Mistletoe, Moussaka, and Murder (A Kebab Kitchen Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Publisher: Kensington (September 29, 2020)
Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Not even her impending nuptials can keep Lucy Berberian, manager of her family-owned Kebab Kitchen, from the Jersey Shore’s annual Polar Bear Plunge. But her dive into the icy ocean is especially chilling when she finds a fellow swimmer doing the dead man’s float—for real . . .

Who would kill a man in cold blood during Ocean Crest, New Jersey’s most popular winter event? When Lucy learns the victim is Deacon Spooner, the reception hall owner who turned up his nose—and his price—at her wedding plans, she can’t help wondering who wouldn’t kill the pompous caterer . . .

Perhaps the culprit is the wedding cake baker whose career Deacon nearly destroyed? Or the angry bride whose reception he ruined? With her maid of honor, Katie, busily planning Lucy’s wedding without her, Lucy will have to get to the bottom of this cold-hearted business in time for Kebab Kitchen’s mouthwatering Christmas celebration—and before her hometown’s holiday spirit washes out to sea . . .

 

Recipes included!

 

 

 

Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Google Books * iBooks * Kobo

 

 

Review

 

I love taking trips to the Jersey Shore and imagining this cozy touristy town with a boardwalk situated next to the beach. And of course, I imagine the food at Kebab Kitchen and can picture all of the deserts at Cutie’s Cupcakes. I think I might have gained a few pounds just reading this book, the recipes at the end sound divine.

Lucy is back on the case after a fellow polar bear plunge swimmer washes up dead. Who killed him? Why? Lucy is determined to discover the truth especially when her friend Susan of Cutie’s Cupcakes is arrested for the murder. There is no way Susan could have done it, but the evidence is stacked against her. Lucy tries to stay out of the situation but her instincts take over and she investigates with her best friend Katie.

From reading all of the other books in this series, the killer has been someone you would never expect. Perhaps they had a small role, or it just doesn’t seem like they have the motive. Well, in this case, my spidey sense went off and while I may not have known the why, I did figure out who the killer was but not until near the end. I was quite surprised to discover they why and that this character was willing to throw Susan or anyone else under the bus. But that is why this person is a criminal, they have no morals. There are several potential suspects, all with good reason to kill Deacon, but which one will it be?

Along with the mystery, there is also the relationship between Lucy and Azad. They dated when they were in college but events led them to break up. After some time, and her mother’s interference, these two have reconnected and are now engaged. Lucy has her concerns and has stalled on setting a date, but I think they cleared that hurdle in this book. I enjoy watching their relationship continue to blossom.

I enjoy this series and recommend it to everyone looking for a cozy with some good greek food.  I want that hummus bar here in my town!

We give this book 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Tina Kashian spent her childhood summers at the New Jersey shore, building sandcastles, boogie boarding, and riding the boardwalk Ferris wheel. She also grew up in the restaurant business where her Armenian parents owned a restaurant for thirty years. She worked almost every job—rolling silverware and wiping down tables as a tween, to hosting and waitressing as a teenager.

After college, Tina worked as a NJ Deputy Attorney General, a patent attorney, and a mechanical engineer. Her law cases inspired an inquiring mind of crime, and since then, Tina has been hooked on mysteries. The Kebab Kitchen Cozy Mystery series launches with Hummus and Homicide, followed by Stabbed in the Baklava and One Feta in the Grave by Kensington Books. Tina still lives in New Jersey with her supportive husband and two young daughters. Please visit her website and join her Newsletter to enter free contests to win books, get delicious recipes, and to learn when her books will be released.

 

 

Website * Facebook * Twitter

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Giveaway

 

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SAVING IRENE

 

A Culinary Mystery

 

By JUDY ALTER

 

Cozy Mystery / Women Sleuths

Publisher: Alter Ego Press

Date of Publication: September 10, 2020

Number of Pages: 208

 

Scroll down for the giveaway!

 

 

 

Irene Foxglove wishes she were a French chef. Henrietta James, her assistant, knows she is nothing more than a small-time TV chef on a local Chicago channel. And yet when Irene is threatened, Henny tries desperately to save her, wishing always that “Madame” would tell her the truth—about her marriage, her spoiled daughter, her days in France, the man who threatens her. Henny’s best friend, the gay guy who lives next door, teases her, encourages her—and maybe loves her from afar. Murder, kidnapping, and some French gossip complicate this mystery, set in Chicago and redolent with the aroma of fine food. Recipes included.

 

 

 

 

Barnes and Noble ║ Amazon

 

 

 

 

Praise

 

“A nicely convoluted murder mystery and a glorification of America’s diverse cuisines, played out against the attractions of a lovingly drawn Chicago.”—Fred Erisman, In Their Own Words: Forgotten Women Pilots of Early Aviation

 

“You’ll find yourself cheering for Henny James as she works beyond her job description as prep assistant to save her boss, Irene Foxglove, glamorous local French-ish TV chef.”—Kaye George, Deadly Sweet Tooth (Vintage Sweets Mysteries Book 2)

 

“Get lost in the beauty of Chicago and the intrigue of a Texas girl making her way in the world . . . You won’t see the end coming.”—Mary Dulle, avid cozy fan

 

 

 

 

 

 

After an award-winning career writing historical fiction about women of the nineteenth-century American West, Judy Alter turned her attention to contemporary cozy mysteries: the Kelly O’Connell Mysteries and Blue Plate Café Mysteries. Her avocation is cooking, and she is the author of Cooking My Way Through Life with Kids and Books, Gourmet on a Hot Plate, and Texas is Chili Country.

Born in Chicago, she has made her home in Fort Worth for over fifty years. Judy is also a proud Scot, a member of Clan MacBean. One trip to the Highlands convinced her that is where her heart is, and she longs to write a novel set in Scotland.

Judy is an active member of Sisters in Crime, Guppies, Story Circle Network, Women Writing the West, and the Texas Institute of Letters. When she is not writing, she is busy with seven grandchildren and a lively poodle/border collie cross.

 

 

Facebook ║ Twitter ║ Goodreads ║ Amazon ║ Website

 

BookBub ║Blogs: Judy’s Stew & Gourmet on a Hot Plate

 

———————–

 

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

 

THREE WINNERS: Autographed paperback copies of Saving Irene.

 

October 9-16, 2020

 

(US ONLY)

 

 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

 

 

 

Visit the Lone Star Literary Life Tour Page for direct links to each post on this tour.

 

 

blog tour services provided

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tusk Justice:(A Kenya Kanga Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Publisher: Kanga Press (October 9, 2020)
Number of Pages App. 300

 

Synopsis

 

At a summit on poaching, the keynote is homicide. Can a veterinarian solve the case before she becomes an endangered species?

Kenya, 2016. Community vet and skilled sleuth ‘Mama’ Rose Hardie is passionate about saving elephants. As she runs her monthly clinic for the animals at the local resort, she plans to attend a conference on the issue with her ailing husband. But things turn sour when a world-renowned conservationist is found brutally stabbed to death.

With the authorities tied up in Nairobi, Rose sets out to bring the killer in herself. But with multiple suspects all hiding secrets and scandalous truths surrounding the victim, the culprit may be too slippery for the aged amateur detective to handle.

Can Rose trap the murderer before she ends up as the next target?

Tusk Justice is the second book in the thrilling Kenya Kanga Mysteries series. If you like quirky characters, lush African locales, and a love of animals, then you’ll adore Victoria Tait’s adventurous whodunit.

 

 

Amazon – B&N – Kobo

 

 

Guest Post

 

 

Dawa – The African Cocktail

 

In Tusk Justice, book 2 in the Kenya Kanga Mystery series, the principal characters relax on the hotel lawn with pre-dinner drinks.  The heroine, Mama Rose and her husband Craig are given complimentary drinks: Dawas.  Rose found hers too strong, and she prefers white wine, and Craig asked for a Tusker beer instead.  However, Chloe enjoyed the Dawa.

 

 

The Dawa cocktail is a mixture of vodka, lime, sugar, honey, and ice.  It’s a refreshing drink for Kenya’s hot, and often dusty climate, but be aware, the acidic citrus juice and syrupy honey can mask the alcohol.

Samson Kivelenge, who has worked at The Carnivore restaurant in Nairobi since it opened in 1980, is credited with naming the cocktail which is based on a Brazilian drink.  It was developed for tourists and can be found on the bar menus of hotels and safari lodges from Diani Beach to Samburu National Reserve.

The best time to drink it? During sundowners, the African equivalent of happy hour.  The tradition of sundowners began under British colonial rule and continues today.  During an evening game drive, guests stop at a scenic spot to watch the striking African sunset.  Drinks and nibbles are provided.  I still prefer a gin and tonic as tonic has the added benefit of quinine, a common treatment for malaria… or is it a particularly generous measure of gin?  My husband prefers a Tusker Beer with an iconic label of an elephant’s head.

Dawa is a Kiswahili word meaning medicine.  Legend has it this African cocktail can heal anything: whether you’ve had a tough week at work, writer’s block, or even a cold.  It is best served chilled with nyama choma: grilled or BBQed meat.

 

Ingredients

 

• 1 lime cut into quarters
• 1 tbsp Brown/Granulated Sugar
• 2 shots of Vodka
• 1 tbsp Honey
• Crushed Ice

 

 

 

PREPARATION

Difficulty:  Easy

Time:  5 Minutes

• Place the lime quarters and sugar into a whisky tumbler or heavy-bottomed glass.
• Crush the limes, add crushed ice, and pour over the Vodka
• Add honey or a ‘Dawa’ stick
• Combine the ingredients and bring the limes up from the bottom of the glass. Add more ice until the glass is full, and garnish with a lime wheel.

A ‘Dawa’ stick is a plastic or wooden stick that is rolled in honey until it is thickly coated.  It is then stirred into the Dawa ingredients.

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Victoria Tait is an exciting new author launching her Kenya Kanga Mystery series.  She’s drawn on 8 years living in rural Kenya with her family to transport her readers to a world of curiosity, community and conspiracy.  The Kenya Kanga Mystery series brings to life the beauty of the Kenyan landscape, the magic of its wildlife, and the warmth of its people.

 

Website * Facebook * Blog * Goodreads * Pinterest

 

 

 

Giveaway

 

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Murder in Devil’s Cove: (A Book Magic Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Lake House Press (September 22, 2020)
Number of Pages: Approx 300
Digital ASIN: B088J48JY8

 

Synopsis

 

Two best-selling authors, one magical universe.

 

In the Book Magic Mystery Series, best-selling authors Melissa Bourbon and Wendy Lyn Watson bring you the story of cousins Pippin Lane Hawthorne and Cora Lane. The cousins live on opposite coasts (Pippin in Devil’s Cove, North Carolina, and Cora in Laurel Point, Oregon), but they share the family gift of bibliomancy: the ability to foresee the future and unravel the past with the help of the books we love. Join Pippin and Cora as they use their otherworldly power to solve mysteries in their respective worlds.

__________________________________________

Every book tells two stories—one written on the pages with pen and ink, and one woven into the paper, a story of the soul. The Lane women have the gift of bibliomancy. They can read both.

But Cassie Lane doesn’t see this as a gift. For her, it is a curse because the book magic comes with a price–the Lane women die young and the men are lost to the sea. As soon as she’s able, she leaves Laurel Point, Oregon, running from her past and her fate, ending up in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. There she meets Leo Hawthorne and lives a perfect life with him in an old Sea Captain’s house.

Perfect, that is, until an old book foretells the future, and the curse that has plagued the Lane women comes true for Cassie.

Twenty years later, Cassie and Leo’s children, twins Pippin and Grey, are back in Devil’s Cove. Long forgotten secrets surface and an old crime comes to light. Now Pippin must learn how to be a bibliomancer if she is to discover the truth about her father and continue his effort to stop the curse.

 

 

 

 

Guest Post

 

I am super excited to have Melissa on StoreyBook Reviews today.  I have been fortunate enough to meet her in the past when she lived in my area. She has since moved away, but her books are magical and while I haven’t read this one (yet!), it is definitely on my TBR mountain. I love today’s topic because if you have followed me at all, you know my review ratings are paws and are now in memory of my two helpers. I love dogs, so anytime I get to hear about dogs is a good day in my book.

 

Hello! I’ve been writing quite a bit about Murder in Devil’s Cove, the first book in the Book Magic Mystery series. As I was thinking about something new I could share about the book, the answer came to me.

The dog! 

 

Dogs are Characters, too!

 

Just like characters in a book, when you have an animal in a story, they need to be developed, too. I won’t tell you the dog’s name since that is revealed at the end of the book, but I do want to share how this particular dog came to be part of my Book Magic Mysteries.

 

Part One

 

Enter my good friend and “sister from another mister”, Debbie Johnson Stafford. We call each other Sista, and even thought we’re half a country apart from one another now, she’s someone who’s always close to my heart.

Well, one day earlier in 2020, Debbie asked me if she could give my information to a friend of hers from a Vizsla rescue group who writes weekly updates from the point of view of her rescue dog, Finn. For the last two years, people were telling her she should turn these weekly updates into a book. She was thinking about it.

I said sure, and that’s how I met Gwen Romack.

We spent quite a bit of time chatting and I helped her with the process of taking The Finn Chronicles from an idea to a book. As dogs go, Finn is pretty darn cute. Beautiful, even. But shhh. He’ll be reading this via Gwen and we don’t want the praise to go to his head.

 

 

 

Part Two

 

Part two of the story is thanks to my good friend and fellow mystery writer Diane Kelly. She and I run a Facebook group called The Book Warriors (SBR – I’m in this group!). Lots of fun book chat goes on there! Anyway, Diane and I live very near each other and we get together to walk and brainstorm and drink wine and go to ballroom dance lessons with our husbands (pre-pandemic).

Her dog inspired me.

 

Spoiler alert. Skip this part if you want to be surprised about the dog in the book!

 

Diane has the sweetest dog named Reggie. Reggie is deaf. Diane uses some basic sign language cues to help communicate with Reggie and has told me interesting and funny stories about getting Reggie’s attention. I knew I had to make the sweet dog Pippin rescues in Murder in Devil’s Cove deaf.

 

 

 

The Making of a Dog

 

Now, back to the beginning.

 

As I was writing Murder in Devil’s Cove, I knew I wanted there to be a rescue dog. At first I was going to model this dog after one of ours, but my pug, Bean, is already the inspiration for Agatha, the pug in my Bread Shop mysteries, and Dobby, our chug, is full of personality, but a bitty thing. This time around, I wanted the dog in my series to be bigger.

The sweet vizsla in my book became a blend of Finn and Reggie. In fact, Finn is the cover model for my books. He’s got a prominent spot on the cover of the upcoming Murder at Sea Captain’s Inn!

I have the book The Finn Chronicles to give me inspiration for my fictional pup’s antics, and I have sweet Reggie to help me with the sign language and behaviors of a hearing-impaired dog.

And there you have it! The making of the dog in Murder in Devil’s Cove.

I know Finn would be thrilled for you to read the books he’s featured on. We both hope you’ll give Murder in Devil’s Cove a try.

 

Happy reading!

 

Check out Finn on Facebook HERE

 

 

About the Author

 

Melissa Bourbon is the national bestselling author of nineteen mystery books, including the brand new collaborative Book Magic mysteries, the Lola Cruz Mysteries, A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series, and the Bread Shop Mysteries, written as Winnie Archer. She is a former middle school English teacher who gave up the classroom in order to live in her imagination full time. Melissa, a California native who has lived in Texas and Colorado, now calls the southeast home. She hikes, practices yoga, cooks, and is slowly but surely discovering all the great restaurants in the Carolinas. Since four of her five amazing kids are living their lives, scattered throughout the country, her dogs, Bean, the pug, Dobby, the chug, and Jasper, a cattle dog/lab keep her company while she writes. Melissa lives in North Carolina with her educator husband, Carlos, and their youngest son. She is beyond fortunate to be living the life of her dreams.

 

Website * Instagram * Book Warriors FB * Author Facebook * Twitter

 

 

 

Giveaway

 

 

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Cake Popped Off (Cupcake Catering Mystery Series)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in the Series
Publisher: Cinnamon & Sugar Press (September 22, 2020)
Print Length: 295 pages

 

Synopsis

Cupcake caterer Emory Martinez is hosting a Halloween bash alongside her octogenarian employer, Tillie. With guests dressed in elaborate costumes, the band is rocking, the cocktails are flowing, and tempers are flaring when the hired Bavarian Barmaid tries to hook a rich, hapless husband. Except one of her targets happens to be Emory’s brother-in-law, which bodes ill for his pregnant wife. When Emory tracks down the distraught barmaid, instead of finding the young woman in tears, she finds her dead. Can she explain to the new detective on the scene why the Bavarian Barmaid was murdered in Emory’s bathtub with Emory’s Poison Apple Cake Pops stuffed into her mouth?

With an angry pregnant sister to contend with, she promises to clear her brother-in-law’s name. As Emory starts asking questions and tracking down the identity of the costumed guests, she finds reasons to suspect her brother-in-law has been hiding a guilty secret. Her search leads her to a web of blackmail and betrayal amongst the posh setting of the local country club crowd. Can Emory sift through the lies she’s being told and find the killer? She’ll need to step up her investigation before another victim is sent to the great pumpkin patch in the sky.

 

Includes spooky Halloween recipes!

 

 

 

 

 

Review

 

This is the second cozy I’ve read recently that floored me when the killer was revealed. Normally I have a clue as to who might be guilty but in this case? Nada, zip, zilch, nothing.

I always love cozies when food is involved especially anything sweet. The descriptions of the various cupcakes, muffins, and other items had me drooling all throughout the book. Thank goodness for recipes at the end!

This is quite a diverse cast of characters and many of them are endearing and others, well we just hope that they see the light and turn their attitude around. I’m talking to you Theodore (not that he can hear me or even read this since he is a fictional character!). I adore Emory, she is one tough woman but at the same time has a vulnerable side when it comes to her past and possibly even her family. Emory and Carrie learn some interesting news from their mother in this book which will be an adventure as they seek to learn more about this secret.

Tillie is also another favorite character and as a woman in her 80’s, I just hope I am something like her at that age. She seizes life to the fullest, much to the chagrin of her son and one grandson.

We saw Emory’s high school friend Brad a little bit but not much and I hope he makes more of an appearance in the next book. But we do have a lot of interaction with Brad’s new beau, but that would be because he is the detective assigned to the murder case.

The crime was quite intriguing – a young woman ends up dead during a costume party at Tilly’s. Why would someone want to kill her? Emory and Tillie feel that they have to do their own sleuthing much to the dismay of Detective O’Neill (Brad’s beau). But they are instrumental in helping solve the murder and the clues they unearthed really came together at the end. I didn’t suspect this character in the least and to learn what led up to this moment was incredulous. WOW is all I can think to say when the killer revealed themself.

This is a fantastic new series, but make sure to start with the first book because it will set up how Emory and Tillie met and it will explain the relationship of many characters.

We give this 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Kim Davis lives in Southern California with her husband. When she’s not spending time with her granddaughters she can be found either writing stories or working on her blog, Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder, or in the kitchen baking up yummy treats.  She has published the suspense novel, A GAME OF DECEIT, and cozy mystery, SPRINKLES OF SUSPICION. She has had several children’s articles published in Cricket, Nature Friend, Skipping Stones, and the Seed of Truth magazines. Kim Davis is a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

 

Webpage * Facebook * Twitter * Blog * Goodreads * Pinterest

 

 

 

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Hollyberry Homicide (A Berry Basket Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Publisher: Kensington (September 29, 2020)
Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages

 

Synopsis

 

A cold wind is blowing off Lake Michigan, and murder is scaring the dickens out of everyone . . .

 

Considering her name, Marlee Jacob is an obvious choice for the role of Jacob Marley in Oriole Point’s production of A Christmas Carol. It’s just sad that the role has opened up because of the death of the elderly actor who’d originally been cast.

But Marlee, the proprietor of The Berry Basket, will do her best to keep spirits high—that is, until clues start mounting that there’s danger behind the scenes. There are accidents on set, the tree in the village square topples over, and worst of all, a body is found with a sprig of holly draped over it. If Marlee can’t wrap up the case, she may not have a berry merry Christmas . . .

Includes Berry Recipes!

 

 

Amazon  –  B&N –  Kobo

 

Google Play  –  IndieBound

 

 

Review

 

I have really enjoyed this series but this one? Wowsa!  Let’s just say the killer reveal was a total shocker and nothing I ever expected to happen.

It’s Christmastime in Oriole Point and Marlee takes decorating to a whole new level. It’s like Christmas exploded at her home and store. She is lovingly ribbed by her friends for going overboard with the decorations. She even blows fuses with everything she has plugged into the sockets. It might also have something to do with her birthday at that time. But this holiday may not go the way she planned when she finds 95 year old Everett dead at the museum. Now everyone else thinks it is natural causes, but Marlee suspects otherwise. The story just takes off from there and Marlee ends up playing Jacob Marley in the theater’s performance of A Christmas Carol, she stumbles across several unknown facts (which I won’t disclose) about Everett and a few other characters. All culminate into a point where Marlee is nearly killed, but who is the killer?  You’ll have to read the book to discover the killer and his/her motive for yourself.

I have enjoyed this series and I always feel like I gain weight just reading the book and dreaming about the pastries, cookies, ice cream, jams and jellies, and many other berry flavored items. We don’t see as much of Kit in this book who is Marlee’s love interest since he is working out of town on a case. I really do like Theo and his baking skills. He is a very sweet character and I like that Marlee has taken him under her wing to help him continue to grow and mature.  And then there is Natasha, Marlee’s Russian friend. She is a hoot and a half.

This is a great series so if you haven’t read any of the first 5, I suggest you do so before diving into this book. It will help you understand the characters a little better.

We give this book 5 paws up.

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Sharon Farrow is the latest pen name of award winning author Sharon Pisacreta. Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Sharon has been a freelance writer since her twenties. Published in mystery, fantasy, and romance, Sharon currently writes The Berry Basket cozy mystery series, which debuted October 2016 with Dying For Strawberries. She is also one half of the writing team D.E. Ireland, who co-author the Agatha nominated Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins mysteries.

 

Website * Facebook * Twitter * BookBub

 

 

Giveaway

 

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Campaigning Can Be Deadly (A Discount Detective Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Walrus Publishing, an imprint of Amphorae Publishing Group (September 29, 2020)
Number of Pages – 300

 

Synopsis

 

What begins as a prank ends in murder . . .

 

The campaign for the U.S. Congressional seat was referred to in the press as “Mr. Smith goes to Washington versus the carpetbagger. “The popular local candidate gets the majority of endorsements, but his opponent’s wealthy, out-of-state family is willing to do whatever it takes for him to win.

Penny-wise Investigations a discount detective agency located in a mall, is hired to find out who is stealing the local candidate’s political signs. Two of their investigators, Cameron Chandler and Yuri Webster, not only catch the thieves in the act, they find a body next to a pile of stolen signs, proving that . . . Campaigning Can Be Deadly.

 

 

 

Amazon – B&N – Book Depository – IndieBound

 

 

About the Author

 

In a world filled with uncertainty and too little chocolate, Charlotte Stuart has a passion for writing lighthearted mysteries with a pinch of adventure and a dollop of humor. Her first discount detective mystery, Survival Can Be Deadly, was a Foreward INDIES finalist. Why me? Chimeras, Conundrums and Dead Goldfish was short-listed for the Chanticleer Murder and Mayhem contest before it was published. She began her career in academia with a PhD in communications. Then, she and her husband decided to build a commercial boat and go fishing for salmon in Alaska. Currently, she is the VP for Puget Sound Sisters in Crime and lives and writes on Vashon Island in Washington State’s Puget Sound. She spends time each day entertained by herons, seals, eagles, and other wildlife.

 

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads * Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Watchman of Rothenburg Dies: A German Cozy Mystery (The Homeswappers)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: The Hometravellers Press (September 1, 2020)
~180 Pages

 

Synopsis

 

A holiday is a time to relax, unwind and see the sights. But for two adventurous sexagenarians, the sights have a tendency to include dead bodies. 

Etta and Dora, both newly retired teachers, travel from their home in Southern Italy to a fairy-tale German town for their first home swap holiday, delighted by their neighbours’ warm welcome. But the welcome turns sour when the Night Watchman of Rothenburg is brutally murdered while his tour group takes photographs nearby, a halberd buried in his chest and a peculiar iron mask by his side.

When the murderer claims a second victim and the son of their hospitable neighbours becomes the number-one suspect, Etta’s analytical mind goes to work. Why was a shame mask left at the scene of each murder? Is there a clandestine trade going on behind the scenes of apparently upstanding local businesses? And why does every lead take her back to the sinister Devil’s Ale pub and the terrifying gang who lurk within?

Meanwhile, Dora has a puzzle of her own – how can she persuade Etta that a loveably disobedient Basset Hound called Napoleon is now a permanent part of their lives?

◆Pack your bags, jump into the backseat of Etta and Dora’s old Fiat 500, and join them on their travels around Europe. There’ll be mystery, murder and mayhem aplenty wherever they go.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

She loves loads of things: traveling, reading, walking, good food, small villages, and home swapping. She runs her family perfumery, and between a dark patchouli and a musky rose, she reads and writes cozy mysteries.

She resisted writing as long as she could. But one day she found an alluring blank page and the words flowed in that weird English she’d learned in Glasgow

Get a taste of Adriana’s world reading And Then There Were Bones the prequel to her An Italian Village Mystery series, exclusive to the subscribers on her mailing list

 

 

Mailing list * Website * BookBub * Goodreads * Facebook * Twitter

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jokers Wild (Mah Jongg Mystery Series)
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Publisher: Bowker (July 5, 2020)
Paperback: 232 pages

 

Synopsis

 

“The show must go on.” That applies even to playwright Marianne Putnam, when the director of her one-act play, “Jokers Wild,” fails to show for curtains up on opening night at the community theater in Serendipity Springs, Florida. When the director’s wife begs Marianne to accompany her to their home to check on him, they find the man floating in his pool. Dead.

Though not known for his pleasant disposition—her relationship with him had been tense since nearly ramming into his car in a parking lot, but after all, he was the director—who would have wanted to murder him? Surely no one in the production crew, cast or the staff of the community center where the play was to be staged. Maybe it was the wife, who Marianne had overheard arguing with him. Or perhaps someone from his theater connections back in the Big Apple.

Since she was there when the body was discovered, Marianne is considered a suspect. That doesn’t mean she can’t help her three Mah Jongg friends—Syd, Micki and Kat—assist the sheriff with the investigation. But who’s there to help her when her path crosses the murderer’s.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Barbara Barrett started reading mysteries when she was pregnant with her first child to keep her mind off things like her changing body and food cravings. When she’d devoured as many Agatha Christies as she could find, she branched out to English village cozies and Ellery Queen.

Later, to avoid a midlife crisis, she began writing fiction at night when she wasn’t at her day job in human resources for Iowa State Government. After releasing eleven full-length romance novels and two novellas, she returned to the cozy mystery genre, using one of her retirement pastimes, the game of mah jongg, as her inspiration. Not only has it been a great social outlet, it has also helped keep her mind active when not writing.

Jokers Wild, the sixth book in her “Mah Jongg Mystery” series, features four friends who play mah jongg together and share otherwise in each other’s lives. None of the four is based on an actual person. Each is an amalgamation of several mah jongg friends with a lot of Barbara’s imagination thrown in for good measure. The four will continue to appear in future books in the series.

Barbara is a member of Sisters in Crime, Sinc-Iowa, Romance Writers of America and the SpacecoasT chapter of Romance Writers of America.

She is married to the man she met her senior year of college. They have two grown children and eight grandchildren.

Now retired, she is a resident of Florida, although she spends her summers in Iowa, her home state. She earned her B.A. degree in History from the University of Iowa and her Master’s Degree in History from Drake University.

When not in front of her laptop creating her next story, she plays mah jongg, travels and enjoys lunches with friends.

 

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Murder in the Bayou Boneyard: A Cajun Country Mystery
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (September 8, 2020)
Hardcover: 304 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Maggie Crozat has the Halloween heebie-jeebies in USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award-winning author Ellen Byron’s howlingly funny sixth Cajun Country mystery.

 

Maggie Crozat, proprietor of a historic Cajun Country B&B, prefers to let the good times roll. But hard times rock her hostelry when a new cell phone app makes it easy for locals to rent their spare rooms to tourists. With October–and Halloween–approaching, she conjures up a witch-crafty marketing scheme to draw visitors to Pelican, Louisiana.

Five local plantation B&Bs host “Pelican’s Spooky Past” packages, featuring regional crafts, unique menus, and a pet costume parade. Topping it off, the derelict Dupois cemetery is the suitably sepulchral setting for the spine-chilling play Resurrection of a Spirit. But all the witchcraft has inevitably conjured something: her B&B guests are being terrified out of town by sightings of the legendary rougarou, a cross between a werewolf and vampire.

When, in the Dupois cemetery, someone costumed as a rougarou stumbles onstage during the play–and promptly gives up the ghost, the rougarou mask having been poisoned with strychnine, Maggie is on the case. But as more murders stack up, Maggie fears that Pelican’s spooky past has nothing on its bloodcurdling present.

 

 

 

Penguin Random House – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – IndieBound

 

 

Review

 

Anytime I read one of the books in this series, I feel like I am visiting my family that lives in Cajun country. The vernacular is spot on and the food, well, let’s just say it is all delicious and I’m glad that the author provides recipes at the end of the book.

I enjoyed spending time with Maggie and her fiance’ Bo, and the rest of the Crorzat family. The whole family is a bit wacky but I love have they have each other’s back no matter what the situation. Actually, the whole town seems to support one another, at least most of the time. However, this time there is a new family relation in the picture and she is not what she seems. Her whole family is a bit off and that does not win them any friends.

I enjoyed learning some interesting tidbits about the superstitions that many believe in the south and how they especially love Halloween. I don’t think I had ever heard of a rougarou before this book so now I’m going to have to ask my Cajun family about that mythical creature.

The mystery is engaging and I have to admit, I wasn’t sure who the killer was or why. As I read further into the book and near the end, I had my suspicions, but I didn’t really know they why. It was interesting to uncover the truth in the situation. I’m going to be cryptic because the why is rather intricate and I don’t want to spoil anything for you.

There is a somewhat sad scene near the end that touched my heart and hopefully will touch yours. Another one that I won’t share details because you’ll need to read the book to find out!

I’m not sure what the next book will hold but I’m hoping it is Gran and Maggie’s double wedding!  We get a taste of Gran’s planning and her affinity for cake testing.  I can’t blame here, one of my favorite parts of planning a wedding. Laissez les bons temps rouler!!!

We give this book 5 paws up and if you have never read this series, start with the first book in the series, Plantation Shudders.

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Ellen’s Cajun Country Mysteries have won the Agatha award for Best Contemporary Novel and multiple Lefty awards for Best Humorous Mystery. Her Catering Hall Mystery series, written as Maria DiRico, launched with Here Comes the Body and was inspired by her real life. She’s an award-winning playwright and non-award-winning TV writer of comedies like WINGS, JUST SHOOT ME, and FAIRLY ODD PARENTS, but she considers her most impressive credit working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. A native New Yorker who attended New Orleans’ Tulane University, she lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and rescue furbaby.

 

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Giveaway

 

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