It is just so peachy to have Susan Furlong drop by for a visit today!
Peaches and Scream
Pour yourself a glass of sweet tea and let’s enjoy our visit!
Who would be so wicked as to take a bucolic, friendly village, full of charm and quaint shops, and throw in one senseless murder after another? (Think Norman Rockwell meets Ted Bundy.) Well, that’s exactly what cozy mystery writers do. They create an idyllic setting—perhaps a quaint English hamlet, or a southern town nestled in the Appalachian hills—introduce you to a whole host of friendly, likeable town folk and then start killing them off, one by one.
Seems a little demented, huh? Well, not really. First, I’m a small town girl, so setting a mystery in a small town comes naturally to me. And before you jump to all sorts of conclusions about personal vendettas I might be plotting against my own neighbors, let me explain several reasons why a small town makes the perfect setting for a cozy mystery:
• For starters, everyone knows everyone. This makes for plethora of unique dynamics—vicious gossip and hidden secrets—and a lot of fun, familiar interaction between characters.
• Familiarity between characters also creates plenty of personal motivations for murder—greed, jealousy, love affairs gone bad … the possibilities are endless.
• Furthermore, a small town lends itself to a tightly plotted mystery. With limited suspects and a somewhat isolated setting, the reader can easily follow along as the sleuth tracks down the killer.• And what could be more fun than roaming along with the protagonist through tree-lined streets, in and out of quaint shops, bookstores, lively pubs, flower shops, and restaurants serving delectable local foods… all while tension builds as both reader and sleuth strive to restore justice to a once quiet, peaceful setting.
With my 
own small town background, I understand the limitations as well as the wonderful possibilities of such a setting. Which is why I injected all sorts of those emotions and characteristics in my latest cozy mystery, Peaches and Scream, where the fictional town of Cays Mill, Georgia, is home to a wide cast of vivid, quirky and endearing characters. People who share not only a past checkered with family feuds and sinister secrets, but a sense of community pride and a commitment to neighbors. That’s why when a murderer strikes in Cays Mill, the stakes are high. Because in a small town, chances are, a friend or neighbor you think you know all-too-well is either the victim … or the murderer.
About Susan Furlong
During her writing career, Susan has worked as an academic writer, freelance writer and novelist. Currently she’s busy working on The Georgia Peach Mysteries. (Berkley Prime Crime/July 2015) She also writes under the pen name Lucy Arlington
Peaches and Scream
(A Georgia Peach Mystery)
Brand New Series
Cozy Mystery
Setting – Georgia
A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery
The Berkley Publishing Group (July 7, 2015)
Published by The Penguin Group
Cover Illustration by Erica LeBarre
Cover Design by Sarah Oberrender
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425278383
E-Book ASIN: B00Q5DLWSU
In the first Georgia Peach Mystery, when murder threatens her family’s orchard, Nola Harper is ready to pick out the killer and preserve the farm’s reputation…
With suspicions and family tensions heating up faster than a cobbler in the oven, this sweet Georgia peach will have to prune through a list of murder suspects—before she too becomes ripe for the killer’s picking…
INCLUDES RECIPES
We meet the Harper Family in this first Georgia Peach Mystery. Nola Harper left town several years ago and has a very rewarding job helping people in underdeveloped countries. She doesn’t return home very often but her parents have won an exciting trip and have asked her to come home and watch over the family business while they are away. Her brother Ray is a successful lawyer and just doesn’t have the time and her sister is due to have her 3rd child very soon and can’t take care of things on the farm. When she finds out that her parents have been hiding their financial troubles she decides to figure out a way to save the family’s legacy.
As if things weren’t bad enough the morning after Nola’s parents leave she finds the body of a local business man in the orchard. Things are definitely not peachy at the Harper’s homestead. When she finds out her brother-in-law is the main suspect Nola knows she has her hands full. Can she solve a murder and get the farm moving in the right direction before her parents get back? She has to try!
This is an awesome debut. This bushel of characters is diverse and interesting. Seeing Nola reconnect with all the people from her past was fun to read. I truly enjoyed that her best friends in high school quickly become her best friends again. One may like to be a little more than friends but we will have to wait and see. I also enjoyed the way Nola didn’t just barge into the investigation. The sheriff is more than happy to let her brother-in-law rot in jail so Nola just does a little poking around and keeps her ears open. She is new to sleuthing so she does take some things a bit too far but somebody has to find the real killer.
In addition to this fine mystery each chapter starts with a Georgia Belle Fact – “#027 – In the South, we greet one another with bits of juicy gossip, not some ol’ boring Yankee salutation.” There are yummy recipes too!
Susan is off to a delicious start with this series! Cozy lovers you will love this story and all its Southern charm!
Thanks to the people at Penguin I have 2 copies to give away!
Contest is open to anyone over 18 years old
with a US or Canadian mailing address.
Duplicate entries will be deleted. Void where prohibited.
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.
Following the new Google+ Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book Fan Page
will earn you 3 Bonus Entries.
Leave a comment for Susan for 5 Bonus Entries.
Pin this giveaway to Pinterest for 3 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 July 30, 2015 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.”
Peaches and Scream sounds like the perfect cozy mystery book for summer. Thank you for the review and giveaway! I am looking forward to reading this book.
Peaches and Scream sounds like a great new series. I love peaches and can’t wait to start this new series. Thanks for the chance to win.
Love the title; thanks for the chance to win it 🙂
I can’t wait to read this title
Sounds like a great summer read. I love the cover!
Another one to add to my list.
Ann
Sounds like a good read! Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
This sounds like such a cute book with a great setting and characters!
Peaches And Scream would be a pleasure to read this summer. Thanks for this feature and giveaway.
This is already on my t-b-r list thanks to Dru. I read both Dru and Dollycas every morning.
Small Towns are definitely a breed of their own, and unless you’ve lived in one you just don’t get it.
Can’t wait to start reading this series. This will be a new adventure for me. Excited.
More peaches grown in California than Georgia…what a shock. This Californian doesn’t eat peaches no matter where they are grown, but I would love to read about them.
Luscious, juicy peaches. The kind I remember from my childhood (back with the dinosaurs), not the sad, dry things the stores usually have.
While my love affair with cozies wanes and waxes, I still always admire what the authors can do with a catchy title and fitting cover. Thanks for the share!
This sounds like a great start to this series. I love the description of cozies “Norman Rockwell meets Ted Bundy” definitely had me laughing.
I told myself I would not start a new series, until I got caught up on all the series I’m reading, but Peaches & Scream has changed that!
This book sounds amazing! Norman Rockwell and Ted Bundy…what a picture! I would love to read this!
I like the setting of this story.
Now I understand why small towns worn so well in these books. It makes perfect sense.
I have this book on kindle but I would love to win a copy to pass on to my Mom. She loves Cozies. The. We could enjoy it together!
I am looking forward to reading this one. Thank you for the giveaway!
I like the small town aspect of many cozies. Congrats on the new release!
Looks like a fun read.
GREAT ANOTHER SERIES TO TRY! GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR NEW SERIES AND THANKS FOR THE GIVEAWAY!
This sounds like a really good new series. Am adding it to my TBR list. Best of luck and hoping there will be many more.
Sounds like fun! Congratulations on the release!
Like the title of the book.
I can’t wait to read this one! 🙂
This has been on my TBR – so can’t wait to read it! It looks like the perfect summer read.
What a great giveaway. The book looks like a great read!!
I can’y wait to read this one. Excited.
I’ve read Susan’s other series and enjoyed it. This one sounds absolutely fascinating with a chance to learn more about peaches, cultivation, varieties and a good story to boot!
This sounds like the type of novel I normally read. I hope I get a chance to pick this up.
I am very anxious to start this new adventure for Susan Furlong! Sounds absolutely wonderful.
Your books always make me want to read more & never put your books down.