Thursday, June 30, 2016

Book Spotlight- Murder has Nine Lives by Laura Levine

Happy Thursday! This week's book spotlight is Murder has Nine Lives (a Jaine Austen Mystery) by Laura Levine.








Series: A Jaine Austen Mystery (Book 14)
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Kensington (June 28, 2016)
Language: English



"I'm crazy about Laura Levine's mystery series. Her books are so outrageously funny." --Joanne Fluke

The future is looking bright for freelance writer Jaine Austen. She's signed up for a new job, she's looking forward to a tropical vacation, and her cat Prozac is slated to star in a major commercial. But when the claws come out behind the scenes, Jaine worries that murder might be the only thing to meow about. . .

A writer's life is far from glamorous. Still, Jaine's new gig to write an ad campaign for Toiletmasters' new line of self-flushing toilets comes with a few perks--including a date with the president's dreamy nephew. And with a much-needed trip to Maui on the horizon, it seems life couldn't get any better--until her cat Prozac is tapped to star in a Skinny Kitty commercial. But Jaine never would have guessed the world of cat food could be quite so catty. . .

Jaine is nervous that Prozac won't be able to take direction, but the finicky furball ditches her diva behavior for the camera, eating and napping on cue like a seasoned pro. But just as Jaine begins dreaming of fame and fortune, Skinny Kitty's inventor drops dead on the set. Everyone is a suspect--including Jaine. And she'll have to get her paws on the truth before the killer takes a swipe at another victim. . .

Outstanding Praise For Laura Levine's Jaine Austen Mysteries




About the Author
Laura Levine is a comedy writer whose television credits include The Bob Newhart Show, Laverne & Shirley, The Love Boat, The Jeffersons, Three's Company, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Her work has been published in The Washington Post and The Los Angeles Times. She lives in Los Angeles, and is currently working on the next Jaine Austen mystery. Readers can reach her at Jaineausten@aol.com, or her website: www.JaineAustenMysteries.com.


Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Guess the Mystery hosted by Amy Reade

It's time for this week's Guess the Trivia and our lovely host is Amy Reade. One lucky reader will receive an e-copy of her newest release House of the Hanging Jade. Leave answer and email in the comments below.Winner will be chosen on Saturday.








We were making our way slowly up the long drive back to the house when Lucy suddenly remembered that she left Cottontail by the side of the road while she was picking flowers. She was getting droopy from being tired, so Evie took her indoors while I went back to the road to look for the lost bunny. I searched in and among several clumps of Queen Anne’s lace where Lucy had stopped to pick specimens for her bouquet, but the growing darkness made it hard for me to see.

Finally I spotted Cottontail lying limply by the side of the dusty road, waiting patiently for me to pick him up. I had turned around and started back toward the driveway when I heard a car behind me on the road. It came closer, its bright headlights cutting through the darkness. The headlights swept over me and I sidled closer to the edge of the road. The driver had seen me.

The car crept a little closer to the side of the road where I was standing and with a sudden violent burst of speed, it started hurtling toward me at a breakneck pace. I screamed and jumped back into the weeds on the side of the road, twisting my ankle and falling hard onto the ground. I looked over my shoulder as the car passed. About fifty feet away, it screeched to a stop and began to back up. It performed a lightning-quick K-turn and gunned toward me again. I dived farther into the weeds near the road as it veered in my direction, barely noticing the pain searing through my lower arm and elbow.

It went just a little way down the road and I saw its brake lights come on again. I was terrified that it would turn around and head for me a third time. Heart thudding, I dashed across the road and hid behind the huge stone pillar that stood sentry at the entrance to the Peppernell Manor driveway. The car had turned around again. Like a hunter stalking its prey, the car slowly cruised past the entrance to Peppernell Manor, searching. I stayed hidden until it finally drove off, then I ran up the drive and into the manor as fast as I could. I crashed through the front door and slammed it behind me, thankful that Lucy wasn’t there to witness my terror. Evie came out of the drawing room, an alarmed look on her face. “Carleigh! What’s the matter?” “A car just tried to run me down,” I gasped. “Where’s Lucy?”

“I told her to run upstairs and get her pajamas on. What did the car look like?” “I couldn’t see it. It was too dark and I was so scared that I wasn’t thinking about that. I just wanted to get back in the house.” I buried my face in my hands. “It was probably just some kids out joyriding, looking to give someone a good scare. Let me get some bandages for your arm and knee.” She went out to the kitchen and returned a moment later with ointment and bandages for my cuts and scrapes. I also had a large bruise developing on my shoulder. “Between this and that phone call, I’m terrified. If anything happened to me, what would happen to Lucy?” “Take it easy, honey. Nothing is going to happen to you. Or Lucy.

I have a feeling that the two incidents have nothing to do with each other.” I was still trembling. “I hope you’re right. I need to go up and tell Lucy good night.” I still held Cottontail by his big forepaw. “You just sit down for a few minutes and compose yourself. I’ll tell Lucy that you’re still looking for the bunny and I’ll make sure she’s ready for bed.” I smiled gratefully at Evie and went to the drawing room. I sat in one of the comfortable armchairs with my eyes closed and breathed deeply for several minutes before I felt steady enough to go upstairs to tuck Lucy in for the night. What if something did happen to me? What if I really am in danger? How am I going to protect Lucy? I didn’t have any answers.





USA Today Bestselling author Amy M. Reade writes women's contemporary and gothic fiction. Her books have been compared to authors such as Daphne du Maurier, Phyllis Whitney, and Victoria Holt. Amy's novels feature vivid descriptions of exotic and fascinating locations, such as the Thousand Islands region of New York State, Charleston, South Carolina, and the Big Island of Hawaii.

A former attorney, Amy found that writing was her true calling, and is currently working on a new project, a series set in Edinburgh, Scotland. She loves cooking, reading, and travel. You can visit her website, http://www.amymreade.com, where, in addition to information about her books and appearances, you will find a contact form, suggested playlists to go along with her novels, and notes and recommendations on wines.

To sign up for Amy's newsletter, please visit http://shoutout.wix.com/so/9L2G-s5N#/main

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Author Spotlight- Hannah Reed

Happy Tuesday! This week's featured author is Hannah Reed ( a.k.a. Deb Baker). Hanna is the author of the Queen Bee Mystery series and her newest series the Scottish Highlands Mystery series.








As Hannah:

Hannah Reed is the pen name of author Deb Baker.

http://deb-baker.blogspot.com



As Deb (her real name) she has authored The Gertie Johnson Backwoods Adventures and The Dolls To Die For Series.

In her youth, Deb dreamed of working as a private investigator or as an undercover cop. So when Deb began writing a new series, the Queen Bee mysteries, she did something she always wanted to do -- she went undercover with an alias!



Hannah was one of her all-time favorite names. Reed was her great-grandmother’s maiden name. So she put the two together.

As it turns out, the author Hannah Reed is much younger than Deb Baker. She’s also more daring, more willing to step right into the midst of any sticky situation, and she’s not afraid to tell it like it is.

As Deb says, “Look out! When Hannah’s around, big trouble is sure to follow.”



As Deb Baker:
I was born in the Michigan Upper Peninsula but now I live in Southeastern Wisconsin and I write murder mysteries. I started out writing short stories and knew mystery was my genre when my husband pointed out that all my stories involved women killing their husbands. So far, I've written four Gertie Johnson Backwoods (Yooper) mysteries, a companion cookbook to go along with it, and a Christmas Adventure, four Dolls To Die For, and three Queen Bee mysteries as Hannah Reed. Book 4 in that series will 'bee' out in December 2012.

All of my books were published traditionally. When they went out-of-print (except the bee series is still going strong), I asked for my rights back. Then I had the covers redesigned (I didn't get cover rights back because those belong to the artist) and reissued them myself. Which I'm really glad about because publishers don't seem to give books much time to find readers.

I love gardening, all things about nature, cooking, reading mostly mysteries but I've recently discovered young adult, every sci-fi/fantasy movie that comes along, and spending time with friends and family.

I also blog every Wednesday with The Cozy Chicks, so stop by.

You can connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, or Goodreads

You can also connect with my alter ego, Hannah Reed, who is younger and smarter than I am. Find her hanging out at her Facebook Page (where she talks mainly her books) or her Facebook Profile Page (where she socializes).

http://www.queenbeemystery.com/

http://deb-baker.blogspot.com/


Monday, June 27, 2016

First in a Series- Off Kilter by Hannah Reed

Happy Monday- This week's First in a Series is Off Kilter (A Scottish Highlands Mystery) by Hannah Reed. Released on October 7th 2014. Take a trip to the Scottish Highlands as you delve into this fun-filled mystery.








Series: A Scottish Highlands Mystery (Book 1)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley (October 7, 2014)
Language: English



National bestselling author Hannah Reed brings mystery lovers the first in a brand-new series, in which a young writer finds herself swept up in a murder amidst the glens and lochs of the Scottish Highlands…

After the recent death of her mother and the dissolution of her marriage, thirty-something Eden Elliott is seriously in need of a fresh start. At the urging of her best friend, bestselling author Ami Pederson, Eden decides to embark on an open-ended trip to the picturesque village of Glenkillen in the Scottish Highlands, to do some hands-on research for a book of her own. But almost as soon as Eden arrives in the quaint town, she gets caught up in a very real drama…

The town’s sheep shearer is found murdered—clipped with his own shears—and the locals suspect Vicki MacBride, an outsider whose father’s recent death left her the surprise heir to his lucrative sheep farm. Eden refuses to believe the affable heiress is a murderer, but can she prove that someone is out to frame her new friend before she finds herself on the receiving end of more shear terror?


About the author:


Hannah Reed is the national bestselling author of the Queen Bee Mystery series, as well as the Scottish Highland Mysteries. Her own Scottish ancestors were seventeenth century rabble-rousers who were eventually shipped to the new world, where they settled in the Michigan Upper Peninsula. Hannah has happily traveled back to her homeland several times, and in keeping with family tradition, enjoyed causing mayhem in the Highlands.


Find Hannah Reed at her website:

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Weekly Wrap Up # 26

It was a great week, this is what happened:







June 20th- First in Series- A Tine to Live,A Tine to Die by Edith Maxwell
June 21st- Author Spotlight- Edith Maxwell
June 22nd- Guess The Mystery - Karoline Barrett
June 23rd - Blog Tour- Come Bitter Poison by Monica Knightley
June 24th- What's New? A Dark and Stormy Murder by Julia Buckley
June 25th- Non- Cozy Mystery - Alex Segura



Coming this week:


June 27th- First in Series- Off Kilter by Hannah Reed
June 28th Author Spotlight- Hannah Reed
June 29th Guess the Mystery hosted by Amy Reade
June 30th- Shelley's Review's
July 1st- What's New? Clock and Dagger by Julianne Holmes
July 2nd - Non-Cozy Mystery -The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Non- Cozy Mystery- Silent City by Alex Segura

Happy Saturday! Today's Mystery is Silent City (Pete Fernandez Mystery) by Alex Segura. Released on March 15,2016.








Series: Pete Fernandez
Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Polis Books (March 15, 2016)
Language: English



"The new George Pelecanos is here." — Son of Spade

Pete Fernandez is a mess. He's on the brink of being fired from his middle-management newspaper job. His fiancée has up and left him. Now, after the sudden death of his father, he's back in his hometown of Miami, slowly drinking himself into oblivion. But when a co-worker he barely knows asks Pete to locate a missing daughter, Pete finds himself dragged into a tale of murder, drugs, double-crosses and memories bursting from the black heart of the Miami underworld - and, shockingly, his father's past.

Making it up as he goes and stumbling as often as he succeeds, Pete's surreptitious quest becomes the wake-up call he's never wanted but has always needed - but one with deadly consequences. Welcome to Silent City, a story of redemption, broken friendships, lost loves and one man's efforts to make peace with a long-buried past to save the lives of the few friends he has left. SILENT CITY is a gritty, heartfelt debut novel that harkens back to classic P.I. tales, but infused with the Miami that only Alex Segura knows.






Alex Segura is a novelist and comic book writer. He is the author of the Miami crime novels featuring Pete Fernandez, SILENT CITY and DOWN THE DARKEST STREET (Polis Books).

He has also written a number of comic books, including the best-selling and critically acclaimed ARCHIE MEETS KISS storyline, the “Occupy Riverdale” story, and the upcoming ARCHIE MEETS RAMONES.
He lives in New York with his wife and son. He is a Miami native. 

Friday, June 24, 2016

What's New? A Dark and Stormy Murder by Julia Buckley

Happy Friday! What's new? Coming on July 5th to bookstores near you. A Dark and Stormy Murder (A Writer's Apprentice Murder) by Julia Buckley.








Series: A Writer's Apprentice Mystery (Book 1)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley (July 5, 2016)
Language: English



An aspiring suspense novelist lands in the middle of a real crime, in the first in a captivating new series by the author of the Undercover Dish Mysteries.

Lena London's literary dreams are coming true—as long as she can avoid any real-life villains...

Camilla Graham’s bestselling suspense novels inspired Lena London to become a writer, so when she lands a job as Camilla’s new assistant, she can’t believe her luck. Not only will she help her idol craft an enchanting new mystery, she’ll get to live rent-free in Camilla’s gorgeous Victorian home in the quaint town of Blue Lake, Indiana.

But Lena’s fortune soon changes for the worse. First, she lands in the center of small town gossip for befriending the local recluse. Then, she stumbles across one thing that a Camilla Graham novel is never without—a dead body, found on her new boss’s lakefront property.

Now Lena must take a page out of one of Camilla’s books to hunt down clues in a real crime that seems to be connected to the novelist’s mysterious estate—before the killer writes them both out of the story for good...






Julia Buckley is a Chicago mystery author whose career started in 2006 with the publication of THE DARK BACKWARD. Since then her work has appeared on Kindle in the Madeline Mann series and the novel THE GHOSTS OF LOVELY WOMEN. She is currently writing two series for Berkley Prime Crime, the first of which launched with THE BIG CHILI.

She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Romance Writers of America, along with the Chicago Writer's Association. In addition, she has worked with the same writer's group since 2000.

Julia has taught high school English for twenty-seven years; she lives near Chicago with her husband, two sons, three cats, and a mischievous Lab puppy named Digby. 

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Blog tour and Giveaway - Come Bitter Poison by Monica Knightley

I am excited to be part of this blog tour. Come Bitter Poison (The Stratford Upon Avondale Mysteries) by Monica Knightley. One lucky reader will receive an e-copy of this book. Leave a comment and email below for the chance to win.








File Size: 1920 KB
Print Length: 177 pages
Publisher: Monica Knightley (April 8, 2016)
Publication Date: April 8, 2016
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC



Synopsis
Sexy film star. Long-held secrets. Murder by poison.
When international stage and film star Miles Elliot comes to Stratford Upon Avondale to play Macbeth, Maggie O’Flynn is thrilled. He’s been her actor crush for years. But when Miles ends up at the center of a murder investigation Maggie finds herself slipping back into the role of amateur sleuth. Before long many of her friends become suspects in not just one murder, but two. Maggie must discover who’s poisoning people associated with the Shakespeare Festival before one of her friends gets slapped with a murder charge. And she must do so while dodging paparazzi that are stalking her due to a supposed love affair she’s having with Miles Elliot.

With a bit of Shakespeare, copious amounts of tea, and a faux-English setting to rival anything the real England has to offer, COME, BITTER POISON is the second book in THE STRATFORD UPON AVONDALE mystery series. Though part of a series, COME, BITTER POISON can be read and enjoyed as a standalone. Lovers of cozy mysteries will find a cozy home in Stratford Upon Avondale.



Book two starts off strong and keeps moving to the end. The characters are delight fun and well developed. With a great story line this whodunit will not disappoint, You will be captivated until the end.



Guest Post:
Hi! I’m Maggie O’Flynn, ex-nun-in-training, current tea room owner and steamy romance writer. I recently moved to this charming little village, Stratford Upon Avondale, which is renowned for its Shakespeare Festival. The place looks like it was lifted lock, stock, and barrel straight out of Tudor or maybe Victorian England, despite the 5,000 miles and several hundred years that separate the two places. I’ll admit I was running away from my past when I landed here but as it turns out it was a good choice.

A good choice for a lot of reasons. Warm and welcoming inhabitants, new dear friends, a kind, considerate, intelligent almost-boyfriend, and a couple of murders. No, I’m not sick or into weird stuff, but I’ve discovered over the past few months that I have an aptitude for solving murders. Who would have thought? Certainly not the local homicide detective. No love lost there.

When I moved here I assumed I’d be seeing my share of murder and treachery, but I figured it would be on the stages of the festival. Sadly, there are people, even here in this little piece of heaven, that find themselves feeling such overwhelming emotions they end up committing the worst of all crimes to quell those emotions. Okay, that was the former Sister Margaret Rose O’Flynn speaking, but it is a truth. Perhaps there is something about my nun-in-training past that lends itself to my ability to uncover murderers. Or perhaps it’s my inability to keep my nose out of other people’s business. That’s what Sister Mary Josephine would say, and did say on many occasions.

But if Sister Mary Josephine thought I was nosey, she would have had apoplexy if she’d met Gina Mattucci. Gina is my best friend and the Watson to my Sherlock. She is a five-foot-two-inch spitfire whose loud, gravelly voice usually announces her presence long before she enters a room. From New Jersey and proud of it, she’s brash and carries a grudge that the West Coast has never heard of some monstrosity called ‘Disco Fries.’ Google it. They’re hideous.

One little added bonus of moving here has been the inspiration this romance writer has found here. There is no dearth of gorgeous men in Stratford. It is a theater town, after all. And word is that my long-time actor crush is about to arrive in town to play Macbeth. Tall, handsome, British—Miles Elliot is many a woman’s dream. Something tells me he may inspire some steamy scenes in my next book.

So Stratford Upon Avondale is home now. I no longer feel like I was running away from my life when I decided to come here, but instead I was running to the life I was supposed to live. Now if I can just convince Nate Larimer, the aforementioned ‘almost-boyfriend’ that I’m not a nun and that he doesn’t need to be intimidated by my steamy romance writing, life here would be perfect.

Time to serve some tea! Cheers!




About The Author –
Monica Knightley began creating compelling characters and stories at the age of three, when she had a plethora of imaginary friends, all with complete backstories. Today any characters that come knocking on the door of her imagination find themselves in one of her mysteries, young adult novels, or paranormal romances.

When not fueling her reading addiction or writing her next book, Monica loves to travel with her husband—especially to England. A bit of England seems to make its way into most of her books. Must haves include a perfectly steeped cup of tea, and a good, bold red wine. She lives in Portland, Oregon where the frequent rainy weather is perfect for curling up with a good book and a cup of tea.

Author Links: Website: http://www.monicaknightley.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/monicaknightleyauthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/monicaknightley


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Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Guess the Mystery hosted by Karoline Barrett

It's time to play Guess the Mystery and today's lovely host is Karoline Barrett! Can you guess what book this excerpt is from? Winner will receive a copy of Raisin the Dead. Leave answer and email in the comments below. Winner will be chosen on Saturday. Good Luck everyone!




I refrained from rolling my eyes and delivering a loud sigh. Pete had to be at least six feet tall and two-fifty. He was worried about dead bodies? Then again, he’s not the first person who, upon finding out I live on the grounds of a funeral home, have asked me if there are dead bodies around. Well, of course there may be dead bodies around, it’s a funeral home.

Not to worry, I assure everyone, they aren’t going to make an appearance, demand you take them for a stroll around the block, then ask for dinner. The whole time I’ve lived here, I’ve never seen them frolicking on the grass at midnight. “They’re all napping at the moment.”

He laughed, but probably to humor me. I really don’t think he got it. I signed the paperwork he handed to me on the clipboard, then let them do their thing. Something told me they wouldn’t be dawdling around, as movers are prone to do unless you keep a sharp eye on them.

I’m delighted to report that once they removed my dresser, I found my phone, where it had fallen out of my sight who knows when. Olivia would be overjoyed. I blew the dust off it and turned it on. It chirped to life. Great, it still worked! I tucked it in my purse, vowing not to let it out of my sight again.




Karoline Barrett
http://www.karolinebarrett.com/
https://www.facebook.com/KarolineBarrettBooks/
amazon.com/author/karolinebarrettbooks
https://twitter.com/KarolineBarrett

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Author Spotlight- Edith Maxwell

I am a big fan of this week's Author Spotlight. Edith Maxwell is the author of the local foods mystery series as well as the Quaker Midwife mystery series. She also writes the as Maddie day.








Short bio:

Agatha-nominated and Amazon bestselling author Edith Maxwell writes the Local Foods Mysteries and the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, the Country Store Mysteries (as Maddie Day), and the Lauren Rousseau Mysteries (as Tace Baker), as well as award-winning short crime fiction. Maxwell lives north of Boston with her beau and three cats, and blogs with the other Wicked Cozy Authors. You can also find her at www.edithmaxwell.com , @edithmaxwell, and on Facebook.


Long bio:

Edith Maxwell has always been a writer. She made her living writing technical documentation in the software industry, wrote features and essays as a free-lance journalist, edited medical texts, and produced several published articles and a doctoral dissertation in the field of linguistics. And before that she wrote fiction and news articles, with her first paid published story appearing at age 9. Creating fiction, long and short, is what makes her happiest (although she wrote a prose poem about her late father that she’s rather proud of).

She is active in Sisters in Crime, serving as the vice-president of the New England chapter, and is a member of Mystery Writers of America. She is also a long-time member of the Society of Friends (Quaker), currently the Clerk of Amesbury Friends Meeting. Her art story was featured in the National Endowment for the Arts 50th anniversary celebration.MaxFarmer

As a former organic farmer Edith knows the language and tensions of someone like Cam Flaherty, the farmer in the Local Foods mysteries. Edith lived in southern Indiana for five years and loved the slow pace and language of its natives, so it made sense to set the Country Store Mysteries there. She taught independent childbirth classes and worked as a doula for some years, giving her insight into the life of an historical midwife as portrayed in the Quaker Midwife Mysteries.

She lives in Amesbury, Massachusetts, but is originally a fourth-generation Californian. She has two grown sons, and lives in an antique house with her beau, their three cats, and several fine specimens of garden statuary. 


Monday, June 20, 2016

First in Series- A Tine to Live and A Tine to Die by Edith Maxwell

Happy Monday! I am excited to start this week with this first in Series by Edith Maxwell! A Tine to Live and a Tine to Die(A Local Foods mystery) was released on May 6th 2014.








Series: Local Foods Mystery (Book 1)
Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Kensington; Reprint edition (May 6, 2014)
Language: English



"Absorbing. . . Builds to an exciting climax." --Publishers Weekly

It's harvest time in Westbury, Massachusetts. Unfortunately Cameron Flaherty's first foray into the world of organic farming is yielding a bumper crop of locally sourced murder. . .

Just when Cam's CSA is beginning to flourish, thanks to a colorful group of subscribers led by Lucinda DaSilva, an enthusiastic volunteer who's vowed to eat nothing but locally produced food for one year, murder threatens to spoil her success. Especially since the victim is the man she just fired, handyman Mike Montgomery, stabbed to death by a pitchfork. To clear her name, Cam will have to weed out some suspects and dig up secrets buried deep beneath the soil of Produce Plus Plus Farm. And she'll have to catch a murderer whose motto seems to be "Eat local. Kill local."

"Maxwell serves up a tasty plot and a bumper crop of colorful characters. Fans of Sheila Connolly and Dorothy St. James will be happy to discover a smart, new sleuth who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty." --Rosemary Harris





About the Author

Edith Maxwell (Amesbury, MA) is the vice-president of the New England chapter of Sisters in Crime and a long-time member of the Society of Friends. She is the author of the Local Foods Mysteries, the Lauren Rousseau Mysteries, and the Country Store Mysteries. She blogs at wickedcozyauthors.com. 

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Weekly Wrap Up #25

Happy Sunday! It was a fun week , here is what happened:






June 13th- Blog Tour -Rogues and Rascals in Goose Pimple Junction by Amy Metz June 14th- Author Spotlight- Amy Metz
June 15th- Guess The Mystery - Maggie Barberi
June 15th- Blog Tour- Fixin to Die by Tonya Kappes
June 16th- Book Spotlight- Title Wave by Lorna Barrett
June 17th- What's New? Take the Monkey and Run by Laura Morrigan
June 18th- Non- Cozy Mystery- Resolve by J.J. Hensley


Coming this week:


June 20th- First in Series- A Tine to Live,A Tine to Die by Edith Maxwell
June 21st- Author Spotlight- Edith Maxwell
June 22nd- Guess The Mystery - Karoline Barrett
June 23rd Blog Tour- Come Bitter Poison by Monica Knightley
June 24th- What's New? A Dark and Stormy Murder by Julia Buckley
June 25th- Non- Cozy Mystery - Alex Segura


Hope to see you here.

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Non- Cozy Mystery - Resolve by J.J. Hensley

Today's featured book is a Non- Cozy- Resolve bu J.J. Hensley.








Paperback: 250 pages
Publisher: Permanent Press (NY) (March 31, 2013)
Language: English


"Finalist - 2014 International Thriller Writers Awards - Best First Novel Named one of the BEST BOOKS of 2013 by Suspense Magazine! Top Ten Books of the Year - Authors on the Air In the Pittsburgh Marathon, 18,000 people from all over the world will participate. Over 9,500 will run the half marathon, 4,000 will run in relays while others plan to run brief stretches. 4,500 people will attempt to cover the full 26.2 miles. Over 200 of the participants will quit, realizing it just wasn't their day.

More than 100 will get injured and require medical treatment and one man is going to be murdered. When Dr. Cyprus Keller lines up to start the race, he knows who is going to die for one simple reason. He's going to kill them. As a professor of Criminology at Three Rivers University, and a former police officer, Dr. Cyprus Keller is an expert in criminal behavior and victimology. However, when one of his female students is murdered and his graduate assistant attempts to kill him, Keller finds himself frantically swinging back and forth between being a suspect and a victim. When the police assign a motive to the crimes that Keller knows cannot be true, he begins to ask questions that somebody out there does not want answered."






J.J. HENSLEY is a former police officer and former Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service who draws upon his experiences in law enforcement to write stories full of suspense and insight. Hensley, who is originally from Huntington, WV, graduated from Penn State University with a B.S. in Administration of Justice and has a M.S. in Criminal Justice Administration from Columbia Southern University. The author lives with his family near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Mr. Hensley’s novel RESOLVE was named one of the BEST BOOKS OF 2013 by Suspense Magazine and was named a finalist for Best First Novel by the International Thriller Writers organization.

He is a member of the International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime.

http://www.hensley-books.com/


Friday, June 17, 2016

What's New? Take the Monkey and Run by Laura Morrigan

What's New? Take the Monkey and Run (A Call of the Wilde Mystery) by Laura Morrigan. Coming July 5th to a bookstore near you.







Series: A Call of the Wilde Mystery (Book 4)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley (July 5, 2016)
Language: English


Grace Wilde must use her psychic abilities to track down a pesky primate in the latest Call of the Wilde Mystery.

Grace Wilde is excited to head to New Orleans for her first “real” case as an animal telepath. She intends to help a woman find her missing sister, but when she attempts to communicate with her client’s cat, Coco, Grace gets distracted by the presence of a much wilder animal.

Coco confirms that a mysterious monkey has been swinging around the Big Easy. Grace thinks she might be able to help corral the cheeky Capuchin in addition to solving her case. But things get complicated when she receives a cryptic warning that her client isn’t what she seems. Now it’s up to Grace to separate the truth from the monkey business...


About the Author


Spending the first years of her life on a Costa Rican coffee farm blessed Laura Morrigan with a fertile imagination and a love for all things wild. Later she became a volunteer at a Florida zoo, helping out with everything from “waste management” to teaching an elephant how to paint. Drawing from her years of experience with both wild and domestic animals and her passion for detective novels, Laura created the Call of the Wilde Mysteries, including Horse of a Different Killer, A Tiger’s Tale, and Woof at the Door. She’s currently hard at work—writing the next Call of the Wilde mystery.

http://www.lauramorrigan.com/

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Book Spotlight - Title Wave by Lorna Barrett

I am thrilled to be spotlighting Title Wave (A Booktown Mystery) by Lorna Barrett. I have been a fan of this series from the start. Have you read it?







Tricia and Angelica leave Booktown behind for a pleasure cruise, but they’re going to need their life jackets because a murderer has also booked passage—in Lorna Barrett’s New York Times bestselling series.

While her bookstore, Haven’t Got a Clue, is rebuilt following a devastating fire, Tricia Miles and her sister, Angelica, decide to book a cruise for some much needed R&R. Naturally they choose a Mystery Lovers cruise, where they can ponder whodunnit in deck chairs while sipping colorful drinks and soaking up some rays.

But the fun is cut short when a fellow passenger is murdered for real. Is the killer a famous mystery author, one of his fans, or a member of the ship’s crew? As Tricia tries to find the killer before they reach port, she may be cruising for a bruising..

About the author:

The immensely popular Booktown Mystery series is what put Lorna Barrett’s name on the New York Times Bestseller list, but it’s her talent — whether writing as Lorna, or L.L. Bartlett, or Lorraine Bartlett — that keeps her there. This multi-published, Agatha-nominated author pens the exciting Jeff Resnick Mysteries as well as the acclaimed Victoria Square Mystery series and has many short stories and novellas to her name(s).

The Booktown Mystery series concerns a mystery bookseller who deals in rare, out-of-print, and used books. What does “L” know about bookselling? A little. She, too, has sold used books.

Authors are split on the whether “used” bookstores are good for building their careers. From a reader’s perspective, they’re a great way to find new authors or find out-of-print books by their favorite authors. Sadly, authors make no money from the sales of used books–and this is a business where unless you’re Stephen King, Nora Roberts, or John Grisham, you aren’t going to make enough money from your writing career to cover the mortgage and groceries. So it’s a catch-22.

Tricia Miles, the owner of the Haven’t Got a Clue bookstore that’s the heart of the Booktown Mysteries, also sells new books, thus helping current “real” authors (who are mentioned in the Booktown Mysteries) stake out some kind of living, as well as keeping “alive” the works of long-dead authors. 

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Blog Tour- Fixin to Die by Tonya Kappes

I love when Tonya Kappes visits and she is here today with a brand new book series. Fixin to Die (A Kenni Lowry Mystery) was released on June 14th. Want to win an e-copy of this book? Tell us what your favorite southern food is and leave your email to be entered and one lucky reader will be chosen.






Series: A Kenni Lowry Mystery
Paperback: 224 pages
Publisher: Henery Press (June 14, 2016)
Language: English



Synopsis

Sheriff Kenni Lowry likes to think the zero crime rate in her small town in Kentucky is due to her being sheriff, but quickly discovers her grandfather’s ghost, who happened to be the town’s retired sheriff, has been scaring off any would be crime. Poppa has come back from the great beyond to be Kenni’s deputy after the beloved town doctor is found murdered.

Ghost or no ghost, time is of the essence. After all, re-election isn’t far away and Kenni doesn’t want to look for a new job anytime soon.


Tonya Kappes has brought southern charm, mouth-watering food and a fresh new cast of characters that keep you ready through the night. Fixin to Die will whisk you away to Cottonwood Kentucky where you will get wrapped up in the story. With several plot twist that will have you guessing until the end. I look forward to the next visit to Cottonwood.



There is just something about going to a diner in a small town. . .

Kenni Lowry is the small town sheriff in Fixin’ To Die. There is a fair amount of time spent in the sheriff’s office, only the office isn’t in a building, it’s in the back of Cowboy’s Catfish diner. Some of y’all might scratch your head because that seems so strange. . .but not to me!

I grew up in a small rural Kentucky town. It’s one of those thing when someone asks me where I’m from, I’m going to say the county name instead of the city. That’s just the way a small town rolls. That is just ONE of the things that I loved about growing up in a small town in the south.

In most small towns there is that one diner, the one greasy spoon that no matter what time of day you go, there is a line and the counter stools are filled with the same local, little old men in their John Deere hats with a cup of coffee in their hand.
When you go to open the door, you have to give the bottom corner a little tap with the toe of your shoe because it gets a little stuck every once in a while and the above the door dings as soon as you fully open it, our hearts swell with joy. Then our stomach rumbles as the smell of homemade biscuits, sausage gravy, and bacon grease swirl and curl around our nose with strong coffee chasing shortly after. Our eyes scan the top of the full diner just so we can find a couple available seats. After we find that seat, our usual waitress, the only waitress, comes over and fills the foggy plastic glass with the chip in the rim with water and a pot of coffee dangling from her hand. You don’t need a menu. You know what they serve at your diner as if it were tattooed on your brain.

And just thinking about that fried egg has your mouth watering. . .

Awe. . .wasn’t that a great step back into a wonderful memory? What about your memories? Do at least half of them revolve around food?

Food is such a wonderful way to gather people. It is magical really. Food creates community, builds relationships, and fills our souls. Doesn’t this sound exactly how a novel should feed your mind?

I think so too! In every single novel, mostly all in series, I’ve written (twenty-six published), I make the diner and settings of my small, southern towns just as much a character as my heroine and hero. It’s a comfort to the reader to open a novel in a series and know what it feels like to flip the first page and step back into the diner they have grown to love because of all the warm and fuzzy they get from visiting.





About the Author

For years, USA Today bestselling author Tonya Kappes has been self-publishing her numerous mystery and romance titles with unprecedented success. She is famous not only for her hilarious plotlines and quirky characters, but her tremendous marketing efforts that have earned her thousands of followers and a devoted street team of fans. Be sure to check out Tonya’s website for upcoming events and news and to sign up for her newsletter! Tonyakappes.com

Guess the Mystery hosted by Maggie Barbieri

I am thrilled to have Maggie Barbieri as our Guess the Mystery host this week. Leave your answer in the comments and email for a chance to win a signed copy of Wedding Bel Blues. You know the author now it is time to guess the mystery.





Good Luck everyone! Here we go:


It never bothered me when Caleigh McHugh, my first cousin on my mother’s side, insulted me when we were teenagers. We had been competing with each other since we were kids and today, her wedding day, was no exception.

Because I was pretty sure that my IQ was higher than hers and since I come from a family that has valued always brains over beauty—well, most of the time—her insults really didn’t hurt. “You look plushy in that dress,” Caleigh said, giving me the once-over, making sure she looked better than I did. “I’m not sure that’s even a word,” I said to her, smoothing down the front of the raw-silk monstrosity she called a maid-of-honor dress. “But I’m pretty sure I know what it means.”

“It means ‘zaftig.’ ‘Curvy,’ ” she said, trying desperately to recover. I was fine with that. For me, if being the same size as Caleigh McHugh, standing before me in her size 0 wedding gown, meant giving up my beloved Blue Moons and my favorite bakery’s chocolate-chip scones as well as my own coq au vin, count me out. We were standing in the bridal suite of the historic mansion that my parents own overlooking the Hudson, where Caleigh was to marry the robotic but filthy rich Mark Chesterton in under an hour. The guy seemed nice enough, but would I have picked him for Caleigh? Not in a million years. My cousin usually went for the bad boy, the guy your mother warned you about, your older brothers keeping an eye on in case he got too close. Older brothers, as I had come to learn—as I had four of my own—were the original restraining order.

My mother, queen of the Manor, as I liked to call her, had shooed the bridal party out of the room, along with her own sister, Aunt Helen, the mother of the bride. As maid of honor, I had the pleasure of being at Caleigh’s beck and call, a role that was my birthright, apparently. I had learned long ago that letting Caleigh be the star of the show was sometimes my sole reason for being.

One last person remained in the room, Caleigh’s mother’s boyfriend, Frank, a man of few words but someone who seemed overcome by the events of the day, events that hadn’t even begun yet. “Beautiful,” he pronounced, tears filling his eyes as he clomped out of the room, his dress shoes clearly new and, from the looks of it, terribly uncomfortable.

“Caleigh, look away from the photographer, but smile,” I said. The photographer gave me a side eye; I had obviously stepped on his toes here. I had forgotten how difficult it was for Caleigh to do two things at once. But here, in the bedroom, and not in the safe confines of the kitchen where I had once spent the better part of my days bossing people around, I still fell into my old role as chief cook and bottle washer/battle-axe. “I don’t think you should look at the camera every time,” I said, even though I knew that telling Caleigh not to look at the camera was akin to saying “don’t think about pink elephants.” See? Happens every time.

“You’ve been back what? Two months? And you’re already bossing everyone around,” Caleigh said. “We know what we’re doing here.” “You do?” I asked. “Then I hope you enjoy a wedding album of photos that make you look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” I said. I looked at the photographer. “With all due respect, Jacqui,” I said to the tall, thin, African-American man with the camera. “It’s pronounced ‘Jock-quee,’ ” Caleigh whispered urgently.

Duly noted. “My cousin’s got a great smile,” I said. “Do you think we could get a couple of shots where she doesn’t look like she’s going to a funeral?” I asked. “And you are?” he asked, looking up at me from the crouch he had folded into, all the better to get a shot of Caleigh’s one physical flaw, the weak chin that melted straight into her short neck.

I held out my hand and introduced myself. “Cousin of the bride.” He accepted my hand in a limp approximation of a shake. “Maid of honor.” He had already photographed us and knew the pecking order of the bridal party so the snub was for my benefit and mine alone.

When it was clear that my suggestion for some new poses had fallen on deaf ears, I gave up and took my place by another window, looking out at the setup below, the giant tent that would accommodate the cocktail part of the reception, the artfully decorated area where Caleigh would marry Mark, he of the trust fund, summer home in Nantucket, apartment in New York, house in Bronxville, and ability to give Caleigh the life she always wanted. She had strong-armed the chef, a guy named Goran Cilic, a Croatian ex-pat who was talented but had no finesse in the kitchen and whose grumpy manner made him the bane of every other member of the staff, into making a few items for the cocktail hour that were outside his comfort zone including mini lobster tacos, something with quail eggs and yet another thing that required gold leaf as a garnish. I wish she had asked me; I could have whipped up two-hundred and fifty canapés that would have brought tears to her eyes but she hadn’t asked.

He didn’t want my help either, but he needed it, so I had shown him how to make a special chicken liver mousse recipe that Caleigh had seen on Barefoot Contessa. It took all I had not to tell him how to cut a filet properly at Caleigh’s tasting because, as my parents had told me numerous times, Goran had been known to throw more than one tantrum.

I scanned the crowd below. My four brothers were in attendance as were all of their wives, my brothers assembling with their instruments next to the platform where Caleigh would marry Mark. The boys couldn’t cook, but they could play Irish music like it was nobody’s business, a trait that had been lost on me. Arney, the oldest, played the piano accordion and Cargan the fiddle, a skill that had taken him all over the United States and the United Kingdom; he was that good. Derry was our resident drummer, and Feeney did double duty as the lead singer and guitarist. Each and every one of my brothers was a diva in his own right and many a wedding had ended with Dad breaking up a fight over their “creative differences.”

Their fights were epic. Creative differences bring about a lot of emotion apparently. I said a silent prayer that in addition to Goran’s good behavior in the kitchen we would also have a pleasant day in which my four siblings played the music, smiled for the crowd, and packed up their instruments without anyone being the wiser that Feeney had pulled a butter knife on Arney the night before at the rehearsal dinner in retaliation for Arney’s dismissal of Feeney’s suggestion that they begin their first set with “Everybody Plays the Fool.”

And people wonder why I was reluctant to come home after fifteen years away. I spied my mother and father down below, both looking serious, but probably just unhappy that Caleigh wasn’t having a Catholic nuptial Mass. Mark was a Protestant—something that my parents only said in a pointed whisper—denomination unknown, so whatever service was being held for the joining of the couple, it wouldn’t “count,” “counting” for attending Mass on Sunday being the sole reason for having a wedding after three o’clock on a Saturday. In my devout Catholic parents’ book anyway.

A handsome guy approached my father and shook his hand, my dad looking surprised to see him. No hug was exchanged, an odd thing, because my dad hugs the UPS guy when he brings my mother’s almost-daily Zappos deliveries to the house. Next to them was Caleigh’s uncle Eugene. “I didn’t know you’d invited Uncle Eugene,” I said. “He’s allowed to travel now?” I said. Caleigh let out a pointed sigh. “Of course he’s allowed to travel. He was never convicted,” she said.

News to me. Uncle Eugene was her late father’s first cousin, so technically not my uncle or blood relation but we called him “uncle” regardless. He had fled the bucolic confines of Foster’s Landing what seemed like a hundred years ago. I was little when he left, I remember that, maybe six or seven. I also remember that his abrupt departure had something to do with guns. Lots of guns. And the Irish Republican Army, which was a big deal in the eighties and whose existence was acknowledged in my house but never spoken about. Kind of like Protestants. So, how did I remember Uncle Eugene? He was hard to forget. He was as small as a man could be without being considered a little person but had hands that looked like they belonged to a much bigger man. Although I hadn’t seen him in years, he was hard to forget. He had a shock of white hair. Freckles to beat the band. And one leg.

I never did find out the reason for Uncle Eugene’s missing leg but had seen his prosthetic, something that had haunted my dreams when I was young. I remember my father taking us to Eugene’s place over in the Hadley section of the Landing and whispering feverishly to the five of us—four boys and me all crammed into a Volkswagen Vanagon—“don’t look at his leg!” As a result of that directive, Arney, on the one hand, the oldest and hence the most obedient and polite of our entire squad, spent most visits at Eugene’s with his eyes closed shut, not trusting himself to look away from the visual pull of a prosthetic foot in a sneaker, a whisper of a plastic ankle just above a short sock. Feeney, on the other hand, always asked to play with the prosthetic, a request that Uncle Eugene was thrilled to honor.

From what I knew, Eugene had been in Ireland all this time, so seeing him at the wedding was a surprise. “I don’t know why you’re surprised,” Caleigh said, adjusting her veil while looking in the mirror. “He’s staying in the Manor.” “He is?” “Yes, he arrived last night.”

That’s why I hadn’t seen him. After coming home, a broken engagement smarting like a lemon in the world’s deepest paper cut, I had stayed holed up in the apartment in the building adjacent to the Manor after the rehearsal dinner. Being at a wedding so soon after my own was supposed to take place was completely demoralizing. Caleigh read my mind. “This must be hard for you,” she said, showing uncharacteristic sensitivity.



About the author:


Maggie McConnon is the author of the Belfast McGrath mysteries, the first of which, WEDDING BEL BLUES, debuted on May 31st. The second in the series, BEL OF THE BRAWL, will publish in March of 2017. Maggie also writes a series of thrillers as Maggie Barbieri, featuring baker and secret-keeper, Maeve Conlon. Maggie lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband and two children.

http://maggiebarbieri.com/

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Author Spotlight- Amy Metz

Happy Tuesday- Today's spotlight goes to author Amy Metz. Amy is the author of the Goose Pimple Junction Mystery series.







Amy Metz is the author of the Goose Pimple Junction mystery series. She is a former first grade teacher and the mother of two sons. When not writing, enjoying her family, or surfing Pinterest, Amy can usually be found with a mixing spoon, camera, or book in one hand and a glass of sweet tea in the other. Amy lives in Louisville, Kentucky and loves a good Southern phrase.


You can find Amy here on her website: 

Monday, June 13, 2016

Blog Tour and giveaway- Rogues and Rascals by Amy Metz

Happy Monday! It's time for another fun blog tour with Amy Metz. Her newest book in the Goose Pimple Junction series was released on May 5th. Rogues and Rascals in Goose Pimple Junction is this 4th book.








Series: Goose Pimple Junction Mysteries
Paperback: 244 pages
Publisher: Blue Publications; 1 edition (May 5, 2016)
Language: English



Synopsis
Like any good Southern belle, Caledonia Culpepper was raised by her mama to be gracious, charming, witty, and above all, a devoted mother and loving wife, so she’s baffled when her marriage falls apart.

Wynona Baxter is a master of disguise but is often a ditzy airhead. A hit woman wannabe, when she’s hired for her first job in Goose Pimple Junction and things don’t go as planned, she’s forced to resort to Plan B. She’ll also need Plan C and D.

Crooked lawyers, restless husbands, a teenaged hoodlum – it seems there are rogues and rascals everywhere you look in Goose Pimple Junction.

When Caledonia and Wynona’s paths cross, they prove there isn’t a rogue or a rascal who can keep a good woman down. Mama always said there would be days like this . . .


Filled with southern charm and witty humor the newest installment of the Goose Pimple Junction series Rogues and Rascals will take you back for a fun-filled visit with a side of murder. You will be swept away with the story. The characters are so well developed you will feel like you are there with them. I enjoyed this book from the first page, fast-paced and fun you won't want to put it down.


About the Author:




Amy Metz is the author of the Goose Pimple Junction mystery series. She is a former first grade teacher and the mother of two sons. When not actively engaged in writing, enjoying her family, or surfing Facebook or Pinterest, Amy can usually be found with a mixing spoon, camera, or book in one hand and a glass of sweet tea in the other. Amy lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Author Links

Website: http://authoramymetz.com
Blog: http://abluemillionbooks.blogspot.com/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorAmyMetz
Twitter: https://twitter.com/authoramymetz
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/AmyMetz
Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Metz/e/B008NA07X4/


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Sunday, June 12, 2016

Blog Tour and giveaway- Mrs. Odboddy Hometown Patriot by Elaine Faber

It's time for another fun blog tour. I am excited to have been apart of this one. Mrs. Odboddy Hometown Patriot by Elaine Faber was released on January 15th,2016.







Series: Mrs. Odboddy Mysteries (Book 1)
Paperback: 258 pages
Publisher: Elk Grove Publications (January 15, 2016)
Language: English



Synopsis:

Since the onset of WWII, Agnes Agatha Odboddy, hometown patriot and self-appointed scourge of the underworld, suspects conspiracies around every corner…stolen ration books, German spies running amuck, and a possible Japanese invasion off the California coast. This seventy-year-old, model citizen would set the world aright if she could get Chief Waddlemucker to pay attention to the town’s nefarious deeds on any given Meatless Monday.

Mrs. Odboddy vows to bring the villains, both foreign and domestic, to justice, all while keeping chickens in her bathroom, working at the Ration Stamp Office, and knitting argyles for the boys on the front lines.

Imagine the chaos when Agnes’s long-lost WWI lover returns, hoping to find a million dollars in missing Hawaiian money and rekindle their ancient romance. In the thrilling conclusion, Agnes’s predictions become all too real when Mrs. Roosevelt unexpectedly comes to town to attend a funeral and Agnes must prove that she is, indeed, a warrior on the home front.

In Elaine Faber's brand new series Mrs.Odboddy Hometown patriot you will meet a fun and witty cast of characters, a fresh new story and enjoy hours of fast-paced humorous reading. A page-turner that will keeping you wanting more.






About the Author:
About The Author –

Elaine is a member of Sisters in Crime, Inspire Christian Writers and Cat Writers Association. She lives in No. Calif with her husband and four house cats (the inspiration for her three humorous cozy cat mysteries, Black Cat’s Legacy, Black Cat and the Lethal Lawyer, and Black Cat and the Accidental Angel).

Mrs. Odboddy’s character is based in no way on Elaine’s quirky personality. Two more Mrs. Odboddy adventures will publish in the near future. Many of Elaine’s short stories have appeared in magazines and multiple anthologies.

Webpage/blog: www.mindcandymysteries.com
Facebook, http://tinyurl.com/zm2j4n5

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Blog Tour and giveaway - The Calamity Cafe by Gayle Leeson

I am delighted to be part of Gayle Leeson's ( A.K.A. Gayle Trent) blog tour. She has a brand new series out called The Calamity Cafe (A Down South Cafe Mystery) that you will not want to miss.








Series: A Down South Café Mystery (Book 1)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: NAL (June 7, 2016)
Language: English


First in a new cozy mystery series featuring Southern cooking that is to die for.

Aspiring chef and small-town Virginia native Amy Flowers is ready to open her own café offering old-fashioned Southern food. But her dream may go up in smoke when someone kills the competition…

Tired of waiting tables at Lou’s Joint, Amy Flowers doesn’t just quit—she offers to buy the place from her bully of a boss, so she can finally open the café of her dreams. Amy can’t wait to serve the kind of Southern, down-home treats and dishes that her grandmother always loved to the kooky cast of regulars at the restaurant. She knows her comfort food will be the talk of the sweet, small town of Winter Garden, Virginia.

At first Lou Lou refuses to sell, but when she seems ready to make a deal, she tells Amy to come see her. Showing up at the eatery ready to negotiate, Amy is shocked to find her former employer murdered. As the prime suspect, Amy will have to clear her name by serving up the real killer—and with Lou Lou’s stack of enemies, that’s a tall order.

Includes delicious Southern recipes


Filled with southern charm and mouth-watering food you, you will be hooked from the start. A delightful cast of characters and a murder that will have you guessing until the end. The story line is so well written you will be deeply involved in the book. Delectable and enjoyable.



About The Author –




Gayle Leeson is a pseudonym for Gayle Trent. I also write as Amanda Lee. As Gayle Trent, I write the Daphne Martin Cake Mystery series and the Myrtle Crumb Mystery series. As Amanda Lee, I write the Embroidery Mystery series. I live in Virginia with my family, which includes her own “Angus” who is not an Irish wolfhound but a Great Pyrenees who provides plenty of inspiration for the character of Mr. O’Ruff. I’m having a blast writing this new series!

Authors Links:
Webpage – http://www.gayleleeson.com
Gayle Trent Webpage – http://www.gayletrent.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/GayleTrentandAmandaLee/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/GayleTrent
GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/426208.Gayle_Trent


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Saturday, June 11, 2016

Blog Tour and Giveaway- Tea Cups and Carnage by Lynn Cahoon

I am excited to be part of Lynn Cahoon's blog tour. Her newest book in the Tourist Trap Mystery series Tea Cups and Carnage was released on June 7th.








Tea Cups and Carnage (A Tourist Trap Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
7th in Series
Lyrical Underground (June 7, 2016)



Synopsis:

The kettle’s about to boil over . . .

The quaint coastal town of South Cove, California, is all abuzz about the opening of a new specialty shop, Tea Hee. But as Coffee, Books, and More owner Jill Gardner is about to find out, there’s nothing cozy about murder . . .

Shop owner Kathi Corbin says she came to South Cove to get away from her estranged family. But is she telling the truth? And did a sinister someone from her past follow her to South Cove? When a woman claiming to be Kathi’s sister starts making waves and a dead body is found in a local motel, Jill must step in to clear Kathi’s name—without getting herself in hot water.


This is book seven in the series and I have been a fan from the start. Fast-paced, action packed story with plot twist that keep you captivated. You will be pulled in from the first page and wanting more at the end. I enjoyed this one and look forward to what will happen next.








ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

New York Times and USA Today best-selling author, Lynn Cahoon is an Idaho native. If you’d visit the town where she grew up, you’d understand why her mysteries and romance novels focus around the depth and experience of small town life. Currently, she’s living in a small historic town on the banks of the Mississippi river where her imagination tends to wander. She lives with her husband and two fur babies.

Author Links

Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5857424.Lynn_Cahoon
Twitter – https://twitter.com/LynnCahoon
Facebook –https://www.facebook.com/LynnCahoonAuthor
Website – http://lynncahoon.com/
Amazon Author Page – http://www.amazon.com/Lynn-Cahoon/e/B0082PWOAO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1



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Friday, June 10, 2016

What's New? Toasting up Trouble by Linda Wiken

What's New? Coming to a bookstore on July 5th. Toasting Up Trouble (A Dinner Club Mystery ) by Linda Wiken.








Series: A Dinner Club Mystery
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley (July 5, 2016)
Language: English



A delicious new cozy mystery series featuring the Culinary Capers Dinner Club—who are fearless when it comes to cooking up new dishes and putting the lid on crime...

Event planner Jennifer “J.J.” Tanner has a full plate, but that’s the way she likes it. First, it’s her turn to choose the recipe for the next meeting of the Culinary Capers Dinner Club, a gathering of foodie friends who experiment with entrées for their creative and gastronomical pleasure. Second, she’s organizing an Italian princess party for the twenty-one-year-old daughter of a high-tech millionaire.

But one thing J.J. didn’t plan on is that the caterer for the event—hotshot chef Antonio Marcotti—would end up murdered the night of the party. Or that she’d end up being a prime suspect after having had a heated argument with the unscrupulous chef. Now it’s up to J.J.—with help from her fellow Club members and a handsome if mysterious private eye—to turn the tables on the real killer...


About the Author:


Linda Wiken is a former mystery bookstore owner and a short story writer. The first in her new Dinner Club Mystery series, TOASTING UP TROUBLE, debuts in July, 2016. In a parallel life writes the Ashton Corners Book Club Mysteries, as Erika Chase. She is a member of those dangerous dames, The Ladies' Killing Circle. She has been short-listed for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel, and an Arthur Ellis Award, Best Short Story, from Crime Writers of Canada. She admits to a passion for choral singing, chocolate and Siamese cats!

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Blog Tour and Giveaway- A Golden Cage by Shelley Freydont

I am thrilled to be part of Shelley Freydont's blog tour. Her newest book in the Newport Gilded Age series, A Golden Cage was released on June 7th.







Series: NEWPORT GILDED AGE
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Berkley (June 7, 2016)
Language: English




Synopsis:

The author of A Gilded Grave returns to Newport, Rhode Island, at the close of the nineteenth century, where headstrong heiress Deanna Randolph must solve another murder among the social elite.

With her mother in Europe, Deanna is staying with the Ballard family, who agree to chaperone her through the summer season and guide her toward an advantageous marriage proposal—or so her mother hopes. Relishing her new freedom, Deanna is more interested in buying one of the fashionable new bathing costumes, joining a ladies’ bicycling club, and befriending an actress named Amabelle Deeks, all of which would scandalize her mother.

Far more scandalous is the discovery of a young man bludgeoned to death on the conservatory floor at Bonheur, the Ballards’ sumptuous “cottage.” Deanna recognizes him as an actor who performed at the birthday fete for a prominent judge the night before. But why was he at Bonheur? And where is Amabelle?

Concerned her new friend may be in danger—or worse—Deanna enlists the help of her intrepid maid, Elspeth, and her former beau, Joe Ballard, to find Amabelle before the villain of this drama demands an encore.


This was a great book to read. I love the historical era and the cast of characters are becoming so well developed you feel like you know them even more.The story takes place in the nineteenth century where Deanna wants to be more her own woman. getting in to fashion and joining clubs is the life she wants. What she gets instead is a murder to help solve. It pulls you in from the first page and keeps you captivated until the very end. Those who love history and the Victorian Era will want to add this series to there list.






About the Author:

Shelley Freydont is the author of the Liv Montgomery, Celebration Bay Festival Mysteries, (Silent Knife, Trick or Deceit),the Katie McDonald Sudoku Mysteries and the Lindy Haggerty dance company mystery series. Her Newport Gilded Age Mystery seires began in June 2015 with A Gilded Grave, followed in June 2016 with A Golden Cage.

Shelley loves puzzles of all kinds and when not writing or reading mysteries, she’s most likely working on a jigsaw, Sudoku, or crossword.

As Shelley Noble, she’s the author of the women’s fiction novels, Beach Colors, Stargazey Point, and Breakwater Bay as well as several novellas.

She lives at New Jersey Shore and loves to hear from readers. www.shelleyfreydont.com www.facebook.com/ShelleyFreydont

Author Links

www.shelleyfreydont.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/ShelleyFreydont
Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Shelley-Freydont/e/B001HCUVP4


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First in Series- Miss Julia Speaks her Mind by Ann B. Ross

Happy Monday! This week's First in Series is Miss Julia Speaks her Mind by Ann B. Ross Released on August 22, 2000. Seri...