Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Book Spotlight- Death of a Pumpkin Carver by Lee Hollis

Happy Wednesday! Book Spotlight is just going to get you in the Halloween mood for sure. Death of a Pumpkin Carver (Hayley Powell Mystery) by Lee Hollis is releasing on August 30th.








Series: Hayley Powell Mystery (Book 8)
Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Kensington (August 30, 2016)
Language: English




For Hayley Powell, food and cocktails columnist for the Island Times, Halloween is all about costume parties and holiday treats—until a killer crashes the party...

This Halloween, Hayley can’t imagine a worse trick than her ex-husband Danny returning to Bar Harbor. Her kids may be happy to see their dad, but Hayley’s determined not to be taken in by his charms, and suspects he’s in financial trouble—again.

Still, the haunted holiday is about to get a whole lot scarier after Danny’s moonshine-making uncle is found lying dead next to a tombstone in a cemetery—and Danny quickly becomes the prime suspect. To prove her ex is innocent, Hayley will have to dig deep into her own bag of tricks to unmask the real culprit . . . before anyone else—including her—ends up in the graveyard...

Includes seven delectable recipes from Hayley’s kitchen!

Praise for Death of a Cupcake Queen


About the Author






Holly Simason

Holly Simason is an award winning food and cocktails columnist who worked for the Mount Desert Islander newspaper in Bar Harbor, Maine for ten years.

While working at the paper, she won her first award for her column in 2010. It was at that point her brother Rick Copp saw an opportunity. He writes mysteries and she writes recipes. Combine the two for a new book series. They would write under a pen name comprised of their middle names “Lee” and “Hollis”. And the successful Hayley Powell Food & Cocktails Mystery series was born.

Holly now resides on the Crystal Coast in North Carolina where she continues to write the popular series with her brother. She is also busy creating and testing new recipes for a future Hayley Powell cookbook.

Holly continues to visit her home town of Bar Harbor every summer where the series is set to reconnect with friends and keep her Maine roots intact.

Any similarities between her and Hayley Powell are strictly coincidental.


Rick Copp

Rick Copp is a veteran TV and Film scriptwriter whose many credits include The Golden Girls, Wings, Teen Titans, The Brady Bunch Movie, Scooby Doo, Barbershop among many others. Currently he writes, produces and stars in the hit web series Where the Bears Are.

In 2003, he wrote his first comedic murder mystery The Actor’s Guide to Murder, which was followed by two sequels. He also penned a 2007 stand alone novel Fingerprints & Facelifts and a 2010 graphic novel Celebrity Zombie Killers. Once he read his sister’s food and cocktails column, he became an instant fan of her recipes and it was his editor at Kensington Publishing who first suggested a cozy mystery series with recipes featuring an intrepid food columnist with a nose for crime solving.

Rick bounces back and forth between LA where he continues to work on TV and film projects and Palm Springs, California where he writes the Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery series.

Find out more about Lee Hollis and their books at

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Author Spotlight- Tonya Kappes

I am thrilled to be spotlighting a lovely author with southern charm. Tonya Kappes is this week's author spotlight. Tonya is the author of Spies and Spells Mystery series, Magical Cures Mystery series, Ghostly Southern Mystery series, Kenni Lowery Mystery series, Divorced Diva Mystery series, Laurel London Mystery series and the Olivia Davis Mystery series








I write both SOUTHERN ROMANCE & COZY MYSTERY.

I know it sounds crazy, but I love a good mystery and a good happily ever after. All my novels are set in small towns where humor and charm are a must. I grew up in a small town in Kentucky and cherish every memory. I want to transport my readers to my small towns where they are wrapped around in a blanket of comfort whether it's a mystery or romance. When you read one of my books my goal is to tickle your funny bone, drain your tear ducts, and steal your heart. ​



I live in Kentucky with my happily ever after husband, four grown sons and two schnauzers.



OFFICIAL BIO:




For years, USA Today bestselling author Tonya Kappes has been publishing numerous mystery and romance titles with unprecedented success. She is famous not only for her hilarious plot lines and quirky characters, but her tremendous marketing efforts that have earned her thousands of followers and a devoted street team of fans.


Find out more about Tonya Kappes and all of her books at her website: 

Monday, August 29, 2016

Book Release and Giveaway - Betting Off Dead by Tonya Kappes

Happy Monday! What better way to start the week  than with a visit from Tonya Kappes! Her second book in the Spies and Spells series Betting Off Dead releasing on August 29th.








It's all about the Kentucky Derby and those fabulous hats the you see every year! Do you watch it and Do you wear a hat for the occasion? What is your favorite thing about the Derby?


Tonya is having a party tonight on her party page over at Facebook, she always brings the fun and there will be prizes too. head over there tonight at 7pm and tomorrow night at 9pm for a chance to have some great fun.

Follow this link and you won't miss it.

https://www.facebook.com/events/923171104495811/





Series: Spies and Spells
Paperback: 182 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (August 3, 2016)
Language: English






Betting Off Dead And they're off! Gambling on horse racing is Kentucky's number one sport but when Kentucky Derby Thoroughbred picked to win the Derby, Rails and Nails, ends up poisoned, SKUL special agent Mick Jasper and rookie witch Maggie Park, who keeps her witch powers a secret, are called in to investigate a world of illegal gambling where a run for the roses can prove to be deadly.


About the Author:





Tonya has written over 20 novels and 4 novellas, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists including USA Today. Best known for stories charged with emotion and humor, and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband and a teenage boy (her other three boys have spread their wings in college) and two very spoiled schnauzers in Kentucky.


Click the giveaway link for a chance to win a great prize:

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/NTVkZjZlZTZjY2ZmY2M4MTdmOGIyNTkzNmIxZWE1OjE2/?





Find out more about Tonya Kappes at her website:

http://www.tonyakappes.com/


First in Series- Spies and Spells by Tonya Kappes

Happy Monday! This week's First in series is filled with Magic and Charm. Spies and Spells by Tonya Kappes was released on March 21st.








Series: Spies and Spells
Paperback: 246 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (March 21, 2016)
Language: English






SPIES AND SPELLS, the first in this highly anticipated new series from USA TODAY Bestseller Tonya Kappes because we know she's a queen at writing paranormal mystery witch series, is here! Spies and Spells Spies and Spells Book 1 While Maggie waits for her Witchy Hour, she works at the family diner with her mom, aunt Meme and Lilith, her sister - all witches. Soon Maggie gets entangled with a mysterious handsome stranger, Mick Jasper, and his secret U.S. organization, SKUL. Has she found her calling?



About the Author:




Tonya Kappes has written more than fifteen novels and four novellas, all of which have graced numerous bestseller lists, including USA Today. Best known for stories charged with emotion and humor and filled with flawed characters, her novels have garnered reader praise and glowing critical reviews. She lives with her husband, two very spoiled schnauzers, and one ex-stray cat in northern Kentucky. Now that her boys are teenagers, Tonya writes full-time but can be found at all of her guys' high-school games with a pencil and paper in hand. Come on over and FAN Tonya on Goodreads.


Find out more about Tonya and her books at her website:

Sunday, August 28, 2016

Weekly Wrap Up # 35

Happy Sunday! We had a fun week. Here is a recap:








August 22nd- First in Series - The Cat, The Quilt and The Corpse by Leann Sweeney
August 23rd- Author Spotlight- Leann Sweeney
August 24th- Book Spotlight- Die Like an Eagle by Donna Andrews
August 25th- Book Spotlight and review- Wedding Bell Blues by Ruth Moose
August 26th- What's New? Cancelled for Murder by Jean FLowers
August 27th- Non-Cozy Mystery - A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny



Coming this week:



August 29th- Book Spotlight- Betting Off Dead by Tonya Kappes
August 29th- First in Series- Spies and Spells by Tonya Kappes
August 30- Author Spotlight- Tonya Kappes
August 31st- Book Spotlight- Death of a Pumpkin Carver by Lee Hollis
September 1st Book Spotlight- A Catered Tea Party by Isis Crawford
September 2nd -Book Spotlight and giveaway Pumpkins in Paradise by Kathi Daley
September 2nd- After the Funeral by Sophie Hannah - Podcast Post
September 3rd- Blog Tour- A Story to Kill by Lynn Cahoon


Hope you have a great week!

Saturday, August 27, 2016

Non- Cozy Mystery- A Great Reckoning by Louise Penny

Happy Saturday! Hope the start of your weekend is a good one. This week's Non-Cozy is The Great Reckoning(Chief Inspector Gamache Novel) by Louise Penny. Releasing on August 30th. Are you a fan of this series?








Series: Chief Inspector Gamache Novel (Book 12)
Hardcover: 400 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books (August 30, 2016)
Language: English



When an intricate old map is found stuffed into the walls of the bistro in Three Pines, it at first seems no more than a curiosity. But the closer the villagers look, the stranger it becomes. Given to Armand Gamache as a gift the first day of his new job, the map eventually leads him to shattering secrets. To an old friend and older adversary. It leads the former Chief of Homicide for the Sûreté du Québec to places even he is afraid to go. But must.

And there he finds four young cadets in the Sûreté academy, and a dead professor. And, with the body, a copy of the old, odd map.

Everywhere Gamache turns, he sees Amelia Choquet, one of the cadets. Tattooed and pierced. Guarded and angry. Amelia is more likely to be found on the other side of a police line-up. And yet she is in the academy. A protégée of the murdered professor.

The focus of the investigation soon turns to Gamache himself and his mysterious relationship with Amelia, and his possible involvement in the crime. The frantic search for answers takes the investigators back to Three Pines and a stained glass window with its own horrific secrets.

For both Amelia Choquet and Armand Gamache, the time has come for a great reckoning.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Louise Penny pulls back the layers to reveal a brilliant and emotionally powerful truth in her latest spellbinding novel.


About the author





I live outside a small village south of Montreal, quite close to the American border. My husband Michael and I have a golden retriever named Trudy. Until recently we also had Maggie - who limped around the pond on three legs, and Seamus, who we found wandering sick on the road. He was in terrible condition and had apparently spent most of his life tied up in a barn. But despite this a moment didn't go by when he wasn't gentle and kind and grateful. And for two years we poured love into him, and food and medicine. He loved stuffed toys and Trudy, who looks a little like a stuffed toy. Actually, so does Michael. Seamus loved him too.

But eventually his body gave out. He was still bright-eyed, still kissed us, still managed a thump with his tail. But he couldn't go on. And so the old wanderer made his last trip to the vet, and after the injection his heart stopped. But as Gamache describes in A FATAL GRACE/DEAD COLD about putting his own dog, Sonny down. He had the impression his heart didn't so much stop as that Sonny had finally given it all away. So too with Seamus.

Years of abuse, of neglect, of sorrow. And still Seamus had love to give. Michael and I have become dedicated supporters of the SPCA and the no-kill shelter near us. We encourage you too as well, though we suspect most of you already support the SPCA, or your local equivalent. Click here if you wish to visit the SPCA Monteregie website.

I'd like to tell you a little bit about myself. I was born in Toronto in 1958 and became a journalist and radio host with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, specializing in hard news and current affairs. My first job was in Toronto and then moved to Thunder Bay at the far tip of Lake Superior, in Ontario. It was a great place to learn the art and craft of radio and interviewing, and listening. That was the key. A good interviewer rarely speaks, she listens. Closely and carefully. I think the same is true of writers.

From Thunder Bay I moved to Winnipeg to produce documentaries and host the CBC afternoon show. It was a hugely creative time with amazingly creative people. But I decided I needed to host a morning show, and so accepted a job in Quebec City. The advantage of a morning show is that it has the largest audience, the disadvantage is having to rise at 4am.

But Quebec City offered other advantages that far outweighed the ungodly hour. It's staggeringly beautiful and almost totally French and I wanted to learn. Within weeks I'd called Quebecers 'good pumpkins', ordered flaming mice in a restaurant, for dessert naturally, and asked a taxi driver to 'take me to the war, please.' He turned around and asked 'Which war exactly, Madame?' Fortunately elegant and venerable Quebec City has a very tolerant and gentle nature and simply smiled at me.

From there the job took me to Montreal, where I ended my career on CBC Radio's noon programme.

In my mid-thirties the most remarkable thing happened. I fell in love with Michael, the head of hematology at the Montreal Children's Hospital. He'd go on to hold the first named chair in pediatric hematology in Canada, something I take full credit for, out of his hearing.

It's an amazing and blessed thing to find love later in life. It was my first marriage and his second. He'd lost his first wife to cancer a few years earlier and that had just about killed him. Sad and grieving we met and began a gentle and tentative courtship, both of us slightly fearful, but overcome with the rightness of it. And overcome with gratitude that this should happen to us and deeply grateful to the family and friends who supported us.

Fifteen years later we live in an old United Empire Loyalist brick home in the country, surrounded by maple woods and mountains and smelly dogs.

Since I was a child I've dreamed of writing and now I am. Beyond my wildest dreams (and I can dream pretty wild) the Chief Inspector Gamache books have found a world-wide audience, won awards and ended up on bestseller lists including the New York Times. Even more satisfying, I have found a group of friends in the writing community. Other authors, booksellers, readers - who have become important parts of our lives. I thought writing might provide me with an income - I had no idea the real riches were more precious but less substantial. Friendships.

There are times when I'm in tears writing. Not because I'm so moved by my own writing, but out of gratitude that I get to do this. In my life as a journalist I covered deaths and accidents and horrible events, as well as the quieter disasters of despair and poverty. Now, every morning I go to my office, put the coffee on, fire up the computer and visit my imaginary friends, Gamache and Beauvoir and Clara and Peter. What a privilege it is to write. I hope you enjoy reading the books as much as I enjoy writing them.

Chief Inspector Gamache was inspired by a number of people, and one main inspiration was this man holding a copy of En plein coeur. Jean Gamache, a tailor in Granby. He looks slightly as I picture Gamache, but mostly it was his courtesy and dignity and kind eyes that really caught my imagination. What a pleasure to be able to give him a copy of En plein coeur!



Find out more about Louise Penny at her website.

Friday, August 26, 2016

Blog Tour and giveaway- Terror in Taffeta by Marla Cooper

I am excited to be part of Marla Cooper's blog tour. Her Debut  book Terror in Taffeta was released in March.Welcome Marla, I enjoyed this book.








Hardcover: 288 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books (March 22, 2016)
Language: English


Wedding planner Kelsey McKenna is just a few hours away from wrapping up her latest job: a destination wedding in the charming, colonial Mexican town of San Miguel de Allende. The reception is all set up, the tequila donkey is waiting outside, and the bride and groom are standing on the altar, pledging their eternal love. But just as the priest is about to pronounce them husband and wife, one of the bridesmaids upstages the couple by collapsing into a floral arrangement, a definite wedding “don’t.” Kelsey soon discovers that the girl hasn’t just fainted–she’s dead.


Losing a bridesmaid is bad enough, but when the bride’s sister is arrested for murder, the demanding mother of the bride insists that Kelsey fix the matter at once. And although Kelsey is pretty sure investigating a murder isn’t in her contract, crossing the well-connected Mrs. Abernathy could be a career-killer. Before she can leave Mexico and get back to planning weddings, Kelsey must deal with stubborn detectives, a rekindled romance, and late-night death threats in this smart, funny cozy mystery debut.


This is the debut book for the author and it was a fun, fresh new cast of characters and the story kept you wanting more. Wedding are always a fun time but when you add a murder things heat up and Kelsey McKenna gets a little more on her plate than wedding planner. With the death of a brides maid the wedding comes to a halt and the suspect list is long. I am looking forward to the next on in the series.






About the Author:


As a freelance writer, MARLA COOPER has written all sorts of things, from advertising copy to travel guidebooks to the occasional haiku. But it was while ghostwriting a nonfiction guide to destination weddings that she found inspiration for her current series starring destination wedding planner Kelsey McKenna. Originally hailing from Texas, Marla lives in Oakland, California, with her husband and her polydactyl tuxedo cat.


Author Links
Webpage – www.marla-cooper.com
Blog: www.chicksonthecase.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Marla.Cooper.Author/




a Rafflecopter giveaway

What's New? Cancelled by Murder by Jean Flowers

Happy Friday! What's New? Coming September 6th to book stores and e-readers near you. Cancelled by Murder (A Postmistress Mystery series) by Jean Flowers.(a.k.a.Camille Minichino)








Series: A Postmistress Mystery (Book 2)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley (September 6, 2016)
Language: English




Second in the Postmistress Mystery series by Jean Flowers, following Death Takes Priority...

“MAKE THIS MYSTERY SERIES YOUR PRIORITY.”—Janet Cantrell, national bestselling author of the Fat Cat mysteries

Cassie Miller returned to her sleepy hometown in the Berkshires to start over as the new postmistress. But she soon finds that dead letters are nothing compared to murder victims...

With a massive storm about to hit North Ashcot, Massachusetts, threatening floods and widespread wind damage, Cassie is forced to close up the post office along with the rest of the local business owners and residents, who are battening down the hatches and bracing themselves for the worst.

Although the storm proves not to be as bad as predicted, fabric shop owner Daisy Harmon is found dead, seemingly killed by a fallen branch. But the police quickly determine that her death had nothing to do with foul weather and everything to do with foul play. After Daisy’s widowed husband approaches her to help solve his wife’s murder, Cassie vows to find the killer before another innocent victim is taken by storm.







About the Author
Jean Flowers is the pseudonym for a long time mystery writer who has published series with Berkley and Minotaur. Her first book in the Postmistress Mystery series is Death Takes Priority.



Find out more about Jean Flowers at her website:

http://www.minichino.com/index.html

Thursday, August 25, 2016

Book Spotlight and review - Wedding Bell Blues by Ruth Moose

Happy Thursday readers. I am so glad you stopped by today! This week's spotlight was a fun read. Wedding Bell Blues ( A Dixie Dew Mystery series) by Ruth Moose.








Series: A Beth McKenzie Mystery (Book 2)
Hardcover: 336 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books (August 23, 2016)
Language: English



Beth McKenzie, owner of the Dixie Dew Bed and Breakfast, is enjoying an exciting affair with her new love, Scott. Meanwhile, the town of Littleboro, North Carolina is abuzz with gossip about Crazy Reba's upcoming nuptials. Most brides go crazy at some point, but Littleboro's resident homeless lady has had a head start: she's beloved, indulged, and most of all, eccentric. But at almost 60―or thereabouts―her marriage seems a little peculiar. Sure, she's sporting a diamond big enough to choke a horse, but no one can tell if it's real, or just a Cracker Jack prize she pilfered from a yard sale.

Crazy Reba's wedding plans go confirmedly awry when the bride-to-be is arrested for her fiancé's murder. Beth, determined to clear Reba's name, gets in over her head when a lady wrestler who threatened to kill her books a room at the Dixie Dew, and Robert Redford, her neighbor's white rabbit, disappears.

Then Littleboro's First Annual Green Bean Festival gets up and running, a famous food writer becomes deathly ill, and Beth must battle through madcap mayhem to apprehend the culprit and save the day.

Wedding Bell Blues is Ruth Moose's sequel to her winning debut, featuring her colorful array of characters and more laughs and hilarity.


This was such a fun book to read, the characters are witty and bring enough humor to make you Laugh out Loud. The story line was entertaining and held my interest from the first page to the very last. I look froward to what Beth and her friends will get themselves into next.



About the Author:



Ruth Moose’s first novel, Doing it at the Dixie Dew, won the 2013 Minotaur Books/Malice Domestic Best First Traditional Mystery Novel Award, published by St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, May 2014. She was on the Creative Writing faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill for 15 years. She’s published three collections of short stories, The Wreath Ribbon Quilt, Dreaming in Color and Neighbors and Other Strangers with individual stories in The Atlantic, Alaska Quarterly Review, North American Review, Southern California Review and other places including publications in Holland, South Africa, England and Denmark. Moose has published six collections of poetry, most recently, The Librarian and Other Poems and Tea. She’s received, among other awards for poetry and short story, a MacDowell Fellowship and a prestigious Chapman Fellowship for Teaching. She lives in Pittsboro, NC.


Find out more about Ruth Moose and her books at her website:

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Book Spotlight- Die Like an Eagle by Donna Andrews

Happy Wednesday! This week's book spotlight is Die Like an Eagle by Donna Andrews. This is book twenty of the Meg Langslow Mystery series.








Series: Meg Langslow Mysteries (Book 20)
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books (August 2, 2016)
Language: English



The brilliantly funny Donna Andrews delivers another winner in the acclaimed avian-themed series that mystery readers have come to love. The nineteenth book in her New York Times best-selling series continues to surprise and delight in this next knee-slapping adventure featuring Meg Langslow and all the eccentric characters that make up her world.

Meg is Team Mom and Michael is coach of their twin sons' youth baseball team, the Caerphilly Eagles. Meg tangles with Biff Brown, the petty, vindictive league head. On opening day, Biff's lookalike brother is found dead in the porta-potty at the ball field. So many people think Biff's scum that it would be easy to blame him, but he has an alibi--and Meg suspects he may actually have been the intended victim.

With Die Like an Eagle, readers can look forward to another zany Meg Langslow mystery--this one filled with the spirit of America's pastime and Donna's eagle eye.

Like Meg Langslow, the blacksmith heroine of her series, Donna Andrews was born and raised in Yorktown, Virginia. She introduced Meg to readers in her Malice Domestic Contest-winning first mystery, Murder with Peacocks, and readers are still laughing. This novel swept up the Agatha, Anthony, Barry, and a Romantic Times award for best first novel, and a Lefty for funniest mystery.



About the Author:





Donna Andrews was born in Yorktown, Virginia, the setting of Murder with Peacocks and Revenge of the Wrought Iron Flamingos, and now lives and works in Reston, Virginia. When not writing fiction, Andrews is a self-confessed nerd, rarely found away from her computer, unless she's messing in the garden. She is a member of
Sisters in Crime
(Chesapeake Chapter
Mystery Writers of America
(Mid-Atlantic chapter),
Private Investigators and Security Association



Find out more about Donna and her books at her website:

http://www.donnaandrews.com/


Tuesday, August 23, 2016

Author Spotlight- Leann Sweeney

I am thrilled to be spotlighting the lovely Leann Sweeney. Leann is the author of The Cats in Trouble series as well as the Yellow Rose Mystery series. If you haven't tried her books you will not want to miss them The are fantastic and fun.








Leann Sweeney was born and raised in Niagara Falls and educated at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Lemoyne College in Syracuse, NY. She also has a degree from the University of Houston in behavioral science and worked for many years in psychiatry and as a school nurse; she now writes full time.

She began crafting fiction in 1980, fulfilling her lifelong dream. After perfecting her skills with classes and a small fortune in writing books, she joined MWA and Sisters in Crime. Now she’s the creator of two NAL/Obsidian mystery series: The Yellow Rose Mysteries and the Cats in Trouble Mysteries. The Cat, The Quilt and The Corpse, first in the Cats in Trouble Mysteries was the #1 bestseller on the Independent Mystery Bookseller’s List when it debuted and made several top twenty lists for 2009 at bookstores across the country. Since then, The Cat, The Lady and The Liar and The Cat, The Wife and The Weapon climbed all the way to the NY Times bestseller list for mass market paperbacks.

Leann is married with two fabulous grown children, a wonderful son-in-law and a beautiful daughter-in-law–not to mention three amazing granddaughters: Maddison Grace (Maddie), Morgan Elizabeth and Meika Elise. She lived in Texas from 1974 to 2012 and now lives in South Carolina with husband Mike, her two cats Wexford and Marlowe, and Rosie–the smart, retrieving, golf-ball chasing, busy-busy-busy mini-labradoodle.



The Cats in Trouble Cast–all Hurricane Katrina rescues:

Merlot is a red tabby Maine coon cat who weighs almost twenty pounds: Ninja protector cat!

Syrah is a sorrel (with chocolate ticking) Abyssinian: Jillian Hart’s top cat–quiet, smart, and can even open doors.

Chablis is a sable point Himalayan with crystal blue eyes: Loving and a little clueless, but a great mouser; always wants to be on Jillian’s lap. 

Monday, August 22, 2016

First in Series- The Cat, The Quilt and The Corpse by Leann Sweeney

Happy Monday! This week's First in Series is The Cat, The Quilt and The Corpse (A Cat in Trouble Series) by Leann Sweeney. If you haven't read this one you will want to add it to your reading list. The covers are so adorable and the story is captivating and fun. The cast of characters keep you wanting more.








Series: Cats in Trouble Mystery (Book 1)
Mass Market Paperback: 278 pages
Publisher: New American Library; 1st edition (May 5, 2009)
Language: English



Recently widowed Jillian Hart is rebuilding a life for herself and her three beloved cats–Chablis, Syrah and Merlot–as a quilter in a small South Carolina town. The quilts she makes are for cats as smart, special, and sweet as her own, and business is thriving.

But when she returns from an overnight quilting show, she discovers Chablis sneezing–and since Chablis is allergic to humans, that can only mean one thing: Someone has broken into her house. When she realizes her Abyssinian Syrah is missing, Jillian suspects catnapping.

Spurred by Chablis and Merlot’s mournful meowing, she investigates–and discovers more missing cats and a murder. Now she’s got to save more than one cat in trouble–not to mention herself.



About the Author:



Leann Sweeney was born and raised in Niagara Falls and educated at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Lemoyne College in Syracuse, NY. She also has a degree from the University of Houston in behavioral science and worked for many years in psychiatry and as a school nurse; she now writes full time.

She began crafting fiction in 1980, fulfilling her lifelong dream. After perfecting her skills with classes and a small fortune in writing books, she joined MWA and Sisters in Crime. Now she’s the creator of two NAL/Obsidian mystery series: The Yellow Rose Mysteries and the Cats in Trouble Mysteries. The Cat, The Quilt and The Corpse, first in the Cats in Trouble Mysteries was the #1 bestseller on the Independent Mystery Bookseller’s List when it debuted and made several top twenty lists for 2009 at bookstores across the country. Since then, The Cat, The Lady and The Liar and The Cat, The Wife and The Weapon climbed all the way to the NY Times bestseller list for mass market paperbacks.

Leann is married with two fabulous grown children, a wonderful son-in-law and a beautiful daughter-in-law–not to mention three amazing granddaughters: Maddison Grace (Maddie), Morgan Elizabeth and Meika Elise. She lived in Texas from 1974 to 2012 and now lives in South Carolina with husband Mike, her two cats Wexford and Marlowe, and Rosie–the smart, retrieving, golf-ball chasing, busy-busy-busy mini-labradoodle.


Find out more about Leann and all of her books over at her website: 

Sunday, August 21, 2016

Weekly Wrap Up # 34

Happy Sunday!! Hope you all had a wonderful week. This week was filled with fun and giveaways here with many more to come. Here is a recap:






August 15th- First in Series - Death by Cashmere by Sally Goldenbaum
August 16th- Author Spotlight- Sally Goldenbaum
August 17th- Guess the Mystery and Giveaway hosted by Linda Reilly
August 18th- Book Spotlight and giveaway- Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanne Fluke
August 19th- Blog Tour- Murder in the Mansion by Janet Finsilver
August 20th- Non- Cozy- Mystery- Sins of My Youth by Mary Anne Edwards



Coming this week:



August 22nd- First in Series - The Cat, The Quilt and The Corpse by Leann Sweeney
August 23rd- Author Spotlight- Leann Sweeney
August 24th- Book Spotlight- Die Like an Eagle by Donna Andrews
August 25th- Book Spotlight and review- Wedding Bell Blues by Ruth Moose
August 26th- What's New? Cancelled for Murder by Jean FLowers
August 27th- Non-Cozy Mystery


Have a great week.

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Non-Cozy Mystery and Giveaway - Sins of my Youth by Mary Anne Edwards

I am thrilled to be featuring Mary Anne Edwards newest book Sins of My Youth. Book 4 in the Charlie McClung Mystery Series. Leave a comment and email and on Lucky reader will receive an e-copy of Sins of My Youth.








Series: The Charlie McClung Mysteries
Paperback: 280 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform; 1 edition (May 10, 2016)
Language: English




Secrets, lies, and revenge. What a deadly combination! When the owner of a local strip club is found with his throat slit, Detective Charlie McClung has only one obvious suspect: his wife’s best friend, Joan. Even though Charlie finds her clutching a bloody knife while standing over the body, he has been around long enough to know that crime scenes aren’t always as they first appear. But as other suspects become victims themselves, Charlie must delve deeper into Joan’s dark and seedy past to prove her innocence.




About the Author







Many, many years ago, in Mercedes, Texas, Dr. Edwards delivered a chubby little baby girl, that would be me. Then five years later, my family, including me, moved to Georgia. After searching for a practically perfect man for seventeen years, I found him. His last name, Edwards. Thirty-five plus years later we are still happily married. My life has been filled with a variety of experiences. Some were great and some, well let's just say I have learned many lessons the hard way. I can thankfully say that I'm a breast cancer survivor.

I am active in Sisters in Crime Atlanta Chapter, and I sit on the advisory board of Rockdale Cares, Inc., a non-profit advocacy group for the developmentally challenged.

I began writing in high school but not seriously until 1999. I write traditional mysteries and my biggest influences are Agatha Christie, Anne Perry, Caroline Graham, Elizabeth Peters, and my family.

"Brilliant Disguise" is the first book in the Detective Charlie McClung Mysteries. Its cover received an Honorable Mention in the 2015 InD'tale Magazine Rone Cover Awards in the suspense category.

The second book, "A Good Girl," was released September 23, 2014. It was voted one of the top 50 Indie Books 2014 by Readfree.ly.com. It was a finalist in the 2015 Tybee Island Book Awards.

"A Criminal Kind" was released June 30, 2015. It was voted one of the top 50 Indie Books of 2015 by Readfree.ly.com.

"Sins of My Youth" was released on May 27, 2016. It was voted one of The Top 50 Self-Published Books Worth Reading 2016. There are five more to follow in the series. I hope you enjoy reading my books.

Please visit my website, www.maryanneedwards.com, and send me note. I love hearing from you. Please don't forget to leave a review. Thank you to all of my readers.


Friday, August 19, 2016

Blog Tour- Murder at the Mansion by Janet Finsilver

Happy Friday! I am delighted to be part of this blog tour. Murder at the Mansion by Janet Finsilver was released on June 7th. It was a fun read.







Paperback: 190 pages
Publisher: Lyrical Underground (June 7, 2016)
Language: English



Fortunes, fineries, and foul play . . .

It’s whale-watching season in Redwood Cove, and B&B manager Kelly Jackson’s battening down the hatches for the tourist rush at Redwood Heights—a Victorian-style estate owned by her boss. And due to recent jewelry thefts, her duties include keeping track of the many dust-covered artifacts spread throughout the property. But when Kelly finds Sylvia Porter’s lifeless body, menial tasks don’t seem so terrible. Enlisting the help of a ragtag group of brainy retirees, aka the “Silver Sentinels,” Kelly’s on the hunt for clues hidden behind the mansion’s glamorous façade. . .and for a killer who may want to make history of her next!


This is the second book in the series and it keeps getting better. The author paints a picture so well done you get pulled in from the first page. The cast of characters have grown and the story is a fun read. You will be hooked on this series.



About the Author:





Janet Finsilver is the USA TODAY best-selling author of the Kelly Jackson mystery series. She worked in education for many years as a teacher, a program administrator, and a workshop presenter. Janet majored in English and earned a Master’s Degree in Education. She loves animals and has two dogs–Kylie and Ellie. Janet has ridden western style since she was a child and was a member of the National Ski Patrol. One of the highlights of her life was touching whales in the San Ignacio Lagoon. MURDER AT REDWOOD COVE, her debut mystery, was released on October 13, 2015. Her second book, MURDER AT THE MANSION, was released on June 7, 2016.


Author Links
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/janetfinsilverauthor/?fref=ts
Twitter – https://twitter.com/JanetFinsilver
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/janetfinsilver/
Web – http://janetfinsilver.com/



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Book Spotlight - Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanne Fluke

I know Christmas is still a few months away but today's spotlight is all decked out and ready to spread some Christmas cheer, oh yeah and there will be a murder too. Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanne Fluke will be releasing on Sept 27th. and if you leave a comment and email,you will be entered in for a chance to win a kindle copy of this book. What is your most favorite thing about Christmas?







Print Length: 204 pages
Publisher: Kensington (September 27, 2016)
Publication Date: September 27, 2016
Sold by: Penguin Random House Publisher Services
Language: English



Christmas normally descends on Lake Eden, Minnesota, as gently as reindeer alighting on a rooftop—but this yuletide season the only thing coming down Hannah Swensen’s chimney is a case of murder . . .

The holidays have arrived, and Hannah and her good pal Lisa have agreed to provide all the goodies for the town’s annual production of A Christmas Carol. But before anyone can say “Bah, humbug!” a Santa-sized sackful of trouble ensues. Like the fact that Lisa’s husband will be playing Mr. Claus to his ex-girlfriend Phyllis Bates’ Mrs. Claus. Or that before the curtains even go up Phyllis is found dead in the snow—wearing a costume that the real Mrs. Claus would put on the naughty list. Soon after the suspects pile up faster than snowdrifts in a blizzard, while a merry murderer remains on the loose. With clues even harder to find, it might take a visit from ghosts of Christmas past to wrap up this mystery in time for the holidays . . .

Includes a Dozen Holiday Recipes from The Cookie Jar!






JOANNE FLUKE is the "New York Times" bestselling author of the Hannah Swensen mysteries, which include "Double Fudge Brownie Murder, Blackberry Pie Murder," "Cinnamon Roll Murder," and the book that started it all, "Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder." That first installment in the series premiered as "Murder, She Baked: A Chocolate Chip Cookie Mystery" on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel. Like Hannah Swensen, Joanne Fluke was born and raised in a small town in rural Minnesota, but now lives in Southern California.


Please visit her online at www.JoanneFluke.com."


Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Book Trivia hosted by Linda Reilly

I am so thrilled to have Linda Reilly visiting today. She has a great book series out and you have a chance to win one of her books. So leave the answers and your email in the comments and a winner will be chosen on Saturday. Good Luck!







Hello, and a big thank you to Shelley Giusti for inviting me to engage in a little book trivia with you today!

I’m Linda Reilly, author of the Deep Fried cozy mystery series (www.lindasreilly.com). For this trivia contest I’ve posed five questions, four of which are multiple choice. The commenter who gets the most correct answers will be the winner. In the event of multiple winners, I will ask Shelley to choose. The giveaway will be a signed copy of either Fillet of Murder or Out of the Dying Pan (winner’s choice).
The following excerpt is from which of the Deep Fried cozy mysteries?

Ria’s azure eyes hardened into twin glaciers. She turned to Kelsey and snapped, “Haven’t you put those things away yet? This is the holiday season, remember? People are going to want to buy, and they can’t buy if we don’t display the goods.”

Yikes, Talia thought. Someone’s having a bad day.

Kelsey blinked. “Sorry,” she murmured, sliding her gaze sideways. “I’ll have it done in a jif.”

Feeling about as welcome as a hailstorm, Talia moved toward the door. “I can see I’m interrupting. I’ll stop back another time. Your shop looks beautiful, by the way.”

Talia rushed back to her eatery, the sting of Ria’s rebuff sharp in her mind. What was that about anyway? Before today she’d never even met the woman!

1. The Wrensdale Arcade, the cozy shopping plaza that is the setting for the Deep Fried series, is located in the region of Massachusetts known as what?

A. The Springs
B. Hilly Point
C. The Berkshires


2. Which of these best describes Talia’s cat, Bojangles (“Bo”)?
A.Calico
B. Tuxedo
C. Siamese


4. In the series, Talia reconnects with a sweet guy she knew from her high school days. What is his name?

A. Matt Collins
B. Ryan Collins
C. Josh Parker


5. What is the name of the local market in the Deep Fried series?
A. Benny’s Superette
B. Queenie’s Variety
C.Peggy’s Pumpkin Patch






About the author:


Raised in a sleepy town in the Berkshires, Linda Reilly has spent the bulk of her career in the field of real estate closings and title examination. It wasn’t until 1995 that her first short mystery, Out of Luck, was accepted for publication by Woman’s World Magazine. Since then she’s had over forty short stories published, including a sprinkling of romances. In 2013 Five Star Publishing released her first full-length mystery, Some Enchanted Murder. Her first mystery in the Deep Fried series, a cozy featuring fry cook Talia Marby, was released by Berkley Prime Crime in May 2015.

Linda lives in New Hampshire with her husband, who affectionately calls her “Nose-in-a-book.”


Found out more about Linda and her books at her webiste: 

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Author Spotlight- Sally Goldenbaum

Happy Tuesday! This week's author spotlight goes out to the lovely Sally Goldenbaum. Sally is the author of the Seaside Knitters Mystery Series.








The Long...

Life.....It's been a meandering, interesting journey that began in Manitowoc, WI, a town on the shores of Lake Michigan. There my father built ships, my mother stayed home, and my sisters, brother and I lived an easy small-town life. After high school, I moved to St. Louis (college); then Bloomington, IN (graduate school); and several other places along the way to where I am now. Jobs included working in public television (with Mr. Rogers and his neighborhood just down the hall); teaching Latin, creative writing, and philosophy; and very early along that journey, living in St. Louis as a Catholic nun. A checkered past, of sorts.


After marrying a nice Jewish man whom I met in graduate school (my mother always said she had named me Sarah for a reason), a job brought us to a small town (Prairie Village), attached to a big city (Kansas City) and the home we still live in.

And it was here that my writing life took root.

The seeds to writing a novel—-or rather 'finishing' a novel—were planted in a sandbox in a park, not far from our Prairie Village home. It was there I met another newcomer to the area, Adrienne Staff, a woman who would become a life-long friend. While our children played together in the sand that day, I learned that not only was Adrienne as hungry for friendship as I was, but both of us loved to read and write and had drawers filled with unfinished novels. In no time at all we decided that perhaps the key to finishing a novel (at least, in our case) was to write a book together. A match made in heaven--a nice Jewish girl from New York and an ex-nun--certainly a pair with diverse experiences to spare! We'd hold one another to the task and we would complete a book and rid ourselves of the awful unfinished novel curse.

And so we did. Soon after finishing our first book, we found our wonderful agent, Andrea Cirillo, and went on to publish a dozen or more novels together.

Years later friendship again played a huge role in my publishing life—this time in the person of Nancy Pickard (The Scent of Rain and Lightning author), who invited me to help her with a mystery she was working on. Nancy turned a blind eye to the fact that I had never written a mystery—and together we sat and drank coffee and talked and wrote and rewrote, examined red herrings and twists and turns, and talked some more. And we finished the mystery.

After that, I was hooked! Now not only had I always loved to read mysteries, now I loved to write them, too. How fortunate I was to have learned from a pro—and then to have lucked into my first mystery series, The Queen Bees Quilters mysteries.

Three mysteries later, my life took another turn: my first grandchild! And along with baby Luke was born a new mystery series, The Seaside Knitters mysteries. (Grandchildren....knitting....it was meant to be.) Luke's parents live in a charming seaside town on Cape Ann, just north of Boston. A perfect place for a mystery series. And a perfect place for the series' author to visit OFTEN—to research plots, check out life on the dock, eat lobster—and to watch Luke, his sister Ruby, and his baby brother Dax grow and thrive.

And more grandchildren followed right here in Kansas City (now in Decatur, GA). Atti, Julian, and Sebastian. All together there are now six amazing little people who fill our lives and hearts and keep me writing mysteries.

It's a good life.



Find out more about Sally and all of her fantastic books over at her website. 

Monday, August 15, 2016

First in a Series- Death by Cashmere by Sally Goldenbaum

Happy Monday! I love series that are about knitting and this week's First is just that. Death by Cashmere (A Seaside knitters mystery series) by Sally Goldenbaum.








Series: Seaside Knitters Mystery (Book 1)
Paperback: 307 pages
Publisher: Obsidian (April 7, 2009)
Language: English



Readers can't help but get entangled in this USA Today bestselling series.

Now in trade paperback-the new mystery series that spins a yarn about knitters and murder in a seaside village.

Not long after Isabel "Izzy" Chambers opens up a knitting shop in the sleepy fishing town of Sea Harbor, Massachusetts, a diverse group of women begins congregating each week to form the Seaside Knitters.

Izzy raises some eyebrows when she rents the apartment above her shop to Angie Archer, whose reputation for loose behavior and a quick temper has made her unpopular with many locals. But could any of them have wanted her dead? Angie's body is discovered drowned in the harbor, her long red hair tangled like seaweed in a lobster trap.

An official investigation rules the death an accident. There are speculations of too many whiskey sours, a slippery wharf, a dark night...But Izzy and the Seaside Knitters smell something fishy. When several strange incidents occur above the shop, the women decide to take matters into their own hands. But before long, their small-town sense of security is frayed, and the threat of more violence hangs over this tightly knit community...


About the Author:




Sally Goldenbaum was born on the shores of Lake Michigan, in Manitowoc, WI, to a homemaker mother and a ship-building father. Although she now lives in landlocked Prairie Village, KS, her longing for lakes and the sea is satisfied in part by writing the USA Today best selling Seaside Knitters Mystery series, set on Cape Ann, MA.

Visit her website at sallygoldenbaum.com
or her Facebook author page--https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sally-Goldenbaum/27082346139?ref=hl

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Weekly Wrap Up # 33

Happy Sunday! Here is what happened this week:







August 8th- First in Series- The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco by Laura DiSilverio
August 9th- Author Spotlight- Laura DiSilverio
August 10th - Book Spotlight Blue Moon by Wendy Corsi Staub
August 11th- Book Spotlight and giveaway- Curious Minds by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton
August 12th- Blog Tour- Death and Disappearance by Susan Russo Anderson
August 12th- Book Spotlight and giveaway - Costume Catastrophe by Kathi Daley August 13th- What's New? Fire in the Stars by Barbara Fradkin



Coming this week:


August 15th- First in Series - Death by Cashmere by Sally Goldenbaum
August 16th- Author Spotlight- Sally Goldenbaum
August 17th- Guess the Mystery and Giveaway hosted by Linda Reilly
August 18th- Book Spotlight and giveaway- Christmas Caramel Murder by Joanne Fluke
August 19th- Blog Tour- Murder in the Mansion by Janet Finsilver
August 19th- What's New? Dandelion Dead - Chrystle Fiedler
August 20th- Non- Cozy- Mystery- Sins of My Youth by Mary Anne Edwards


Hope you have a great week!

Saturday, August 13, 2016

What's New? Coming Sept. 27th- Fire in the Stars by Barbara Fradkin

Happy Saturday! What's New? Coming September 27th to bookstores and e-readers near you Fire in the Stars (An Amanda Doucette Mystery) by Barbara Fradkin. You won't want to miss this First in Series.








Series: An Amanda Doucette Mystery (Book 1)
Paperback: 328 pages
Publisher: Dundurn (September 27, 2016)
Language: English



A former aid worker returns home haunted by her time in Africa and channels her pain into a murder investigation that’s all too personal.

After surviving a horrific trauma in Nigeria, international aid worker Amanda Doucette returns to Canada to rebuild her life and her shaken ideals. There, the once-passionate, adventurous woman needs all her strength and ingenuity when a friend and fellow survivor goes missing along with his son.

A trained first-aid and crisis responder, Doucette ― always accompanied by her beloved dog Kaylee ― joins forces with RCMP officer Chris Tymko to discover the truth about the disappearance. Their search leads them to the Great Northern Peninsula, a rugged landscape of Viking history, icebergs, whales, and fierce ocean storms. Elsewhere, a body gets hauled up in a fisherman’s net, and evidence is mounting of an unsettling connection with Amanda’s search for her friend. Fradkin writes evocatively of the beautiful, often hostile, Newfoundland landscape where Amanda soon finds herself fighting for her very survival.




Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Chapter One

Amanda didn’t begin to worry in earnest until a hint of land shimmered through the early morning fog. Slowly, Newfoundland emerged in a ragged silhouette of rock and the blurred white spire of a lighthouse. The MV Highlanders had ten decks and she was on the top, her favourite place. The powerful engine of the ferry throbbed beneath her and the cold ocean foamed below. She leaned on the railing and sheltered her cellphone from the mist. It had finally registered a signal from the town of Port aux Basques.

No messages. Not one word from Phil. Normally this would be a minor frustration. Black holes could swallow him up for days on end, but he’d spring out of them ebullient and cleansed as if they had never happened. Even my wife calls me Mr. Unreliable, he’d once said with a twinkle in his eye.

But this time was different. For one thing, this camping trip had been his idea, and Amanda had sensed a manic edge to his excitement when he’d begged her to come. You need this, he’d said. We need it. There’s nothing like the wilds of nature to heal a broken soul. She wasn’t so sure, but it was the closest he’d come to admitting to a problem.

For another, he’d promised to do all the planning. Newfoundland was his adopted home now, and he wanted to show off its charms. All Amanda had to do was get herself, her motorcycle, and a sleeping bag over to the Rock and he’d find them the perfect getaway. Imagine miles of rugged coast, tangy surf, the wind in her face, and the call of ocean birds. After her long, bleak year spent clawing back from the terror of Africa, it had sounded like paradise.

The problem was, he’d never told her where this paradise was. Now that she was about to disembark on the southern tip of the island, she had no idea where to meet him. Newfoundland’s coastline was ten thousand kilometres of switchback coves and ragged headlands, most of it wild. There were island bird sanctuaries and dark, unexplored inland forests. Its oceans teemed with whales, dolphins, seals, and polar bears, its forests with moose and bears. The perfect getaway was everywhere.

Amanda had always loved nature. As a child trapped in the tidy residential crescents of suburban Ottawa, she had escaped whenever possible to the lakes and forests of the surrounding countryside, much to the bemusement of her parents, who considered a wine tour of Tuscany to be the ideal holiday. During her postings in the hot, arid climates of developing countries, it had been the wilderness that she had missed most about her homeland. The lush green of the forest floor, the delicate birdsong, and the chatter of brooks tumbling over rocks.

The solitude.

There are not many people in Newfoundland in September, Phil had promised her. No machetes, masked marauders, or homemade bombs. Not even many tourists left. We’ll have the campgrounds and coves to ourselves.

The ferry was churning through the narrow channel toward the dock, past the breakwaters and pastel cottages scattered along the barren shore. Passengers had begun to head toward the stairs leading to the car decks, clutching their pillows and bedrolls blearily. Where are you? she texted one last time before slipping her phone back into her jacket and heading to the pet kennels. The sound of barking was deafening as the dogs woke to the sight of their masters. For a moment, when she couldn’t hear Kaylee’s bark above the din, she felt a familiar surge of anxiety. My dog’s safe, she assured herself. You know she’s safe. It’s only a seven-hour crossing, and she’s had plenty of water.

Nonetheless Amanda was surprised by the rush of relief that coursed through her when Kaylee’s high-pitched scream joined the fray. She spotted the frenzy of red fur as she drew closer. Kaylee hurled herself against the door of the kennel, every inch of her wagging. Amanda opened the door and knelt down to press her face into the dog’s long, silky fur. “Sorry, pumpkin,” she whispered. “No more, I promise.”

Kaylee tugged at the end of her leash as they made their way down to Amanda’s other prized possession, her brand-new motorcycle. Having spent almost all her adult life in the developing world, she was much more at ease on two wheels than on four. She loved the lightness, agility, and thrilling speed of motorcycles. In anticipation of this trip, she had traded her smaller bike and splurged on this latest-model Kawasaki, which could handle a trailer, but she had not yet found the perfect name for it. For now, she called it Shadow, which had an intimate, evocative ring. Not only did it have its own shadow of sorts ― the small, custom-built trailer for Kaylee ― but it felt like an extension of her soul. It gave her the freedom to roam the wide-open spaces, to race the wind, to follow any whim that beckoned her.

Kaylee leaped eagerly into her spot in the trailer, her tongue lolling and her eyes dancing in anticipation. As Amanda fastened the dog’s seatbelt and undid the straps and cables that secured the bike, she smiled in response to the stares from the neighbouring cars. She suspected the red dog and the lime-green motorcycle made quite a spectacle.

She was almost thirty-five, but, dwarfed in her sheepskin jacket, leather boots, and red helmet, she looked barely fifteen. Hardship had aged her on the inside, but her fine freckles and long chestnut hair belied the decades. Noticing the little boy in the minivan beside her eying Kaylee solemnly, Amanda winked at him.

“She’s looking forward to Newfoundland. Are you?”
He nodded. “What kind of dog is that?”
“She’s a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. Forty pounds of pure energy. Do you have a dog?” He shot a quick glance at his father before shaking his head. “What’s her name?” “Kaylee. Since she’s a Nova Scotia breed, I figured she deserved a good Gaelic name. Do you know what a ceilidh is?” He shook his head again.

“It’s a party. The lively, dancing-singing-making-music kind. And that’s what she is, a party.” Amanda leaned over to ruffle the dog’s ears. “Do you want to pat her?”

The boy glanced at his father again. The two of them were alone in the minivan, father and son on a holiday. The man looked as if he hadn’t slept or shaved in days, but he managed a bleary smile. But just as the boy was opening his door, car engines rumbled to life around them and the vehicles prepared to inch forward. The boy tugged his door shut and gave Kaylee a shy wave.

The long trail of vehicles wound through the ferry dock and out onto the open road, where the fog still hung thick. Amanda could see nothing but a blurry stream of red lights heading north along the only highway toward the interior of the province. Signs and landmarks leaped out of the fog too late to decipher. She longed to lean into the wind and open up the throttle, but decided it was safer just to follow the taillights directly in front of her.

She needed a decent breakfast and, more importantly, coffee, and just as she was beginning to despair of finding either, the lights of an Irving gas bar and diner caught her eye. She pulled in, fed Kaylee, and took her for a short stroll to a handy patch of grass before tying up the dog and heading inside the diner. The place was bright and bustling as if half the ferry passengers were inside, but Amanda found a small table by the window where she could keep an eye on Kaylee. The waitress was at her side instantly to fill her coffee cup. A woman of experience, Amanda thought with a smile of thanks. Once she’d taken her first sip, she pulled out her cellphone. No response to her text. Mr. Unreliable indeed.

While she looked up his home number in Grand Falls, she braced herself. Phil had confessed that things were rocky between himself and his wife, and Amanda wasn’t sure how Sheri felt about this trip, nor about her. Phil had assured her that Sheri supported it, that in fact the trip had been her idea. Anything to get me out of her hair, he’d joked. She can’t come because she’s teaching, but she knows how much I need this escape.

Amanda hoped that was true. Despite their different temperaments, the two women had once been friends, but that was before Africa, and Amanda knew Sheri could be unforgiving. Did she still blame Amanda for Phil’s decision to go?

It had been nearly two years since Amanda had last spoken to her, but time slipped away the moment the woman answered the phone. The same brisk, no-nonsense voice, with just a hint of Newfoundland. “Hi, Sheri, it’s Amanda Doucette. How are you?”

A pause, a drop in tone. As if the air had gone out of the room. “Amanda. It’s been a long time. You’re back in Canada for good now, I hear.” “I am. I just arrived in Port aux Basques.” She paused, listening to the silence. Feeling the chill through the airwaves. Not forgiven, then. “Is Phil there?”

“How could he be? He’s with you.”
“No. I’m supposed to meet him, but I don’t know where.”
“Well, he’s already gone. I imagine he’ll call you, in his own sweet time.”
Bewildered, Amanda plowed ahead. “When did he leave?”
“Two days ago. I’m surprised you haven’t heard from him yet. Well, not exactly surprised, but …” “Did he say where he was going?”

There was another long silence. Sheri’s voice lost its chill, became uncertain. “He … we … I was out when they left. He didn’t actually say goodbye.” “They? Who’s with him?”

“Well, Tyler. Our son. He’s going with you.” She paused again. Amanda heard a small intake of breath. “Isn’t he?” Amanda felt her own small quiver of alarm. First, Phil’s manic excitement about the trip, followed by the days of silence. What was he up to? “I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding,” she forced herself to say. “You know Phil.” “Indeed I do.”

Amanda rushed on. “He’ll probably be in touch any minute. Meanwhile I’ll head up toward your place.” “Why?”

Amanda floundered in the heavy silence. “In case he comes back. Or we can at least figure out where Mr. Unreliable has disappeared to.” She hung up before Sheri could object and glanced outside to reassure herself that Kaylee was still there. The early morning fog was lifting, curling off the scoured coastal rock in pale, wraithlike swaths. At this rate, she could reach Grand Falls by afternoon. To what purpose or reception, she wasn’t sure.

Her attempt at levity on the phone was fooling no one, least of all Sheri, who must know how close to the edge Phil could stumble. Indeed, she’d been the one to drag him back more than once over their twelve years together. Amanda had heard it in her voice at the end. Sheri was angry and fed up, but she was also afraid.




About the Author:




Barbara Fradkin is an award-winning Canadian crime writer and a child psychologist with a fascination for how we turn bad. Her gritty, psychological detective series features Ottawa Police Inspector Michael Green, whose passion for justice and love of the hunt often interfere with family, friends and police protocol. Two books in the series have won unprecedented, back-to-back Arthur Ellis Awards for Best Canadian Crime Novel from Crime Writers of Canada. She also writes the Cedric O'Toole Rapid Reads series, of which the second novel, EVIL BEHIND THAT DOOR, was released by Orca Books in the fall of 2012.

THE WHISPER OF LEGENDS, latest (and ninth) in the Inspector Green series, is due for release in April 2013.


Find out more about Barbara Fradkin and her books at her website: 

Friday, August 12, 2016

Book Spotlight and Giveaway- Costume Catastrophe by Kathi Daley

Happy Friday! I am excited to be promoting this book today. Costume Catastrophe by Kathi Daley is released today and it is just in time for the Halloween season. Which I love. And Guess what, one lucky read will win,either an e-book copy of paperback copy. Leave a comment and email below. Do you like Halloween? What is your favorite thing about it? By the way, don't you all just love the cover.








Series: Zoe Donovan Mystery
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (August 3, 2016)
Language: English



It's Halloween in Ashton Falls and that means Haunted Hamlet and the annual haunted house. Zoe is determined not to have her plans for this annual event ruined this year especially since it is also the weekend of the big game and a lot of old friends are in town. Things look as if they are on track for a spooktacular good time, until Zoe receives a message from an anonymous source predicting a death. At first Zoe and the gang think the note is a prank until one of the friends Zoe went to high school with actually turns up dead. Once Zoe realizes the note might not be a prank, she sets out on a race against time before someone else dies.









Author of the Zoe Donovan cozy Mystery Series, Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery series, Whales and Tails Cozy Mystery Series, Sand and Sea Hawaiian Mysteries, and Seacliff High Teen Cozy Mystery Series.

Come for the murder, stay for the romance.

Kathi lives in the beautiful alpine community of Lake Tahoe with her husband Ken and dog Echo. When she's not writing she enjoys hanging out on the beach with her children and grandchildren. During the summer she enjoys hiking, kayaking, mountain biking, wakeboarding, and sunset cruises on the lake. During the winter she enjoys cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and curling up by a fire with a good book.

Kathi uses her mountain home as inspiration for her books, all which include appearances by the wildlife she shares her life with.

Visit Kathi Daley:

Blog - http://kathidaleyblog.com



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...