A Case of Redemption Mystery, Thriller, Suspense Gallery Books (May 14, 2013) A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc Hardcover: 336 pages ISBN-13: 978-1451674798 E-Book File Size: 652 KB ASIN: B008J2B29O
Dan Sorenson was a high profile attorney at a big New York firm spending 12-16 hours a day working. Then the unthinkable happened. His wife and daughter were killed in a horrifying auto accident. He quits the law firm and spends 18 months wallowing in his grief. Drinking so much that he blacks out and forgets hours of time.
At a party he meets someone who can give him the opportunity of a lifetime, a way to start over, but first he has to have them explain the whole idea again as he barely remembers the meeting.
An up and coming rapper has been accused of killing his pop star “girlfriend”. He swears he is innocent but the press has the story on every front page so defending him will be an upward climb. He is not sure he is ready just a huge case. He also realizes this could be his last chance to get his life back on track. In a way he needs this client as much as his client needs him.
Dollycas’s Thoughts Oh this story is like a ride on a tilt-o-whirl. Full of twists and spins and plenty of excitement.
I love the way Mitzner creates characters readers will love even the ones we love to hate. Defending L.D. takes over Sorenson’s life. Nina was the calming influence he needed. J. D. has a past that has to be clarified and clarified again. The prosecuting attorney was a strong woman just doing her job. The trial judge adds a little humor to the story.
Told from Sorenson’s point of view readers have the “you are there” feeling. The story builds and builds at a perfect pace leading up to the trial but I can’t tell you more you have to read it for yourself. Just know the pages will be flying.
Fans of Grisham and Turow will love Mitzner. With just two books out he is definitely an author to watch. I can’t wait until his next book. Will Dan Sorenson pop up again? I sure hope so!!
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About This Author
Adam Mitzner, a lawyer by day, is the author of A Case of Redemption, and A Conflict of Interest, one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Books of 2011. He lives in New York City.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I am so excited to welcome Chrystle here today. Her books pack a punch with clever mysteries and so much information about Natural Remedies. Check out her post, then brew yourself a cup of tea and escape into a cozy mystery!
THE JOYS OF DRINKING TEA AND READING COZY MYSTERIES
By Chrystle Fiedler
Nothing warms the body and soul like holding a fragrant steaming cup of herbal tea, inhaling its subtle scents as you slowly sip, while you enter the world of a cozy mystery. Not only does tea bring you flavor, variety, and easily digested nutrients, it also provides numerous health benefits from soothing a sore throat with fennel to easing anxiety and stress with chamomile. Making herbal tea is a unique way to use the benefits of aromatherapy, the theme of my latest cozy Scent to Kill: A Natural Remedies Mystery.
I like to brew a nice cup of tea in the late afternoon, what the Brits call “tea time” and drink it as I am writing my cozy mysteries. Use this guide to make the perfect cup of tea the next time you’re planning on reading one!
Here’s how:
Making the Perfect Cup of Tea
Herbal tea is an infusion of leaves, seeds, roots or bark, whose goodness is extracted in hot water and sipped for its benefits, both mental and physical. To begin, use pure water, distilled, spring filtered, or well water. Use one heaping teaspoon of dry herbs per cup of hot water. Dried herbs available in loose bulk form are often less expensive and offer a wider variety of flavors. Health food stores offer muslin tea bags and tea balls, which can be filled with herbs and used to steep to make herbal tea.
You can also try using a conventional teapot. Here’s how:
Teapot Method
Fill a china or porcelain tea pot with hot water and allow it to stand for a minute or so. This warms the pot so that the tea you pour into it will not cool down quickly because of a cold pot and impede the steeping process.
Then pour off the water, add loose herbs (1 heaping teaspoon for each cup plus one extra one ‘for the pot’) and fill the pot with boiling water. Cover and allow the herbs and water to steep for ten to fifteen minutes. This also allows the herbs to cool to a comfortable drinking temperature. To serve the tea, simply hold a strainer over each cup as you pour.
The Infusion Method
The Infusion method is ideal for herbal leaves, flowers and seeds and even roots (such as ginger, osha, and valerian) that have delicate essential oils that would be diminished if boiled. The best way to prepare this type of tea is to lightly bruise seeds with a mortar and pestle to help release their flavor and properties.
Next, simply boil a cup of water and remove it from the heat. Add one heaping teaspoon of herb, cover (to prevent the delicate essential oils from
evaporating) and allow it to steep for ten to twenty minutes.
French Press
A French press is a glass pot, a gadget beloved by coffee drinkers, but works great for herbal tea. Simply add the herb to the press, cover with hot water and allow it to steep for ten minutes. The press automatically strains out the herbs, and you can give it a squeeze to further release therapeutic value.
Sun Tea
Sun teas work best with leaves and flowers. Add one cup of herb or herb mixture or twelve tea bags and allow the herbs to sit in sunlight for four to six hours. Cover the jar to prevent leaves from blowing into the jar.
Strain before drinking.
Cold Water Infusion
Cold water infusions retain more vitamin C, and a brighter color than hot infusions. Fill a glass pitcher with fresh picked herbs from the list below and cover with spring water. Allow to steep in the refrigerator for several hours (8-12) or overnight.
Make your tea even more flavorful by adding a touch of honey, agave nectar, apple juice, maple syrup, raw sugar, cinnamon extract, a squeeze of fresh lemon, lime or orange. I like to add Truvia which is a kind of stevia. You can keep tea up to four days in the refrigerator.
Types of Tea You Might Like to Try:
Chamomile tea is a soothing and sedative herb that’s effective at relieving stress and anxiety and easing insomnia. Valerian tea also helps you to relax.
Ginger tea soothes tummy and digestive troubles like nausea and an upset stomach.
Milk Thistle tea is a gentle liver cleanser that helps this important organ to regenerate and work more efficiently.
Lemon Balm tea can help you see the glass half-full so it’s good for the winter blues. It can also help you concentrate better.
Rosehip tea is bursting with Vitamin C, so it’s good for your immune system and can help to ward off colds and flu. Green tea is also packed with polyphenols, a type of antioxidant that helps boost health.
Scent to Kill:
A Natural Remedies Mystery 2nd in Series Cozy Mystery Gallery Books(February 26, 2013) A Division of Simon & Schuster Inc. Trade Paperback: 320 pages ISBN-13: 978-1451643619 E-Book File Size: 968 KB ASIN: B008J4RPRK
Willow McQuade, naturopathic doctor, along with her hunky ex-cop boyfriend Jackson Spade, attend a party for a psychic TV show that is filming on Long Island’s idyllic East End. However, Willow is much more interested in visiting the estate’s lavender farm, seeking inspiration for the new aromatherapy workshops she’ll be holding at her store, Nature’s Way Market & Café.
Before the party is over, Roger Bixby one of the producers is dead and the police suspect murder. Roger was working on the show, MJ’s Mind, with Carly Bixby, his ex-wife and the new girlfriend of Willow’s ex from L.A., TV writer/producer Simon Lewis.
After Willow leaves the party, she gets a frantic text from Simon asking for her help. Since Simon had a fight with Roger earlier in the evening, and because of his death is now the primary shareholder in Galaxy films, Willow’s ex becomes the prime suspect. Simon begs her to crack the case and clear him of the murder. MJ McClellan, the psychic and star of the show also asks Willow for help. She hires Willow to provide natural remedies, including aromatherapy, massage, acupuncture and yoga to soothe the agitated crew of her show.
To find the killer, Willow has to deal with ghosts in a haunted mansion, a truly dysfunctional family, death threats and “accidents,” while trying to untangle a homicide identical to one committed during prohibition.
Thankfully, Jackson has been hired to provide security and is there to watch her back and help Willow solve this spooky mystery. As a bonus, you’ll find dozens of natural aromatherapy cures throughout the book that can improve your health in mind, body and spirit!
Dollycas’s Thoughts
I was fortunate to be able to read the two book back to back and really enjoyed both.
Scent to Kill focuses on aromatherapy and essential oils and I could almost smell the lavender fields while reading. As soon as I finished the book I went online to check out diffusers and oils.
Willow McQuade uses her knowledge of herbal remedies to put herself right in the middle of the action. Helping the crew through the stresses of their jobs and the added stress of knowing there may be a murderer among them. She also keeps the door open to a more supernatural solution that could solve this murder and those that took place decades earlier. She and retired cop Jackson Spade make a great team. Their romance is also growing at a perfect pace.
Strong characters and setting made this a fun whodunit. The ghosts and the spooky mansion really added great elements to the story.
I can’t wait for my next trip to Nature’ s Way. I will need an appointment with both Hector and Allie. I once had a doctor tell me to do yoga for my back pain. Maybe Nick can explain how someone like me, paralyzed on one side could do yoga while I enjoy the nice healthy smoothie. I am sure the author will have a wonderful mystery to solve too!
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Would you like to win a copy of this wonderful book?
To win a copy of Scent to Kill: A Natural Remedies Mystery directly from the author just leave a comment telling Chrystle your favorite cup of tea! The winner will be randomly selected from the comments.
To win my review copy of both books fill out the entry form. (Link Below)
U.S. and CANADIAN RESIDENTS You do not have to be a follower to enter but I hope you will find something you like here and become a follower.
Followers Will Receive 2 Bonus Entries For Each Way They Follow. Plus 2 Bonus Entries For Liking My Facebook Fan Page.
If you publicize the giveaway on Twitter or Facebook or anywhere you will receive 5 Bonus Entries For Each Link.
Contest Will End April 17, 2013 at 11:59 PM CST Winners Will Be Chosen By Random.org Winners Will Be Notified By Email and Will Be Posted Here In The Sidebar.
Death Drops:
A Natural Remedies Mystery 1st in Series Cozy Mystery Gallery Books (February 21, 2012) A Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. Trade Paperback: 288 pages ISBN-13: 978-1451643602 E-Book File Size: 891 KB ASIN: B005GG0N6E
Nature’s Way Market and Café sells healthy foods and natural cures for what ails you. But there is no cure for murder. . . .
Naturopathic doctor Willow McQuade has come to Long Island’s North Fork to visit her Aunt Claire. Aunt Claire owns the Nature’s Way Market and Cafe and is the reason Willow became a Naturopathic Doctor. They have always been close while she is more estranged from her own mother and sister because they were unhappy with Willow’s career choice.
She has only been visiting a few days when her life is shattered. She returns from a walk and finds her Aunt Claire’s lifeless body on the market floor and a bottle of Mimulus lying nearby. Mimulus is taken to calm fears of misfortune and it clearly didn’t work.
Willow knows her death was no accident, her aunt was murdered! But why would anyone kill the wonderful woman? The cops look quickly to Willow as she is Clare’s heir. Willow teams up with former police officer Jackson Spade to try to prove that she is innocent and catch the killer before anyone else receives a fatal dose.
Dollycas’s Thoughts This is like a new genre, an educational cozy mystery. The author has taken her knowledge of natural remedies and blended it with a clever mystery.
I was sad when Willow’s aunt died so early in the story. She was a character I really would have enjoyed knowing but she has passed on her knowledge and caring nature to Willow, making this protagonist a very interesting woman with tons of potential. She has an expert’s understanding of these natural substances that the police do not have or want making her interactions with detectives very entertaining.
Chrystle Fiedler has created an excellent foundation with this debut. She has given us a wonderful setting and dynamic characters. Starting each chapter with a Ask Dr. McQuade letter not only informs the reader but sets up the next chapter. All that should keep this series blooming for a long time
A very quick read. I can’t wait for the next installment!
Your Escape With A Good Book Travel Agent
Want to find out more about this author? Come back on Wednesday when Chrystle Fiedler will be my guest for Cozy Wednesday. I will be giving away my review copy of this book and Scent to Kill: A Natural Remedies Mystery, the second book in the series. The author will be giving an additional copy of Scent to Kill. So be sure to stop by.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I am thrilled to have this writing team here today! You are going to love their post!
My, they have been tested and have come out shining on the other side.
What’s the worst that could happen?
Thanks so much for inviting Victoria Abbott here to Cozy Wednesday! It means a lot especially as this month The Christie Curse: a book collector mystery hit the stands and the e-readers. This series is a collaboration with me and my daughter, writing as Victoria Abbott. Getting to release day forThe Christie Cursehas been an emotional roller coaster for us, but in the end we are very happy about the book and excited to keep going with a series we love. And maybe we were just a little bit surprised.
Here’s why:
I have always considered writing to be a solitary business. It’s just you and the crazy people who live in your head. Through many books that worked for me, although I could often be seen talking to people who clearly were not there.
But then, along came this idea for a collaboration with my daughter, Victoria, writing a new series for Berkley Prime Crime. The sleuth is a young graduate student who works as the eyes, ears and feet for a reclusive and difficult wealthy collector of fine first editions.
We decided to jump in. We had a history in mystery: we were involved for several years in Ottawa’s tiny perfect Prime Crime Mystery Bookstore and we both love crime fiction and especially cozies. We know a lot about the golden age of mystery and admire the legacy of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers and the writers who developed and popularized the art of detection on the page.
Victoria is a terrific artist and photographer with mystery short stories published and I had thirteen books in three series and two dozen short stories in print. We are both creative and laugh a lot, maybe because Victoria is a very funny lady. We were euphoric when the contract was signed. In fact, we may look a bit deranged in this photo.
So, what was the worst that could happen?
Writers ask this question just before we plunge our protagonist into a vat of trouble. It keeps readers engaged and gives a story substance. However in our case, we lived it. My husband and Victoria’s father had a devastating brain hemorrhage after routine surgery, just after the first book was submitted. He was not expected to live. We were told to take out a Do Not Resuscitate Order. He spent a month in a coma and for seven months was paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. There were operations, procedures, serious setbacks and two bouts of pneumonia. Our wonderful editor at Berkley was kind enough to hold backThe Christie Curse, as there was no way we could get the second book,The Sayers Swindle, finished in time. Meanwhile Victoria was going through her own tumultuous time, a story for another day.
With Victoria’s help, we packed up her father’s business and I sold our house (with the thousands of books) and bought a one-story house that would be accessible for a wheelchair and I moved. Two days later my husband was released from hospital. They called him The Miracle Man. This miracle was all very distracting! It took us a long time to be able to get our concentration back and return to our second mystery. We have all rebuilt our lives this past year.
With the release of The Christie Curse, Victoria and I are once again riding high, as is our great supporter, The Miracle Man. The book is getting excellent reviews and we are having fun. We’re editing The Sayers Swindle and we’re into The Wolfe Widow.
But you may want to know how we do it. Well, if we really knew we’d tell you. We try this and we try that. Sometimes it works and other times it doesn’t The best way for us is to construct scenes and work on character development on the phone. We are less distracted and distracting that way.
We are always surprised at the characters the other creates and yet we always enjoy the results. Our favorite characters in The Christie Curseare Jordan’s lovable criminal uncles Mick and Lucky (and the rest of the minor uncles) all of whom are, as they say, known to the police. They will continue to provide endless fun for us. We also love the eccentric Italian cook, Senora Panetone You! Eat!, and Lance that hot librarian. Of course, we are crazy about the Pug, Walter. Our dachshunds are not too impressed with Walter.
But I digress. Frequently we discuss and act out scenes and dialogue while one of us types like the wind. We also each have characters that we ‘own’ and often write scenes alone and then slot them in. This only works if we know what the other is up to! Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case.
For instance, it took us ages to wrestle Uncle Kevin back to where he belonged in The Sayers Swindle, when we each went off in separate directions. But Uncle Kevin tends to bring chaos to any situation. And why was he at that murder scene anyway?
Then there are the Siamese cats … but that’s a dangerous topic.
Another challenge is harmonizing the voice. Jordan must narrate the story, not Victoria and not Mary Jane. We feel it’s worth the investment to make sure she sounds like herself.
Looking back over this writing adventure, I realize that the question “What’s the worst that can happen?” is one that mystery writers throw at their characters all the time. We did it to Jordan and then life threw that same question at our family. In a crime story, we all want our characters to come through their darkest hour, we want justice done and we like a happy ending. We’ve had all that. We have seen the worst and lived to tell the tale. But after this, we’ll take our dramatic moments in fiction, thank you very much. From now on, we hope that Jordan will take the heat.
~Victoria Abbott
About This Author
Victoria Abbott is a collaboration between the always very funny and creative artist, photographer and short story author, Victoria Maffini and her mother, Mary Jane Maffini, award-winning author of three mystery series and two dozen short stories. Their four miniature dachshunds are understandably outraged that a pug and some Siamese cats have wiggled their way into the series.
The Christie Curse
(A Book Collector Mystery) New Series! Cozy Mystery A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery The Berkley Publishing Group (March 5, 2013) Published By The Penguin Group Cover Illustration by Mary Ann Lasher Cover Design by Olivia Andreas Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages ISBN-13: 978-0425255285 E-book File Size: 603 KB ASIN: B0099CGY2S
In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared—making headlines across the world—only to show up eleven days later at a spa under an assumed name. During those eleven days, did she have time to write a play?
Jordan Bingham needs a job and a new place to live. She has moved back to Harrison Falls and in with her wonderful not so law abiding uncles. Thank to her ex she is deep in debt and the grad school loans are hanging over her head.
She answers a blind ad and crosses her fingers. Thrilled to get an interview, the job sounds perfect and even includes room and board. Then she meets Vera Van Alst. Not the most friendly person and most of the town hates her, but she has this wonderful library. The job is tracking down a play rumored to have been written by Agatha Christie. Jordan knows she can do this job and convinces Miss Van Alst to give her a try. Then Jordan learns her predecessor was killed while looking for this play. She soon realizes that there is someone out there willing to kill to keep the play out of the hands of her new employer. The job is good but is it worth Jordan’s life?
Dollycas’s Thoughts What a wonderful debut!
Jordan is a very intriguing protagonist. She is strong, smart, almost fearless and funny too. But the author doesn’t stop there. The reader is treated to rich and real treasures in the supporting cast. There are the nefarious uncles who love Jordan so much and will do anything for her even if it means breaking the law. Vera Van Alst is getting a little less cranky but is definitely set in her ways. Officer Smiley and Detective Zinger are polar opposites in their investigative techniques but one is starting to grow on Jordan a lot more than the other. Librarian Lance would have me at the library 24/7 just mooning over him. My favorite human character definitely is Signora Panetone, Vera’s cook. She is priceless with her “EAT NOW!!” shouts at every delicious sounding meal. I think I gained weight just reading about these fabulous meals.
Then there are the felines and the canine. The Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde cat(s) had me in stitches. Walter, the pug, bails Jordan out of a tight situation and melted right into this reader’s hearts.
The Van Alst mansion is a character itself more than a setting. The climate controlled library, the back stairway, servants quarters that become Jordan’s garret, and the conservatory. The game clue kept coming to my mind as we traveled through the monstrous house. I can’t wait to explore more in the next book.
The mystery is very complex and with all the twists and turns that keeps the reader guessing. I was truly surprised by the ending.
An excellent debut. Agatha Christie herself would give it 5 stars!!
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Thanks to the people at Penguin I have 2 copies to giveaway!!
U.S. and CANADIAN RESIDENTS You do not have to be a follower to enter but I hope you will find something you like here and become a follower.
Followers Will Receive 2 Bonus Entries For Each Way They Follow. Plus 2 Bonus Entries For Liking My Facebook Fan Page.
Leave a comment for Victoria for 5 Bonus Entries !
If you publicize the giveaway on Twitter or Facebook or anywhere you will receive 5 Bonus Entries For Each Link.
Contest Will End April 3, 2013 at 11:59 PM CST Winners Will Be Chosen By Random.org Winners Will Be Notified By Email and Will Be Posted Here In The Sidebar.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
A Fete Worse Than Death
(A Hemlock Falls Mystery) 18th in Series Cozy Mystery A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery The Berkley Publishing Company (March 5, 2013) Published by The Penguin Group Cover Illustration by Karen Strelecki Cover Design by Diana Kolsky Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages ISBN-13: 978-0425262795 E-Book File Size: 586 KB ASIN: B00AEDDQEU
Sisters Meg and Sarah Quilliam make sure guests feel right at home when they visit the Inn at Hemlock Falls. Located in upstate New York, Hemlock Falls is a small town renowned for its scenic beauty—and scenes of crime . . .
It is almost time for the Finger Lakes Autumn Fete and chairwoman Adela Henry has walked off the job. The last thing Quill needs is to be named to another committee and there is no way in the world she is chairing the fete. She is thrilled when the mayor hires professional organizer Linda Connelly and her staff to take over Adela’s duties.
Apparently everyone wasn’t thrilled with the choice because Linda’s body turns up in the trunk of a used car at Peterson’s Automotive. Soon Quill and Meg find themselves tracking down yet another killer.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
After a bit of a slip with Dread on Arrival the series is back on track with a great mystery, wonderful characters and the bits of humor that makes this one of my favorite series.
Quill gets a few assists solving the puzzler and I loved these new characters with their many secrets. Great unexpected twists!! Plus all our favorite Hemlockians are back, even though Myles is again away on assignment.
This is a long running series and I continue to look forward to each and every trip to Hemlock Falls. I hope to return again soon!!
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
This is my second tour for Giacomo Giammatteo. He is definitely an author I am keeping my eye on.
A Bullet For Carlos: Blood Flows South, Book 1 Mystery/Thriller Inferno Publishing Company (October 18, 2012) Paperback: 420 pages ISBN-13: 978-0985030247 E-Book File Size: 713 KB ASIN: B009SYML7Y
Detective Connie Giannelli’s life has been torn apart several times. First when her mother died and then years later when she found out her Uncle Dominic was in the mob. Her life is about to be shredded again, and this time it could destroy her.
Connie’s love of family and her badge are both threatened when an undercover drug bust leaves two cops dead and the drugs missing. Internal Affairs is looking for any excuse to take her badge, but she’s not worried about them finding the missing drugs—her secrets could prove to be far worse.
Now Connie’s racing against the clock to figure out who killed her partners and took the drugs—dirty cops or Uncle Dominic’s friends. And she has to do it before IA pins the whole damn thing on her.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
I am so impressed with the strong female character that Giammatteo has written. Connie Giannelli is formidable woman you don’t want to mess with. Even when sent away from New York to Texas she is determined to get her man or men and bring them to justice. What a crazy life she has had and continues to lead!
He has also written some dynamo supporting characters from her uncles to the cops she works with both in New York and Houston to the cartel in Mexico. They are so fully developed and well described that you feel like you are watching a movie or television drama instead of reading a book.
I reviewed another book my this author last September, Murder Takes Time: Friendship & Honor Series, Book One (Volume 1), so I knew he created fabulous characters. In fact one crosses over to this book. The author tells his story from multiple points of view and while a tad confusing in that book he has ironed out all the issues in this one with clever icons to start each chapter and better transitions.
The story is full of action, suspense, and has engaging dialogue giving you that hold on tight/edge of your seat feeling. The book is graphic and does have some strong language that would be expected in a book of this type.
I am thrilled this book is the first in a series because I want to know more about Connie and her unconventional family and the choices she makes going forward. I hated to see this book end. I anxiously await A Bullet For Dominic. Murder Has Consequences (Friendship & Honor, Book 2) is available now in E-book (Kindle) format. Giacomo Giammatteo is definitely an author to watch. I expect to see his books on bestseller lists everywhere very soon!
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Giacomo Giammatteo lives in Texas, where he and his wife run an animal sanctuary and take care of 41 loving rescues. By day, he works as a headhunter in the medical device industry, and at night, he writes.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author for tour. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I just learned Trouble in the Tarot has made the Bestseller Lists! Congratulations Kari!!
Immortalizing Characters
The characters in a series really do make the series. Choosing the perfect ones can be hard. We want them to be three-dimensional and seem like real people. I am always studying people and filing away bits of description, dialogue, habits and quirks. I truly love to people watch, so if you meet me, be careful…some aspect of you just might wind up in my book:) Sometimes we create our characters from people we see on TV or in the newspaper or on our favorite shows and movies. Sometimes they are a combination of character types. And sometimes they are based on real-life people we know.
In book two, Corpse in the Crystal Ball, I introduced a character named Granny Gert. Granny is actually based on my real-life grandmother Gertrude who passed away years ago. She had the same white hair from having scarlet fever at the age of sixteen. She wore the same aprons and baked cookies, storing them in her orange pumpkin cookie jar with the tin foil plate covered lid. And she was as sweet as can be. I admit her personality sometimes is more like my mother Marion: a bit over the top and totally hilarious. My mother is the one who will try any new fad like Granny does in book three, Trouble in the Tarot, in her quest to improve herself.
Yes…I take after my mother
I think it’s so amazing as an author to be able to immortalize the ones we love through our characters. It’s so much fun revisiting them and having a blast trying to figure out what my grandma would do in this or that situation. It brings back so many fond memories. In fact, my husband has a Grandma Tootsie who is 98 years young, still lives alone, is as sharp as a tack and has so many cute quirks that she would make a perfect new character in book 4, Peril in the Palm. I am going to have her show up at the Inn and become Granny Gert’s new friend
So tell me, what other types of characters would you like to see introduced in more of my Fortune Teller Books? Do you have any fun family or friend characters you’d love to see or just a certain “type” of person you love to see in your favorite cozies? Inquiring minds would love to know! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this third installment. Be sure to let me know what you think, and if you have a chance, post a review on Amazon,Goodreads, B&N or wherever. It helps readers to know what other people think. Thanks so much for having me, and good luck on winning the giveaway.
~Kari
You are welcome anytime Kari, the blog is always open!!
About This Author
Kari Lee Townsend lives in central New York with her understanding husband, her three busy boys, and her oh-so-dramatic daughter She is the National Bestselling Author, Agatha & RT Reviewer’s Choice Award nominee for her Fortune Teller Mystery series. Kari also writes romance under the name Kari Lee Harmon. Small towns, mystical elements, quirky characters and a few chuckles along the way are what her books are all about. To find out more about Kari and all of her books, check out her websites at: www.karileetownsend.com & www.karileeharmon.com
Trouble in the Tarot (A Fortune Teller Mystery) 3rd in Series Cozy Mystery A Berkley Prime Mystery (March 5, 2013) The Berkley Publishing Company Published by The Penguin Group Cover Illustration by Lisa French Cover Design by Leslie Worrell Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages ISBN-13: 978-0425251973 E-Book File Size: 482 KB ASIN: B0099CWK0I
For psychic Sunshine Meadows, sometimes fortunes can be deceiving . . .
Sunny agrees to read tarot cards at the annual Summer Solstice Carnival and that’s where she meets Fiona Atwater. Fiona and Granny Gert are bitter enemies and whenever they get near each other a war of words breaks out. When a local baker get run over by a big white Cadillac that just happens to belong to Granny and both she and Fiona are at the crime scene they must cast their differences aside as they find themselves in very close quarters.
Sunny knows she should keep her nose of the investigation and let Mitch handle it but she can’t ignore her visions and leave Granny’s life in fate’s hands.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Each installment to this series is better than the last and the first two were excellent.
In this 3rd Fortune Teller Mystery, Sunny’s cat Morty just steals the show. He is a fantastic feline with very special capabilities that put him in the right place at the right time always looking very fine in his bow ties.
The ongoing feud between Granny and Fiona drives the story. They each try hard to outdo each other is everything from crafts to baking. They are both determined to win the Bake Off at the carnival but a dead body puts the kibosh on both their plans and brings Sunny’s parents for another visit.
Plus Quincy Turner from the Parks and Recreation Department is not happy that the proceeds from this year’s carnival are not coming to him but instead going to Ozzie Zukerman’s Animal Angels to support his new animal rescue shelter. This creates a riff between this men that boils over to effect things way beyond the local park.
Townsend has created more than one clever mystery with a “murder” and someone sabotaging the carnival. She has also added some colorful new characters and the romance between “Tink” and “Grumpy Pants” hits a few bumps in the road.
I started this story and could not put it down until I reached the last word. Kari Lee Townsend writes fun mysteries with a feisty psychic protagonist that are destined to be loved cozy readers everywhere! You don’t need to be clairvoyant to see a bright future for this author!
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Thanks to the people at Penguin I have 2 copies to giveaway!!
U.S. and CANADIAN RESIDENTS
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Sweeny, Owens & Boyle sits at the top of Wall Street law firms. Brilliant and beautiful, Maggie Mahoney became a partner and the trophy wife of its managing attorney. Her husband’s death renders Maggie an outsider with the firm’s male establishment and creates a power vacuum.
Obsessed with his dream of becoming the next Attorney General, firm chairman, Andy Anderson, chooses a surprising replacement: Jack Slattery, a reputed sexist. Jack’s background hardly qualifies him for such a prominent position. Maggie suspects Jack has something on Andy, but what is it? Forced to become a sleuth, she stages a break-in to gather evidence.
Andy’s ambition drives him to desperate measures. With proof of misconduct in hand, Maggie demands justice, but it comes at a high price.
Losing her husband in an avalanche that she survived has given Maggie Mahoney a new view on life in general and her life as a lawyer/partner at Sweeny, Owens & Boyle. She loses her biggest client so when asked to be on Gender Equity Committee she agrees knowing the committee is just a smokescreen by Andy Anderson to make him look good as he vies for the office of Attorney General but it makes her look good to the firm. Unfortunately Sweeny, Owens & Boyle really does have a problem with sexual harassment of women and the new and improved Maggie can’t just turn a blind eye.
To think this kind of discrimination and harassment is still prevalent in 2012 just makes me sick. In the political arena of 2012 Republicans are waging a “war on women” as well. Equal pay for equal work and safety in the workplace should be paramount. The battles have been fought and already won. McGuinness’s story shines a light on situations sadly still happening in the workplace today and that even a firm chairman with eyes on public office could attain his dream job while sweeping actionable offenses under the rug.
This is a powerful story with a powerful protagonist fighting corruption in the workplace. The author’s knowledge of legal and woman’s issues makes this book an extremely credible read. The story evolves at pace that keeps the reader very engaged and those pages turning. The characters are sharp and the dialogue is smart. As a book dealing with sexual harassment there are a few explicit scenes.
This is an excellent debut. I look forward to Erotic Capital, the next book in this series.
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About This Author
After leaving the corporate world, Kate was determined to master writing and riding, pastimes that often led to confusion in the telling. Her studies of creative writing proved to be more successful than her horseback adventures which included a broken leg! However, her love of horses remains. Kate also took the opportunity to be more fully involved with her son’s life – too involved, he would say. She enjoyed watching scores of soccer games and cheering his team on to a divisional state championship. All grown up now, her son lives in Eastern Europe and teaches English as a second language.
In addition to Terminal Ambition, Kate writes on women’s issues for a number of online sites. Her essays have appeared in Role/Reboot, Jezebel, Fem2pt0, Women’s Media Center and Ms. JD.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Death and deception. After a whirlwind romance, Liam and Rebecca marry, knowing almost nothing of each other’s backgrounds. Only months later, on an afternoon shopping trip to a mall in the Buffalo, New York, suburb of Cheektowaga, Rebecca vanishes, seemingly abducted. Or did she make herself disappear? Was the marriage a sham? Was Liam a dupe? This is a novel of high crimes and dark shadows, involving the immensely profitable drug industry in which exclusive access to the market for a medication can mean billions of dollars, and holding on to that exclusivity might lead to lies, deceit, corruption, payoffs, and even murder.
No one is who they seem to be! Nothing is as it appears! I get that but…
More, I wanted more. The premise of this story is very sound and very intriguing and this could have been an awesome story. As is it’s o.k. but it needs to really be expanded. The characters need to be better developed. There is no one to root for in this story. No one the reader becomes invested in.
Also everything seems to happen at a frantic pace from Liam and Rebecca’s wedding to the search and the traveling hither and yon. At times this pace adds to the suspense but it clearly draws away from it in others. The whole thing needed more detail and back story, the why so the reader can understand the journey.
This story has a short story feel. A quick mystery with twists that will keep you guessing past the final page. But like me you will be wanting MORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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About This Author
JOHN WORSLEY SIMPSON is a crime-fiction writer. John was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, emigrated to Canada at the age of four and grew up in Toronto, He has been a reporter and editor in major newspapers and news services in North America, England and Ireland. He is married and lives in Newmarket, Ontario. Connect with John Worsley Simpson at his website, Facebook and Twitter.
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
Maggie Brooks is a former reporter for Newsweek whose life has been turned inside out. Her husband was killed by a hit and run driver a few months ago and she is still trying to come to grips with a life without him by her side. Two kids, a mortgage to pay, and unemployment at an all time high just as she tries to renter the workforce. Landing a job at the local paper does help with the bills but the work is almost mind numbing. Not much happens in this little town.
Things start to get interesting when a major developer wants to build an outlet mall in the neighboring town close to where the two burgs connect. People are in an uproar as the words eminent domain are tossed around and people are being pushed out of their homes to make way for the mall.
Dirty money and dirty politics drives someone to the brink. The construction has to be stopped no matter the price. Maggie journalist instincts kick in. This could be a scoop to rejuvenate her career. “When murder is added to the mix, she realizes that meeting her deadline might be the last thing she ever does.”
Dollycas’s Thoughts
I picked up this book because I needed a “Z” book for my A-Z Reading Challenge. It was icing on the cake that is a really great cozy mystery.
Maggie is a protagonist that is very easy to identify with and we get to know her very well in this first installment. I have to admit that when I read that her husband was dead the mystery reader in me thought it would be his murder that she would be solving. Maybe in a future edition we may find there was more to that story Maggie’s reporter instincts ring true as does her life as a mom juggling various schedules.
The story is timely and very well written. It amazes me when 2 authors team up to write one story that the flow is so natural. A true credit to wonderful writers. The addition of emails and chats sent between friends was woven in nicely. The new technology of the day is working into novels more and more.
I now have another cozy author (duo) to be following. I will be loading up my Kindle!!
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About Evelyn David
Evelyn David is the pseudonym for Marian Edelman Borden and Rhonda Dossett.
Marian lives in New York and is the author of eleven 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 http://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. Please check out Evelyn’s website at http://www.evelyndavid.com
About This Author
the non-fiction title THE 
(Alpha, 2009), co-author of 
(Fairwinds Press, 2010), currently in its fourth printing, the 
The Country Almanac of Home Remedies: Time-Tested & Almost Forgotten Wisdom for Treating Hundreds of Common Ailments, Aches & Pains Quickly and Naturally
(Fairwinds, 2011). Chrystle’s magazine articles featuring natural remedies have appeared in many national publications including Natural Health, Vegetarian Times, Better Homes & Gardens and Remedy. Visit 
while I enjoy the nice healthy smoothie. I am sure the author will have a wonderful mystery to solve too!
has been an emotional roller coaster for us, but in the end we are very happy about the book and excited to keep going with a series we love. And maybe we were just a little bit surprised.
, finished in time. Meanwhile Victoria was going through her own tumultuous time, a story for another day.
I anxiously await A Bullet For Dominic. 
is available now in E-book (Kindle) format. Giacomo Giammatteo is definitely an author to watch. I expect to see his books on bestseller lists everywhere very soon!
has made the Bestseller Lists!
I introduced a character named Granny Gert. Granny is actually based on my real-life grandmother Gertrude who passed away years ago. She had the same white hair from having scarlet fever at the age of sixteen. She wore the same aprons and baked cookies, storing them in her orange pumpkin cookie jar with the tin foil plate covered lid. And she was as sweet as can be. I admit her personality sometimes is more like my mother Marion: a bit over the top and totally hilarious. My mother is the one who will try any new fad like Granny does in book three, 
