Tag: cozy mystery | Page 6

June 12, 2019June 12, 2019

A new Cat Latimer #MidweekMystery: Sconed to Death by Lynn Cahoon

Cat Latimer pursues a scone-cold killer who iced a top chef in a local bakery . . .

Cat has a full plate at her Aspen Hills Warm Springs Resort, as a group of aspiring cozy mystery authors arrives for a writers retreat. So when baker Dee Dee Meyer stirs up trouble by filing a false complaint with the health inspector against the B&B—all because she insists Cat’s best friend Shauna stole her recipes—Cat marches into the shop to confront her.

But Dee Dee’s about to have her own batch of trouble. Greyson Finn—a celebrity chef and, until today, one of Denver’s most eligible bachelors—has been found dead in her bakery. Cat’s uncle Pete, who happens to be the chief of police, warns her not to engage in any half-baked sleuthing. But as her curiosity rises, Cat’s determined to discover who served the chef his just desserts—before the killer takes a powder . . .

Great characters and realistic dialogue made this book a joy to read. I was captivated from beginning to end.
~Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book

Ms. Cahoon has created a cozy vibe for both the town and for her large Victorian home turned retreat. Her setting is so inviting I wish I could find something similar to visit!
~Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder

This was a fun story. Cat is a great protagonist.
~Carla Loves To Read

Sconed to Death by Lynn Cahoon is a fun whodunit set in the small town Colorado. The characters are so well developed and formed a beautiful little family.
~Baroness’ Book Trove

Author Cahoon has a true talent for detail, making readers feel like a part of her stories. I know I always do. When I was finished, I felt like I had lived the experience of the story rather than having read it.
~Lisa Ks Book Reviews

A fun, well-written reading, with a good pace, brilliant dialogues, a well-developed storyline with lots of tracks and clues and a few twists and turns.
~LibriAmoriMiei

Each time a new character was introduced into the story, I was able to clearly picture them in my mind. The twists and turns had me second-guessing who the actual killer was.
~Literary Gold

This series has so many great elements to it that really makes it stand out. It’s the perfect blend of characters of all sorts, great food . . . writing tidbits, cute critters, and enough clues to (hold) it all together.
~Books a Plenty Book Reviews

.Wow! Lynn Cahoon has pulled all the stops out to give us a story that keeps you glued to the action from pretty much the first page until the last!
~A Wytch’s Book Review Blog

Sconed to Death is a cozy readers delight with a dead chef, an inquisitive writer, appetizing apple creations, and impish tabbies.
~The Avid Reader

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Lynn Cahoon is the author of the NYT and USA Today bestselling Tourist Trap cozy mystery series. Guidebook to Murder, book 1 of the series won the Reader’s Crown for Mystery Fiction in 2015. She’s also the author of the soon to be released, Cat Latimer series, with the first book, A STORY TO KILL, releasing in mass market paperback September 2016.She lives in a small town like the ones she loves to write about with her husband and two fur babies. Sign up for her newsletter at www.lynncahoon.com

Keep up with Lynn:

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June 11, 2019

Whiskers in the Dark: A Mrs. Murphy #MidweekMystery by Rita Mae Brown. Yes, THE Rita Mae Brown.

“As feline collaborators go, you couldn’t ask for better than Sneaky Pie Brown.”—The New York Times Book Review

A massive nor’easter has hit northern Virginia, where Mary Minor “Harry” Harristeen joins groundskeeping efforts at the National Beagle Club at Aldie as the date for its springtime Hounds for Heroes veterans’ benefit approaches. Harry’s fellow volunteers, including her oldest friend, Susan Tucker, comprise a spirited group of hunting enthusiasts, some former service members themselves. But things take a sinister turn when, after a routine tree cleanup along the Club’s hunting trails, retired foreign services officer Jason Holzknect is found dead, throat slit from ear to ear. Soon enough, another murder in their midst jolts the preparations, convincing Harry that the killer is familiar with the Club—and must be close by, masked in plain sight.
The intrigue extends to the grounds of Harry’s beloved local church, where the identity of an eighteenth-century skeleton wearing precious pearls remains a mystery. The anonymous woman’s neck had been snapped, and marks on the grave where her body was secreted indicate that someone recently tried to remove it, leading Harry to question how well she really knows those around her.
As always, Harry’s crime-solving cats Mrs. Murphy and Pewter, and Tee Tucker the Corgi share her determination to sniff out the foes among friends, even those long buried. Harry will need her four-legged companions’ help more than ever: a ghostly beagle only they can see may hold the key to the culprit.

About The Author

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.

Sneaky Pie Brown, a tiger cat born somewhere in Albemarle County, Virginia, was discovered by Rita Mae Brown at her local SPCA. They have collaborated on numerous Mrs. Murphy mysteries—in addition to Sneaky Pie’s Cookbook for Mystery Lovers and Sneaky Pie for President.

Author Links

Website – http://ritamaebrownbooks.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/RitaMaeBrown

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April 10, 2019

#MidweekMystery Murder at the Marina by Janet Finsilver

She’s got to solve this—or her friends are sunk . . .

Kelly Jackson, manager of the Redwood Cove Bed and Breakfast, is fond of the Doblinsky brothers, Ivan and Rudy, members of the Silver Sentinels, a crew of crime-solving senior citizens in their Northern California seaside hamlet. After she discovers a jewel-encrusted dagger—with what appears to be dried blood on the blade—on their fishing boat, they share their family history with Kelly, and she learns that the knife may be part of a set from their long-ago childhood in Russia. Its sudden reappearance is eerie, but the mystery grows much more serious when a body is found on the boat. The victim was staying at Kelly’s inn, in town for a Russian Heritage Festival, and some of the organizers were clearly harboring some bitterness. But the story behind this murder seems as layered as a nesting doll—and Kelly’s feeling completely at sea . . .

About The Author

Janet Finsilver is the USA TODAY bestselling author of the Kelly Jackson mystery series. She worked in education for many years as a teacher, a program administrator, and a workshop presenter. Janet majored in English and earned a Master’s Degree in Education. She loves animals and has two dogs–Kylie and Ellie. Janet has ridden western style since she was a child and was a member of the National Ski Patrol. One of the highlights of her life was touching whales in the San Ignacio Lagoon.

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January 25, 2019

Not a Creature Was Stirring: A new Merry & Bright Handcrafted Mystery by Christina Freeburn

Empty nester Merry Winters loves three things: Christmas, crafting and her family. To regain purpose and joy, Merry hits the road to a Christmas vendor event with her furry sidekick Ebenezer in her new mobile crafting sleigh, aka an RV.

But it soon turns into the nightmare before Christmas when Merry unwraps her Scrooge of an ex-husband’s body in one of the RV’s compartments.

Add to that his missing winning lottery ticket believed to be stashed somewhere in the RV, leading the homicide detective and Merry’s stepdaughter to believe Merry is the one whodunit.

With visions of prison dancing in her head, will Merry be able to solve this Christmas calamity before she’s locked away?

Enter to win a print copy!

About the Author

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.

January 13, 2019

The Cha-Cha Babes of Pelican Way by Frances Metzman

Would you move a dead body for the sake of your best friend? Ask cha-cha babe Celia Ewing, a sixty-five-year-old widow who has just settled into Boca Pelicano Palms, the Florida retirement community of her dreams. When Celia’s best friend Marcy calls her and their friend Deb for help in the middle of the night, they find a naked Marcy trapped under the body of her beau, the community’s board president, Melvin.
And he’s dead.

The three friends secretly move Melvin back to his apartment setting off a chain of events that will threaten to tear their community apart and send them to jail. Melvin is one of a number of residents who are dying under suspicious circumstances; and soon Celia becomes an amateur sleuth in an attempt to identify what she suspects is a serial murderer.
A thoroughly entertaining,lighthearted murder mystery. –Kirkus Review

About the Author

Frances Metzman is a graduate of Moore College of Art and has a Master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania. In 2009 she was nominated for the Dzanc Books award, “Best of the Web.” In addition to publishing numerous short stories in literary journals, she has published The Cha-Cha Babes of Pelican Way and Ugly Cookies. She has taught creative and memoir writing at various institutions including Rosemont College and Temple University.

October 1, 2018

Glitter Bomb (A Scrapbooking Mystery) by Laura Childs with Terrie Farley Moran

An exploding Mardi Gras float has got to be the strangest murder weapon scrappy sleuth Carmela Bertrand has ever encountered in this latest Scrapbooking Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author.

It’s Mardi Gras in New Orleans and scrapbook shop owner Carmela Bertrand is excited to be attending the Pluvius Parade along with her best friend Ava. Carmela’s ex-husband Shamus rides by the duo on his float at the head of the parade, when suddenly the revelry turns to disaster. Shamus’ float crashes and explodes, and although Shamus escapes unhurt, a member of his krewe is killed.

Carmela and Ava plunge into an investigation of the krewe-member’s death, but as they dig deeper it starts to look less like an accident and more like a murder….and Shamus seems less like a victim, and more like a suspect.
Scrapbooking tips and recipes included!

Interview with Laura Childs, New York Times bestselling author

Laura, welcome back to Island Confidential! Can you tell us a little about the protagonist of Glitter Bomb?
Carmela Bertrand is smart, entrepreneurial, and owns a small scrapbook shop in the French Quarter. She’s loyal to a fault and quick to help a friend in trouble. Of course, this puts Carmela in incredibly dangerous situations. For example, in Glitter Bomb Carmela’s ex-husband begs her to help clear him as a suspect when a Mardi Gras float explodes and kills a hedge fund bigwig. With multiple (and dangerous) suspects, Carmela has to muster up her amateur sleuthing skills and run her own shadow investigation.
How would you feel about Carmela if you met her in real life?
I’d love to hang out with Carmela – especially at Mardi Gras. I mean, what’s better than a week of parades, parties, beignets, and beads! And the food in New Orleans is to die for. We’re talking beignets, po-boys, crawfish etouffee, gumbo, pralines, and crazy drinks like hurricanes and frozen daiquiris. Let the good times roll and thank you, Carmela, for all those recipes you included in the book!
Do your characters change and evolve throughout consecutive books in the series?
Let’s just say they progress. They get a little bit funnier, smarter, saltier, and outrageous as the books go on. Glitter Bomb is the 15th book in my New Orleans Scrapbook Mystery series, so the main characters, Carmela and Ava, are pretty much over the top by now. And, yes, it’s called a Scrapbook Mystery, but the scrapbook shop just serves as home base for a rip-roaring mystery that includes haunted cemeteries, a fashion show, sports car rally, party at the zoo, and hungry alligators.
Have you ever thought of killing someone that you know in real life – on the pages of a murder mystery, I mean?
Not exactly, but people who have been unkind to me in the past often find their names used for disreputable and annoying characters in my books.
Excellent idea! So how realistic is your setting? Do you take liberties, or are you true to life?
My New Orleans setting is extremely realistic. I try very hard to capture the raucousness of the French Quarter, spookiness of the above ground cemeteries, and primordial beauty of the bayous. Also, through friends who live in New Orleans, I’ve had the great fortune to visit the dens where the Mardi Gras floats are constructed, attend the Rex ball, and even march in a Mardi Gras parade.
As someone whose day job is teaching, I’m well aware of the pitfalls and horrors of group assignments. Yet you and your coauthor, Terrie Farley Moran, seem to have a very productive partnership. Can you tell us a little about her?
Terrie is a consummate pro. She’s smart, witty, and immensely talented. Sometimes we work on a chapter together, sometimes we work independently and alternate chapters. Whatever the method, our words and ideas always mesh!
What’s the worst and best advice you’ve heard or received as an author?
Worst advice would be to “write what you know.” If authors seriously did that there’d be no Harry Potter, Middle Earth, Star Trek, or Hunger Games. The best advice I’ve heard is to write every day – and work straight through. Don’t go back and revise a single chapter until your manuscript is completely finished. Chances are, when it’s done, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Okay, THEN you go back and punch up your work like crazy – really ratchet up the action and human drama, make your characters even more lovable or despicable.

About the Authors

Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fund raising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.
Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:
The Tea Shop Mysteries – set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.
The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!
The Cackleberry Club Mysteries – set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Laura’s Links:

Webpage – http://www.laurachilds.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/laura.childs.31

Short-listed twice for The Best American Mystery Stories, Terrie Farley Moran is delighted to introduce mystery fans to the Read ’Em and Eat café and bookstore, which debuted with Well Read, Then Dead. followed by Caught Read-Handed and Read to Death released in July of this year. The only thing Terrie enjoys more than wrangling mystery plots into submission is playing games and reading stories with any or all of her grandchildren.

Terrie’s Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terrie.moran.9
Blog: www.womenofmystery.net
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/23186092-terrie-moran

Purchase Links:

Amazon B&N Goggle Books IndieBound

September 11, 2018

A new Washington Whodunit and Giveaway: K Street Killing by Colleen J. Shogan

Another Washington Whodunit from Colleen Shogan, author of the wonderful Calamity at the Continental Club!
It’s the height of campaign season, and instead of relishing newlywed bliss with her husband Doug Hollingsworth, Capitol Hill staffer Kit Marshall is busy with a tough reelection fight for her boss, member of Congress Maeve Dixon. Before Maeve and her staff–Kit included–leave Washington, D.C. to campaign full time in North Carolina, they have one last fundraising engagement.
On the iconic rooftop of a restaurant overlooking the Capitol and the Washington monument, Kit and her best pal Meg do their best to woo wealthy lobbyists for sizable campaign donations. Everyone’s enjoying the evening soiree… until a powerful K Street tycoon mysteriously tumbles off the rooftop.

Even with claims the fall must be suicide, Detective Maggie Glass and Kit aren’t so easily convinced foul play isn’t at work. While balancing Doug’s mid-life career crisis, Kit must spring into action to discover who killed the notorious Van Parker before Dixon’s candidacy sputters, even if it means investigating Meg’s handsome new beau, the victim’s conniving widow, and a bicycle advocate hell-bent on settling a long-standing grudge. When threatening note is left on Kit’s car, warning her to back off the investigation, she knows she’s closing in on the true story of what happened.

Enter to win a $50 Amazon gift card!

About the Author

Colleen Shogan has been reading mysteries since the age of six. A political scientist by training, Colleen has taught American politics at Yale, George Mason, Georgetown, and Penn. She previously worked in the United States Senate and for the Congressional Research Service. She’s currently a senior executive at the Library of Congress, working on great outreach initiatives such as the National Book Festival. She lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Rob Raffety and their beagle mutt, Conan.

Featured photo: Detail from a cover of The Wasp, 1891, by Charles W. Saalburg.

September 8, 2018

A New #Whisky Business Mystery: Deadly Dram by Melinda Mullet

Distillery owner Abigail Logan discovers that high spirits are no match for a cold-blooded killer as the Whisky Business Mystery series puts a fatal twist on stiff competition.
It’s been a year since globe-trotting photojournalist Abi Logan inherited Abbey Glen, a whisky distillery in the heart of the Scottish countryside. To her surprise, the village of Balfour already feels like home, and her new business partner, Grant MacEwan, continues to be too charming to resist. But Abi has a history of relationship disasters, so she struggles to avoid an ill-fated romance with Grant. Steering clear is hard enough on a day-to-day basis, but when the two head off to a whisky industry competition together, Abi panics. Five-star resort, four glorious days of nonstop whisky tasting, and a fatally attractive Scotsman—what could possibly go wrong?
The night before the award presentations, with foreign and domestic whisky makers at one anothers’ throats, two judges are found dead under mysterious circumstances. What started with three dream-come-true nominations for Abby Glen’s whisky soon turns into a nightmare for Abi. With a killer on the loose, she must call on her investigative skills to stop another murder—before she gets taken out of the running herself.

Win an electronic copy

About the Author

Melinda Mullet was born in Dallas and attended school in Texas, Washington D.C., England, and Austria. She spent many years as a practicing attorney before pursuing a career as a writer. Author of the Whisky Business Mystery series, Mullet is a passionate supporter of childhood literacy. She works with numerous domestic and international charities striving to promote functional literacy for all children. She lives in Washington, D.C., with her family.

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September 7, 2018

Huge MYSTERY LOVERS' MEGA SALE FREE & 99 Cent Mysteries Sept. 7th – Sept. 9th

So many mysteries! Free or 99 cents. Go to Ava’s site for the whole selection.

September 6, 2018

Stabbed in the Baklava (A Kebab Kitchen Mystery) by Tina Kashian

Lucy Berberian has taken over her family’s Mediterranean restaurant on the Jersey Shore after an unsatisfying stint at a Philadelphia law firm. It’s great to be back in her old beach town, even if she’s turning into a seasoned sleuth . . .

Catering a high-society wedding should bring in some big income for Kebab Kitchen—and raise its profile too. But it’s not exactly good publicity when the best man winds up skewered like a shish kebab. Worse yet, Lucy’s ex, Azad—who’s the restaurant’s new head chef—is the prime suspect. But she doesn’t give a fig what the cops think. He may have killer looks, but he’s no murderer. She just needs to prove his innocence, before he has to go on the lamb . . .
Recipes included!

Enter To Win a Copy of Stabbed in the Baklava

About The Author

Tina Kashian spent her childhood summers at the New Jersey shore, building sand castles, boogie boarding, and riding the boardwalk Ferris wheel. She also grew up in the restaurant business where her Armenian parents owned a restaurant for thirty years. She worked almost every job—rolling silverware and wiping down tables as a tween, to hosting and waitressing as a teenager.

After college, Tina worked as a NJ Deputy Attorney General, a patent attorney, and a mechanical engineer. Her law cases inspired an inquiring mind of crime, and since then, Tina has been hooked on mysteries. The Kebab Kitchen Cozy Mystery series launched with Hummus and Homicide, followed by Stabbed in the Baklava and One Feta in the Grave by Kensington Books. Tina still lives in New Jersey with her supportive husband and two young daughters. Visit www.tinakashian.com and join her Newsletter to enter free contests to win books, get delicious recipes, and to learn when her books will be released.

Author Links
Website: tinakashian.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TinaKashianAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TinaKashian1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tinakashian/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16902011.Tina_Kashian

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