Death in Advertising (A Tobi Tobias Mystery)
1st in Series
Cozy Mystery
Setting – Missouri
Lyrical Underground (February 7, 2017)
Paperback: 212 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1516102075
Kindle ASIN: B01FBZXSFW
Synopsis
When Tobi Tobias decided to open her own ad agency, having to moonlight in a pet shop wasn’t part of her vision . . . of course, neither was murder.
Sometimes when opportunity knocks, the door you open leads to a closet. That’s certainly the case for Tobi, whose weekends spent cleaning cages in her best friend’s pet shop may soon be over. She’s just landed her first big break—Zander Closet Company needs a catchy campaign slogan ASAP, and Tobi thinks she’s got the right hook to knock ’em dead: “When we’re done, even your skeletons will have a place.”
But when a real dead body topples out of a showcase closet, she’s about to discover there is such a thing as bad publicity. To save her fledgling business and not get killed by the competition, Tobi takes on a new pet project: solving the murder. But with a stressed-out parrot as the only witness to the crime, Tobi will really have to wing it to put the cagey killer behind bars.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
It is always exciting to start a new series. This one introduces us to Tobi Tobias, an ad executive just starting her own firm. She also works part time at a pet store to help pay the bills until she gets more clients. She never intended to steal clients from her old firm, but when they come to her she is not going to turn them away. Zander Closet Company is in a pickle, they need a catchy slogan A.S.A.P. and she delivers a fantastic one. She then needs to put a brochure together for them. What better way than to include pictures of their fixtures in a real home? Unfortunately, she wasn’t ready for a dead body to come out of the closet during the photo shoot. This can’t be happening! Her 1st big break is now all over the news for the worst possible reasons. She needs to save her company by catching the killer and prove that there are no skeletons in her closet. She finally gets the clue she needs from a very unlikely source.
This was a very entertaining read. Tobi and I would be fast friends. She loves Cocoa Puffs and has a unique laugh, I don’t actually snort the way she does, but ask my friends, when I laugh they would know from rooms away it is me. The author has surrounded her with a great group. Her friend, Mary Fran owns the pet store where she works on the weekends. Mary Fran’s teenage son also works there but his real interest is photography. Her assistant, JoAnna, always seems to be two steps ahead of her, but in a good way. She also has some unique neighbors, the victim’s wife is a little bit out there, as is one of the Zander brothers. The other brother is more down to earth and Tobi would love to know him better but she has her reasons for holding back.
Tobi’s investigation of the murder gives us plenty of suspects but for some reason I zeroed in on one person right away and I was amazed when I reached the end that I was actually right, I picked up on all the clues and even knew a key thing about another character well before Tobi. This is unusual for me and I truly wasn’t sure that I had everything right until the very end. The story did try to divert me several times, nicely played, Ms. Bradford or I should say very cleverly written Ms. Bradford, very cleverly written.
This is a delightful debut for this new series. The characters are very engaging and I really love this theme. I am excited for the next installment. Time to restock the Cocoa Puffs 🙂
About The Author
While spending a rainy afternoon at a friend’s house more than thirty years ago, Laura Bradford (a.k.a. Elizabeth Lynn Casey) fell in love with writing over a stack of blank paper, a box of crayons, and a freshly sharpened number two pencil. From that moment forward, she never wanted to do anything else.
Today, Laura is the national bestselling author of the Amish Mysteries
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More Praise For Death in Advertising by Laura Bradford
A fun start to a new cozy series! It combines mystery, a variety of character personalities and even a budding romance.
~Storeybook Reviews
Tobi and the other characters are so likable that you’ll wish you had your hands on book 2 right away – not because there’s a cliffhanger (there isn’t) but because you just want to keep spending time with them.
~Reading Is My SuperPower
Death in Advertising has a fun, quirky set of characters (including a couple of African Gray parrots) and a story-line that kept me guessing. This is a great start to a new series from Laura Bradford.
~The Book’s the Thing
Death in Advertising was a fun, quirky mystery and I loved the humor that was laced throughout the story, which made it an absolute delight to read.
~Moonlight Rendezvous
Filled with humor and a story so well written will be guessing to the end.
~Shelley’s Book Case
Tour Participants
February 6 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
February 6 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, &, Sissy, Too! – SPOTLIGHT
February 7 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
February 7 – Books,Dreams,Life – SPOTLIGHT
February 8 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW
February 8 – Readeropolis – SPOTLIGHT
February 9 – A Holland Reads – SPOTLIGHT
February 9 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW
February 10 – Shelley’s Book Case – REVIEW
February 10 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
February 11 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW
February 11 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW, GUEST POST
February 12 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, INTERVIEW
February 12 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT
February 13 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW
February 13 – Carstairs Considers – REVIEW
February 14 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
February 14 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
February 15 – The Ninja Librarian – REVIEW, GUEST POST
February 15 – Texas Book-aholic – REVIEW
February 16 – Varietats – REVIEW
February 16 – Author Annette Drake’s blog – SPOTLIGHT
February 17 – Girl with Book Lungs – REVIEW
February 17 – Jersey Girl Book Reviews – REVIEW
February 17 – deal sharing aunt – REVIEW
February 18 – Book Babble – REVIEW
February 18 – A Blue Million Books – INTERVIEW
February 19 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
February 19 – The Power of Words – REVIEW
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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.”
I love finding a series at the beginning! Happy to add this one to my to read list.
Looking forward to start this new series from Laura Bradford. Sounds like a great read.
If I do not win I will buy this book
Sounds like a good read.