A Wytch's Book Review Blog

S'more Murders (A Five-Ingredient Mystery #5) by Maya Corrigan

Since catering themed events is a good way to make extra cash, Val agrees to board the Titanic—or at least cater a re-creation of the doomed journey on a yacht. The owner of the yacht, who collects memorabilia related to the disaster, wants Val to serve the last meal the Titanic passengers ate . . . while his guests play a murder-mystery game. But it is the final feast for one passenger who disappears from the ship. And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
 
Now Val has to reel in a killer before s’more murders go down . . .

Maya Corrigan has done it again! These books and the characters get better each time.

Val has a meeting with a yacht owner and collector of Titanic memorabilia, he would like Val to do a re-creation of the final dinner served to the first class passengers, which is a little above Val's usual offerings! Otto Warbeck is a man who gets what he wants though and whilst Val manages to talk him down from the full menu she still is going to cater 10 courses ... on the yacht! (luckily a lot can be pre-made and just re-heated or even served cold), her Grandfather is acting as sous chef and waiter and Bethany is going to be serving savoury s'mores as an icebreaker.

One of the guests hasn't managed to make it and as the evening also consists of a Murder Mystery game, based on the Titanic, Bethany is asked to make up the number and play the part (which Val understands but has left her and her Grandfather doing even more work!), everything is smooth sailing until they run into a squall, the person steering the ship has been drugged and Otto has disappeared!

Now Val, her Grandfather and Bethany end up looking into what happened and why, hopefully before anyone else goes under.

Number's Up (Barrow Bay Mysteries #1) by Annabelle Hunter

Jennifer Ward’s To Do List:
1) Turn in my business partner and his lying, cheating, law-breaking client to the SEC for insider trading.
2)Cooperate with the FBI. Do not kiss - scratch that. Do not yell at Special Agent Nicholas Kelly, the FBI agent leading said investigation.
3) Discover a dead body...

Jennifer Ward, MBA, CPA, and business consultant, likes a nice, orderly lifestyle. Schedules and To Do Lists are what gets her through the day. So when the by-the-numbers fashionista finds her business partner was breaking the law, she turned him in to the SEC. Which brought the FBI to her door, and her ordered world to an end.

But that was three weeks ago. Things couldn’t possibly get worse. Right?

Until Jen discovers her business partner dead in his hotel room. With Nic the handsome FBI agent dogging her every step, Jen must use her skills to discover the truth. Who killed Henry? And will she be next?

Annabelle Hunter's books are fun, frothy, romantic and murderous, oh and short enough to read quickly!

This book provides the background that was touched on in the second Lark Davies book (Stir Up), Jen has discovered anomalies in some accounts, that seem to indicate dodgy accounting at best, insider trading and money laundering seems more likely! So to Barrow Bay comes the FBI and SEC, the FBI agent (Nic Kelly) gets under Jen's skin but seems to be accepted by pretty much everyone else (oh and the Barrow Bay "mafia" aka those in the know, have decided that as the local resort needs a Head of Security Nic is the perfect person .... Jen is supposed to make him want to stay!)

Three weeks after all this has happened Nic and the FBI are back, Jen has had a text from her business partner (the dodgy accountant!) asking to meet so he can explain things, only he can't as just as Jen arrives (with Nic tagging along) there are gunshots inside Henry's hotel room! Now Nic and Jen (oh and Lark!) need to find out what happened as people are starting to think that Jen knows a LOT more than she does!

An Interview With A Character

What is your full name?

Jennifer Ward

What is your Profession?

CPA & business consultant

What is your current favourite book or movie?

Well, I tend to watch old TV shows more than movies, and right now I’m re-watching Sex in the City. I love the clothes. And the shoes. Oh, my, the shoes. 

What is your go to comfort book or movie?

Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Really, anything with Audrey Hepern in it is nice, but Breakfast at Tiffany’s is my favorite. 

If someone was to play you in a movie who would it be? OR what would be the character you would want to be in a book? 

I would love for Kaley Couco to play me, at least the one from the last few years. She sassy and doesn’t let anyone get the better of her, but still has a big heart. 

What is your ideal evening?

Sitting at home relaxing and watching TV. Or out drinking with my best friend, Lark. 

 

Tour Participants

August 28 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

August 28 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST

August 29 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT  

August 29 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT

August 30 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW

August 30 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

August 31 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 31 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

September 1 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

September 2 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – CHARACTER GUEST POST

September 2 – Nadaness In Motion – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 3 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

September 3 – LibriAmoriMiei – REVIEW

September 4 – The Self-Rescue Princess – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

September 5 – Ascroft, eh? – GUEST POST

September 6 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW

September 6 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

September 7 – Literary Gold – REVIEW

September 8 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW

September 9 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT

September 9 – eBook Addicts – REVIEW

September 10 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST

Silk Stalkings (A Material Witness Mystery #3) by Diane Vallere

Fabric shop owner Polyester Monroe can get tangled up in textiles, but it’s murder that really throws her for a loop in the latest mystery from the national bestselling author of Crushed Velvet.

The time has come for San Ladrón, California’s annual Miss Tangorli beauty pageant, and Poly has agreed to use Material Girl’s inventory of shimmery silks to create embellished gowns fit for a crown. But when millionaire Harvey Halliwell—the man who revived the city’s citrus trade with his imported tangorli tree—is found dead days before the pageant contestants are announced, something sour takes over the town.

To make matters worse, her friend, mechanic Charlie Brooks, is soon caught up in the crime, having been seen in the company of the case’s prime suspect. Now Poly’s on a mission to squeeze out the truth. But as she searches for a pattern, the killer seems intent on cutting up the evidence...

I have only one complaint about this book, it is currently the last in the series! This is fun and frightening and I want to read more.

Poly Monroe is in the thick of it again, she has come up against a local business (well mega business!) and the owner's first in command has suddenly got Poly agreeing to be part of the local beauty pageant! not IN it (she is pleased to say) but providing silk for the dresses for the 20 young women who are the finalists, she also has to make the dresses (the young women are designing them) and then there will be a vote for the winning dress - separate to the vote for the pageant winner, so she needs to call on her ex-boss Giovanni to borrow his seamstresses! (he agrees, provided he can reproduce the winning dress for his Prom Line).

So far so good, but nothing in Poly's life seems to go that smoothly, there seems to be a mix-up over the contestants, the millionaire mega citrus fruit business owner is dead, well murdered, there is a freeze on his company accounts and Poly's next door neighbours in the Antique store are not happy about the pageant.  Oh and her friend Charlie is being secretive, so Poly needs to sort all this out! (on the plus side Giovanni's "girls" are more than happy to be working with her again, even if it is just for a couple of days .... oh and a local tailoress by the name of Jun want's to help out as well!)  This was a page turner from start to finish!

Silent Night, Deadly Night (A Year-Round Christmas Mystery #4) by Vicki Delany

It's the week before Thanksgiving, and Merry Wilkinson, owner of Mrs. Claus's Treasures, is preparing for a weekend reunion of her mother's college friends. But when the group of women comes into Merry's shop, Merry is met with frosty attitudes and cold hearts.

The women argue amongst themselves constantly, and the bickering only intensifies after one of the friends is poisoned. With her father's role as Santa in danger due to his proximity to the crime, Merry will need to use all of her investigative gifts to wrap this mystery up and save Santa and her favorite holiday.

Thanksgiving, a time to be thankful and Christmas is a time of Comfort and Joy, but not when a passel of Grinches arrive in Rudolph and upset the Thanksgiving and Christmas Spirit.

Noel Wilkinson has headed to Florida to get some fishing in before the busiest time of the year in Rudolph (when he plays Santa Claus), his daughter Merry is gearing up for shopping craziness at Mrs Claus's treasures (meanwhile they have Thanksgiving as well as Christmas items out) and Aline, Noel's wife, has a group of college friends coming to stay for their first ever meet up since they all left college! So far so great, only the women seem to be into the "sport" of backbiting and bitchiness and there is also the possibility that one of them is a shop lifter! Even that could be (just about) coped with until one of the women winds up having an anaphylactic attack at the house, and all the others knew about her peanut allergy so is one of the others a killer or has someone come from outside?

The other Grinch in the works? a newcomer who wants to take over the role of Santa - purely for his own political aims, and the problem is only a couple of people are seeing through his facade, Merry being one of them, so she needs to expose him at the same time as finding the killer or no-one will be thankful this Thanksgiving and Christmas will be a laughing stock.

 

An Interview With A Character

What is your full name?

Merry Wilkinson 

What is your Profession?

I own Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, a gift and holiday decor store in my hometown of Rudolph, New York. I used to be a design and style editor at a lifestyle magazine in New York City

What is your current favourite book or movie?

I don’t have as much time to read as I would like, owning my own small shop.  I try to source as many of the things I sell locally, and that means driving around to visit the artisans, but sometimes I have to meet with salespeople or scour catalogues, as well as put time in on the shop floor, as I only have one full time employee. But come the holiday season busy isn’t even the word. I occasionally play Mrs. Claus to my father’s Santa and Alan’s head elf. We take Christmas seriously in Rudolph New York. When I do get time to read, a nice cheerful cozy mystery does the job. 

What is your go to comfort book or movie? 

My all time favourite book is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  That book inspired so many of the Christmas traditions we love today. And, as I live in America’s Year Round Christmas destination, own a store named Mrs. Claus’s Treasures,  and am named Merry (my Dad’s name is Noel), Christmas and the Christmas spirit are important to me. I LOVE the Muppets Christmas Carol with the Muppets and Michael Caine

If someone was to play you in a movie who would it be? OR what would be the character you would want to be in a book?

No one will ever play me in a movie. Believe me, my life isn’t very exciting. I might like to be a character in an old Mary Stewart book.  Feeling lonely and a bit sad on vacation in London or Paris and then being suddenly whipped off to an exciting adventure by a mysterious man on a deadly quest for some valuable object. Yeah, I could handle that. 

What is your ideal evening? 

After a busy day at the shop, particularly in the holiday season, I love nothing better than to go around to Alan’s place in the woods, have a drink and dinner by the fire, while my Saint Bernard Matterhorn snoozes on the rug.  Then a walk in the snowy night woods. Perfection. 

 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

August 26 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

August 26 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

August 26 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW, GUEST POST

August 27 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

August 27 – The Power of Words – REVIEW

August 28 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW

August 28 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT

August 28 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

August 29 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

August 29 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

August 30 – Teresa Trent Author Blog – CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 30 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW  

August 30 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 31 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

August 31 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT

September 1 – T’s Stuff – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 1 – Cozy Up With Kathy – GUEST POST

September 2 – eBook addicts – SPOTLIGHT

September 2 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW

September 3 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 3 – Brooke Blogs – REVIEW

September 3 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

September 4 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT

September 4 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

September 5 – CelticLady Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 6 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW

September 6 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

September 7 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW  

September 7 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 8 – Melina’s Book Blog – CHARACTER GUEST POST

September 8 – A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW

Crypt Suzette (A Five-Ingredient Mystery #6) by Maya Corrigan

Suzette Cripps has been occupying a spare bedroom at Val's granddad's house while she takes classes in this Maryland Eastern Shore town--but she's always seemed a little secretive and fearful, and any talk about her past is a closed book.

After winning the costume contest at the Halloween-themed bookstore party, Suzette is mowed down by a hit-and-run driver--and Val and her grandfather start to wonder whether it was really an accident or if someone was after Suzette. Granddad is a little distracted by his new enterprise as a ghost-buster, but as Val talks to Suzette's coworkers and fellow creative writing students, she grows more convinced that the dead woman's demons weren't imaginary--and that she needs to rip the mask off a killer ...

The 5-ingredient series keeps getting better and the characters are improving and adding to the reading enjoyment!

There have been two changes in town, Val and her grandfather have a lodger in the form of a local student (Suzette Cripps) and a new book store has opened, the owner of the store has asked Val to cater her Halloween opening bash and has decided to do a costume competition with the prize being a fairly substantial gift certificate for the store. So far so good! Suzette is lucky enough to win the competition (meaning buying college books will be easier) but the next day she is the victim of a hit and run.  Now Val and the Codger Cook need to find out if Suzette was just unlucky, or if the hit and run was more sinister, oh and the Codger Cook has expanded his repertoire into ghost busting!

What are the links between Suzette, the local hotel, the book store and a book writing circle? Read the book and find out!

 

An Interview With A Character

What is your full name?

My name is Valentine Deniston, but thankfully everyone calls me Val. Take a guess when my birthday is. Yup, it’s February 14th, Valentine’s Day. 

What is your Profession?

I’m one of the lucky people who combine my vocation with my avocation. I love to cook, and my jobs pay me for doing what I love. I run a café at the Bayport Racket and Fitness Club. I also cater small parties, usually in people’s houses, and sometimes with the help of my grandfather (AKA the Codger Cook) and my friend, Bethany. My life gets complicated when dead bodies turn up before, during, or after one of my catering gigs.   

What is your current favourite book or movie?

I’m looking forward to the Downton Abbey movie. Of course, I want to see how all the characters are doing a few years after the TV series ended, but I’m also hungering to seeing the food served at the grand table. Maybe someday I’ll cater a Downton Abbey re-creation dinner, but I’ll need a lot of help in the kitchen and the dining room.

What is your go to comfort book or movie?

My grandfather is a fan of classic movies. He used to own a video store, so we have quite a collection of them.  He never tires of watching Hitchcock films. My all-time favorite is Casablanca. I love it every time I watch it, especially the emotional scene in which the characters sing the Marseillaise.  

If someone was to play you in a movie who would it be? OR what would be the character you would want to be in a book?

I’d like to be Elizabeth Bennet in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Like me, she sometimes misjudges people at first, but she’s willing to admit when she’s wrong. She gives herself and other people a second chance. There’s one big difference between Elizabeth and me: she finds Mr. Right, someone I’m still searching for. 

What is your ideal evening?

Granddad and I would make a delicious dinner for our favorite people. They include my BFF Bethany O’Shay; Bayport’s police chief and granddad’s old friend, Earl Yardley;  the new bookshop owner and Granddad’s lady friend, Dorothy Muir; and her son, Bram Muir. After a satisfying meal, we’d sit around the table and try to figure out who committed the latest murder in Bayport.

 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

August 26 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW

August 26 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

August 26 – LibriAmoriMiei – REVIEW

August 27 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 27 – Brianne’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

August 28 – I’m All About Books – CHARACTER GUEST POST

August 28 – I Read What You Write – SPOTLIGHT

August 29 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – RECIPE, SPOTLIGHT

August 29 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

August 30 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

August 30 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW, GUEST POST  

August 31 – Reading Is My SuperPower – RECIPE, SPOTLIGHT

September 1 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW

September 1 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

September 1 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 2 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW, EXCERPT

September 2 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT, RECIPE

September 3 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT, RECIPE

September 3 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

September 3 – That’s What She’s Reading – GUEST POST

September 4 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW

September 4 – ebook addicts – REVIEW

September 4 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

A Holiday Yarn (Seaside Knitters Society Mystery #4) by Sally Goldenbaum

 

In Sea Harbor the scent of snow fills the salty air, and at Izzy's Seaside Yarn Studio, the Knitters feast on cookies, knit their gifts, and plan their holiday gatherings. Across town, Mary Pisano is sparing no expense to transform the estate she inherited from her grandfather into a bed-and-breakfast. When the Pisano family gathers for their annual meeting, Mary offers to put up her cousins in the refurbished family home, hoping to dispel any ill will over her inheriting the estate. But hard feelings are likely the cause when Mary's cousin Pamela is found dead on the B and B's snowy back porch.

While the Seaside Knitters begin unraveling the case, Izzy Chambers is knitting her brow over her own mystery--the mystery of love. As the holiday draws nigh, the four friends will need all their crafty know-how to solve the crime and restore holiday peace--and the magic of mistletoe--to Sea Harbor.

The holiday season should be all joy and light, but things are not going well in Sea Harbor.  

With the death on Enzo Pisano, Mary (his granddaughter) has inherited his house and estate, she is putting her two cousins up and at the same time working to turn the house into a B & B but a local neighbour is complaining (and putting posters up complaining and other stuff to throw the work off), this is the least of Mary's problems though when one of her cousins ends up well and truly dead, supposedly a suicide but the seaside knitters, and the police are not so sure, and when there is another death it seems as though one person is in the frame, the thing is that no-one believes he could have done either deed, or indeed why he would!

Death by Design: A DIY Diva Mystery by Paula Darnell

DIY Diva Laurel McMillan rejoices when her student Jennifer's peacock pillow wins a design contest; that is, until Jennifer's husband Matt is smothered with the very same pillow. When the police confiscate her prize-winning pillow, Jennifer freaks out, and Laurel fears that Jennifer may be more upset about losing the pillow than about Matt's death. But the police arrest disgraced nurse Edna Elkins, not Jennifer. Begging Laurel to find the real killer, Edna insists she's innocent, but Laurel's not so sure, and when Laurel encounters Jennifer while walking her lovable Labrador retriever, Bear, she's left with more questions than answers. Should the crafty DIY Diva play DIY Detective or does Edna really belong in jail?

Phew! Book 2 lives up to the high expectations I had after book 1, with murder and mayhem in the gated community happening again! 6 out of 5 stars.

We start with one of Laurel's classes (this time she is focusing on cushions/pillows) with a small class, including one man, we then move swiftly to a fund raiser where Laurel and her police detective boyfriend, Wes, realise that not everything is hunky dory in the lives of some of the people Laurel spends her time with, luckily one person she only needs to see once a month normally, only their next book club meeting is to be held at his house (well his and his wife, she is the book club member) and he will be home, apparently though not around as he will be only just home from surgery.  Everything seems to be going well until his wife pops in to see him and finds him dead! (although she doesn't seem to comprehend this), when the police make a quick arrest the person insists they are innocent (mind you Laurel isn't so sure as they have been proven to be a liar in the past), but then they ask her to help them prove their innocence! Whilst all this is happening Wes has had to quickly head to see his parents as his father had a heart attack and so the DIY Diva Detective is working this on her own, oh and there seem to be other problems that may, or may not be related.

I will confess that I didn't guess the culprit until near the end, I first thought it was person A for most of the book, then person B took precedence and I wasn't expecting it to be person C in the end!

I voluntarily reviewed an advance reader copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

An Interview With A Character

What is your full name?

My name is Laurel McMillan, and I'm also known as the DIY Diva.

What is your Profession?

I have a wonderful job as an independent craft designer, teacher, and writer. I've always loved all kinds of crafts, but the idea of turning my love of crafts and designing into a career didn't occur to me until several years after I graduated from college. I started with a blog, so that I could share how to make the DIY craft, fashion, and home dec projects that I loved. A book editor noticed my blog, and my career as a writer took off with a series of books, each with a different DIY theme. I also design projects for crafts' manufacturers, and I teach DIY classes for residents of Hawkeye Haven at our community center. I especially like making jewelry, and I sell some of my jewelry in boutiques. I love the variety of what I do and the fact that my schedule is flexible, which gives me the time to do some DIY detective work whenever the need arises.

What is your current favourite book or movie?

Of course, I'd have to say my favourite books are Death by Association and Death by Design, in which I relate my adventures!

What is your go to comfort book or movie?

I really like The Best Years of Our Lives, a 1946 movie filmed in black and white. It's the story of three veterans who return home to the same town in America after World War II and their struggles to adjust to life back home. I've watched it several times, and the fact that they manage to make a new life in a changed society is always heart-warming.

If someone was to play you in a movie who would it be? OR what would be the character you would want to be in a book?

I'd like Jessica Chastain to play me in a movie; she has red hair, just like I do.

What is your ideal evening?

My ideal evening is any evening when my new husband Wes doesn't have to work late and he can be home with me and our Labrador retriever Bear.

 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

August 19 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

August 19 – I Read What You Write – SPOTLIGHT

August 20 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

August 20 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT

August 21 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT

August 21 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 22 – Cozy Up With Kathy – RECIPE

August 22 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

August 23 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

August 23 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

August 24 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

August 24 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW  

August 25 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

August 25 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

Moon Spinners (Seaside Knitters Society Mystery #3) by Sally Goldenbaum

Nell Endicott and the other Seaside Knitters are helping their friend Gracie Santos open the Lazy Lobster and Soup Caf� on Pelican Pier. They do however take a break to attend a special yacht club dinner held to honor Gracie's aunt-wearing their finest knitting creations.

Under the full moon, a local scuba dive club witnesses a blood-red Ferrari flying off a cliff and onto the granite rocks below. Gracie's aunt was behind the wheel, and it was murder. Gossip builds, rumors circulate, and the Seaside Knitters try to figure out a killer's strange pattern...

Sally Goldenbaum writes stories that draw you in until you feel as though you can walk into Izzy's shop, sit on the Endicott's deck and just enjoy the sea!

Friday nights are usually sacrosanct, sitting on Nell and Ben's deck sipping cocktails and eating good food, but this week is different as they are meeting at the Yacht Club to support the on going works at the Anja Angelina community park, two local building firms are providing materials at cost and people (including the workers at the aforementioned building firms) are giving their time and skills free of charge, so far so good, except the two firms (the Delaneys and the Costas) make the Capulets and Montagues seem like model citizens! They even have their own Romeo and Juliet in the form of Joey Delaney and Gracie Costa who married 4 years ago (but the marriage didn't last and Gracie has started divorce proceedings).

Even so everyone seems to be on their best behaviour and so it comes as a shock when they discover that someone drove off the road and into the bay, even more a shock when it is discovered that the brakes had been cut and so it is now classed as murder. Now Nell and the other seaside knitters are unraveling the clues before someone either gets sent down for a crime they didn't commit, or even worse than that, in case of another death!

A Medal for Murder (Kate Shackleton #2) by Frances Brody

A pawn-shop robbery
It's no rest for the wicked as Kate Shackleton picks up her second professional sleuthing case. But exposing the culprit of a pawn-shop robbery turns sinister when her investigation takes her to Harrogate - and murder is only one step behind ...

A fatal stabbing
A night at the theatre should have been just what the doctor ordered, until Kate stumbles across a body in the doorway. The knife sticking out of its chest definitely suggests a killer in the theatre's midst.

A ransom demand
Kate likes nothing better than a mystery - and nothing better than solving them. So when a ransom note demands £1,000 for the safe return of the play's leading lady, the refined streets of Harrogate play host to Kate's skills in piecing together clues - and luring criminals out of their lairs…

Hmm I wasn't so sure about this one, it jumps between just post the Great War (when the books are set) and the Boer War, which makes the book rather "choppy", also other than Kate and her assistant Sykes there didn't seem to be anyone you were rooting for! I will stick with reading the series and I hope that the rest are like book one and not like this one!

Skiing is Murder (McKinley Mysteries #10) by Carolyn Arnold

Sean and Sara are supposed to have a relaxing vacation in Vail, but it all goes up in a puff of powder when there’s a suspicious death on the mountain. And the deceased is not just anyone; it’s Adrian Blackwell, a two-time Olympic skiing gold medalist.
 
Rumor has it Adrian died in a skiing accident, but he was too skilled for Sara to accept that as fact. But she doesn’t want to disappoint Sean by ruining his ski trip, even though she’s convinced Adrian was murdered and she’s itching to find the killer.
 
Sean has never been able to say no to Sara, but this time he plans to. However, all it takes is a call from their PI firm back in Albany to change his mind. A job’s come in to investigate Adrian’s death, and his agent is the one footing the bill, leaving Sean with more questions than answers.
 
Yet one major problem remains: their New York State PI licenses hold no legal authority in Colorado. They still can’t help but look into Adrian’s death on the sly, though. This case will definitely involve some underhanded tactics, all while trying to dodge the local police over the course of the investigation.

Guest Post

Skiing Can be a Dangerous Venture

 

“Filled with colorful characters and an intriguing mystery…”

–Queen of All She Reads

Okay, so I admit that downhill skiing has never been my thing. I’ve tried it, and I never had any desire to improve my skill at it. In fact, I was quite content to stick to the bunny hill! It probably didn’t help things that someone had a serious accident on an advanced slope when my husband and I were at the resort. Even my husband had his own “fun.” At least it wasn’t gravely serious!

 

The hill he was on at the time had two lifts: one went to the top and one only partway up. Well, he was barreling down from the top, a little kid stepped out in front of him at the partway point! There was only a split second for him to respond. Thankfully, he was able to avert a full head-on collision (or he might have killed the kid), but he did run over the back of the kid’s skis and then did a face-plant.

 

Not that I was there to witness any of this, though. I was in the lodge sipping hot chocolate with a girlfriend when he came in and recounted his story. His face was bright red; his hair was sticking up at the front; and he was wearing ski pants that he wasn’t before. (As it turned out, he split the jeans he’d been skiing in, destroying them.)

 

The trip just confirmed to me that if I’m strapping on skis, they’re for cross country! (And even that I haven’t done in years.)

 

But in Skiing is Murder, I take to the slopes again. This time, I admit, I took the chicken route and lived vicariously through my characters. Of course, I had to put them through a little grief—hey! that’s what readers want! I sent them packing for Vail with the express purpose of getting some rest and relaxation away from murder investigations. But all that goes downhill, when there’s a suspicious death on the mountain. And if you know Sean and Sara McKinley, they have a hard time not getting involved…

 

Enjoy!

Carolyn Arnold

 

Book Overview:

 

They’re ready to hit the slopes when things go downhill…

 

Sean and Sara are supposed to have a relaxing vacation in Vail, but it all goes up in a puff of powder when there’s a suspicious death on the mountain. And the deceased is not just anyone; it’s Adrian Blackwell, a two-time Olympic skiing gold medalist.

 

Rumor has it Adrian died in a skiing accident, but he was too skilled for Sara to accept that as fact. But she doesn’t want to disappoint Sean by ruining his ski trip, even though she’s convinced Adrian was murdered and she’s itching to find the killer.

 

Sean has never been able to say no to Sara, but this time he plans to. However, all it takes is a call from their PI firm back in Albany to change his mind. A job’s come in to investigate Adrian’s death, and his agent is the one footing the bill, leaving Sean with more questions than answers.

 

Yet one major problem remains: their New York State PI licenses hold no legal authority in Colorado. They still can’t help but look into Adrian’s death on the sly, though. This case will definitely involve some underhanded tactics, all while trying to dodge the local police over the course of the investigation.

Available in e-book and paperback.

 

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple iBooks | Kobo | Google | Amazon Universal

For more retailer links visit: CarolynArnold.net/Skiing-is-Murder.

 

About the McKinley Mysteries:

 

Romance. Humor. Murder. Are you looking for a murder mystery without all the graphic violence and foul language? Something that you can enjoy in an afternoon and walk away feeling good about afterward? How about a dash of humor and romance? If so, meet former detectives Sean and Sara McKinley. When a billionaire leaves them all his money, they no longer have to work, but they find themselves sticking to what they’re good at—solving murders. Undercover, off the books, and around the world, they’ll get to the bottom of things…and romance it up along the way.

 

This is the perfect book series for fans of Hart to Hart, Castle, Colombo, Monk, Rockford Files, Psych, and Magnum PI.

 

About the Author

 

Carolyn Arnold is an international bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has four continuing fiction series and has written nearly thirty books. Both her female detective and FBI profiler series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining, leading her to adopt the trademark, POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.

 

Connect with CAROLYN ARNOLD Online:

Website | Twitter | Facebook

 

And don’t forget to sign up for her newsletter for up-to-date information on release and special offers at CarolynArnold.net/Newsletters.

 

Tour Participants

August 1 – I’m All About Books – THE DAY JOB IS MURDER GUEST POST

August 1 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW – VACATION IS MURDER

August 2 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT – ALL BOOKS

August 3 – Readeropolis – VACATION IS MURDER GUEST POST

August 4 – Sapphyria’s Books – REVIEW – THE DAY JOB IS MURDER

August 5 – The Cozy Pages – COFFEE IS MURDER GUEST POST /SKIING IS MURDER EXCERPT

August 6 – Books, Movies, Reviews. Oh my! – MONEY IS MURDER GUEST POST

August 7 – Lisa Ks Book Review – GENERAL AUTHOR INTERVIEW CHOICE

August 8 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT – ALL BOOKS

August 9 – Babs Book Bistro – SPOTLIGHT – ALL BOOKS

August 10 – Laura’s Interests – POLITICS IS MURDER GUEST POST

August 11 – Nadaness In Motion – REVIEW, EXCERPT – MONEY IS MURDER

August 12 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – REVIEW – COFFEE IS MURDER

August 13 – ebook addicts – REVIEW – VACATION IS MURDER, MONEY IS MURDER

August 14 – Sapphyria’s Books – REVIEW – VACATION IS MURDER

August 15 – Literary Gold – VACATION IS MURDER POST

August 16 – T’s Stuff – FAMILY IS MURDER GUEST POST

August 17 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SHOPPING IS MURDER POST  

August 18 – OFF

August 19 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – SKIING IS MURDER GUEST POST

August 20 – Sapphyria’s Books – REVIEW – MONEY IS MURDER

August 21 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT – ALL BOOKS

August 22 – My Devotional Thoughts – REVIEW – THE DAY JOB IS MURDER

August 23 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – SPOTLIGHT – ALL BOOKS

August 24 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – HALLOWEEN IS MURDER GUEST POST  #1

August 25 – OFF

August 26 – Mallory Heart’s Cozies – REVIEW – HALLOWEEN IS MURDER

August 27 – OFF

August 28 – A Chick Who Reads – REVIEW – CHRISTMAS IS MURDER – COFFEE IS MURDER

August 29 – Mysteries with Character – HALLOWEEN IS MURDER GUEST POST #2

August 29 – Sapphyria’s Books – REVIEW – POLITICS IS MURDER

August 30 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT – ALL BOOKS

August 31 – LibriAmoriMiei – REVIEW – THE DAY JOB IS MURDER, VACATION IS MURDER, CHRISTMAS IS MURDER