Murder at the Pontchartrain
Cozy Mystery (Humorous)
6th in Series
Setting – New Orleans, Louisiana
Anamcara Press LLC (June 15, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 280 pages

 

Synopsis

 

“My name is Sydney Lockhart. I solve murders, most of which I’m the primary suspect.

My boyfriend/partner, Ralph Dixon, and I came to the Pontchartrain Hotel in New Orleans to get married. Instead, Dixon’s in jail for a double murder. I’m in a swamp, spying on the KKK. Helping me untangle this mess is my bubble-headed cousin Ruth who’s undercover as a chef at the Pontchartrain. My twelve-year-old charge, Lydia LaBeau, dressed as a voodoo queen, is looking for clues at Pat O’Brien’s in the French Quarter. Rip Thigbee, a ghost detective, is my only hope.

I’m not making any of this up. This is my life and this is what I deal with, like it or not.

So, mix yourself a Hurricane and join me in the Big Easy for another historic hotel murder case.”

 

 

Anamcara Press – Amazon

 

 

Guest Post

 

Sydney Lockhart’s World

 

By Kathleen Kaska

 

 

My big, sassy mouth landed me a job as a reporter. Being suspected of murder turned me into a private detective. One job is not that much different than the other. You snoop, you dig, you put yourself in danger. What makes my situation so unusual is that the year is 1952 and I’m a woman. My name is Sydney Lockhart.

The reason I was given the job at the newspaper went like this:

“I’m here to interview for the job, Mr. Turney.”

“You’re a woman,” he said.

“And you’re smarter than you look.”

He threw his head back and laughed. “With a name like Sydney, I thought you were a man. It is a man’s name, you know?”

“When spelled with a ‘i,’ not a ‘y. I would think an editor should know that.”

Turney picked up my application and studied it. He looked back at me. “But this is not a job a woman can handle.”

“I can think, I can write, and unlike some people I can put my biases aside and focus on the facts.”

“I see you have written for the Daily Texan. Writing for the University of Texas newspaper doesn’t compare to hard-core news reporting.”

“Martha Gellhorn was a reporter from Colliers covering the Spanish Civil War and later  became a war correspondent in WWII.”

“True, but she was also married to Ernest Hemingway.”

“I wouldn’t hold that against her.”

My pulse rose in anticipation. Then he tossed my application back on the desk. “Come in on Monday morning. I’ll see what I can do.” He ushered me out the door.

The following week, I was back at the Austin American, working in the Travel and Entertainment department, writing about who wore what to the Ladies Social Society annual banquet, and the best places to stay while traveling. It wasn’t the type of writing I was interested in. Then one day I came into the office and was told to report to Ernest Turney about an assignment regarding a musician.

“Why is he interested in entertainment news?” I asked the society editor.

“Something about the guy hating reporters and refusing interviews. He said he thought you could handle it. He wants the story bad. Just go see him.”

So I did. Now, I’m standing in front of my mirror for one final look at my disguise before heading out to the Crooked J, a seedy bar on the seedy side of town. Ernest assigned me to get an interview with the elusive Hound Dog Jackson who was performing right here in Austin. I was eager to show my stuff and hopefully move into an honest to goodness reporting job. I’d jumped at the chance to get the story even if the Crooked J was on the east side of town, even if few whites frequented the establishment, even if any woman going there alone was asking for trouble.

Trouble seemed to follow me, so what did it matter? Besides, knowing Ernest, I’m sure he didn’t care how I got the interview. I’d picked up a full suit of men’s clothes at Goodwill, complete with shiny wing tips. Confident my man clothes would disguise my gender, I glued on a mustache and stuffed my long red hair under a fedora. I got the story, but not without mishap. My male disguise worked so well, a woman tried to pick me up. The woman was the bouncer’s girlfriend. A brawl ensued, the club owner was impressed with my means of defending myself, and so was Hound Dog. Before the night was over I had my interview and five stitches in my forehead.

I stayed at the Austin American for less than a year. During that time, I’d been assigned to report on the historic Arlington Hotel and Bathhouse Row in Hot Springs, Arkansas. When I checked in to the hotel, I found a man in my room, his throat slit. I became a suspect to his murder. To save my own skin, I found the killer and got the attention of a Hot Spring Police Detective named Ralph Dixon.

My next assignment was the New Year’s Eve ball at the Luther Hotel in Palacios, Texas. Before I unpacked this time, I made sure the bathroom was free of dead bodies, donned my best outfit and went to the ball. On a crowded dance floor right before midnight, a murdered man fell into my arms. This time I wasn’t so lucky. The cards were stacked against me and I was arrested. A good lawyer bonded me out and I was on the trail of another killer. I was doing fairly well with the investigation when Dixon showed up. He claimed he was just passing through. Sure he was. Hot Springs is 600 miles away from the Texas coast. Once this case was solved, there was another murder at another hotel. Dixon was there. We decided we made a great team, joined forces and opened our detective agency in downtown Austin.

I occasionally do some freelance reporting for Ernest at the newspaper, but after Dixon and I solved a high profile murder of a Texas gubernatorial candidate, our phone has been ringing off the wall.

Things have developed quickly and we are now in New Orleans at the Pontchartrain Hotel. We just came for the courthouse where we filled out an application for a marriage license, which requires a twenty-four-hour waiting period. We need the extra time to convince the local police that we didn’t kill the dead woman in our room.

 

 

About the Author

 

Kathleen Kaska is the author of the awarding-winning mystery series: the Sydney Lockhart Mystery Series set in the 1950s and the Kate Caraway Animal-Rights Mystery Series. Her first two Lockhart mysteries, Murder at the Arlington and Murder at the Luther, were selected as bonus books for the Pulpwood Queen Book Group, the country’s largest book group. She also writes mystery trivia. The Sherlock Holmes Quiz Book was published by Rowman & Littlefield. Her Holmes short story, “The Adventure at Old Basingstoke,” appears in Sherlock Holmes of Baking Street, a Belanger Books anthology. She is the founder of The Dogs in the Nighttime, the Sherlock Holmes Society of Anacortes, Washington, a scion of The Baker Street Irregulars. Watch for Murder at the Pontchartrain: the 6^th Sydney Lockhart Mystery in June 2023.

 

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Instagram * BookBub * Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Collecting Can Be Murder (Carmen De Luca Art Sleuth Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – France
Traveling Life Press (May 31, 2023)
Approximately 250 Pages

 

Synopsis

 

Coming out of retirement can be deadly…

After tragedy struck three years earlier, art sleuth Carmen De Luca vowed to never work in the field again. But fifty is too young to fill her days with water aerobics and bingo, so when her former partner calls and begs for her help, Carmen gladly agrees.

Yet after their first assignment – the recovery of a rare medieval prayer book from an eccentric collector living in rural France – goes horribly wrong, Carmen ends up in the crosshairs of both the local police and a murderer!

With her target dead and the stolen book missing, she and her partner will have to pull out all of the stops to sleuth out the true killer’s identity – before their stay in France becomes permanent.

Introducing Carmen De Luca, an art sleuth with a nose for mystery and the job of locating valuable artwork stolen from museums around the world. If you love strong and resourceful heroines, puzzling mysteries, and a dash of art history, pick up Collecting Can Be Murder now!

 

Carmen De Luca Art Sleuth Mysteries:

Book One: Collecting Can Be Murder
Book Two: A Statue To Die For

More adventures coming soon!

These mysteries contain no graphic violence, sex, or strong language.

 

 

Amazon

 

Read for free via Kindle Unlimited

 

 

Guest Post

 

 

A Day in the Life of Carmen De Luca, Art Sleuth

 

 

Hello! I’m Carmen De Luca, an art sleuth for the Rosewood Agency. Or, I was until my husband was murdered and my world fell apart. My employer specialized in the kinds of art loss cases that no other organization was able to solve.

My job at the Rosewood Agency could best be described as surveillance and reconnaissance. Our leads were often virtual in nature, and not always one-hundred percent that it was indeed the stolen work of art we were searching for. That’s where operatives such as myself came in. Before my retirement, I had specialized in verifying the more urgent cases—paintings and sculptures that, for one reason or another, Rosewood’s researchers suspected were probably going to disappear quite soon. I was quite adept and getting into a suspect’s home, finding and verifying the object in question, and vanishing again, without raising any alarms.

Once I’d located the possibly stolen object and could verify whether it was the one we sought or not, I passed the information back to my employer, who sicced the company lawyers on the thief-in-question. However, our priority is not to catch the thief, but recover the artwork – by (almost) any means necessary.

I was considered one of the agency’s best, that is until my husband Carlos was killed on the job. He was a fellow recovery specialist assigned to verify statues in the hands of a rich Italian collector, a man who later turned out to be a high-ranking member of the mafia. Or at least, my employer and I assumed that was what had happened. My husband’s body had never been found, meaning I had to bury a box of rocks, instead.

His death threw my life into a tailspin, one that took me three years to get out of. But fifty-two is too young to retire. I have a lot of life and spunk left in me yet, and want to use it doing what I love most – recovering stolen artwork.

Admittedly, being an art sleuth on retainer was not a particularly well-paid job, when one considered the value of the works I was helping to recover, but it did come with lots of cushy benefits that more than made up for the salary. I was particularly fond of traveling first class, and I know my former partner, Lady Sophie, loved the luxurious hotels they usually put us up in.

I was searching for a way back, when Lady Sophie called and begged for my help with a series of recovery assignments in Europe. So here I am, in rural France, hoping to verify and possibly recover a stolen manuscript from a rich American expat.

My skills may be a bit rusty, but I’m enjoying being back in the middle of the action again. Which is good, considering I’ve landed in the middle of a murder investigation!

If only my target hadn’t of been killed, this would have been the easiest recover job of my career. Yet instead of celebrating with a shopping spree in Paris, I have to figure out who really killed the collector before the cops find a reason to pin the crimes on me. My being the last person to be seen with him isn’t helping matters!

I hope you’ll join me on my current investigation. Who knows? You might be able to figure out who killed my target before I do! I sure hope so, there’s a pair of Prada heels calling my name…

 

 

About the Author

 

Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, grew up in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she lived in Darwin, Australia, before finally settling in the Netherlands.

Jennifer’s love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning Zelda Richardson Mystery series, her Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries, and her Carmen De Luca Art Sleuth Mysteries. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels.

When not writing, she can be found perusing a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip.

 

Website * Goodreads * Facebook

 

Twitter * LinkedIn * BookBub

 

 

Giveaway

 

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Muddled Matrimonial Murder (Cupcake Catering Mystery Series)
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Setting – California
Cinnamon & Sugar Press (June 13, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 310 pages

 

Synopsis

 

With only two weeks left to finalize the nuptial ceremony and reception for her best friend, Brad, and a Thanksgiving feast to plan, Emory Martinez has enough to keep her busy. But when Emory and Brad stumble across the body of his former stalker, with a wedding gift marble muddler lying next to the body, it soon becomes apparent someone is intent on framing the groom before vows can be exchanged.

How did the victim locate Brad and how did she end up murdered at the scene of the impending nuptials? Was someone so desperate to stop the wedding that they’d resort to murder? Or was she killed for revenge? As the countdown to the wedding speeds by, it’ll take Emory and her family and friends to pull together to pick through the muddled clues to clear the groom’s name.

Includes recipes.

 

 

Amazon

 

Read for Free via Kindle Unlimited

 

 

Review

 

Why do I love this series? It has to be the scrumptious cupcakes. Now, if I could only figure out how to enjoy one while reading the book!

This has been a fun series to watch develop. The characters are solid and well-developed. The interpersonal actions are engaging, and the mysteries are just hard enough to leave one guessing throughout the book.

I really like Emory. She is a no-nonsense gal that finds herself in the middle of murder scenes. She doesn’t do this on purpose, but then what protagonist in a cozy does? However, she just seems to attract crazy killers no matter what she does.

In this book, we find her helping plan a wedding for her best friend Brad and his intended Gabe. What she doesn’t expect is to stumble across the body of Brad’s stalker in the house where he plans to marry. This sets in motion a series of events that puts her and others in danger. There are some suspicious events that occur, so you might be able to uncover who the murderer is, but the why might leave you guessing until closer to the end. While I was surprised at the whole reveal, the who was someone on my radar just for this character’s actions.

I really enjoy family interactions, whether it is blood family or adopted family. I always enjoy seeing happy relationships. That isn’t to say that there isn’t a bit of strife from one person, but you’ll have to read the book to find out who I’m talking about. I also enjoy watching Emory and Brian’s relationship continue to develop. Are there wedding bells for them in the future? Only time will tell.

While this book can be read as a standalone, I highly recommend starting at the beginning to watch the personal storylines develop.

We give this book 5 paws up.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Author

 

Kim Davis lives in Southern California with her husband. When she’s not chasing her puppy or 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, the Cupcake Catering Mystery series, and the Aromatherapy Mystery series. She also 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 * Goodreads * Pinterest

 

 

Giveaway

 

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Death of a Soprano: A Joseph Haydn Mystery
Historical Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Setting – Eighteenth-century Royal Hungary, Habsburg Empire
Foiled Plots Press (May 27, 2023)
Print length ‏ : ‎ 319 pages

 

Synopsis

 

When murder invades Haydn’s opera stage, scandal isn’t far behind . . .

Charged with ensuring that an imperial wedding transpires without mishap, composer Joseph Haydn has his hands full. Barely seventeen, Archduke Ferdinand Karl, the imperial bridegroom, is reluctant to marry. And the bride, Maria Beatrice, has her reservations as well.

But when an extortion note surfaces—an unpleasant reminder of the bridegroom’s shameful past—the wedding seems truly doomed. Worse still, all the evidence points to Haydn’s prima donna, Lucia Pacelli, being the blackmailer.

Before Haydn can confront her, however, Lucia is fatally poisoned. And Haydn is left to wonder whether his imperial charge had a hand in her death.

Troubled by the dark secrets he might uncover, Haydn is nevertheless compelled to investigate. Will the young Archduke be found innocent? Or must Haydn lead His Imperial Highness to the gallows?

 

 

Amazon * Nook * Apple * Kobo * Author’s Website

 

 

Excerpt

 

With his prima donna, a possible blackmailer, dead, Haydn’s suspicions immediately veer toward Archduke Ferdinand. But there are other people who wanted to rid the world of Lucia as well.

Luigi was in the midst of playing an extended cadenza when Haydn returned to the orchestra pit. The Konzertmeister must have seen him out of the corner of his eyes, for he immediately turned to face Haydn, his eyebrows raised expectantly.

Anxious to share the awful news, Haydn approached him just as Luigi gracefully transitioned from the cadenza to the sinfonia that would open the next act.

Bending down, he quickly conveyed the news.

“Dead!” Luigi hissed, gripping his bow tightly. “How can that be? A young woman, untroubled by any serious maladies?”

Haydn shrugged, expressing his own doubts on the subject.

“Worse still, Narcissa insisted on being given her part, adamant that Lucia had brought her predicament upon herself.”

Luigi’s lips pursed, but he fortunately stopped himself mid-whistle. “You don’t think she had . . .?” His voice trailed off as his hazel eyes searched Haydn’s features.

“I know not what to think,” Haydn responded grimly.

Although suspecting Narcissa of having a hand in Lucia’s unfortunate demise was far preferable to entertaining suspicions of the only other culprit that came to mind.

He returned to his place, his gaze traveling toward the audience where the Archduke sat next to his bride.

 

 

 

About the Author

 

A former journalist, Nupur Tustin relies upon a Ph.D. in Communication and an M.A. in English to orchestrate fictional mayhem.  The Haydn mysteries are a result of her life-long passion for classical music and its history. Childhood piano lessons and a 1903 Weber Upright share equal blame for her original compositions, available on ntustin.musicaneo.com.

 

 

3 Free Stories* Website* Blog

 

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Giveaway

 

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Fungi Foul Play: A Small Town Colorado Cozy Mystery (Backyard Farming Series)
Cozy Mystery
7th in Series
Setting – Colorado
Morewellson, Ltd. (May 7, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 260 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Can Anne help her friend from being charged as a murder suspect?

Newlywed Anne is dismayed at the idea of closing the Inn and tensions run high as Hope leads a mushroom workshop. When fingers point toward Hope for causing a death, Anne must help her friend before she loses everything. Was the death a tragic accident or is someone out to destroy Hope? Or is there an even more sinister plot at hand?

 

 

Amazon * Other Retailers

 

Fungi Foul Play is Book Seven in the Backyard Farming series. Each book can be read as a standalone. However, if you enjoy getting to know the quirky characters who live in the town, here are the books in the series.

 

Chicken Culprit
Cordial Killing
Honey Homicide
Christmas Capers
Potager Plot
Duck Disaster
Fungi Foul Play

 

 

Character Guest Post

 

Meow. My name is Mouser. Actually, it’s not. Humans do not possess the wisdom to know better, so they call me that. I am Winston Marshall, the Third, and that is my name, in full. If it brings them pleasure, who am I to interfere and stand in their way? They provide me with food and buy me toys, so I’m willing to indulge them. You could possibly be interested in learning where I live. It is a place within another place. What do I mean by that? Allow me to elaborate on the matter.

First, I “live” or exist in the writer’s imagination, Vikki Walton. But primarily, you’ll find me on the pages of her cozy mystery series. In the first book, Chicken Culprit, I was rescued from a shelter by Kandi. She then introduced me to Anne. I was still a kitten then, but I already knew that there were some occupants in that house that shouldn’t be there. I took care of them swiftly, so that’s how I acquired my name. I have taken the steps to ensure that no mouse would be brave enough to even think about entering my house.

So, Anne grew to enjoy having me around. She is in her forties, however; it is tricky to determine how many years that is in cat years. Ever since she set foot in the town of Carolan Springs, she has been involved in one mysterious situation after another. I often figure them out before she does, but I like the way her mind works. Whenever she’s focused on another mystery, it’s pretty obvious that she’ll pull out the post-it notes. Then she and start jotting down things about means, motive, and opportunity.

Now here comes the exciting part. One particular holiday season, Anne was feeling downcast. She experiences days where her mood is not the best. This is something I have observed in some humans. But she’s better now that she’s drinking some herbal tea her friend gives her. I could tell from her expression that she was bored. She finally brought down some boxes that were red and green. Now, when she opened them, I was powerless to resist the temptation. Those Christmas items were so pretty. There was all this shiny stuff and glass balls to bat at with my paw. What’s a cat to do? If you don’t want me messing with it, don’t put it out for me to play with. But get this, I helped solve a mystery! Yes, me. Winston Marshall the Third. So that was fun. If you want to know more about that mystery, you can check out Christmas Capers. I even got my picture on the book cover! It was about time.

Lately, I’ve noticed that man hanging around more. I think his name is Carson. He seems okay, but when he built me a ledge where I can watch the birds, I decided he could stay. Sometimes at night, I’ll see animals skulking along the tree line of the backyard. It’s at those times that I wish I had more access to the outdoors. Or a friend. But then that would mean sharing. Not sure about that. We’ll see what happens in Fungi Foul Play. I can tell that there’s another mystery scheduled as Anne’s back in sleuthing mode.

Now another thing you might want to know is, does the author have a cat? Sadly, the answer is no. She has a sweet dog, but that doesn’t count in my book. They don’t care when their humans give them silly names and they can’t wait for them to come home. The name Mouser at least has some street creed. But Vikki loves animals. Some years back, she decided to become a global house and pet sitter. Thus far, she has sat across the United States, in the United Kingdom, and in Mexico. Things got a bit crazy for a while, so that put off her travels, but she’s back at them again. She has sat for birds, cats, dogs, and fish. She hasn’t sat with horses or goats, but she’s helped with them as well. That’s one reason you’ll often find animals in her books. Each of us has our own personality as well. In her Backyard Farming series, she’s got me, and some chickens, but those are silly birds. In my humble opinion. There are also some other critters, but, well, let’s be honest. I’m the most important. In her Taylor Texas mystery series, she’s got dogs but mainly lots of horses. And in her Viviane’s adventures, that character is also a global house-sitter, so you’ll find all kinds of animals.

I think that’s enough for now. I hear some birds chirping outside and I need to go check on them. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen in Fungi Foul Play. Maybe I’ll get to help solve another mystery again.

 

 

About the Author

 

Vikki Walton writes sassy sleuths and clever clues. Her mysteries are clean so no blushes. She has three cozy series: one set in a fictional town in Colorado, one set in a real town in Texas, and one that takes place at various places around the globe. When not out hiking the beautiful Colorado trails, you can find her pursuing her passions of gardening, traveling, and of course, reading great cozies!

 

Website * BookBub * Facebook * Amazon * Goodreads

 

 

 

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Hot Pot Murder (L.A. Night Market)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – California
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Berkley (June 6, 2023)
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Trouble is brewing for cousins Yale and Celine Yee after a hot pot dinner gets overheated and ends in murder in this second novel of the L.A. Night Market series by Jennifer J. Chow.

Yale and Celine Yee’s food stall business is going so well that they’ve been invited to join an exclusive dinner with the local restaurant owners association. The members gather together for a relaxing hot pot feast…until Jeffery Vue, president of the group, receives a literal shock to his system and dies.

Everyone at the meal is a suspect, but the authorities are homing in on family friend Ai Ho, owner of the restaurant where Jeffery was killed—and Yale’s dad is a close second on their list. Yale and Celine step up to the plate and investigate the dinner attendees: the association’s ambitious VP, a familiar frenemy, a ramen king, a snacks shopkeeper, and a second-generation restaurateur. It’s up to the detecting duo to figure out what really happened before their friends and family have to close their businesses for good.

 

 

Amazon * B&N * Kobo * Bookshop.org

 

 

About the Author

 

Jennifer J. Chow writes cozies with heart, humor, and heritage. Her newest series is the L.A. Night Market Mysteries. The first book, Death By Bubble Tea, was nominated for both an Agatha Award (Best Contemporary Novel) and a Lefty Award (Best Humorous Mystery). It hit the SoCal Indie Bestseller List multiple times and was one Aunt Agatha’s Best of Cozies 2022, Kings River Life Staff Favorites of 2022, and one of the 2022 Bestsellers at Bel Canto Books. It’s been featured in Book Riot, BookBub, Bustle, CrimeReads, Goodreads, and Mystery Scene Magazine. The New York Times Book Review said of the novel: “Yale and Celine’s growing loyalty to each other, coupled with the warmth of Chow’s prose, adds extra depth, just like the tapioca balls nestled in a glass of bubble tea.” Jennifer currently serves as President on the board of Sisters in Crime and regularly blogs at chicksonthecase.com. She is also an active member of Crime Writers of Color and Mystery Writers of America.

 

Website * Facebook * Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Odboddy’s Desperate Doings: A WWII tale (Mrs. Odboddy Mysteries)
Historical Cozy Mystery
4th in Series 
Setting – California
Elk Grove Publications (April 30, 2022)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 264 pages

 

Synopsis

 

After falling from a tree, Agnes’s behavior and delusions escalate from ‘merely eccentric,’ to ‘near mayhem ’ Still seeking a permanent home for a displaced carnival tiger, she goes to unthinkable extremes in an effort to prevent city hall from destroying the big cat. When Agnes witnesses a well-known citizen commit burglary, and the church’s beloved Good Shepherd painting goes missing, she becomes obsessed with exposing the art thief. But, questions arise whether the extent of her bizarre behavior is due to a ‘brain bleed’ from her head injury, or is something amiss in her medical treatment?

As WWII rages across the Pacific, dealing with victory gardens and rationing at home doesn’t stop Agnes from fighting the war from the home front. From city hall, to the hot seat at Newbury’s Police Department, and finally to a San Francisco mansion, Agnes pursues injustice to save a tiger and expose a shocking conspiracy at the highest levels of Newbury’s elite society.

Mrs. Odboddy’s Desperate Doings is a hilarious WWII mystery-adventure you’ll not soon forget.

 

 

 

 

Amazon

 

 

Guest Post

 

Rationing During WWII

 

Due to the need to feed and supply the troops, the federal government established a rationing system to conserve crucial food and supplies which required Katherine and me to reimagine how we could shop using our ration book and still cook delicious meals. The system wasn’t perfect. Whenever the government announced an item would soon be rationed, citizens stood in line in front in front of Wilkey’s Market, with intentions of buying up as much as possible, and maybe there would be none left for me. Many of us planted a Victory gardens to supplement our vegetables and canned any overflow to use this winter.

The rationing program involved giving a number of “points,” which came in the form of stamps printed inside a ration coupon book. These were distributed throughout the war to each of us, including one for our ward, Maddie, whom we met in Washington last year when I carried a package to President Roosevelt. (Mrs. Odboddy Undercover Courier). Restricted items required a certain number of points, along with money, to purchase.

Tires were rationed first, starting in January 1942, just weeks after Pearl Harbor. Fortunately, Ole’ Betsy, my Model A Ford has four good tires. Consumers could no longer buy new tires; and were required to patch or have the treads replaced on existing tires. Healthcare professionals, fire, and police could purchase new tires, also buses, and certain delivery trucks, with specific approval.

Black market trading in everything from tires to meat plagued the nation, including the black market purchase of ration books. Certain foods were rationed, starting with sugar in May 1942. Coffee was restricted to one pound per adult every six weeks for a period of time, followed by meats, fats, canned fish, cheese, and canned milk. Cuts of meat were rationed, often leaving only the internal organs to include liver, heart, neck bones, and ox tail available for purchase.

In my first novel, Mrs. Odboddy Hometown Patriot, I recognized the issue of stolen ration books and set about to expose the criminals involved. In Mrs. Odboddy’s Desperate Doings, we have become accustomed to working with ration books, cooking with limited supplies, and relying on our Victory garden to supplement our diet. One of my favorite recipes is Oxtail Stew. I’ll share the recipe with you below.

 

OXTAIL STEW

 

Dredge three large oxtails in flour and brown with an onion in butter or shortening. Add two tablespoons of bacon grease. Toss the floured meat into the frying pan with a diced onion and brown on all sides. To a large kettle, add two cups of canned beef broth, two cups of water and two cups of canned tomatoes. Add a bay leaf, a teaspoon of salt and a dash of pepper. When the meat and onion are nicely browned, add to the kettle liquid, turn down the burner to simmer, and cook for three hours. During the last hour, add half a cup of carrots, half a cup of chopped celery, a tablespoon of parsley and six potatoes from the Victory garden. Just before ready to eat, thicken the gravy with flour or cornstarch.

The stew is delicious, hearty with vegetables and fairly inexpensive and can be cooked during the day, while pursuing other activities such as plotting how to expose our thieving doctor, or writing letters and making phone calls in an attempt to find a home for our displaced tiger, Shere Khan.

 

 

About the Author

 

Elaine Faber lives in Elk Grove, CA, with her husband and two feline companions. She is a member of Sisters in Crime (SIC), Elk Grove Writer’s Guild (EGWG), and Northern California Publishers and Authors (NCPA). Elaine volunteers with the American Cancer Society. She has published nine cozy mystery novels, and an anthology of cat stories. Her short stories are also published in 22 independent anthologies.

 

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The Ghost Goes to the Dogs (Haunted Bookshop Mystery)
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
9th in Series
Setting -‎ Rhode Island
Berkley (May 2, 2023)
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages

 

Synopsis

 

A stray dog leads bookseller Penelope McClure and her gumshoe ghost on a chase for a cunning criminal in this brand-new entry in the “UTTERLY CHARMING” (Mystery Scene) Haunted Bookshop Mysteries from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

 

Pet Mystery Week brings brisk business to Penelope’s Rhode Island bookshop, but a real mystery comes barking at her door when a lost dog turns up in a panic. Pen and her son Spencer follow the furry fugitive to a wooded area where the dog’s owner lies unconscious. Mrs. Cunningham is a warm-hearted widow who volunteers at the animal shelter and runs Buy the Book’s pet lovers book club. Why would anyone shoot such a sweet soul?

The police believe it’s an accident, a shot by a careless deer hunter, but Pen remains skeptical. To straighten out this doggone mess, she whistles for the ghost of PI Jack Shepard, an expert in hounding as well as haunting. Jack has a dog story of his own, a case from the 1940s that may help Pen sniff out clues to her present predicament. Yet even with Jack’s hard-boiled help, Pen may not be able to stop the killer from striking again or letting this whole case go to the dogs…

 

 

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About the Author

 

CLEO COYLE is a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Both are New York Times bestselling authors of the long-running Coffeehouse Mysteries—now celebrating eighteen years in print. They are also authors of the nationally bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, previously written under the pseudonym Alice Kimberly. Alice has worked as a journalist in Washington, D.C., and New York, and has written popular fiction for adults and children. A former magazine editor, Marc has authored espionage thrillers and nonfiction for adults and children. Alice and Marc are also both bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, and MGM. They live and work in New York City, where they write independently and together.

 

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Red Hot Murder (Charlie Kingsley Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
6th in Series
Setting – Wisconsin
Love-Based Publishing (April 25, 2023)
Digital – 200-250 pages

 

Synopsis

 

Charlie Kingsley’s tea customers have two things in common:

They rave about her teas.

AND they have a knack for attracting trouble.

There’s never been a connection between the two … until now.

One night, one of Charlie’s customers passes out, only to wake up to her fiancé dead in her home and no memory of what happened the night before.

But one thing she DOES remember is drinking a cup of Charlie’s tea.

Charlie knows it wasn’t the tea, but everyone else is suddenly blaming her, so she has no choice but to get to the bottom of this mysterious death.

 

 

 

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Guest Post

 

Meet Charlie Kingsley: Star of the Charlie Kingsley Mysteries

 

When Charlie Kingsley first introduced herself to me, she didn’t even have a name—she was simply the dead aunt who left Becca her house in her will in the beginning of It Began With a Lie (Book 1 of the Secrets of Redemption series).

 

 

Eventually, I gave her a name—Lottie—which wasn’t right (she gave me quite the earful about it, too). And even though I don’t write paranormal books, she still ended up becoming a force to be reckoned with, appearing in Becca’s dreams to guide her and give her advice over the course of the first three books as Charlie.

As I wrote them, Charlie then informed me I needed to write her story, about how she first came to Redemption, Wisconsin. So, that became Books 4-5.

Once I published those, I assumed I was done with Charlie.

That was not the case.

A few months later, I got the idea for a Christmas murder mystery starring Charlie. The Murder Before Christmas was published on November 9, 2021, and it launched a whole new cozy mystery series called the Charlie Kingsley Mysteries. (Of course!).

 

More books followed, including:

 

Ice Cold Murder

Murder Next Door

Murder Among Friends

The Murder of Sleepy Hollow

And now, Red Hot Murder.

 

So, if you’d like to get to know this powerhouse character, keep reading for a little heart-to-heart.

 

MPW: Thanks for doing this with me.

 

CK: Of course. You and I are in this together, after all.

 

MPW: That is true. So, when did you first realize I was … ‘underutilizing’ you? I guess that would be the best way to describe it …

 

CK: (Chuckles.) So, first off, I think ALL characters feel underutilized. But what it comes down to is the lengths the characters are willing to go to get noticed. For me, it was about persistence. You kept wanting to stray, and I had to keep reigning you back in. Remember that fairy tale retelling project that went nowhere for ten months?

 

MPW: Um …

 

CK: You spent ten months writing the first book, and you barely got halfway through the first draft!

 

MPW: That isn’t one of my prouder ‘moments.’

 

CK: That’s an understatement. And you were just so stubborn. It took you getting an eye infection during the pandemic before you would slow down long enough to realize the project you needed to be working on was my story in the Secrets of Redemption series.

 

MPW: Okay, but give me some credit. I pivoted last summer to start on The Murder Before Christmas pretty quickly.

 

CK: Yes, you’re improving. Not perfect yet, but definitely getting better.

 

MPW: Speaking of The Murder Before Christmas, when did you realize the spin-off series was going to be a cozy?

 

CK: I always knew it was going to be a cozy. I’m not sure why it took you so long to get on board.

 

MPW: Well, for one, the original series was a psychological suspense.

 

CK: Yeah, but there are cozy elements in it. Especially in Book 2, This Happened to Jessica. But they’re all mystery-driven—they take place in a small town with a repeating cast of characters, and they’re clean.

 

MPW: That’s true.

 

CK: So, with the Charlie Kingsley Mysteries, it just made sense to step fully into the cozy world.

 

MPW: When you put it that way, it does make sense. So, there are now six books in the series …

 

CK: Don’t forget about the prequel short story, A Grave Error, or the two novellas, Loch Ness Murder and A Wedding to Murder For.

 

MPW: I definitely haven’t. Do you have a favorite?

 

CK: Hmmm. I like them all, but for different reasons. I was excited we were finally writing a Christmas mystery … I know we both wanted to do that for a long time.

 

MPW: That’s also true.

 

CK: But Ice Cold Murder was a lot of fun, as well. After all, what’s more intriguing than being trapped in a supposedly haunted house with a dead lawyer and a dysfunctional family in the middle of a snowstorm? At least when it comes to solving a mystery …

 

MPW: I can’t think of anything better.

 

CK: Of course, if you ask Claire, she might have a different answer.

 

MPW: Yeah, that’s why we’re not asking her.

 

CK: Murder Next Door was great because it takes place in the spring, and I very much prefer Wisconsin once it warms up.

 

MPW: I think you’re in very good company.

 

CK: Unfortunately, Red Hot Murder takes place in February, and February is a dreadful month to be in Wisconsin. On the flip side, I did like the Valentine’s Day theme. That’s one thing I do love about the cozy genre—all the theme books.

 

MPW: I like the themes, too. So, what else did you like about Red Hot Murder?

 

CK: The “waking up near a dead body with no memory of what happened” storyline. Although I’m sorry Cherry had to be the one to wake up to her dead fiancé. I’d always liked her, even though she wasn’t all that fair to me.

 

MPW: Yeah, she did make some unfortunate decisions, which led to things getting ugly for you. Which brings me to my last question—do you ever get upset with me for all the bad things that happen to you?

 

CK: That question assumes you’re the one coming up with the bad things.

 

MPW: Wait … what?

 

CK: I mean, has it occurred to you that our stories are our stories, and you’re just the one writing them down? Honestly, you’re kind of like a glorified secretary.

 

MPW: Um …

 

CK: Now, that isn’t to say I don’t get upset with you. But it’s mostly when you get stubborn and start working on other projects and listening to other characters when you should be paying attention to me.

 

MPW: Okay then. Good to know.

 

 

About the Author

 

When Michele was 3 years old, she taught herself to read because she wanted to write stories so badly. It took some time (and some detours) but she does spend much of her time writing stories now. Mystery stories to be exact, ranging from psychological thrillers to cozies, with a dash of romance and supernatural thrown into the mix. If that wasn’t enough, she also hosts a virtual book club you can check out and join (for free!) at MPWNovels.com.

Michele holds a double major in English and Communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Currently, she lives in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona with her husband Paul and southern squirrel hunter Cassie.

 

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Poaching Is Puzzling: A Cookbook Nook Mystery
Cozy Mystery
12th in Series
Setting – California
Beyond the Page Publishing (April 25, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 264 pages

 

Synopsis

 

 

In the cutthroat world of crossword solvers, Jenna Hart will have to decipher some puzzling clues to catch a killer . . .

The annual crossword puzzle contest has drawn contestants from near and far to Crystal Cove, and Jenna watches in amazement as puzzle-themed books fly off the shelves at the Cookbook Nook. Her aunt Vera is putting up a sizable cash prize, and no one is more surprised than Jenna to discover there’s bad blood between Vera and the prominent puzzle constructor who’s acting as master of ceremonies. And when the puzzle guru has his throat slit while he’s out hiking, the police instantly peg Aunt Vera as the culprit.

Jenna can’t stand by and watch her aunt take the fall. It’s been clear since the victim arrived that he had contentious relationships with a number of the contestants—even going so far as to steal puzzles from some of them and claim them as his own—and Jenna’s certain one of them is the killer. Trading puzzle solving for crime solving, she sorts through the convoluted clues and cryptic suspects, hoping to nab the guilty party before they decide she’s a problem they’ll solve with another murder . . .

Includes mouthwatering recipes!

 

 

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Guest Post

 

To Be Distracted or not to Be Distracted . . . That is the question.

 

Many people ask how I like to structure my day when writing. I must admit that I’m not a total creature of habit. I can write any time of the day. I can write in my office. I can write at a coffee shop or in an airplane. I don’t need a cup of coffee or tea by my side. I don’t need a special implement in my hand. I don’t even need to feel creative to write. I do need to have enough discipline to sit in the chair and get started, inspiration be danged.

That said, I do not need total silence, either. In fact, I often prefer noise. But not just any noise. When I write, I like to listen to music.  Not just any music. If it has words, I’ll sing to it. At the top of my lungs. I’ve always sung along with the radio. Whenever I did, a girlfriend of mine used to get upset with me. I sang on key, so her beef wasn’t with the quality of my voice, but she’d say if she’d wanted to hear me sing, she’d have asked me to sing a cappella.  To this day, I still love to sing at the top of my lungs, often while driving, but I certainly can’t sing the lyrics to songs if I want to create something on the page. That’s way too distracting.

So when I turn on music, it must be instrumental.

 

 

An author friend of mine listens to white noise—you know, the sound of a coffee shop or the hum or an airplane. I think I’d find that distracting, but I’m not sure, because as I wrote above, I do like writing on a plane or at a coffee shop. I don’t eavesdrop on conversations—unless I need to come up with a new character; coffee shops and airports are the best places to people watch—and I get a lot of writing done because I don’t go online and do distracting stuff like email or social media.

 

 

However, when at home, I like to turn on tried and true music. My favorite playlists include themes from movies as well as new-agey songs. When writing a thriller or suspense, I like to listen to big, bold movie themes like the ones from Top Gun or Pirates of the Caribbean.  I also enjoy Latin music, like Libertango, Lorca, or Gypsy Fusion. There’s something electric about the pulse of Latin music that helps drive the energy of my story. When writing my cozy mysteries, I go for new-agey songs like Song from a Secret Garden or Serenade to Spring, or the kind of music you might hear in a tea room, like Pathetique, Claire de Lune, or Liebesträume—very orchestral and lyrical.

 

 

One of my favorite orchestral performers is Yo-Yo Ma. I remember taking an airplane trip and getting frustrated because I couldn’t pull up the music on my cell phone. Resigned, I plugged into the airplane’s music list and discovered Yo-Yo Ma and a dozen other cellists. Instantly, the strains of a good cello put me in the mood to write. Ma’s version of Libertango is incredible.

For Poaching is Puzzling, I focused on the music of Henry Mancini. Lately, for a new series I’m crafting, I’ve been drinking in Regency music, the kind you might associate with the classic, Pride and Prejudice. The Regency Era music ran from 1811 to 1820 in Great Britain when the arts were flourishing. Composers like Beethoven, Mozart, and Haydn were popular. The music was characterized by its sophistication and elegance. Think sonatas and traditional Irish and Scottish airs, specifically written for parlor performances.

 

 

Last but not least, if I’m in the mood to write a funny scene, I might turn on jazz, like pieces written by Brubeck, Coltrane, or Davis, but never something as lively as a Joplin rag. Heavens. I might leap to my feet and start dancing! And if I start dancing, Sparky, my darling goldendoodle will want to get in on the act. Talk about distracting.

As you can see, a writer must choose her music—or distractions—wisely.

What music do you listen to? How does it make you feel?

 

*SBR here – I love all kinds of music. There are some I prefer more than others, but rarely is there music that I don’t enjoy. Being a band geek, I do love classical and, at one time, had season tickets to the symphony.

 

 

About the Author

 

Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber writes the nationally bestselling Cookbook Nook Mysteries, the Fairy Garden Mysteries, and the French Bistro Mysteries. As Avery Aames, she pens the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries. In addition, Daryl writes the Aspen Adams novels of suspense as well as stand-alone suspense. Daryl loves to cook, fairy garden, and read, and she has a frisky Goldendoodle who keeps her in line!

 

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