S7E3 Cards Against Jake

Mysteries to Die For

Welcome to Mysteries to Die For.

I am TG Wolff and am here with Jack, my piano player and producer. This is a podcast where we combine storytelling with original music to put you in the heart of a mystery. All stories are structured to challenge you to beat the detective to the solution. These are arrangements, which means instead of word-for-word readings, you get a performance meant to be heard. Jack and I perform these live, front to back, no breaks, no fakes, no retakes.

This is Season 7, Games People Play. Games are about competition conducted according to rules with participants working toward a goal. Games are a part of every culture and are one of the oldest forms of social interaction and engagement. Games can be fun, challenging and exhilarating. They can also be intense, cutthroat, and lethal. This season, our authors have fashioned deadly games for your entertainment.

This is Episode 3, Cards Against Humanity is the featured game. This is Cards Against Jake by Jim Winter

PRE-ROLL

This week's author is Jim Winter. The Dogs of Beaumont Heights is the explosive sequel to Jim Winter's Holland Bay! Fentanyl. The latest scourge of Monticello’s street. A detective, a dealer, and an ambitious police official will confront it as it changes their fates. For Detective Jessica Branson, it threatens her career. For Marcus Lincoln, it’s his ticket to the top of the Game as he moves up in the gang that still rules Holland Bay. For Derek Roberts, it’s a political football as he navigates between two ambitious candidates for mayor. They collide when a maligned breed of dog kills a little girl in the Beaumont Heights neighborhood. Find The Dogs of Beaumont Heights at your favorite online retailer.

DELIBERATION

Jack, let’s take ten second to point out that Mysteries to Die For remains ad free. In exchange for not making you move to hit the fast forward button, support our authors by checking out their backlists and picking up a title. This week is Jim Winter. Now…

Detective Ana Friedman is never going to live down that Jake Randall died while she was on the toilet. The best we can do is help her close this case fast. Here are the Cards Against Humanity players:

• Ana Friedman, detective, who was was indisposed at the critical time

• Melanie Dunlop, Ana’s partner who wanted to play cards instead of listen to jazz

• Vic Holmes, party host and cocktail mixer

• Regina Mallory, Vic’s sweet, mousy girlfriend

• Stan Cheswicz, the building manager who was fixing the sink

Here are the facts Ana has to work with:

• Five friends were playing Cards Against Humanity.

• Jake was high and had been drinking. He played his cards for maximum insult to the ladies. Only Regina seemed to be bothered.

• Stan carried a grudge against Jake for calling a TV station over a maintenance issue, which cause trouble for Stan with the home office.

• At a break, Ana went to the bathroom. Melanie and Jake stayed at the table. Vic, Regina, and Stan were in the kitchen at the same time.

• Vic made five drinks, all bourbon with cream. Only Ana’s did not get cream. Regina poured the cream and served the drinks.

• The five players – less Ana – drank in a toast. Jake instantly sickened. Vic attempted to resuscitate him. Regina seemed panicked.

• Jake died of strychnine poisoning, a compound Stan kept in his toolbox for dealing with rats.

Which player has overplayed their hand?

 A reminder to mystery readers to check out our print and e-books companion book. Seasons 4, 5 and 6 are available in e-book and trade paperback from online retailers. This season’s book is being released in two parts. Part one will release in March 2024 and Part two in September. Buy one for you and one for a mystery lover you love. The dimes and quarters from books sales do support the podcast and keep Jack from coming down with ramenitis…from eating only ramen.

ABOUT Jim Winter

https://jimwinterbooks.com

Jim Winter is the crime fiction name of science fiction author TS Hottle. He published his first novel as Jim Winter in 2005 with Northcoast Shakedown, the debut novel of Cleveland PI Nick Kepler. He also wrote Road Rules, a road trip from hell. For many years, as Jim Winter, he wrote short stories for Thrilling Detective, Plots with Guns, and more recently, the Steely Dan-inspired anthology A Beast Without a Name. His essays and articles also appeared in January Magazine, The Rap Sheet, and Mystery Scene. After taking a break to be TS Hottle and focus on SF, he returned to crime fiction. In 2020, he signed a deal with Down & Out Books to publish Holland Bay, best described as The Wire meets 87th Precinct.

He lives in Cincinnati where he works as a software developer and shares a Cape Cod with his wife, Candy, who is one of Nick Kepler’s biggest fans.

So, crime fiction lovers, check out Jim’s website for his backlist. And if you cross over into sci fi or loves someone who does, point them to TS Hottle.

ABOUT Cards Against Humanity

Cards Against Humanity wasn’t the brainchild of some corporate toy company. The party game for horrible people was started by a group of friends creating a game of their own for a New Year’s Eve party. In 2010, they put up a Kickstarter that got them going. According to the Cards Against Humanity website, they made a lot of money and did a lot of stupid things with the money, and then gave a bunch to charity to balance things out. The point of the game is to make jokes and have fun. Apparently, the formula is a winner. A 2018 report showed Amazon alone sold 90,000-120,000 units of the base game or expansion packs per month. Fun fact: a free download of the game pdf is available from their website. With a little arts and crafts time, you can make your own Cards Against Humanity set.

https://www.cardsagainsthumanity.com/

WRAP UP

That wraps this episode of Mysteries to Die For. Support our show by subscribing, telling a mystery lover about us, and giving us a five-star review. Check out our website TGWolff.com/Podcast for links to this season’s authors.

Mysteries to Die For is hosted by TG Wolff and Jack Wolff. Cards Against Jake was written by Jim Winter. Music and production are by Jack Wolff. Episode art is by TG Wolff. Join us next week for a Toe Tag, which is the first chapter from a fresh release in the mystery, crime, or thriller genre. Then come back in two weeks for our next original story, Hard Scrabble by KM Rockwood where Scrabble is the featured game.