Mystery of the Eight Islands (Trouble in Paradise)
by Terry Ambrose
About Mystery of the Eight Islands
Mystery of the Eight Islands (Trouble in Paradise)
If you love senior sleuths in cozy mysteries, you’re going to love McKenna and his pal Chance Logan
Apartment manager and amateur sleuth McKenna wants a break from solving murders. Too bad his best friend, wannabe PI Chance Logan, doesn’t feel the same. Chance has found a case he thinks McKenna’s going to love—the death of prominent attorney Julian Carr, and the theft of a 125-year-old necklace that’s worth a quarter of a million dollars. Before long, McKenna’s feeling pressured from all sides—find the necklace, solve the murder. Sure. Why not just add save the world?
McKenna’s sure something fishy is going on when he and Chance meet with Julian’s granddaughter about the case. She’s created her own murder board with five suspects. The list includes an unstable, art-collecting veterinarian, a convicted felon, a disbarred attorney, a suspected art thief, and Julian’s new business partner.
As the investigation ramps up, McKenna and Chance see their leads drying out faster than laundry in the tropical sun. The really bad news is they’re not sure they can even find the Eight Islands or solve the murder. For once, McKenna’s worried they just might fail.
Why you might love this book Tired of the same old cozy mystery fare? Then cozy up with male amateur detective McKenna and his PI wannabe pal Chance Logan in this Hawaii murder mystery. When it comes to senior sleuths in cozy mysteries, McKenna’s as sharp as they come, but with a fun dose of snarky attitude thrown in. Enjoy the ambience of Hawaii while you’re savoring a little murder in paradise.
About Terry Ambrose
Once upon a time, in a life he’d rather forget, Terry Ambrose tracked down deadbeats for a living. He also hired big guys with tow trucks to steal cars—but only when negotiations failed. Those years of chasing deadbeats taught him many valuable life lessons such as—always keep your car in the garage.
Terry has written eighteen books, several of which have been award finalists. In 2014, his thriller, “Con Game,” won the San Diego Book Awards for Best Action-Thriller. His series include the Trouble in Paradise McKenna Mysteries, the Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mysteries, and the License to Lie thriller series. You can learn more about Terry and his writing at terryambrose.com.Header image: Four Mile Beach, Hilo, HI
#MidweekMystery It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder
Review
The latest installment of Ellen Byron’s Cajun Country Mysteries is a delight. Arcane property disputes, an impending wedding, local lore, and a bizarre (and well-deserved?) death combine to create a mystery that consistently entertains and informs. Highly recommended.
Astoria, Queens, is decorated within an inch of its life for the Christmas season, and Mia Carina is juggling her job at the Belle View catering hall with a case of murder . . .
Mia’s busy with a full schedule of events at the family business—among them an over-the-top Nativity-themed first birthday party and a Sweet Sixteen for a teen drama queen. But her personal life is even more challenging. Her estranged mother has returned—and her lifelong friend Jamie has discovered a shocking secret about his past. He’s so angry that he starts hanging out with Lorenzo, who claims to be his long-lost brother—even after it becomes clear that Lorenzo’s story is as fake as a plastic Christmas tree.
Then a body turns up among the elves in a Santa’s-workshop lawn display, and amateur sleuth Mia has a buffet of suspects to choose from. Amid the holiday celebrations, she intends to find out who’s the guilty party . . .
Italian recipes included!
Maria DiRico / Ellen Byron
Catering Hall Mysteries
Maria DiRico is the pseudonym for Ellen Byron, author of the award winning, USA Today bestselling Cajun Country Mysteries. Born in Queens, New York, she is first-generation Italian-American on her mother’s side and the granddaughter of a low-level Jewish mobster on her father’s side. She grew up visiting the Astoria Manor and Grand Bay Marina catering halls, which were run by her Italian mother’s family in Queens and have become the inspiration for her Catering Hall Mystery Series. DiRico has been a writer-producer for hit television series like Wings and Just Shoot Me, and her first play, Graceland, appears in the Best Short Plays collection. She’s a freelance journalist, with over 200 articles published in national magazines, and previously worked as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart, a credit she never tires of sharing. A native New Yorker who attended Tulane University, Ellen lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and two rescue dogs. Sign up for her newsletter at https://www.ellenbyron.com/
#MidweekMystery: In the Soup, a San Francisco Cozy Murder Mystery
The Fog Ladies are back, in the third installment of this endearing cozy murder mystery series.
“There was a man in the soup.” When the Fog Ladies volunteer at a San Francisco soup kitchen, these spunky elderly friends plus one overworked young doctor-in-training envision washing and chopping and serving. Not murder. Now the soup kitchen is doomed, and the mysteries have just begun. Was the death rooted in a long-ago grudge? Can they save the soup kitchen? Will they find the killer? Could the Fog Ladies, too, end up “in the soup”?
Susan McCormick
San Francisco Cozy Murder Mysteries
Susan McCormick is a writer and doctor who lives in Seattle. She graduated from Smith College and George Washington University School of Medicine, with additional medical training in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, where she lived in an elegant apartment building much like the one in the book. Susan served as a doctor in the U.S. Army for nine years before moving to the Pacific Northwest and civilian practice as a gastroenterologist. In addition to the Fog Ladies series, she also wrote Granny Can’t Remember Me, a lighthearted picture book about Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and The Antidote, a timely middle grade medical fantasy released May 2021. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two sons. She loves giant dogs and has loved an English Mastiff, Earl, and two Newfoundlands, Edward and Albert.
Social media links – Website – Facebook – Twitter – Instagram – GoodReads – BookBub
Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N
Featured Image: 1957 TWA Travel Poster | artist David Klein, 1918-2005
#MidweekMystery: Dead as a Duck by Colleen J Shogan
August has been a busy month for congressional staffer Kit Marshall. She hit the road with her boss, Congresswoman Maeve Dixon, who is considering running for the United States Senate in North Carolina. After endless town halls and meet-and-greets, Kit is happy to end the tour in Duck, an upscale beach town in the Outer Banks.
Before Kit can relax on her much-deserved vacation with her husband Doug, brother Sebastian, best friend Meg, and beagle mutt Clarence, the body of Duck’s mayor is found floating in the shallow waters of the Currituck Sound.
Kit’s brother Sebastian, who got in a public kerfuffle with the victim the day before, becomes the prime suspect. Solving the mystery takes her to popular hotspots in the Outer Banks, including a private tour featuring the wild horses of Corolla.
Kit must sacrifice sun-filled days of relaxation to clear her brother. In the end, Kit and Sebastian put their own lives on the line to secure a confession from the killer and make sure justice is served.
Colleen J. Shogan
Washington Whodunits
Colleen J. Shogan has been reading mysteries since the age of six. A political scientist by training, Colleen has taught American politics at numerous universities. She previously worked on Capitol Hill as a legislative staffer in the United States Senate and as a senior executive at the Library of Congress. Currently, she’s a Senior Vice President at the White House Historical Association. A member of Sisters in Crime, Colleen splits her time between Arlington, VA and Duck, NC.
Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Amazon | B&N
Header Image Jennette’s Pier in in Dare County, North Carolina Image 1778011 from Pixabay
#Midweekmystery: Midnight Spells Murder by Mary Angela
Spirit 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.
To celebrate Halloween at the Happy Camper, Zo schedules a talk by successful author and self-proclaimed witch Marianne Morgan. Although Marianne’s benign brand of witchcraft is more about feminine empowerment than black magic, her presence is still not welcomed by everyone. Then on a midnight stroll home, Zo spots what seems to be a new Halloween decoration propped up outside the Happy Camper. What she finds is not a mannequin but a dead Marianne, her lifeless body dressed in traditional witch’s garb. But why would someone send this good witch back to the spirit world permanently?
Soon Zo realizes that plenty of folks have motives for murdering Marianne. What’s worse, nosy TV newsman Justin Castle plans to broadcast a report associating Marianne’s murder with the Happy Camper. Zo calls on her partner in sleuthing, local forest ranger Max Harrington, to help her find the culprit before Justin’s report airs. Otherwise Zo’s business just might go bust. But to catch this killer, Zo will have to risk much more than just her reputation . . .
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.
Author Links
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram
Purchase Links
Amazon | iTunes | Google | Kobo | B&N
Header Image: Spearfish Canyon, South Dakota
#FridayFreebie Under Lock and Key, a multi-book Mystery Giveaway!
Why am I (along with over fifty fellow mystery and thriller authors) giving away our work for free? The main reason we write is to share our stories and entertain readers. If you enjoy the free stories, that’s great! But if you do like what you read, there’s more where that came from. We hope you might look into more books in the same series!
Treasure Most Deadly by Terry Ambrose
Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast owner Rick Atwood is again called on to assist his friend, Chief of Police Adam Cunningham, with a murder investigation. The case seems straightforward enough.
Clive Crabbe, who has a quick temper and a strong jealous streak, was found hunched over the victim after the man made advances toward Clive’s ex-wife.
A murder investigation is the last thing Rick wants right now. The B&B is booked solid. The town is inundated with tourists and news reporters chasing stories about treasure thieves. And Rick’s
wedding to Marquetta Weiss is just weeks away. As if that wasn’t enough, Rick’s eleven-year-old daughter Alex is not only itching to help the cops solve another murder, but she’s forming an
unhealthy friendship with a B&B guest.
The worst part is that Alex may be the one person capable of cracking the case.
Terry Ambrose
Trouble in Paradise and Seaside Cove Mysteries
Once upon a time, in a life he’d rather forget, Terry Ambrose tracked down deadbeats for a living. He also hired big guys with tow trucks to steal cars-but only when negotiations failed. Those years of chasing deadbeats taught him many valuable life lessons such as-always keep your car in the garage. Today, Terry likes fast, funny mysteries and cool photography. He writes the Trouble in Paradise McKenna Mysteries and organized an anthology to benefit Read Aloud America. He fondly likens his efforts to those of a blind man herding cats.
Header Image by Judith Scharnowski from Pixabay
Whole Latte Murder by Lena Gregory #MidweekMystery
Ex-New Yorker and local diner owner Gia Morelli is still getting used to the sweltering Florida sun. But this summer she’ll have to deal with a more dangerous kind of heat—when she’s hot on the trail of another murderer . . .
Summer in Boggy Creek has arrived, and Gia’s best friend, successful real estate agent Savannah, is getting hitched. Now she’s enlisted Gia’s sleuthing talents in a desperate search for the perfect wedding dress. But when Savannah mysteriously vanishes after showing a mansion to a bigwig client, Gia investigates the house Savannah was trying to sell. The first clue she finds is Savannah’s car in the driveway. Inside the house, they stumble on Savannah’s potential buyer—dead. Someone had apparently closed the deal—with a two by four full of nails to the client’s head. Soon afterward, a woman’s body is fished from the lake near the same house. The townsfolk are now sweating bullets over the murders, and the heat comes down on poor Gia to find her missing friend, and track down the killer . . .
Lena Gregory
About the AuthorLena Gregory is the author of the Bay Island Psychic Mysteries, which take place on a small island between the north and south forks of Long Island, New York, and the All-Day Breakfast Café Mysteries, which are set on the outskirts of Florida’s Ocala National Forest.
Visit her website and sign up for her newsletter.
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Mystery and Thriller Giveaway!
The Unknown Caller Group Giveaway is happening now on Prolific Works!
This giveaway has all types of mystery, crime, and thriller books. Claim as many as you’d like and enjoy your new reads!
Here are a few that caught my eye.
The latest Professor Molly Mystery is available now!
Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a new Professor Molly mystery! Newsblogger Pat Flanagan returns to Mahina to help Molly and Emma investigate the disappearance of Molly’s tenant, social media sensation Jandie Brand. The irepressible business law instructor Harriet Holmes volunteers her expertise as well, while Molly’s curious neighbors on Uakoko Street jockey to get a close-up peek at fame.
The Influencer
There's no such thing as bad publicity. Until it happens to you.
Professor Molly's new renter is a social media star seeking privacy in remote Mahina, Hawaii. The arrangement seems to be working out...until the celebrity influencer vanishes. Molly and her best friend Emma Nakamura call in the Mahina PD and try to stay out of the way. But the unthinkable happens: The saturnine Detective Medeiros actually asks for Molly and Emma's help. As they confront nosy neighbors, fanatical followers, and the missing woman's has-been husband, Molly and Emma find themselves at the center of the story. And when fame creates its own reality, that's a dangerous place to be.
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