Archive for Mad Mad Murders of Marigold Way

New Bond Omnibus and More!

Posted by Raymond Benson //
 January 29, 2024
James Bond: The Raymond Benson Years (cover)

The year 2024 kicks off with a bang!

“Kiss kiss bang bang,” that is.

James Bond: The Raymond Benson Years is a new e-book anthology, available February 26, 2024, that contains all six of Raymond’s original James Bond novels. These books were originally published between 1997 and 2002 and are now collected together in digital form for the first time and at a nice price.

You get: ZERO MINUS TEN, THE FACTS OF DEATH, HIGH TIME TO KILL, DOUBLESHOT, NEVER DREAM OF DYING, and THE MAN WITH THE RED TATTOO.

Published by Ian Fleming Publications, the e-book can be found at most retail outlets, but you can order it here from the James Bond Books page! (And you can read about Ian Fleming Publications’ recent publication news here.

Also available are the recent publications:

Zero Minus Ten New Edition cover
Zero Minus Ten, Raymond’s first James Bond novel (originally published in 1997), was reprinted in the UK in October 2023 from Ian Fleming Publications, with a new Introduction by Raymond himself and a new cover.

Mad Mad Murders of Marigold Way cover
The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way, published in October 2022 from Beaufort Books. It won the IPPY Gold (1st Place) Award in the Mystery Category from the Independent Publisher Book Awards, it was a Traditional Fiction finalist in Chicago Writers Association’s Book of the Year Awards, and it was a SHELF UNBOUND 2022 Best Indie Book Finalist and Notable Indie! The e-book edition is occasionally on sale at a nice price.

Brutal and Strange Cover
Raymond is a contributor to Brutal & Strange: Stories Inspired by the Songs of Elvis Costello, an anthology published by Down and Out Books in December 2023. The collection, edited by Jim Fusilli, features a track listing of many outstanding crime writers. Raymond’s tale, “The Beat,” is a meditation on Costello’s tune of the same name from his 1978 album, This Year’s Model.

Order “Zero Minus Ten” from the James Bond Books page!

Order “The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way,” and “Brutal & Strange” from the Fiction/Non-Fiction page (scroll to the bottom of the page for the short story collections)!

Subscribe to Raymond’s YouTube Channel to see and hear his eclectic repertoire of 100+ classic rock, movie music, and original compositions on piano!

Raymond Benson Plays Piano

Raymond Benson plays piano at home.

OF COURSE, many of Raymond’s previous books go on sale as e-books at various times. It’s always best to follow Raymond’s Facebook and Twitter posts to take advantage of these sales. In the meantime, his recent novels like BLUES IN THE DARK, IN THE HUSH OF THE NIGHT, THE SECRETS ON CHICORY LANE, HOTEL DESTINY: A GHOST NOIR, and the five-book serial, THE BLACK STILETTO, are all still available. Find them on the Books pages (James Bond; The Black Stiletto; Fiction & Non-Fiction; Tie-Ins)!

RAYMOND SENDS HUGS TO EVERYONE AND SAYS, “BE SAFE AND HEALTHY!”

James Bond Is Back In Action!

Posted by Raymond Benson //
 August 12, 2023
Zero Minus Ten Cover 2023 Edition

Raymond’s first James Bond novel, ZERO MINUS TEN, returns in print in the UK!

On August 12, 2023, Ian Fleming Publications Ltd. announced the publication of new editions of three classic James Bond continuation novels, including Raymond’s 1997 debut 007 adventure, ZERO MINUS TEN (the others being Kingsley Amis’ COLONEL SUN and John Pearson’s JAMES BOND: THE AUTHORIZED BIOGRAPHY).

The new edition, to be published October 5, will feature a new cover and a new Introduction by Raymond.

Copies may be pre-ordered from Ian Fleming Publications. Go to the James Bond Books Page for links to order a SIGNED edition or the Standard edition.

Raymond Benson Plays Piano

Raymond Benson plays piano at home.

Subscribe to Raymond’s YouTube Channel to see and hear his eclectic repertoire of 100+ classic rock, movie music, and original compositions on piano!

OF COURSE, many of Raymond’s previous books go on sale as e-books at various times. It’s always best to follow Raymond’s Facebook and Twitter posts to take advantage of these sales. In the meantime, his recent novels like THE MAD, MAD MURDERS OF MARIGOLD WAY (winner of the IPPY Gold Medal in Mystery from the Independent Publisher Book Awards!), BLUES IN THE DARK, IN THE HUSH OF THE NIGHT, THE SECRETS ON CHICORY LANE, HOTEL DESTINY: A GHOST NOIR, and the five-book serial, THE BLACK STILETTO, are all still available. Find them on the Books pages (James Bond; The Black Stiletto; Fiction & Non-Fiction; Tie-Ins)!

RAYMOND SENDS HUGS TO EVERYONE AND SAYS, “BE SAFE AND BE HEALTHY!”

“Mad, Mad Murders…” Wins IPPY Gold Award!

Posted by Raymond Benson //
 May 23, 2023

THE MAD, MAD MURDERS OF MARIGOLD WAY has won the IPPY Gold (1st Place) Award in the Mystery Category from the Independent Publisher Book Awards!

Publisher’s Weekly gave the book a STARRED review, saying: “This stellar mystery set in May 2020… focuses on TV writer turned novelist Scott Hatcher and Rachel Bergman, Scott’s dutiful housewife neighbor, who live in Lincoln Grove, a quiet Chicago suburb. When their respective spouses turn out to have gone missing on the same day, Lt. Pat Dante, of the Lincoln Grove PD, investigates. The stakes rise with the discovery of the remains of the missing spouses in a house destroyed by arson. Curiously, large amounts of personal protective equipment, apparently stolen, were burned in the fire. Scott and Rachel fall under suspicion, and they grow closer as Dante tries to untangle a spiraling web of crime. Though all the characters are painted with convincing brushstrokes, it’s the narrator, not identified until the end, who steals the show. “I’m the storyteller here, and I can tell the tale any way I choose!” he declares, and he freely editorializes and speculates about others, himself, and the troubled times following the lockdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. This wild roller coaster of a novel is an attention-grabber from first page to last.”

See other early reviews on the Fiction Reviews page!

Order now from the Fiction/Non-Fiction Page! Available in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook.

Fans of Thornton Wilder’s classic Our Town and films by the sardonic Coen Brothers will be captivated by the warped Americana of The Mad, Mad Murders of Marigold Way.

The book was also a SHELF UNBOUND 2022 Best Indie Book Finalist and Notable Indie!

Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Finalist 2022

Shelf Unbound Best Indie Book Notable 2022

 
 
 
 
 
 

In other recent news, Raymond appears in the anthology, THRILLING ADVENTURE YARNS 2022, an anthology of pulp, fantasy, sci-fi, adventure, horror, and plain ol’ awesome short stories by 28 fantastic authors (plus illustrations!). It contains Raymond’s tale, “SEA PEOPLE.” Robert Greenberger is the editor and producer/overseer, and the authors include Raymond plus Lester Dent, David Gerrold, Aaron Rosenberg, Bart Sears & Michelle Sears, Geoffrey Thorne, Glenn Hauman, Greg Cox, Hildy Silverman, Jean Rabe. Jenifer Rosenberg, Jody Lynn Nye, Kathleen David, Peter David, Keith R.A. DeCandido, Lucienne Diver, Mark Verheiden, Mary Fan, Michael Jan Friedman, Paul Kupperberg, Caitlin Rozakis, Russ Colchamiro, and Will Murray.

Thrilling Adventure Yarns cover

You can order the book in the Short Stories section at the bottom of the Fiction/Non-Fiction Page!

Subscribe to Raymond’s YouTube Channel to see and hear his eclectic repertoire of 100+ classic rock, movie music, and original compositions on piano!

Raymond Benson Plays Piano

Raymond Benson plays piano at home.

OF COURSE, many of Raymond’s previous books go on sale as e-books at various times. It’s always best to follow Raymond’s Facebook and Twitter posts to take advantage of these sales. In the meantime, his recent novels like BLUES IN THE DARK, IN THE HUSH OF THE NIGHT, THE SECRETS ON CHICORY LANE, HOTEL DESTINY: A GHOST NOIR, and the five-book serial, THE BLACK STILETTO, are all still available. Find them on the Books pages (James Bond; The Black Stiletto; Fiction & Non-Fiction; Tie-Ins)!

RAYMOND SENDS HUGS TO EVERYONE AND SAYS, “BE SAFE AND BE HEALTHY!”