I am so excited to have Christin Brecher here at Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight, Excerpt and Giveaway.
Thanks Christin and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to join your Murder Makes Scents Blog Tour!
Please take it away, Christin!
EXCERPT
While we were in lockdown, police officers circulated our group, checked bags, and asked every one of us for our identification. I was amazed, from the snippets I could hear, by how different everyone’s perception of the scene had been. I listened as the victim was described as both young and old, and even, by one person, as a woman. An older lady not far from me claimed the murdered man was speaking Italian, which I was certain was untrue. A man with a mustache said he heard the victim mumbling incoherently to himself when he first stumbled into the crowd. Everyone spoke with certainty, but I realized that no one had seen the scene the same way.
After about forty minutes, it was our turn. I handed an officer our passports, because Millie had mostly lost the ability to speak. Clutching her black bag on her lap, she had seated herself on a folding chair from the moment we’d entered the room.
I confess, her reaction surprised me. Very little flusters my mom. Until that moment, the list had only included cats. The woman was like Indiana Jones, running around the world in search of adventure. A cat, however, terrified her. Legend had it that my old great aunt, Frances, had had a terror of a cat when my mom was growing up. The poor creature was sickly and grumpy and hissed at everyone, but my mom had taken it personally. Now, I added murdered bodies to her list. I was grateful for involuntary muscles, because I don’t think she would have breathed without them.
“Open your bags, please,” said the officer after he’d checked our passports.
Reluctantly, Millie opened her bag. The man gave a cursory look inside.
“Did you see anyone suspicious at the conference today?” he said, finally getting down to business. His notepad was out, but I could tell he wasn’t expecting anything particularly informative from an American woman and her distressed mother.
“No,” I said. “My mother was on her way to speak at a panel. I wish I’d noticed something that could help you. All I can offer is that I thought the victim’s behavior was the most interesting.”
“Why do you think so?” he said, not looking up from his pad as he scribbled down yet another well intentioned statement.
“The man didn’t utter a word before his death,” I said. “He made no accusations. We were all surrounding him, but he did not point a finger or share a clue.”
“Perhaps having a knife in his back distracted him,” said the policeman. “Had you seen the man before today?”
“No, we hadn’t,” I said.
“Thank you,” said the officer. “Does your mother need medical assistance? We have medics on hand.”
“I’m fine,” said my mother, recovering her voice.
The officer nodded to her and handed me a business card before moving on.
Murder Makes Scents (Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Publisher: Kensington (February 25, 2020)
Mass Market Paperback: 272 pages
ISBN-10: 1496721411
ISBN-13: 978-1496721419
Digital ASIN: B07R6P9Z8M
Stella Wright loves creating candles at her Nantucket store — and she also has a burning passion for justice. Now, after visiting a perfume conference, she must solve a vial crime.
Stella and her globe-trotting mom, Millie, have come home from a perfume industry conference in Paris, where their trip was marred by witnessing the stabbing death of a young man. It’s a relief for Stella to be back on her picturesque island, with the comforting company of her cat, Tinker. But lingering danger may have followed them back across the ocean.
After someone breaks into her candle store, the Wick & Flame, Stella starts feeling spooked. And just as things threaten to ignite, Millie suffers a blow to the head. Stella receives an anonymous note claiming that her mother smuggled a secret formula out of France — and threatening her life if it isn’t returned. Now Stella’s picked up the scent of a cold-hearted criminal and an intriguing puzzle, and things are about to get wicked.
About Christin Brecher
Christin Brecher was born and raised in NYC, where her family and many childhood friends still reside. As such, she feels she is as much of a small-town girl as any. The idea to write the Nantucket Candle Maker series sprang from her life-long connection to the small island off the coast of Massachusetts. Spending summers there as a child, Christin read from her family’s library of mystery novels, after which she began to imagine stories inspired by the island’s whaling heyday, its notoriously foggy nights, and during long bike rides to the beach. After many years in marketing for the publishing industry, followed by years raising her children, Murder’s No Votive Confidence is Christin’s debut novel. Visit her at www.christinbrecher.com.
Author Links
Website – http://christinbrecher.com/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/christinbrecherbooks/
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/christinbrecherbooks/
GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18483379.Christin_Brecher
BookBub – https://www.bookbub.com/profile/christin-brecher
Purchase Links – Amazon – B and N – Kobo – BAM –
IndieBound – Hudson Booksellers – Google Play
Giveaway
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/028877921012
Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:
https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/books-currently-on-tour/murder-makes-scents-nantucket-candle-maker-mystery-by-christin-brecher
