Mysteries to Die For TG Wolff

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 6, Things that Go Jack in the Night. This season contains truly imaginative mysteries around one of the most common words in the English language. From the brandy distilled from hard cider known as applejack to that nefarious one-eyed jack, to the animals, vegetables, fruits, tools, weapons, and slang, the way the word “jack” is used in the English language is truly unique, inventive, and too numerous for us to count. And yes, it is also the name of my piano player and producer.
For Episode 13, Jack Frost is the featured jack. This is Jack Frost’s Last Etching by TG Wolff
Welcome to our last show of Season 6 and of 2023. This had been a fun season with our authors delivering great takes on the word “Jack.” You never know what you are going to get when you create a theme or a prompt. We thank you for being part of mysteries to die for and hope you enjoy this final jack story.
ABOUT Jack Frost
According to Wikipedia, Jack Frost has origins in Anglo-Saxon and Norse winter customs. The personification of winter in some places and autumn and winter in others, there are versions of Jack Frost found in Finnish, Swedish, and Russian folklore. Like many traditions born from folklore, there are as many differences as commonalities. In some, Jack is more monstrous, nipping fingers and toes in cold weather, and the more deadly danger of sleet, ice, and freezing cold. Beginning in the last 1800s, we started being depicted as more of a sprite-like character, sometimes mischievous, something sinister, sometimes heroic. Jack Frost was said to leave frosty, fern patterns on windows. He is sometimes depicted with a paint brush and bucket for painting leaves.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Frost
WRAP UP
That wraps this episode of Mysteries to Die For. Please do 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. Jack Frost’s Last Etching was written by TG Wolff. Music and production are by Jack Wolff. Episode art is by TG Wolff.

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 and unscrupulous villains to test your detection skills.
This is Episode 1, the card game faro is the featured game. This is Who Killed the Faro Cheat? by Larry M. Keaton
DELIBERATION
Captain Rake Caldeen doesn’t want to play sheriff, but he’s the only one who can do the job of solving Sweeney’s murder…with our help, of course. Here is a list of the camp folks who aren’t dead, in the order Caldeen met them:
• Java, nephew of saloon owner whose mother was killed in San Francisco.
• Boots (deceased), miner who Sweeney owed money.
• Boston, the Faro dealer who shares a tent with Java.
• Mrs. Erin Quinn, the owner of the saloon, aunt to Java.
• Mr. Wyeth, businessman who is trying to appoint himself leader of the camp.
• Samson and Ezekiel, Sweeney’s abused slaves.
• Brown Brothers, miners with the claim next to Sweeney.
Here are the facts Caldeen has to work with:
• Boots fought with Sweeney over the debt and threated to stab him if he didn’t pay up.
• Boston caught Sweeney cheating at Faro and chased it out at knife point. Mrs. Quinn banned him from the saloon.
• The copper Sweeney gambled with was the missing half to the one Java had. It was last scene with his mother before she was killed.
• Mr. Wyeth reportedly battled with Sweeney over land. Sweeney claim was blocking the road Wyeth wanted to build.
• Samson and Ezekiel were brought in to work the claim, though slavery is illegal in California.
• The Brown Brothers didn’t like their neighbor, Sweeney, saying he stole from them.
• Sweeney was killed sometime during the night. Theodore Brown heard Sweeney argue with someone who he referred to as ‘boy’. Theodore was also the one who saw Samson standing over Sweeney’s body the next morning.
• Sweeney was stabbed with a large knife. Every suspect owns a knife. The blood pool has a small ball near it.
• Sweeney bled out near his tent with the queen of hearts shoved in his mouth. The same card he had made a comment about during Faro.
All right punters, on whose head are you going to put your gold dust?
ABOUT FARO
Faro is not a poker game but a card game all its own. Larry did a nice job in the story teaching us how it’s played. According to Wikipedia, Faro originated in France with the earliest references found in the last 1690s to early 1700s. It seems the word came from the court of Louis XIV who picked the name from the image of a pharaoh on the French-made cards. The spelling changed but the pronunciation stayed the same. Faro spread throughout Europe and eventually into the US. It was very popular in the 1800s and could be found in nearly every gambling hall. An 1882 study cited Faro as the most popular form of gambling based on money bet each year.
Faro was wildly popular and it was wildly common for the house to cheat. Played straight, the odds only slightly favored the house and the payouts were good. Hoyle’s Rules of Games, a bible of various card games...

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 2, cow flop bingo is the featured game. This is A Scent of Murder by Paul A Barra.
PRE-ROLL
This week’s author is Paul A. Barra. The author of "A Scent of Murder," today’s story, Paul A. Barra has written and published five novels. His latest was WESTFARROW ISLAND, a finalist for the Silver Falchion. One of his short stories was selected for the award-winning MWA anthology WHEN A STRANGER COMES TO TOWN. His historical juvenile adventure, SAMSON AND THE CHARLESTON SPY, will be published by Level Best Books in August 2024.
DELIBERATION
Before we get into the who and why of the story, I want to let you all know 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 digging into their backlists and picking up a title. This week is Paul A Barra. Check out his catalogue on his website and your favorite book retailer. Now…
Deputy Sandy Buford has been doing a lot of running around but doesn’t seem to be getting any place. Let’s see if we can help him out. Here are the people who were in Emory James’s house when he could have been killed:
• Adele James, the wife who was broken by her husband’s murder
• Susan James, eldest daughter, thin and pale, probably not strong enough to plunge a knife into a big man.
• Sarah James, younger daughter, stayed up witnessing the two pols get drunk.
• Frank Burns, lobbyist #1, spent his time eating and drinking with his friend Sam (below)
• Samuel Cohen, lobbyist #2. Both lobbyists looked as if they'd just gotten out of bed when Adele's scream woke the house.
• Mutt James, Emory’s brother
• Beauty Barnes, the caterer working the weekend at the James house, wife of Jasper.
Here are the facts as we know them.
• With the exception of Beauty Barnes, all others stayed up late together strategizing on Emory’s political future. Beauty arrived at six-thirty in the morning using her key to the kitchen door.
• Emory James did not open his hip-pocket loan operation at eight, as was normal. There had recently been a news article about his business.
• A crowd of would-be borrowers had assembled outside the door to Emory's office before 8 a.m. They all knew there was a box of cash on Emory's desk, and many of them were probably already in debt to Emory James.
• Adele James was a gambler who lost. She had recently paid her debt off.
• Adele schemed with Mutt James to win the Cow Flop Bingo, paying Beauty’s husband, Jasper, to seed the field on their squares.
• Adele knew her husband had money in his safe, including the Cow Flop Bingo money, but claimed not to know the combination. It was found in her jewelry box.
• Beauty Barnes picked up the James job for the extra money. Her husband was seen leaving the house by the kitchen door. He had delivered drinks and was seen leaving with a satchel, although...

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...

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 and unscrupulous villains to test your detection skills.
This is Episode 4, that classic Scrabble is the featured game. This is Hard Scrabble by KM Rockwood
PRE-ROLL
Hi everyone TG Wolff here. You are about to hear a story from KM Rockwood. She’s an awesome storyteller whose stories never quite go where you expect.
Rose, who gave “Abduction and Lies” a 5-star review on Amazon said “This book is written with the same dark realism as the others in the series. By the end of the book, Jesse's current issues are solved and I breathe a sigh of relief. Until the next time. You are never going to meet a more likeable protagonist than Jesse Damon. Or one who gets into more trouble. Or one you will worry about more.”
Check out KM’s books on her website, kmrockwood.com, Amazon, or your favorite online retailer.
DELIBERATION
Here we are at the deliberation of another Mysteries to Die For ad free episode. In exchange for not assuming you need a virtual therapist, support our authors by checking out their backlists and picking up a title. This week is KM Rockwood. Now…
Misha Soleby-Welkins is getting some kind of education working at the senior center. To pass here dissertation, she’s going to need an answer to what happened to Mr. Davidson. Here are her suspects, I mean clients, in the order we met them:
• Henry, the Scrabble rebel who uses a crutch
• Leonard, the other Scrabble rebel who walks unaided
• Corina, the flatulent woman who uses a walker
• Simon, the perpetually hungry man who uses a wheelchair
• Margaret, the group’s heart and voice of reason
• Mr. Parsons, the hottie who is the backup manager for Mr. Davison
Here are the facts Misha is working with:
• Davidson micromanaged, berated, and even injured the center’s clients, driving himself to a migraine. He leaves before lunch, walking toward his home on the other side of the tracks. Mr. Parson discovers the body some time later. It had been severed by the train.
• Simon rolled his wheelchair outside before Davidson left for a quiet place to each the muffins Misha snuck to him. Margaret went and brought him back in to avoid Davidson catching him.
• Henry goes outside for a cigarette while Misha and others prepare lunch. Margaret goes out to get him when lunch is ready.
• After a mystery lunch, Corina goes outside to spare her friends her flatulent side effects. Leonard takes the lunch trash outside.
• When Misha starts the Scrabble game, Leonard is unaccounted for. He hurries in, looking for Mr. Parsons who has not arrived.
• Leonard thought he saw Mr. Parsons’s car when he took the garbage out. Margaret says he is mistaken. Mr. Parsons and his car are stuck on the other side of the train.
Who should Misha pen as a silver killer and, for bonus points, what...

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 and unscrupulous villains to test your detection skills.
This is Episode 5, Indian Poker or Blind Man’s Bluff is the featured game. This is A Forced Card by Ed Teja
If you like a taste of the surreal with your mysteries, check out the struggle that private investigator Matt Cramer faces. He is solving crimes in rural Silver City, New Mexico, where doing almost anything involves dealing with the magic of local witches and at least one shaman, the secrets of ranchers and desert rats, small town politics and law enforcement, and the possible involvement of aliens (and definitely some alien hunters). It’s a strange brew that tends to twist reality or expose the surreal, with more stories coming. Link to the first book, An Impossible Abduction, is in the show notes.
The series starts here: https://books2read.com/u/4ElRGO
ABOUT Indian Poker
This poker game has a lot of names. Indian poker, squaw poker, Oklahoma forehead, Indian head. According to my favorite source, Wikipedia, this is a game of probability and psychology. Ed described how we game is played so, yeah, you can see there being psychology involved. This is a one card poker game but variations exist on stud poker and Texas hold’em. I wasn’t able to find any details on the history of this game. It was difficult given how many names it has and the multiple meaning of words in the name. The tag game, blind man’s bluff, dates back to the late 15th century. And poker has existed in India since the British brought it in the 1800s. Fascinating facts that have nothing to do with today’s game. Ah well.
ABOUT Ed Teja
www.edteja.com
Ed Teja has edited magazines in Asia, been a boat bum in the Caribbean, traveled the world, and always, always, written fiction. He is currently hunkered down in rural New Mexico where he writes strange stories of strange people and teaches martial arts. His cross-genre stories emphasize the surreal around us and have appeared in numerous magazines and anthologies.
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. A Forced Card was written by Ed Teja. 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, A Checkered Past by Frank Zafiro where checkers is the featured game