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SoWest: Love Kills
Betrayal. Deception. Greed. Love Gone Wrong. Brothers and sisters. Lovers and liars. Fathers and daughters. Mothers and sons. From the wilds of Arizona’s Rim country to its dusty lowland deserts, you’ll find it all within the pages of So Love Kills. Bonds forged and broken. Covenants kept and cast aside. Love nurtured and left to rot. Not everything is as it seems. Not everyone can be trusted. But one thing is for certain—love hurts. Sometimes it even kills! Contributing Shannon Baker, Mysti Berry, Meredith Blevins, Patricia Bonn, Lauren Buckingham, Susan Budavari, William Butler, Patricia Curren, Meg E. Dobson, Beverly Forsyth, Denise Ganley, Roberta Gibson, Katherine Atwell Herbert, Tom Leveen, Susan Cummins Miller, Charlotte Morganti, Julie Morrison, Claire A. Murray, Kris Neri, Karen Odden, R K Olson, D.R. Ransdell, Kim Rivery, Elena E. Smith. Lead Maegan Beaumont. Deborah J Ledford, Susan Budavari, R K Olson, Shannon Baker, Meg Dobson. Cover Maegan Beaumont.
- GenresShort StoriesMystery
209 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 6, 2021
7 people are currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
Deborah J. Ledford
32 books225 followersDEBORAH J LEDFORD is an Agatha Award winner and two-time nominee for the Anthony Award. REDEMPTION and HAVOC are from the Eva "Lightning Dance" Duran Native American suspense series.
Her first series, the Smoky Mountain Intrigue Native American police procedural series, includes the titles CAUSING CHAOS, CRESCENDO, STACCATO, and the Hillerman Sky Award Finalist and New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards Finalist, SNARE.
Three-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize, her award-winning stories appear in numerous print publications as well as literary and mystery anthologies.
She is also a former Arizona State University adjunct professor for The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing. Ledford is President/Producer for the independent media company, IOF Productions Ltd. She produced the CAUSING CHAOS and CRESCENDO audiobooks as well as The Blind Eye.
Part Eastern Band Cherokee, Ledford spent her summers growing up in the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina, where her Smoky Mountain Inquest book series is set. She lives in the Phoenix, Arizona area with her extremely patient husband and their awesome Ausky.
She is a member of: International Thriller Writers Association (ITW), Sisters in Crime National (SinC), Crime Writers of Color (CWoC), Mystery Writers of America (MWA), Past-President of Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths (AZ) Chapter.
Her first series, the Smoky Mountain Intrigue Native American police procedural series, includes the titles CAUSING CHAOS, CRESCENDO, STACCATO, and the Hillerman Sky Award Finalist and New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards Finalist, SNARE.
Three-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize, her award-winning stories appear in numerous print publications as well as literary and mystery anthologies.
She is also a former Arizona State University adjunct professor for The Virginia G. Piper Center for Creative Writing. Ledford is President/Producer for the independent media company, IOF Productions Ltd. She produced the CAUSING CHAOS and CRESCENDO audiobooks as well as The Blind Eye.
Part Eastern Band Cherokee, Ledford spent her summers growing up in the Great Smoky Mountains of western North Carolina, where her Smoky Mountain Inquest book series is set. She lives in the Phoenix, Arizona area with her extremely patient husband and their awesome Ausky.
She is a member of: International Thriller Writers Association (ITW), Sisters in Crime National (SinC), Crime Writers of Color (CWoC), Mystery Writers of America (MWA), Past-President of Sisters in Crime Desert Sleuths (AZ) Chapter.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 29, 2021
Collection of 24 short stories from a writers' group in my area. There's a little bio of each author at the end of each story. I took it slow and updated as I went along.
1.. What Money Can't Buy, by Shannon Baker. Whiz-bang start to the anthology. Bad guy muscle Roman and Chuy are waiting for a delivery of some kind. Action packed and with a twist. This one takes place in Tucson and the next one's in Phoenix - I wonder if they'll all turn out to be set in Arizona.
2. Invoice Overdue by Mysti Berry. Creepy story set in Covid times, about a South Mountain Community College professor whose dalliance-via-email is discovered.
3. Almost Dark by Meredith Blevins. Super-short tale of a north-of-Scottsdale couple in their fancy house after a business dinner. You get the feeling you should have known what's coming...and the husband definitely should have known. Shivery.
4. Tried and True by Patricia Bonn. Humorous story about a pair of 95-year-old twin sisters who hate each other but are tied together by a successful mystery writing career. I have a soft spot for any story with an old lady protagonist, and this one has two. Nice shout-out to the Poisoned Pen, our local mystery bookstore.
5. Turnabout by Lauren Buckingham. A dark story of a woman getting back into the dating pool after a car accident that killed her husband and injured her son. Satisfying.
6. Rules of Separation by Susan Budavari. Another dark one, this one involving a cheating wife who feels guilty until she finds out what her husband has been up to.
7. Ask Me Tomorrow by William Butler. More of a vignette than a story, unless I missed the point (there's an overheard phone conversation that might have a hidden meaning). A day in the life of an assassin who works for an unnamed government agency.
8. No Good Deed by Patricia Curren. Twisty story of a woman who jumps too quickly into a new relationship while her beloved brother is traveling the world. Surprising ending.
9. Seasons of Death by Meg E. Dobson. Poetically written story of a woman whose mother is dying. The woman returns to the town her family's women have been running for generations, and has to decide what she'll do now. The writing style made me slow down to appreciate this one.
10. Changing Woman by Beverly Forsyth. Alphabetical order does strange things sometimes. This is another story about a parent's death. This one is a woman whose father is dying; they're Navajo and there are lots of strong, interesting traditions and customs surrounding death. The author takes liberties with geography that bumped me out of the story a bit. Still, an interesting story.
11. Double or Nothing by Denise Ganley. Fun action story starring an Army vet whose troublesome twin brother ropes her into his PI work.
12. Fine Lines by Roberta Gibson. Slow burn story of a nervous woman and her controlling husband getting ready for a trip. She's calming her nerves with some editing work, so there's a story within a story, and it takes a while to figure out what's really going on. Twisty and satisfying.
13. He Had it Coming by Katherine Atwell Herbert. Humorous story, with that style where you feel like the author is talking directly to you, about a woman who keeps getting targeted by con artists after her trust fund. Fun.
14. Cooped Up by Tom Leveen. The other end of the mood pendulum from #13. This one is dark, although it's set in the bright July desert sun. It's about a man who builds a chicken coop for the father he hasn't seen in thirty years.
15. Fade to Black by Susan Cummins Miller. I love this one! An odd theatrical lady, the 96-year-old daughter of a couple who met while playing Munchkins in the movies, visits a Tucson sheriff's office to report a murder. Is she just confused, or ... ?
16. Creatures of Habit by Charlotte Morganti. Classic suspense story with some 'accidental' deaths - or were they?
17. Iris by Julie Morrison. Subtle atmospheric story of a girl living on a ranch near Flagstaff, and what really happened with the two brothers who used to own it. There's more hinted at than said.
18. The Backpack by Claire Murray. The haunted aftermath of a bank robbery done by an ex-con and his younger brother.
19. Notorious in Sedona by Kris Neri. Lively and humorous, about a woman and her movie star mother looking to get justice for a murdered friend.
20. A Burn That Reaches Bone by Karen Odden. Dark story of a daughter who finds out why her father hates his brother so much.
21. Home is Where by R K Olson. Another family tale, this one about a woman who learns something about her sister. A reminder that wealth doesn't necessarily bring happiness.
22. Night Shift by D R Randell. More family: the narrator's cousin is in a Tucson hospital after her vengeful husband attacks her, and her brother & the cousin-narrator take care of her.
23. Try Again by Kim Rivery. Scarily plausible contemporary story with cyber bullying.
24. Everything by Elena E. Smith. Satisfying story with an authentic small-Western-town setting and a quirky heroine, in which a bossy prepper husband seems likely to get his comeuppance. His wife has had it with the Jack Sprat comments and the nagging about her collectibles while he fills the house with foodstuffs that will expire before they can ever be used.
I finished the collection, doling them out a story or two at a time over a couple of months. The quality of the stories varies, but I was entertained by just about all of them, and I enjoyed seeing lots of familiar Arizona settings. They range from light & funny to seriously dark. I'm making a note of some of the authors' names so I can look for their other stories.
1.. What Money Can't Buy, by Shannon Baker. Whiz-bang start to the anthology. Bad guy muscle Roman and Chuy are waiting for a delivery of some kind. Action packed and with a twist. This one takes place in Tucson and the next one's in Phoenix - I wonder if they'll all turn out to be set in Arizona.
2. Invoice Overdue by Mysti Berry. Creepy story set in Covid times, about a South Mountain Community College professor whose dalliance-via-email is discovered.
3. Almost Dark by Meredith Blevins. Super-short tale of a north-of-Scottsdale couple in their fancy house after a business dinner. You get the feeling you should have known what's coming...and the husband definitely should have known. Shivery.
4. Tried and True by Patricia Bonn. Humorous story about a pair of 95-year-old twin sisters who hate each other but are tied together by a successful mystery writing career. I have a soft spot for any story with an old lady protagonist, and this one has two. Nice shout-out to the Poisoned Pen, our local mystery bookstore.
5. Turnabout by Lauren Buckingham. A dark story of a woman getting back into the dating pool after a car accident that killed her husband and injured her son. Satisfying.
6. Rules of Separation by Susan Budavari. Another dark one, this one involving a cheating wife who feels guilty until she finds out what her husband has been up to.
7. Ask Me Tomorrow by William Butler. More of a vignette than a story, unless I missed the point (there's an overheard phone conversation that might have a hidden meaning). A day in the life of an assassin who works for an unnamed government agency.
8. No Good Deed by Patricia Curren. Twisty story of a woman who jumps too quickly into a new relationship while her beloved brother is traveling the world. Surprising ending.
9. Seasons of Death by Meg E. Dobson. Poetically written story of a woman whose mother is dying. The woman returns to the town her family's women have been running for generations, and has to decide what she'll do now. The writing style made me slow down to appreciate this one.
10. Changing Woman by Beverly Forsyth. Alphabetical order does strange things sometimes. This is another story about a parent's death. This one is a woman whose father is dying; they're Navajo and there are lots of strong, interesting traditions and customs surrounding death. The author takes liberties with geography that bumped me out of the story a bit. Still, an interesting story.
11. Double or Nothing by Denise Ganley. Fun action story starring an Army vet whose troublesome twin brother ropes her into his PI work.
12. Fine Lines by Roberta Gibson. Slow burn story of a nervous woman and her controlling husband getting ready for a trip. She's calming her nerves with some editing work, so there's a story within a story, and it takes a while to figure out what's really going on. Twisty and satisfying.
13. He Had it Coming by Katherine Atwell Herbert. Humorous story, with that style where you feel like the author is talking directly to you, about a woman who keeps getting targeted by con artists after her trust fund. Fun.
14. Cooped Up by Tom Leveen. The other end of the mood pendulum from #13. This one is dark, although it's set in the bright July desert sun. It's about a man who builds a chicken coop for the father he hasn't seen in thirty years.
15. Fade to Black by Susan Cummins Miller. I love this one! An odd theatrical lady, the 96-year-old daughter of a couple who met while playing Munchkins in the movies, visits a Tucson sheriff's office to report a murder. Is she just confused, or ... ?
16. Creatures of Habit by Charlotte Morganti. Classic suspense story with some 'accidental' deaths - or were they?
17. Iris by Julie Morrison. Subtle atmospheric story of a girl living on a ranch near Flagstaff, and what really happened with the two brothers who used to own it. There's more hinted at than said.
18. The Backpack by Claire Murray. The haunted aftermath of a bank robbery done by an ex-con and his younger brother.
19. Notorious in Sedona by Kris Neri. Lively and humorous, about a woman and her movie star mother looking to get justice for a murdered friend.
20. A Burn That Reaches Bone by Karen Odden. Dark story of a daughter who finds out why her father hates his brother so much.
21. Home is Where by R K Olson. Another family tale, this one about a woman who learns something about her sister. A reminder that wealth doesn't necessarily bring happiness.
22. Night Shift by D R Randell. More family: the narrator's cousin is in a Tucson hospital after her vengeful husband attacks her, and her brother & the cousin-narrator take care of her.
23. Try Again by Kim Rivery. Scarily plausible contemporary story with cyber bullying.
24. Everything by Elena E. Smith. Satisfying story with an authentic small-Western-town setting and a quirky heroine, in which a bossy prepper husband seems likely to get his comeuppance. His wife has had it with the Jack Sprat comments and the nagging about her collectibles while he fills the house with foodstuffs that will expire before they can ever be used.
I finished the collection, doling them out a story or two at a time over a couple of months. The quality of the stories varies, but I was entertained by just about all of them, and I enjoyed seeing lots of familiar Arizona settings. They range from light & funny to seriously dark. I'm making a note of some of the authors' names so I can look for their other stories.
September 18, 2021
For Denise Ganley's story only:
5 stars
In this short story we see the beginnings of what promises to be an exciting and fantastic mystery series.
Dillon is a PI and his twin sister Gwen isn't...at first.
A series of events leads to the two of them working together and it looks to be very intriguing. I can't wait to see more from this author.
5 stars
In this short story we see the beginnings of what promises to be an exciting and fantastic mystery series.
Dillon is a PI and his twin sister Gwen isn't...at first.
A series of events leads to the two of them working together and it looks to be very intriguing. I can't wait to see more from this author.
September 14, 2021
Enjoyable but somewhat uneven collection of short mystery and crime stories. My two favorites were “Tried and True” by Patricia Bonn and “A Burn that Reaches Bone” by Karen Odden.
December 10, 2023
This collection is outstanding
There is never a single story that I don’t adore
Really they spoil me for other anthologies which lately have disappointed
There is never a single story that I don’t adore
Really they spoil me for other anthologies which lately have disappointed
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews