A Midwinter’s Tail (Lucky Paws Petsitting Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Kensington (November 27, 2018)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages

Synopsis

To bark or not to bark . . .

Professional pet sitter Daphne Templeton loves the holidays in Sylvan Creek, Pennsylvania. And nothing gets her into the spirit more than the town’s annual Bark the Halls Ball. The whole community will be there to wag their tails, especially this year’s special guest—Celeste “CeeCee” French, founder of a national chain of pet care franchises, who’s returning home to announce plans for a bright new flagship store.

But not everyone’s celebrating CeeCee’s homecoming. Daphne’s friend Moxie Bloom, owner of Spa and Paw, a unique salon for people and their pets, has plenty to growl about. So when CeeCee is found face down under Sylvan Creek’s town Christmas tree, stabbed with a distinctive pair of professional-grade pet shears, suspicion lands squarely on Moxie. Despite Daphne’s promises to Detective Jonathan Black, she quickly reprises her role as amateur sleuth. Ably assisted by her basset hound sidekick, Socrates, she must hurry to prove her friend’s innocence before a killer barks again . . .

Includes recipes for homemade pet treats!

Guest Post

Readers often ask authors what they have in common with the characters they create. I don’t usually base my characters off my family, friends or myself. However, this time of year, I do share one trait with Moxie Bloom, the quirky, vintage-obsessed salon owner from my Lucky Paws Petsitting Mysteries — namely, a love of old movies.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen White Christmas and its less popular predecessor, Holiday Inn. And, of course, there’s Miracle on 34th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life, The Bishop’s Wife and the more modern classic, A Christmas Story.

But my favorite by far is 1945’s Christmas in Connecticut, about a Manhattan apartment dweller who writes a Martha-Stewart-like lifestyle column, and who is forced to pretend to live the perfect domestic life on a Connecticut farm when her charade is about to be exposed at the holidays.

If you haven’t seen this movie, starring Barbara Stanwyck, and you love coziness, run and watch it today, hot cocoa in hand.

From the barn dance to the sleigh ride, Christmas in Connecticut definitely inspired my newest book, A Midwinter’s Tail, which also features horse-drawn sleighs, ice skating, and a fancy ball in a quaint, rustic town — not to mention a few handsome war heroes, just like in the movie.

The story is different, but the warm and fuzzy setting is the same.

What story do you turn to, when you want to immerse yourself in the holiday spirit? I’d love to know. Maybe it will be my next favorite, too!

 

About the Author

Bethany Blake lives in a small, quaint town in Pennsylvania with her husband and three daughters. When she’s not writing or riding horses, she’s wrangling a menagerie of furry family members that includes a nervous pit bull, a fearsome feline, a blind goldfish, and an attack cardinal named Robert. Like Daphne Templeton, the heroine of her Lucky Paws Mysteries, Bethany holds a Ph.D. and operates a pet sitting business called Barkley’s Premium Pet Care.

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Oh Holy Fright (Pecan Bayou Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
8th in Series
Self Published (October 31, 2018)
Number of Pages: 255

Synopsis

It’s Christmas in Pecan Bayou, Texas. Join Betsy (aka The Happy Hinter) for a good old small-town Christmas complete with Christmas carols, over the top light displays, delicious food, loving friends and…a Christmas Creeper. One of the residents of Pecan Bayou has a secret and you’d better lock the door because that isn’t Santa out there or even a stray elf. Enjoy spending Christmas with the town and family you’ve come to know in the Pecan Bayou Series.

Recipes and helpful hints included!

 

About the Author

Teresa Trent lives in Houston, Texas and is an award-winning mystery writer.  She writes the Pecan Bayou Mystery Series, is a regular contributor to the Happy Homicides Anthologies. Teresa is happy to add her Henry Park Mystery Series to her publishing credits with Color Me Dead, the first book in the series. Teresa has also won awards for her work in short stories where she loves to dabble in tales that are closer to the Twilight Zone than small town cozies. When Teresa isn’t writing, she is a full-time caregiver for her son and teaches preschoolers music part-time. Her favorite things include spending time with family and friends, waiting for brownies to come out of the oven, and of course, a good mystery.

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Mrs. Odboddy: And Then There Was a Tiger (Mrs. Oboddy Mysteries)
WWII tale of conflict and carnivals, turmoil and tigers.
Cozy Mystery/Humorous/Historical
3rd in Series
Elk Grove Publications (July 25, 2018)
Print Length: 349 pages

Synopsis

While the ‘tiger of war’ rages across the Pacific during WWII, eccentric, elderly Agnes Odboddy, ‘fights the war from the home front’. Her patriotic duties are interrupted when she is accused of the Wilkey’s Market burglary.

A traveling carnival with a live tiger joins the parishioner’s harvest fair at The First Church of the Evening Star and Everlasting Light. Accused again when counterfeit bills are discovered at the carnival, and when the war bond money goes missing, Agnes sets out to restore her reputation and locate the money. Her attempts lead her into harm’s way when she discovers a friend’s betrayal and even more about carnival life than she bargained for.

Granddaughter Katherine’s turbulent love triangle with a doctor and an FBI agent rivals Agnes’s own on-again, off-again relationship with Godfrey.

In Faber’s latest novel, your favorite quirky character, Mrs. Odboddy, prevails against injustice and faces unexpected challenges . . . and then There Was a Tiger!

Guest Post

Today I welcome author Elaine Faber to StoreyBook Reviews.  I could never write a book but I find her tips below quite helpful should I try my hand.  Pretty sure I won’t but will share these tips with other writers I know.

Reviewing the Rules of Writing Good Dialogue
By Elaine Faber

Readers love to read a novel full of dialogue. Often they have no idea that, as writers, we have rules we must follow to keep the dialogue interesting. Every sentence in a novel must move the story forward. This keeps reader’s interest whether it is a fiction story, a devotional, or an article about keeping aphids off rose bushes.

Let’s pull back the curtain on an author as she creates her compelling story.

In dialogue, we don’t repeat the question or person’s name when giving an answer. Example:

George: “Lucy? Do you want to go to the movies with me?”

Lucy “Yes, George, I’d love to go to the movies with you.” (Sounds like the utterances of a robot.)

Readers may not even notice when a skilled writer gives an oblique reply.

George: “Do you want to go to the movies with me?”

Lucy: “It depends. What’s playing and when did you have in mind? I have a very busy social life, you know. (Aha! We’ve moved the goalpost on the story. Lucy may have another suitor.)

We don’t use conversation to impart information.

George: “So? You’ll go with me if you haven’t seen the movie yet?”

Lucy: I have a date with Tom next Saturday night. You know, Tom–my mother’s second cousin’s nephew by marriage? He’s a troubled guy, votes Democrat, but he has a charming personality.”

We don’t use meaningless chit-chat in dialogue. Every conversation should have a purpose, give a clue to something yet to come in the story, or suggest a potential conflict. Example:

George: “You’re going out with Tom? I thought he was in jail for murder.”

Lucy: “He’s out now. He was falsely accused. Now he’s receiving death threats against him or anyone associated with him.”

George: “Really, Lucy?” George raises his eyebrow. “Is it wise to date a guy like that?”

Don’t use conversation to impart lengthy bits of back story. Example:

George: “You should date me, not Tom. Don’t you realize that I was the one who saved your mother from a burning building that she set that night when she was despondent over her divorce, and then she learned that she was my father’s long-lost twin sister, separated at birth by their evil stepmother?”

Lucy: Gasp! “I’ve been away at college way too long. Good grief. Does that make us cousins?”

George: “Maybe kissing-cousins. So is it a date?”

Lucy: “As long as they haven’t arrested me yet for killing my college roommate, who recently died under questionable circumstances when she was smothered in her sleep.”

Review: Each sentence delivers new information. Give oblique answers to a question. Don’t use the person’s name in your response. Don’t use conversation to impart lengthy back story. Don’t repeat the question just asked. The goal is to keep the reader turning pages!

Wow! Writing a book isn’t easy as easy as you thought, right? I had to keep all these things in my head while writing a compelling event that hooks the reader on page one, an exciting middle, and a satisfying and thrilling conclusion. But, it was easy for Mrs. Odboddy to be the prime suspect in a burglary, involved with a counterfeiting ring, losing the war bond money, meeting a tiger and still win at the end. Mrs. Odboddy – And Then There was a Tiger will keep the reader turning pages and looking backward to the previous Mrs. O books, or forward to the next one. Join Mrs. Odboddy on this rollicking adventure as she tackles adversity in this hysterical romp at the Newbury Harvest Fair, even as she fights the war from the home front during WWII.

 

About the Author

Elaine Faber lives in Northern California with her husband and two feline companions. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, California Cat Writers, and Northern California Publishers and Authors. She volunteers with the American Cancer Society Discovery Shop. She enjoys speaking on author panels, sharing highlights of her novels. Her short stories have appeared in national magazines and multiple anthologies. She has published seven books. In addition to the Mrs. Odboddy Mysteries Elaine writes the Black Cat Mysteries.

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Synopsis

Callie Reed has put together a special event, but a killer is ripping it apart at the seams

As the new owner of a music box store in Keepsake Cove, a quaint town full of collectible shops on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Callie Reed is eager to get more involved in her community. So she volunteers to plan the fall street decorations and welcome a visiting author who’s come for a special book signing. But the celebratory mood is cut short when the local B&B owner is found dead, killed with a pair of vintage scissors.

Suspicion is cast on the victim’s estranged wife, Dorothy, who owns Keepsake Cove’s vintage sewing shop. Callie is sure Dorothy is innocent, and the visiting author agrees. Together, they begin their own investigation, only to discover that many people in Keepsake Cove have secrets. Secrets that are worth killing to keep.

Review

This is the second book in the series about a touristy town that has a lot of specialty shops and our protagonist, Callie, runs a music box shop. It is interesting to read about various types of music boxes and the music that is within the box or other housing. And her aunt seems to haunt a heirloom music box that they keep in the shop. I think it is her aunt’s way of looking out for her and warning her when something bad might happen.

The mystery kept me guessing about who the killer was and let me tell you I didn’t get it right at all! I was very surprised at how things turned out and perhaps those that died got what they deserved because they were not nice people at all. The author does a great job of weaving in past events into the present that makes different characters seem guilty even if they are not.

There is an author that is visiting the town to do a book signing, Lyssa, that has her own secrets too but nothing as bad as others! It looks like Lyssa might become a regular character since she has bought a home close to Keepsake Cove. She is quite quirky and I think she will add some dimension to the books and helps round out a trio of friends which includes Tabitha. Tabitha is another fun characters because she likes to dress as various characters/people and keeps people guessing. I always wonder who she will portray next.

On the romance side, Hank is still trying to keep his hooks in Callie despite the fact that she has told him goodbye. At least he doesn’t live in town! Her friendship with Brian is developing and I wouldn’t be surprised if this turned into a romance down the road. Even if it doesn’t, they have a great friendship which needs to be treasured.

We give this 4 paws up

About the Author

Mary Ellen Hughes is the bestselling author of the Pickled and Preserved Mysteries (Penguin), the Craft Corner Mysteries, and the Maggie Olenski Mysteries, along with several short stories. A Fatal Collection is her debut with Midnight Ink. A Wisconsin native, she has lived most of her adult life in Maryland, where she’s set many of her stories.

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Reason To Doubt (A Carol Childs Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Henery Press (November 6, 2018)

Synopsis

Carol Childs is in the middle of one of the biggest stories of her life. Her daughter Cate has returned from college with a boyfriend in tow. A photographer who police suspect to be The Model Slayer, responsible for the murder of three young women.

Not since the Hillside Strangler has Los Angeles been so on edge.

And when the police arrest Cate’s boyfriend, Carol’s personal life and professional worlds collide. A tattooed cocktail waitress calls the radio station and asks to speak with Carol off the record. She knows the true identity of the real Model Slayer because she says she killed him.

Tensions mount as the clock ticks. The police are convinced they have the right man. Mother and daughter aren’t talking. Carol can’t reveal to investigators all she knows, and unless Carol can find the real killer before the trial begins, an innocent man may spend the rest of his life in prison or be executed for a crime he didn’t commit.

Review

Each book in this series seems to top the previous one and I’m not sure how!  This series keeps me engaged and on the edge of my seat wondering what the characters will uncover next.  Plus each character seems like someone you might know or could possibly meet in your everyday life.  She also brings to life some careers that many of us would not consider (exotic dance) and puts a different spin on that career field that might at least make you understand why someone might perform these jobs.

Carol always manages to be in the right place at the right time, or in this case, almost the wrong place based on a sequence of events that has her in front of a judge wanting to know more about what she knows to help solve a crime.  In this case, it is a continuation of an unsolved crime – the Model Slayer.  Carol has uncovered several bodies and it isn’t until this book that the murderer is uncovered.  But it takes some doing and not without misdirection and Carol’s daughter, Cate, getting caught up in everything since it is her boyfriend that is accused of being the killer.  Let’s just say when it is all revealed you will be quite surprised to learn who the killer is because it is definitely not someone that ever piqued an interest in my mind.

This story also has some romance between Carol and Chase.  But there is also Eric, a former/past interest for Carol and he seems to pop up quite a bit in this book since he is working on the case to uncover the killer.

I’m looking forward to what Carol is up to in the next installment and we give this book 5 paws up.

About This Author

Nancy Cole Silverman credits her twenty-five years in radio for helping her to develop an ear for storytelling. In 2001, Silverman retired from news and copywriting to write fiction full time. In 2014, Silverman signed with Henery Press for her new mystery series, The Carol Childs’ Mysteries. The first of the series, Shadow of Doubt, debuted in December 2014 and the second, Beyond a Doubt, was July 2015. The third, Without A Doubt, was released May 24, 2016. Room for Doubt was released on July 18, 2017, Reason to Doubt hit stores November 6, 2018.

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Killalot (An Ivy Meadows Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Henery Press (November 15, 2018)

Synopsis

A jouster, a playwright, and a detective walk into a faire…but it’s no joke when one ends up dead.

Actress and part-time PI Ivy Meadows is thrilled when she learns that the famous playwright behind Hello Dolly Madison is in Arizona. Not so much when she realizes he’s a suspect in the murder of a Renaissance faire jouster.

As is her friend Riley. And about a thousand other people, all disguised in Renaissance costume during the fatal jousting match.

When Ivy is hired to investigate the killing, she goes undercover as a Cockney belly dancer at the faire and finagles her way into the playwright’s Kennedy-inspired version of Camelot—as Marilyn Monroe, no less.

Then, in the midst of her toughest case ever, Ivy has to solve another dilemma: Will she follow her lifelong dream of being an actor or settle down with the love of her life?

The murder investigation, the play, and real life come together in a twist that begs the question: Is there a happily-ever-after for anyone?

Books in the Ivy Meadows Humorous Mystery Series:

Macdeath (#1)
The Sound of Murder (#2)
Oliver Twisted (#3)
Ivy Get Your Gun (#4)
The Phantom of Oz (#5)
Killalot (#6)

Guest Post

How I Became Marilyn Monroe

by Ivy Meadows

As an actor, I know all of my physical flaws, at least as they’ve been catalogued by costumers and makeup artists and casting agents. I’m a little short (5’4”), not skinny enough for film (around 125 lbs.), and have mousy brown hair (which I dye blonde). So I knew that even getting to audition to play Marilyn Monroe would be a stretch. But as a PI, I knew it was the only way I could investigate a famous playwright who was my number one suspect in a murder.

That’s how I ended up in the boudoir of my friend Timothy, drag queen extraordinaire.

“Are you really sure about becoming Marilyn?” Timothy fiddled with a tackle box full of makeup. “You may be invoking a few demons here.”

“What do you mean?” I sat on the edge of his bed.

“Well, she didn’t exactly have the happiest life. Some impersonators say they feel her spirit when they channel her.”

“Bah,” I said. “I’m not channeling, I’m acting.” Still, a little shiver ran down my back as I touched the platinum blonde wig on the bedside table. “Where’d you get this wig?” It was a good one. Real hair.

“I used to do Marilyn.”

“Really? You did Marilyn?” Timothy was the hairiest man I’d ever met. And it was black hair.

“A girl’s gotta try,” he said, tossing me a wig cap. “But now I stick to Amy Winehouse and Liza and of course, Cher.” Timothy did an amazing version of “Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves” which he said was autobiographical. His autobiography, not Cher’s. “Let’s do this.” He tilted my face back and forth and up and down. “Ooh. I never realized how much you look like her.”

“I do?”

“Have you ever seen those photos of her before she became famous, when she was fresh-scrubbed Norma Jean? Even her hair—her real hair—was the same color as yours. As your real hair.”

“Dirt brown?” That was what my agent had called it right before she told me to dye it blonde.

“This is going to be fabulous, just you wait.” Timothy practically crackled with glee. “A little bit of shading, some eyebrow work…ooh.” He actually rubbed his hands together, like a mad scientist about to begin a particularly exciting experiment. “Oh, wait…” He fiddled with his phone, then set it on the bedside table by the mannequin head. “Ambience,” he said. Marilyn’s voice filled the room, singing about kisses and diamonds and men. “Let us begin.”

Timothy told me what he was doing step-by-step: foundation first, then shading with brown powder to make the contours of my face look more like Marilyn’s, then blush, dark brown arched eyebrows, black eyeliner, red lips. “With a slightly darker lip liner of course.” Like most drag queens I knew, Timothy was a big fan of lip liner. He rocked back on his heels and studied me, pursing his lips. “A little more bottom lip I think…” He leaned in and drew a larger line beneath my lip, then nodded with satisfaction. “Now for the pièce de résistance.” He took the wig off the mannequin and pinned it onto my head. “And now…” Timothy handed me a mirror.

I took the mirror, then almost dropped it. Looking back at me was a blonde bombshell—no, the blonde bombshell. It was almost like looking at a movie screen. “Timothy,” I said. “You are a magician.”

“C’est moi,” he said. “And you, my dear, are Marilyn.”

About the Author

Cindy Brown has been a theater geek (musician, actor, director, producer, and playwright) since her first professional gig at age 14. Now a full-time writer, she’s lucky enough to have garnered several awards (including 3rd place in the 2013 international Words With Jam First Page Competition, judged by Sue Grafton!) and is an alumnus of the Squaw Valley Writers Workshop. Though Cindy and her husband now live in Portland, Oregon, she made her home in Phoenix, Arizona, for more than 25 years and knows all the good places to hide dead bodies in both cities.

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The Skeleton Makes a Friend (A Family Skeleton Mystery)
Diversion Books (November 6, 2018)
Paperback: 280 pages

Synopsis

Georgia Thackery is feeling pretty good about her summer job teaching at prestigious Overfeld College, and she’s renting a rustic cabin right by a lake for herself, her daughter, Madison, and her best friend, Sid the Skeleton. Together again, the trio are enjoying the quiet when a teenager named Jen shows up looking for her friend. Georgia doesn’t recognize the name, but she learns that the person Jen was looking for is actually Sid.

Sid reveals that he and Jen are part of a regular online gaming group that formed locally, and one of their members has gone missing. Sid admits that he might have bragged about his investigative prowess, enough so that Jen wants him to find their missing player. Given that Sid doesn’t have many friends offline—none, really, unless you count the Thackery family—Georgia agrees to help him search. They manage to discreetly enlist Jen, who lives in town, and follow the clues to… a dead buddy.

Now they’ve got a killer on their hands. Probing the life of Sid’s friend, they realize a lot is wrong both on campus and in the seemingly quaint town, and someone doesn’t want them looking deeper.

Excerpt

Sid unzipped the rest of the way, pulled himself out of the suitcase and back together, and tried to turn the knob. “It’s locked.”

“Can you open it?”

“Easy peasy,” he said, pulling a set of lock picks from inside the suitcase. My locksmith sister Deborah probably hadn’t realized that teaching my daughter Madison how to pick locks was tantamount to teaching Sid. Madison had shared everything she’d learned with him, and he’d promptly ordered his own picks online. “You really should learn to do this, Georgia. It’s not that hard.”

Despite his assurance, it seemed to take an awful long time to get the door open. Or maybe it just seemed like a long time because I kept looking down the stairs, worried that somebody would hear us and come to see what was going on.

Finally there was a loud click, and Sid said, “Nailed it!” He opened the door, and cold air streamed out.

“Brr!” I said. “Wouldn’t you know that a department with everybody on vacation would be the one with overachieving air conditioners?” The window unit in my classroom had gone out twice. “Not to mention the waste of electricity.”

“You can complain about it later,” Sid said. “Come on.”

I followed him into the human resources department, pulling the empty suitcase along.

There were four more closed doors: three offices labeled with names and one marked File Room.

“Here we go,” Sid said, using his picks on one of the office doors.

This lock was easier to deal with, which was a relief, but unfortunately, the smell seemed to be coming from that office. “I’m going in.”

“Remember what I said. Get in, look around fast, get out.”

“Got it.” He stepped inside.

Between the cold, the horrid stink, and the fear of being caught, I was hoping that Sid would be swift, but I was surprised when he came out in under two minutes. “That was fast. Did you find something?”

“Don’t go in there.”

“I wasn’t going to—”

Then I looked at him.

He shouldn’t have been able to look like anything but bone-colored, but somehow he seemed paler than usual, and his bones were so loose he was nearly falling apart. “What’s wrong?”

“He’s in there. At least I think it’s him.”

“Did he see you?” I said stupidly.

He slowly shook his skull, and only then did I realize what it was we’d been smelling.

About the Author

Leigh Perry is the author of the Family Skeleton Series: A Skeleton in the Family, The Skeleton Takes a Bow, The Skeleton Haunts a House, and The Skeleton Paints a Picture.

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My Alter Ego

Toni L.P. Kelner

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Uncle and Ants: A Silicon Valley Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
BGM Press (October 11, 2018)
Paperback: 287 pages

Synopsis

Mysterious attacks. Mischievous nieces. Can a clueless uncle catch a tech-savvy killer … and be home before bedtime?

When a freak accident hospitalizes Marty Golden’s sister and condemns him to babysitter duty, he thinks it’s just another case of hardwired bad luck in Silicon Valley. Until a suspicious murder suggests the mishap was no mere coincidence. Something must be done.

Too bad this quirky, fashion-backward uncle isn’t exactly hero material.

Convinced his sister is in mortal danger, this amateur sleuth follows clues to an oddball array of suspects. Armed with nothing but an eye for detail and powers of self-delusion, Marty tangles with gangsters, a cantankerous school secretary, and a perplexing woman he can’t help but fall for. Glitches in his investigation seem like a piece of cake compared to dinner-prep and bedtime stories with his two precocious, pre-teen nieces.

Can Marty catch the culprit, save his sister, and get his life back in order before he gets unplugged?

Uncle and Ants is the first novel in a refreshingly modern mystery series set in Silicon Valley. If you like clever humor, sassy side characters, and average Joes facing extraordinary circumstances, then you’ll love this twisty mystery.

Buy Uncle and Ants to login to a fresh, funny mystery today!

Review

This new series could take the cozy world by storm.  It has quirky characters, Texas Crazy Ants, a mystery with multiple suspects, and two precocious girls that sometimes steal the spotlight, OK often steal the spotlight!

Marty is a very cerebral male and I sometimes wonder if it is his chosen career field or if he might be on the spectrum that makes him say and do the things that he does during this book.  His thought process is different than mine but he does eventually put the pieces together but the ending was still quite surprising with how the whole story line plays out and what started as something innocent turns into murder and attempted murder.  I think Marty does need to work on his communication skills.  I’m sure he came off a little wacky with some of the messages he left on the detective’s voice mail.

The clues are there to lead you to the killer but they are buried quite nicely so you have to actually work a little to figure out how each piece fits into the puzzle.

We think this will be a great series and look forward to the next book.  We give this 4 paws up

About the Author

In my family, I was born first — a fact my sister never lets me forget, no matter what milestone age she hits.

For most of my life, I’ve been inventing stories. Some, especially when I was young, involved my sister as the villain. As my sister’s brother for her entire life, I’m highly qualified to tell the tale of the evolving, quirky sibling relationship in Uncle and Ants: A Silicon Valley Mystery.

My writing skills were honed in years of marketing leadership positions in Silicon Valley. While my high-tech marketing roles involved crafting plenty of fiction, we called these marketing collateral, emails, and ads.

My family and friends would tell you that Marty’s character isn’t much of a stretch of the imagination for me, but I proudly resemble that remark.

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The Killer Christmas Sweater Club (A Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Publisher: Satori 
Print Length: 342 pages

Synopsis

All ten-year-old Alexandra Atwood wants for Christmas is to get her dad and the B&B’s cook Marquetta under the mistletoe. After all, how can they get married if they don’t kiss first?

When murder strikes in Seaside Cove, bed-and-breakfast owner Rick Atwood is asked to help find the killer. But this will not be an easy case to crack. Not only did the killer contaminate the crime scene, but there are suspects all over town. And they all received the same Christmas sweater from the victim.

Alex hears rumors about the murder and decides that since she’s on Christmas break, she has time for a little multitasking. She launches her own investigation even as she continues her efforts to get her dad and Marquetta together.

Just when Rick thinks he’s identified all the suspects, he discovers a new one—his estranged wife. With the days until Christmas ticking down, Rick feels pressured from all sides. He needs to solve the case. He needs to send his wife back to New York. But the one thing he doesn’t need is for his daughter to be one step ahead of him and the cops.

Guest Post

Today I welcome Terry Ambrose.  He is sharing his thoughts about treasure hunting.  Fascinating stuff!

When I started writing the Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery series, I decided it would be a good opportunity to stick my toe back into the world of treasure hunting. I’d studied archaeology in college and, at its core, archaeology always felt like hunting treasure to me. I’m not talking about the gold-and-silver riches of an Indiana Jones tale, but the kind that tells us what ancient societies did on a daily basis.

I know. Boring.

But nautical archaeology can be a bit different. Throughout the ages, ships carried large cargoes, some worth millions, or even billions, in today’s dollars. The current Seaside Cove treasure fever is all about the San Manuel, a four-hundred-year-old Spanish galleon with one of those invaluable cargoes. Of course, as yet, nobody has actually seen the San Manuel, so the fever is driven by speculation. And isn’t that just like the real world?

The stock market goes up—or down—based mostly on speculation. Would-be stars rush to Hollywood or New York or Nashville in hopes of hitting it big. Even though the failures far outnumber the successes, the success stories are large enough to eclipse reality.

The great thing about fiction is it’s not based on reality. It’s all about transporting the reader to a world where they can suspend their disbelief and escape. That world needs to feel real and offer the reader hope. And hope to achieve the next big thing is what life is all about.

How about you? What’s your next big thing? Do you have your sights set firmly it?

About the Author

Terry Ambrose is a former skip tracer who only stole cars when it was legal. He’s long since turned his talents to writing mysteries and thrillers. Several of his books have been award finalists and in 2014 his thriller, “Con Game,” won the San Diego Book Awards for Best Action-Thriller. He’s currently working on the Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery series.

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A Cold Brew Killing (All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Lyrical Underground (November 6, 2018)
Print Length Approximately 250 Pages

Synopsis

When an ice cream vendor discovers a frozen stiff, Florida diner owner Gia Morelli has to serve up some just desserts . . .

Gia has become good friends with Trevor, a fun, flirtatious bachelor who owns the ice cream parlor down the street from her popular All-Day Breakfast Café. Trevor has the scoop on all sorts of local attractions and activities. But when he bursts into her diner, trembling and paler than a pint of French Vanilla, she can tell something’s very wrong. Trevor points her toward his shop then passes out cold. When Gia runs down to his shop, she discovers a chilling sight—a dead body in the open freezer. But the ice cream man’s troubles are just beginning. The police suspect him of this murder a la mode, especially when details of his questionable past surface. Gia believes in her friend and is determined to clear his name and find the real cold-blooded killer before someone else gets put on ice . . .

Guest Post – Recipe

While I haven’t read this series, any time a series revolves around food I find myself drooling imagining the various dishes.  Today I have a recipe and a photo to share of breakfast pie, or quiche, whatever name you want to give it, it all is the same and is very tasty.  I did notice that the crust isn’t a pastry crust but rather made up of bacon and potatoes.  I am going to have to try this recipe very soon!  Thanks for sharing this with us today Lena.

Breakfast Pie

One of the dishes All-Day Breakfast Café owner, Gia Morelli, loves most is Breakfast Pie. In her case, it makes life easier, since they are made ahead of time and are easy enough to just slice and serve. They are also delicious re-heated, so they make for a great time saver when you’re in a hurry and want to grab something quick. Simply make them up on the weekends, slice them, and all you have to do is heat one slice up whenever you’re hungry.

Gia makes several different kinds; western (ham, peppers, onions, and cheese), meat lovers (bacon, sausage, ham, and cheese), veggie (spinach, squash, zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms, and tomatoes), and my personal favorite, my dad’s original Breakfast Pie, which he makes every Christmas morning!

Original Breakfast Pie Recipe

You will need:

1 lb. Bacon

1 Package Breakfast Sausage

½ lb. ham

1 large green pepper

2 medium onions

5 medium potatoes or 1 bag shredded potatoes

1 dozen eggs

1 bag shredded cheddar cheese

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Prepare:

Cut up and shred 5 medium potatoes (or use 1 bag of pre-shredded potatoes)

Chop onions (keep separate)

Chop ham

Chop sausage

Chop green pepper

Crust:

Fry bacon in a large skillet (an electric frying pan works perfectly), then keep the fat in the pan, and chop the bacon. Keep 1/3 for the crust and set 2/3 aside.

Fry potatoes and one chopped onion in the bacon fat (add salt and pepper to taste). When cooked add 1/3 of the chopped bacon and stir.

Press into a pie dish to form the crust.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Filling:

Using the same pan (you can use non stick spray on the bottom if needed) combine and cook breakfast sausage, ham, remaining bacon, green pepper, and remaining onion.

While cooking, scramble 1 dozen eggs.

Once mixture is cooked, add eggs and mix while cooking. Add salt and pepper (to taste)

When done, stir in about 6 oz. of shredded cheddar, then add filling to pie crust. Put in oven.

Bake for 45 minutes.

When just about done, sprinkle shredded cheddar (to taste) over the top and return to oven until cheese melts.

Serve and enjoy!

 

About the Author

Lena lives in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island with her husband and three children.

When she was growing up, she spent many lazy afternoons on the beach, in the yard, anywhere she could find to curl up with a good book. She loves reading as much now as she did then, but she now enjoys the added pleasure of creating her own stories.

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