#murder

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Feb 5 - You now have the same occupation as the main character of your current WIP (or book you are reading/last read) What job are you doing?

I'm a fraudulent spiritualist in a same sex relationship I have to keep from the world.

oo-err

WIP is the unnamed sequel to The Crooked Medium's Guide to Murder

1/2: What's 1 creative thing you'd like to get done this month?

Finish the strong first draft of the sequel to the Crooked Medium's Guide to Murder, holding title Crooked Medium Two and get it to betas. Absolute priority.

It is standing up well but I am making a policy decision to not use the full formality of Victorian etiquette where it might confuse the modern reader.

A book cover surrounded by the following aspects in matching Victorian lettering - spooky / Vicious Baronet / Spiritualist Scammers/ Hidden Crimes / older grumpy sapphics / snarky dock-lass/ twisty mystery / Lady in Danger/Queer Found Family The Crooked Medium’s Guide to Murder by Stephen Cox A striking book cover with the title and author name dominating. A rich dark blue background, and a touch of mist. The text appears in gold in a gold rectangular frame, the font is old fashioned implying C19th century. The frame has three rondels or cameos each containing a picture. Top right is a golden bee brooch with the body and one wing streaked with red blood. Middle left is foxgloves, spires of small bell flowers in pink, white and purple. Bottom right is a dark brown medicine bottle, with a pale label. The word LAUDANUM is just visible. There are pink highlights on some of the letters. Taken together it is bold, mysterious, and Victorian.

The federal government executed a man without so much as a trial, then illegally detained witnesses. Its agents ordered cops away. Evidence tampering and intimidation.

The precious Constitution only works for a handful of rich pricks in and behind our corrupt federal government.

I don't think anyone but them is considered an American by the federal government. So pleased, it is, to be murdering us, that the opposition leaders would not bother to whip their caucuses to oppose funding the federal government's broad-daylight kidnappers and street executioners.

Medical examiner believes of man in custody was homicide, recording says

A fellow detainee says he witnessed Geraldo Lunas Campos being choked to death by at an ICE center in Texas on Jan. 3.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2026/01/15/ice-detention-death-homicide/

"Don't underestimate🚨🚨🚨the impact of 's on respectable white ppl *great globular middle of Am politics. Before🚨-possible to pretend Trump's crimes couldn't touch them. Now🚨-doubting whether their own local cops will protect them.

To succeed, Trump needed lots of respectable white ppl to at least stand by quietly while his shock troops re-whited America. To succeed -needed them to say to themselves no matter how bad it gets🚨-won't really affect me."

Screenshot of a post from Stoehr’s “The Editorial Board” discussing themes of political involvement, indifference, and the perception of societal issues, particularly regarding the impact on comfortable white mothers in relation to state violence.

A group of former military [] who have scrutinized the administration’s activities in released an assessment Saturday outlining relevant international & domestic laws, & said that regardless of whether the is in an armed conflict, conducting law enforcement or other military operations, the targeting of defenseless people is prohibited.

https://www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/former-jag-working-group-no-quarter-statement.pdf

Jay reviews "Rare Vintage" by Dee Rismiller:

"The story is engrossing, and the killer truly horrible... If you enjoy catching serial killers from your armchair with a side helping of romance and the paranormal, you will enjoy this novel! 4 stars."

https://www.queerscifi.com/review-rare-vintage-dee-rismiller/

@LGBTQBookstodon @diversebooks @bookstodon

19. Could you imagine a story in the same world where your MC is the antagonist?

Already have. Mrs Ashton and Braddie started out as the antagonists in a short story - at least, close alt-versions.

They interested me more than the protagonists. after another false start, The Crooked Medium's Guide to Murder was born.

I have another story in which the narrator believes they are the bad guys.

Not sending this to the newspaper.

SIL pitching as pitch

"A highly readable Victorian mystery melodrama with a big heart, Sarah Waters meets Richard Osman."

https://stephencox.co.uk/books/upcoming/

# books

Stephen Cox pulling a face and showing a fan of three books, trees in the background. He's a genial, big, grey hair and beard guy pulling a silly mock serious face. The book alt text is A striking book cover mockup with the title and author name dominating. A rich dark blue background, and a touch of mist. The text appears in gold in a gold rectangular frame, the font is old fashioned implying C19th century. The frame has three rondels or cameos each containing a picture. Top right is a golden bee brooch with the body and one wing streaked with red blood. Middle left is foxgloves, spires of small bell flowers in pink, white and purple. Bottom right is a dark brown medicine bottle, with a pale label. The word LAUDANUM is just visible. There are pink highlights on some of the letters. Taken together it is bold, mysterious, and Victorian.

The Crooked Medium's Guide to Murder

Cover reveal this week, blogpost on how I got there.
Preorder links to come!

Here's a visual I did on 4 dominant styles of Victorian

Woman With Back To You
Single ghastly object
Typography Gone Wild
Light Illustration

More info but links not live

https://stephencox.co.uk/books/upcoming/

Four book covers Highgate Cemetery Murders - woman walks into spooky graveyard at night, dark dress, holding lantern An Act of Mercy - a cut-throat razor on a wooden floor, both bloody Pretty Jane and the Viper of Kidbrooke Lane - like a shouty Victorian tabloid with a sketch of a man attacking a woman with a hammer The Inspector and Mrs Jeffries - a woman and an inspector in silhouette against a cartoonish house in mauve. "sometimes a housekeeper's job is murder) light hearted feel

The Crooked Medium's Guide to Murder is getting love for its research and voice.

"With the perfect mix of meticulous research, emotional depth and a rollicking good story besides, Stephen Cox delivers surprises to the very end."

"the voice is wholly Victorian and delightfully understated and wry."

free eBook if you sub to my newsletter

https://stephencox.co.uk/books/upcoming/

quoted The Mission by Tim Weiner

Tim Weiner: The Mission (AudiobookFormat, Mariner Books)

Amerine had fresh intelligence that Taliban fighters were preparing to attack from a hideout over the next ridgeline. His air support officer made a careless and catastrophic error when he sent the coordinates to a B-52H Stratofortress bomber ready to attack. He had called in an air strike on his own position.

A two-thousand-pound smart bomb came screaming across the sky and struck Team Echo. "The doors and windows flew out," Karzai recounted six months later to a reporter. "I got injured on my face and my head, and I saw this very good fellow, a very nice man, Greg, jump out of his place and just throw himself on me. It was very remarkable, very remarkable. And the tribal chiefs followed; they all covered me from all around." Dirt and rocks and flesh and bones rained down. Explosions shook the earth, and the stunned and shellshocked Afghans thought that the town was under attack by bin Laden's Arab fighters. But it wasn't al Qaeda; it was Team Echo's arsenal of rocket-propelled grenades cooking off. Dazed and bleeding, Karzai saw scores of dead and wounded outside the compound. He slowly realized that "it was not a rocket attack on our room or an RPG attack on our room. It was something else." It was the worst friendly-fire attack by American forces in the decade since the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq. Three American special-forces officers were killed and twenty soldiers and spies were wounded. At least fifty Afghans died.

— The Mission by 

#TimWeiner #CIA #USA #Afghanistan #war #murder #massacre