#Midweek Mystery Scarlet Fever by Rita Mae Brown and Secrets and Lies by P.H. Turner

Scarlet Fever

Scarlet Fever

Author:
Series: Sister Jane, Book 12
Genre: Mystery

Frigid February air has settled into the bones of the Blue Ridge Mountains, making for a slow foxhunting season, though “Sister” Jane Arnold’s enthusiasm is not so easily deterred. With the winter chill come tweed coats, blazing fireplaces—and perhaps another to share the warmth with, as the bold hunting scarlets worn by the men in Sister Jane’s hunting club make the hearts of women flutter—until someone’s stops entirely.

Harry Dunbar, a member of the Jefferson Hunt club with a penchant for antique furniture, is found with his skull cracked at the bottom of the stairs to a local store. There are no telltale signs of foul play—save for the priceless (and stolen) Erté fox ring in his pocket. Sister and her hounds set out to uncover the truth: was this simply an accident—a case of bad luck—or something much more sinister?

Steeped in the deep traditions of Virginia horse country and featuring a colorful cast of characters both two- and four-legged, Scarlet Fever is another spirited mystery from Rita Mae Brown.

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Rita Mae Brown

Sneaky Pie Brown mysteries

Rita Mae Brown is the bestselling author of the Sneaky Pie Brown mysteries; the Sister Jane series; the Runnymede novels, including Six of One and Cakewalk; A Nose for Justice and Murder Unleashed; Rubyfruit Jungle; and In Her Day; as well as many other books. An Emmy-nominated screenwriter and a poet, Brown lives in Afton, Virginia, and is a Master of Foxhounds and the huntsman. 
Keep up at http://ritamaebrownbooks.com/

Secrets and Lies: A Claire Callahan Mystery

Shot to death in his home, Morgan Tutwiler leaves behind a multimillion-dollar business and a daughter who hasn’t spoken to him in years. And she isn’t alone in wanting him dead. Plenty of people wanted the most hated man in Denver dead in P. H. Turner’s latest novel in the Claire Callahan series.
Reminiscent of the finest gumshoe storytelling, Secrets and Lies, would not be complete without Turner’s signature quirky characters and inventive plot.

Secrets and Lies: A Claire Callahan Mystery

P.H. Turner

The Claire Callahan series

P.H. Turner writes mystery and crime fiction set in the mountains and canyons of the West where she grew up and spent most of her working life. Pat worked in broadcast journalism on both coasts, the Midwest, and the Rocky Mountains. With roots to a Texas farm homesteaded in the 1850s, she’s returned to live within miles of the old farm. Pat is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America.
Find Pat at https://www.phturner.com/

Featured image: Lithograph, “Mr Fox’s Hunt Breakfast on Xmas Day” 1897
Antique chromolithograph, which was a free gift to readers with the Penny Illustrated Paper Christmas issue of December 1897
Harry B. Neilson (1861–1941)

#MidweekMystery Cozy Food! 128 Cozy Mystery Writers Share Their Favorite Recipes by Nancy Lynn Jarvis

Cozy Food: 128 Cozy Mystery Writers Share Their Favorite Recipes

Regional recipes come from every part of the United States and England — a couple find their way from Australia and Italy, too — and from diverse times. There are recipes from people looking to keep gluten out of their lives, eat vegetarian, or make a treat or two for their furry four-legged friends.
Cozy writers bring the wit, inventiveness, and adventure found in their books right along with their recipes.
You’re sure to find great new recipes to make and terrific new cozy authors to read.

 Cozy Food: 128 Cozy Mystery Writers Share Their Favorite Recipes

Contributing Authors: Sparkle Abbey, Ellery Adams, (aka J. B. Stanley, Jennifer Stanley) Judy Alter, Marian Allen, Ritter Ames, Donna Andrews, Traci Andrighetti, Amy Beth Arkawy, Mignon F. Ballard, Sandra Balzo, JoAnn Bassett, Cynthia Baxter, (aka Cynthia Blair) Jenna Bennett, (aka Jennie Bentley) Sally Berneathy, (aka Sally Carleen, Sally Steward, Sara Garrett) Maggie Bishop, Cindy Blackburn, Juliet Blackwell, Susan Furlong Bollinger, Sheila Webster Boneham, Laura Bradford, Frances Brody, Duffy Brown, Joyce Ann Brown, Mollie Bryan, B.B. Cantwell, Laurie Cass, (aka Laura Alden) Nancy J. Cohen, Shelley Costa, Judith Cutler, Rebecca (aka R.P.) Dahlke, Kathi Daley, Kathleen Delaney, Diana Dempsey, Pamela Frost Dennis, Lesley A. Diehl, Leighann Dobbs, Vicki Doudera, Pamela DuMond, Carola Dunn, Jean Erhardt, Chloe Evans, Monica Ferris, (aka Margaret Frazer, Mary Monica Pulver, Mary Kuhfeld) Judy Fitzwater, Chris Forman, Kaye George, Sally Goldenbaum, Barbara Graham, Sarah Graves, Carolyn Haines, (aka R.B. Chesterton) Vinnie Hansen, Traci Hilton, Sibel Hodge, Valerie Horowitz, Mary Ellen Hughes, Linda Joffe Hull, Ellen Elizabeth Hunter, Dawn Greenfield Ireland, Melanie Jackson, Holly Jacobs, Miranda James, (aka Dean James) Nancy Lynn Jarvis, Heather Justesen, Pamela Kelley, E.E. Kennedy, Mary Kennedy, Josi S. Kilpack, Kelly Klepfer, (aka Michelle Griep, Ellie Marks) Barbara Lee Cool, Marilyn Levinson, Liz Lipperman, Gail Lukasik, Elaine Macko, Sylvia Massara, Sonja Massie, (aka G.A. McKevett) Edith Maxwell, (aka Tace Baker) Lorena McCourtney, Marja McGraw, Eileen Haavik McIntire, Staci McLaughlin, Catriona McPherson, Camille Minichino, (aka Margaret Grace, Ada Madison) Marie Moore, Ruth Moose, Amy Myers, Tamar Myers, Christa Nardi, Radine Trees Nehring, Kerri Nelson, Clare O’Donohue, Diana Orgain, Joyce Oroz, Elaine L. Orr, Helen Osterman, Gail Oust, K.B. Owen, Sharon Pape, Nancy J. Parra, (aka Nancy J. Coco) Allison Cesario Paton, Joanne Pence, Maggie Pill, Ann Purser, Melissa Bourbon Ramirez, (aka Melissa Bourbon) Nanci Rathbun, Rosalee Richland, Becky Lyn Rickman, Karen Robbins, Carolyn J. Rose, Pamela Rose, Cindy Sample, June Shaw, Connie Shelton, Clea Simon, Joanna Campbell Slan, Karen Rose Smith, Lane Stone, Maria Grazia Swan, Denise Swanson, Marcia Talley, Nancy Jill Thames, Sharon Burch Toner, Elaine Viets, Lea Wait, Wendy Lyn Watson, (aka Annie Knox) Christine Wenger, Gayle Wigglesworth, Lois Winston, Joan H. Young, Suzanne Young


About the Editor

Nancy Lynn Jarvis was a Santa Cruz, California, Realtor® for more than twenty years before she fell in love with writing and let her license lapse.

After earning a BA in behavioral science from San Jose State University, she worked in the advertising department of the San Jose Mercury News. A move to Santa Cruz meant a new job as a librarian and later a stint as the business manager for Shakespeare/Santa Cruz at UCSC.

Nancy’s work history reflects her philosophy: people should try something radically different every few years, a philosophy she applies to her writing, as well. She has written seven Regan McHenry Real Estate Mysteries; a stand-alone novel “Mags and the AARP Gang” about a group of octogenarian bank robbers; edited “Cozy Food: 128 Cozy Mystery Writers Share Their Favorite Recipes” and a short story anthology, “Santa Cruz Weird;” and even done a little insider’s book, “The Truth About Hosting Airbnb” about her first year as a host.

Her newest venture is “The Glass House” is the first book in a planned series of PIP Inc. Mysteries. Now she’s trying to figure out when to work on another series she’d love to do called “Geezers with Tools” about two older handymen who will solve mysteries in the course of doing their work, and setting up writer retreats at her house.

Website – https://www.nancylynnjarvis.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn

GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2918242.Nancy_Lynn_Jarvis

#Midweekmystery: Coming Up Murder by Mary Angela, A Bad Hair Day Cookbook by Nancy J. Cohen, and The Wipeout Affair by Rachel Neuburger Reynolds

Everything’s coming up roses for Professor Emmeline Prather. Her scholarly book is finished, spring term is coming to a close, and her love life is blossoming. Then the festival surrounding the exhibit of Shakespeare’s First Folio opens, bringing with it a tempest more dramatic than the bard’s.

In his panel presentation, actor and grad student Tanner Sparks contends Shakespeare isn’t Shakespeare, boasting that he can prove the long-debated theory that an aristocrat actually penned the sonnets and plays. His bombshell sets off an acrid debate among scholars. But were they upset enough to kill him? That’s what Em wonders when Tanner is found dead in Shakespeare’s Garden, his macabre pose inspired by a scene from Hamlet.

At her department head’s urging, Em sets out to find the killer. Suspects abound, and Em finds herself targeted by Shakespeare-themed threats. Undaunted, she persists, determined to solve the case before the end of the semester.


Character Interview

Q: Dr. Prather, welcome to Island Confidential. Can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself–maybe something they might not guess?

My name is Emmeline Prather, but my friends call me Em. I’m an assistant professor of English at the university in Copper Bluff, South Dakota. Readers might not know that I like fast cars and drive a 1969 Mustang convertible. I’m from Detroit. What can I say? I haven’t met a muscle car I didn’t like.

Q: Is there any character in Coming Up Murder you get along with particularly well?

Lenny and I get along swell, especially lately. We’ve been dating four months, and I’m surprised by how little we fight—except when I’m investigating a murder. Then he feels compelled to give me the usual warnings, which I promptly ignore.

Q:  Is there anyone you aren’t a big fan of…of whom you aren’t a big fan…you know what I mean.

Mrs. Gunderson (my elderly next-door neighbor) and I are resolving our conflicts one cookie at a time. I used to be irritated by her yapping dog, constant lights, and well-meaning advice. But now I understand I was being a little rash. Lights do deter criminals, and her dog, Darling, really isn’t that bad. He’s just old and cantankerous—like someone else I know. Ahem.

Q:  Which brings me to my next question. Just between you and me: What do you really think of your author?

She’s terribly devoted. I’ll say that. She cried when she finished this book, and I don’t blame her. What Lenny did, well, it was quite touching. My heart still skips a beat at the thought of it.

Q: Sorry readers, no spoilers, you’ll have to find out for yourself what Lenny did. Dr. Prather, what’s next for you?

I’ve solved four murders, so I think I’ll take a break. In the meantime, my author is starting a new series. This one is about a shop keeper, Zo Jones, who owns the eclectic Happy Camper gift store in the heart of the Black Hills National Forest. The first book, Open for Murder, will be out November 2020 by Kensington.  We’re both very excited!

Mary Angela

Professor Prather Mysteries, Happy Camper Mysteries

Mary Angela is the author of two cozy mystery series that have strong protagonists with soft hearts. Emmeline Prather is the witty young teacher in the Professor Prather series, and Zo Jones is the sassy sleuth and shop owner in the Happy Camper series (coming from Kensington in 2020). When Mary isn’t penning heartwarming whodunits, she’s teaching, reading, traveling, or spending time with her family. She’s the proud mom of two beautiful daughters and the shameless owner of two very spoiled pets. You can find out more about her loves, including her writing, at MaryAngelaBooks.com.
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Review

Coming Up Murder is the fourth Professor Prather mystery, but it reads just fine as a standalone.

When the book opens, we join Emmeline Prather at a high point, with her love life humming along and the much-anticipated Shakespeare exhibit about to start. Naturally, this being a murder mystery, things don’t run smoothly for long.

Like the earlier books, Coming Up Murder has an entertaining cast of characters, some you will root for, others you want to nominate as the next murder victim. But if you work in academia, you will recognize all of them.

There aren’t nearly enough academic murder mysteries in the world. With her fourth Professor Prather mystery, author Mary Angela helps to right this cosmic imbalance.

Professor Emmeline Prather is a likable and relatable heroine, and the academic shenanigans are understated if anything. Highly entertaining, and recommended for anyone who likes cozies with a light touch of satire.

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Having a bad hair day? Whip out your whisk, snatch up your spoon, and prepare your palate. Inside the pages of this cookbook are recipes that will bring you good cheer. Enjoy 160+ tasty recipes from Nancy J. Cohen’s popular Bad Hair Day cozy mystery series. Included in this cookbook are excerpts, cooking tips, and anecdotes written by hairstylist and savvy sleuth Marla Vail. From appetizers to desserts, Marla offers cooking tips and tricks along with commentary about the dishes she prepares for her family. Whether you’re a skilled cook or an eager novice, this cookbook will unravel the mystery of cooking. Put on your apron and plan to make some killer recipes.

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About the Author

Nancy J. Cohen

Bad Hair Day Mysteries

Nancy J. Cohen writes the Bad Hair Day Mysteries featuring South Florida hairstylist Marla Vail. Titles in this series have been named Best Cozy Mystery by Suspense Magazine, won a Readers’ Favorite gold medal, placed first in the Chanticleer International Book Awards and third in the Arizona Literary Awards. Nancy’s instructional guide, Writing the Cozy Mystery, was nominated for an Agatha Award and won a gold medal at the President’s Book Awards from the Florida Authors and Publishers Association. When not busy writing, Nancy enjoys cooking, fine dining, cruising, visiting Disney World, and shopping.

Author Links
Website:  https://nancyjcohen.com
Blog: https://nancyjcohen.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyJCohenAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/nancyjcohen
LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyjcohen
Instagram: https://instagram.com/nancyjcohen
Pinterest: https://pinterest.com/njcohen/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/nancy-j-cohen
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/nancyjcohen


The Wipeout Affair by Rachel Neuburger Reynolds

There’s trouble in paradise, in the hilarious second book of the Red Frog Beach Mystery Series. When the body of a beautiful wealthy local is found at an isolated surf camp, the owner calls on Lexie to help him figure out who did it in this delicious whodunit. Reluctant sleuth Lexie first turns to the police, but her sudden access to a treasure-trove of island secrets convinces her it’s time to solve another murder on her own.

Rachel Neuburger Reynolds

Red Frog Beach Mysteries

Rachel Neuburger Reynolds is the author of the Red Frog Beach Mystery Series. Book 1, Drowning Lessons, was released on May 21, 2019, and the second in the series, The Wipeout Affair, was released on October 17, 2019. She’s also working on a separate series, The Evelyn Bay Murder Mystery series, and has written book one The Death Of A Classic. If all goes as planned you’ll be reading this in 2020. This is the first of book of seven in the series. Two of her plays have been produced in recent years. The Silencer, a cautionary tale about the perils of online dating, premiered at the Edinburgh Festival, followed by a run in New York. Nepenthe, a one-woman show about the 1960’s Hollywood-fication of the Holocaust had its premiere in London, and she is currently in talks about a film adaptation in 2021. Previous to her life of putting pen to paper, she produced theatre in New York City for fifteen years. Though she bounces back and forth between London in New York my headquarters is in Crowhurst on the South Coast of the UK.

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The Fever Cabinet (Professor Molly #9) leaving Kindle Unlimited November 20.

I just love this series and the newest one was possibly the best one yet. 

Amazon Reviewer

The Fever Cabinet will be “going wide” (available on all e-book platforms) November 20. It will no longer be available on Kindle Unlimited on that date. When a book is on Kindle Unlimited it cannot be offered on platforms other than Amazon. KU subscribers, here’s your chance to read The Fever Cabinet for free.

Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this is your last chance to read The Fever Cabinet for free.

Readers on other platforms such as Nook, Kobo, Apple, Scribd, and Overdrive, The Fever Cabinet will be available November 20. Stay tuned!

Tell Me No Lies: A Lady Dunbridge Novel by Shelley Noble #Midweekmystery

Lady Dunbridge was not about to let a little thing like the death of her husband ruin her social life.

She’s come to New York City, ready to take the dazzling world of Gilded Age Manhattan by storm. The social events of the summer have been amusing but Lady Phil is searching for more excitement—and she finds it, when an early morning visitor arrives, begging for her help. After all, Lady Phil has been known to be useful in a crisis. Especially when the crisis involves the untimely death of a handsome young business tycoon. His death could send another financial panic through Wall Street and beyond. With the elegant Plaza Hotel, Metropolitan Museum of Art and the opulent mansions of Long Island’s Gold Coast as the backdrop, romance, murder, and scandals abound. Someone simply must do something.

 Lady Dunbridge was not about to let a little thing like the death of her husband ruin her social life.

She’s come to New York City, ready to take the dazzling world of Gilded Age Manhattan by storm. The social events of the summer have been amusing but Lady Phil is searching for more excitement—and she finds it, when an early morning visitor arrives, begging for her help. After all, Lady Phil has been known to be useful in a crisis. Especially when the crisis involves the untimely death of a handsome young business tycoon. His death could send another financial panic through Wall Street and beyond. With the elegant Plaza Hotel, Metropolitan Museum of Art and the opulent mansions of Long Island’s Gold Coast as the backdrop, romance, murder, and scandals abound. Someone simply must do something. And Lady Dunbridge is happy to oblige.

Shelley Noble

Lady Dunbridge Mysteries

Shelley Noble is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary women’s fiction. (Beach Colors, Whisper Beach, Lighthouse Beach.) And the author of the Lady Dunbridge Gilded Age  Manhattan mysteries. Tell Me No Lies is the latest of the series.
She has written eighteen amateur sleuth and historical mystery novels and novellas as Shelley Freydont. (The Sudoku Murders,  Celebration Bay Mysteries, The Gilded Age Newport Mysteries.)
A former professional dancer and choreographer, Shelley lives at the Jersey shore where she loves to discover new beaches and indulge her passion for lighthouses, vintage carousels, and the past.

Header Image: Residence of F.W. Woolworth, Glen Cove, Nassau County, New York

Three Widows and a Corpse (A Food Blogger Mystery) by Debra Sennefelder

Food blogger Hope Early finds one item not on her scavenger hunt list—a dead husband . . .

Between developing her food blog, Hope at Home, and choosing low-cal recipes for a feature in Cooking Now! magazine, Hope has a full plate. Still, she’s never too busy to compete in a Jefferson, Connecticut, tradition—the town’s annual scavenger hunt.

But as she races with her team to check off the next item, Hope discovers a grisly surprise—the body of shady real estate developer Lionel Whitcomb, shot in a parking lot. His wife Elaine, who’s also in the hunt, gasps and nearly faints. But two other women on the scene cry out that their husband is dead.

It turns out this louse of a spouse was more than a little lax in legally divorcing his former wives. Did one of them put a bullet in the bigamist? Number one suspect and number three wife Elaine begs Hope to investigate. Now Hope is on a new kind of hunt—for a cold-hearted killer and triple widow-maker . . .

Includes Recipes from Hope’s Kitchen!

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About the Author

Debra Sennefelder

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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#MidweekMystery Beware the East Wind (The Mah Jongg Mysteries) by Barbara Barrett

It’s hurricane season in Florida, and everyone’s attention is focused on preparing for the latest tempest. But in Serendipity Springs, mah jongg pals Marianne, Sydney, Micki and Kat are caught in a different kind of whirlwind—a mesmerizing murder case involving a slain hypnotist/chef and the woman police suspect of doing her in, her embittered catering partner, Portia.

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About The Author  

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

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

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

Anticipating the day when she would write her first mystery, she has been a member of the Mystery/Romantic Suspense chapter of Romance Writers of America for over a decade. She credits them with helping her hone her craft.

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

Author Links

Website – http://www.barbarabarrettbooks.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/Barbara-Barrett-Author-1678443865812386/

Twitter – www.twitter.com/bbarrettbooks

Pinterest – pinterest.com/barbarabarrett7

GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8181756.Barbara_Barrett

Subscribe to my newsletter: [email protected]

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Featured Image: Women Playing Mahjong, Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Period, 2nd half of 18th century, colored woodcut, Museum für Asiatische Kunst – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin

#SampleSunday The Two-Body Problem, a Miss Fortune World Novella

Nothing is as it seems in this case. And an unseen killer might have the last laugh.

Later that night, the women gathered in Fortune’s spacious living room. They were going to open the beat-up burgundy suitcase that had belonged to the late Michael Mosca.

Mary-Alice was secretly relieved that Gwendolyn would be staying with Fortune, rather than with her. As proud as Mary-Alice was of her bright new kitchen with its white appliances and its Italian sunflower wall tiles, she wasn’t eager to let the world see her yet-to-be-remodeled dining room. The windowless space was inadequately lit by a wrought-iron chandelier that hung from a low cottage-cheese ceiling. The ambiance was made even glummer by putty-colored walls and a depressing gold shag carpet.

Gertie handed Gwendolyn a pair of gloves from the box in her purse, put on a pair herself, then handed the box around.

Gwendolyn unzipped the suitcase and flopped it open. Tears filled her eyes as she gazed at the jumbled contents.
“It smells like him,” she whispered.
“He wasn’t exactly a neat freak, was he?” Ida Belle observed.

Shirts and boxer shorts were tangled up with shiny plastic beads, oversize sunglasses, and green, purple and gold knockoff Rubik’s Cubes sealed in plastic wrap printed with Chinese script.

“What’s this?” Fortune reached in and picked out a small, dark gray cylinder. “it looks kind of like a pepper shaker.”
Gwendolyn peered at it and shook her head. “It doesn’t look familiar to me, but Mike was always getting these weird new toys in.”

Mary-Alice, overwhelmed with curiosity, plucked the object out of Fortune’s hand.
“It does look like a pepper shaker. Only I can’t see where the pepper comes out– Ow! Goodness gracious, it bit me!”
Mary-Alice dropped the object and clutched her wrist.

“Nobody else touch it.” Fortune produced a plastic bag and gingerly dropped the offending object into it. “Mary-Alice, go wash your hands with soap and water. Make sure to irrigate the wound thoroughly.”

By the time Mary-Alice returned, someone had lifted the open suitcase onto the coffee table for easier access.
“Do you recognize this?” Fortune was asking Gwendolyn, holding up a receipt.

Gwendolyn took it from Fortune and smiled. “This is that hosiery shop out in Beaumont. He always buys me the mocha fishnets when he has a chance. They’re so impractical, but they really do make your legs look fabulous. I know it might be hard to imagine, but I do like to get dressed up now and then.”

From behind her big glasses, a tear rolled down Gwendolyn’s cheek.
“I’m sorry. Thank you for being here with me. I don’t think I could do this by myself.”

Gwendolyn started to dig through the suitcase.

“Careful,” Ida Belle said. “We already had that thing attack Mary-Alice.”

“Buying those stockings was the last thing Mike did for me before he passed,” Gwendolyn’s voice cracked. “They must be in here somewhere. I know he’d want me to have them. Where are they?”

Then Gwendolyn reached down and, in slow motion, pulled out a blue box. It was not a hosiery package.

The room became quiet.

“Maybe those were for the store,” Gertie suggested, sounding unconvinced.

“No,” Gwendolyn said, a hard edge to her voice. “This isn’t for Jape & Jest. The box is already open. And there’s nothing funny about it.”


The Two-Body Problem

The Two-Body Problem

Professor Gwendolyn Jackson's husband sends her a voice mail from the road, telling her he'll be home soon. Just one problem...by the time the message was sent, he was already dead.

When the police dismiss her concerns, Professor Jackson turns to her former student, Fortune Morrow, for help.

Naturally, Fortune, Mary-Alice, and the rest of the Sinful gang are eager to solve the mystery surrounding the death of Professor Jackson's husband, who owned the French Quarter's premier joke and novelty shop, Jape & Jest. But the ladies soon find that nothing is as it seems in this case, and an unseen killer might have the last laugh.

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#MidweekMystery: Better Watch Out by Christina Freeburn


Making a list. Merry’s life is Christmas chaos. Her divorce is still in question. She’s behind on crafting orders. And with one day left, she hasn’t completed the line-up for the annual Christmas parade, thanks to a certain Grinch.

Checking it twice. Santa’s naughty list, courtesy of Jenna Wilcox, will roll down Main Street with names of residents who deserve a lump of coal in their stocking. Saving the parade won’t be easy, but Merry is up to task. Or so she thinks until she discovers Jenna’s body stashed in Santa’s sack.

Going to find out. As threats are aimed at her and those she loves, Merry dashes for the truth before the murderer puts her on the naughty list and crosses her off for good.

Christina Freeburn

Merry & Bright Handcrafted Mysteries

Christina Freeburn has always loved books. There was nothing better than picking up a story and being transported to another place. The love of reading evolved into the love of writing and she’s been writing since her teenage years. Her first novel was a 2003 Library of Virginia Literary Award nominee. Her mysteries series, Faith Hunter Scrap This Mystery and Merry & Bright Handcrafted Mysteries, are a mix of crafty and crime and feature heroines whose crafting time is interrupted by crime solving.
Christina served in the US Army and has also worked as a paralegal, librarian, church secretary, and golf shop pro. She lives in West Virginia with her husband, dog, and a rarely seen cat except by those who are afraid and allergic to felines.
Webpage: www.christinafreeburn.com
Blog: www.theselfrescueprincess.wordpress.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChristinaFreeburnCraftyandCrimeAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChristinaFreeb1
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/ChristinaFreeburn
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#MidweekMystery Molded 4 Murder (a Sophie Kimball Mystery) by J.C. Eaton


Molded 4 Murder

A View to a Kiln…Sophie “Phee” Kimball enjoys working as a bookkeeper for a private investigator. If only her mother Harriet could enjoy her retirement at Sun City West in Arizona—instead of constantly getting involved with retirees being prematurely put out to pasture. This time Quentin Dussler, a prominent member of the clay sculpting club, was found dead, clutching a piece of paper scrawled with Phee’s mother’s name.

Terrified she’s been targeted by assassins, Harriet begs Phee to investigate. What Phee uncovers is a complicated scheme that only the most diabolical of murderers would ever devise. And as she chisels away at confusing clues and potential suspects, Phee unearths something far more precious and valuable than she could imagine. Eager for answers, she takes a bold step—placing herself in the crosshairs of a stonefaced killer …

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About the Authors

J.C. Eaton

Sophie Kimball Mysteries

Ann I. Goldfarb
New York native Ann I. Goldfarb spent most of her life in education, first as a classroom teacher and later as a middle school principal and professional staff developer. Writing as J. C. Eaton, along with her husband, James Clapp, she has authored the Sophie Kimball Mysteries (Kensington) was released in June 2017. In addition, Ann has nine published YA time travel mysteries under her own name. Visit the websites at www.jceatonauthor.com and www.timetravelmysteries.com

James E. Clapp
When James E. Clapp retired as the tasting room manager for a large upstate New York winery, he never imagined he’d be co-authoring cozy mysteries with his wife, Ann I. Goldfarb. His first novel, Booked 4 Murder (Kensington) was released in June 2017. Non-fiction in the form of informational brochures and workshop materials treating the winery industry were his forte along with an extensive background and experience in construction that started with his service in the U.S. Navy and included vocational school classroom teaching.
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