#MidweekMystery Charleston Conundrum by Stacy Wilder

A cozy mystery with a twist! Charleston Conundrum, a Liz Adams Mystery, is available now.

Liz’s life is upended when her best friend, Peg, is murdered and she becomes a suspect.Liz’s gun was the murder weapon. Tensions flare between Liz and the cops as she rises to the top of their suspect list.

At the request of Peg’s father, Liz agrees to take on the investigation. Riding a roller coaster of emotions, Liz uncovers many secrets Peg kept from her despite their being best friends. The suspects include a cast of characters: the ex-husband, the boyfriend, a coworker, several neighbors, and family members.

Charleston Conundrum takes the reader from Charleston, South Carolina, to Paris and back in an emotional unraveling of Peg’s life and death, and culminates in a killer ending.

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About the Author

Stacy Wilder

Stacy writes mysteries, children’s stories, short stories, and poetry. Her debut novel, Charleston Conundrum, is the first in the Conundrum mystery series.
Stacy’s mission is to deliver a delightful story to readers of all ages while benefiting a larger community. She donates a portion of the proceeds from the sales of her books to causes that support wildlife conservation, and the homeless, both people and pets. A portion of the proceeds from Charleston Conundrum are donated to National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
As well as writing, Stacy is passionate about her faith, family, Labradors, the causes that she supports, the beach, art, and reading books.
She and her husband live in Houston, Texas with a totally spoiled Labrador retriever, Eve.
Author Links
Website – www.storystacy.com
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/wilderstacy
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/authorstacywilder/
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j63f0qJdJYE
Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Google – Blue Willow Bookshop – Murder by the Book ‘.

#MidweekMysteries from Cheryl Hollon and Colleen J. Shogan

Death a Sketch by Cheryl Hollon

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Miranda Trent runs a unique tour company in eastern Kentucky, where sometimes the peaceful mountains play host to murder. Death a Sketch is the new Paint & Shine mystery by @CherylHollon

Miranda’s business—combining Appalachian adventure tours with art and a bit of moonshine—is the perfect place for an outdoor sporting goods company to hold an employee retreat. It’ll be a challenge, but the money they’re paying will definitely help with building her new distillery.

Miranda has lots of teamwork-fostering activities planned, from sketching classes to Southern cooking, but the executive running things prefers a more competitive spirit. In fact, after the workers are split into teams, they’re told that only the winners will keep their jobs, and tensions begin to spike. Even after a participant is found dead, the contest continues—while Miranda starts drawing her own conclusions about the ambitious attendees. Now she just has to find the proof …

About the Author

Cheryl Hollon

Cheryl Hollon writes full-time after leaving an engineering career. She designed and built military flight simulators in amazing countries such as England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India. Now fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, she combines her love of writing with a passion for oil painting and creating glass art. Cheryl and her husband live in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. Visit her online at http://cherylhollon.com, on Facebook or on Twitter @CherylHollon.

Purchase Links

Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Google Play – IndieBound – Kensington 


Lethal Legacies: A Washington Whodunit by Colleen J. Shogan

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Congressional staffer Kit Marshall learns the hard way that history tends to repeat itself, often with deadly consequences. Lethal Legacies is the new Washington Whodunit mystery by Colleen Shogan @CShogan276

It’s springtime in Washington, D.C. and congressional staffer Kit Marshall has more on her plate than she can handle. With her boss campaigning for an open U.S. Senate seat, Kit is left to run the office in her absence and manage a new week long American history extravaganza filled with high-profile events, lectures, and receptions.

When the Director of the Capitol Visitor’s Center ends up dead, Kit springs into action to clear a longtime friend who becomes the prime suspect in the murder. With her best pal Meg pressuring her to solve the mystery quickly, Kit must figure out how to navigate her closest relationships while keeping an eye out for the diabolical killer.

About the Author

Colleen J. Shogan

Colleen J. Shogan has been reading mysteries since the age of six. A political scientist by training, Colleen has taught American politics at several universities and previously worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative staffer in the United States Senate and as a senior executive at the Library of Congress. She is currently the Senior Vice President of the White House Historical Association.

Colleen lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Rob and their beagle mutt Conan.

Author Links

 Facebook –  Twitter – Website – Goodreads

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N 

#MidweekMystery: The Fragrance of Death by Leslie Karst

Restaurateur Sally Solari has a nose for trouble, but when her sense of smell goes missing, it’s not just her career on the line . . . it’s her life.
The Fragrance of Death
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After getting mixed up in one too many murders, Sally Solari has noticed her nonna’s friends have taken to crossing themselves when they see her in the street. Adding to her woes, a sinus infection has knocked out her sense of smell, making cooking on the hot line difficult, indeed. Nevertheless, Sally is determined to stay out of trouble and focus on her work. But then her old acquaintance Neil Lerici is murdered at the annual Santa Cruz Artichoke Cook-Off, and her powers of investigation are called into action once more. Could Neil have been killed by the local restaurant owner who took his winning spot at the competition? Or maybe by one of his siblings, who were desperate to sell the family farm to a real estate developer? Sally plunges headfirst into the case, risking alienating everyone she knows – including the dapper Detective Vargas, who finds her sleuthing both infuriating and endearing. And soon it’s not only her restaurant and tentative new relationship that are on the line – it’s her life . . .

Review

Lawyer-turned-chef Sally Solari has already solved several murders, starting with the death of her Aunt Letta (who kicked off Sally’s culinary career by bequeathing her the trendy restaurant Gaugin). But Sally has no intention of dwelling on murder, or reveling in her notoriety as an amateur sleuth. Instead, she’s focused on making a good showing at the upcoming Santa Cruz Artichoke Cook-Off –and perhaps showing up her competitive restaurateur father in the bargain.

But just as Sally’s culinary career seems back on track, her sense of smell is knocked out by a sinus infection–and a competitor is knocked out of the cook-off by murder.

At first Sally is reluctant to get involved in the investigation. But new clues turn up and a relationship starts to develop with a dashing detective. Sally finds she can’t resist the chance to help Detective Vargas find the killer, prevent an injustice, and dig into some of her own family secrets along the way.

I read The Fragrance of Death from cover to cover on a trans-Pacific flight, and the hours seemed to, well, fly. The story is enriched with details about the Italian fishing families who established the still-thriving restaurant ecosystem that thrives to this day, the realities of the legal system, the surprising importance of our sense of smell, and the hectic but rewarding life of a restaurateur. The characters are compellingly human. Sally is accomplished and smart, but she can make a misstep when curiosity gets the better of her. Sally’s friends, family, and potential love interests can be indecisive, prickly, prideful, insecure, forgiving and kind.

The Fragrance of Death is a smart, funny, skillfully plotted mystery, with a bonus: Leslie Karst is a trained chef. In The Fragrance of Death she shares some of the recipes for the delicious dishes mentioned throughout the book. You’ll want to try them all, but to whet your appetite, read on!

From Leslie: Spaghetti alla Carbonara with Artichokes

I’m a huge fan of artichokes, a trait I inherited from my mother, who, if given the chance, could eat a half dozen of the glorious thistles in one sitting. And because my Sally Solari mysteries take place in the country’s primary artichoke growing region (Central California, with its Mediterranean-like climate, produces virtually 100% of the artichokes sold in the US, and of that, more than 80% come from Castroville, just a half-hour’s drive from Santa Cruz), I decided to highlight this local vegetable in the newest book in my Sally Solari culinary mystery series, The Fragrance of Death. (Yep, you can see a pair of artichokes on the cover.)

So to celebrate the release on August 2nd of this fifth book in the series, what could be better than a recipe featuring the fabulous thistle?

One of my sleuth Sally Solari’s favorite dishes to whip up for company is spaghetti alla carbonara. Not only is it about as simple as it gets to make—thus allowing Sally the luxury of enjoying pre-dinner cocktails along with her guests—but the combination of pancetta, olive oil, butter, cheese, and eggs makes this pasta sinfully rich and delicious. (Don’t be alarmed by the use of raw egg; the hot pasta heats it enough to cook, and the result is a silky, custardy sauce.)

The origin of this dish’s name is hotly disputed, but most folks agree that it likely has something to do with the Italian word carbone (charcoal). Some claim the dish was invented by coalminers; others argue it was originally cooked over a charcoal flame; and still others assert that the name derives from a kind of charcoal-cooked ham that was once used for the pasta.

Serve the pasta with a green salad or fagiolini al burro (baby green beans sautéed in butter), and a loaf of warm, crusty bread for a simple, weeknight dinner. Whatever its history, this delectable dish from Rome makes for a terrific, quick-to-prepare meal. And in this non-traditional version (inspired by a New York Times recipe I came across recently), the addition of artichokes to the spaghetti provides an extra flavor layer that wonderfully compliments the richness of the other ingredients.

Ingredients

1 pound spaghetti

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

½  pound pancetta or bacon, cut crossways into ½” strips

12 oz. can/jar drained, or 8 oz. package frozen artichoke quarters

4 eggs

1 cup finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

1 tablespoon chopped Italian (flat-leaf) parsley

salt and freshly-ground black pepper

Directions

Bring a large (at least 4 quart) pot of water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and 1 tablespoon salt, and cook over high heat until al dente (still slightly firm in the center, 8-10 minutes), stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the butter and oil in a heavy skillet. Add the bacon and fry over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until starting to brown. Add the artichokes to the skillet and cook until warmed through. (This can be done in advance, but reheat before service if the oil and butter have hardened.)

In a serving bowl large enough to hold the pasta, beat the eggs with ¾ cup of the grated cheese.

Reserving 1 cup of pasta water, drain the cooked spaghetti and immediately dump the hot pasta—without rinsing—into the serving bowl. Toss until the pasta is coated with the egg and cheese mixture.  Add ¼ cup of pasta water, and toss again.

Add the pancetta/bacon and artichokes (along with all the butter and oil), and toss again. Add more pasta water, a little at a time, until the sauce is smooth and creamy.

Serve garnished with the parsley and freshly ground pepper.

About the Author


Leslie Karst is the author of the Lefty Award-nominated Sally Solari culinary mystery series. The daughter of a law professor and a potter, she waited tables and sang in a new wave rock band before deciding she was ready for “real” job and ending up at Stanford Law School. It was during her career as a research and appellate attorney in Santa Cruz, California, that Leslie rediscovered her youthful passion for food and cooking and once more returned to school—this time to earn a degree in culinary arts.

Now retired from the law, Leslie spends her time cooking, cycling, gardening, singing alto in her local community chorus, and of course writing. She and her wife and their Jack Russell mix split their time between Santa Cruz and Hilo, Hawai‘i.

Author Links

Website http://www.lesliekarstauthor.com/

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lesliekarstauthor/

BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/leslie-karst

GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14220589.Leslie_Karst

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lesliekarst/

Twitter https://twitter.com/LeslieKarst

Purchase Links – Amazon – BookShop – B&N 


#MidweekMystery: The Friday Night Mystery Club by Joanna Campbell Slan

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Decatur, Illinois/1986 – A nasty divorce leaves Cragan Collins with a mountain of bills and her grandmother to support. She takes a job as an ad salesperson for The Gazette. The market is tough, but Cragan finds a mentor in business reporter, Robert Smithson. One icy January day, Robert is found dead in a city park. His murder is dismissed as gay-on-gay crime. Cragan asks The Friday Night Mystery Club to find justice for Robert. Will Cragan’s quest for the truth land her on the obituary page?

About Joanna Campbell Slan

Friday Night Mystery Club

Joanna is a New York Times Bestselling, USA Today Bestselling, and Amazon Bestselling author as well as a woman prone to frequent bursts of crafting frenzy, leaving her with burns from her hot glue gun and paint on her clothes. And the mess? Let’s not even go there.

Otherwise, Joanna’s a productive author with more than 80 written projects to her credit. Her non-fiction work includes how to books, a college textbook for public speakers, and books of personal essays (think Chicken Soup for the Soul).

Currently, she writes six fiction series: The Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series (Agatha Award Finalist, contemporary, St. Louis setting, crafting), the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series (contemporary, Florida setting, DIY, and recycling), the Jane Eyre Chronicles (Daphne du Maurier Award Winner, 1830s England, based on Charlotte Brontë’s classic), the Sherlock Holmes Fantasy Thrillers (late 1800s, based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s books), the Tai Chi Mystery Series (featuring a mature female amateur sleuth!) and the Friday Night Mystery Series (set in Decatur, IL in 1986 with a spunky female heroine.)

A former TV talk show host, college teacher, and public relations specialist, Joanna was one of the early Chicken Soup for the Soul contributors. She won a Silver Anvil for her work on the original FarmAid concert to benefit farmers.

In her ongoing quest never to see snow again, Joanna lives with her husband and their Havanese puppy, Jax, on an island off the coast of Florida. You can email her at [email protected] or visit her website at https://linktr.ee/jcslan

Deceptively Delicious Salad from Mysteries, Midsummer Sun and Murders

Mysteries, Midsummer Sun, and Murders

Poisonous picnics, burgled barbeques, deadly deckchairs… and midsummer mayhem!

From a brilliant bunch of amazing authors, including multiple prizewinners and USA Today best sellers, comes this wonderful collection of 21 summer-themed cozy mysteries.

Featuring peril at the pool, blood on the beach, and felony at the festival, these fabulous stories—21 brand new and exclusive tales—will keep you entertained until long after the sun has set.

With stories from Hillary Avis, Benedict Brown, Catherine Coles, Paula Darnell, Connie B. Dowell, Ellen Jacobson, Joann Keder, Patti Larsen, Cate Lawley, Gayle Leeson, Daisy Linh, Rimmy London, R.B. Marshall, Megan Mayfair, Wendy Meadows, Phillipa Nefri Clark, Michele Pariza Wacek, Erin Scoggins, Cathy Tully, Victoria LK Williams and Carly Winter, you’ll surely find some of your favourite authors and discover some great new writers within the ~1600 pages of this set.

This collection will only be available for a limited time so don’t miss out – grab yourself a bargain today!


Exclusive recipe: Deceptively Delicious Salad to Die For by Patti Larsen

In honor of Petal Morgan and The High Tide Deception, here’s a delightful summer salad with that sweet and salty mix of delicious that deceives your tastebuds into forgetting how healthy it is!

Dressing

1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 tsp maple syrup

Crushed garlic clove

Himalayan pink salt to taste

Salad

1 bag baby spinach

1/2 cup blueberries

10 sliced strawberries

3 tangerines

1/4 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup plain goat cheese

1/4 cup toasted walnuts

1/2 diced chicken breast

Toss and enjoy the deception!


About Ellen Jacobson

Ellen Jacobson is a writer, cat lover & obsessed with chocolate. She writes cozy mysteries and romantic comedies including the Mollie McGhie Mysteries and the Smitten with Travel Rom-Coms.

You can find out more on her website (ellenjacobsonauthor.com), sign up for her newsletter (https://www.subscribepage.com/m4g9m4).

About R.B. Marshall

Like my amateur sleuth, Izzy, I’m a dressage-riding computer geek who loves coffee – but there the similarity ends. She is far smarter than me, and a lot younger! I hope you’ll join me in discovering where her curiosity leads to next…

Pretty much all my books are set in my native Scotland, and my mystery stories are no exception. You’ll meet colourful characters solving perplexing puzzles in the most glorious landscape imaginable. Throw in a castle or two, the occasional royal, and maybe even a delicious cake shop, and you’ll have the recipe for my new series.

I also write fantasy and clean romance/women’s fiction, as Roz Marshall: http://viewAuthor.at/RozMarshall

and Historical Romance telling the story of Mary Queen of Scots, as Belle McInnes: http://viewauthor.at/BelleMcInnes

About Cate Lawley

Cate Lawley writes humorous, action-filled mysteries that frequently contain a paranormal twist.

When Cate’s not tapping away at her keyboard or in deep contemplation of her next fanciful writing project, she’s sweeping up hairy dust bunnies and watching British mysteries.

Cate is from Austin, Texas (where many of her stories take place) but has recently migrated north to Boise, Idaho, where soup season (her favorite time of year) lasts more than two weeks.

She’s worked as an attorney, a dog trainer, and in various other positions, but writer is the hands-down winner. She’s thankful readers keep reading, so she can keep writing!

For bonus materials and updates, visit her website to join her mailing list: www.CateLawley.com

About Wendy Meadows

Wendy Meadows is a USA Today best-selling author whose meticulously crafted stories showcase witty women sleuths and engaging plots. Her primary influences include but are not limited to mystery genre greats Joanne Fluke, Ellery Adams, and James Patterson. To date, she has published dozens of books, which include her popular Sweetfern Harbor Series, Maple Hill Series, and Alaska Cozy Series, to name a few.

When she isn’t writing about female detectives and their tactful crime solving, you can find Wendy either tending to her hobby farm, playing video games, relaxing on her back porch, or coloring in her growing collection of adult coloring books. She also loves spending quality time with her husband, two sons, two cats, and one adorable Labradoodle. Together, they call “The Granite State” home sweet home.

Visit Wendy at http://wendymeadows.com

About Michele Pariza Wacek

When Michele was 3 years old, she taught herself to read because she wanted to write stories so badly. It took some time (and some detours) but now she does spend much of her time writing stories. Mystery stories, to be exact. They’re clean and twisty, and range from psychological thrillers to cozies, with a dash of romance and supernatural thrown into the mix. If that wasn’t enough, she posts lots of fun things on her blog, including short stories, puzzles, recipes and more, at MPWNovels.com. For a free prequel to her cozy mystery series, The Charlie Kingsley Mysteries, visit https://mpwnovels.com/freebies/

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

Author Links
Website – https://mpwnovels.com/
Facebook – facebook.com/michelepwauthor
Linked In linkedin.com/in/michelepw
Twitter – twitter.com/michelepw
Instagram – instagram.com/themichelepw

About Cathy Tully

Cathy Tully is the pen name of E.C. Tully. A graduate of Georgetown University, she studied foreign languages and linguistics before changing gears and graduating from Chiropractic School. Her award-nominated first novel, Dr. Shine Cracks the Case, features a chiropractor practicing in small town Georgia. She writes the ChiroCozy Mystery Series.

About Gayle Leeson 

Gayle Leeson is an author living in Virginia with a beautiful family and quite a few pets. She also writes–or has written–as Gayle Trent, Amanda Lee, and G. Leeson. As Gayle Trent, she writes the Daphne Martin Cake Mystery series and the Myrtle Crumb Mystery series. As Amanda Lee, she wrote the Embroidery Mystery series. As Gayle Leeson, she writes the Down South Cafe Mystery series and the Ghostly Fashionista mystery series. And as G. Leeson, she is writing the Literatia mystery series.

About Megan Mayfair

Megan Mayfair writes fiction with a dash of mystery, a sprinkling of humour and a spoonful of romance. Her books include the award-winning Tangled Vines and the Lemon Tree Bay mysteries. Megan lives in Melbourne, Australia with her husband and three young children and works in PR. When not writing fiction or press releases, she enjoys spending time with her family, drinking coffee, and seeking the perfect shade of red lipstick.

About Benedict Brown

Benedict Brown writes historical and contemporary mysteries in his two bestselling series, “Lord Edgington Investigates…” and “The Izzy Palmer Mysteries”. Both series feature twists by the bookful, a wicked sense of humour and a huge cast of quirky, curious and cunning characters. He’s a Welsh-Irish Londoner who lives in Spain with his French wife and multi-national four-year-old daughter, and he spends all his time writing (when his daughter lets him).

About Patti Larsen

I’m a multiple award-winning writer with a passion for the voices in my head. With many (many!) titles across many (many!) genres, all in happy publication, there’s no end in sight…

That being said, I’m short (permanent), happy (I have the best life ever) and blonde (for ever and ever). I love to talk one on one about the deepest topics and can’t seem to stop seeing the big picture. I happily live on Prince Edward Island, Canada, home to Anne of Green Gables and the most beautiful red beaches in the world, with my multiple cats, pug overlord and lady and Gypsy Vanner gelding, Fynn.

About Hillary Avis

Hillary Avis writes cozy mysteries about smart women who persist until they uncover the truth—about themselves, about their communities, and of course about any unsolved murders.

She grew up in a small town on the west coast, went to college in a small town on the east coast, and now lives in beautiful Eugene, Oregon. She has two charming children, three fluffy dogs, and two practically perfect felines named Mystery and Intrigue. She also has too many chickens and one very patient husband.

When Hillary’s not reading, writing, or editing, she bakes bread, makes pottery, drinks coffee, and streams The Great British Bake-Off, but not all at the same time.

About Rimmy London

Snuggle up with one of Rimmy’s cozies… if you dare.

Follow on Amazon or sign up for her newsletter at www.rimmylondon.com 

About Phillipa Nefri Clark

Phillipa lives just outside a beautiful town in country Victoria, Australia. She also lives in the many worlds of her imagination and stockpiles stories beside her laptop.

She writes from the heart about love, dreams, secrets, discovery, the sea, the world as she knows it… or wishes it could be. She loves happy endings, heart-pounding suspense, and characters who stay with you long after the final page.

With a passion for music, the ocean, nature, reading, and writing, she is often found in the vegetable garden pondering a new story.

To connect more with Phillipa and her writing, visit www.phillipaclark.com.

About Erin Scoggins

Erin is a long-time Southerner with a fondness for offbeat humor and fresh fried chicken. After fifteen years in marketing with a Fortune 500 company, she traded her MBA for fictional crime scenes and feisty small-town families. She writes fun, flirty mysteries that are celebrations of food, family, and the killer South.

Visit her at www.erinscoggins.com for book news and shenanigans.

About Victoria LK Williams

Cozy Mysteries with A Tropical Twist!

Fun Cozy Mysteries, Paranormal Mysteries (with a fantasy twist) all set on the Florida Coast. A Romantic Christian Series, with a strong sense of family set in upstate New York. These are the stories Victoria writes. A hopeless animal lover, Victoria adds plenty of cats and dogs in each book, and her love of gardening shows through the characters. As a storyteller, it is important for Victoria to draw the reader into the story; to make you feel the sultry tropical heat or the numbing cold of the north. Victoria and her husband live in South Florida and own a landscape garden service. Two feisty cats make themselves at home, usually on her desk as she writes. A lover of a good mystery, she is an avid reader and likes to be outdoors. When she is not reading, you may find her working on a needlepoint project. Visit her website to learn about new and upcoming books. http://www.VictoriaLKWilliams.com

About Joann Keder

Joann Keder spent most of her years in the Midwest, growing up and raising a family on the Great Plains of Nebraska. She worked for sixteen years as a piano teacher before returning to school to receive a master’s degree in creative writing. A mid-life move to the Pacific Northwest lead her to re-examine her priorities. She now creates stories about life and relationships in small towns while her ever-patient husband encourages her on.

Author Links

Website – Facebook – Instagram – Amazon – GoodReads Link 

About Carly Winter

Carly Winter is the author of the Sedona Sprit Cozy Mystery series and the Tri-Town Murders Cozy Mystery series. When not writing, she likes spending time with her family and enjoying the fantastic Arizona weather (except summer – she doesn’t like summer). She does like dogs, wine and chocolate and wishes Christmas happened twice a year.

About Catherine Coles 

Catherine Coles writes cosy mysteries that take place in the English countryside. Her extremely popular Tommy & Evelyn Christie mysteries are set in 1920s North Yorkshire. Her new series, the Martha Miller cosy mysteries, are set in the years following the Second World War in Berkshire.

Catherine lives in northeast England with the youngest of her five children and two spoiled dogs who have no idea they are not human!

About Paula Darnell

Award-winning author Paula Darnell is a former college instructor who writes two cozy mystery series: the DIY Diva Mysteries and the Fine Art Mysteries. Killer Art in the Park is a story in the Fine Art Mystery series. All her cozies feature arts and crafts and a lovable dog. She’s a former board member of the Clark County Artists Guild, and she sells handmade jewelry in her Etsy shop, Paula D Jewelry. She and her husband Gary live in Las Vegas with their adorable golden retriever Lindsey Lou.

About Connie B. Dowell

Connie B. Dowell writes cozy stories with LGBTQ+ characters, including the Emmie and Dessa mysteries (set 1918 and onward) and the Millie Monroe Bookmobile Mysteries. She also writes nonfiction and children’s stories and hosts two writing podcasts, Authoring Onward and Let’s Start Writing. When not writing or illustrating, she gardens, plays violin badly, and binge watches Midsomer Murders.


#MidweekMystery: Bayou Book Thief by Ellen Byron

A fantastic new cozy mystery series with a vintage flair from USA Today bestselling and Agatha Award–winning author Ellen Byron.

 

Twenty-eight-year-old widow Ricki James leaves Los Angeles to start a new life in New Orleans after her showboating actor husband perishes doing a stupid internet stunt. The Big Easy is where she was born and adopted by the NICU nurse who cared for her after Ricki’s teen mother disappeared from the hospital.

 

Ricki’s dream comes true when she joins the quirky staff of Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, the spectacular former Garden District home of late bon vivant Genevieve “Vee” Charbonnet, the city’s legendary restauranteur. Ricki is excited about turning her avocation – collecting vintage cookbooks – into a vocation by launching the museum’s gift shop, Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware. Then she discovers that a box of donated vintage cookbooks contains the body of a cantankerous Bon Vee employee who was fired after being exposed as a book thief.

 

The skills Ricki has developed ferreting out hidden vintage treasures come in handy for investigations. But both her business and Bon Vee could wind up as deadstock when Ricki’s past as curator of a billionaire’s first edition collection comes back to haunt her.

 

Will Miss Vee’s Vintage Cookbooks and Kitchenware be a success … or a recipe for disaster?


Review

Ellen’s Cajun Country Mysteries were a delight, and the series wrapped up satisfyingly. Happily, Ellen takes us back to Louisiana with a new series. Bayou Book Thief, the first installment of the new Vintage Cookbook mystery series, transports us to the heat, humidity, and hustle of New Orleans.

I love the way Ellen plays with the cozy mystery tropes we all know and love: Ricki (short for Miracle) James, a newly-widowed Los Angeles transplant, starts up a vintage cookbook – themed gift shop in the Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, in a historic mansion in the Garden District. Instead of big-city girl in the small town, our protagonist relocates to another big city (arguably, one with more personality and pizazz than Los Angeles). The circumstances of her widowhood are tragic, but at the same time darkly comical. Ricki’s mother is not the nagging matchmaker we know from other popular cozy series; Ricki’s parents are happily retired and too busy taking dance lessons to meddle with her life. And is this a book shop mystery, a culinary mystery, or an antique shop mystery? Why not all three at once?

One element that was satisfyingly to expectation was the murder: The discovery of the body is shocking but not gruesome, and the victim (mild spoiler here) will not be much missed. A mystery featuring an amateur sleuth needs to provide a good reason for the protagonist to get involved and not simply leave it to the police, and this is done deftly in Bayou Book Thief. Enough is at stake, including Ricki’s own livelihood, that she is inevitably drawn in to investigating the murder.

Bayou Book Thief is an enjoyable and well-plotted mystery with plenty of well-researched local detail and a satisfying conclusion. Warning: you may finish the book and find you have an irresistible craving for a Po’Boy. I’m looking forward to the next installment of the Vintage Cookbook Mystery Series, which is scheduled for release in February.

About the Author


Ellen’s Cajun Country Mysteries have won the Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel and multiple Lefty Awards for Best Humorous Mystery. Bayou Book Thief will be the first book in her new Vintage Cookbook Mysteries. She also writes the Catering Hall Mystery series under the name Maria DiRico.

Ellen is an award-winning playwright, and non-award-winning TV writer of comedies like WingsJust Shoot Me, and Fairly Odd Parents. She has written over two hundred articles for national magazines but considers her most impressive credit working as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart. An alum of New Orleans’ Tulane University, she blogs with Chicks on the Case, is a lifetime member of the Writers Guild of America and will be the 2023 Left Coast Crime Toastmaster. Please visit her at https://www.ellenbyron.com/


Author Links

Purchase Links

Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Google Books – Alibris – IndieBound – PenguinRandomHouse

#Midweek Mystery: Bear Witness (an Alaska Untamed mystery)

Alaska tour boat guide Stacie Calder faces the deep freeze in this scenic cozy series debut perfect for fans of Paige Shelton.

No nine-to-five cubicle career will suit Stacie Calder—the naturalist much prefers working in the great outdoors. Specifically, the spacious and spectacular Alaskan wilderness, whose rugged charms she shares with sightseers on the top deck of the tour boat where she works. But one May afternoon, Stacie’s passengers see more than glittering glaciers, frolicking harbor seals, climbing bears and soaring seabirds…they also witness a man lying dead in the frigid Alaskan waters. And it seems likely that someone gave him a fatal push.

Lark O. Jensen is the pseudonym of Linda O. Johnston, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer. Lark has written Bear Witness, the first Alaska Untamed mystery for Crooked Lane. Linda has written the Barkery & Biscuits Mystery series and the Superstition Mysteries for Midnight Ink and the Pet Rescue Mysteries and Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. Linda also writes for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, and her stories often involve dogs.

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#Midweekmystery: Mining for Murder by Mary Angela

A Happy Camper Mystery

The South Dakota Gold Rush might be long over, but Zo Jones feels like she’s hit the mother lode when she and her friends browse an estate sale, where a rare old book about the history of Spirit Canyon is causing quite a commotion. In addition to local stories and secrets, the book may even contain the location of a famous stash of gold—a treasure worth killing for Canyon’s annual Spirit Spooktacular weekend is on, and for local amateur sleuth Zo Jones, it’s boomtime for business at her Happy Camper gift shop . . . until a murderer drops in for a browse.

Zo’s friend Maynard Cline wins the bid on the book, to the chagrin of many interested parties, including the historical society and college history department. But when Zo and Hattie head to Maynard’s mansion to borrow the book for a library event, the only thing they find is Maynard—at the bottom of the mountain. The valuable book is gone. Zo knows this must be murder because there’s no way a germophobe like Maynard would have voluntarily dived into a pile of dirt. Now she’ll have to dig into a new case, and go prospecting for a perpetrator

Mary Angela

Mary Angela

The Happy Camper Mysteries

Mary Angela is the author of the Happy Camper cozy mystery series, the Professor Prather academic mystery series, and several short stories. When Mary isn’t penning heartwarming whodunits, she’s teaching, reading, traveling, or spending time with her family. She lives in South Dakota with her husband, daughters, and spoiled pets. You can find out more about her loves, including her writing, at MaryAngelaBooks.com.
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Header Image: Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota

Midweek Mystery: Welcome to Piney Falls

Winner of the Literary Titan Silver Award

Lanie has no idea what awaits her in Piney Falls…

Lanie Anders has a perfectly-ordered life. From her half-foam morning latte to her high-powered executive job – she controls every outcome. But when her house burns to the ground in mysterious circumstances, her life is thrown into confusion.

Searching for some kind of purpose, she stumbles across a century-old mystery and flees to Piney Falls, Oregon, an oceanside hamlet with a curious past. But something isn’t quite right in the picturesque town. Her neighbor speaks in riddles, the death rate is alarmingly high and the impossibly handsome town baker is hiding something.

With each clue she unearths in the present and the past, she becomes more convinced that the townspeople are in imminent danger.

Will Lanie be able to solve both mysteries without putting her own life in jeopardy?

Find out why readers are calling Welcome to Piney Falls “immensely immersive and totally gripping.” Don’t miss the first in this exciting new mystery series!

Joann Keder spent most of her years in the Midwest, growing up and raising a family on the Great Plains of Nebraska. She worked for sixteen years as a piano teacher before returning to school to receive a master’s degree in creative writing. A mid-life move to the Pacific Northwest lead her to re-examine her priorities. She now creates stories about life and relationships in small towns while her ever-patient husband encourages her.

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Header image: Tumalo Falls, OR

#Midweek Mystery: What Happened on Box Hill

What would happen if you combined all of Jane Austen’s characters into one modern-day novel?

Murder, of course.

When Caty Morland’s roommate, Isabella, falls to her death on Initiation night, Austen University is quick to cover up the scandal and call it a tragic accident. But avid true-crime lover Caty remains convinced that Isabella didn’t fall; she was murdered. With the help of Pi Kappa Sigma President Emma Woodhouse, Caty organizes a dinner party with the most likely suspects, including familiar faces such as Darcy, Elizabeth Bennet, Knightley, and Marianne Dashwood. The theme of the night is murder, and Caty has three courses to find out what happened to Isabella–and to try to keep the killer from striking again.

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Elizabeth Gilliland

Elizabeth Gilliliand

Austen University Mysteries

Elizabeth Gilliland teaches English at the university level, putting as much Austen into her syllabi as she can get away with. In 2018, she completed her Ph.D. from Louisiana State University, where she wrote her dissertation on Jane Austen adaptations and fever-dreamed this series in a caffeine-induced haze. She is a proud member of the Jane Austen Society of North America, and excerpts of the Austen University series have won awards through JASNA and Jane Austen & Co/The Jane Austen Summer Program. She lives in Alabama with her husband and son.