Author: Frankie Bow

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Confound It: A New Dreamwalker Mystery from Maggie Toussaint

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Enter to Win a Print Copy

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.

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. Visit her at www.maggietoussaint.com.

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New First-in-Series: Confessions of a Red Herring by Dana Dratch

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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.

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. You can learn more about her mysteries at ConfessionsofaRedHerring.com.
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New Teddy Bear Shop Mystery (with giveaway): Bear Witness to Murder by Meg Macy

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As autumn air settles into the quaint small town of Silver Hollow, there’s nothing more popular than Sasha’s teddy bears—and murder in cold blood . . .

Silver Bear Shop and Factory manager Sasha Silverman is cozying up to the fall season by hosting Silver Hollow’s Cranbeary Tea Party, the opening event of the village’s Oktobear Fest—a too-cute celebration themed around teddy bears. She barely has a moment to agonize over the return of her former high school rival, Holly Parker, whose new toy and bookstore in town could spell big trouble for the Silver Bear Shop and her cousin’s small bookstore . . .
But when Sasha discovers Holly’s shop assistant dead with a knife plunged in her body, the unpleasant woman suddenly looks like a real backstabber. So does Sasha’s ex-husband, rumored to have rekindled the fiery extramarital affair he once had with the victim. Now, before a gruesome homicide case takes the fun out of both the Fest and her personal life, Sasha must identify the true culprit from a daunting suspect list—or risk becoming as lifeless as one of her stuffed bears . . .

About The Author  

Award-winning mystery author Meg Macy lives in Southeast Michigan, close to Ann Arbor, Chelsea, and Dexter — the area she chose for the setting of her new “Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear” cozy mystery series for Kensington. She is also one-half of the writing team of D.E. Ireland for the Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins Mystery series; two books have been named Agatha Award finalists. Meg’s first published book, Double Crossing, won the 2012 Best First Novel Spur Award from Western Writers of America. She’s a graduate of Seton Hill University’s Writing Popular Fiction program. Meg loves reading mysteries, historicals, and other genre fiction, and also enjoys gardening, crafts, and watercolor painting.

 

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As D.I.Y. Gene Editing Gains Popularity, ‘Someone Is Going to Get Hurt’

By EMILY BAUMGAERTNERAfter researchers created a virus from mail-order DNA, geneticists sound the alarm about the genetic tinkering carried out in garages and living rooms…

Already a research team at the University of Alberta has recreated from scratch an extinct relative of smallpox, horsepox, by stitching together fragments of mail-order DNA in just six months for about $100,000 — without a glance from law enforcement officials.

The team purchased overlapping DNA fragments from a commercial company. Once the researchers glued the full genome together and introduced it into cells infected by another type of poxvirus, the cells began to produce infectious particles.

from NYT Science https://nyti.ms/2rEcPow

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Vegan Mystery and Character Interview: Picked Off by Linda Lovely

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Win a copy of the book and a gift certificate!

It’s been seven months since Brie Hooker, a vegan, moved to Udderly Kidding Dairy to live with her feisty Aunt Eva, a confirmed carnivore.But tonight there’ll be no family feud over dinner entrees.

Udderly’s hosting a campaign fundraiser for Eva’s best friend, who hopes to be South Carolina’s next governor. The candidate’s son, a pro quarterback, is flying home for the wingding. And Brie’s eager to get a close-up view of the cute tush she’s admired on TV, even though she’s reluctantly sworn off even more tempting local beefcake.
The campaign fundraiser promises to be a huge success until a pitchfork attack turns the goat farm into a crime scene—again.
To protect her friends, Brie puts her sleuthing skills to work. Will she live long enough to find out who’s behind a vicious assault, a kidnapping, blackmail, and murder?

Character Interview

Eva, welcome to Island Confidential. Can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?
My name is Eva Hooker. I’m 62 years old and I own Udderly Kidding Dairy, a 400-goat farm in Upstate South Carolina. I grew up in Iowa with my twin sister, Lilly, who recently died. When I was in college, I fell in love with a man from Ardon County, South Carolina, quit school and married him at age nineteen despite my sister’s pleas to finish college and wait. I soon discovered the hard way that my husband was abusive but I was too embarrassed to let my family know. After a number of broken bones, I finally got up the nerve to divorce the slime ball, despite his threat to kill me if I left. Before I could take the final steps, he disappeared on a fishing trip. I inherited his farm and decided to raise goats. My twin Lilly joined me and we turned the farm into a successful enterprise. When Lilly was killed in an accident, I asked my niece Brie to help me run the dairy until I could decide on the dairy’s future.
It’s hard for me to remember the fearful teenage bride who came to Ardon County. I vowed I’d never be a victim again and over the years I’ve become a very independent woman who thinks and says what she wants. I love my animals and my family. I have a special soft spot for my niece, Brie, even though I tease her every chance I get about her vegan diet. How anyone can give up cheese is beyond me. Our farrier, Billy, visits Udderly Kidding Dairy at least a couple of times a week for a friendly overnight visit. We’re both too old and stubborn to get married but we enjoy the occasional sleep over. I think that relationship gives my younger brother, Howard, Brie’s dad heartburn but that’s his problem not mine.
Who’s the character you get along with the best?
I get along with everyone as long as they respect my right to my own lifestyle and opinions. My twin and I got along best, of course, but Lilly’s gone now. I’m not sure that Brie would say we get along best, but I love having her living at Udderly. I love her youthful optimism and energy. And, don’t you let her know, but I even like a lot of those vegan dishes she fixes.
Is there anyone you don’t get along with so well? 
A number of my ex-husband’s kin still live around here and hate me. For years, they suspected I killed my ex. The owner of the local newspaper also has it in for me. You can read all about them in this series. These old enemies can’t seem to let go of the past.
Just between you and me: What do you really think of your author?
I think I have more in common with the author than does Brie, the heroine, of the series. Let’s say we’re both more mature, and we’re independent cusses who like to tease and laugh. And we both love cheese. The author tried to go vegan for a couple of years but the lure of cheddar brought her back to the fold.
What’s next for you?
I’m not sure what the author plans for me and Udderly Kidding Dairy. Brie’s stay with me is supposed to be temporary. She’s restoring an old Southern mansion that she wants to make into a B&B that caters to vegetarians and vegans. Before she moves on, I have to decide if I want to take on a new on-site partner, downsize the dairy so I can manage it alone, hire more employees, or sell and move on. I’m not betting I’ll sell. Too fond of my lifestyle and my animals.

About the Author

Linda Lovely finds writing pure fiction isn’t a huge stretch given the years she’s spent penning PR and ad copy. Linda writes a blend of mystery and humor, chuckling as she plots to “disappear” the types of characters who most annoy her. Quite satisfying, plus there’s no need to pester relatives for bail. Her newest series offers good-natured salutes to both her vegan family doctor and her cheese-addicted kin. She’s an enthusiastic Sisters in Crime member and helps organize the popular Writers’ Police Academy. When not writing or reading, Linda takes long walks with her husband, swims, gardens, and plays tennis.

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New thriller and Giveaway from Kathleen Valenti: 39 Winks

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Win an e-copy

Former pharmaceutical researcher Maggie O’Malley is losing sleep. Her boyfriend Constantine’s aunt is a multitasking sleepwalker who, in addition to wandering her stately home, prepares meals, folds laundry and, one winter night, stumbles across her husband with his throat slit.

It’s a rude and gruesome awakening that’s upsetting to Aunt Polly. And interesting to the police.
Maggie and Constantine work to uncover who killed the cosmetic surgery mogul and why. As they dig into the lives of those who knew him best, they discover that the truth is only skin deep and doctoring perception is a treatment with deadly side effects.
A gripping page-turner with more twists than a surgeon’s suture, 39 Winks is a tale of lies, betrayals and greed that will keep you up at night. And looking over your shoulder.

About the Author

When Kathleen Valenti isn’t writing page-turning mysteries that combine humor and suspense, she works as a nationally award-winning advertising copywriter. Protocol is her debut novel and the first of the Maggie O’Malley mystery series. Kathleen lives in Oregon with her family where she pretends to enjoy running.
Author Links
Webpage – www.kathleenvalenti.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/authorkathleenvalenti/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/KathyValenti1
GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16773270.Kathleen_Valenti
 

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New baking mystery with character interview: Cake and Punishment

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Enter to win a Kindle!

In the first of a delectable new Southern-set baking cozy series, Sophia Cummings, pastry chef extraordinaire, must craft the perfect cake for an old friend’s wedding while sifting through the suspects in a murder.
Bucolic Rumford, Kentucky has glowing fields of bluegrass, a fine selection of bourbons, and now a professional pastry chef. Broken-hearted Sophia Cummings has come home from New York City. She’s not there a minute before she’s charmed into making her high school friend Charlotte’s wedding cake. The kitchen at the Rumford Country Club seems perfect until Chef Emile’s body is discovered, sprawled near the stove, a cast iron skillet on the floor close by.With one look at the shiny, new frying pan, Sophia knows it’s not Emile’s. She offers her knowledge to Sheriff Carter and her talents to Evelyn, the manager, who needs an interim chef. The mood in the country club is grim: Emile’s peppery personality had burned members and staff alike. Sophia wonders which one of them burned him?

Character Interview: Sophia Cummings

Sophia, welcome to Island Confidential! I understand baking has been more than just a hobby for you. Would you like to elaborate? 
I’ve been baking since I was a little girl. It was one thing that I had to myself that my mama, Bitsy, never liked to do. I started to use it as a way to get out from under her thumb because she wanted to put me in pageants, join the junior league and all sorts of clubs southern mamas dream of their daughters doing. I’m no debutante, so I think I used baking as a way to get back at her, which turned out to be my greatest accomplishment.
Which character in Cake and Punishment do you get along with the best?
Definitely Carter. Since I’ve been home, I’ve kinda gotten close to him and happy to say that he’s grown into a man from the scrawny boy I knew in high school. Plus, I might have a small attraction to him.
Is there anyone you don’t get along with so well?
Hhmmm…Bitsy. I love my mama. I do. But…she’s still has a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that I’m not going to be a homemaker. Plus she thinks I’m going to stay in Rumford, listen, I’m only here for a couple of weeks. That’s it.
Just between you and me: What do you really think of your author, Maymee Bell?
I rolled my eyes so hard when she told me that she’d enrolled in a baking and decorating class. She’s great at cooking, but baking….man oh man. I was impressed with some things she was able to do in class and really give her credit, but she needs to leave the baking to me.
What’s next for you?
I guess you’ll have to see!

About the Author


Maymee Bell is the pen name of USA Today Bestselling author Tonya Kappes. She lives in Kentucky with her family and her two schnauzers. She likes strong coffee, slow-country days, and fresh-baked cookies – but she like telling stores best of all. This is her first SOUTHERN BAKER MYSTERY. Be sure to check out Tonya’s website for upcoming events and news and to sign up for her newsletter! Tonyakappes.com

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The Marmalade Murders: A Penny Brannigan Mystery by Elizabeth J. Duncan

The latest book in an award-winning mystery series, celebrated for its small-town charm and picturesque Welsh setting and starring amateur sleuth Penny Brannigan.
The competition is friendly and just a little fierce at the annual Llanelen agricultural show as town and country folk gather for the outdoor judging of farm animals and indoor judging of cakes, pies, pastries, chutneys, jams and jellies, along with vegetables, fruit and flowers. But this year, there’s a new show category: murder.

Local artist, Spa owner, and amateur sleuth Penny Brannigan agrees to help with the intake of the domestic arts entries and to judge the children’s pet competition on show day. When the president of the Welsh Women’s Guild isn’t on hand to see her granddaughter and pet pug win a prize, the family becomes concerned. When a carrot cake entered in the competition goes missing, something is clearly amiss.
A black Labrador Retriever belonging to the agricultural show’s president discovers the body of the missing woman under the baked goods table. A newcomer to town, a transgender woman, is suspected, but amateur sleuth Penny Brannigan believes her to be innocent. She sets out to find the real killer, but when a second body is discovered days later, the case is thrown into confusion, and Penny knows it’s up to her to figure out what happened—and why.

Character Guest Post: Why Wales?

by amateur sleuth, artist, business woman and main character, Penny Brannigan
Elizabeth J. Duncan found me here in North Wales by accident. She was her way to lunch with friends when the driver took a wrong turn and they all ended up in the market town of Llanrwst, where I’d been living for about 25 years. I didn’t meet Elizabeth that day, but I was here.
I found my way to this town by accident, too. As a young Canadian backpacker, I was making my way around Europe, the way you do when you’ve just finished uni and have no job lined up and no prospects of one. But more than that, my degree is in art history and I longed to see the great European masterpieces. So I was on my way through Wales to Holyhead to catch the ferry to Dublin, when I heard about the picturesque stone three-arched bridge in Llanrwst, and as an amateur watercolour artist, I wanted to paint it. As I was sketching, a lovely woman stopped to talk to me and before I knew it, we were chatting away in the tea room beside the bridge over cups of Earl Grey and warm scones with jam and clotted cream.
 

The woman offered to put me up for the night and on my tight budget, I leapt at the chance! Her name was Emma Teasdale, she was a retired school teacher, and probably the kindest person I’ve ever met. Well, that day turned into a week, and a week turned into a month, and I never left Llanrwst. To earn a bit of money I started doing manicures for the ladies in the nursing home, and pretty soon I was running my own little nail bar. Oh, don’t worry. I was legally entitled to work because I was in the UK on a patrial rights visa that some citizens of Commonwealth countries are entitled to, or at least they were back then.
I’m estranged from my family back in Canada. I had a rough childhood, and I was never close to them, so staying on to build a life for myself in the UK made sense at the time, although I never thought too much about it. I just drifted into it, really, and one day I realized I’d never return to Canada. Wales had become my home.
So when Elizabeth eventually found me, I was well established, with a close circle of friends, and although some might think of me as an underachiever, I think of myself as content. The way of life here suits me. The pace may be slower, but I’ve built deep connections with people, who really care about me, as I do them. They’re my family now.
A year or so after discovering the town, Elizabeth started writing the first book in the Penny Brannigan series set in North Wales, and a few months after that, she returned to Llanrwst. The other characters and I watched her walking through the town, as if she were looking for something. She didn’t see us, but we saw her. And now I know what she was looking for. She was looking for us. She might not have seen us, but we were here. In the shops, in the pub, in the tea room, in our homes.
Elizabeth spends the winter in North Wales with us now, and returns to Canada in the spring. But she knows I’ll always be here, right where she found me, waiting to welcome her back in November.


About The Author

Elizabeth J Duncan is the author of two mystery series – Shakespeare in the Catskills and the Penny Brannigan mystery series set in North Wales. She is a two-time winner of the Bloody Words Award for Canada’s best light mystery and lives in Toronto.

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