What does the nation’s largest arts and crafts market, a tired Halloween movie set and the 24 Hour Church of Elvis have in common? They’re part of the weird world Tommy and Babs Valentine explore in this second Stumptown adventure. “Portland Weirder” places the Penns Grove, New Jersey private investigators under police scrutiny when a business card is found outside a St. Helens restaurant and a body turns up at the airport. Tommy can’t get home soon enough in this fifth tale in season one’s “linked short stories.” Babs won’t put the Portland guidebook down, and you won’t, too. Read more…

Private investigators Tommy and Babs Valentine, head to Portland, Oregon, where a sister’s boat is repossessed, a husband turns up missing and a New Jersey contractor faces a sudden and rude dining surprise, as their Sauvie Island vacation turns sour and only the most savage solutions can be applied. The usual fierceness and fun dominates this fourth Kindle-only short story, in the ongoing adventures of Penns Grove, New Jersey’s darkest and most entertaining detectives. Read them in order, if you like: “Kauai Adventure,” “Jersey Tomato,” “Beach Body” and “Portland Weird.” Next up, “Portland Weirder,” “Waimea Wiseguys” and “Monkey Punch.” A first-season anthology  of these linked short stories will be published in Kindle and paper versions April 2016. Read more…