Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!
I am pleased to welcome A. E. H. Veenman
to Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book today!
Many thanks to Dollycas for having me. I’m A. E. H. Veenman, author of Dial QR for Murder
In Prepped for the Kill, Defense Attorney Isis Ferrelli is hanging up the Do Not Disturb sign for two glorious weeks. She and her beau, Jason Shahaman, haven’t decided what to do or where to go.
But what our fast-thinking heroine hadn’t counted on was having to spend a portion of her holiday with a bunch of Preppers. Her Point Shirley neighbors, Raymond Lockhart and Jedemiah Briggs, are buying a survivalist condo designed for the digital age after doomsday. They plan on visiting the Reebok Refuge Silo that weekend for open-house.
Spending three days underground with a bunch of Nervous Nellies hadn’t been on the amateur sleuth’s itinerary. Yet, her good friend Deidre Mason convinces her to go along and look after their friends. And like any attorney worth her weight in lawsuits, Isis could either sue the manager for swindling her friends out of their pensions—or gain a new corporate client.
Usually, our star-studded attorney escapes the hustle and bustle of Boston to the retreat of her small New England community, the lovely ocean-side community of Point Shirley in Winthrop, Massachusetts.
With the most breath-taking views in northeast America, Winthrop is a peninsula just shy of two miles in all directions. On one side there’s a panoramic view of the outer harbor and Atlantic Ocean. On the other, the Boston skyline and inner harbor form a backdrop across the sky.
And, of course, there’s Crystal Cove!
So why in the world would Jed and Ray want to leave? With the rear bed of Jed’s truck packed, Isis has a front seat with her name on it. She travels to the deep woods of northern Maine—and after some car trouble—she Jed, and Ray finally arrive at the Reebok Refuge Silo.
Early on, she observes an employee publicly reprimanded, then a heated confrontation between shareholders. It doesn’t take “Marjorie Gardens” (her online investigator persona) to realize there’s something untoward going on behind the scenes.
During the open-house, a security guard breaks into a sold unit. But when the condo’s resident is later poisoned, it becomes apparent the intruder’s motive wasn’t to take anything from the home away from apocalyptic home—but to put something in.
Isis and Ray take point in investigating the weekend’s continuous disruptions, while Jed repairs his truck. Soon, everyone is literally in the dark when the silo loses power. Instead of a romantic getaway with Jason, Isis is trapped inside the compound.
The refitted structure retains original military protocols. To unlock the blast doors, Isis must find the burglar security guard. He has the second code.
But when she finally locates him, he’s not talking…
Well-prepped sabotage has escalated to murder.
While an escape from the office has taken on a different meaning for Isis, all is not doom and gloom. She and Jason finally go on vacation in their Romance Mystery novella, Ten Days in Tahiti
The Reebok Refuge Silo is either a prepper’s paradise or a real estate scam. But when the decommissioned compound locks down after a power failure—a resident is poisoned, and another is found dead—it’s time to sound the SHTF alarm! Isis has a murder investigation…underground.
She must determine who has betrayed the colony. If she doesn’t, either she, Ray, or Jed could end up bugging-out in the afterlife.
About the Author.
Fun Fact: Veenman is pronounced “fein-mun.”
At an early age, her hunger for mystery books whetted her appetite for hunting down clues and solving crime. Thus began a three-course menu for her becoming a writer.
Rich and sweet was the first Digital Age Cozy in the Marjorie Gardens Mystery series, Dial QR for Murder
E. H. Veenman is a Dutch-American originally from New Jersey and has lived in Holland for more than fifteen years. She’s a member of Sisters in Crime and Crime Writers’ Association.
Visit her Author Website or Like her Facebook Page. You can tag her on Twitter with #DigitalAgeCozy and follow her on Goodreads and Instagram.
Prepped for the Kill(Marjorie Gardens Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Maine
Digital Age Cozy, Exobia (July 4, 2016)
Print Length: 263 pages
ASIN: B01HAJOVQC
No power. No communications. No way out.
Are you ready? Are you prepared?
Defense Attorney Isis Ferrelli wouldn’t have believed it if she weren’t holding the purchase agreement. Point Shirley residents Raymond Lockhart and Jedemiah Briggs are buying a survivalist condo designed for the digital age after doomsday.
The Reebok Refuge Silo is either a prepper’s paradise or a real estate scam…
But when the decommissioned compound locks down after a power failure—a resident poisoned, and another found dead—it’s time to sound the SHTF alarm!
Isis has a murder investigation…underground.
Isis, Jed, and Ray must determine who has betrayed the colony. If they don’t, one of them could end up bugging-out in the afterlife.
Prepped for the Kill is a very gripping story that quickly turns into a a variation of a locked room mystery. Isis Ferrelli, who just happens to be an attorney, gets roped into joining Jed and Ray on their trip to Maine to check out the Reebok Refuge Silo, a place where they plan to buy a condo. Isis thinks it is all a scam and plans to not only save Ray and Jed but anyone that happens to be taken in by this unbelievable scheme. Shortly after they arrive systems start to fail and everyone is trapped. When a man is poisoned and another ends up dead, Isis, Ray and Jed don’t know who they can trust but they need to find a way out before more bodies start piling up.
I will start this by saying I broke my own rule and read this second book in the series without reading the first. Things that happened in that story are referenced quite a bit and it seems not everything was wrapped up and was still part of a subplot to this story. I am very intrigued and will need to go back and read Dial QR for Murder
That aside, Isis Ferrelli aka Marjorie Gardens is a compelling character. Faced with so much and trapped without anyway to contact the outside world, she remains determined and strong. If she is like that in court I would hate to be the opposing counsel. Jed and Ray are unique, one is a master gardener who has won awards for his flowers and the other in an inventor. His latest invention rocked the entire neighborhood when he gave it a test run. They are the preppers, the survivalists, and a little naive when it comes to promises of others that may just be out to make a quick buck.
Veenman tells a great story giving us vast descriptions so we get the true feel of life inside the Reebok Refuge Silo. I would be way too claustrophobic to be able to live anywhere like that. I enjoyed the way twists kept changing the minds of who was the mastermind and who were the minions responsible for trapping everyone in the silo and their reasons for doing so. I would call the pace steady, always a little misdirection or observation that changed things sometimes in a good way others in a bad way. The ingenuity it took to figure out all the clues was at times just mesmerizing.
Isis is a character I want to get to know better. I think I would have given this story a perfect rating if I had read Dial QR for Murder
Today A. E. H. Veenman is giving away one copy of your choice of any of her books.
One Prize per Winner. U.S., E.U., and Canada Residents only.
- GIVEAWAY QUESTION: If You Could Go Anywhere in the World on Vacation, Where Would You Go and What Would You Do?
- GIVEAWAY QUESTION: What Happened the Last Time You had Vacation Plans Ruined? Tell Us About It!
Leave your answers in the comments below and don’t forget to leave your email address so we can contact you if you win!
Contest Will End August 31, 2016 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.
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.”
If I could travel anywhere … hmmm… I have two places. Either Morocco to see all the wonders and buy all the beautiful things. Or Ireland and Scotland. In Scotland I want to visit Edinburgh and go to all the bookstores.
Jandeplus3 at live dot com
My vacation travel location would be Peru and Chile. Enjoy seeing awesome sights, eat great food, wine and explore their history and culture.
I would want to travel to Egypt to see all the museums and ancient wonders through out the entire country. We had a stop at Knott’s Berry Farm in southern California but it was raining so hard that evening all we could do was eat a meal instead of doing the rides. doward1952@yahoo.com
I’d like to tour Austrailia. I took my Mom to Disney for her 80th birthday. She got injured the first morning at breakfast. I had to cancel the rest of the trip and fly back with her. Even though she got injured at Disney and I’d booked through them they refused to waive the charge for rebooking the flight or refund any of the trip because she didn’t have a doctor’s note saying she needed to go home. Their paramedics talked her out of going to the hospital and she wound up needing about two weeks of care for a second degree burn on her leg. Needless to say that was my last trip ever there.
sgiden at verizon(.)net
I’ve always wanted to go to the Greek Isles and just escape from my troubles for a while. Just be a beach bum, read and collect seashells.
My vacation disaster was a planned cruise, Dark Shadows Festival At Sea that we had book a year in advance. We flew into San Juan, on the plane before we arrived I realized that we forgot to get our passports out of the safe at home. As soon as we got to our hotel we asked what we could do. They suggested the State Dept. It’s not the U.S. State Dept but they tried. The U.S. Postal Svc could have helped but they close at 2pm on Fridays and we arrived in San Juan just before then. Next the State Dept sent us to their lawyer and he made a bunch of calls. Needless to say I spent the next day crying as our ship was sailing away. The cruise line wouldn’t give us a refund or a 2 for 1 discount or anything so I will never book another cruise with them ever again. pgenest57 at aol dot com
I would go to Greece to walk among the ruins. It looks so beautiful there.
lkish77123 at gmail dot com
My bucket list has many countries I would love to visit. My relatives on my father’s side of the family are from England/Wales/Scotland countries so of course I would love to look into our family heritage. Ireland and Holland are other areas I would enjoy visiting as well as Australia. These countries just hold so many interest factors that it would be wonderful to see. robeader53@yahoo.com
I would enjoy spending time touring Italy. The history, culture, beauty and culinary delights are special.
Vacation was ruined by unpleasant family who were difficult.
Hmmm…I would go to…Okay, well there’s lots of places I would like to go but I have a daughter so we’d go to her pick first. And she’d pick California for the beaches, Hollywood tours, and Disneyland of course.
I’ve never been on vacation so there’s no ruined stories to tell.
broke(dot)book(dot)bank(at)gmail(dot)com
Questions 1: I’d love to go to Britain…I hope to visit all the marvelous sites that as I child, adult, and BBC fanatic I longed to see: Buckingham, Stonehenge, Highclere Castle, pubs galore, Baker Street, Cotswold region, St Andrew’s golf course.
Question 2: Weather can always be a factor to ruin a vacation, but illness is one for which you can’t make alternate plans: major tummy problems left my husband and I in a Hawaiian hotel room for three days, two days incapacitated on our first Caribbean cruise, and for me, losing our on a celebration on my cruise on the Nile…Although all of these horrible turn of events we made less by friendly hotel staff and new travel mates who stepped up to help.
I loved ‘Prepped for a Kill” and would love to win the first installment “Dial QR for Murder.”
A place I would love to go on vacation to would be Spain. I was there on a student study 46 years ago and still dream of returning some day to show my husband the most incredible sites and history and architecture. But I must say that one of the most fun vacations was when our daughter and son-in-law took us with them and our 4 year old granddaughter for a week to disney! I don’t go on too many vacations so I never had one ruined. Merry
Northstarvance@gmail.com
If I could go anywhere I would go to Hawaii. I haven’t wanted to go there for a long time, because of bad memories associated with a disastrous trip that I had planned to go to Hawaii years ago. I had a two week cruise scheduled for Hawaii and the day before we were to fly out of Chicago to meet the boat, the cruise was cancelled. My boss wouldn’t let me reschedule my vacation so I could take the cruise a couple of months later (for half off the cost of the cruise). I was devistated and didn’t unpack for two weeks and spent two weeks at home instead of in Hawaii.
New Orleans. The French quarter, it would be so much fun to explore it there. The atmosphere everything, so beautiful and intriguing. The ghost tours, the mansions, the music, the people everything! My vacation got canceled because of the mumps! Ick, right?
I would love to go to Europe because my grandfather was born in Denmark!
We have had a few vacation snafoos! Once my son’s luggage was misplaced for awhile while we were on a cruise. And once we had to stay in San Francisco overnight when our flight got changed!
Thank you everyone for participating. And I wish you all the getaway of your dreams. 😀