Shadow Dancing (The Country Club Murders)
Cozy Mystery
7th in Series
Henery Press (June 19, 2018)
Print Length: 210 pages

Synopsis

Visiting a psychic is outside the norm for Ellison Russell. Finding bodies is not. Unfortunately, the psychic’s crystal ball says she’ll soon be surrounded by death. Again.

Drat.

Now there’s a corpse in the front drive, a witchy neighbor ready to turn Ellison and her (not so) little dog into toadstools, and a stripper named Starry Knight occupying the guest room.

How did 1975 go so wrong so quickly?

Ellison must handle Mother (who’s found a body of her own), make up with a certain handsome detective, and catch a killer, or the death surrounding her might be her own.

Excerpt

“Bye, Mom.” Grace deposited her dirty cereal bowl in the sink, dropped a kiss on my cheek, and headed for the back door.

“Dishwasher?”

With a dramatic sigh, she returned to the counter and moved the bowl from sink to dishwasher.

“Are you home for dinner?” I asked.

“Yeah.” She buttoned her coat and disappeared into the cold.

“Love you,” I called after her.

Max stood, stretched, yawned, and returned to his bed.

I sipped coffee and stared at the wall, deep in thought.

Aggie bustled into the kitchen and I shifted my attention from the wall to my housekeeper. She wore a cobalt blue kaftan edged with crimson pom-poms. Her red hair crackled with energy.

“Do you have a minute?” I asked.

“Of course.”

“Mother has a problem.” Those two words. Mother and problem. They were enough to send the bravest woman running.

But not Aggie. Aggie pulled out a stool and sat. “I figured something was wrong. No one calls that often without a big problem.”

About the Author

Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders. She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean–and she’s got an active imagination. Truth is–she’s an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.

Website * Goodreads * Facebook * Twitter

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Poison by Punctuation (Chalkboard Outlines)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Red Adept Publishing, LLC (April 24, 2018)
Print Length: 243 pages

Synopsis

High school teacher Emma Lovett is finally recovering from her first year of teaching when she discovers another dead body. As if that wasn’t bad enough, this time, someone has killed a student, Kisten Hollis.

Emma and her best friend, Leslie, are desperate to solve this murder. But suspects abound. The perpetrator could be a teacher, an administrator, a member of Kisten’s zealous church community, or even another student.

Emma must juggle her teaching responsibilities, her new romance with handsome Hunter Wells, and interest from a hunky second suitor, all while searching for evidence to bring a killer to justice before someone else dies.

Guest Post

This is part 2 of a set of diary entries from the POV of THE KILLER in Poison by Punctuation. These were created with the idea of being intermittent entries within the book, but then the series was shifted to an entirely 3^rd person attached (Emma) narrator. You can read Part 1 on the June 15^th Jane Reads stop on the tour. Enjoy!

THE KILLER SPEAKS

–It’s still happening.  I thought with that girl dying they might be nicer.  But no, I saw the way some of them looked at me this afternoon.  The way they giggled behind their hands as I walked by. What is it going to take?  I guess I’ll have to go to the dance.  I hate those things, because I’m such a terrible dancer.  No one ever asks me anyway, so how would they know if I can dance or not?  They’re too busy with their pretty, fluffy dresses and little grown-up suits.  I can’t even tell out loud how much I hate them.  I can show them, though.

I’ll have to bleed my pretties a lot to make this work.  They’re getting a little fussy, but I think they understand.

I hate them all so much. I have to do something to teach them to be nice.

–I don’t understand why it didn’t work.  No one even got sick.  Well, I guess that brazen and obnoxious teacher got a little sick, but it didn’t do any good.  I know, because I saw her in the hospital.  She sounded funny, with a croaky voice, but she still looked me up and down with distaste.  I could tell.  Her life is still perfect, whether her hair is messed up and her stomach hurts and she has to wear that flimsy hospital gown.  She still has everything I don’t.  If I could have, I would have put more poison into her IV.  But she was awake.  Looking at her bony collarbone made me sick.

They all make me sick.  I make me sick, but if they go away I can start to feel better.  I can look in the mirror without always wanting to be someone else.  I know I can.  If they’d just go away.  Go away.  Go Away!

–What do I do now?  I had to hide him.  Had to take him away.  Couldn’t let him see anyone else, couldn’t let him tell.  Now he hates me too, but I couldn’t let him tell.  Not now, not yet.  Everyone is still so mean and vicious.  They have to learn to be nice, and I’m still not sure what will make them do that.  Him telling, that would just make it worse.  They’d take all their perfection and perfect lives and throw it in my face.

I didn’t know what else to do.  He came over when I asked him, but he thought he could get me to talk.  I can’t talk, so I pushed him.  I pushed him into the basement and locked the door.  Just to get some time to think.  I thought he’d be yelling by now, but he’s not yelling.  It’s probably a trap.  He’s probably waiting right behind the door, not yelling so I would come and check on him.  Then when I open the door, he’d shove his way out.  And he’d talk.  He can’t talk, not until they’ve learned to be nice.

Whaddya think? Do you know who the killer is? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Until then—Stay Mystified!

Kelley

Trailer

About the Author

“Kelley Kaye” taught High School English and Drama since 1992 in California, then Colorado and now Cali again, but her love for storytelling dates back to creating captions in her high school yearbook. Maybe back to the tales she created for her Barbie and Ken—whatever the case, the love’s been around a long time. She’s married to an amazing man who cooks for her, and they have two funny and wonderful sons.

Website * Facebook * Blog * Twitter * BookBub * Amazon * Goodreads

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Murder Gone Missing: A Southern California Mystery
Cozy Mystery/Soft Boiled Mystery
2nd in Series
Level Best Books (April 10, 2018)
Paperback: 262 pages

Synopsis

Newly minted lawyer Corrie Locke has taken a vow of abstinence. From PI work, that is. Until her best friend Michael finds his bully of a boss stabbed in the back after confronting him earlier that day. Michael panics, accidentally tampering with the crime scene…which could lead the cops to Michael instead of the real culprit. He turns to Corrie to track down the killer. She doesn’t need much coaxing. Her late great PI dad taught her the ropes…and left her his cache of illegal weaponry.

They return to the scene of the crime, but the body’s missing. Racing against time, Corrie dredges a prestigious Los Angeles college in pursuit of clues. All she finds are false leads. Armed with attitude and romantic feelings toward Michael, Corrie dives into a school of suspects to find the slippery fugitive. Will she clear Michael’s name before he’s arrested for murder?

Guest Post

What’s in a Character Name?

Lemony Snicket, Charlie Bucket, Voldemort, Sherlock Holmes, Scarlett O’Hara, Huckleberry Finn…the list goes on and on. A character can leap off the page and onto the reader’s shoulder with the right name. The names themselves burst with personality. How do writers conjure up these names? Sometimes, the name “pops” into one’s head (Corrie Locke jumped right in my head, first thing. I pictured a strong female who believes caving in is not an option and who thrives on risky situations). Other times, names are carefully selected. I’m going to focus on the latter since there’s no accounting for the head-popping.

Names set the tone for the book. What if Scarlett had been Susan? Or Huckleberry had been Harry? It wouldn’t be the same. A sampling of the stories behind my namings:

Michael and James: These are the real life, middle names of my favorite men. I wanted classic, strong names for heroes that represented every man…if every man was smart, brave, handsome, handy in the kitchen, and at the beck and call of the heroines in their lives.

Veera Bankhead: In high school, a student had this colorful surname, which I’d mentally filed away. She’s Corrie’s sidekick and friend. Gwenaveera (Veera, for short) is a derivative of Guinevere and reminds me of a resourceful, driven, loyal, noble, virtuous woman, or so I imagined from the Arthurian tales. Veera is resourceful, loyal, noble and almost virtuous, so it was a near perfect fit.

Alyce Scerbo: At one of my book signings, I ran a contest. Anyone who signed up for my newsletter would be entered into a drawing where the winner’s name would be used in my next book. Alyce Scerbo was the winner’s name. Alyce in MURDER GONE MISSING is a lanky murder suspect. The real Alyce happens to be a friend and New York City Rockette, from way back in the day. And she’s also a former Jersey girl with a lot of spunk and verve. I was happy to use such a unique and memorable name.

Squalley: Is short for Pasquale, yet another murder suspect in Book Two. Long ago, I met a house painter with the name of Pasquale, Squalley for short, and that fit my maintenance man slash inventor slash animal activist perfectly. Especially since I viewed the fictional Squalley as a slightly younger version of Al Pacino, if Al worked on a college campus and drank a lot of beer in between visiting places he shouldn’t be visiting.

Naming can be fun and help shape each character. And the beauty of character names? They can be changed if you find a better, more suitable one.

About the Author

Lida Sideris is an author, lawyer and all around book enthusiast. She was one of two national recipients of the Helen McCloy Mystery Writers of America scholarship for her first novel, Murder and Other Unnatural Disasters. Murder Gone Missing is the second book in the Corrie Locke series. Like her heroine, Lida worked as an entertainment attorney in a movie studio. Unlike her heroine, she keeps her distance from homicides.

Website * Blog * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads

Check out the other blogs on this tour – some have giveaways!

June 11 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

June 11 – Island Confidential – GUEST POST

June 12 – Teresa Trent Author Blog – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 12 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW, GIVEAWAY

June 12 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

June 13 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT

June 13 – The Book Diva’s Reads – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY

June 13 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW

June 14 – Ruff Drafts – GUEST POST

June 14 – T’s Stuff – SPOTLIGHT

June 14 – Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews – REVIEW

June 15 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW, GIVEAWAY

June 15 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW

June 16 – My Fiction Obsession – SPOTLIGHT

June 16 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

June 17 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT, GIVEAWAY

June 18 – Cozy Up With Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

June 18 – A Blue Million Books – GUEST POST

June 18 – Back Porchervations – REVIEW

Synopsis

Lotty Brooks’ days consist of avoiding thoughts of her failing marriage, changing diapers, and trying not to eat chocolate brioche for breakfast and lunch. However, everything changes when her perfect, lakeside Montana neighborhood begins bustling with crime and she seems to be the target.

Jason Brooks wants to know what happened to the woman he married. Lotty’s a mere shell of her former self. When she becomes the focal point of neighborhood threats, and the town seems to question her innocence, he must decide how well he knows his wife.

As Jason and Lotty try to get to the bottom of the threats and find those responsible, they’ll need to remember what they once loved about each other. Otherwise, they may lose everything and everyone they care about.

Review

This book kept me on the edge of my seat! I did not want to put it down and snuck in a few pages while at work (shhh don’t tell my boss!)

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but this mystery/suspense novel has everything you could want – intrigue, a mystery to solve, romance, and even a scheming mother.

Lotty and Jason are like any other couple and have their ups and downs. For most of the book, it is more of a down period due to some misunderstandings. As I read along I wondered why they didn’t just talk to each other about what was going on in their relationship. Of course, that would not have made the story as enjoyable.

The mystery was rather intriguing and while I sort of guessed who was involved, it was only because I couldn’t pin it on anyone else. The author does a great job of weaving the mystery tale and throwing in many red herrings to throw the reader off track.

Definitely check this book out, you’ll be glad you did!  We give it 5 paws up

About the Author

Crissy Sharp is an author, runner, and sports enthusiast. She has a special knack for avoiding cooking and cleaning so she can focus on her true love: writing. She is in awe of people who can do a one-legged king pigeon without pulling something and detests everything about fat-free cheese. Though she’ll always be a Montana girl at heart, she also loves Tennessee, where she currently lives with her husband and three children.

Facebook * Website * Twitter

Confound It (A Dreamwalker Mystery)

Paranormal Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Camel Press (June 1, 2018)
Paperback: 248 pages

Synopsis

While hosting out-of-town guests at her Georgia home, Dreamwalker Baxley Powell is called upon to help investigate a suspicious fire. One of her guests, close friend and fellow dreamwalker Deputy Sam Mayes, accompanies her to the scene.

A meth cook is dead, and when Baxley visits her beyond the Veil of Life, she determines that the woman was murdered. Baxley pities Mandy Patterson, a single mother with aspirations for her teenage son Doodle. Unconcerned about the death of a criminal, the authorities pursue the drug-supply chain angle. Baxley worries about Doodle and vows to find out who killed his mother.

As the case grows more baffling, Baxley struggles against her attraction to Sam. Although her husband is missing and declared dead, she does not feel free to love again until she is sure of his fate.

Two suspects have the strongest motive, but Baxley has reason to believe they are pawns in a deeper game. And unless she can stop them, the world will never be the same.

Review

I have not read the previous books in this series so when I picked this up I must not have realized it was the 5th in the series. While this book could be read on its own, it is very helpful to read the previous books to understand Baxley and her talents and the other characters. There is enough detail about past books where it is not hard to understand the characters, but as is with any series you are better starting off at the beginning!

That all said, this was quite a change from the cozies books I normally read. It felt more “hardcore” vs cozy. I’m not sure if I can pin it down exactly, but it was a feeling that I had while reading the book. I enjoyed getting to know Baxley and her ability to find out from the dead what exactly happened or get answers to questions that their loved ones might have back on earth. The spirits are not always cooperative as Baxley discovers when visiting the spirit realm.

The mystery itself was well written and while I suspected who the “bad guy” was, I didn’t know why. This character just set off my radar…but when it was revealed with the all the details – WOW is all I can say! Quite a twist that perhaps I might have expected had I read the first four books but perhaps not.

There is a romance between Baxley and Sam, but Baxley holds back due to her missing husband. There is some resolution to that situation in this book and it will be interesting to see where it goes from here.

We give it 4 paws up

About The Author

Southern author Maggie Toussaint writes mystery, suspense, and dystopian fiction. Her work won the Silver Falchion Award for best mystery, the Readers’ Choice Award, and the EPIC Award. She’s published seventeen novels as well as several short stories and novellas. The next book in her paranormal mystery series, Dadgummit, releases August 2017. Maggie serves on the national board for Mystery Writers of America, is President of Southeast Mystery Writers of America, and is Co-VP of Low Country Sisters In Crime.

Facebook | Twitter | Blog | Goodreads | LinkedIn | Pinterest

Booklover’s Bench | Amazon Author Central | Bookbub | Website

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles (A Food Lovers’ Village Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Midnight Ink (June 8, 2018)
Paperback: 288 pages

Synopsis

Erin is one smart cookie, but can she keep the holiday spirit—and herself—alive till Christmas?

In Jewel Bay, all is merry and bright. At Murphy’s Mercantile, AKA the Merc, manager Erin Murphy is ringing in the holiday season with food, drink, and a new friend: Merrily Thornton. A local girl gone wrong, Merrily has turned her life around. But her parents have publicly shunned her, and they nurse a bitterness that chills Erin.

When Merrily goes missing and her boss discovers he’s been robbed, fingers point to Merrily—until she’s found dead, a string of lights around her neck. The clues and danger snowball from there. Can Erin nab the killer—and keep herself in one piece—in time for a special Christmas Eve?

Includes delicious recipes!

Guest Post

Culinary Time Travel

I love community cookbooks. Typically spiral-bound, the older versions filled with photocopied pages of recipes typed on a myriad of typewriters, complete with typos, they give us a taste of a particular place and time. A bit of culinary time travel.

My favorite is Butte’s Heritage Cookbook, created in 1976 by the Butte-Silver Bow Bi/Centennial Commission—and yes, that’s what they called themselves, in honor of the country’s bicentennial and the city’s centennial. Butte, America, as it’s sometimes known, is without a doubt the state’s most colorful and diverse community, with the wildest history. I was a teenage bookseller, working in Waldenbooks in Rimrock Mall in Billings, Montana when the cookbook was published, and we sold hundreds of copies. They still show up in yard sales and at thrift shops around the state, and I snatch them up for friends.

Most of the contributors were women, of course, but what makes Butte’s Heritage Cookbook so interesting is that it is divided in sections by the ethnic heritage of early Butte settlers, most of them drawn to the copper and silver mines. American Indian, Black, Cornish, Finnish, Irish, Yugoslavian—21 of the more than 80 nationalities that settled the area are featured. Each section opens with a short history of that ethnicity in Butte, then moves into the recipes. I consult it as much for the cultural history—the photos of community celebrations, the personal stories, the descriptions of grocers and butchers and the group’s role in the larger community—as for the recipes. And the names—Simonich, Ducich, Mirich, Vucanovich, “all the iches,” as a character in my WIP (work in progress) says.

My father was a traveling salesman for nearly 30 years, selling to the furniture stores that once anchored small-town retail. In his travels, he picked up a pair of community cookbooks sponsored by small town radio stations in western North Dakota. I imagine one of his customers had the books for sale and he picked them up as a gesture of goodwill. If you want recipes for Jello Salad, I’ve got ’em. A friend whose parents came from that area browsed them happily, seeing names he recognized from family stories as well as the family tree.

Though towns and technology have changed, the tradition of community cookbooks isn’t dead. A couple of years ago, I was the special guest at the Glacier County Library’s cookbook sale, giving a talk about food fiction and my mysteries. Library staff had gathered years of cookbook donations for a blow-out sale in the library basement. A copy of a cookbook with recipes from Tamarack Time, a community potluck and celebration of autumn in the town where I live—the basis for Jewel Bay, in my Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries—surfaced, and they put it aside for me. Many of the contributors still live here—I’ve even eaten some of the dishes!

And when I spoke at the Clancy Library in central Montana, in the old red schoolhouse in the center of town, the Friends of the Library tucked a copy of their community cookbook, a fundraiser, in my thank you bag. They take their food seriously. Their library, too, thank goodness.

Ultimately, our traditions around food are a defining element of our heritage. As the editor of the Butte cookbook wrote, “the greatest riches [on the ore-laden hill] are the people who settled here.”

So the next time you see a spiral-bound cookbook from a church group or women’s association at a garage sale or a library book sale, pick it up. Look past the bent corners and stained covers, the casseroles made with Campbell’s Soup and the recipes that list ingredients but give no instructions. You may discover something much more nourishing: a tasty bite of history.

About the Author

Leslie Budewitz is the author of the Food Lovers’ Village Mysteries and the Spice Shop Mysteries—and the first author to win Agatha Awards for both fiction and nonfiction. She lives in northwest Montana with her husband, a musician and doctor of natural medicine, and their cat Ruff, a cover model and avid bird-watcher.

Website * Facebook * Twitter

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pick and Chews (A Barkery & Biscuits Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Midnight Ink (May 8, 2018)
Paperback: 288 pages

Synopsis

Carrie Kennersly tries to help her veterinarian boyfriend when he’s under suspicion of murder…Is he a keeper, or should she let him go off-leash for good?

As a technician for a local vet and the owner of the Barkery & Biscuits dog bakery, Carrie Kennersly is excited to host a rescue animal adoption event. She’s also excited to be in a relationship with veterinarian Dr. Reed Storme, despite his pleas for her to butt out of the murder cases she keeps finding herself involved with. Yet when Reed is accused of killing his former veterinary colleague, he seems a lot more agreeable to having amateur detective Carrie butt back in. Can Carrie clear Reed, or does she care too much for a killer?

Includes recipes for dog treats and people treats!

Guest Post

Hi, everyone.  I’m Linda O. Johnston, and I’m delighted to be here as a guest poster on StoreyBook Reviews.

I’m currently on a Great Escapes Blog Tour to let people know about my latest book release: Pick and Chews, the fourth in my Barkery & Biscuits Mystery Series.  And yes, there will be a fifth.

So why am I on a blog tour?  Because it’s fun!  It’s a great way to let readers know about the publication of a new book since there are lots of blogs on the tour.  Plus, I get to communicate with some of those people… like you!

Some posts are reviews by people whose blogs are all about reviewing books–and those bloggers are skilled in reading and providing those reviews.

Others include spotlights on the books and the series that they’re in.  Still, others contain posts that I have written, either as myself or one of my characters.  And some are my responses to interview questions provided by the blog owner–again either as myself or one of my characters, including dogs.

And yes, in case you’re not familiar with me, I’m a dog nut.  I actually write in multiple genres, and all of my stories these days include dogs.

So what is Pick and Chews about?  My Barkery & Biscuits Mysteries center around a veterinary technician, Carrie Kennersly, who buys a friend’s bakery and turns half into a barkery, where she bakes and sell the healthy dog treats she developed.  She has a dog named, appropriately, Biscuit.  She gets to sell treats to owners of dogs as well as people treats for humans.  She also still works part-time as a vet tech.  And much to her chagrin at times, people keep getting murdered in her small town of Knobcone Heights, California–and because either she, or her friends, become major suspects, she winds up having to figure out who the real killer is.

In Pick and Chews, that suspect is Dr. Reed Storme, a veterinarian Carrie works with who’s also her love interest.  In the past, he’d told her not to get involved with sleuthing because it’s dangerous.  But in Pick and Chews, after seeing her success in solving the other cases, he doesn’t discourage her as long as she’s careful!

I hope you enjoy checking out my blog tour–and reading Pick and Chews!

About the Author

Linda O. Johnston, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer, currently writes the Barkery & Biscuits Mystery Series for Midnight Ink. She has also written the Superstition Mysteries for Midnight Ink, and the Pet Rescue Mystery Series and Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. Linda also writes the K-9 Ranch Rescue miniseries for Harlequin Romantic Suspense as well as a paranormal romance miniseries for Harlequin Nocturne. And all her current stories involve dogs.

Website * Facebook

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Confessions of a Red Herring (A Red Herring Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Kensington (May 29, 2018)
Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages

Synopsis

As a reporter, she’s used to covering the news.
Now she’s the headline.

Alex Vlodnachek has been a reporter for 12 years, a P.R. rep for three months, and a murder suspect for all of 24 hours. When her agency’s double-dealing CEO is stabbed, scheming co-workers cast the new redhead as a compelling red herring. The story is media catnip—especially her salacious nickname: Vlod the Impaler.

Even Alex has to admit she looks guilty.

Out of a job and under suspicion, Alex is running low on cash, when she’s visited by a second disaster: her family. Soon her tiny bungalow is bursting with her nearest and not-so-dearest. To keep herself out of jail—and save what’s left of her sanity—Alex returns to her reporting roots. She goes undercover to reclaim her life, break the story, and unmask a murderer. Pretty much in that order.

What she doesn’t know: The killer also has a to-do list.
And Alex is on it.

Review

When I started this book I wasn’t too sure if I was going to like the story or characters…it seemed to drag (but could have been my mood).  But once I was better acquainted with the characters and the story picked up steam, I fell in love with it all.  The term “red herring” takes on a whole new meaning with this book.  This book has it all – crazy family members, insane former employers, humorous situations, and a wild mystery all rolled into one.  I don’t know if I can choose a favorite character, but Baba (Alex’s Russian grandmother) and Trip top the list.

This mystery confirmed that if you royally piss off an employer it could be dangerous to your health and life.  One of my favorite scenes is where Alex is at the unemployment office because her former employer is contesting her unemployment pay.  Let’s just say, don’t piss off government workers.  That’s all I’m going to say but trust me when I say you’ll want to pick up this book to read this scene!  There are other scenes that left me dumbfounded at the actions of others, but it takes all types in this world.

I think this is going to be one of my new favorite series and I cannot wait for the next book to come out.

We give this 5 paws up.

About the Author

Dana Dratch is a former newspaper reporter and current personal finance writer. When she’s not finishing Seeing Red—the next Alex Vlodnachek mystery—you’ll spot her byline on a host of top news sites.

Website

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Title: LOWCOUNTRY BOOKSHOP

Series:  A Liz Talbot Mystery #7

Author: Boyer, Susan M.

Publisher: Henery Press

Publication Date: May 29, 2018

Synopsis

Lowcountry PI Liz Talbot returns to the streets of Charleston in the seventh installment of Susan M. Boyer’s USA TODAY bestselling mystery series.

Between an epic downpour and a King Tide, those historic streets are flooded—and dangerous. A late night tragic accident along the Lower Battery leads Liz Talbot straight to her next case.

Who’s the client? Well, now, therein lies the first puzzle. When the police arrive at the scene of the accident, Poppy Oliver claims she’s only trying to help.

But the dent on the front of her Subaru and the victim’s injuries provoke a certain Charleston police detective’s suspicious nature. A wealthy, anonymous benefactor hires Liz and her partner Nate Andrews to prove Poppy Oliver’s innocence.

What exactly was Poppy Oliver up to? Is she a random good Samaritan who happens upon the accident scene? Or perhaps this tragedy wasn’t an accident. She just might be his abused wife’s accomplice.

Why does everyone involved in this case have a sudden burning urge for reading material, leading them to the same charming bookshop along the waterfront?

From a risqué, exclusive club in an old plantation to an upscale resale shop in the historic King Street shopping district to a downtown graveyard crawling with ghosts, Liz tracks a group of women who band together to help victims of domestic violence.

In her most challenging case yet, Liz fears she may find a killer, but justice may prove elusive.

– – – – – – – – – – – – –

LOWCOUNTRY BOOKSHOP by Susan M. Boyer | A Henery Press Mystery. If you like one, you’ll probably like them all.

About the Author

Susan M. Boyer is the author of the USA Today bestselling Liz Talbot mystery series. Her debut novel, Lowcountry Boil, won the Agatha Award for Best First Novel, the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense, and garnered several other award nominations, including the Macavity. The third in the series, Lowcountry Boneyard, was a Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA) Okra Pick, a Daphne du Maurier Award finalist, and short-listed for the Pat Conroy Beach Music Mystery Prize. Susan loves beaches, Southern food, and small towns where everyone knows everyone, and everyone has crazy relatives. You’ll find all of the above in her novels. She lives in Greenville, SC, with her husband and an inordinate number of houseplants.

Twitter * Website * Facebook * Instagram

Barnabas Tew and The Case Of The Missing Scarab
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Crooked Cat Books
Release Date – June 3, 2017
Paperback: 274 pages

Synopsis

Barnabas Tew is a private detective struggling to survive in his trade in Victorian London. Fearing that he is not as clever as he had hoped to be, he is plagued by a lack of confidence brought on in no small part by his failure to prevent the untimely deaths of several of his clients.

Matters only get worse when Anubis, the Egyptian God of the Dead, is referred to Barnabas by a former client (who perished in a terribly unfortunate incident which was almost certainly not Barnabas’ fault). Anubis sends for Barnabas (in a most uncivilized manner) and tells him that the scarab beetle in charge of rolling the sun across the sky every day has been kidnapped, and perhaps dismembered entirely.

The Land of the Dead is in chaos, which will soon spill over into the Land of the Living if Barnabas – together with his trusty assistant, Wilfred – cannot set matters to right. Pulled from his predictable (if unremarkable) life in Marylebone, Barnabas must match his wits against the capricious and dangerous Egyptian gods in order to unravel the mystery of the missing beetle and thereby save the world.

Review

This is quite a different concept (to me at least) for a cozy/mystery. The lead detective, Barnabus, is killed within the first few chapters (by a mummy) and is taken to the Egyptian underworld because Anubis needs his help to determine who kidnapped Khepra, the scarab beetle that controls the sun. His sidekick, Wilfred, is also killed (also by the same mummy) and delivered to the underworld.

There are quite a few upsides to this book – education on Egyptian mythology and the various gods that ruled their world; a different landscape for a mystery (some say it is steampunk or Victorian); and Sherlock Holmes type characters. (Of course, the resemblance to Sherlock Holmes ends with the fact that they are detectives.) And the mystery led me in circles and I didn’t figure it out until it was revealed. There were some clues along the way but not too many that made it easy to figure out too early in the book. I loved how the female gods “saved the day” near the end. I won’t say much and who, but it shows you should never count a woman out, even if she is a god!

I am not fond of Barnabus’ character. He’s a bumbling detective and I wonder how he ever solved any cases. Perhaps that is part of his charm? Wilfred is slightly better and at least he tries to keep Barnabus on track. I do wish there had been more of a description of the underworld. I really didn’t have the best idea of what it might look like other than a river, sandy areas, and homes of the various gods.

We give this 3 1/2 paws

About the Author

Columbkill Noonan has an M.S. in Biology (she has, in turn, been a field biologist, an environmental compliance inspector, and a lecturer of Anatomy and Physiology).

When she’s not teaching or writing, she can usually be found riding her rescue horse, Mittens, practicing yoga (on the ground, in an aerial silk, on a SUP board, and sometimes even on Mittens), or spending far too much time at the local organic, vegan market.

Blog * Facebook * Twitter

Giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway