Natural Thorn Killer (ARC)

 

I've finished "Natural Thorn Killer" by Kate Dyer-Seeley.

Product Description

Cut down among the flowers

Britta Johnston might be a late bloomer, but after leaving her deadbeat husband and dead-end job, she’s finally pursuing her artistic passion at her aunt Elin’s floral boutique, Blooma, in Portland, Oregon. It’s on the banks of the Willamette, in a quaint district of cobblestone paths and cherry trees. The wine bar featuring Pacific Northwest vintages is a tasty bonus, offering another kind of bouquet to enjoy. But things aren’t as peaceful as they look.

For one thing, someone’s been leaving dead roses around — and a sleazy real estate developer who wants the waterfront property has put a big-money offer on the table. Then, after a contentious meeting of local business owners, he’s found on the floor of the shop, with Elin’s garden shears planted in his chest. And before the police decide to pin the crime on her beloved aunt, Britta will have to find out who arranged this murder.

About the Author

Kate Dyer-Seeley is the author of Scene of the Climb, Slayed on the Slopes, Silenced in the Surf, First Degree Mudder, and In Cave Danger in the Pacific Northwest Mystery series, as well as the memoir Underneath the Ash. Her writing has appeared in Climbing Magazine, The Oregonian, The Columbian, Portland Family Magazine, and The Vancouver Voice. She is an active member of the Willamette Writers Association and the Pacific Northwest Writers Association. Visit her website at katedyerseeley.com.


Product Details
Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Kensington (March 27 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1496705130
ISBN-13: 978-1496705136

My Review:

4/5

Cozy, Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Books Wish List

 
Please list the books from your wishlist that you are hoping to add to your shelves in a comment, thanks.

Cozy, Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Books, I'm Waiting For:     

A town in the thrall of evil. A summons that can't be ignored. The SCU returns in a nail-biting novel from New York Times bestselling author Kay Hooper.

The Chosen have been warned. Powerful psychics across the globe have gotten the same eerie and insistent message: Go to Prosperity. Because in this small North Carolina mountain town, madness has taken hold.

Trapped in a nightmare they can't escape, the residents of Prosperity are killing one another, waking up with no memory of the monstrous acts they've committed -- or the reasons why. Chief Deputy Katie Cole knows that whatever evil is afoot is beyond her expertise, and beyond the understanding of Sheriff Jackson Archer. They need help.

The Special Crimes Unit is called in for its specific brand of investigation, to aid the Chosen as well as the once-peaceful mountain town. It will take all the agents' training, all their experience, and every extra sense they can call on to get to the bottom of things in Prosperity. And as a sinister pattern begins to emerge, even the most experienced and hardened SCU agents must brace themselves for a flood of darkness unlike any the world has ever seen. 

A delightful new mystery featuring bookseller and amateur sleuth Delaney Nichols, set in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Delaney Nichols, originally of Kansas but settling happily into her new life as a bookseller in Edinburgh, works at the Cracked Spine in the heart of town. The shop is a place filled with curiosities and surprises tucked into every shelf, and it’s Delaney’s job to research the rare tomes and obscure artifacts that people come to buy and sell. When her new friends, also students at the medical school, come to the shop to sell a collection of antique medical books, Delaney knows she’s stumbled across a rare and important find indeed. Her boss, Edwin MacAlister, agrees to buy the multivolume set, perhaps even to keep for his own collection.

But not long after the sale, one of Delaney’s new friends is found murdered in the alley behind the Cracked Spine, and she wonders if there is some nefarious connection between the origin of these books and the people whose hands they fell into. Delaney takes it upon herself to help bring the murderer to justice. During her investigation, Delaney she finds some old scalpels in the bookshop’s warehouse―she and discovers that they belonged to a long-dead doctor whose story and ties to the past crimes of Burke and Hare might be connected to the present-day murder. It’s all Delaney can do to race to solve this crime before time runs out and she ends up in a victim on the slab herself.

New Releases 2018 (Mar 27)

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson comes a pulse-pounding thriller that goes behind the doors of an exclusive academy with a terrifying secret.

Ever since her father was killed in a home invasion, Julia “Jules” Farentino has been plagued by nightmares. Her half-sister, Shaylee, now seventeen, has had her own difficulties, earning a lengthy rap sheet. Still, when Jules learns of her mother’s decision to send Shay to Blue Rock Academy, an elite boarding school in Oregon, Jules is skeptical. A student went missing a few months earlier and there are rumors she may have died during one of the school’s questionable treatments.

On impulse, Jules applies for a teaching job at the Academy. Shortly before she arrives, a student is found hanged, another near death. Hysterical, Shay believes it’s murder. Staff members are wary and unwelcoming — all except Cooper Trent, who has his own suspicions, his own secrets, and was once Jules’s lover.

Then another girl is found dead. Something sinister is at hand — but Jules may be too late to stop it. Behind the Academy’s idyllic veneer lurks an evil force on a brutal and terrifying mission. And Jules has become the next target of a bloodthirsty killer without limits, without remorse, without mercy.

SHE’S LEARNED ALL ABOUT KILLERS

They aren’t the kind of women anyone misses. Truck-stop hookers, runaways no one would even notice they’d disappeared if the killer didn’t photograph their lifeless bodies, posed in the back of a semi-trailer. Exactly like the infamous Trucker murders. But this isn’t just a copycat. It’s a vendetta.

NOW HE’LL TEACH HER

Carmen Jacobs interviewed the world’s most terrifying serial killers for her bestselling book, The Heart of a Predator. The police might not believe her, but she knows there’s a monster out there, paying homage to other murderers. The only person who can predict where he’ll strike next is Griffin Archer — a reclusive software millionaire with ample reason not to help her.

HOW TO DIE

Carmen has charmed her way past Griffin’s defenses before. He didn’t intend to let it happen again. But with a psycho sending her trophies of his kills, he has no choice but to get involved. The clues point to a killer obsessed with Carmen — someone who knows her work, her past, her secrets. Someone who won’t be satisfied until he has made all her deepest fears come true.

Welcome to the Ho-Lee Noodle House, where the Chinese food is to die for.

The last place Lana Lee thought she would ever end up is back at her family’s restaurant. But after a brutal break-up and a dramatic workplace walk-out, she figures that helping wait tables is her best option for putting her life back together. Even if that means having to put up with her mother, who is dead-set on finding her a husband.

Lana’s love life soon becomes yesterday’s news once the restaurant’s property manager, Mr. Feng, turns up dead ― after a delivery of shrimp dumplings from Ho-Lee. But how could this have happened when everyone on staff knew about Mr. Feng’s severe, life-threatening shellfish allergy? Now, with the whole restaurant under suspicion for murder and the local media in a feeding frenzy ― to say nothing of the gorgeous police detective who keeps turning up for take-out ― it’s up to Lana to find out who is behind Feng’s killer order before her own number is up.

Terry Ambrose's Clues in the Sand Blog Tour with a Spotlight and Giveaway

 

I am so excited to have Terry Ambrose here at Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight and Giveaway.

Thanks Terry and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to join your Clues in the Sand Blog Tour!

Please take it away, Terry!

Clues in the Sand (A Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Self Published
Release Date – March 15, 2018
Print Length: 191 pages
ASIN: B078ZMZQ48




To Rick Atwood’s dismay, the police find a body on the beach near his Seaside Cove B and B. The dead woman held a pottery shard from an ancient rice bowl, which the cops believe is a clue to her murder.

The chief suspect is Flynn O’Connor, a female archaeologist known for her hatred of treasure thieves. Trouble is, Rick’s daughter Alex sees Flynn as a role model and will not believe her friend is a killer.

Alex pressures her dad as only a ten-year-old can to prove Flynn is innocent. The mayor is also making demands — for Rick to stay out of the investigation. With his daughter and the mayor at odds, Rick sees trouble brewing. He knows too well how much Alex loves sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. Especially when there’s murder involved.

About the Author

Terry Ambrose is a former skip tracer who only stole cars when it was legal. He’s long since turned his talents to writing mysteries and thrillers. Several of his books have been award finalists and in 2014 his thriller, “Con Game,” won the San Diego Book Awards for Best Action-Thriller. He’s currently working on the Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery series.

Author Links

Website: http://terryambrose.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/suspense.writer

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6447968.Terry_Ambrose

Purchase Link: Amazon 

Giveaway

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/02887792686/?widget_template=56d5f80dbc544fb30fda66f0

Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:

https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/books-currently-on-tour/clues-sand-seaside-cove-bed-breakfast-mystery-terry-ambrose

 

New Release 2018 (Mar 26)

The richest of New York's rich gather at The Pierre's Cotillion Room to raise money for those less fortunate. A fatal blast rocks the room, stirring up horrifying memories of 9/11. Is the explosion an act or terrorism -- or a homicide?

A big-name female filmmaker is the next to die, in a desolate corner of New York City. Detectives Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald of the elite NYPD task force investigate, and the intimate details of the director's life remind them of their own impossible situation -- their personal relationship seems as unsolvable as the murders.

The crimes keep escalating as a shadowy killer masterfully plays out his vendetta -- and threatens to take down NYPD Red in the bargain.

Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads (Mar 26)

 Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads

Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads is a weekly Monday Meme that is hosted by Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews:

Post the books you read last week and books being read this week.

Read Last Week:

1.  Dangerous Game - Heather Graham
2.  Plum Tea Crazy - Laura Childs
3.  The Longest Silence - Debra Webb

Weekly Read:

1.  Natural Thorn Killer - Kate Dyer-Seeley
2.  Til Death Do Us Party - Vickie Fee
3.  Shallow Grave - Karen Harper

The Cat of the Baskervilles: A Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery

 

I've finished "The Cat of the Baskervilles" the 3rd book in her Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery series by Vicki Delany.

Product Description

When Jayne Wilson's mother is accused of murder, Jayne and Gemma have to eliminate the impossible to reveal the true killer.

Legendary stage and movie star Sir Nigel Bellingham arrives on Cape Cod to star in a stage production of The Hound of the Baskervilles put on by the West London Theater Festival. When Sir Nigel, some of the cast, and the director visit the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop at 222 Baker Street, Gemma Doyle realizes that Sir Nigel is not at all suited to the role. He is long past his prime and an old drunk to boot.

The cast, in particular the much younger actor who previously had the role, are not happy, but the show must go on.

Before the play opens, Leslie Wilson, mother of Gemma's best friend Jayne, arranges a fundraising afternoon tea to be catered by Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room. The tea is a huge success, but when it's time to leave, Sir Nigel has gone missing - only to be found at the bottom of the rocky cliff, dead. Along with the dead body, Gemma finds evidence incriminating Leslie Wilson. When the police, in the presence of handsome detective Ryan Ashburton and suspicious detective Louise Estrada,focus their attention on Leslie despite the numerous other suspects, the game is once again afoot and it's again up to the highly perceptive Gemma and the ever-confused but loyal Jayne to clear Jayne's mother's name.

Fans of Miranda James and Kate Carlisle, and Sherlockians everywhere will delight at The Cat of the Baskervilles, the clever third Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery.

About the Author

Vicki Delany is a national bestseller in the U.S and one of Canada's most prolific and varied crime writers. A former computer programmer and systems analyst, Vicki lives and writes in bucolic Prince Edward County, Ontario. She is the past president of the Crime Writers of Canada. This is her third Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery.

Product details
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books (Feb. 23 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1683314719
ISBN-13: 978-1683314714

My Review:

4/5

Library Haul 2017 (Mar 25 - 31)

Here's the list of books I picked up from the library this week:

Hardcover:

1.  The Case of Syrah, Syrah - Nancy J. Parra

Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Mail (Mar 24)

Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Mail is hosted every Saturday at Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews.

I received these in the mail this week.    

Fans of Jane Lawless new and old will be fascinated by newly minted Mystery Writers of America Grandmaster Ellen Hart’s latest intricate puzzle in A Whisper of Bones.

Britt Ickles doesn’t remember much from her only visit to her mother’s childhood home when she was a kid, except for playing with her cousin Timmy and the eruption of a sudden family feud. That’s why, when she drops by unannounced after years of silence, she’s shocked when her aunts tell her Timmy never existed, that she must be confusing him with someone else. But Britt can’t shake the feeling that Timmy did exist…and that something horrible has happened to him. Something her aunts want to cover up.

Britt hires Jane Lawless, hoping the private investigator can figure out what really happened to her cousin. When a fire in the family’s garage leads to the discovery of buried bones and one of the aunts dies suddenly and suspiciously, Jane can’t help but be pulled into the case. Do the bones belong to Timmy? Was the aunt’s death an accident, suicide, or homicide? What dark secret has this family been hiding for decades? It all depends on Jane Lawless to unravel.

Dog Dish of Doom: An Agent to the Paws Mystery

 

I've finished "Dog Dish of Doom" the first book in his Agents of the Paw series by E.J. Copperman.

Product Description

Kay Powell wants to find that break-out client who will become a star. And she thinks she’s found him: His name is Bruno, and he has to be walked three times a day.

Kay is the Agent to the Paws, representing showbiz clients who aren’t exactly people. In fact: they're dogs. Bruno’s humans, Trent and Louise, are pains in the you-know-what, and Les McMaster, the famous director mounting a revival of Annie, might not hire Bruno just because he can’t stand them.

This becomes less of an issue when Trent is discovered face down in Bruno’s water dish, with a kitchen knife in his back. Kay’s perfectly fine to let the NYPD handle the murder, but when the whole plot seems to center on Bruno, her protective instincts come into play. You can kill any people you want, but you’d better leave Kay’s clients alone.

About the Author

E.J. COPPERMAN is someone you could sit down and have a beer with, if that’s your thing. Or a hot chocolate. Or a diet soda. Actually, you can have anything you want as long as you don’t care what E.J. is drinking.

E.J. is the author of a number of mystery series: Agent to the Paws begins with Dog Dish of Doom and other series include the Haunted Guesthouse mysteries, Asperger’s mysteries, and Mysterious Detective mysteries.


Product details
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: Minotaur Books (Aug. 15 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 125008427X
ISBN-13: 978-1250084279

My Review:

3/5

Dorothy St. James's Playing with Bonbon Fire Blog Tour with a Spotlight, Excerpt and Giveaway

 

I am so excited to have Dorothy St. James here at Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight, Excerpt and Giveaway.

Thanks Dorothy and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to join your Playing with Bonbon Fire Blog Tour!

Please take it away, Dorothy! 

Playing With Bonbon Fire: A Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Crooked Lane Books (March 13, 2018)
Hardcover: 352 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1683314684
Digital ASIN: B074MBXLWX




Chocoholic Charity Penn must smoke out the killer to stop her newly inherited beachside chocolate shop from going up in flames in Dorothy St. James’ decadent follow-up to Asking for Truffle.

Chocolate shop owner Charity Penn is finally settling into life in the quirky South Carolina seaside town of Camellia Beach cooking up chocolate treats. She’s even helped organize the town’s lively beach music festival which has brought rollicking crowds eager to dance the Carolina shag. That is, until one of the band’s lead singers is found dead beside a beach bonfire.

While also trying to balance the amorous attention of music star Bixby Lewis, in town for the festival, and her quest to perfect a new hot flavored bonbon, Charity dives into the investigation. Though it’s more spice than sugar when she discovers a threatening note, comes across decades of age-old secrets, and Bixby comes into the line of fire when a gas grill explodes on the deck of a beachfront house.

Now Charity must turn up the heat and catch the killer before her chance melts away in Playing With Bonbon Fire, the delightful second Southern Chocolate Shop mystery served up just right for fans of JoAnna Carl and Joanne Fluke. 

Excerpt

One of my uncles had already tried to use violence to get me out of the picture in order to hurry the sale of the property. So the thought that one of Mabel’s greedy children had tossed the rock through the window in an attempt to scare me into packing my bags and going home shouldn’t have surprised me.

The joke was on them, though. I didn’t have a home to go back to. My father’s side of the family made sure I’d never feel at home in any of the Penn mansions. My half sister Tina was the only member of my family who treated me with kindness.

If not for her, Bixby Lewis wouldn’t be standing in my shop right now.

“If this rock was aimed at you, we need to report it,” I said to him. “Even if it’s just a threat from an overzealous fan, we have to keep you safe.”

“Penn’s right. I hate to say it, but we need to tell Hank Byrd,” Bertie agreed.

“Not him.” Just the thought of talking with Camellia Beach’s police chief made me groan. According to Byrd, crime hadn’t existed in his quaint beach town until I’d moved in.

While he didn’t suspect me of breaking any laws, he blamed me for bringing criminals into town with me. The arrival of Bixby Lewis and his crazy stalker fan would only add fuel to that ridiculous theory of his.

Even so, Bertie was right. I needed to make that call.

“No!” Bixby grabbed my wrist and pulled the cell phone out of my hand before I had the chance to punch in the numbers. “Don’t tell anyone. The publicity will only cause more crazies to crawl out of their hidey holes to make trouble. Trust me on this one. I deal with this almost every day.”

“Son, someone tosses rocks through your window on a daily basis? That would burn my biscuits,” Bertie drawled in her lovely, deep Southern voice.

I introduced Bixby to Bertie and explained how he was a singing star of mega proportions.

“I know who he is,” Bertie fussed. “I might be old, but there’s nothing wrong with my hearing. I listen to the radio. I love your ‘Honey Got a Hold on Me’ tune. Listen to it while folding my laundry.” She tossed back her head and belted out the refrain, which included a description of the singer going back to his girlfriend’s house and making the walls tremble. It sounded quite naughty coming from someone well over seventy years old.

Bixby’s cheeks turned beet red as he politely thanked her for enjoying his work.

I giggled. I often giggled inappropriately when I got nervous.

He smiled kindly in my direction before saying, “Don’t worry about the window. I’ll replace it. In the meantime, I’d rather focus on celebrating great beach music than wasting time talking with the police.”

“But —” I started to protest.

“I’m fine, Penn.” He put his hand on my shoulder in the same way Bertie had earlier to.

 

 

About the Author

Mystery author Dorothy St. James was born in New York but raised in South Carolina. She makes her home on an artsy island community in South Carolina with her husband, a neurotic dog, and fluffy cat. Though writing has always been a passion for her, she pursued an undergraduate degree in Wildlife Biology and a graduate degree in Public Administration and Urban Planning. She put her educational experience to use, having worked in all branches and all levels of government including local, regional, state, and federal. She even spent time during college working for a non-profit environmental watchdog organization.

Switching from government service and community planning to fiction writing wasn’t as big of a change as some might think. Her government work was all about the stories of the people and the places where they live. As an urban planner, Dorothy loved telling the stories of the people she met. And from that, her desire to tell the tales that were so alive in her heart grew until she could not ignore it any longer. In 2001, she took a leap of faith and pursued her dream of writing fiction full-time.

Known for the White House Gardener Mystery series, Dorothy is going back to her roots and setting a mystery series in a Southern beach town much like the one she’s called home for the past 20 years. The Southern Chocolate Shop Mysteries combine her love of fine chocolates, quirky Southern charm, with a dash of danger.

* Dorothy St. James is the alter-ego of the award-winning multi-published author, Dorothy McFalls. She enjoys writing in several different genres. Her works have been nominated for many awards including Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, Reviewers International Organization Award, National Reader’s Choice Award, CataRomance Reviewers’ Choice Award, and The Romance Reviews Today Perfect 10! Award. Reviewers have called her work: “amazing”, “perfect”, “filled with emotion”, and “lined with danger.”

Author Links

Website: www.dorothystjames.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/dorothystjames

Twitter: www.twitter.com/dorothymcfalls

Purchase Links

Indie Bound

Amazon

Kobo

Google Play

Barnes and Noble

 

Giveaway

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/02887792684/? 

Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:

https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/books-currently-on-tour/playing-bonbon-fire-southern-chocolate-shop-mystery-dorothy-st-james

 

Cozy, Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Books Wish List

 
Please list the books from your wishlist that you are hoping to add to your shelves in a comment, thanks.

Cozy, Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Books, I'm Waiting For:     

The richest of New York's rich gather at The Pierre's Cotillion Room to raise money for those less fortunate. A fatal blast rocks the room, stirring up horrifying memories of 9/11. Is the explosion an act or terrorism -- or a homicide?

A big-name female filmmaker is the next to die, in a desolate corner of New York City. Detectives Zach Jordan and Kylie MacDonald of the elite NYPD task force investigate, and the intimate details of the director's life remind them of their own impossible situation -- their personal relationship seems as unsolvable as the murders.

The crimes keep escalating as a shadowy killer masterfully plays out his vendetta -- and threatens to take down NYPD Red in the bargain.
 

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Lisa Jackson comes a pulse-pounding thriller that goes behind the doors of an exclusive academy with a terrifying secret.

Ever since her father was killed in a home invasion, Julia “Jules” Farentino has been plagued by nightmares. Her half-sister, Shaylee, now seventeen, has had her own difficulties, earning a lengthy rap sheet. Still, when Jules learns of her mother’s decision to send Shay to Blue Rock Academy, an elite boarding school in Oregon, Jules is skeptical. A student went missing a few months earlier and there are rumors she may have died during one of the school’s questionable treatments.

On impulse, Jules applies for a teaching job at the Academy. Shortly before she arrives, a student is found hanged, another near death. Hysterical, Shay believes it’s murder. Staff members are wary and unwelcoming — all except Cooper Trent, who has his own suspicions, his own secrets, and was once Jules’s lover.

Then another girl is found dead. Something sinister is at hand — but Jules may be too late to stop it. Behind the Academy’s idyllic veneer lurks an evil force on a brutal and terrifying mission. And Jules has become the next target of a bloodthirsty killer without limits, without remorse, without mercy.

SHE’S LEARNED ALL ABOUT KILLERS

They aren’t the kind of women anyone misses. Truck-stop hookers, runaways no one would even notice they’d disappeared if the killer didn’t photograph their lifeless bodies, posed in the back of a semi-trailer. Exactly like the infamous Trucker murders. But this isn’t just a copycat. It’s a vendetta.

NOW HE’LL TEACH HER

Carmen Jacobs interviewed the world’s most terrifying serial killers for her bestselling book, The Heart of a Predator. The police might not believe her, but she knows there’s a monster out there, paying homage to other murderers. The only person who can predict where he’ll strike next is Griffin Archer — a reclusive software millionaire with ample reason not to help her.

HOW TO DIE

Carmen has charmed her way past Griffin’s defenses before. He didn’t intend to let it happen again. But with a psycho sending her trophies of his kills, he has no choice but to get involved. The clues point to a killer obsessed with Carmen — someone who knows her work, her past, her secrets. Someone who won’t be satisfied until he has made all her deepest fears come true.

Welcome to the Ho-Lee Noodle House, where the Chinese food is to die for.

The last place Lana Lee thought she would ever end up is back at her family’s restaurant. But after a brutal break-up and a dramatic workplace walk-out, she figures that helping wait tables is her best option for putting her life back together. Even if that means having to put up with her mother, who is dead-set on finding her a husband.

Lana’s love life soon becomes yesterday’s news once the restaurant’s property manager, Mr. Feng, turns up dead ― after a delivery of shrimp dumplings from Ho-Lee. But how could this have happened when everyone on staff knew about Mr. Feng’s severe, life-threatening shellfish allergy? Now, with the whole restaurant under suspicion for murder and the local media in a feeding frenzy ― to say nothing of the gorgeous police detective who keeps turning up for take-out ― it’s up to Lana to find out who is behind Feng’s killer order before her own number is up.

Debra Sennefelder's The Uninvited Corpse Blog Tour with a Spotlight and Excerpt

 

I am so excited to have Debra Sennefelder here at Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight and Excerpt.

Thanks Debra and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to join The Uninvited Corpse Blog Tour!

Please take it away, Debra!

Guest Post

Getting the Call by Debra Sennefelder

I’m so happy to be here with you sharing my debut novel and how I got the call that I’ve sold the book. I’d been pursing publication for several years for several years like so many authors. I’d join a professional writing organization, a critique group and read endless how-to books. My evenings were spent writing, my weekends were spent writing, my days off from work were spent writing. I didn’t mind because I was chasing my dream. I believed it would happen one day. I’d be a published author.

Then there came a point where I’d had enough. I’d run out of steam. I’d gotten one more rejection. I’d had my manuscript pages covered once-again with red ink from critique partners because something wasn’t right. A gal has to ask herself how many times can she hit her head against a wall before she realizes it’s just plain crazy? I’d given up evenings, weekends, vacation days and what did I have to show it? Not much.

Discouraged I looked for another creative outlet to replace writing. At the time blogging was becoming popular and I’d stumbled upon a health and fitness community that allowed members to set up blogs. I thought I’d give it a try. Within a couple of days my blog was set up and I began blogging. Even with no prior experience and still not really sure what the whole blogging thing was, I had fallen in love.

As a blogger I could write anything I wanted, whenever I wanted and however I wanted. There were no editors, agents or critique partners telling me what to do or not to do. No more red marks on my work. To me, it was freedom and a perfect way to marry writing with my interests.

The wellness/fitness blog lasted only a few months. I moved onto another platform where I began my food blog, The Cookbook Diva. I love to cook and bake and write so a food blog was perfect for me. I navigated my way through learning the ins and outs of blogging, from how to develop a recipe to how to use a camera. I quickly moved onto purchasing my own domain and self-hosting the blog.

It was about that time my thoughts started to wander back to writing fiction. I missed creating a plot, developing characters, telling a story. Over time I shifted back to writing fiction. I eventually found a critique group and began writing a romantic suspense manuscript. I didn’t realize how much I missed writing fiction or that deep down I really was a fiction writer.

Over time, the critique group dissolved but one other member and I stayed together to share our work. We’re still partners and we’re both published. I continued to work on romantic suspense until one spring day I considered trying my hand at writing a cozy mystery revolving around a food blogger. I shared the idea with my critique partner and she encouraged me to go for it. So I did.

I dove into the project and instantly knew this was where I belonged. Writing fiction, writing a cozy mystery. Over the next few months I made the difficult decision to let go of my food blog. Between working full-time, life and writing the novel, I just didn’t have the time to give to the blog. To be honest, I haven’t looked back. It was a hard choice to make but it was the right one. Because a year after starting The Uninvited Corpse I was signed on by an agent and eight months after that I received the call for a three-book contract with Kensington.

In that one call the dream I’d had since childhood was coming true. The call also validated all those countless hours of writing and editing and revising I’d done over the years. The call also opened up a whole new chapter in my life because I was on the path to becoming a full-time writer. Lastly, the call also reaffirmed we should never give up on our dreams because they can come true if we work hard enough and believe in ourselves.

My road to publication took some unexpected turns and I’m grateful for each one.

The Uninvited Corpse (Food Blogger Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Kensington (March 27, 2018)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1496715920
Digital ASIN: B073NNPM7G


Leaving behind a failed career as a magazine editor and an embarrassing stint on a reality baking show, newly divorced lifestyle entrepreneur Hope Early thought things were finally on the upswing — until she comes face-to-face with a murderer. 

Hope’s schedule is already jam packed with recipe testing and shameless plugs for her food blog as she rushes off to attend a spring garden tour in the charming town of Jefferson, Connecticut. Unfortunately, it isn’t the perfectly arranged potted plants that grab her attention — it’s the bloody body of reviled real estate agent Peaches McCoy.

One of the tour guests committed murder, and all eyes are on Hope’s older sister, Claire Dixon — who, at best, saw Peaches as a professional rival. And suspicions really heat up when another murder occurs the following night. Now, with two messy murders shaking Jefferson and all evidence pointing to Claire, Hope must set aside her burgeoning brand to prove her sister’s innocence. But the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she gets to a killer intent on making sure her life goes permanently out of style.

Includes Recipes from Hope’s Kitchen!

 

About the Author

Debra Sennefelder, the author of the Food Blogger Mystery series and the Resale Boutique Mystery series, is an avid reader who reads across a range of genres, but mystery fiction is her obsession. Her interest in people and relationships is channeled into her novels against a backdrop of crime and mystery. When she’s not reading, she enjoys cooking and baking and as a former food blogger, she is constantly taking photographs of her food. Yeah, she’s that person.

Born and raised in New York City, she now lives and writes in Connecticut with her family. She’s worked in pre-hospital care, retail and publishing. Her writing companions are her adorable and slightly spoiled Shih-Tzus, Susie and Billy.

She is a member of Sisters in Crime, International Thriller Writers, Women’s Fiction Writers Association and Romance Writers of America.

Author Links:

Website – Facebook – Goodreads

Purchase Links

Amazon – Barnes and Noble

Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:

https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/upcoming-great-escapes-book-tours/uninvited-corpse-food-blogger-mysteries-debra-sennefelder

 

Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads (Mar 19)

 Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads

Weekly Cozy, Mystery Thriller and Romantic Suspense Reads is a weekly Monday Meme that is hosted by Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews:

Post the books you read last week and books being read this week.

Read Last Week:

1.  The Cat of Baskervilles - Vicki Delany
2.  Come Sundown - Nora Roberts
3.  Hidden Heart - Nora Roberts

Weekly Read:

1.  Dangerous Game - Heather Graham
2.  Plum Tea Crazy - Laura Childs
3.  The Longest Silence - Debra Webb

Library Haul 2017 (Mar 18 - 24)

Here's the list of books I picked up from the library this week:

Hardcover:

1.  Dangerous Game - Heather Graham
2.  Plum Tea Crazy - Laura Childs
3.  Shallow Grave - Karen Harper
4.  The Longest Silence - Debra Webb

Duffy Brown's Lethal in Old Lace Blog Tour with a Spotlight

 

I am so excited to have Duffy Brown here at Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight.

Thanks Duffy and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to join your Lethal in Old Lace Blog Tour!

Please take it away, Duffy!

Lethal in Old Lace: A Consignment Shop Mystery
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
1st with this publisher.
Crooked Lane Books (March 13, 2018)
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1683315353
Digital ASIN: B074MB9R6J



Reagan Summerside returns in national bestselling author Duffy Brown’s fifth Consignment Shop mystery, now for the first time in hardcover.

There are two social functions in Savannah guaranteed to get people talking: weddings and funerals. And just as consignment shop owner Reagan Summerside agrees to marry the hunky Walker Boone, her neighbors, sisters Annie Fritz and Elsie Abbot, step up their business as professional mourners. They are so successful that the Sleepy Pines Retirement Center has hired them as a part of their retirement package. But the celebration over good business is cut short when the residents at Pines suddenly begin dying at an alarming rate. And the sisters are the first suspects.

Reagan has her doubts, however, and begins to look into the strange phenomenon. But then something even stranger happens: a body winds up in the sisters’ pink Caddy. The evidence begins to pile up and the suspicious case of Willie Fishbine, who swindled the sisters out of a fortune and coincidentally died prior to the Pines case, is reopened.

Not wanting Willie to be buried until they can find the killer responsible for the murders, Reagan must catch the culprit in time to walk down the aisle.

About the Author

While others girls dreamed of dating Brad Pitt, Duffy Brown longed to take Sherlock Holmes to the prom. Today she conjures up who-done-it stories for Berkley Prime Crime and has two series, the national bestselling Consignment Shop Mysteries set in Savannah and the Cycle Path Mysteries on Mackinac Island.

Author Links

Webpage – www.DuffyBrown.com

Facebook – www.facebook.com/authorduffybrown

Twitter – https://twitter.com/DuffyBrownCozy

Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/duffybrown/

Purchase Links

Amazon B and N Kobo

Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:

https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/books-currently-on-tour/lethal-old-lace-consignment-shop-mystery-duffy-brown

Laura Childs's Plum Tea Crazy Blog Tour with a Spotlight and Giveaway

I am so excited to have Laura Childs here at Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight and Giveaway.

Thanks Laura and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to join your Plum Tea Crazy Blog Tour!

Please take it away, Laura!

Plum Tea Crazy (A Tea Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
19th in Series
Berkley (March 6, 2018)
Hardcover: 336 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0451489609
Digital ASIN: B071K4DPRH



Theodosia Browning investigates a Charleston steeped in tradition and treachery in the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs.

While viewing the harbor’s Gaslights and Galleons Parade from the widow’s walk of Timothy Neville’s Charleston mansion, local banker Carson Lanier seemingly tumbles over a narrow railing, then plunges three stories to his death. But a tragic accident becomes something much more sinister when it’s discovered that the victim was first shot with a bolt from a crossbow.

At the request of the mansion owner, Theodosia investigates the tragedy and is soon neck deep in suspects. An almost ex-wife, a coworker, a real estate partner – all had motives for killing the luckless banker, but one resorted to murder to settle accounts.

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS! 

About the Author

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 fundraising 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:

Website – http://www.laurachilds.com/

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

Purchase Links

Amazon B and N Kobo Google Play

Giveaway

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/02887792683/?widget_template=56d5f80dbc544fb30fda66f0

Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:

https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/books-currently-on-tour/plum-tea-crazy-tea-shop-mystery-laura-childs