Posted in Book Release, Cozy, Monday, mystery on March 18, 2024

 

 

Synopsis

 

In heroine Tempest Raj, modern-day queen of the locked room mystery Gigi Pandian has created a brilliant homage to the greats of classic detective fiction.

Secret Staircase Construction is under attack, and Tempest Raj feels helpless. After former client Julian Rhodes tried to kill his wife, he blamed her “accident” on the home renovation company’s craftsmanship. Now the family business—known for bringing magic into homes through hidden doors, floating staircases, and architectural puzzle walls—is at a breaking point. No amount of Scottish and Indian meals from her grandfather can distract Tempest from the truth: they’re being framed.

When Tempest receives an urgent midnight phone call from Julian, she decides to meet him at the historic Whispering Creek Theater—only to find his dead body, a sword through his chest. After a blade appears from thin air to claim another victim, Tempest is certain they’re dealing with a booby trap… something Secret Staircase Construction could easily build. Tempest refuses to wait for the investigation to turn to her or her loved ones. She knows the pieces of the puzzle are right in front of her, she just has to put them together correctly before more disaster strikes.

Multiple award-winning author Gigi Pandian and her sleuth Tempest Raj return in A Midnight Puzzle, where an old theater reveals a deadly booby trap, secrets, and one puzzle of a mystery.

 

 

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This book releases on Tuesday, March 19th, 2024. Preorder your copy today!!

 

 

About the Author

 

gigi-pandianGIGI PANDIAN is the USA Today bestselling and multiple-award-winning author of the Secret Staircase mysteries, inspired by elements from her own family background. She is also the author of the Accidental Alchemist mysteries, the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt mysteries, and more than a dozen locked-room mystery short stories. Pandian has won Agatha, Anthony, Lefty, and Derringer awards, and was a finalist for an Edgar Award. A breast cancer survivor and accidental almost-vegan who adores cooking, she lives with her husband in Northern California.

 

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Posted in 5 paws, mystery, Novella, Review, Short Story on March 17, 2024

 

 

Synopsis

 

The old 19th-century Victorian house at 221 Baker Street is the home of the Holmes and Moriarty Society, where amateur sleuths from different walks of life would meet to solve crimes. On the black granite hearth in front of the mansion’s massive fireplace are three stone statues of monkeys – Mizaru holds its hands covering its eyes, Kikazaru with its hands covering its ears, and Iwazaru covers its mouth. The owner of the mansion and one of the society’s founding members, Osgood Ridley, turns up dead.

But, as more bodies are found, the true purpose of the society is slowly revealed.

When the statue of the fourth monkey, Sezaru, appears on the hearth, the questions begin to outweigh the answers.

This is no longer a job for amateurs.

This is now the job for two police detectives to solve the mystery.

 

 

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Review

 

This debut novella from WM Gunn was a delight to read. It included many aspects I enjoy in books, from mystery to murder to misdirection.

The Holmes and Moriarty Society isn’t quite what you imagine, at least not on the outside. This group of amateur detectives has deeper motives for what they are trying to accomplish. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t share any of those details. Let’s just say that no one should be trusted, and the truth will be revealed in the end. I liked the inclusion of the three wise monkeys. I even learned that this is a fourth wise monkey. This is one we don’t see often, but I liked learning about the last one.

I will admit that I did not suspect the killer. The author did a fantastic job of throwing red herrings into the mix and leading you down a different path.

This is a short read at 86 pages, but the author packs a lot of details, descriptions, and intrigue into those pages.

We give this book 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

After years in the pharmaceutical industry in sales, sales management, and training and development, I learned the courses and materials I created had to be relevant, thought-provoking, and usable or it was simply of no value.

In a similar manner, the reader of a novel should be able to relate to a character or an event. It should make them think, question, and enjoy the journey. That story should create a landscape, an enveloping atmosphere that the reader can experience, participate in, and sink their teeth into.

I have endeavored to infuse those concepts into my stories and books. Journey with me.

 

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Posted in Cozy, Giveaway, Guest Post, mystery on March 9, 2024

 

 

 

 

Double Scoop of Murder (Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – New York
Gemma Halliday Publishing (February 27, 2024)
Number of Pages 226

 

Synopsis

 

From author Lena Gregory comes a hunt for more than just treasure…

Danika Delany is loving running her uncle’s old fashioned malt shop on eastern Long Island and putting her own modern spin on the treats they serve. Life is finally looking up for her! That is, until local billionaire Maxwell Crumbholtz dies and leaves his fortune in the form of a treasure hunt. Chaos descends on Watchogue, and Dani and the rest of the gang from the Coffee & Cream Café join the melee when they enter the contest, try to decipher the clues, and go in search of the treasure. But Dani digs up more than she expected when she discovers a dead body buried instead of a treasure! To make matters worse, a witness claims to have seen Dani at the scene of the murder. Now, instead of a four-billion-dollar payday, Dani is on the hunt for a killer.

 

 

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Character Guest Post

 

Detective Jake Barlow

 

For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Jake Barlow, and I’m a detective with the Watchogue Police Department. I’ve always loved helping people. Even when I was a kid, I was the one who tended to stick up for the underdog or stay after class to help out a teacher or a student who needed help. So it seemed natural to choose a career that allowed me to help others. Plus, I’ve always been interested in solving puzzles.

Although, lately, it seems most of my interests revolve around Danika Delaney. I’ll admit I have a sweet spot for her, though the only two dates we’ve managed so far have ended pretty disastrously. There are two reasons I haven’t pushed to have a more serious relationship. One, I don’t think Dani’s ready (and it has nothing to do with the firefighter), and I’m afraid if I push, she’ll bolt. And two, every time I turn around there’s another murder to investigate, and Dani’s right there in the middle of it.

I hate the thought of her and her friends being in danger, which they often are. But, and if you tell Dani I said this I will deny it, they’re good at it. Dani tends to see things from a perspective no one else does, and she’s great at solving puzzles. I just wish they’d stay off killers’ radar. I would like to see our relationship head in a more serious direction—if she could just stop stumbling over dead bodies and interfering in my investigations.  But that’s one of the things I lov…uh…like most about her—she’s got such a good heart and always wants to help people out.

All that can make dating a little difficult. So, for the moment, I spend most of my time trying to keep her out of trouble. Not that she means to get herself into these messes (or so she keeps claiming), but the woman seems to be a magnet for trouble. I’m pretty sure Lena is fully team Jake, though—even if I can’t figure out why she hasn’t written Luca out of the picture yet.

 

 

About the Author

 

 

Lena Gregory is the author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries, which take place on a small island between the north and south forks of Long Island, New York, the All-Day Breakfast Café Mysteries, which are set on the outskirts of Florida’s Ocala National Forest, the Mini-Meadows Mysteries, set in a community of tiny homes in Central Florida, and the Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries, which take place in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, New York.

Lena grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, but she recently traded in cold, damp, gray winters for the warmth and sunshine of central Florida, where she now lives with her husband, three kids, son-in-law, and four dogs. Her hobbies include spending time with family, reading, and walking. Her love for writing developed when her youngest son was born and didn’t sleep through the night. She works full-time as a writer and a freelance editor and is a member of Sisters in Crime.

 

 

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Giveaway

 

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Posted in Cozy, Giveaway, Guest Post, mystery on March 2, 2024

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Wilderness Trap (Southwest Exposure Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Setting – Bushwhack, New Mexico
Independently Published (February 28, 2024)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 164 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Explore nature, where the outdoors are wild, the tourists are clueless, and murder is the new adventure.

Andie Sullivan never thought her old nemesis would be running the elementary school career day. She was supposed to be discussing the wonders of nature, but when questions arise about her crime-solving side gig, some of the locals aren’t impressed.

But when career day turns into an actual murder, Andie finds herself on the case. And to make matters worse, the victim is her old nemesis. With the help of her hunky boyfriend, Sheriff Zac Mars, Andie dives into the investigation, determined to find the killer before they strike again.

Can she juggle her thriving outdoor business, her budding relationship with Zac, and find an elusive killer? Or will her pursuit of the truth lead her straight into the crosshairs of a ruthless killer.

 

 

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Guest Post

 

Finding the New Me in a New State

 

For the first time in forty years, I’m carrying a driver’s license different from the state I was born in. Somedays, I stare at my driver’s license, weirded out that I moved across state lines, away from family, and pulled my teens from a school they loved to drop them into a strange new school environment, which, by the way, has turned out to be wonderful for them. Honesty, the move has been a lifesaver for our little family. But before I get ahead of myself, let me put the brakes on this story and time travel back a little over a year ago.

A little over a year ago, I was struggling to complete a little-known book now titled The Wilderness Trap. At the time, the manuscript had gone through several titles and even had a few covers. But I just couldn’t seem to make the words flow. Granted, I’ve been working on the manuscript for the better part of two years. Yup. You heard that right. The last time I published a book in the Southwest Exposure Series was in 2021. Honestly, since I started my publishing journey in 2013, I have never gone longer than eight months between publishing books. Life sometimes gets in the way. And life can be a crazy disaster on its best of days. But let’s get back to 2023 and how I found myself living in a new state with a new job and a new book released.

In 2023, I hated my day job (yes, authors have day jobs), and I felt like I was wasting my degrees and aging. Gah, the horror. My husband was ready for a change, but we owned a family business, and uprooting is hard enough without having a business to sale. After many conversations, we put the business up for sale. And three months later, we put our house up for sale. And then we did a really, crazy thing…we bought a house in a town before we had the job offers. If you’d asked me a decade ago if I’d buy a house in a state I swore I’d never move to and settle in a city I was clueless about, I’d laughed. Call it: intuition. Call it: craziness. But whatever that feeling was, it turned out to be right because the jobs came through right after we put a down payment on the house, and then the city, our city, has been very kind to us. My teens adore their schools. They’re part of an amazing art and sports program. And… guess what? I found a day job I love. And one I’m good at. I teach writing class to fourth graders. Yup. I’m teaching future authors how to fall in love with storytelling. And my husband…he’s excelling in his job and starting an MBA program soon.

Guess what I’m trying to say, is taking risks can be good sometimes. Stepping outside your comfort zone can open your eyes to new adventures you could never imagine. I don’t know where the next few years will lead me, but I do know they’ll include many new books and many more school years teaching writing to elementary students. And in a nutshell, Andie Sullivan, the main character in the Southwest Exposure Mysteries, embodies the notion that it’s okay to occasionally take a risky adventure. So, my challenge for you is, as you read The Wilderness Trap, try to think about that adventure you’ve been putting off because you thought it was too risky and remember why it grabbed your attention in the first place.

 

 

About the Author

 

USA Today Bestselling author Jodi Linton pens funny romances, whodunnits, and thrillers. She is the author of the Southwest Exposure Cozy Mystery Series, The Deputy Laney Briggs Series, and several standalone romances. She lives in the city with her husband and two teens. When she isn’t writing her next page-turner, she teaches and hikes.

 

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Giveaway

 

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Posted in 5 paws, excerpt, Giveaway, mystery, Review on February 29, 2024

 

 

 

 

Synopsis

 

In a bind, Bud Palmer finds himself at the crossroads when just about everything was on the verge.

Like most people, Bud Palmer felt this was just another day. Though the era was drawing to a close, he assumed his life as a sports columnist in the subtropics, in keeping with the benign fifties itself, would go on as predictable as ever. But that particular autumn morning he was thrust into a caper that was totally beyond him, forced him to leave Miami and take the train to Manhattan, and suddenly found everything in this restless “Big Apple” was up for grabs, on the brink, at a dicey turning point.

 

 

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Praise for Shelly Frome

 

“This is a great mystery that had me guessing at what was really happening. I was sucked in and held tight until the reveal. A couple great twists and turns had me thrown off balance and guessing the whole time.” (Moon Games by Shelly From)-JBrounder Reviews

“It is full of action, adventure, mystery and suspense. It is not one that I could easily predict. The twists and turns kept on the edge of my seat. I never knew what would happen next.” (Moon Games by Shelly Frome)-AmyBooksy, Locks, Hooks, and Books

“The cover of this book shows what looks like a beautiful and peaceful place to live, but looks can be deceiving. Lies, bribery, and deceit are running rampant in this little town. Twists and turns are around every corner. Well written mystery”(Secluded Village Murders by Shelly Frome)- Lisa’s Writopia

“An entertaining story that has enough quirky characters, intrigue, suspense, humor, and drama that easily draws the reader into Emily’s amateur sleuth adventure. This cozy mystery is full of devious plot twists and turns that will easily keep you guessing. The Secluded Village Murders is an intriguing whodunit tale that cozy mystery fans will want to add to their reading list.” (Secluded Village Murders by Shelly Frome)- Kathleen Higgins-Anderson, Jersey Girl Book Reviews 

 

 

Excerpt

 

 

Even when Bud caught up to Katie, she did one of her I’m-mad-and-not-listening pouts and climbed a branch higher on the mango tree until she was almost camouflaged by the big leaves and hanging fruit.

Reaching out to her, Bud said, “Katie, I’m trying to tell you it couldn’t be helped. And if you’d think about the example I just gave you, you could be grown up about it, understand and come down from there.”

“Well I don’t care,” Katie said, poking her narrow face out through the foliage. “You promised. You always keep your promises. And when a person doesn’t all of a sudden keep their promise, they shouldn’t be listened to. And I especially don’t care about some dumb girl named Scout in some dumb town in Alabama, wherever that is.”

“Don’t,” Bud said, as she plucked a plump, reddish Haydon mango, tore into the thick skin, and took a big bite out of the juicy orange pulp. “Come on, Katie. You’ll get it all over your blouse, it’ll dribble onto your overalls and—will you stop this and listen for a second?”

“Why should I?”

“The point, Katie. You’re missing the point. No matter how hard you try, sometimes something comes up and you’ve got to make a choice. Are you going to take the easy way out and be tomboy Scout? Or are you going to go out of your way and be sensible Jean Louise Finch?”

Wiping some of the orange glop off her face, Katie peered down and said, “She’s got two names. How come? I don’t have two names.”

Trying harder, Bud said, “‘Cause Scout was her nickname. ‘Cause the writer was trying to tell us that under pressure—look, she marched straight over to the jailhouse steps and looked this mob right in the eye. Did it before they could storm the jailhouse and harm an innocent prisoner. Dropped her nickname and reminded them who she was and who they were. And said,  ‘Hey, Mister Cunningham. I’m Jean Louise Finch, remember? I play with your boy Walter and you brought my dad and me some hickory nuts.’”

“So?”

“So she made them ashamed. Stood up to them.”

“And that’s why you were late? And that’s what you did?”

“Not exactly. But I wound up at a Miami Beach hotel to keep them from doing harm to your grandmother’s kid brother Uncle Rick. It took some doing, called your mom and made my apologies. And, by the time I was through, it was too late to take you to the parrot jungle. And that’s just for openers.”

“So it’s not over?”

“It could get even worse until I go to New York and—”

“Golly.” Katie said, cutting in. “Then you got to tell me how you stood up to them and saved the day.” She scrambled down and took off through the grove. Before he could catch up to her she raced past Jill, the freckled faced baby sitter, grabbed her mother’s hand and pointed to Bud as he was catching up to her. “Hey, mom, guess what? Uncle Bud is taking on the mob!”

 

 

Guest Review by Nora

 

I honestly was not expecting such an engrossing read going into this! I do appreciate a good historical mystery, but I’m not that familiar with the 1950s, so I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started ‘Fast Times, Big City.’

Boy, was I surprised to find this would soon become one of my favorite reads of the year so far! This is an electric story about crime, passion and one man’s quest to protect his own family, all set in the buzzing world of New York City in the 1950s.

Bud Palmer is a sports reporter for the Miami Herald. Family means a lot to Bud, especially his sister and his feisty tom-boy of a niece, but when Bud’s mother asks him to check on his uncle while she is on a cruise, Bud is immediately reluctant.

Uncle Rick has a bit of a reputation for being a screw-up. As a private detective, Rick hasn’t had much success and now he’s gotten himself into something that may even get himself killed.

After meeting with Rick, Bud soon learns that his uncle has angered a mobster named Al Escobar who believes that Rick set him up. Something happened during a high-stakes poker game that left a woman that Rick arrived with—a beautiful Marilyn Monroe lookalike—walking away with a briefcase that belongs to Escobar.

Now, Bud has been roped in to traveling to New York to find the blonde and retrieve the briefcase. Of course, he has no idea where to find her, so things get hazardous quickly. Luckily, Bud is a natural investigator, who makes friends quickly even in the mean streets of New York.

‘Fast Times, Big City,’ is a book that you’re going to have to read to believe, I know I had to! This is a top-notch novel that totally transports the reader to another era.

Five stars! (or Paws in the case of this blog!)

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Award winning author, Shelly Frome is a member of Mystery Writers of America, a professor of dramatic arts emeritus at UConn, a former professional actor, and a writer of crime novels and books on theater and film. He also is a features writer for Gannett Publications.

His fiction includes Sun Dance for Andy Horn, Lilac Moon, Twilight of the Drifter, Tinseltown Riff, Murder Run, Moon Games, The Secluded Village Murders and Miranda and the D-Day Caper. Among his works of non-fiction are The Actors Studio: A History, a guide to playwriting and one on screenwriting, Shadow of the Gypsy is his latest foray into the world of crime and the amateur sleuth.

He lives in Black Mountain, North Carolina.

 

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Giveaway

 

This giveaway is for 2 print or ebook copies, open to the U.S. and Canada only.

This giveaway ends on March 26, 2024 midnight, pacific time.

Entries are accepted via Rafflecopter only.

 

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Posted in Book Release, Crime, mystery, suspense, Thriller on February 28, 2024

 

 

Synopsis

 

On a secluded island, homicide detective Jessica Niemi must investigate a drowning that is tied to a frightening ghostly legend in this riveting new novel from the New York Times bestselling author of THE WITCH HUNTER.

Jessica Niemi is put on leave after a violent altercation between her and a belligerent man makes headlines. To escape the unwanted scrutiny, Jessica travels to a remote island in the Åland archipelago and rents a room at a small seaside inn. She is hoping to be left alone as she faces the possibility that she is losing what is left of her sanity but three elderly visitors have arrived at the inn for their yearly sojourn. Jessica learns that they are the remaining ‘birds of spring’, former refugees who fled Finland as children during World War II and lived together for a few months in an orphanage on the island.

The orphanage no longer exists but the local legend about one of its inhabitants, a girl named Maija, still haunts the surviving orphans. Every evening Maija would put on her blue coat and stand on the pier, looking out at the dark water until one night, she disappeared and was never seen again. When one of the ‘birds of spring’ is found dead, drowned alongside the same pier, and Jessica learns about two other deaths from the past, also connected to the orphanage, she has no choice but to try and put the pieces of this terrifying mystery together.

Jessica can’t be sure whether she’s facing a killer or—just like the legend says—the ghost of Maija, the girl in the blue coat. Uncertain what is real and what is not, Jessica desperately searches for answers that she hopes will stop the murders and finally silence her own demons once and for all…

 

 

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About the Author

 

International and New York Times bestselling author Max Seeck writes novels and screenplays full-time. He lives with his wife and children near Helsinki.

 

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Comments Off on New Release – Ghost Island by Max Seeck
Posted in Cozy, Giveaway, Guest Post, Historical, mystery on February 27, 2024

 

 

 

 

 

Murder in Masquerade (A Lady of Letters Mystery)
Historical Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – London, 1860
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (February 20, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Extra, extra, read all about it! Countess turned advice columnist Amelia Amesbury finds herself playing the role of sleuth when a night at the theatre turns deadly.

Victorian Countess Amelia Amesbury’s secret hobby, writing an advice column for a London penny paper, has gotten her into hot water before. After all, Amelia will do whatever it takes to help a reader in need. But now, handsome marquis Simon Bainbridge desperately requires her assistance. His beloved younger sister, Marielle, has written Amelia’s Lady Agony column seeking advice on her plans to elope with a man her family does not approve of. Determined to save his sister from a scoundrel and the family from scandal, Simon asks Amelia to dissuade Marielle from the ill-advised gambit.

But when the scoundrel makes an untimely exit after a performance of Verdi’s Rigoletto, Amelia realizes there’s much more at stake than saving a young woman’s reputation from ruin. It’s going to take more than her letter-writing skills to help the dashing marquis, mend the familial bond, and find the murderer. Luckily, solving problems is her specialty!

 

 

 

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Guest Post

 

Dear Readers,

 

Be vigilant! A murderer is on the loose in London. This time a murder has taken place in Covent Garden at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. As if Lord Simon Bainbridge wasn’t enough of a nuisance in my previous investigation, he is now determined to find the killer. He believes his help is essential, but he’s too emotionally involved to be completely helpful.

You see, the murder involves a suitor of his dear sister, Lady Marielle, and although the siblings have not been close since his departure for America two years ago, he’s determined that she have a successful season. With one of her suitors dead, her season is not off to the best start.

Lady Marielle, I’m afraid, is just as stubborn as her brother and is resolute in her opinions, one which includes her brother staying out of her business. She’s convinced Simon is making a mess of everything, and I’ll admit, readers, she’s not entirely wrong. But only because he cares for her so deeply.

Their mother passed early in life, and their father, the duke, has been largely absent.  This is one of the reasons Lady Marielle was able to fall in love with a man as dubious as Mr. George Davies. He was her riding instructor many years ago, and she trusted him as implicitly as a student trusts her mentor.

Luckily, Lady Marielle also trusts me. Although she does not know I am Lady Agony, the woman she wrote to for advice in the penny paper, I am one in the same person. I refuse to give up on a reader—and in this case, her dead suitor. I am confident, with my dear friend Kitty’s help, I can find who killed Mr. Davies.

Although Kitty has problems of her own, namely the possibility of having to move out of the city, she is much calmer than Lord Bainbridge right now. Some might think her smart decisions extend only to fashion, but I assure you, she brilliant when it comes to crime. Plus, she is infinitely superior at throwing parities, and she assures me if we can gather the suspects in a garden party, we might just find ourselves a killer.

Of course, it might be her way of forcing me into hosting a soiree. She does love a good party. But if we can have a little fun while catching a murderer, who am I to complain?

 

 

About the Author

 

Mary Winters is the author of the Lady of Letters historical mystery series. She also writes cozy mysteries under the name Mary Angela. A longtime reader and fan of historical fiction, Mary set her latest work in Victorian England after being inspired by a trip to London. Since then, she’s been busily planning her next mystery—and another trip!

 

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Giveaway

 

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Posted in Cozy, Giveaway, Guest Post, mystery on February 25, 2024

 

 

 

 

 

The Snow Job (Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Fenwater, a fictional small town in the province of Ontario in Canada during the early 1980s.
Independently Published (December 13, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 310 pages

 

Synopsis

 

A Scottish shindig, a pretty pin, a cold corpse. When a well-liked and respected townsman is murdered on a snowy street in Fenwater, it’s up to Lois Stone to sift through a multitude of motives to find the killer.

Middle-aged widow Lois is beginning to feel part of the Fenwater community, and as winter sets in, she is getting ready for the town’s biggest Scottish event, the annual Burns Night supper. But when one of the committee members dies in suspicious circumstances, Lois has more to worry about than the fate of this year’s celebration. She tried unsuccessfully to revive the man and her friend Marge worked with him. So, they want to find his killer even though Lois promised her partner Bruce that she would stay out of police matters. But, what’s the harm in asking a few questions? Such as does someone want to safeguard their inheritance or give their business a boost? Will finding the motive for the murder lead them to the killer or maybe more?

And so begins a fortnight of slippery sidewalks, angst about ancestors, capable firemen and cunning firebugs, unreliable records, swirling Scottish music and swinging tartan kilts, calico cats and smouldering spooks set against the backdrop of snow glistening under streetlamps on serene streets, the comfort of ritual in a cold churchyard, the swish of skate blades in crisp night air and the tang of mouthwatering meatloaf in rural Canada in 1984.

The Century Cottage Mystery series is mainly set in rural Ontario, Canada during the early 1980s.

A tale for fans of Cindy Bell, Leighann Dobbs, Dianne Harman and Kathi Daley.

 

 

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Guest Post

 

Burns Night in Fenwater

 

 

Hello! Thanks for inviting me to drop in. I’m Dianne Ascroft and I write the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries series. The books are set in Fenwater, a fictional small town in rural Ontario, Canada that was founded by immigrants from Scotland during the early 1800s. The residents of the town have a strong connection with its Scottish heritage and everything Scottish is important to them so the annual Burns Night supper is the biggest event on their calendar.

If you have any Scottish ancestry, you may have attended a Burns Night supper. But, for those who haven’t, what is it? A Burns supper is a celebration of the life and poetry of the Scottish poet Robert Burns or Rabbie Burns as he is more commonly known.

Burns Night is celebrated each year in Scotland and in Scottish communities worldwide to honour Rabbie Burns, and it has also become a chance to celebrate all things Scottish – sort of like St Patrick’s Day without the green beer. With Fenwater’s heritage, it’s only natural that Burns Night is a big event for them.

So, who was Rabbie Burns? He was a poet and song lyricist from Ayrshire in the southwest of Scotland, who was born on January 25, 1759. Only 37 when he died in 1796, he is regarded as the most prominent poet to have written in Scots, a UK regional dialect that is now recognised as a minority language. You probably know at least one of his works even if you are not familiar with Scottish poets. Does New Year’s Eve and “Auld Lang Syne” ring any bells for you?

Burns suppers are normally held on or near the poet’s birthdate, which has come to be known as Burns Night. The first Burns supper was held in 1801, and in the more than 200 years since then, new traditions have been added to the event, but the aim is the same: to pay tribute to Scotland’s national poet.

The first supper was a memorial dinner organised by nine of Burns’s friends on July 21, 1801, the fiftieth anniversary of his death. It was held at Burns Cottage in Ayrshire, where the poet was born. Although those present at the first supper didn’t foresee it, the supper has become an annual occurrence and Burns Clubs have been founded throughout Scotland and further afield.

Burns Night is steeped in respectful tradition but there are elements of fun and humour to the proceedings too. So, what happens at a Burns Night supper? There’s a traditional meal which consists of tatties (potatoes), neeps (turnips), and haggis, which was a favourite dish of the poet. Are you wondering what haggis is? Haggis is made from a sheep’s liver, lungs, and heart and mixed with suet and oatmeal. It may not sound particularly appetising to some of you, but it really is tasty – sort of like a spicier minced beef. There are also vegetarian versions available. Guests are piped in to the dining room and a Scottish grace is said. The haggis is then piped in with great ceremony and before the meal commences a guest recites Burns’ poem the ‘Address to a Haggis’, which extols how wonderful haggis is.

After the meal there are several toasts and speeches. The most important is the Immortal Memory, which is a speech commemorating Burns and his life followed by a toast to the poet.

The Address to the Lassies is a thank you to the women who prepared the meal, and in recent times, the speaker often includes humorous opinions about women in general. One of the women present makes the Reply to the Laddies, rebutting the comments made about women.

The evening is formal but fun with good food, good whiskey and good company.

Lois Stone, the main character in my Century Cottage Cozy mysteries series, has Scottish ancestry that she doesn’t really want to talk about but she can’t avoid the Scottish side of her town’s identity as she plays the bagpipes in the local pipe band. As The Snow Job, Book 3 in the series, opens the band is getting ready to play at the Burns Night supper and Lois is actually looking forward to the event. She’ll wear her band uniform, which includes a tartan kilt, to the supper and she will be surrounded by friends and neighbours as they toast the haggis and Burns’ memory. It’s the sort of event that really makes her feel like part of her community.

Preparations for the supper are going well until one of the Burns Night committee members dies in suspicious circumstances the week before the event. Lois’s friend Connie finds the victim lying in the snow and Lois rushes to help her, trying to revive him until the ambulance arrives. Although Lois is sad when she hears later that he died, she doesn’t expect to have any involvement in finding out what happened to him. But her friend Marge has other ideas. The victim volunteered at the museum where Marge works and she wants to see justice done for him. So, she urges Lois to help her find his killer. Lois is reluctant as she promised her partner Bruce that she would stay out of police matters. But Marge is persuasive and what’s the harm in asking a few questions? So, Lois puts aside all thoughts of preparing to perform at the Burns Night supper with the band and puts her energy into helping Marge find the killer. What could possibly go wrong?

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Dianne Ascroft writes the Century Cottage Cozy Mysteries, set in rural Canada, and The Yankee Years historical sagas, set in WWII Northern Ireland. She has a passion for Ireland and Canada, past and present. An ex-pat Canadian, Dianne lives on a small farm with her husband and an assortment of strong-willed animals.

Her previous fiction works include An Unbidden Visitor (a tale inspired by Fermanagh’s famous Coonian ghost); Dancing Shadows, Tramping Hooves: A Collection of Short Stories (contemporary tales), and an historical novel, Hitler and Mars Bars, which explores Operation Shamrock, a little known Irish Red Cross humanitarian endeavor.

 

 

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Posted in 5 paws, Cozy, Fantasy, mystery, paranormal, Review on February 24, 2024

 

 

Synopsis

 

This book club is hooked on traveling into books to become the amateur sleuths! In this journey, the club travels to the Kingdom of Everglow.

The royal family is rocked to the core when a key staff member falls dead at a community event. In the turmoil that follows, any evidence of what happened is destroyed, so they must go by the recollection of witnesses who were too busy enjoying the celebration to offer any valuable testimony.

The royal family is further distressed when they return to the castle to see signs of a break in that somehow defied their complex security system. They wake the next day to discover that one member of the royal family has fallen into a deep, deathlike sleep.

Can the Snapdragon Inn Book Club uncover the plot behind this attack on the royal family? Can they find the antidote to wake the sleeping royal from a supernatural slumber? Can they bring peace back to the worried royal family and the frightened community?

Let’s hope they can, since they must solve the mystery and reach The End to get out of the book and back to their home in Colorado.

 

 

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Review

 

I love this series. It is unique with a story within a story. This book is no different than the previous five in regards to the basic principle of the story, but it is unique with the crime, the banter, and the setting of the mystery they are to solve.

The whole gang is together again. This time, they venture into a fantasy world filled with Sprites. I really liked the descriptions of these characters, their personalities, and how they were no different from humans. There are some quirky characters and a killer among them. It was fun to try and figure out who the killer might be since there are not a lot of clues, but there are a few if you know how to look for them.

We also learn more about Frank’s past and how he came to be a part of this magical library. His past becomes advantageous to the group in this new world. You will have to read the book to learn more about that, but it is revealed fairly quickly in the book.

I also liked how the characters spoke about the author and how authors may make mistakes in their books. I had a good chuckle from some of the conversations.

There are quite a few witty lines sprinkled throughout, so I had a good chuckle as well.

This has become a favorite series, and I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next.

We give this book 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Elizabeth Pantley is the international bestselling author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution and twelve other books for parents, published in over twenty languages.

She simultaneously writes well-loved cozy mysteries: The Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic book series and the Magical Mystery Book Club series.

Elizabeth lives in the Pacific Northwest, the gorgeous inspiration for the setting in many of her books.

 

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Posted in 4 paws, excerpt, Historical, mystery, Review on February 22, 2024

 

 

Synopsis

 

A ghost’s antics, a harrowing moose chase, a hypnosis session, and smuggled booze lead to spilled secrets and betrayal, but do they also lead to murder?

At a hot springs retreat in Montana, whiskey-swigging Maude, the nearly eighty-year-old chef, longs for the glory days when the retreat hosted martini-sipping celebrities instead of long-haired hippies who refuse to wear deodorant. Brooke, feisty, adventurous, and a bit reckless, proposes a reunion at the retreat with her best friends to get away from the chaos of her life with teenagers and the emotional aftermath of her postponed wedding. One of those friends, Tracy, has devoted her life to her children and her husband despite her excruciating boredom. But a long-held secret could cost her the most important friendships in her life. Haunting the place is a ghost who, in life, dealt with tragedy by turning to prostitution which led to her murder over 100 years ago at the very place they all are staying.

What Happens in Montana explores friendship, betrayal, and forgiveness with blunt truth and witty insights. Together, these friends learn to navigate empty nests, infidelity, deception, and poltergeists. Most importantly, they learn their friendship is strong enough to get them through it all.

 

 

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Review

 

This story blends friendship with a hint of mystery and a ghost!

Four women decide to take a weekend getaway to a hotel in Montana, in need of much repair. At least parts of it. But what they don’t anticipate is finding their true selves, uncovering some secrets, and making new friends.

This story is told from multiple points of view. This can get distracting, but it helps, especially when Simone, the ghost, is telling her story. I really enjoyed learning about her life and why she died and was stuck at this hotel. I really liked Maude. She has been at the hotel/retreat center for thirty years. That is a long time in one spot, but she loves it there and has a connection with Simone. She may not know why Simone is there or what she needs to move on, but she still feels a connection to her. Then, there are the four women who came to this retreat to reconnect. While they had met as younger women, they were spread out across the country now. There are secrets that come to light, and it is amazing how revealing those secrets freed the women up to be themselves and not in fear of the secret being revealed before the right time.

I enjoyed the story and can appreciate how this weekend away might impact their lives. There is a sideline story about Maude’s daughter who died and how Brooke reminds her of that daughter. But we are left hanging as to what happened to the daughter and how it impacted her marriage. I would have liked to have known more about that scenario. There is also a lothario at the hotel, Max. Let’s just say that Max is not who you think he is, and luckily, no one is hurt in their interactions with him.

This was a fun read, and we give it 4 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

Excerpt

 

I glanced at the bird-like woman who sat across from him and wondered how she kissed him with that facial hair. Didn’t it smell like whatever he ate? Or scratch her face? Didn’t errant hair ever tickle her nose and make her sneeze? Maybe they had been together so long that they didn’t really kiss much anymore. Just a peck hello and goodbye. I supposed I could handle facial hair if that was my only interaction with it.

“Hello, I’m Maude, and I’ll be taking care of you tonight. Can I get you anything to drink besides water?”

“Water is fine for me. Dear, what would you like?”

“Oh, I’d like sparkling water. One of those flavored ones, if you have it. Not one that has calories or sugar or anything. Just the essence of lime or tangerine or whatever. Do you know what I mean?” She looked at me with big, pleading eyes. I saw such hunger in those eyes. Lord, this woman needed a huge steak and a baked potato with butter and sour cream. Then she needed a good bottle of wine to go with it and a German chocolate cake to finish it all. This woman didn’t look as though she had been properly nourished and decades. But what I saw most in her eyes was that she had not allowed herself to live. She imposed such restrictions on her life – what to eat, what to wear, what friends to have, what church to attend, what car to drive, what words to say – that she forgot what she wanted. She forgot how to live. She was just going through the motions. She might as well already be dead.

I wanted to tell her to forget calories, forget working out at least five days a week, forget always needing to be a size zero, forget what others think, forget keeping her house perfectly in order, for surely this woman’s house was always in order, and throw all caution to the wind. Eat an entire gallon of ice cream while binge watching Grace and Frankie. Stay in your pajamas till noon and dance to Uptown Funk with the volume so loud the neighbors will call the police. Hike to the top of Boulder peak at dawn to watch the sunrise regardless of the animals you might encounter. Tell your husband to shave that nasty dead rat on his face and kiss him like you did when you were a teen teenager. Just don’t live like life will last forever.

Instead, I said, “Sure. We have lime, grapefruit, and coconut sparkling water.”

 

 

About the Author

 

Kim McCollum graduated from Barnard College as a Japanese major and headed to work on Wall Street. Many miserable all-nighters and the birth of her first child led her to stay home to raise her children. Eventually, she pursued her passion for writing. An excerpt from this novel appeared in The Copperfield Review Quarterly, and her short stories have appeared in The Dillydoun Review, Beyond Solace, and Fiction on the Web. She lives in Bozeman, MT, with her husband, Brian, and their blended menagerie of five kids, two dogs, and seven spoiled chickens. What Happens in Montana is her first novel.

 

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