Ulterior Objectives - Scott Dennis Parker

I always enjoy a good World War II espionage yarn, and Scott Dennis Parker's latest novel, ULTERIOR OBJECTIVES, fits neatly into that category. Lillian Saxton, a supporting character in Parker's earlier novel WADING INTO WAR, takes center stage this time as she's sent to England on a top-secret mission for Army Intelligence in 1940. A former lover and classmate at Oxford is in Germany and wants to pass along some no doubt vital information to her. Needless to say, the mission does not go as planned . . .

Parker keeps things perking along nicely with good action scenes and some twists in the plot that I didn't see coming. Lillian is a fine protagonist, tough when she needs to be but hardly a super-agent. The ending of ULTERIOR OBJECTIVES makes me think we'll be seeing her again, and I certainly hope so. Recommended.

Now Available: Tales From the Otherverse

Other times, other places, other stories than the ones we know...These are the Tales From the Otherverse, where anything is possible and things never work out quite the way you'd expect. Some of today's top talents in popular fiction turn their hands to tales of alternate history. Featuring new stories by bestselling, award-winning authors Bill Crider, Lou Antonelli, Scott A. Cupp, Robert E. Vardeman, James Reasoner, and more. Explore the Otherverse and see what might have been! (Amazon links are below. Also available from Smashwords for all platforms.)

Coming Soon: Tales From the Otherverse

Other times, other places, other stories than the ones we know...These are the Tales From the Otherverse, where anything is possible and things never work out quite the way you'd expect. Some of today's top talents in popular fiction turn their hands to tales of alternate history. Featuring new stories by bestselling, award-winning authors Bill Crider, Lou Antonelli, Scott A. Cupp, Robert E. Vardeman, James Reasoner, and more. Explore the Otherverse and see what might have been!

Now Available: Weird Menace Volume 1

The Weird Menace pulps flourished for less than a decade, from the mid-1930s to the early '40s, but while they were popular, they delivered adventure, excitement, and spine-tingling thrills in quantities rarely seen before or since. Mad scientists, deranged henchmen, damsels in distress, and stalwart heroes raced through their pages in breathless, over-the-top, never-ending action. A good Weird Menace yarn really is just one damned thing after another. 

Rough Edges Press asked some of today's best authors of popular fiction to write Weird Menace stories, and they delivered. Settle back and let us spin a few yarns for you... 

But keep an eye out behind you. You never know when something might be sneaking up on you. 

Stories in this volume include: 
"Bodies for the Brain Butcher" by John C. Hocking 
"A Night on Madhouse Mountain" by Bill Crider 
"The Curse of the Monster Makers!" by Scott Dennis Parker 
"Farmhouse of the Dead" by Keith West 
"The Hideous Blood Ray" by Robert E. Vardeman 
"Blood Treasure for Satan's Buccaneers" by James Reasoner

 

Coming Soon: Weird Menace Volume 1

That cover sort of says it all, doesn't it? And this is only the first volume. Volume 2 will also be out later this month.

UPDATE: When I posted this earlier, there were a couple of things I wasn't sure of, but now I can add the table of contents:

"Bodies for the Brain Butcher", John C. Hocking
"A Night on Madhouse Mountain", Bill Crider
"The Curse of the Monster Makers!", Scott Dennis Parker
"Farmhouse of the Dead", Keith West
"The Hideous Blood Ray", Robert E. Vardeman
"Blood Treasure for Satan's Buccaneers", James Reasoner

Plus I'll write an intro for the book.

The Phantom Automobiles - Scott Dennis Parker

Newpaper reporter Gordon Gardner was a supporting character in Scott Dennis Parker's first novel, WADING INTO WAR, but in Parker's latest novel THE PHANTOM AUTOMOBILES, he takes center stage in another fine period mystery set in 1940s Houston.

Private detective Benjamin Wade makes a cameo appearance in this one, but Gardner takes the lead in investigating the mysterious death of a door-to-door encyclopedia salesman who was killed in a car accident after claiming to have seen automobiles disappear into thin air. At the same time, Gardner is teamed with a beautiful news photographer, Lucy Barnes, who turns out to be a great character. They become convinced that what appears to be a simple accident is much more sinister than that, but their investigation runs into resistance not only from their editor but from the police as well. Throw in a nightclub owner, a sinister doctor, a gun-toting farmer, an artist who also turns up dead, and a rival reporter, and you've got a story that gallops along with plenty of action and mystery.

Parker does a really fine job of weaving his plot together, turning what seems to be a simple story into something much more complex. Gardner and Lucy are really likable protagonists, too. Parker also captures the time period well without overdoing it on the historical references, a trap that it's easy for writers to fall into when doing period fiction. All in all, THE PHANTOM AUTOMOBILES is thoroughly entertaining and very reminiscent of the sort of classic mystery novels that were published during the Forties.

As a bonus, Parker includes a short story, "The Crimson Sleep", supposedly written by Gordon Gardner, who supplements his income as a reporter by writing mystery stories for the detective pulps, a nice touch that you know a pulp fan like me really appreciates.

Now Available: Wading Into War - Scott Dennis Parker

Houston, 1940 

Benjamin Wade is a laid back private investigator whose jobs are so mundane that he doesn't even carry a gun. He thought his latest job was going to be easy. 

He thought wrong. 

Hired by beguiling Lillian Saxton to find a missing reporter with knowledge of her brother’s whereabouts in war-torn Europe, Wade follows a lead and knocks on a door. He gets two answers: bullets and a corpse. 

Now Wade must unravel the truth about the reporter’s death, Lillian’s brother, and the whereabouts of a cache of documents that reveal a shocking story from Nazi-controlled Europe and an even more sinister secret here at home.

(I was fortunate enough to read an advance copy of this book, and it's an excellent period private eye yarn with a great pace. Scott nails the setting and the time period as well. Highly recommended. It's available on the various platforms and I believe a print edition is in the works as well.)