Bücher von John Carter Stell

It's almost Halloween! The perfect holiday for sweet munchies, monsters, and murder! Attorney Tracy Brubaker Shane is especially looking forward to October 31, 2019, because a childhood hero will be returning to the small screen - live! Former horror host Richard George, aka Dr. Mort Itchin, comes out of retirement to again present a classic horror film from his House of Funerals, and Tracy will be in the studio audience. She even manages to be invited to rehearsals. But soon after her arrival behind the scenes, she realizes everyone is not wallowing in happy nostalgia. The thorn is everyone's side is Carl Jeffries, who once-upon-a-time played Dr. Mort's sidekick, Nagging Skeleton. Jeffries daughter, Megan Wallace, is producing the program. But there's no love lost between father and child. The show's director is in love with Megan and isn't too pleased with the friction Jeffries is causing. Other crew members have their own reasons for despising Jeffries. When the violence finally erupts in a most appropriate, if grisly, fashion, Tracy is right there to begin her investigation, especially when her hero is charged with the crime. Not surprisingly, she discovers multiple possible motives including buried secrets, sheer hatred, and old-fashioned showmanship. But can Tracy find the truth in time so the show can go on? It's another Tracy Brubaker mystery filled with tricks, treats, and surprises. Happy Halloween!

Primarily, this book is a thank you to horror hosts in general, particularly the Baltimore-area hosts-The Great Zucchini, Dr. Lucifer, Ghost Host, Sir Graves Ghastly and Count Gore De Vol-for the immeasurable pleasure they gave their young and young-at-heart viewers throughout the years they served. For many people, their first exposure to horror films was through these hosts, and this in turn began a love affair with the genre. In fact, these friendly fiends created little movie monsters with insatiable appetites, not nearly satisfied by a once-a-week-fix. Thus, this book does not just include filmographies of local hosts, but also chapters on local television airings that would have been of interest to the budding horror fan. Some stations had dedicated "Chiller Theaters" that specialized in horrific programming, even if there was no host. Other horrors frequently popped up on the more inclusive "Late Late Show." This type of programming would not last much past the 1980s, when the combination of the cable television explosion and the home video revolution sent networks scrambling to reconfigure their schedules. Author John Carter Stell worked over 10 years gathering the films, dates and times to remind those little monster kids of the joys of their youth. Waiting for a new (to them) monster, mad scientist or alien to scare the bejeezus out of them. Includes mini bios of the horror hosts and complete listings of the films shown. Guaranteed to bring a smile and happy memories to those little horror fiends that still reside in all of us.

Tailor Massimo "Max" Paganini is in trouble. His long-time rival Randall Pepper has been found shot dead in Max's own shop. Only Max's fingerprints are on the gun and there's evidence he arranged a meeting with Pepper. Still, Max insists he's innocent. But who could possibly believe him? Attorney Tracy Brubaker does. She's known Max since she was four years old and agrees to defend him. And she soon finds out there's a lot more to this murder than just a decades-old feud. Several of Max's own employees have secrets to hide. The FBI shows up at her office asking questions but refusing to give answers. The most disturbing element of all, however, is prospective client Charlie Betts, whose true identity puts Tracy in the cross hairs of career criminal Reginald Walters, who's gotten away with murder before. It doesn't help matters that Max isn't the most cooperative of clients, refusing to believe anyone close to him could be involved in Pepper's killing. In spite of everything, however, Tracy presses on, and gets close enough to the truth so that lives are threatened. But neither the FBI, Charlie Betts, nor Reginald Walters have ever dealt with anyone quite like Tracy. Willing to put her life on the line for Max, Tracy plans a dramatic courtroom reveal which not only exposes whodunit, but also how it was done.