Leading Ladies of Mystery- Nora Charles

Meet Nora Charles(and her cat, Nick) . She is the leading lady in the Nick and Nora Mystery Series by Toni LoTempio. Making her debut appearance on December 2, 2014 starring in Meow if it's Murder. One lucky reader will receive A Copy of Claws For Murder! Leave a comment and email below and winner will be chosen on Monday. 

Nora Charles shares a name with a famous literary figure, but that’s where the similarity ends. This Nora Charles is about as far away from a socialite as you can get. She was a true crime reporter in Chicago until Fate intervened and she returned to her hometown of Cruz, California, to take over her late mother’s specialty sandwich shop, Hot Bread. But as the saying goes, you can take the gal out of the mysteries but you can’t take the mystery out of the gal….or something close to that. Danger seems to always find Nora…and the tubby tuxedo cat she adopted and named Nick. (after guess who?)


Nick used to belong to a PI who’s since gone MIA, and like his owners past and present, he also seems to have a flair for detection - and for Scrabble! Mysteries and detecting seem to be in their blood, as evidenced by their first mystery, Meow if it’s Murder. Writing for a local online magazine, Nora investigates the curious death of socialite Lola Grainger. Though it was deemed an accident, Nora suspects foul play – and so does Nick! Their penchant for attracting bodies continues in their second adventure, CLAWS FOR ALARM, when Nora’s sister is accused of the murder of her art professor. And, in their next adventure, CRIME AND CATNIP (to be released December 2016) Nora attempts to solve a missing persons case only to find out it has ties to another mystery that hits close to home: the whereabouts of Nick’s former owner!


Let’s not forget Nora’s other talent: cooking! The gal has a definite flair for making delicious sandwiches which she names after popular pop culture figures. Have you ever tried her Thin Man Tuna Melt? Or her Antonio Banderas Cuban Sandwich? She’s delighted to share these recipes, and others, in her books. And when she’s not cooking or solving mysteries, you can find her hanging with her bestie, Chantal Gillard. Chantal has psychic abilities that have come in handy more than once, but it sure spooks Nora when she gets out that deck of tarot cards….


Aside from solving mysteries and making sandwiches, Nora also finds herself torn between two handsome men: FBI agent Daniel Corleone and Homicide Detective Leroy Samms. Samms and Nora share a past – will they soon share a future? Only time will tell. Although right now, the main man in Nora’s life wears a fur coat and weighs in at around twenty-five pounds…..


You can read more about Nora Charles and her cat Nick in these titles from Penguin/Berkley Prime Crime:

Meow if its Murder
Claws for Alarm
Crime and Catnip (to be released December 2016)


About the Author:

Toni(T. C.) LoTempio is the national bestselling author of Meow if its Murder, the first in the Nick and Nora Mystery Series. Toni resides in New Jersey along with her roomies, her cats Gata, Maxx and of course, ROCCO, who not only provides the inspiration for the character of Nick the cat in the Nick and Nora mystery series, but who also writes his own blog and does charity work for Nathan Fillion's charity, Kids Need to Read! Book 2, CLAWS FOR ALARM, is set to debut November 3,2015.