Mostly Murders

A True Crime Podcast-style Book Review

A widowed father takes up cooking, and in the process learns more about himself and his marriage than he expected. A surgeon makes a chilling discovery after his patients tell him things that completely change his beliefs. A journalist becomes a part of the story she’s writing after discovering that the story is not what she thought it was, and a big game hunter who is obsessed with trophies has to spend the day with his niece instead of going fishing.

Welcome to Mostlymurders, the bookstagram account where we look at fictional murders and ask ourselves a very important question: is this worth reading? I am your host, Mostly, and I am joined here by my good friend Book. Today’s feature is a little bit different, as it is a short story collection of four different stories, all written by Lucy Lyons and collected in the book Man with a Pan.

Mostly: So what did you think of Man with a Pan, Book?

Book: I thought it was great. I really liked how different the four stories were. One is a story about grief and moving on. One is a ghost story, one is a story about wrong expectations, and one seems to be a story about karma.

Mostly: Yes, four quite different stories. The book is labelled “Tales with a Twist” and that is the one uniting factor of these stories, they all start out seemingly “normal” but all have an interesting and/or surprising twist at the end.

Book: I loved the twists! Not knowing what is coming is one of the best things about reading.

Mostly: I believe it was Eleanor Roosevelt who said: “If life were predictable it would cease to be life, and be without flavor.” I think we both agree that the same goes for reading, give us unpredictable, surprising stories every day!

Book: Absolutely. The only predictability I like in stories, is when someone is a real jerk and they end up being the murder victim. If everyone hates you in a cozy mystery, you’re going to end up on the floor with a chalk outline!

Mostly: Ah yes, better address the elephant in the room. We usually examine murders, but Man with a Pan is not a murder mystery. There are some mysterious elements in at least some of the stories, but not a single murder.

Book: So why were we reading this?

Mostly: Well, first of all, Lucy Lyons writes The Alex Martin Cozy Mystery Series, so she is a mystery writer, even if this particular publication isn’t a mystery book. Secondly, variety is good for your brain, Book. As much as I love murder mysteries, I still think it’s good to branch out sometimes.

Book: Like when you sometimes get a chocolate chip cookie instead of your usual chocolate croissant?

Mostly: Eh, I guess you’re right, but let’s not focus on my eating habits, okay?

Book: Or when you get the extra-large caramel macchiato latte…

Mostly: Okay, that is definitely all we have time for today! See you next episode for more delicious, I mean exciting, reads!

Short stories