S7E8 Going for All the Marbles

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 and unscrupulous villains to test your detection skills.

This is Episode 8, marbles is the featured game. This is GOING FOR ALL THE MARBLES by Debra H. Goldstein

PRE-ROLL

Hi everyone, TG Wolff here. Today we welcome author Debra H. Goldstein to Mysteries to Die For.

Debra is the author of Kensington's Sarah Blair mystery series. Sarah was married at eighteen, divorced at twenty-eight, and only came away from the marriage with RahRah, her Siamese cat. For a woman who is more frightened of the kitchen than murder, Sarah never imagined how hard juggling working as a law firm receptionist, helping with her twin sister’s restaurant dreams, sort-of dating, and solving murders would be. That’s why, for the sometimes sleuth, the series contains only simple recipes, like Jell-O in a Can. Start with ONE TASTE TOO MANY and nibble your way to FIVE BELLES TO MANY. The Link to Debra’s website is in the shownotes or look for her books from your favorite bookseller.

https://www.DebraHGoldstein.com

DELIBERATION

Detective Stephens is lining up her shot. Let’s help her and Chief Rollins find the loose marble. Here are the people Stephens is considering:

• Baseball Player/Arnie, a former mibster and marble collector who is following his son

• Sheila, mibster mechanic who could have been a professional marbles hustler

• Patrick, the down on his luck truck driver who likes to stir up trouble

• Mike, former gang member who was one of Sheila’s early marbles club members

Here are the facts as Chief Rollins and Detective Stephens know them:

• For the past four months, someone has been using something to damage windshields. A loud crack is reported but no projectiles have been found.

• Stephens speculates the projectile is a marble that rolls away after hitting the windshield.

• While the shots were taken all around town, they consistently came from an angle above the victim’s windshield.

• The police profile of the suspect was likely male, a loner, and having specific or unusual interests.

• Patrick, Mike, Arnie (Baseball Player), and Sheila are known for participating in slingshot marbles competitions.

• Patrick is a truck driver taking jobs with no limited lifting due to a back injury. He is angry at his disability being denied and has been caught cheating twice at marbles.

• Mike was in a gang in his youth before he found Sheila and marbles. He went into the military but was dishonorably discharged for stealing a jeep. He currently drives a Camaro.

• Baseball Player, aka Arnie, used to be a top player. He is now supporting his son and his marble dreams for as long as he has them. He gave his son his shooter, which was valuable. He drives a Tahoe.

• Sheila is the matriarch of the local marble community. She organizes the events and gives kids a place to go. She has worked hard for every success she’s had.

Game lovers, who do you think is the California Projectile Bomber?

PRINT AND E-BOOK

A reminder to mystery readers, check out our print and e-books. The companion book for Season 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 was released 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 in the apple juice and caffeine he needs to get through finals.

Season Anthologies on Amazon

ABOUT Marbles

Tombs of ancient Egyptians, ashes in Pompeii, Native American archeology, marbles have been found literally everywhere. They date back so far and to so many places, that the origins of marbles has yet to be discovered. According to the website Mental Floss, the earliest marbles were stones polished smooth by rivers. Artists made marbles from clay, stone, and glass. For centuries, these were made by hand. In 1884, mass production of clay marbles began in Akron, Ohio. The manufacturing invention lowered the price of marbles from about a penny each to a bag of 30 for a penny. Mass manufacturing of glass marbles was also an Akron, Ohio invention, this time in 1915. There’s a link in the shownotes to the article with a video of how they’re made.

When it comes to the game, Mental Floss gives us the conundrum that there is no single game called “marbles” and any game played with marbles can me called “marbles”. There are a lot of games, including the one described in today’s story.

https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/29486/brief-history-marbles-including-all-marble-slang

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marble_(toy)

ABOUT Debra H. Goldstein

Judge Debra H. Goldstein is the author of Kensington’s five book Sarah Blair mystery series, Should Have Played Poker, and IPPY Award winning Maze in Blue. Her novels and short stories, which have appeared in numerous periodicals and anthologies, have been named Agatha, Anthony, Derringer, Claymore, and Silver Falchion finalists and received Silver Falchion, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, and Alabama Writers Conclave awards. She serves on the national board of Sisters in Crime and previously was a national board member of Mystery Writers of America and president of the Guppy and SEMWA chapters. Find out more about Debra at https://www.DebraHGoldstein.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. GOING FOR ALL THE MARBLES was written by Debra H. Goldstein. 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 Head for Murder by Rick Ollerman where headbands is the featured game