Tag: books

Deeds of Darkness: Stories by William Burton McCormick @WBMCAuthor

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About the Book

Book cover of Deeds of Darkness:Stories by William Burton McCormick

A collection of twenty-four globetrotting stories of suspense, mystery, crime, espionage, horror, and historical genres, Deeds of Darkness takes readers from war-torn Eastern Europe to gangster America and deep below the frozen seas of the Arctic Ocean.

From modern tales of crime to World War II espionage to ghost stories in shadowy Odessa and murder in Ancient Rome, every flavour of suspense and adventure awaits within.

Format: ebook (594 pages) Publisher: Level Best Books
Publication date: 5th November 2024 Genre: Short Stories, Mystery

Find Deeds of Darkness on Goodreads

A Glimpse of Deeds of Darkness

Deeds of Darkness is a short story collection by award-winning author William Burton McCormick. It contains twenty-four stories some of which have appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, or been published as novellas. The latter includes House of Tigers which I read and reviewed in 2022. Some of the stories introduce characters who will appear in other stories. An example is sisters Tasia and Eleni who feature in another of the author’s books I’ve read, A Stranger From the Storm set in Odessa in 1900.

Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find a gap in my reading schedule to read the whole collection but I’ve dipped into a few of the stories to give you a flavour of what awaits. All the stories in the collection were written whilst the author was living in Ukraine or Latvia, just two of the many countries in which he has dwelt, and many are set there. Sadly, as he observes in his introduction, ‘Some of the places I wrote in are now gone, wiped from the Earth by Russian aggression’.

  1. A finalist for an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, ‘Locked In’ is the chilling story of a man who accidentally locks himself in the cellar of a house he is renting. His initial relief at attracting the attention of a passer-by turns out to be shortlived… and misplaced.
  2. The author and I share an admiration for the ghost stories of M. R. James and ‘The Antiquary’s Wife’ is the author’s homage to him. (You can read brief excerpts from my favourite M. R. James stories here.) Readers familiar with James’s stories will feel right at home, if that’s quite the right way to describe such an unsettling, chilling tale. An ancient relic, an excess of curiosity and an object that has a life of its own are just some of the elements.
  3. Set in Rome in AD55, ‘Pompo’s Disguise’ introduces us to tavern thief Quintus who makes an unfortunate choice of victim to steal from.

If you need any further persuasion, heed the words of bestselling crime author Peter James who says of William Burton McCormick, “This guy has a wonderfully twisted mind! Buckle up for a scary ride.”

About the Author

Author William Burton McCormick

William Burton McCormick is an Edgar, Thriller, Shamus, Derringer, Sliver Falchion and Claymore awards finalist whose fiction regularly appears in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine, Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, The Saturday Evening Post, Black Mask, Mystery Weekly and elsewhere. He is a graduate of Brown University, earned an MA in Novel Writing from the University of Manchester and was elected a Hawthornden Writing Fellow in Scotland. 

He is a member of Mystery Writers of America, the Crime Writers Association, International Thriller Writers and the Short Mystery Fiction Society. His historical novel of the Baltic Republics, Lenin’s Harem, was the first work of fiction added to the permanent library at the Latvian War Museum in Rīga. A native of Nevada, William has lived in seven countries including Latvia, Russia, the United Kingdom and Ukraine for writing purposes.

Connect with William
Website | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

#WWWWednesday – 13th November 2024

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WWWWednesdays

Hosted by Taking on a World of Words, this meme is all about the three Ws:

  • What are you currently reading?
  • What did you recently finish reading?
  • What do you think you’ll read next?

Why not join in too?  Leave a comment with your link at Taking on a World of Words and then go blog hopping!

Currently reading

Karla’s Choice by Nick Harkaway (ARC, Penguin)Karla's Choice

It is spring in 1963 and George Smiley has left the Circus. With the wreckage of the West’s spy war with the Soviets strewn across Europe, he has eyes only on a more peaceful life. And indeed, with his marriage more secure than ever, there is a rumour in Whitehall – unconfirmed and a little scandalous – that George Smiley might almost be happy.

But Control has other plans. A Russian agent has defected in the most unusual of circumstances, and the man he was sent to kill in London is nowhere to be found. Smiley reluctantly agrees to one last simple interview Susanna, a Hungarian émigré and employee of the missing man, and sniff out a lead. But in his absence the shadows of Moscow have lengthened. Smiley will soon find himself entangled in a perilous mystery that will define the battles to come, and strike at the heart of his greatest enemy…

Eye of the RavenEye of the Raven by Tim Hodkinson (eARC, Head of Zeus via NetGalley)

For the first time, Einar and the Wolf Coats find themselves divided, on opposing sides in a time of warfare: the Wolf Coats in Ireland, and Einar in the Saxon domains of England.

Einar leads a warband for King Aethelstan, but struggles to find acceptance as a Norseman in Saxon lands. Can he truly make common cause with the wily king of the English, if that means Vikings like himself are now his enemies? The rewards of alliance with Aethelstan could be all he desires… or a brutal death.

But other threats loom from the north and west. With war brewing and a great battle on the horizon, can Einar and his comrades reunite in time – or will a clash for the ages make their split a permanent one?

How To Solve Your Own MurderHow To Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin (audiobook, Quercus)

It’s 1965 and teenage Frances Adams is at an English country fair with her two best friends. But Frances’s night takes a hairpin turn when a fortune-teller makes a bone-chilling prediction: One day, Frances will be murdered. Frances spends a lifetime trying to solve a crime that hasn’t happened yet, compiling dirt on every person who crosses her path in an effort to prevent her own demise. For decades, no one takes Frances seriously, until nearly sixty years later, when Frances is found murdered, like she always said she would be.

In the present day, Annie Adams has been summoned to a meeting at the sprawling country estate of her wealthy and reclusive great-aunt Frances. But by the time Annie arrives in the quaint English village of Castle Knoll, Frances is already dead. Annie is determined to catch the killer, but thanks to Frances’s lifelong habit of digging up secrets and lies, it seems every endearing and eccentric villager might just have a motive for her murder. Can Annie safely unravel the dark mystery at the heart of Castle Knoll, or will dredging up the past throw her into the path of a killer?

As Annie gets closer to the truth, and closer to the danger, she starts to fear she might inherit her aunt’s fate instead of her fortune.

Recently finished

The Enigma Girl by Henry Porter (Quercus)

This Is Happiness by Niall Williams (Bloomsbury)

So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber)

What Cathy Will Read Next

Time of the ChildTime of the Child by Niall Williams (Bloomsbury via NetGalley) 

Doctor Jack Troy was born and raised in the little town of Faha, but his responsibilities for the sick and his care for the dying mean he has always been set apart from his community. A visit from the doctor is always a sign of bad things to come.

His youngest daughter, Ronnie, has grown up in her father’s shadow, and remains there, having missed her chance at real love – and passed up an offer of marriage from an unsuitable man.

But in the advent season of 1962, as the town readies itself for Christmas, Ronnie and Doctor Troy’s lives are turned upside down when a baby is left in their care. As the winter passes, father and daughter’s lives, the understanding of their family, and their role in their community are changed forever.