Mark McNease Mysteries: Recent Episodes
Mark McNease
Mark McNease Mysteries is a podcast showcasing the author's fiction and narration, along with commentary and observation. The author reads from his mystery series, as well as from other of his selected fiction and writing.
Spring has sprung into action with something brand new. Fatal Mistake: A Harry Hell Novella just released, and I’m offering four chapters each week for your listening pleasure.
This is not intended as an audiobook and no professional narrators were harmed in the making of this clip.
New year, new exciting announcements! The audiobook for 'I, Warlock: The Warlock Wars Book I' is now out. Narrated by the terrific Sean Rhead (our third book together), this first book in the series introduces us to Julius Tide, reluctant warlock with vampire blood in his veins that has cursed him with an extraordinarily long life. He meets his beloved Charlotte at a fair in Vermont, and soon their destinies become one. This is the first book in a projected 3-book series, and it lays the groundwork for an epic battle between good and evil, with their surival hanging in the balance.
Enjoy another three chapters of my newest book as a Mark McNease Mysteries podcast exclusive! This week it's chapters seven, eight and nine of 'A House in the Woods 2: The Devil's Due.' I'll be offering three chapters every week, narrated by my very own Wondervox. No audiobook narrators were harmed in the production of this podcast! Fasten your headphones for weekly commentary, updates, and serialized fiction from yours truly.
Enjoy another three chapters of my newest book as a Mark McNease Mysteries podcast exclusive! This week it's chapters four, five and six of 'A House in the Woods 2: The Devil's Due.' I'll be offering three chapters every week, narrated by my very own Wondervox. No audiobook narrators were harmed in the production of this podcast! Fasten your headphones for weekly commentary, updates, and serialized fiction from yours truly.
How exciting is this! I'm revving up the Mysteries podcast again, with all new audio offerings of my mysteries, thrillers and fiction. This week it's the launch of my newest book, 'A House in the Woods 2: The Devil's Due.' I'll be offering three chapters every week, narrated by my very own Wondervox. No audiobook narrators were harmed in the production of this podcast! Fasten your headphones for weekly commentary, updates, and serialized fiction from yours truly. And now ... we begin. Comments and encouragement are welcome! You can leave a voice message for me here. I'm listning!
Welcome to the new and expanded Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast! I'll be bringing you interviews, book and series recommendations, and a regular audio small plate from my writing. This week I chat with author Bruce W. Bishop, who I had the pleasure of meeting in person when we were in Halifax two weeks ago on a cruise. Then I talk about Ann Cleeves' Matthew Venn series, and finish up with a two-chapter sample from 'I, Warlock,' my upcoming audiobook narrated by Sean Rhead. Fasten your headphones, and stay tuned for more in the coming weeks.
I've taken the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast out of cryo-storage. It was never dead, just taking a long nap. And now it's back! More audio mysteries and fiction, announcements and giveaways, and this time with guest interviews, book and audiobook recommendations, and more!
Listen to this archive gem with Halloween expert and author Lisa Norton.
About Lisa Morton
Lisa Morton is a screenwriter, author of non-fiction books, and award-winning prose writer whose work was described by the American Library Association’s Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror as “consistently dark, unsettling, and frightening”. She is the author of four novels and 150 short stories, a six-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award®, and a world-class Halloween expert. She co-edited (with Leslie S. Klinger) the anthology Weird Women: Classic Supernatural Fiction by Groundbreaking Female Writers 1852-1923; forthcoming in 2020 is Calling the Spirits: A History of Seances. She is a six-time winner of the Bram Stoker Award®, a recipient of the Black Quill Award, and winner of the 2012 Grand Prize from the Halloween Book Festival. A life long Californian, she lives in Los Angeles.
Harry Hell has lived in my head for several years now, and he's finally found a way out! Intended as a three-book series, the Harry Hell Novellas have begun as a Kindle Vella serial, with a new chapter coming out every Sunday. The first three chapters of every Vella story are free to read, then subsequent chapters are accessed with token you can purchase for the stories. HEAD ON OVER TO AMAZON (Dead Eyes McNease) and read the first, intense three chapters of Dead Eyes: A Harry Hell Novella.
Fasten your headphones for a 6 chapter sample of the just-released 'I, Warlock: The Warlock Wars Book I.' It's a great new adventure for me, and I can't wait to get started on Book II. You can get 'I, Warlock' on Amazon, eBook or paperback editions, starting NOW!
About 'I, Warlock'
When the world's survival depends on the struggle between good and evil, only one can triumph. The victor will preserve for humankind what makes life worth living, or he will rule atop a mound of skulls, served by the souls he defeated.
I, Warlock tells the story of Julius Tide, born part-vampire, destined to be all warlock. Follow his journey from a near-innocent, living quietly in the Vermont countryside, to a man whose decisions will determine the fate of the world. Every step of the way he has his beloved Charlotte, whose beauty first stuns him one spring day at a local fair, and continues to comfort him as he undertakes a battle against monumental evil that can have only one winner. Grief, joy, ecstasy, tragedy--it all comes into play as Julius, Charlotte, and a dizzying cast of characters march to their destinies in I, Warlock, The Warlock Wars Book I.
Fasten your headphones for the final ten chapters of Kill Switch: A Kyle Callahan Mystery. This was perhaps the darkest book in the series, in terms of its psychology. Kyle and his friend, retired homicide detective Linda Sikorsky, solve the cold case of a murdered teenage girl. As they reveal the truth, they bring answers to her grieving father, even as they bring down the New York City District Attorney. The shock waves will reverberate in the city for years to come.
About Kill Switch: A Kyle Callahan Mystery
In the 5th installment of the Kyle Callahan Mysteries, Kyle finds himself in therapy after ending the life of the Pride Killer, the most successful serial killer New York City has ever known. Putting an end to evil was the right thing to do, but it left Kyle in need of the services of psychotherapist Peter Benoit. Kyle decides the best way to re-engage with life is to do what he can't stop doing: solving murders. Joined once again by his friend Detective Linda Sikorsky, Kyle takes on his first cold case, the murder of a teenager three years ago. Corinne Copley was killed on a Manhattan side street for nothing more than her cell phone. Or was that really the reason? Come along as Kyle delves into the murky undercurrent of New York City politics, pursues a crime boss who kills as easily as she breathes, and seeks justice for the father of a murdered child.
Fasten your headphones for another three chapters of Kill Switch: A Kyle Callahan Mystery. This was perhaps the darkest book in the series, in terms of its psychology. We have Kyle traumatized and seeing a therapist. We have a cold case involving the brutal, seemingly random murder of a teenage girl. But was it random? Follow along as Kyle and his friend, retired detective Linda Sikorsky, try to solve the case, for Kyle’s own well-being, and to provide answers to a grieving father. The shock waves from what they discover will reverberate all the way to the New York City District Attorney’s office and beyond.
About Kill Switch: A Kyle Callahan Mystery
In the 5th installment of the Kyle Callahan Mysteries, Kyle finds himself in therapy after ending the life of the Pride Killer, the most successful serial killer New York City has ever known. Putting an end to evil was the right thing to do, but it left Kyle in need of the services of psychotherapist Peter Benoit. Kyle decides the best way to re-engage with life is to do what he can't stop doing: solving murders. Joined once again by his friend Detective Linda Sikorsky, Kyle takes on his first cold case, the murder of a teenager three years ago. Corinne Copley was killed on a Manhattan side street for nothing more than her cell phone. Or was that really the reason? Come along as Kyle delves into the murky undercurrent of New York City politics, pursues a crime boss who kills as easily as she breathes, and seeks justice for the father of a murdered child.
Fasten your headphones for another three chapters of Kill Switch: A Kyle Callahan Mystery. This was perhaps the darkest book in the series, in terms of its psychology. We have Kyle traumatized and seeing a therapist. We have a cold case involving the brutal, seemingly random murder of a teenage girl. But was it random? Follow along as Kyle and his friend, retired detective Linda Sikorsky, try to solve the case, for Kyle’s own well-being, and to provide answers to a grieving father. The shock waves from what they discover will reverberate all the way to the New York City District Attorney’s office and beyond.
About Kill Switch: A Kyle Callahan Mystery
In the 5th installment of the Kyle Callahan Mysteries, Kyle finds himself in therapy after ending the life of the Pride Killer, the most successful serial killer New York City has ever known. Putting an end to evil was the right thing to do, but it left Kyle in need of the services of psychotherapist Peter Benoit. Kyle decides the best way to re-engage with life is to do what he can't stop doing: solving murders. Joined once again by his friend Detective Linda Sikorsky, Kyle takes on his first cold case, the murder of a teenager three years ago. Corinne Copley was killed on a Manhattan side street for nothing more than her cell phone. Or was that really the reason? Come along as Kyle delves into the murky undercurrent of New York City politics, pursues a crime boss who kills as easily as she breathes, and seeks justice for the father of a murdered child.
Fasten your headphones for another three chapters of Kill Switch: A Kyle Callahan Mystery. This was perhaps the darkest book in the series, in terms of its psychology. We have Kyle traumatized and seeing a therapist. We have a cold case involving the brutal, seemingly random murder of a teenage girl. But was it random? Follow along as Kyle and his friend, retired detective Linda Sikorsky, try to solve the case, for Kyle’s own well-being, and to provide answers to a grieving father. The shock waves from what they discover will reverberate all the way to the New York City District Attorney’s office and beyond.
Fasten your headphones for another three chapters of Kill Switch: A Kyle Callahan Mystery. This was perhaps the darkest book in the series, in terms of its psychology. We have Kyle traumatized and seeing a therapist. We have a cold case involving the brutal, seemingly random murder of a teenage girl. But was it random? Follow along as Kyle and his friend, retired detective Linda Sikorsky, try to solve the case, for Kyle’s own well-being, and to provide answer to a grieving father. The shock waves from what they discover will reverberate all the way to the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office and beyond.
I'll be bringing you the audiobook edition of Kill Swtich: A Kylle Callahan Mystery, in three-chapters released over the next 12+ weeks! The narration is provided by my own WondervoxAI.
Kill Swtich is the 5th installment in the Kyle Callahan Series, and it finds Kyle dealing with the trauma of having ended the life of a vicious serial killer. Fasten your headphones, and check in every week for the next three chapters.
About Kill Switch: A Kyle Callahan Mystery
In the 5th installment of the Kyle Callahan Mysteries, Kyle finds himself in therapy after ending the life of the Pride Killer, the most successful serial killer New York City has ever known. Putting an end to evil was the right thing to do, but it left Kyle in need of the services of psychotherapist Peter Benoit. Kyle decides the best way to re-engage with life is to do what he can't stop doing: solving murders. Joined once again by his friend Detective Linda Sikorsky, Kyle takes on his first cold case, the murder of a teenager three years ago. Corinne Copley was killed on a Manhattan side street for nothing more than her cell phone. Or was that really the reason? Come along as Kyle delves into the murky undercurrent of New York City politics, pursues a crime boss who kills as easily as she breathes, and seeks justice for the father of a murdered child.
I'll be bringing you the audiobook edition of Kill Swtich: A Kylle Callahan Mystery, in three-chapters released over the next 12+ weeks! The narration is provided by my own WondervoxAI.
Kill Swtich is the 5th installment in the Kyle Callahan Series, and it finds Kyle dealing with the trauma of having ended the life of a vicious serial killer. Fasten your headphones, and check in every week for the next three chapters.
About Kill Switch: A Kyle Callahan Mystery
In the 5th installment of the Kyle Callahan Mysteries, Kyle finds himself in therapy after ending the life of the Pride Killer, the most successful serial killer New York City has ever known. Putting an end to evil was the right thing to do, but it left Kyle in need of the services of psychotherapist Peter Benoit. Kyle decides the best way to re-engage with life is to do what he can't stop doing: solving murders. Joined once again by his friend Detective Linda Sikorsky, Kyle takes on his first cold case, the murder of a teenager three years ago. Corinne Copley was killed on a Manhattan side street for nothing more than her cell phone. Or was that really the reason? Come along as Kyle delves into the murky undercurrent of New York City politics, pursues a crime boss who kills as easily as she breathes, and seeks justice for the father of a murdered child.
I'll be bringing you the audiobook edition of Kill Swtich: A Kylle Callahan Mystery, in three-chapters released over the next 12+ weeks! The narration is provided by my own WondervoxAI, using the voice of someone I call Android Josh.
Kill Swtich is the 5th installment in the Kyle Callahan Series, and it finds Kyle dealing with the trauma of having ended the life of a vicious serial killer. Fasten your headphones, and check in every week for the next three chapters.
I'll be bringing you the audiobook edition of Kill Swtich: A Kylle Callahan Mystery, in three-chapters released over the next 12+ weeks! The narration is provided by my own WondervoxAI, using the voice of someone I call Android Josh.
The best thing about putting this out on audio is remembering how much I like the story! Poor Skate Copley, his life ruined by his daughter’s unsolved murder. And Kyle struggling with the psychological after-effects of killing an evil, evil man. Can their brokenness help repair them both? Fasten your headphones for another three chapters.
Kill Swtich is the 5th installment in the Kyle Callahan Series, and it finds Kyle dealing with the trauma of having ended the life of a vicious serial killer. Fasten your headphones, and check in every week for the next three chapters.
Welcome back to the podcast post-vacation. I'll be bringing you the audiobook edition of Kill Swtich: A Kylle Callahan Mystery, in three-chapters released over the next 12+ weeks! The narration is provided by my own WondervoxAI, using the voice of someone I call Android Josh.
The best thing about putting this out on audio is remembering how much I like the story! Poor Skate Copley, his life ruined by his daughter’s unsolved murder. And Kyle struggling with the psychological after-effects of killing an evil, evil man. Can their brokenness help repair them both? Fasten your headphones for another three chapters.
Kill Swtich is the 5th installment in the Kyle Callahan Series, and it finds Kyle dealing with the trauma of having ended the life of a vicious serial killer. Fasten your headphones, and check in every week for the next three chapters.
Welcome back to the podcast post-vacation. I'll be bringing you the audiobook edition of Kill Swtich: A Kylle Callahan Mystery, in three-chapters released over the next 12+ weeks! The narration is provided by my own WondervoxAI, using the voice of someone I call Android Josh. You can find out a little more about my thoughts on AI narration and my embrace of the technology in the introduction.
Kill Swtich is the 5th installment in the Kyle Callahan Series, and it finds Kyle dealing with the trauma of having ended the life of a vicious serial killer. Fasten your headphones, and check in every week for the next three chapters.
About Kill Switch: A Kyle Callahan Mystery
In the 5th installment of the Kyle Callahan Mysteries, Kyle finds himself in therapy after ending the life of the Pride Killer, the most successful serial killer New York City has ever known. Putting an end to evil was the right thing to do, but it left Kyle in need of the services of psychotherapist Peter Benoit. Kyle decides the best way to re-engage with life is to do what he can't stop doing: solving murders. Joined once again by his friend Detective Linda Sikorsky, Kyle takes on his first cold case, the murder of a teenager three years ago. Corinne Copley was killed on a Manhattan side street for nothing more than her cell phone. Or was that really the reason? Come along as Kyle delves into the murky undercurrent of New York City politics, pursues a crime boss who kills as easily as she breathes, and seeks justice for the father of a murdered child.
The future has arrived! The audiobook for Final Audition: A Marshall James Thriller is now available on Kobo. Produced and narrated by my very own WondervoxAI, synthetic narration. The sound is amazing. You may even find yourself with a crush on the voice I call Android Anthony. That also happens to be my middle name. Cosmic?
You can listen to a two-chapter sample, and purchase the entire audiobook for a mere $8.99 on Kobo.
About Final Audition: A Marshall James Thriller
In the third installment of the Marshall James Thrillers, Marshall has one more tale to tell, one last journey to take, back into a past that is inextricably connected to his present. Marshall decides to search for the man who had once been the center of his life: LAPD Homicide Detective Mac McElroy. Mac had told him all those years ago, when Marshall had his last showdown with death and the men who traffic in it, that he never wanted to speak to him again, and he hasn’t. But is Mac still alive? Can Marshall find him? And what will be the end of their story if he does? Find out in Final Audition, as Marshall returns once more to a life he’d abandoned, only to find out it had never abandoned him. Along the way he introduces us to a Los Angeles long gone, a theater group where some dreams are nightmares, an innocent man whose life will hang in the balance, and evil determined to destroy him if it can.
Fasten your headphones for another short story from my collection, Tundra (Short Fiction 2000 - 2022). This one is called Jawbone, and it tells the story of a young man forever changed by an accident one night on a snowy Michigan road. He learns in the most difficult ways possible about people's true motives, their fears, their judgements, and ultimately their abandonment. His name was Richard, but everybody called him Jawbone ...
The adventures in AI continue, with this WondervoxAI produced audio edition of my short story, Memory Box. It's one of the selected stories in my recent collection, Tundra (2000 - 2022).
Memory Box tells the story of Risa, a young girl whose father dies suddenly, and how she grapples with that loss. We're introduced to the colorful and sometimes unsavory characters in her life, as she navigates a world that can often seem merciless. We experience her resilience, determination and spirit as she comes to terms with a young life forever changed.
Fasten you headphones! If you'd like to purchase it as an MP3 file, you can find it at my Payhip storefront for $2.99.
This episode brings you another AI-narrated special, 'The Cat in the Window.' It's a short story that has pleased a lot of readers, and one of my better ones. You can find all my best stories collected in Tundra (2000 - 2022). For now, enjoy this short audio edition narrated by Android Bella. You can purchase it as an MP3 file, available only at my Payhip storefront.
Something special again for this episode: My short story, 'Rough and Tumble: A Dystopian Love Tragedy,' produced and narrated by WondervoxAI. It's my new venture, as well as an adventure into the world of AI narration. Fasten your headphones! - Mark
About 'Rough and Tumble'
"Rough and Tumble were not their names by birth." Boy meets boy at the end of civilization in this extended short story. The year is distant, the reality of those living appears dark and harsh. Among them, surviving by wit and easy violence, are Rough and Tumble, two young men whose lives became entwined so long ago neither of them remembers exactly when, only that it was love at first sight. Now, as Rough imagines an escape from the Slopes, the area they live and expect to die in, he yearns to take Tumble with him. But is it possible? Does Tumble want to go across the murky water, too, or are dreams for the foolish and the dying? Join them as they go on a last nightly prowl, looking for loot and any way out.
Just ... wow. I had no intention of using AI to narrate my writing, but I tried it with ElevenLabs, and I love it. I'll be able to use this for my blog posts, my fiction and non-fiction writing, you name it. Will it replace working narrators? I hope not. But I would otherwise have narrated this myself. It saves an enormous amount of time, and the technology is stunning. The glitches are very few, and only with tone and emphasis, not on the words themselves. So ... enjoy this three-chapter sample of Final Audition: A Marshall James Thriller, narrated by the robot Josh.
Welcome back to the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast! In this episode, I'm narrating the first three chapters of my Kindle Vella serial, 'I, Warlock.' I'm uploading new chapters every Wednesday and Saturday, so please be sure to check them out. Follow the story, and give it a thumbs-up when you have a chance. It's a new platform for me, a new genre, and an exciting adventure in creativity. Happy holidays! - Mark
Welcome to a new Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast. It's been awhile, and it's good to be back at the mic, with a new book. In today's podcast I'm narrating a three chapter sample of Open Secrets: A Maggie Dahl Mystery. It's the second book in the series, and it has Maggie pursuing another killer in Lambertville, NJ, a not-so-idyllic river town where murder has a way of showing up when Maggie's around. She's also faced with the possibility of new love, or at least new like, after grieving the sudden death of her husband for the past year. Will she date again? Will it be more than that? Read Open Secrets to find out.
Who killed Teddy the handyman - if anyone killed him at all? Was it Sid, one of the new owners of Pride Lodge whose past gets darker the closer you look? Was it the woman whose name was once Emily, when she witnessed the murder of her parents in a burglary gone terribly wrong, and who has waited 30 years for vengeance? Was it young Happy Corcoran, promoted to bartender only to vanish three days before Teddy was found dead at the bottom of the empty pool? Find out as Kyle Callahan refuses to believe it was an accident, doggedly pursues the truth in his friend's death, and does his best not to join him.
The Katherine Pride Gallery is the center of high art and low death in Pride and Perilous, book two of the Pride Trilogy and the second of the Kyle Callahan Mysteries. Kyle, an amateur photographer, is about to have his first exhibit at the gallery, located in Manhattan's Meatpacking District. As time ticks away, bodies begin to fall, and Kyle realizes somebody wants this gallery closed forever.
It's Gay Pride weekend, the most festive weekend of the year in New York City. Hundreds of thousands of partygoers arrive to show the world how to have a good time.
Stalking the party is the most successful serial killer the city has ever seen. Detective Linda Sikorsky comes to town to visit Kyle Callahan and his husband Danny Durban. It's her first Pride Parade and may well be her last. Harmless fun turns to terror in a frantic effort to stop the killer once the first body floats to the river's edge.
It's been six months since the Pride Gallery murders in Manhattan. Kyle Callahan and his partner Danny Durban head to rural New Jersey for a relaxing week with their dear friend, Detective Linda Sikorsky, recently retired and newly in love.
Driving back from dinner with Linda and her fiancée Kirsten, they discover the body of Abigail Creek, run off the road on a bicycle wearing only her nightgown and slippers. Kyle and Linda quickly find themselves learning more than they want to know about the Creek family and the home they call CrossCreek Farm.
Retired homicide detective Linda Sikorsky and her wife Kirsten McClellan head to Maine from their home in the New Jersey woods for a weekend of rest, relaxation and rewrites as Kirsten finishes drafting her first novel. Bad weather alters their plans, forcing them to stop for the night at the Cliff's Edge, a roadside motel known for secrecy and indiscretion. Something murderous goes bump in the night, sending the women on a search for justice when a young reporter's body is found violated and dumped on a back road. A road Linda must now go down, no matter where it takes her, or what it reveals.
It’s been several years since Kyle Callahan sought the help of a New York City therapist to overcome the trauma of his encounter with a serial killer. He and his husband, Danny Durban, have decided to move away, to start a new life in the idyllic river city of Lambertville, New Jersey. They open a bed-and-breakfast, and soon discover that murder and mayhem are waiting to check in.
Time waits for no one, including Marshall James. Now 58 and living in New York City, Marshall has outlived the expiration date he was given with a cancer diagnosis three years ago. He beat the odds, but he knows he may not beat the clock. So he’s decided to tell a story or three about some murders he was involved in back in the day.
The year was 1983. The bar was the Paisley Parrot in Hollywood, a gay, mob-run dive where people came to drink and few of them remembered the night before. Marshall loves his job as a bartender there. But one night, among the regulars, a killer arrives.
Welcome to The Listen Lounge, where listeners can enjoy 3-chapter samples of all my audiobooks. Next up: Beautiful Corpse: A Marshall James Thriller, narrated by Sean Rhead.
It’s been over a year since Marshall James first became intimately familiar with murder. He’s six months sober now and happily living with the love of his life, LAPD Detective Mac McElroy. Despite the coming storm of AIDS and its devastating toll on the world Marshall knows, his dark days seem to be behind him. Then one night he says the wrong thing, storms out in anger, and walks straight into a nightmare. Someone is setting him up to take the fall for a beautiful corpse. But who would do something so evil, and so planned? Within hours he finds himself running from the police and the mob, and running toward a killer he must apprehend before the only chance left is no chance at all.
In Black Cat White Paws, recently widowed Maggie Dahl finds herself faced with challenges on all fronts: life alone in a new town, running a business she and her husband had dreamed of and started together, and now pursuing a killer. Her sister, Gerri, moves from Philadelphia to Lambertville, New Jersey, to support her sister and start a new life of her own. Together, the women search for a murderer, helped in critical ways by their neighbor’s cat. A black cat with white paws. A cat whose independence sets it all in motion and sees it through to the end.
Welcome to The Listen Lounge, where listeners can enjoy 3-chapter samples of all my audiobooks. Let's kick this off with 'A House in the Woods,' narrated by Daniela Acitelli.
Laurel and Jeremy Calloway have longed for a new life away from the chaos and confusion of New York City. Driving along a country road in New Jersey they almost miss it: a small house in the woods for sale. Within a few weeks, they find themselves the very lucky owners of their ideal home. But is it the house of their dreams, or of their nightmares?
It’s been thirty years since Marshall James last spoke to the love of his life, LAPD Homicide Detective Mac McElroy. Marshall finds an old Valentine’s Day card, the last communication between them, and he decides against the odds to see if he could get the final goodbye they’d never had. In the meantime, he takes us back in time to L.A., 1985, where life had seemed to be going well at last, until a corpse with a familiar face and a brutal cause of death showed up and sent them spiraling to a finish.
Welcome to the first Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast of 2022! I'm finishing up the second mystery in the Maggie Dahl series, 'Open Secrets,' and should have that out by the spring. In the meantime, enjoy a 6 chapter audiobook sample of the first book. 'Black Cat White Paws' was narrated by the fabulous Holly Palance, and if I decide to do an audiobook of the new one, she's the only choice for it.
Welcome the final installment of the audiobook edition of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, narrated by Sean Rhead. I'll be putting out the entire book ten chapters a week, allowing listeners to enjoy this fabulous narrator, with a pinch of suspense while you wait for the next installment.
Welcome the fifth installment of the audiobook edition of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, narrated by Sean Rhead. I'll be putting out the entire book ten chapters a week, allowing listeners to enjoy this fabulous narrator, with a pinch of suspense while you wait for the next installment.
Welcome the fourth installment of the audiobook edition of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, narrated by Sean Rhead. I'll be putting out the entire book ten chapters a week, allowing listeners to enjoy this fabulous narrator, with a pinch of suspense while you wait for the next installment.
Welcome to December! Here is the third installment of the audiobook edition of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, narrated by Sean Rhead. I'll be putting out the entire book ten chapters a week, allowing listeners to enjoy this fabulous narrator, with a pinch of suspense while you wait for the next installment.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Here is the second installment of the audiobook edition of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, narrated by Sean Rhead. I'll be putting out the entire book ten chapters a week, allowing listeners to enjoy this fabulous narrator, with a pinch of suspense while you wait for the next installment.
I'm doing something new here: releasing the complete audiobook edition of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, narrated by Sean Rhead. I'll be putting out ten chapters a week for the next six weeks, allowing listeners to enjoy this fabulous narrator, with a pinch of suspense while you wait for the next installment. fasten your headphones and listen to the first ten chapters of Reservation for Murder. The following ten chapters will be out next week.
It's that time again! Here's a fun conversation from last year with author and Halloween expert Lisa Morton.
October is my favorite month, bringing with it two annual events: my birthday, and Halloween. It's been a double dose of goodness all my life, and this year is no exception, despite the stresses the coronavirus has put on us all. Halloween is a good opportunity to live a semi-normal life and scare up some fun. Listen in as I chat with author Lisa Morton about her writing, her life, and her experience as a bonafide Halloween expert.
Crossposted from the One Thing or Another Podcast.
Join me for a conversation with audiobook narrator Sean Rhead. We've just finished our second book together, Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, and Sean lets us in on his process for taking a book from print to microphone.
The audiobook edition of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, narrated by Sean Rhead, is now available at Audible, iTunes, Amazon, various retailers, libraries, and directly from my Authors Direct storefront (at a discount!). Enjoy these first six chapters (plus prologue) and head over to your favorite audiobook retailer to find the entire book.
Fasten your headphones for Sean Rhead's outstanding narration of Beautiful Corpse: A Marshall James Thriller. This is the second book in the series, and Sean does a fantastic job. He's also currently recording my newest, Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, with an expected release date in August. Here you can enjoy a 6 chapter sample. And remember, hearing is believing ...
"Death is the father," he said. "Apocalypse is the child."
Join me for the newest Mark McNease Mysteries podcast, as I narrate a favorite (and fairly long) short story called 'The Seer.' There's the usual short introduction, welcoming everyone to summer and encouraging readers and listeners who enjoy my writing to ... yes ... buy my books and audiobooks! You can find them right here at my website, at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Audible, iTunes, Authors Direct, and lots of other places. Hearing is believing, so enjoy the read, and I'll be back next time with a sample from narrator Sean Rhead, who is currently recording my latest Kyle Callahan Mystery, Reservation for Murder. - Mark
About The Seer
"Death is the father," he said. "Apocalypse is the child." Worlds are set to collide as a two thousand year old man living above a pet store in New York City encounters a young couple about to have their first child. He looks at them one morning and sees ... terror. But what can he do about it, if anything? Can he stop them? And just as importantly, can they stop him? See for yourself in 'The Seer' and glimpse what is to come, and what is gone forever.
Welcome to episode #23 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #23 brings you something different: a 4-essay selection from the audiobook edition of author Jean Ryan's Strange Company. Jean is among the finest writers I know, and after reading this astonishing collection of nature essays, I didn't hesitate to ask Jean if I could put out an audiobook version. Narrated by the wonderful Nikiya Palombi, these essays take an intimate look at the natural world, our place in it, and what we can learn about ourselves from the animals and insects we share this planet with.
Welcome to episode #22 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #22 brings you one of my personal favorites - a short story called PUSH. It was the lead story in my short fiction collection An Unobstructed View, and I'll be including it in my upcoming selected story collection (2000 - 2022). That's a work in progress, so stay tuned for another year, or two, or three on that. In the meantime, fasten your headphones and listen to my narration of PUSH.
Welcome to episode #21 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #21 brings you something different: a short story of mine narrated by Braden Wright. Selected as a Kindle Single by the editors at Amazon, this story tells the improbable - but not impossible - story of three young people colliding with destiny on a cloudless, starlit night, on a road we've all traveled in our minds. Fasten your headphones!
Welcome to episode #20 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #20 brings you the complete one hour audiobook version of my short story, 'Rough and Tumble (A Dystopian Love Tragedy).' It's the tale of two young men in love, living by their wits and their violence at the end of the world. I've also made it available as a continuous listening experience on SoundCloud. Welcome to their world.
Welcome to episode #19 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #19 brings you Part I (of 2) from 'Rough and Tumble (A Dystopian Love Tragedy).' It's the story of two young men in love, living by their wits and their violence at the end of the world. I'll provide Part II next week, as well as making it available as a continuous listening experience on SoundCloud. Welcome to their world, and I'll see you next time.
Welcome to episode #18 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #18 is a teaser for my next narration project: Rough and Tumble (A Dystopian Love Tragedy). I'm recording it now, bit by bit, and expect to release it as two extended podcasts once it's finished. For now, enjoy this teaser from one of my favorite short stories.
About 'Rough and Tumble'
"Rough and Tumble were not their names by birth." Boy meets boy at the end of civilization in this extended short story. The year is distant, the reality of those living appears dark and harsh. Among them, surviving by wit and easy violence, are Rough and Tumble, two young men whose lives became entwined so long ago neither of them remembers exactly when, only that it was love at first sight. Now, as Rough imagines an escape from the Slopes, the area they live and expect to die in, he yearns to take Tumble with him. But is it possible? Does Tumble want to go across the murky water, too, or are dreams for the foolish and the dying? Join them as they go on a last nightly prowl, looking for loot and any way out.
Welcome to episode #17 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #17 is an extended reading and concludes my narration of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, with chapters 48 through the Post Script.
On last week’s episode, Kyle and Linda met with retired bank branch manager Polly Bryson. Polly had worked with Harold Summit and Kevin Lockland at River Valley Bank, since acquired by a bigger institution. Polly told them what she knew, which wasn't enough to reveal a killer but will keep the duo moving forward. As they left Polly's house, Kyle got a call from worried housekeeper Patty. It seems houseman Justin had left town ... an indication of guilt, or just panic?
It's been great fun narrating the book (you can listen to the entire reading without interruption on SoundCloud), and I look forward to bringing you more. Up next: Rough and Tumble, a dystopian love tragedy. I expect to do that in April. Until then, fasten your headphones.
Welcome to episode #16 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #16 continues my reading of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, with chapters 45, 46, and 47.
On last week’s episode, Kyle and Linda continued their pursuit of a killer who had murdered two of the guests staying at Passion House and who may have been instrumental in the disappearance of a third man six months earlier.
Meanwhile, Scott Harris did his best impression of a grieving widower, while wondering what happened to his husband Harold's phone. Find the phone, find the killer? Sergeant Hoyt of the Lambertville Police surely agrees.
Welcome to episode #15 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #15 continues my reading of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, with chapters 42, 43, and 44.
On last week’s episode, houseman Justin had gotten out of Dodge, escaping to New York City without telling anyone but his friend Sammy Crocker, who’d moved to the city several years ago and was happy to get a surprise visit from Justin.
Meanwhile, Kyle and Linda went to the Carlyle Art Gallery in New Hope to talk to Melissa Lockland, wife of Kevin Lockland, who’d vanished six months ago and may be another of the killer’s victims.
Welcome to episode #14 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #14 continues my reading of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, with chapters 39, 40, and 41.
On last week’s episode, Gladys continued having mixed feelings about the murder of Harold Summit: she wasn’t all that upset he was dead, but she was very concerned about the possibility of being a suspect. Harold’s husband Scott, meanwhile, was torn between appearing to be a grieving widower and calling the bank and life insurance company to find out when funds become available to a surviving spouse.
Across the river in New Hope, Kyle and Linda visited Paul Thibodeaux, the late Joseph Garland’s friend listed in his day planner. Thibodeaux told them Garland had been in town to try and find out what happened to his late wife’s nephew, Kevin Lockland. Kevin had disappeared six months earlier, making it very likely there were three victims involved in someone’s scheme for revenge. But who was that someone, and why were they killing these men?
Welcome to episode #13 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #13 continues my reading of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, with chapters 36, 37, and 38.
In last week's episode, Kyle teamed with his friend, retired detective Linda Sikorsky, to find out more about their mysterious house guest, Joseph Garland. The elderly gentleman had said little to anyone except that he'd planned to have dinner with an old friend his first night in town.
Kyle made excuses to enter his guest's room (he may need help, he may be ill), and was soon shocked when Patty rushed in to tell them Garland had been found dead. Two murders, two house guests! Kyle quickly made copies of a day planner Garland had on his nightstand, and soon he called the late Joseph Garland's friend to arrange a conversation.
Welcome to episode #12 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #12 continues my reading of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, with chapters 33, 34, and 35.
Last week I read chapters 30, 31 and 32. Kyle allowed his obsession with Harold Summit's murder to get the best of his, especially now that the houseguests were expected to give statements to the police. Mysterious guest Joseph Garland remained a no-show, and houseman Justin admitted to Kyle that he'd been planning a tryst with Summit before someone put a bullet in him. Part II, A Friend in Need, saw Kyle realizing he needed help with his investigation, and that meant recruiting his friend, retired detective Linda Sikorsky. Gladys felt guilty, Justin felt trapped, and Scott's grief was tempered with the expectation of an inheritance.
Welcome to episode #11 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #11 continues my reading of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, with chapters 30, 31, and 32.
Last week I read chapters 27, 28 and 29. The reading of Kirsten’s book had been interrupted by the arrival at Passion House of Sergeant Bryan Hoyt of the Lambertville Police. He talked to Harold Summit’s husband Scott away from the others, and Kyle soon learned that Summit had been murdered.
Afterward, Scott was in his suite upstairs trying to decide if his grief was greater than his realization that he would soon be a wealthy widower, while downstairs everyone had left and the sergeant spoke to Kyle and Danny. There would be more questions to answer at the police station the following day.
Welcome to episode #10 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #10 continues my reading of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, with chapters 27, 28, and 29.
In last week's episode, Scott headed to the writers conference to join Harold at a reception. He'd never been included in these before and he was excited, until he arrived and was greeted with stares of derision at the mention of Harold's name. He fled back to Passion House where a book reading was scheduled that evening. Kirsten McClellan, Linda Sikorsky's wife, was later enjoying a successful reading of her Rox Harmony mystery when Sergeant Brian Hoyt from the Lambertville Police Station arrived, asking to speak to Scott. That was when Kyle knew Harold Summit was dead.
In last week's episode, Scott met Harold for lunch at a local restaurant. After thinking Harold was a no-show, Scott was about to leave when Harold finally showed up ... and shocked him by inviting him to a reception at the writers conference later. Back at Passion House, Patty was ratting out Justin for being gone too long on an errand, assuming, as she would, that he was up to no good. Kyle told her nicely to mind her own business, and then he called Linda Sikorsky to finalize things for that night's book reading. Harold met Justin at the old abandoned railcars before heading to the conference, where he was stunned to find he was not wanted.
Welcome to episode #8 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #8 continues my reading of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, with chapters 21, 22, and 23.
In last week's episode, Kyle decided to take a stroll in town, stopping at the house first to see if Patty needed anything. She told him Justin had left to run an errand ... which we soon found out was really his plan to meet houseguest Harold Summit by the old abandoned railcars. Meanwhile, Gladys and Carol made it to the writers conference, and Gladys rehearsed her big speech accusing Harold Summit of the writers' crime to end all crimes: stealing her ideas.
In last week's episode, Kyle suspected houseman Justin of flirting with houseguest Harold Summit and preparing to break the rules: no fraternizing with the customers. A short time later, Scott pouted in his suite with husband Harold over once again being left behind while Harold attended a writers convention. Harold placated him with a promise of lunch in a local restaurant, then headed out with plans of his own. And across the hall in the other suite, Gladys Finch revealed why she hated Harold Summit and what she planned to do about it: revenge had a name, and that name was Gladys Finch.
Welcome to episode #6 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #6 continues my reading of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, with chapters 15, 16, and 17.
In last week's episode, Kyle's curiosity about their strange houseguest, Joseph Garland, continued to grow. Was the old man there to research his family history in this age of the ancestry craze, or was there something more to his visit, something he wasn't telling them?
Meanwhile, at breakfast with the other guests, author Gladys Finch asked fellow author Harold Summit if he had once edited a small literary magazine. Perhaps that holds the secret of her resentment toward Summit. Harold continued to show an attraction for houseman Justin, and Harold's husband Scott kept an eye on it all. Fasten your headphones as I narrate another three chapters.
In last week's episode, Kyle couldn't help himself as his curiosity grew about their unusual guest at Passion House, the elderly gentleman Joseph Garland. A man of few words, he'd only told them he was in Lambertville to research his family history. But is that the truth? And is it any of Kyle's business? Meanwhile, literary icon Gladys Finch stewed in an upstairs suite with her wife Carol while she imagined a spectacular revenge on their housemate Harold Finch. Fasten your headphones as we return for three more chapters.
Welcome to episode #4 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #4 continues my reading of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, with chapters 9, 10 and 11.
Kyle and Danny are enjoying a full house with their new bed and breakfast, Passion House. Two major authors in town for a writers conference, Harold Summit and Gladys Finch, are staying across from each other in the upstairs suites. Their spouses are with them, and Scott, dutiful husband and personal assistant to Harold, is none too happy with Harold's appreciation of in-house staff member Justin. Gladys, meanwhile, has revealed her intention to confront Harold at the convention over a grievous wrong she has been simmering over for many years.
Welcome to episode #3 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #3 continues my reading of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, with chapters 6, 7 and 8.
Kyle and Danny have officially started their new life in Lambertville, New Jersey. Their bed and breakfast is up, running, and fulling booked, with two big-name and big-ego authors staying there while they attend a writers convention in town. But will the friction Kyle perceives between them turn deadly? Do they even know each other ... and if they do, how?
Meanwhile, house staff Justin Stritch and Patty Langley set about being their most efficient selves, though trouble seems to be motioning to Justin from a guest room. Will he answer its call?
Welcome to episode #2 of the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast, Audio Mysteries and Fiction. Episode #2 continues my reading of Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery, with chapters 3, 4 and 5.
Kyle and Danny have left New York City and moved to quiet, quaint, and now mysterious Lambertville, New Jersey. They've opened their bed and breakfast, Passion House, and the place is booked solid with a writers convention in town. Two of those writers, Harold Summit and Gladys Finch, are staying at the house, along with an odd elderly gentleman in search of his past. Follow along as we continue their journey toward murder and mishap, with egos clashing and death heading up the walkway.
Fasten your headphones and enjoy the listen as I narrate the first three chapters of Reservation for Murder. I'll be releasing one podcast (three chapters) each week, for a total of 56 chapters. So click 'play,' close your eyes, and let's take a ride on the mystery train.
And we're off! Welcome to the Mark McNease Mysteries Podcast. This is the first of many coming episodes in which I narrate my own mysteries and short fiction. What better way to launch this venture than with the first three chapters of my newest book, Reservation for Murder: A Kyle Callahan Mystery.
It’s been several years since Kyle Callahan sought the help of a New York City therapist to overcome the trauma of his encounter with a serial killer, and just as long since his investigation into a teenage girl’s murder brought down the Manhattan District Attorney. He and his husband Danny Durban have decided to move away, to start a new life in the idyllic river city of Lambertville, New Jersey. They have friends there. They’ll have peace and quiet. They can leave the hustle and bustle and stresses of America’s biggest metropolis behind.
They open a bed and breakfast, and soon discover that murder and mayhem are waiting to check in. There’s a writers conference in town, with big names and big egos heading for a clash—and a killing—of titans. No sooner has the ink dried on the guest registry than Kyle finds himself pursuing another murderer, this one closer to home than they’ve ever come. He enlists the help of his old friend and local resident Linda Sikorsky, once a detective on the New Hope, Pennsylvania, police force. The two of them follow one lead after another in a race against time until the shocking truth is exposed.
Fasten your headphones! Listen up as narrator Sean Rhead brings this thriller to life. It’s been over a year since Marshall James first became intimately familiar with murder. He’s six months sober now and happily living with the love of his life, LAPD Detective Mac McElroy. Despite the coming storm of AIDS and its devastating toll on the world Marshall knows, his dark days seem to be behind him. Then one night he says the wrong thing, storms out in anger, and walks straight into a nightmare. Someone is setting him up to take the fall for a beautiful corpse. But who would do something so evil, and so planned? Within hours he finds himself running from the police and the mob, and running toward a killer he must apprehend before the only chance left is no chance at all. With an introduction by the author.