First in Series- Just Killing Time by Julianne Holmes

I love starting the week of with a great read. Just Killing Time by Julianne Holmes is the first book in the Clock Shop Mystery series.

Series: A Clock Shop Mystery (Book 1)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley (October 6, 2015)
Language: English


First in a new cozy series that ticks with excitement and mystery!

Ruth Clagan may be an expert clockmaker, but she’s always had a tendency to lose track of time. And when trying to solve a murder, every minute counts…

Ruth’s beloved grandfather instilled in her a love of timepieces. Unfortunately after her grandmother died and he remarried, Ruth and Grandpa Thom became estranged. She’s wanted to reconnect after her recent divorce, but sadly they’ve run out of time. Her grandfather has been found dead after a break-in at his shop—and the police believe he was murdered.

Now Ruth has been named the heir to Grandpa Thom’s clock shop, the Cog & Sprocket, in the small Berkshire town of Orchard, Massachusetts. As soon as she moves into the small apartment above the shop and begins tackling the heaps of unfinished work, Ruth finds herself trying to stay on the good side of Grandpa’s bossy gray cat, Bezel, while avoiding the step-grandmother she never wanted. But as old secrets and grudges start to surface, Ruth will have to kick into high gear to solve the killer case before someone else winds up dead…

About the Author

Julianne Holmes writes the Clock Shop Mystery Series for Berkley Prime Crime. What a thrill–a dream come true. Just Killing Time is due out in October 2015. Clock and Dagger will be released in 2016, and I am working on book 3 now. I hope you enjoy meeting Ruth Clagan and following her adventures as much as I like writing them.

When I had to chose a name to write the Clock Shop Mystery series under, it was a simple choice. I was the first grandchild on my mother’s side of the family. When my parents told my grandmother that they were thinking about naming me Julianne Holmes Hennrikus, my grandmother (a wonderful but formidable woman) told them the name was too long. I became Julie Anne instead. So Julianne Holmes is close to my heart, pays homage to my wonderful parents, and can be shortened to Julie easily.

KILLING TIME webAs J.A. Hennrikus, my short story, “Tag, You’re Dead” was published in Level Best Book’s anthology Thin Ice. “Her Wish” is in Dead Calm. And “The Pendulum Swings, Until It Doesn’t” was published in Blood Moon. I am one of many authors who had their publishing debut via Level Best Books, and am forever grateful to the editors.

As Julie Hennrikus, I am the Executive Director of StageSource, a service organization for theater artists and companies in the greater Boston area. For me, theater is both my vocation and my avocation. I also teach arts management classes at Emerson College.

I blog with the wonderful Wicked Cozy Authors blog. These woman are my friends, my blog mates, and my cheering squad. Come by and visit us!

I tweet under @JulieHennrikus, and am on Pinterest and Instagram, and have a page on Facebook. I also blog on Live to Write/Write to Live.

Giveaway: Want to in a copy of Just Killing Time? Leave a comment and email and one lucky reader will be chosen on October 23rd. Do you have a favorite clock? Is it Unique?