Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!
I am thrilled to welcome Lizbeth Lipperman back to Escape With Dollycas! Her Dead Sister Talking Mysteries are a little edgier than her Jordan McAllister Mysteries. I call them Cozies with a kick 🙂
GREAT FIRST LINES
Which one of you b–ches is my mother?
Wow! Is that a great line or what? It’s the first line of the Prologue for LACE
Four elegant, successful, and sophisticated women in their forties are called to New York’s Pierre Hotel to meet Lili — a beautiful, young, and notoriously temperamental Hollywood movie star. None of the women knows exactly why she is there; each has a reason to hate Lili and each of them is astonished to see the others. They are old friends who share a guilty secret and who have for years been doing their best to keep that secret quiet. Their lives are changed forever, however, when Lili suddenly confronts them. When the women refuse to answer her, Lili proceeds to travel around the world through the playgrounds of the rich and famous, seeking to answer the question that has obsessed and almost destroyed her.
From Paris to London, from the boardroom to the bedroom, Lace
I remember staying up half the night to find out the answer, but Ms. Conran didn’t make it easy. Chapter One began with the story of one of the women and moved on to each one as I hurried through the pages trying to find out which one had mothered this young woman. I wanted so desperately to cheat and skip ahead to the end, but I didn’t want to spoil it. The answer didn’t come until the last chapter. The book was made into a two-part miniseries in 1984, but it didn’t do it justice. The paperback is going for $29.42 right now on Amazon (Holy moly!) Although Ms. Conran wrote several more good books, none of them even came close to her genius in LACE
Why am I bringing up a thirty year old book, you ask?
Because every time I come up with a first line or a hook for my chapter endings, I think about this line. I ask myself, “Is mine as good as hers?” Sometimes, I surprise myself with a really good one, but most of the time I have to go back to the drawing board and rethink things.
I’m hopelessly stuck. Where is Shirley when you need her? (Probably across the pond since she’s a Brit.)
Two of my better first lines are:
Before the night ends, I’m going to have sex with a total stranger. (Mortal Deception
A pitcher of margaritas, a white sandy beach on the Pacific coast and a bunch of crazy women. Perfect for a killing. (Shattered
So, I need a little inspiration. Tell me some of the great first lines or hooks that have stayed in your mind long after you read the book. Who knows? Maybe I’ll have an ‘ah ha!” moment and can get started on ENCHI-LOTTA BODIES before panic sets in.
“Which one of you b–ches is my mother?” won’t work in my cozy mystery!! Darn!
~Liz
About This Author
Liz Lipperman started writing many years ago, even before she retired from the medical field. Wasting many years thinking she was a romance writer but always having to deal with the pesky villains who kept popping up in all her stories, she finally gave up and decided since she read mysteries and obviously wrote them, why fight it? She’s currently working on two mystery series–the Jordan McAllister Mysteries
She lives north of Dallas with her HS sweetheart hubby. When she’s not writing she spends her time doting on her four wonderful grandchildren.
Mission To Kill
(A Garcia Girls Mystery)
3rd Book in Series
Mystery/Women Sleuths
Setting – Texas
Publisher: The Story Vault (September 11, 2015)
Paperback: 284 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1517289904
E-Book ASIN: B015AOY4XY
Trouble follows the Garcia sisters, and this time a close family friend is in the hot seat. Once again they band together to come to his aid. But even with the trash-talking ghost of their dead sister, Tessa, making another appearance from the “other side,” they have their work cut out for them to keep their friend and sibling from wearing an orange jumpsuit.
After Emily Ruiz Santiago is killed in a shootout with police during a bank robbery in El Paso, Dr. Kate Garcia gets a call from a Houston lawyer. Seems the woman has left her sizable inheritance to Kate and family friend, Benny Yates, who runs the Mission of Hope, a soup kitchen for the down and out citizens of Vineyard. The problem is–the Emily they knew lived on the streets of Vineyard and died of a drug overdose three months before. Suspicion falls on Benny when another homeless person drops dead at the Mission, and he is listed as the beneficiary on the man’s recent life insurance policy.
The Garcia sisters go into sleuth mode once again to keep their friend out of jail, before they discover one of their own is also a suspect.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Lizbeth Lipperman had written yet another fantastic mystery!
I love Tessa and when she returns from “the great beyond” you know one of her sisters is in trouble. She drops in on Kate this time at a very inopportune moment, but Dr. Kate Garcia handles the surprise pretty well. That means Kate is the only one that can see or hear her. At that time they don’t know which of the sisters needs help but when Kate receives a call from a lawyer she knows it is her. A woman has died and left her and her friend Benny an inheritance. Kate and Benny are confused because the woman they knew was homeless, how could she have left the any money? The plot thickens when another homeless person dies and Benny seems to be the beneficiary of his life insurance policy. The Garcia girls have their work cut out for them as they try to sort through all the clues to keep Benny and Kate out of a 10 x 10 jail cell.
This is such a great series. Kate, Lainey, Maddy, and Deena are quite a force to be reckoned with, together and separately. Even Lainey’s husband, the town sheriff, knows no matter what he says or how hard he tries the sisters are going to butt right into the middle of his investigation. This makes for some thrilling moments and some hairy situations. Tessa is hysterical, she adds the comic relief that keeps everything balanced and in the cozier realm. The dialogue between all the characters is fabulous, quick and real.
I have to say the mystery was pretty tricky even after we get the first big clue. It was a twisty, topsy, turvey ride from the start to the finish. There is a subplot too that has the beginnings of a romance. I enjoyed this part immensely.
In Heard It Through The Grapevine
I have read everything Liz/LizBeth Lipperman has published and loved them all. She definitely is one of my favorite authors!
The Author is giving 1 copy of Mission to Kill
Print Copy or E-Book – Winners Choice!
Print Copy – U.S. Only
Contest is open to anyone over 18 years old.
Duplicate entries will be deleted. Void where prohibited.
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Leave a comment for Liz and help her find a great first line for 5 Bonus Entries.
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5 Bonus Entries For Each Link.
Contest Will End October 14, 2015 at 11:59 PM CST
Winner Will Be Chosen By Random.org
Winner Will Be Notified By Email
and Will Be Posted Here In The Sidebar.
Click Here For Entry Form
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.”
Thank you for great blog and introducing me to another great read and author to check out.
Hope you enjoy that new author!! Thanks for commenting.
Thanks for having the giveaway. I can’t think of any lines from books; there have been too many. But here is an original line: “Gardening is one of my favorite pastimes; it soothes me and keeps my mind busy between kills.”
Ooh! That’s a good one, especially if you don’t have a black thumb like me.
This books sounds like a great read! Thank you for introducing me to a new author and cozy series.
Love these comments. And Jen, remember that this series is grittier than most cozies, especially the first of the series. Hope you enjoy it.
Looks great and thanks for the chance 🙂
<3
Well, that was supposed to be a heart!!
OMG, I had completely forgotten about these books. I have to say, I enjoyed the “mini series” as well, but then I have notoriously poor taste! 🙂 That line is a gem. I don’t have any good suggestions, but I do have a story. In the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth, I was a small town newspaper reporter. I used to do a lot of features, meet-your-neighbor articles, that sort of thing. (I also covered my husband, who was a city official. And the editor saw no conflict in that. But that’s a story for another comment.) I did a profile of a popular priest, and the lead was “The children call him God.” It was a huge hit. I enjoyed the first Garcia Girls story, and I expect to like the rest in the series as well.
What a great story. My mind is in overdrive trying to figure out how I can use that line in one of my books. Thanks for sharing.
This sounds like a good book – thank you for sharing.
And thanks for commenting. Hope you entered for the freebie.
Sounds like another great read and I love that she is just a hop skip and a jump from where I live.
Ann
And now you have me curious. Where do you live, Ann? If you’ve read any of my books, do you recognize the real cities even though I give them a fictitious name? (Had to since I called the cops Dumb and Dumber. Didn’t want a lot of speeding tickets!!)
Thank you for introducing me to Lizbeth Lipperman’s creative works. I have added her books to my list of to be read. robeader53@yahoo.com
Thanks, robeader. I hope you enjoy them, especially my Garcia girls. I patterned them after my relationship with my own 4 sisters, although my ghost Tessa is nothing like my sister Theresa who dies way too young.
I couldn’t resist – I just ordered Lace from my library. Thanks.
I haven’t read it in a LONG time, but I’m pretty sure you’ll love it. Forgot about getting it at the library. Enjoy it.
I can’t wait to read this story. I’ve read the other two in the series and absolutely loved them!
Love hearing this. You are such a good reader and Reviewer, Thanks. And just so you know, the first two digital books of this series are marked down $2.00 at Amazon. I don’t know how long Midnight Ink (the publisher) will keep them on sale.
Sorry, folks. My computer isn’t letting me see your comments. I’m trying something here to see if I can get it to work.
Yay! Dollycas figured it out. She is such a good hostess and blog mistress. I never miss her posts.
Thanks for this captivating and lovely book and feature which interests me greatly.
Dolycas does write great, informative reviews, Sharon. Thanks for the comment.
Mysteries are the best books to read.
My favorites, too, Kim. I love it when the author surprises me a the end.
Hi Liz! There are so many good first lines, but none that I can come up with off the top of my head. It may not be a great first line, but it may spark an idea…the first line from my first published book, Mystic Shores: “Teddy Jordan came to a complete stop, confusion clouding her thoughts.”
I really need to get busy reading your books! Raising 4 grand kids, doesn’t leave me much time for pleasure reading, but I really need to fit that time in!
Thanks, Cathy. And that’s a pretty good first line you have there, too. And I commend you on raising those grandbabies. God created menopause for a reason!!
I can’t think of one that hit me like that but I’m sure there have been some. Sorry I can’t help. One may come later. I’d love to read your book. I like stand alones.I never get a series read.
If you think of one late, please post it. I can use all the help I can get. And fingers crossed that you win this book and can fall in love with my sisters.
I cannot wait to read this and the next Jordan book.
Waving at Risa out there enjoying the Arizona heat!! Thanks for commenting and for loving my characters.
Catherine Coulter’s “The Target”: “He saw the man clearly:tall with dark clothes, a stark figure against the misty gray sky.” also. Iris Johanson’s “No One to Trust” : “A COOCKROACH WAS CRAWLING UP HER ARM.” I love both these authors. Catherine’s FBI series is one of my favorites as is Iris’s Eve Duncan series.
It was hard to pick a favorite but I finally narrowed it down to 2 as just didn’t want to take up the whole blog. LOL!
Tammy Ramey
trvlagnt1t@yahoo.com
Both are favorites of mine as well. Thanks for making me long for another Johanson book.
I heard somewhere she will be writing a new Eve Duncan trilogy. Just can’t recall where I heard it.
I love Liz Lipperman’s books. I can’t think of any great catch phrases off hand. Thank you for this wonderful giveaway!
Thanks, Robyn. Love loyal readers like you.
One of my favorite beginning lines is ” The first time she slit a man’s throat she felt sick to her stomach. The second time? not so much” Its the ideal man by Julie Garwood. Its not what you are thinking at all.
Love, love, love that line. I’m dying to know what she was talking about. Let me know. And thanks for sharing.
I loved Lace too and you are right it is a great first line. My favorite first line is still that old stand by ” Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again”
I have been enjoying your series.
Thanks
I loved REBECCA. Thanks for bringing back great memories. And thanks for reading me!!
“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.” Its a great into to all of the unusual stuff that you are about to read!
This book sounds like a very good read.
QUESTION FOR AUTHOR: Do you ever suffer writer’s block and, if so, how do you overcome it?
Sounds like a great book!