Posted in Chicago, Cozy on July 26, 2010

Liar, Liar is the first novel for a trio of sisters – Julianne, Kristen and Kari Larsen.

Cat DeLuca, along with her beagle Inga, owns and runs the Pants on Fire Detective Agency…and yes, the name is all that it implies.  She won’t find a long lost relative but she is the one to call if you think your hubby (or wife) is cheating on you.  Cat also has an overpowering family where all of the men are cops (dad, brother Rocco, cousins, etc) and they want her to give up her job and work as a dispatcher.  Then there is mom who is your typical Catholic Italian in Chicago who thinks her daughter is going straight to hell for her career choice.

Everything is going well with her agency until Rita Polansky hires her to follow her “husband” Chance and find out the scoop on what he is going.  Little does she know that she is going to end up in the hospital after being hit by a For Lease sign from an exploding building which also has everyone convinced she has lost her mind when no one else can see Chance except for her.  This throws her into a series of events that she cannot control with out a little help from Uncle Joey (and yes, Uncle Joey will “fix” things for you) and Tino who owns the deli but has other talents up his sleeve.

I read this book almost in one sitting.  It reminded me a lot of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, they are both strong female characters, have overbearing Italian mothers and always seem to find themselves in a bit of danger but luckily have friends and family to help bail them out.

If you like to laugh you will love this book….like I said, I couldn’t put it down and ended up reading it at work (just don’t tell my boss!).  You won’t be disappointed.

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Posted in Uncategorized on July 5, 2010

A few months ago I gave away a copy of Hush by Kate White.  Kate was able to answer some interview questions and here they are!

SBR: What made you break from your Bailey Weggins series and venture into unknown characters?

KW: I love Bailey, but I thought it would be nice to take a break and come back to the series re-engerzied. I also wanted to try a new genre, one that was darker and scarier.

SBR: Is there anything you find particularly challenging in your writing?

KW: Writing when I have a day job, which means always writing on weekends. I fantasize about having free Sundays some time in my life

SBR: Do you recall how your interest in writing originated?

KW: Even a very young girl I wrote stories. Not sure why. My mother told me that at 3 I handed her a picture I’d crayoned—it was all black. She asked what the name was and I said, “The hacienda is dark and the town is sleeping.” Weird kid, right? But I guess I’ve just always loved to weave a story.

SBR: What authors inspire you and your writing?

KW: I just love so many writers. Mysteries: Ruth Rendell, Linda Fairstein, Michel Connelly, Elizabeth George, Scott Turow, and on and on. Literary fiction: Sue Miller, Anita Shrive, Jane Smiley, Ian McEwan and on and on

SBR: What advice would you give aspiring authors?

KW: I would advise inspiring writers to figure out their perfect writing cocktail: what’s the best time, best background noise, best location. I’ve realized that during my twenties I didn’t write much because I hadn’t’ figured those things out yet. Don’t beat yourself up, just experiment and see what works.

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Posted in mystery, suspense on July 4, 2010

John Howard Reid is a prize winning author and writing contests judge.  He has also worked as a publisher, editor, critic and bookseller.  As a fiction writer, Reid first achieved fame in England and Australia for a series of detective novels, all featuring a Miami police sergeant named Merryll Manning, who made his debut in “Merryll Manning: Trapped on Mystery Island” set in the Florida Keys.

John was kind enough to send me copies of this book to read and giveaway here on my blog.  Thank you John!

Trapped on Mystery Island is the first in a series featuring Merryll Manning, a police sergeant who has gone away for the weekend with his girlfriend for a mystery weekend on a remote island.  There are many guests who have paid to be there for a chance at a $5,000 pot for solving the mystery that is played out for them.  However, things don’t go quite as planned as some guests are murdered on the island and it isn’t a part of the script!  Because of Merryll’s background, he attempts to figure out who doesn’t belong on the island before anyone else is murdered.

I enjoyed this book because I was not able to figure out who the killer was in this book.  There were many times where I thought it was one character or another but then something would happen and I would be wrong and have to start looking at the clues again.  I also liked that it was set at a murder mystery weekend where at first the guests wouldn’t have suspected anything was wrong because that should have been part of the game.  However, once things were evidently wrong their true personalities came through.

If you like mysteries and like to be kept in suspense, check out this first book in the series and the second which is The Health Farm Murders.

To Win a Copy:

Leave a comment on this blog and I will draw 4 winners on July 12th.  Yes, John kindly sent me 4 copies to giveaway.