Steven Helmer Publications

Synopsis: Even though she has convinced herself she no longer has feelings for her ex-husband, James Lacey, Agatha Raisin is not looking forward to attending his wedding, especially after learning he is having second thoughts about marrying the beautiful and much younger Felicity Bross-Tilkington. The wedding, however, doesn't happen because the bride-to-be is killed while getting ready. After initially being considered a suspect until a hat purchase helped clear her name, Agatha is hired by Felicity's mom to find the killer. She agrees and gets help from her protege/rival Toni but, as the case progresses self-doubt and multiple attempts on her life have Agatha considering retirement. Review: While I have never been a big fan of the Agatha Raisin/James Lacey saga, the past few books from this series had me optimistic about There Goes the Bride when I checked it out from the library. As it turns out, it was a book I would consider a let-down. On the surface, the book has an in...

Synopsis: This non-fiction book edited by Bill Fawcett shares essays about various wars in world history and the events and decisions that caused one (or sometimes both) side to lose.  Review: I've had How to Lose a War in my office for several months, usually reading an essay or two when the weather isn't cooperating enough for me to take a walk at lunch. I finally finished it this week and it is a book that I found worth reading. The book has a good mix of subjects. Some wars, like the Korean War or the Napoleonic War, were familiar while others were a bit more obscure, such as the Anglo-Sudan war. The latter alone was something that made the book interesting because I was learning about conflicts I didn't even realize were a thing, despite my love for history.\ The main purpose of the essays was what really pulled me in though. I found it fascinating just how many wars were ultimately lost because of one bad decision or, on occasion, were altered by poor decisions on ...

Synopsis: After a disappointing holiday, Constable Hamish Macbeth is relieved to be returning to his hometown of Lochdubh. However, as soon as he gets home, he can't seem to shake a feeling of foreboding, which he immediately traces to newcomer Catriona Beldame. When many of Lochdubh's married men come down with a similar ailment, Hamish believes it is related to a "herbal" aphrodisiac Catriona has been providing. But, before he can prove she is doing something illegal, Catriona is murdered. Review: After first reading the other two books I checked out at the library at the same time, I finally got around to reading this book a couple days ago. And, much like other Hamish Macbeth mysteries, I found myself having a hard time putting it down. When I first started reading this book, I thought the mystery would wind up being relatively easy to solve. After all, Catriona's murder obviously was the direct result of the harm she was causing the community. All I ...

Synopsis: A compilation of "vampire-themed" stories from Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The book was edited by Robert Eighteen-Bisang and Martin H. Greenberg. Review: I went to the library Friday evening with the intention of checking out a couple more Hamish Macbeth books and was disappointed to learn someone had beat me to them. Figuring I still needed something to read, I decided to use it as an excuse to change things up a bit and wound up checking out this book. In addition to enjoying all Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories, I am also a big fan of his Brigadier Gerard series. Up until this point, however, I had not taken the time to read this collection of short stories. After doing so, I find my opinion of it mixed. I'm going to first start out by saying the title of this book is very misleading. If you check this out thinking you are going to get a book full of traditional vampire stories, you are going to be very disappointed. The book...