Hope you’re having fun with your relatives in Phoenix. Ha! I KNOW they can’t be as bad as you make them seem. For one thing, I’m pretty sure your uncle Wilt has more teeth than you claim – it is just not possible to get by with three, especially now that they’ve quit making Twinkies. BTW, I’m a little worried I haven’t heard from you. Send me a text or something to let me know you haven’t been eaten by coyotes or something.

It’s been gorgeous here in Austin. The bluebonnets are mostly gone, but the primroses and firewheels have taken over. I’m planning to go to the lake this weekend, assuming that I’m not in jail for killing a student or two. Honestly, the little monsters are driving me crazy. Between the nice weather and Prom, they are bouncing off the walls. I had to make the tennis team run for two miles just to get them winded enough so that I could get a word in edgewise.

The team is doing great. We actually won our last match of the year (no one was more surprised than I was), and it’s great to have the competitions behind us and be able to play just for fun. The tennis moms have really come through and have rented the Lone Star River Boat for our end of year party. They’ve arranged to have fajitas catered by the Hula Hut, a pause to watch the bats fly out from under the Congress bridge at dusk, and then a band for dancing. (I have no idea where they got the money, and trust me this time I’m not asking.) Sometime during the evening, we’ll present the team trophies. I’ve made them myself – nailed tennis balls to wooden pedestals and spray painted them gold. Looks awesome, and every kid gets one. And don’t snort – it’s cooler than it sounds. Now, fingers crossed that we don’t have any homicides that day – I’d be so bummed if he’d get called to a case. Maybe not as bummed as the victim, but still pretty bummed.

I’ve been asked to be head of the languages department next year. I feel strange accepting it – it was going to be Laura’s job after all, but someone needs to step in and I don’t think she’d mind. It means I’ll be teaching less history, but it also means a little bump in pay. Maybe we can start planning another vacation. I’m dying to go to Paris to visit Will and my folks. Oh, and I got that contract! I’ll be translating two websites into Spanish and French over the summer. And assuming all parties are happy, they’ll probably want me to keep them updated.

Okay, I better stop. I’ve got papers to grade, and if I know you, you’ve already quit paying attention. Anyway, seriously – give me a call so I know you’re okay.

Love,
Jocelyn

Meet the author
Janice Hamrick is the author of the Jocelyn Shore mystery series. Her first novel, DEATH ON TOUR, is set in Egypt and is the winner of the MWA/Minotaur First Crime Novel award and nominee for both the 2012 Mary Higgins Clark award and RT Reviewers’ Choice First Crime Novel award. Her second Jocelyn Shore mystery, DEATH MAKES THE CUT finds Jocelyn back home to her teaching job in Austin, Texas, where murder, deception, and a sealed letter from a dead man combine to throw Jocelyn directly into the path of a ruthless killer. In DEATH RIDES AGAIN (coming June, 2013) Jocelyn and her cousin Kyla travel to their family’s Texas ranch only to find that a cousin is missing, another has been shot, and opening day at the new racetrack is off to a murderous start. Janice Hamrick was born in Oklahoma, grew up near Kansas City, and now lives in Austin, Texas with more dogs than she cares to admit. Visit her at www.janicehamrick.com, Facebook, and Twitter.

Books are available at retail and online booksellers.

Things haven’t worked out exactly as I envisioned. Well, except for the bringing my dog to work part. Whiskey, my Irish wolfhound, enjoys the change, if not the long hours. But she manages to sleep through most of my stakeouts and fast food is her favorite.

Paying jobs are slow coming. At least the ones I want to accept. The odd thing was that my plan was to have fewer responsibilities in my new career. But somehow, despite my best efforts, I’ve managed to accumulate a small staff. They like getting a paycheck. So I’m doing a mix of the very jobs I wanted to stay away from at all costs; the ones dealing with lowlife criminals, messy emotions, and cheating spouses.

My current workload is very similar to when I was a cop.

I guess you can start over, but the past comes with you; or maybe the past just doubles back to bite you in the behind.

I’ve never forgotten the biggest failure of my career as a cop. I really didn’t need the annual postcard reminder.

I scanned the message. Same scratchy handwriting. For 10 years I’d received a similar card every December. They had arrived along with the holiday cards at the police station. But this year was different; the postcard was addressed care of Sullivan Investigations. Someone’s address book had been updated.

The picture on the front of the card varied, seemingly random tourist locations – around the DC and Virginia area. No pattern other than all depicting famous family vacation spots. The postmarks were all from Virginia. This year’s card featured the Smithsonian.

The mystery had come full circle—back to where it had all begun.

The message on the postcard was the same as it always was. Block printing. A simple question. “Where’s Amanda Norman?”

My first thought was always, “Dead.” But I caught myself. I couldn’t say the word aloud. Technically Amanda was only missing. The fourteen-year-old went on a class trip to the Smithsonian and didn’t come home again.

Some cases get to you. I don’t really know why this one did. Maybe part of it was that I’d retired without ever finding the answer, finding a young kid who seemed to have disappeared into thin air. So there was professional pride at stake.

But it was something more. I’d been a cop for 25 years. I’d seen it all and much of it wasn’t pretty. If Amanda Norman wasn’t dead, she might wish she were.

Check out Mac Sullivan and his team in MURDER DOUBLES BACK, book 3 of the Sullivan Investigations Mystery series.

If you’d like to start at the beginning, the series starts with Murder Off The Books, followed by Murder Takes The Cake.

Meet the author
Evelyn David is the pseudonym for a pair of mystery writers, Marian Borden and Rhonda Dossett.

Marian lives in New York and is the author of ten nonfiction books on a wide variety of topics ranging from veterans benefits to playgroups for toddlers! For more information on these books, please visit her web site at www.marianedelmanborden.com

Rhonda lives in Muskogee, Oklahoma, is the director of the coal program for the state, and in her spare time enjoys imagining and writing funny, scary mysteries. Marian and Rhonda write their mystery series via the internet. While many fans who attend mystery conventions have now chatted with both halves of Evelyn David, Marian and Rhonda have yet to meet in person.

Evelyn David is the author of the Brianna Sullivan Mysteries (9 to date), The Sullivan Investigations Mystery series (3 novels plus two short stories) and the stand-alone mystery, Zoned for Murder.

Please check out Evelyn’s website at www.evelyndavid.com for information about Evelyn David’s appearance schedule and writing projects.

All are available in both ebook and print formats at Amazon, BN.com, and Smashwords.

Sorry about that. I might have over-reacted, which happens from time to time.

Dru asked me to stop by and tell you a little bit about myself, which I wouldn’t normally do but how can I say no to someone as kind and funny and well-read as Dru? I’ve been in the limelight enough lately with the court battle over making man-made snow at my ski area just outside of Flagstaff, AZ. I’ve been accused of being a greedy business mogul (as if I had more than $20 in the bank) and having no regard for the environment. Nothing could be further from the truth.

I grew up in Boulder, CO, for heaven’s sake. (grr, I hate it when I use one of my mother’s favorite phrases) Environmentalism wafts through the air on the pine pollen there. I believe business and protection of the landscapes isn’t mutually exclusive and bringing water to the mountain I love would be a good thing. It will also help my business, which could save my marriage. You know how money worries can strain a relationship.

But the court battles are over, finally. I won and can start piping water from the aquifer to the mountain. We’ll have snow by Christmas, whether Mother Nature feels up to it or not.

Except there’s this really annoying Al Sharpton of Native Americans who has it out for me. He’s rallying the local tribes to continue to fight snowmaking and I’m afraid they aren’t going to wait on an appeal to the Supreme Court to stop me. He doesn’t care about the mountain or the tribes’ religious freedom, he just wants to make a name for himself.

I might get some help from energy tycoon, Barrett McCreary. For years he was my role model because he spent millions cleaning up abandon uranium mines after the industry went bust in the 70’s. For some reason he’s taken me on as a project. He says he admires my business acumen and ambition but there’s something creepy about him. He’s under siege from the enviros, too, because he’s resurrecting uranium mining around the Grand Canyon.

On the personal side, my family is small. My mother spends most of her time and a great deal of money inherited from dead husbands, traveling on cruises or planning fund-raisers. We have a strained relationship and don’t spend much time together. Where she’s a Birkin Bag sort of woman, I’m a worn backpack held together with duct tape kind of girl.

My husband, well, that’s not an easy relationship, either. I try to forget but the truth is, he had an affair a couple of years ago. We’ve been trying to put the relationship back together but lately, I feel like all the try is on my side. Maybe if I can get Kachina Ski running in the black we can spend more time together and our marriage will improve.

It’s not all bleak, though. I live on a gorgeous mountain and it’s summer time. The smell of pines, the blooming penstemon and Indian paintbrush and even some columbine dancing on the breeze make me happy. And there’s my old golden retriever, Abbey (named after Edward Abbey, of course) and my aging hippie/environmental/alcohol-infused neighbor to keep me company.

It would be great if you would come visit me, too. Hang out with me while I battle rabid enviros, save myself from an unexpected visit from my mother, try to survive a business take-over, find out who wants my husband dead, and struggle to make peace with the Hopi spirits of the mountain.

Blurb:
A young ski area owner is determined to use man made snow, an energy tycoon has his own reasons for promoting it, enviros and tribes may use any means to stop it. But the spirits of the mountain just might have the last say.

Meet the author
Shannon Baker, author of the Nora Abbott Mystery series involving murder, environment and Hopi Indians, can often be found backpacking, skiing, kayaking, cycling, or just playing lizard in the desert. From the Colorado Rockies to the Nebraska Sandhills, the peaks of Flagstaff and the deserts of Tucson, landscapes play an important role in her books. Tainted Mountain, the first in her Nora Abbott Mystery Series, is set in Flagstaff, AZ, where she lived for several years and worked for The Grand Canyon Trust, a hotbed of environmentalists who, usually, don’t resort to murder. She lived twenty years in the Nebraska Sandhills, where cattle outnumber people by more than 50:1. Shannon now makes her home in Boulder, CO. Surprisingly, Nora followed her and the next book in the series is set in this beautiful location. Visit her at shannonbaker.wordpress.com

Books are available at retail and online booksellers.

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Another quiet week. I love to read. I also love watching TV and the summer brings back some of my favorite shows. The one show I’m not liking but still my favorite is Burn Notice. I want my couple to be a couple. There I said it. I watched King and Maxwell and I found it entertaining. Next week Rizzoli & Isles return and I can’t wait. What are some of your favorite summer TV shows?

As for books, I’m reading and enjoying my book more when I don’t think about what I have to write after I finished. If the words come easily, I write something up, which is why you see several musings before this Sunday Post. That will be the approach I take. I think this will be easier on me.

Right now I’m going to concentrate on showcasing authors and their books with my on-going feature: A DAY IN THE LIFE. So if you are an author with a series, preferably mysteries or thrillers or suspense, but will look at romantic suspense or a stand-alone, see my feature page for more information.

For those who want to know where I get my free downloads, I subscribe to Pixel of Ink.

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Coming this week

1. Nora Abbott [Tainted Mountain, Nora Abbott #1] by Shannon Baker
2. Mac Sullivan [Murder Doubles Back, Sullivan Investigations #3] by Evelyn David
3. Jocelyn Shore [Death Rides Again, Jocelyn Shore #3] by Janice Hamrick
4. Dr. Muriel Crowther [Invitation to Die, Emily Castles #1] by Helen Smith
5. Peggy Lee [A Thyme to Die, Peggy Lee Garden #7 ] by Joyce and Jim Lavene
6. Book Giveaway ~ [The Testing #1] by Joelle Charbonneau

Featured last week

• Book Giveaway ~ [Eternally 21, Mrs. Frugalicious Shopping #1] by Linda Joffe Hull
• Gigi Fitzgerald [Steamed To Death, Gourmet De-Lite #2] by Peg Cochran
• Mandy Tanner [Fatal Descent, RM Outdoor Adventures #3] by Beth Groundwater
• Detective Kubu [Deadly Harvest, Detective Kubu #4] by Michael Stanley
• Colleen McCabe [Foal Play, Colleen McCabe #1] by Kathryn O’Sullivan
• Robbie The Elf [Don't Get Mad, Get Even] by Barb Goffman

Contest winners

• Thread and Buried by Janet Bolin – Barbara J.
• The Diva Frosts a Cupcake by Krista Davis – Cheli D.
• Domestic Diva T-shirt from Krista Davis – Kathleen K.
• The Diva Frosts a Cupcake T-shirt from Krista Davis – Heather H.
• Domestic Diva small tote bag from Krista Davis – Cheryl G.
• As She Left It by Catriona McPherson – Jeannie R.
• Eternally 21 by Linda Joffe Hull – Kristi T.
• Steamed To Death by Peg Cochran – Cynthia B.

Books read

• You Cannoli Die Once [Italian Restaurant #1] by Shelley Costa
• The Root Of All Trouble [Nina Quinn #7] by Heather Webber
• Smarty Bones [Sarah Booth Delaney #13] by Carolyn Haines
• Cooking Spirits [Angie Amalfi #15] by Joanne Pence
• Change of Heart [Savannah Martin #6] by Jenna Bennett
• Monument to the Dead [Museum #4] by Sheila Connolly
• Rockets’ Red Glare [Holiday From Hell #4] by Sue Ann Sue Ann Jaffarian

Books recently purchased

• Eine Kleine Murder by Kaye George
• Smarty Bones by Carolyn Haines
• Rockets’ Red Glare [Holiday From Hell #4] by Sue Ann Sue Ann Jaffarian

Books downloaded for free

• Still Waters by Misha Crews
• Fool Me Twice by Paul Levine
• Line Dancing Can Be Murder by Stacey Coverstone
• Sunshine Hunter by Maddie Cochere
• Death Turns A Trick by Julie Smith

Books/ARCs

• Clammed Up by Barbara Ross
• That Touch of Ink by Diane Vallere
• The Shadow Tracer by Meg Gardiner
• Murder a la Christie by Marilyn Levinson

My Monthly Posts

• June: Dru’s Cozy Report (Cozy Chicks)
• May: The Stiletto Gang

In Threadville, Pennsylvania, known for its textile art courses and shops, everyone’s stories are connected by a common thread—even the ones ending in murder.

Every town has a legend. For Threadville, it’s the story of Snoozy Gallagher, the hotel owner who disappeared thirty years ago with a bag full of stolen jewelry, never to be heard from again. That is, until now—when Snoozy’s loot is discovered buried behind Willow Vanderling’s embroidery shop In Stitches.

When villagers mysteriously become ill, and a body shrouded in materials from Threadville shops appears in the exact spot where the treasure was—along with two abandoned kittens—Willow needs answers. The random events are too coincidental to be unrelated, but Willow will have to act quickly to unravel the deadly mystery, or she might get tangled up as the killer’s next victim.

I love this series which like fine wine, gets better as it goes along. The whole gang is back in the funstastic read that started with a jewelry box with a past that someone in the present will do anything to keep it that way. I love the way the story flows from chapter to chapter as Willow and Haylee, as usual, get involved in the investigation. This is a great story that I could not put down and I look forward to more crime solving in the next book in this charmingly appealing series.

Lucky O’Toole, the newly promoted vice president of Customer Relations for the Babylon, Las Vegas’s primo Strip property, has never met a problem she couldn’t handle. But when a young woman is found dead, sprawled across the hood of a new, bright red Ferrari California in the Babylon’s on-site dealership, a Jimmy Choo stiletto stuck in her carotid, Lucky’s skills are maxed out.

Of course, her life is already on overload. Her mother, Mona, is pregnant, hormonal, and bored—a triple threat. A song that Teddie, Lucky’s former lover, wrote for her is getting national airplay as he hits the talk shows, pleading for her forgiveness. Lucky is less than amused by the high-powered “infotainment” spotlight on her personal life. She’s having enough trouble fending off Chef Jean-Charles Bouclet, the Babylon’s tasty new dish.

All of this and The Smack-Down Poker tournament, the second-largest poker tournament in the world, is holding its final round at the Babylon. Hookers, theives, players, cheaters, media, and hangers-on descend, looking to win or to score. When one of the players turns up dead, Lucky starts to make connections between the two murders, putting her in the crosshairs of the killer.

Then, just when she’s losing control… life deals another major complication to her personal life… and it’s not going to be pretty.

In Deborah Coonts’ Lucky Bastard, Lucky struggles to keep her life in balance, and a murderer from killing again.

Lucky got lucky in both her professional and personal life in this exciting read. This series gets better and better each time I sit down and become a part of Lucky and the Vegas atmosphere. This is a fun read and I loved learning about the insides and outs of the Vegas culture and the author brings it alive with the scenery and dialogue. The author did a good job in keeping me glued to the pages with the twists and turns in this mystery, especially when I thought I had figured it out and then the author changed directions and that spurred me on to see what happens next. And that ending; I can’t wait to see where this goes. This was very enjoyable and I look forward to the next book in this fabulous series.

When Zelda Bowen brings her new boyfriend to the Bowen annual Fourth of July barbeque, her dysfunctional family seems genuinely pleased to meet him. Everyone, that is, except her older sister Norma. When the fireworks start, it’s not the kind anyone expected.

Surprises abound at the family cookout with Zelda and her dysfunctional family in this hilariously engaging episode that ends with a few smokes and giggles. A pure delight.

As president of the Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society in Philadelphia, Nell Pratt relies on the generosity of philanthropists. But when someone starts killing benefactors, it’s Nell’s turn to come to their aid.

When Nell reads the obituary of a former board member, Adeline Harrison, she makes a mental note to send flowers and doesn’t think twice about it—until FBI agent James Morrison shares his suspicions about the nature of Adeline’s death. It turns out that a number of other members of the local cultural community have died in the last few months, under similar circumstances.

Soon Nell uncovers what seems to be a plot to rid Philadelphia of harmless, elderly philanthropists—but why? If she can figure out the killer’s motive, she has a chance of stopping the misanthropic murderer before another do-gooder is done in.

This was an amazing read that was hard to put down. Special FBI Agent Morrison seeks Nell, Shelby and Marty’s help when he sees a trend among the recent death of trustees that lead him to ponder if a crime has been committed. Once the team start dwelling into the incidents; it does appear a crime was committed but the powers that be don’t see it until it’s too late.

This was a good read from the beginning to an conclusion that was worth the wait. The mystery was good as the author presented us with plenty of suspects and a few twists that kept me guessing until I had that aha moment when I knew who was behind murders. The author delivered a well-written and action-packed tome that boasts a strong heroine in Nell that had me rooting for her, especially her self-discovery. With a wonderful supporting cast, the environs of cultural atmosphere and good conversations, this is the best book in this pleasantly appealing series.

It’s late February, just two months after Savannah Martin and Rafael Collier finally worked things out between them, and Rafe is already sneaking out of bed in the wee hours.

Catching fellow realtor Tim Briggs rinsing blood from his hands in the office sink makes for a welcome distraction, and when Tim disappears just as one of his clients is found dead in a nearby park, Savannah throws herself into the investigation with abandon.

But even the murder mystery taking place right under her nose can’t completely distract her from worrying about personal problems. Has Rafe changed his mind about their relationship, or is something else going on? And what are the chances of Savannah coming out of this latest debacle with her life – and her heart – intact?

I love this series. Savannah and Rafe is a perfect pairing with both trying to learn more about each other and themselves. In the meantime, murder comes between them and hits a bit too close to home for Savannah when her co-worker is involved. What follows is a pursuit that kept me turning the pages as quickly as I can to see what happens next. I love how Rafe surprises Savannah and the finale gives us so many possibilities that I can’t wait for the next book in this well-written and wonderful series. Jenna Bennett is a creative genius and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this couple.

Culinary queen Angie Amalfi has put aside her gourmet utensils to concentrate on planning her upcoming wedding to San Francisco homicide detective Paavo Smith. What could possibly go wrong?

Instead of the answer to her heart’s dreams, she scrambles to deal with wedding planners with bizarre ideas, wedding dresses that don’t flatter, squabbling relatives with hurt feelings, a long-suffering groom, and worries over where she and Paavo will live after the wedding. But all of that pales when Angie finds the perfect house for them, except for one little problem–the house may be haunted.

Many years ago, the newlyweds who lived in the house were murdered, and the case was never solved. While Angie pursues what happened to the couple who now may be haunting the house, Paavo obsesses over his own case involving the murder of unlikely lovers. The trail leads to ghosts, murders, unhappy families, and enough obnoxious wedding buttinskis to fill a graveyard. But when eerie happenings turn deadly, Angie fears she may be spirited away for good!

I have missed this series and I’m so glad it’s back. Angie is still Angie getting herself involved in a murder case, bur this time not Paavo’s when she discovers the truth about the previous tenants. Setting out to find answers, the situations Angie finds herself in with the help of Connie and Stan was hilarious. Meanwhile, Paavo is working his case and the one thing I missed most is Angie’s involvement in his case. The author did a good job with both mysteries, keeping it fresh and entertaining. Most of Angie’s family made an appearance and it was a delight to see them. This was a great read and I can’t wait to read the next book which I hope is the anticipated wedding of the century.

WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS…

When a spring storm rolls through Freedom, Ohio, landscape designer Nina Quinn expects to get her hands dirty with the mess left behind.

But after high winds uproot a tree, revealing the corpse of a man inside its rotted hollow, Nina quickly realizes that cleaning up after Mother Nature’s fury is the least of her worries.

It soon becomes clear that there is no lack of suspects in the man’s untimely death. As a shady contractor and philanderer, he’d angered a lot of people before he disappeared, including some of Nina’s closest friends.

With the help of her police detective ex-husband, a mysterious coroner’s investigator, her formerly-felonious employees and her zany neighbors, Nina sets out to uncover a killer…before another victim ends up planted six feet under.

I love, love, love this book. Nina is back and this time she’s not alone. A murder, a long ago friend, an expectant sister and an ex-husband surrounds Nina in the latest case where a home remodeling goes wrong when a body is found.

This is a fun read that I enjoyed immensely. Nina is at her best when she is putting the pieces together to inch closer to the digging up a killer’s identity. This fast-paced and action-filled whodunit was both engaging and entertaining from beginning to end. Nina is a perfect heroine with her own vulnerabilities that has me rooting for her in all that she does. With a superb cast of eccentric characters and great dialogue, this is a must read for all Nina fans.

Professor Olive Twist has come to Zinnia, Mississippi to study a mysterious grave wherein lies the Lady in Red, a perfectly preserved and stunningly beautiful but unnamed and unclaimed body. Olive claims she can not only identify the corpse, she can also prove the woman’s scandalous role in the nation’s history. Olive takes it a step too far, though, when she starts connecting elite Zinnia families with the same scandal.

Dander up, Zinnia’s society ladies know only one way to handle Olive: they call on the private investigative services of Sarah Booth Delaney. But Olive’s real agenda is clear as Mississippi mud, and when Sarah Booth discovers a present-day dead body, she knows there’s more than just family pride and Southern heritage at stake. If she can’t find the murderer and fast, it might just be Sarah Booth’s life on the line next.

Carolyn Haines pulls out all the stops in Smarty Bones, the next charming, sassy, Southern-fried Sarah Booth Delaney mystery.

Oh man, what an amazing read that kept me riveted to the pages from beginning to an ending that brings possibilities. The author did a great job in developing this story and keeping me in suspense as Sarah gets close to identifying those responsible. The whole gang is here and with Sarah leading the way, this is one of the best books in this charmingly wonderful series.

At Miracolo Northern Italian restaurant, one can savor brilliantly seasoned veal saltimbocca, or luscious risotto alla milanese, but no cannoli. Never cannoli. Maria Pia Angelotta, the spirited seventy-six-year-old owner of the Philadelphia-area eatery that’s been in her family for four generations, has butted heads with her head chef over the cannoli ban more than once. And when the head chef is your own granddaughter, things can get a little heated.

Fortunately, Eve Angelotta knows how to handle what her nonna dishes out. But when Maria Pia’s boyfriend is found dead in Miracolo’s kitchen, bludgeoned by a marble mortar, the question arises: Can a woman this fiery and stubborn over cream-filled pastry be capable of murder?

The police seem to think so, and they put the elder Angelotta behind bars, while Eve, sexy neighborhood attorney Joe Beck, and the entire Miracolo family—parenti di sangue and otherwise—try every trick in the cookbook to unravel a tangle of lies and expose a killer.

This is a fun read where chef Eve has to do some fast cooking if she wants to clear her grandmother’s name and get her out of jail. Enlisting family and friends, this team will sift through all the clues to thaw out a killer.

I had such a good time reading this fast-paced and delightfully amusing whodunit. The mystery kept me guessing with its smattering of suspects and some twists that surprised me just before the killer was revealed. The antics and escapades Eve and her friends encountered in their search to free Maria Pia had me laughing. I love that the author took the time to develop this diverse cast of characters and I enjoyed their quirkiness which helped to get the job done. Eve is a great character and I can’t wait to learn more about her and her family. This is an enjoyable read and I look forward to reading the next book in this engaging series.

Leave it to the ladies…

Most folks aren’t forced by court order to attend a library-book discussion group, but that’s just what happens to B and B proprietor and ex-Manhattanite Bea Cartwright, hippy cat lover Chandra Morrisey, and winery owner Kate Wilder after a small-town magistrate has had enough of their squabbling. South Bass, an island on Lake Erie, is home to an idyllic summer resort, but these three ladies keep disturbing the peace.

The initial book choice is Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express, and that sets their mouths to watering. The Orient Express is the island’s newest Chinese restaurant. They might not agree about much, but the ladies all love the orange chicken on the menu. But their meal is spoiled when the restaurant’s owner, Peter Chan, has the bad fortune of getting murdered. Now, with Christie as their inspiration, the League of Literary Ladies has a real mystery to solve…if they can somehow catch a killer without killing each other first.

What a great concept. Three bickering women ordered to join a reading discussion book group and the first book they pick comes to life in their small island home of South Bass when they along with a fourth member find the body of their favorite restaurateur. A snowstorm keeps all the suspects in one place and the trio put on their sleuthing caps to expose a killer.

I love it. Kylie has created a wonderful new series with three strong and determined women who collectively make a great team, each keeping their own individuality. The writing was so good that once I started reading, I could not put this book down as I got caught up in the non-stop action between this eclectic cast of characters that was delightfully entertaining in their pursuit of a killer hiding in plain sight. The author did a good job with the mystery keeping me guessing with some interesting twists that I applaud especially the killer’s identity. This is an excellent beginning in this debut series and I can’t wait to see what literary road we’ll be traveling to next.

FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book, in hopes I would review it.

LOOM WITH A VIEW

Della Wright has come to peaceful and picturesque Briar Hollow, at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains, to realize her lifelong dream of owning a weaving studio. To promote her new business, Dream Weavers, Della is offering weaving workshops for all levels of ability. In her first class, she meets half a dozen of the town’s colorful characters, who seem as eager to gossip as to learn how to work a loom.

But when a shady local businessman is found murdered, Briar Hollow suddenly appears a lot less idyllic. And when one of her weaving students is suspected of the crime, Della can’t help getting entangled in the investigation—with some help from her criminologist friend, Matthew. But can she weave together clues as well as she weaves together yarn—and stop a killer from striking again?

We are introduced to Della Wright whose recent move to Briar Hollow to open up her own small business is marred when one of her students is accused of murder. Believing in her heart that he is innocent, Della, despite warning from her friend stumbles upon clues that cast some negativity on her new neighbors. With help her friends, Della will have to untangle a few pieces of yarns before the binding is wound tight.

This is a great debut series. I love the tone and friendliness of the story. The mystery was good with plenty of suspects and a few twists to keep you caught up in the action throughout this lighthearted drama. Della is very likable as are her friends who are quirky with their own idiosyncrasies that make this delightfully charming. The author did a good job in keeping me vested in this nicely woven story and I look forward to the next book in this engaging series which is a great addition to the cozy genre.

FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book, in hopes I would review it.