The Tail Waggin’ Winterfest is the highlight of the season in the famously pet-friendly Pocono Mountains town of Sylvan Creek. But despite attractions like an ice sculpture display, a dogsled race, and gourmet hot chocolate, Daphne Templeton finds herself annoyed by TV producer Lauren Savidge, who’s filming the festivities. She’s critical, controlling, and as chilly as the January air. Daphne would like to tell her to go jump in a lake—and as a matter of fact, that’s exactly what they’re both going to do . . .
It’s the first-ever polar bear plunge in Lake Wallapawakee, and Daphne and Lauren are among the eighty or so people who charge into the frigid water to raise funds for animals in need. Daphne makes it back to shore—with the help of a mysterious St. Bernard—but Lauren is dragged out stone cold dead. Now, with her trusty basset hound Socrates at her side, Daphne intends to assist Detective Jonathan Black in his investigation—whether he wants her to or not . . .
Includes recipes for homemade pet treats!
About The Author
Bethany Blake lives in a small, quaint town in Pennsylvania with her husband and three daughters. When she’s not writing or riding horses, she’s wrangling a menagerie of furry family members that includes a nervous pit bull, a fearsome feline, a blind goldfish, and an attack cardinal named Robert. Like Daphne Templeton, the heroine of her Lucky Paws Mysteries, Bethany holds a Ph.D. and operates a pet sitting business called Barkley’s Premium Pet Care. Webpage | BookBub | Twitter | Facebook |Amazon |B&N | Kobo | Google Play
When Lucy Berberian quits her Philadelphia law firm and heads home to Ocean Crest, she knows what she’s getting—the scent of funnel cake, the sight of the wooden roller coaster, and the tastes of her family’s Mediterranean restaurant. But murder wasn’t on the menu . . .
Things are slow in the off-season in this Jersey Shore town, but Lucy doesn’t mind. She doesn’t even mind waitressing at the Kebab Kitchen. Her parents have put in a new hummus bar, with every flavor from lemon to roasted red pepper. It’s fun to see their calico cat again, and to catch up with her old BFF, who’s married to a cop now.
She could do without Heather Banks, though. The Gucci-toting ex-cheerleader is still as nasty as she was back in high school . . . and unfortunately, she’s just taken over as the local health inspector. Just minutes after eating at the Kebab Kitchen—where she’s tallied up a whole list of bogus violations—she falls down dead in the street. Word on the grapevine is it’s homicide, and Lucy’s the number one suspect . . .
Recipes included!
Hummus and Homicide
By Tina Kashian
Excerpt
Lucy removed her apron and hung it on a hook in the storage room. Grabbing her purse with one hand and the trash bag with the other, she exited through the back door. It was cool outside and early evenings at the Jersey shore were always her favorite time of day to jog. Nothing calmed the tension of a hard workday like a run on the boardwalk, the sound of the ocean waves, and the smell of salty air.
She hefted the trash bag toward the Dumpster in the back of the parking lot, spotted Gadoo, the outdoor calico cat, walking past a red Lexus with its distinctive BANKS1 license plate, and frowned. Did Heather have car trouble and have someone pick her up? Lucy adjusted the trash bag over her shoulder and continued her trek to the Dumpster, eyes still on the shiny, red Lexus. Halfway to her destination she tripped, dropped the trash bag and her purse, just catching herself from sprawling flat on her face. She looked down to see what she’d stumbled over.
On the blacktop lay Heather Banks, faceup, mouth agape, eyes wide open and unfocused…
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 launches 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. Please 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.
Beauty is skin deep, but ugly goes clear to the bone. And doesn’t our Sheriff Kenni Lowry know that? Well, she knows a lot of things.
Lucy Lowell takes great pride in writing negative reviews in the local newspaper for anything that does not go her way. When Lucy is found dead, it appears to be from natural causes.
But Sheriff Kenni Lowry knows there is more to it because the ghost of her grandfather, the ex-sheriff, is standing over the body.
His presence can only mean one thing: Murder!
Since Kenni’s relationship with Deputy Finn Vincent has heated up, Kenni is having trouble conducting the investigation without Finn questioning her every move.
Can Kenni unravel the mystery on her own or will she have to tell Finn the real reason she knows it was murder—the ghost of her poppa?
It’s blowin’ up a storm and only Kenni knows how it’ll end.
Ready…..
Set…..
Reveal!!
Dead as a Doornail by Tonya Kappes will be available May 15 from Henery Press!
For country-store owner Robbie Jordan, the National Maple Syrup Festival is a sweet escape from late-winter in South Lick, Indiana—until murder saps the life out of the celebration . . .As Robbie arranges a breakfast-themed cook-off at Pans ‘N Pancakes, visitors pour into Brown County for the annual maple extravaganza. Unfortunately, that includes Professor Connolly, a know-it-all academic from Boston who makes enemies everywhere he goes—and this time, bad manners prove deadly. Soon after clashing with several scientists at a maple tree panel, the professor is found dead outside a sugar shack, stabbed to death by a local restaurateur’s knife. When an innocent woman gets dragged into the investigation and a biologist mysteriously disappears, Robbie drops her winning maple biscuits to search for answers. But can she help police crack the case before another victim is caught in a sticky situation with a killer?
Character Interview: Robbie Jordan
Robbie, welcome to Island Confidential. Can you tell our readers something about yourself?
First let me thank you for giving me this opportunity to chat here! Well, I’m Robbie Jordan and I’m pleased to meet you all. I’m in my late twenties, and the owner and head chef at Pans ‘N Pancakes, my country store restaurant. Did you know I am a California girl? I’ve lived in southern Indiana for almost five years now, but I confess to missing the beaches of Santa Barbara and the smell of orange blossoms in the air in the winter. On the other hand, I’ve made a home for myself in small town South Lick and my country store has become a community gathering place, which was my dream for it. Who’s your favorite other character in Biscuits and Slashed Browns?
I love hanging out with my Aunt Adele. She’s over seventy and going strong. She’s opinionated, competent, and caring. She lives on her sheep farm, but was formerly the mayor of South Lick and the fire chief before that. And can she ever bake bread! Anyone you don’t get along with so well?
I’ve had my share of conflicts with state police detective Oscar Thompson. He doesn’t like the fact that sometimes I’ve figured out who the murderer is before he has. He’s good at his job but isn’t much of a people person. But we’re starting to work out our differences. Just between you and me: What do you really think of your author?
Maddie/Edith? She loves writing fiction, I’ll say that much for her. She’s at her desk writing by seven in the morning six days a week. She’s a pretty good cook, too, and loves gardening in the summer. She’d never be able to keep up with me on a bicycle, though – she says she doesn’t like riding uphill. Robbie, what’s next for you?
I’m excited to be finishing my new bed and breakfast rooms upstairs, and that my father and his wife will be visiting from Italy in June! They’ll be my first guests, and my author says you can read about what happens in Death Over Easy, which will be out in late July.
About The Author
Maddie Day is a talented amateur chef and holds a PhD in linguistics from Indiana University. An Agatha Award-nominated author, she is a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America and also writes award-winning short crime fiction. She lives with her beau and three cats in Massachusetts.
As Edith Maxwell, she write the Local Foods Mysteries (Kensington Publishing) and the Quaker Midwife Mysteries (Midnight Ink).
You can find all Maddie’s/Edith’s identities at www.edithmaxwell.com. She blogs every week day with the other Wicked Cozy Authors at wickedcozyauthors.com. Look for her as Edith M. Maxwell and Maddie Day on Facebook and @edithmaxwell and @maddiedayauthor on Twitter.
You could call it the straw that broke the camel’s back but it was more like a Montana forest timber. Just when Vangie Vale’s life was getting back to normal after a murder that rocked her little Rocky Mountain tourist town, she found herself in the middle of another murder… as the chief suspect.
Vangie stood shocked on the side of the curb as the sheriff stretched yellow crime scene tape around the front of her new bakery. Wouldn’t this make a lovely headline in next week’s paper: Local Baker Kills Parishioner With Pudding. Vangie’s road back to good graces as a part-time pastor was bumpy enough already. This would be a roadblock. Can’t have that. Book Three in a cozy culinary mystery series from USA Today Bestselling Author, R.L. Syme.
Character Interview with Sheriff Malcom Dean
Sheriff Dean, welcome to Island Confidential! Can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?
I’m the Sheriff in Twin Valley County, Montana, and I have a son named Chandler. I don’t live with Chandler’s mother anymore. We’ve been divorced for awhile, and it was…a trial. Something readers might not guess about me: I’m not a sports fan. I’ll watch hockey if I have to. But I’m not much for sports. Who is your favorite character in Strangled Strudel?
Can I say “myself”? Because that’s probably the most accurate. Everyone annoys me on some level. If people would follow the rules and do what they’re supposed to do, we’d get along better. I don’t like rule-breakers. Is there anyone you don’t get along with so well?
It would be too easy to say “Vangie”, because I think that’s what this question is insinuating. That somehow, Vangie and I are destined for conflict. Who knows. Maybe you’re right. But I would actually say “Derek”. I don’t like that guy. He’s a rule-breaker. Always looking for a way to get around the law. Just between you and me: What do you really think of your author?
Becca? I think she’s nosy. And she creates a lot of trouble. And talk about rule-breakers. In fact, can I change my answer to the last question? The author is a character in the world, too. I might have to pick her. She’s the source of all these troubles in my town. Sheriff, what’s next for you?
Hopefully, no more murders. Let’s count on that.
About The Author
Rebecca Syme writes small town romance as Becca Boyd and cozy mystery as R.L. Syme. She is a long-time foodie and loves fancy cheese. Becca calls the mountains of Montana her home and draws inspiration from the beautiful vistas and heartwarming people. She is the USA Today bestselling author of the Line of Fire series of sweet romances and part of the Chick Tales series set in Somewhere, TX. You can find her on Twitter talking #fancycheese or #Chopped, and on Facebook with her fans in Becca Nation.
Swiss-American police officer Agnes Lüthi is on leave in Lausanne, Switzerland, recovering from injuries she sustained in her last case, when an old colleague invites her to the world’s premier watch and jewelry trade show at the grand Messe Basel Exhibition Hall. Little does Agnes know, another friend of hers, Julien Vallotton, is at the same trade show—and he’s looking for Agnes.
Julien Vallotton was friends with Guy Chavanon, a master of one of Switzerland’s oldest arts: watchmaking. Chavanon died a week ago, and his daughter doesn’t believe his death was accidental. Shortly before he died, Chavanon boasted that he’d discovered a new technique that would revolutionize the watchmaking industry, and she believes he may have been killed for it. Reluctantly, Agnes agrees to investigate his death. But the world of Swiss watchmaking is guarded and secretive, and before she realizes it, Agnes may be walking straight into the path of a killer.
About the Author
Tracee de Hahn is the author of the Agnes Lüthi mysteries, which were inspired by her years living in Switzerland. Prior to writing full time she practiced architecture and was head of university alumni relations at a major west coast university. Currently, she and her Swiss-architect husband live in southwest Virginia with their Jack Russell Terriers. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America.
Creepy munchkins. A mysterious phantom. And a real Wicked Witch. Are you ready for it?
Actress and part-time PI Ivy Meadows has been hired to uncover the cause of the creepy accidents that plague the roadshow The Wizard: A Space OZpera and find out who dropped a chandelier on the Wicked Witch of the East.
Was it the ghost who haunts the Grand Phoenician Theatre? A “wicked witch” in the cast? Or is it someone—or something—more sinister?
It’s Ivy’s most personal case so far.
Her best friend Candy, who’s touring with the show, is caught in a downward spiral of self-destruction, and is in more danger than she knows.
To save her friend and the show, Ivy must answer even tougher questions: Do spirits really exist? What is real beauty? What does friendship mean?
Ivy needs to learn the answers, and fast—before Candy reaches the point of no return.
Earlier Books in the Ivy Meadows Humorous Mystery Series: MACDEATH (#1) THE SOUND OF MURDER (#2) OLIVER TWISTED (#3) IVY GET YOUR GUN (#4)
Author interview: Cindy Brown
Cindy, welcome to Island Confidential! Can you tell us a little about your protagonist, Ivy?
Ivy Meadows is an actress who works part-time in her Uncle Bob’s detective agency in order to pay the bills. She’s slightly goofy but determined, a misfit with a knack for getting herself into—and ultimately out of—trouble. She’s becoming a good PI for the same reason she’s a good actor: She has a high E.Q. (emotional quotient), which gives her empathy and insight into others’ situations and motivations. Ivy Meadows is her stage name: her real name is Olive Ziegwart (her dad used to tell her that Ziegwart meant victory nipple. She’s not sure how that was supposed to make her feel better).
Are you and Ivy at all alike?
There’s more than a little of me in Ivy. I was an actor for years, I love detective novels and cop shows, and I can be slightly silly at times.
If you met her in real life, what would that be like?
I’d definitely like Ivy, though I might be frustrated if I wanted to be her close friend. She’s been gun shy about relationships ever since being emotionally abandoned by her parents after her brother’s accident
Do your characters change and evolve throughout consecutive books in the series?
Definitely. Ivy has a character arc in each book and throughout the series. Actually, she has three arcs: She develops as an actor, she becomes a better detective, and she grows as a person, becoming smarter, more down-to-earth, and more open to love.
Have you ever thought of killing someone that you know in real life–on the pages of a murder mystery, I mean?
No. I can’t think about real people when I’m writing. I can’t even name a character after someone I know well. That said, real people’s mannerisms, habits, and speech patterns do work their way into my subconscious and onto the page.
How realistic is your setting? Do you take liberties, or are you true to life?
My settings are definitely based on real places, but I fictionalize those places. For example, Sunnydale in The Sound of Murder is based on the retirement community of Sun City West, and the Grand Phoenician Theatre in The Phantom of Oz is based on Phoenix’s Orpheum Theatre.
Why not just use the actual locations?
I like to mash up the real and the fictional settings so I can add fun elements (like the haunted spring in the basement of the theater in Phantom), but also because I would feel bad killing people in real places.
When the movie or TV series is made, who plays the major parts?
I can completely see Zooey Deschanel as Ivy (did you know Zooey’s really a blonde?); John Goodman would make an awesome Uncle Bob; and Josh Groban could be a lovably nerdy but crush-worthy Matt (though I’d have to give him a song because…that voice. Sigh.)
What’s the worst and best advice you’ve heard or received as an author?
Hmm. I’m not sure I’ve ever had bad advice, because I think I take in what I need at the moment and ignore anything that doesn’t fit. The best advice probably boils down to three ideas:
Be yourself, and write what you want to write. Don’t worry about what others are writing, or what they’ll think of your writing.
Don’t worry so much. Your subconscious will write a lot of the story for you.
And maybe the most important piece of advice:
Don’t stop. Just keep going.
About the Author
Cindy Brown has been a theater geek (musician, actor, director, producer, and playwright) since her first professional gig at age 14. Now a full-time writer, she’s lucky enough to have garnered several awards (including 3rd place in the 2013 international Words With Jam First Page Competition, judged by Sue Grafton!) and is an alumnus of the Squaw Valley Writers Workshop. Though Cindy and her husband now live in Portland, Oregon, she made her home in Phoenix, Arizona, for more than 25 years and knows all the good places to hide dead bodies in both cities.
The study, which appears in Scientific Reports, shows that wine has an effect on one’s glymphatic function, or the way the brain removes toxins. To clear itself of damaging and accumulated proteins like tau and beta amyloid, which are often linked with dementia, the brain pumps in cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) to act as a flushing solution. All sorts of variables can influence the glymphatic system’s operation, including trauma, stroke, and excessive alcohol intake.
When researchers dosed the mice in the study with moderate alcohol—amounting to 2.6 drinks daily—the glymphatic system was more efficient, removing more waste and exhibiting less inflammation than the teetotaling control mice.
As is usually the case when it comes to booze, you can have too much of a good thing. When mice got the equivalent of 7.9 drinks daily, their glymphatic system grew sluggish until the overindulging was terminated.
“Studies have shown that low-to-moderate alcohol intake is associated with a lesser risk of dementia, while heavy drinking for many years confers an increased risk of cognitive decline,” lead study author Maiken Nedergaard, of the University of Rochester Medical Center, said in a press statement. “This study may help explain why this occurs. Specifically, low doses of alcohol appear to improve overall brain health.”
from Mental Floss
To summarize:
Wine = brain health
Three glasses a day = “low-to-moderate alcohol intake”
For fortysomething Poppy McAllister, taking a stroll down memory lane in Cape May, New Jersey, isn’t just awkward—it’s deadly.
Newly widowed and stuck in a middle-aged funk, Poppy has been running on cookies, infomercials, and one-sided chats with her cat for months. There’s no way on earth she’s attending her twenty-five-year class reunion—especially after receiving a very bizarre letter from Barbie, the popular cheerleader who taunted her all through high school. At least, not until Poppy’s best friend practically drags her to the event . . .
Using the dreaded homecoming as an excuse to visit her eccentric Aunt Ginny, Poppy vows to leave Cape May with pride and Spanx intact. Too bad Barbie is still the queen of mean at the reunion. And worse, that her dead body is lying right in front of Poppy’s old locker. Singled out as the killer, it’s up to Poppy to confront her past and clear her name. But between protecting her aunt from disaster and tackling a gluten-free diet, can Poppy crack the case before she’s voted “Most Likely to Die” by the murderer?
Which 80s song do you think they’ll be playing at Poppy’s reunion?
Includes Seven Recipes from Poppy’s Kitchen!
About The Author
Libby Klein graduated Lower Cape May Regional High School sometime in the ’80s. Her classes revolved mostly around the culinary sciences and theater, with the occasional nap in Chemistry. She has worked as a stay at home mom, climbing the ladder up the ranks to the coveted position of Grandma.
She also dabbles in the position of Vice President of a technology company which mostly involves bossing other people around, making spreadsheets and taking out the trash. She writes from her Northern Virginia office while trying to keep her cat Figaro off her keyboard. Most of her hobbies revolve around eating, and travel, and eating while traveling.
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