwin Hill Show Notes Today we talk with Edwin Hill about his book Who To Believe. It will release today from Kensington Books. Monreith, Massachusetts, was once a small community of whalers and farmers. These days it’s a well-to-do town filled with commuters drawn to its rugged coastline and country roads. A peaceful, predictable place— until popular restaurateur Laurel Thibodeau is found brutally murdered in her own home. Suspicion naturally falls on Laurel’s husband, Simon, who had gambling debts that only her life insurance policy could fix. But there are other rumors too . . . Among the group of six friends gathered for Alice Stone’s fortieth birthday, theories abound concerning Laurel’s death. Max Barbosa, police chief, has heard plenty of them, as has his longtime friend, Unitarian minister Georgia Fitzhugh. Local psychiatrist Farley Drake is privy to even more, gleaning snippets of gossip and information from his patients while closely guarding his own past. But maybe everyone in Monreith has something to hide. Because before this late-summer evening has come to a close, one of these six will be dead. And as jealousy, revenge, adultery, and greed converge, the question becomes not who among these friends might be capable of such a thing, but—who isn’t?

Top Five Rundown Show notes On today's episode we review our top 5 books we read over the past year.\ 5 Ann – The Last Orphan by Greg Hurwitz Tracey – The Devil's Chew Toy by Rob Osler 4 Ann - Last Known Port by Sue Anger Tracey - Bone Rattler by Elliot Pattison 3 Ann – The Hunter by Jennifer Herera Tracey – The Camp by Nancy Bush 2 Ann – Malibu Burning by Lee Goldberg Tracey – Just Like Home by Sarah Gailey 1 Ann – The Bones of Birka by Cynthia Surrisi Tracey – Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby We had a few honorable mentions of books that we did not cover on the program but were so good they deserve a mention Ann's list The Girl in the Eagle's Talons by Karen Schmirnoff The Road To Station X by Sarah Baring Holly by Stephen King Tracey's list The Only One Left by Riley Sager Verity by Coleen Hoover Carrie by Stephen King TRIVIA Last week's question Which mystery author has a span of 29 years between the publishing of one of her mysteries? a. Mary Roberts Reinhart b. Ruth Rendell c. Mildred Davis d. Amanda Cross The answer is c. Mildred Davis. She wrote 18 mystery novels between the years 1948 and 1977. She didn't publish another until 2006 when she began the Murder in Maine mystery series with her daughter Katherine Roome. This week's question is: Author Robert Barnard wrote over 40 mysteries. He wrote 4 mysteries under the name Bernard Bastable. Who was his famous protagonist? a. Wolfgang Mozart b. Thomas Wolfe c. Agatha Christie d. Robert Barnard

David Simmons Ghosts of E#ast Baltimore Show Notes On the first official episode of 2024, we talked with David Simmons about his book “Ghosts of East Baltimore.: David was delightful. Worm, fresh out of jail, tries to make a little money to get back on his feet, and make it back to the halfway house before his 9 pm curfew. But what should be a simple drop-off, spirals into a nightmare. Worm is faced with a number of obstacles like Greek gangsters, gimps, mecha suits, wild drugs, and more. This feels like the perfect cross-genre book written for me especially with the clone conspiracy theory sprinkled in. Ghosts of East Baltimore is a wild ride and the perfect mix of elegant yet literary cosmic hood horror with textured prose that not many could pull off. Rich with history, and a deep-seated love for Baltimore, this is a fantastic crime fiction debut. TRIVIA Author Gary Phillips has edited several anthologies over the years. One that won particular accolades was one that paid homage to a past president. Which one? a. Nixon b. Bush c. Washington d. Obama Phillips has edited a number of anthologies including Orange County Noir and The Obama Inheritance: Fifteen Stories of Conspiracy Noir, with the latter receiving the 2018 Anthony Award for Best Anthology. The Obama Inheritance was inspired by the many conspiracy theories generated about President Barack Obama. Each story in the anthology focused on one conspiracy theory as a means to "Riff on it, take it apart and turn it on its head, and give the reader a thrill ride of weirdo, noirish, pulpy goodness Which mystery author has a span of 29 years between the publishing of one of her mysteries? a. Mary Roberts Reinhart b. Ruth Rendell c. Mildred Davis d. Amanda Cross

In the last of our Holiday Break short stories We read a story that Bruce Robert Coffin sent to us. It is a perfect story to end this season of giving and caring. Please enjoy!! Tune in next week for our regularly scheduled episodes.

The Noir before Christmas written and read by Ang Pompano

The second in our Holiday Vacation series, Disappear is written and performed by the author, Sue Angejr. It tells the story of a sister's love and loss over the holidays.

Dark and Stormy is off enjoying the season. Please enjoy a few weeks of Holiday stories brought to you by some of our favorite authors. We will return in January with more original episodes.

Ann reported on The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon (Anchor 2015) West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter. Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara’s farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that has weighty consequences when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished. In her search for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother's bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked into the historical mystery, she discovers that she’s not the only person looking for someone that they’ve lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself. Creepy, goosebumpy, scary ghost stories aren't only for cool fall evenings. It turns out that the middle of January in remote Vermont when it's buried in snow is also the perfect setting for a psychological thriller filled with ghosts. Written by Jennifer McMahon, this is two stories in one with the common factor the setting of an old farmhouse on a secluded road in the very small town of West Hall, Vermont. The stories alternate: One takes place in January 1908, including flashbacks about 20 years earlier. The other takes place in the present day, also in January. This thickly-wooded homestead includes an outcropping of giant boulders that looks so much like a hand, the area has always been called Devil's Hand. Wander too far into the woods, and you might not make it out alive. Something is going on here, and those who have seen it believe there are ghosts in this spooky forest. It's January 1908. Sara Harrison Shea and her husband Martin Shea live in the farmhouse with their little girl, Gertie, who is 8 years old. One day she is found dead, having fallen 50 feet down a well. Sara collapses in grief, but writes her fears, anguish, and hopes into a secret diary. Sara comes to an untimely and gruesome death, which remains the stuff of legend in West Hall a hundred years later. She hid her diary in one of the hidey-holes in the old farmhouse, and many people want to find it because in it she supposedly left instructions on how to raise the dead to life. Meanwhile in the present-day, Alice Washburne lives in the same farmhouse with her two daughters, Ruthie, 19, and Fawn, 6. Alice, who is widowed, has lived off the grid for about 20 years. No computer. No cell phone. No links to anyone in the world. Even in this small town, not everyone knows who she is. On New Year's Day, Alice disappears. More than anything, Alice dislikes the police, so Ruthie knows she shouldn't call the cops. (This is one of several plot points—some small, some big—that make the mystery work. If Ruthie did call the cops or someone didn't lock her cell phone in the car so she didn't have it when she really needed it, things would have worked out quite differently. A little cheesy, perhaps.) The two stories—past and present—converge as Ruthie discovers dark secrets about her own past and those surrounding this strange house. This is one of the creepiest stories I have ever read, and while the plots from both time periods are rather farfetched, the book is a page-turner. It will keep you up past your bedtime, and if you read it then, you may very well have nightmares. Tracey's book was A Dark and Snowy Night by Sally Goldenbaum, #5 in the Seaside Knitters Mystery Series (Kensington 2022) It’s holiday season in the picturesque, coastal town of Sea Harbor, Massachusetts! But in USA Today bestselling author...

Jersey Ghouls Show notes Today we talked with Marissa and Jacki, two women we met at Fright Reads They host the Jersey Ghouls podcast which features horror movies with a feminist twist. We Are in the process of planning a collaboration with them. They primarily feature movies in the horror genre and we will do a book versus movie episode of Dark and Stormy Book Club. We are happy we met up with the girls and look forward to working with them. TRIVIA: Last week's question was Mark Andrew Twitchell is a Canadian filmmaker. He became famous in April 2011 for what? a. He used a fictional murderer as a guideline for the crime b. He pulled off the biggest jewel heist in history c. He murdered his wife and 6 children d. He murdered a man and filmed the murder The answer is a. He used a fictional murder as a guideline for murder. He was convicted of first- degree murder in April 2011 for the murder of John Brian Altinger His trial attracted particular media attention because Twitchell had allegedly been inspired by the fictional characte Which mystery author was also a barrister? A/ Linda Howard b. Patricia Moyes c. Eileen Dewshurst d. Nancy Spain