Fair Game (A Zoe Chambers Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
8th in Series
Henery Press (May 14, 2019)
Hardcover: 286 pages
Paperback: 286 pages

Synopsis

Paramedic Zoe Chambers hoped a week at the Monongahela County Fair, showing her horse and manning the ambulance, would provide a much-needed diversion from recent events that continue to haunt her.

An old friend, a bossy nemesis, and a teenage crush from her 4-H days fail to offer the distraction she had in mind. But ever the caregiver, she soon bonds with a troubled teen and a grieving father.

Back in Vance Township, a missing woman turns up dead, leading Police Chief Pete Adams into a journey through her mysterious final hours. With each new clue, the tragic circumstances of her death grow increasingly muddied.

A cryptic phone call leads Pete to join Zoe for an evening at the fairgrounds where the annual school bus demolition derby concludes with a gruesome discovery and a new case that may or may not be connected to the first.

Pete’s quest for the motive behind two homicides—and Zoe’s stubborn determination to reunite a family—thrust them both onto a collision course with a violent and desperate felon.

Guest Post

Overheard Murder Plots

By Annette Dashofy

I’m frequently asked where I get my story ideas. Sometimes a news article sparks my interest. Sometimes a long-ago event begs to be retold. And sometimes ideas come to me in my sleep. No, I don’t mean my dreams.

I do a fair amount of traveling while promoting my books, and some hotels have very thin walls. There have been many nights when I’ve been exhausted and have an early morning ahead. Eager for slumber, I’ve lain awake because the folks in the next room were having a party, watching TV with the volume cranked up, or otherwise being “loud.” I’ve been tempted to pound on the wall and yell, “I can hear you!”

One night a couple of years ago, while attending a mystery convention, the hotel walls were especially thin, and I really could hear every word my neighbors were saying. I wouldn’t have had to pound the wall or yell to inform them their conversation wasn’t private. This made me wonder what topics my own roommate and I had discussed that weekend. Two mystery authors in a room…talking shop…brainstorming ideas…maybe discussing ways to kill someone and get away with it…

Instead of ordering my neighbors to be quiet, I came up with an idea that found its way into the opening chapter of Fair Game. A traveler spends the night in a hotel with thin walls and overhears a man in the next room threatening to kill someone. Was he drunk? Just blowing off steam? Writing a mystery novel?

Or was our traveler really privy to a plan to commit murder?

In Fair Game, the traveler decides to report the “murder” at the first police station he passes the next day, which just happens to be Vance Township’s P.D. The report then places the burden on Chief Pete Adams. Should he investigate? There hasn’t been a murder, just an overheard threat. But the potential is there to stop a killing before it happens.

What would you do if you overheard a murder plot being hatched in the room next to yours? (Advice: First find out if there’s a mystery convention going on!)

About the Author

Annette Dashofy is the USA Today best-selling author of the Zoe Chambers mystery series about a paramedic and deputy coroner in rural Pennsylvania’s tight-knit Vance Township. CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE was a finalist for the Agatha Award for Best First Novel of 2014 and BRIDGES BURNED was nominated for the 2015 Agatha for Best Contemporary Novel.

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A Dream of Death (A Kate Hamilton Mystery)
Traditional Mystery
1st in Series
Crooked Lane Books (April 9, 2019)
Hardcover: 320 pages

Synopsis

On a remote Scottish island, American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton wrestles with her own past while sleuthing a brutal killing, staged to recreate a two-hundred-year-old unsolved murder.

Autumn has come and gone on Scotland’s Isle of Glenroth, and the islanders gather for the Tartan Ball, the annual end-of-tourist-season gala. Spirits are high. A recently published novel about island history has brought hordes of tourists to the small Hebridean resort community. On the guest list is American antiques dealer Kate Hamilton. Kate returns reluctantly to the island where her husband died, determined to repair her relationship with his sister, proprietor of the island’s luxe country house hotel, famous for its connection with Bonnie Prince Charlie.

Kate has hardly unpacked when the next morning a body is found, murdered in a reenactment of an infamous unsolved murder described in the novel—and the only clue to the killer’s identity lies in a curiously embellished antique casket. The Scottish police discount the historical connection, but when a much-loved local handyman is arrested, Kate teams up with a vacationing detective inspector from Suffolk, England, to unmask a killer determined to rewrite island history—and Kate’s future.

Guest Post

THREE TRUTHS AND A LIE: The Perils of Following Advice

by Connie Berry

Author of the Kate Hamilton Mystery series

Have you played the game? It’s an icebreaker, a fun way to get acquainted, and usually calls for two truths and a lie. Today I need three truths because my topic is advice on writing, and there’s plenty of it out there to be had.

Years ago, when I first dreamed about writing a mystery series, I threw up a website and started blogging. One of my original topics was “What I Wish I Had Known.” I asked five mystery writers I admired to think about what they wished they’d known starting out. One of them, I hoped, would reveal the secret, the piece of advice which—if followed—would lead swiftly to a finished manuscript, an agent, and a publisher. Instead, I got a dose of reality: persevere, read widely in your genre, keep learning, build a community. Excellent advice.

But is all the writing advice out there worth taking to heart? Here’s my take on it. Three truths and a lie.

#1. Write what you know.

TRUE. Each writer has a built-in reserve of experiences, memories, and observations on which to draw. Among the most life-shaping experiences for me was growing up in the antiques trade. My parents were collectors first, then opened a shop, specializing in fine objects from Europe and the Orient. In our house, antiques weren’t a hobby but a way of life. Weekends frequently meant setting up a booth at an antique show. Family vacations were thinly disguised buying trips. Our house looked a bit like a museum—a crowded one. My father’s unspoken motto was “if one is good, three is better.” Every flat surface in our sprawling ranch-style house was occupied by something—an ivory figurine, a cut-glass bowl, a collection of silver snuff boxes, a life-size bronze head of Beethoven, a marble statue of The Three Graces.

I made my protagonist, Kate an antiques dealer. Write what you know.

Notice, however, the advice doesn’t say “write what you’ve lived.” Knowing something and living something are different things. Happily, a writer doesn’t have to commit murder to write about it. That’s where research comes in.

#2. Write what you love.

Also TRUE. Years ago, my thesis advisor told me to choose a topic I could live with for many months. I chose Shakespeare comedies and enjoyed every minute of the research and writing. I remembered this advice when I set out to plan my first book. Writing a 300+-page novel would take a lot more time than writing a 75-page thesis on The Role of the Audience in Shakespeare’s Comedies. So while my protagonist, Kate, is an antiques dealer—the world I knew—I put her in the UK, a place I love. I’m fond of the large city in Ohio where I live—I really am—but if truth be told, my heart yearns for that “sceptered isle…[that] precious stone set in a silver sea…that England.” (William Shakespeare, Richard II). There’s nowhere I’d rather be, physically or in my imagination—than Britain. I’ve never regretted my decision to write what I love.

#3. Write what pleases you.

A LIE—at least for first-time authors. The hard truth is, we must write what readers want to read. We must write what agents and publishers believe they can sell. That means learning the “rules.” A lifetime of reading and a master’s degree in English didn’t teach me about eliminating adverbs, avoiding exclamation points like the plague, and leaving white space on the page. I’d never heard of such things as head-hopping, info dumps, limiting dialogue tags, and avoiding passive voice. Established authors can break the “rules.” They often do. Unpublished writers don’t have that same luxury.

#4. Finish the book.

TRUE. Anne Enright, the inaugural Laureate for Irish Fiction, was quoted in The Guardian as saying, “The way to write a book is to actually write a book. A pen is useful, typing is also good. Keep putting words on the page.” She also said, “The first twelve years are the hardest,” but we won’t go into that now.

Some manuscripts will never see the light of day. A few, to be sure, deserve to be abandoned as quickly as possible. But these exceptions don’t alter the fact that a writer must, sometime, actually finish a book. One of the mistakes I made early on was polishing words that would never make it into the final draft. I wasted time, lots of it, because revising is easier and more fun for me than putting words on a blank page. What I needed was to push ahead and finish the book. Only then did revision make sense. Every part of a book—chapters, scenes, paragraphs, sentences, even words—must be evaluated in light of the whole manuscript. Some writers claim they don’t really know what the book is about until they’ve finished the first draft. Some don’t write the opening scene until they’ve written the ending.

What advice have you been given—in writing or in life? Have you followed it? What advice have you ignored?

About the Author

Like her main character, Connie Berry was raised by charmingly eccentric antique collectors who opened a shop, not because they wanted to sell antiques but because they needed a plausible excuse to keep buying them. Connie adores history, off-season foreign travel, cute animals, and all things British. She lives in Ohio with her husband and adorable Shih Tzu, Millie.

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Restaurant Weeks Are Murder (A Poppy McAllister Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Kensington (February 26, 2019)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages

Synopsis

Cape May, New Jersey, is the site of a big culinary competition—and the knives are out . . .

Poppy McAllister is happy about opening a Jersey Shore B&B—but working in a professional kitchen has always been her real dream. Now it’s coming true, at least briefly, as she teams up with her former fiancée, Tim—and his condescending partner, Gigi—during the high-profile Restaurant Week challenge. Poppy’s specialty is pastries, despite her devotion to a Paleo diet. But if anyone can make glorious gluten-free goodies, it’s Poppy.

Things get heated quickly—especially when some ingredients get switched and Tim’s accused of sabotage. Relatively harmless pranks soon escalate into real hazards, including an exploding deep fryer. And now one of the judges has died after taking a bite of Poppy’s cannoli—making her the chef suspect . . .

Includes Seven Recipes from Poppy’s Kitchen!

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Review

I seriously love this series…I don’t know what it is about the characters or the setting (maybe it is the recipes), but I can’t wait to read these books as they are released!

Poppy is an engaging protagonist.  A mistake in her youth altered her future but she seems to be doing ok trying to get a B&B off the ground, baking gluten-free items for a coffee shop, and solving the murders that happen in her town.  It doesn’t hurt that she has two potential love interests – Gia, the owner of the coffee shop and a hot Italian and Tim, her college sweetheart who owns a local restaurant.  I am team Gia – just putting that out there – because, while Tim wants to be with Poppy, he lets himself get distracted by GiGi and other women.  Anyway, you can make your own decision on which team to belong.

I love to cook (which may be why this series appeals to me) and this one brings together cooking with reality TV.  Poppy teams up with Tim and Gigi to represent Tim’s restaurant in a cooking competition.  Gigi is not likable and she gets her due many times throughout the book.  I think my favorite is when the network decides that anyone on the team must cook one of the courses.  This infuriates Gigi because she doesn’t think Poppy is a chef because she didn’t attend culinary school.  Gigi is in for a rude awakening because not all great cooks have attended cooking school and Poppy knows her way around a kitchen which is more than can be said for Gigi.  As is to be expected, there is murder during the show and Poppy has to figure out the killer before she becomes the next victim.  I really tried to decipher the clues but I did not do a good job because I was quite surprised to learn who the murderer was and the reasoning behind the death(s).

There is a cast of quirky characters that liven up the storyline and of course, we can’t forget Aunt Ginny and her antics along with the rest of her Senior friends.  She knows how to liven up this book with her shenanigans.

We give this 5 paws up and suggest reading the whole series starting with the first book so you can understand the back story.

About the Author

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Murder Wears a Little Black Dress (A Resale Boutique Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Lyrical Underground (January 22, 2019)
Paperback: 200 pages

Manhattan fashionista Kelly Quinn thought she’d left her upstate New York town far behind . . . until the Seventh Avenue expat returns home to revamp her grandmother’s consignment shop into an upscale boutique—and unwittingly sets a trend for murder . . .

After her rising career as a Manhattan buyer is derailed, Kelly has mixed feelings about relocating back to Lucky Cove, in spite of her big plans for the soon-to-be-renamed Curated by Kelly Resale Boutique. What’s left of her luck starts running out when a customer puts on a black lace dress that triggers visions of someone being murdered. As if the haunted “Murder Dress” isn’t enough to kill business, the psychic’s doppelganger cousin has just been found bludgeoned to death.

Was Maxine LeMoyne the real target or was it a case of mistaken murder? With some creepy pre-Halloween bargain hunters walking the night and Kelly suddenly a person of interest, a second murder rocks the close-knit town. Now Kelly could be the one who ends up talking to dead people when she’s stalked by a killer determined to take her out in high style . . .

Review

The first book in a new series and it was very enjoyable! I love cozies anyway and this one checked off all the boxes of what I expect – a protagonist that inserts themselves into an investigation while not being a detective/police officer, red herrings, twists in the plot and with the characters, multiple suspects..the list goes on.

I have not read many series that center around a thrift/consignment store and so I found this one quite interesting since Kelly took over this store when her grandmother died and they have different objectives to make the store a success. Kelly has a background in fashion so it makes her the perfect person to run the shop. Granted she wants to put her own stamp on the shop but comes across resistance from her grandmother’s best friend and employee, Pepper. Change is hard but eventually, both Pepper and Kelly come to a mutual understanding.

The mystery itself was hidden well and I did not expect the twist at the end. I supposed I should have seen it coming because there are some subtle clues hidden in the text.

There is another mystery that isn’t revealed yet – who is Lulu that runs a blog and is spilling some information about Kelly’s shop that may or may not help? I can’t wait to find out how long the identity of this blogger remains a secret.

We give it 5 paws up.

About the Author

Debra Sennefelder, the author of the Food Blogger Mystery series and the Resale Boutique Mystery series, is an avid reader who reads across a range of genres, but mystery fiction is her obsession. Her interest in people and relationships is channeled into her novels against a backdrop of crime and mystery. When she’s not reading, she enjoys cooking and baking and as a former food blogger, she is constantly taking photographs of her food. Yeah, she’s that person.

Born and raised in New York City, she now lives and writes in Connecticut with her family. She’s worked in pre-hospital care, retail and publishing. Her writing companions are her adorable and slightly spoiled Shih-Tzus, Susie and Billy.

She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Women’s Fiction Writers Association and Romance Writers of America.

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Synopsis

Amelia Moore, the founder of the Moore Detective Agency, specializes in missing persons. Her cases have taken her to some very interesting places and put her in some dangerous situations, but she always solves the case. With the help of her partner, Rick Bonito, the business is flourishing.

Pauline Jones is confused why her boyfriend took off without telling a soul where he was going. But that isn’t all. Sam Whitaker is accused of stealing a valuable porcelain doll from the museum. His disappearance makes him look guilty, but Pauline is convinced he is innocent. When Amelia finds Sam, she realizes they need to prove his innocence. Where is the antique doll and who has taken it?

Review

I really enjoy this cozy series for several reasons – the stories are shorter, the characters are well fleshed out, and I rarely decipher the mystery!  This book was no exception as I figured out a few things but not everything and there was a twist at the end I did not expect. I also like that there are not a lot of characters.  There are enough for the story and to have multiple suspects, but not too many that it is overwhelming.

I enjoy the banter between Amelia and Rick and like that they are helping each other check off items on a bucket list and are moving slowly in a relationship with each other.

We give this book 5 paws up.  It is a great series and while you can read out of order, to follow the personal story line you will want to start at the first book.

About the Author

I was raised on a farm surrounded by the rolling hills of southern Idaho and have made my home in southern Utah among the beautiful red mountains and desert heat. I have been happily married for 42 years and am the mother of six daughters and have five wonderful grandchildren.

After my family began to leave the nest, I decided it was time to finish what I had started long ago. I decided to go back to college and get a degree. It had been 30 years since I had been to college and it was one of the most frightening things I had ever done. I had to learn how to study and take tests all over again. The first day of college, I was a nervous wreck and wondered if I could do this, but with the support of my husband and children, I was able to graduate. I received my Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre and Music at Southern Utah University and received the Outstanding Non-Traditional Student Award for the College of Performing Arts in 2002. During the meantime, I cut a CD named “Romantic Love Songs of Sigmund Romberg and Victor Herbert.”

I have enjoyed writing short stories and novels for several years but it took a lot of courage to begin submitting them. After “Melinda and the Wild West” was published, I entered it in the Reader Views Literary Contest and my book was chosen as a Semi-Finalist in the “Reviewers Choice Awards 2007.” It was one of the top ten out of hundreds of other entries.

I have traveled throughout the United States, teaching people to write their family history and autobiography. I have traveled to seventeen states and given over 500 workshops. I am the author of six historical sweet romances, four mystery adventure novels, a children’s book, and a new cozy mystery series. All of my books are family friendly.

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One Taste Too Many (A Sarah Blair Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Kensington (December 18, 2018)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages

Synopsis

For culinary challenged Sarah Blair, there’s only one thing scarier than cooking from scratch—murder!

Married at eighteen, divorced at twenty‑eight, Sarah Blair reluctantly swaps her luxury lifestyle for a cramped studio apartment and a law firm receptionist job in the tired hometown she never left. With nothing much to show for the last decade but her feisty Siamese cat, RahRah, and some clumsy domestic skills, she’s the polar opposite of her bubbly twin, Emily—an ambitious chef determined to take her culinary ambitions to the top at a local gourmet restaurant . . .

Sarah knew starting over would be messy. But things fall apart completely when her ex drops dead, seemingly poisoned by Emily’s award-winning rhubarb crisp. Now, with RahRah wanted by the woman who broke up her marriage and Emily wanted by the police for murder, Sarah needs to figure out the right recipe to crack the case before time runs out. Unfortunately, for a gal whose idea of good china is floral paper plates, catching the real killer and living to tell about it could mean facing a fate worse than death—being in the kitchen!

Includes quick and easy recipes!

Review

I’m a cozy lover going back many years now and every now and then I am introduced to a new series that checks off all the boxes for me on what I expect – food/recipes, animals (prefer dogs but cats are ok), and many red herrings that keep me guessing until the very end.

Sarah Blair has a twin sister, Emily, that is a chef.  I’m in awe of Emily because I love to cook but could never be a chef.  Sarah is struggling to make it after her divorce from Bill.  Bill didn’t seem to give up much in the divorce, so Sarah is in a very small apartment with her ex-MIL’s cat, RahRah.  In a crazy turn of events after Bill is found dead is when all the craziness begins.  Sarah loses RahRah to Jane (Bill’s lover, girlfriend, partner?) and apparently, there is a trust that goes along with RahRah and a home in a carriage house that Sarah’s MIL lived in while alive.  So why is Sarah living in a tiny apartment with no income from the trust?  You guessed it in one, Bill is a slimeball and kept the money.

The author does a great job of throwing red herrings in your path.  I kept changing who I suspected but when the real murderer is revealed, I was shocked!  I did not see that one coming at all.  There are some other twists at the end about how Bill died which you might be able to figure out, but maybe not.  The clues are there but not all of them.

Definitely a series I plan to watch and we give it 5 paws up.

About the Author

Judge Debra H. Goldstein’s new Sarah Blair cozy mystery series debuts from Kensington Press debuts with One Taste Too Many. She also is the author of Should Have Played Poker: a Carrie Martin and the Mah Jongg Players Mystery and the 2012 IPPY Award-winning Maze in Blue. Besides novels, Debra writes short stories. Her short story, The Night They Burned Ms. Dixie’s Place, Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine (May/June 2017) is an Agatha Award Short Story Nominee. In addition to being the Sisters in Crime Guppy President, Debra serves on the national Sisters in Crime board and is Vice-President of the Southeast Region of Mystery Writers of America.

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Eggs on Ice (A Cackleberry Club Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
8th in Series
Berkley (December 4, 2018)
Hardcover: 304 pages

Synopsis

Some say that casting crusty attorney Allen Sharpe as Scrooge in the Kindred Players production of “A Christmas Carol” is just playing to type. He’s not the most beloved man in town. In fact, you’d have a dickens of a time finding someone who liked him. Still it’s a shock when the Ghost of Christmas Past stabs him during the first rehearsal. Suzanne, co-owner of the Cackleberry Club café, Kindred’s favorite combination diner, craft store and bookshop, chases the murderer out of the building but loses him in the alley.

As the days pass the list of suspects grows longer. Is it the disgruntled partner? The former secretary whom Sharpe sexually harrassed? Or is it fellow owner of the Cackleberry Club, Toni’s almost ex-husband, Junior? The women of the Cackleberry Club are determined to find the killer before he can add another victim to his Christmas list.

An interview with Laura Childs, New York Times bestselling author of Eggs on Ice

Today I am blessed to have Laura Childs here answering the tough questions!  She even shares a recipe with us, so make note of it because it sounds delicious.

Tell us a little bit about Eggs on Ice, your newest mystery.

As the Kindred Players hold their dress rehearsal for A Christmas Carol, a ghost wafts onstage and murders the star of the show. Suzanne Dietz, co-owner of the Cackleberry Club, rushes after this spooky specter but loses him when he escapes into a snowstorm. Suzanne vows to solve this murder and ends up juggling multiple suspects, holiday tea parties, a second murder, and a devastating fire. True to character, she also maintains her good humor (yes, this book is funny!) and keeps her romance sizzling with the town doctor. In the tradition of all my previous cozy mysteries, I give my readers a solid culinary fix with lots of delicious details on breakfast egg entrees as well as menus for a couple of fancy holiday tea parties.

Laura, I know you always include recipes in your books. Which ones are in Eggs on Ice?

I put in some really fun, tasty recipes like Crabby Crab Cakes, Slow-Cooker Sweet-and-Sour Pork, Elvis French Toast, Pumpkin Breakfast Casserole, and Church Basement Funeral Bars.

Who does most of the cooking in your house? And with your busy writing schedule (three different mystery series), how do you find time to cook?

I do the cooking and there really isn’t any time. So I tend to do lots of baked chicken with vegetables as well as stews and chowders that can be tossed together early on and then simmered all day.

What are your favorite foods?

I love sushi. I could eat it morning, noon, and night. In fact, I did when my husband and I visited Japan for two weeks. Also, I adore all shellfish – oysters, lobster, crab, shrimp, etc. And I’m afraid I am a chocoholic.

You also write the Tea Shop Mysteries and New Orleans Scrapbooking Mysteries. Do you include cooking in those books as well?

Absolutely. The Tea Shop Mysteries are the perfect vehicle for tea party menus, scone recipes, and food events such as winery tastings, food trucks, and fancy parties. In fact, Theodosia, my protagonist, is always coming up with new tea blends, scone ideas, and savory lunches. The Scrapbooking Mysteries are set in New Orleans which is an incredibly foodie town. So we’re talking fried oysters, stuffed artichokes, etouffee, jambalaya, and beignets. And my characters are always popping in and out of restaurants such as Commander’s Palace, Antoines, and Brennan’s.

What book are you working on now?

I’m currently writing two books. Lavender Blue Murder is a Tea Shop Mystery with a 2020 release date and Cadmium Red Dead is a New Orleans Scrapbooking Mystery with a 2021 release date. (Yes, I tend to work waaay ahead of schedule.)

Do you have a favorite recipe to share with us?

I thought you’d never ask. Here’s the top secret recipe for Church Basement Bars, those chewy, crunchy dessert bars that everybody loves!

Church Basement Funeral Bars
a bonus recipe from Eggs on Ice

1/3 cup melted butter
1 ½ cups graham crackers, crushed
1 cup coconut flakes
1 cup dates, cut up
1 cup candied cherries, cut up
1 cup candied pineapple, cut up
1 cup pecans
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In bowl, combine melted butter with the graham cracker crumbs. Pat crumb mixture into a 9 x 13 inch pan. Then press each ingredient, in a single layer, on top of the crumbs, starting with the coconut flakes. Then press on the dates, then cherries, then pineapple, then pecans. Cover the entire dessert with the sweetened condensed milk. Bake at 325 degrees for 20 minutes. Yields 15 to 18 bars.

About the Author

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fund raising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

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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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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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Synopsis

Callie Reed makes a long overdue visit to her aunt Melodie, who lives in a fairy-tale cottage in quaint Keepsake Cove, home to a bevy of unique collectible shops on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. Just as they’re beginning to reconnect, Callie discovers her aunt’s body on the floor of her music box shop. Grief-stricken, Callie finds she can’t accept Melodie’s death being called accidental. How could her strong and healthy aunt take such a fatal fall? And why was she there in the middle of the night?

As Callie searches for the truth, signs seem to come from her late aunt through a favorite music box, urging Callie on. Or are they warnings? If Callie isn’t careful, she could meet a similar deadly fate amid Melodie’s collection.

Review

I borrowed this book from the library since I have the 2nd book on my Kindle. I love cozies and this one was just a little different from what I am used to reading but not in a bad way at all. Someone dies but no one except Callie thinks that foul play might be involved. This sets up an interesting plot line and a variety of characters and a quaint shopping town with unique shop names.

I enjoyed getting to know the various people in the town and there are several “not so nice” characters but even then, those characters add depth to the story and the history of the town and relationships they had with Callie’s Aunt Melodie (the one who dies).

I did figure out who the killer was but not by any overt clues. I think it was just that the number of possibilities was limited in my mind and this character seemed the most logical.

I can’t wait to read the next book and take another visit to this Eastern town.

We give it 4 paws up