Special Guest – Lori Roberts Herbst – Author of Negative Reaction (Callie Cassidy Mysteries) #GuestPost / #Giveaway / #greatescapesbooktours

Negative Reaction (Callie Cassidy Mysteries)
by Lori Roberts Herbst

I am so happy to welcome Lori Roberts Herbst
to Escape With Dollycas today!

Okay, Lori, you have the floor. 

Hi Everyone,

Even before I began penning (or more accurately keyboarding) cozy mysteries, I was a mystery reader, as well as a voracious viewer of crime shows such as CSI, Law and Order, and Dateline. (Yes, I am a bona fide Keith Morrison fangirl.) Like everyone else who reads and who watches TV, I like to think I know all about DNA, crime scene investigation, alibis, and autopsies. I’m a regular armchair forensics expert. (I even got a fake CSI certification on a trip to Las Vegas years ago, so there’s no arguing with my resume!)

My husband and I joke about our mythical mastery of forensics. A few years ago, he fell in the bathroom and got a gash on his head, which resulted in a bloody mess. We weren’t too alarmed, because all that TV knowledge we’d gained taught us that skull wounds tend to bleed profusely even when they’re not severe. As I was cleaning up the blood, my husband offered this bit of sage advice: “Don’t use bleach. It’s the first thing investigators will look for.”

Even with my bogus forensics degree, I still have to conduct a lot of research as I write. After all, in my fictional world someone is always getting bonked, trampled, stabbed, or poisoned. Since I myself have never been on the giving or receiving end of such maladies (though I did once accidentally double dose my then-tween daughter on cold meds, resulting in a tingly scalp), I frequently have to turn to the internet for help.

For me, the fact-finding process is addictive. I could spend hours each day tumbling down the research rabbit hole. I’ll learn the answer to one question, which leads to another question, and another—sometimes questions that don’t have anything to do with a work in progress. It’s just fun to chase the answers.

The downside is that my search history resembles that of a serial criminal. If I were ever to be singled out as a suspect in a crime, the computer forensics team would have a field day as they examined my Google quests. Here is a recent sampling of the macabre questions I’ve posed to Google:

• What happens to a body that falls from a catwalk?
• What happens to a body left in a hot tub?
• What happens to a body that is buried without being embalmed?
• What is the process if someone discovers human bones in an unmarked grave?
• Can you actually stab someone to death with a letter opener?
• How long does it take to strangle someone to death?
• If a horse tramples someone, what does the head wound look like?
• What kinds of poison can result in a coma?
• Can you purchase carbon monoxide online?
• Is grave rubbing legal?
• Are live dogs allowed in cemeteries?

If you found all this on your spouse’s or child’s computer, I imagine you’d start sleeping with your eyes open. But before you call the FBI on that family member, check for a manuscript in progress. You’re probably just living with a writer.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to sniff for the odor of bleach…

What a great post! Thank you so much for visiting today! 

Keep reading to find out more about Lori’s latest release. 

About Negative Reaction

Negative Reaction (Callie Cassidy Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Setting – Colorado
Independently Published (April 25, 2023)
Digital – Number of Pages: 305
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BXFV1N4C

Wedding bells are ringing in Rock Creek Village. But when a venomous villager crashes the nuptials, events take a toxic turn…

The long-awaited day has arrived—photographer Callie Cassidy’s best friend is tying the knot. With a gentle snow falling outside and family and friends gathered inside, the wedding couldn’t be more perfect. Even Callie’s golden retriever, Woody, and her tabby cat, Carl, have donned tuxes for the occasion. And the icing on the cake? Callie’s trainee, Braden, is acting as official photographer, with the assistance of his twin brother, Banner. Callie is as proud as if she were their mother.

But as the ceremony ends, an uninvited and apparently inebriated visitor barges into the Event Center. The guests are shocked—and more than a little dismayed—to see Brian Ratliff, the twins’ absentee father, who slunk out of town two years prior, leaving his teenage boys to fend for themselves. Several volatile confrontations ensue, concluding with an angry altercation between Brian and Braden.

When Brian later winds up in a coma, the victim of poisoning, suspicion mounts against Braden. Callie is incensed, certain the boy isn’t capable of harming his father. Besides, plenty of villagers despised the man—any of them might have slipped him the toxin that rendered him unconscious.

As evidence accumulates against Braden, Callie fears he will end up taking the fall. With Detectives Raul Sanchez and Lynn Clarke stonewalling her, she turns to family and friends—including the town’s feisty new cub reporter—for help. Together, can they prove Braden’s innocence—and reveal the true culprit?

About Lori Roberts Herbst

Lori Roberts Herbst, who writes the Callie Cassidy Mystery series, spent much of her life writing, editing, and psychoanalyzing. Through thirty years of teaching journalism, advising newspaper and yearbook staff, instructing budding photographers, and counseling teenagers, she still managed to hang on to a modicum of sanity. Her books have earned first-place CIBA awards in the Murder and Mayhem division. She currently serves as secretary of the Sisters in Crime North Dallas chapter and is a member of the Sisters in Crime Guppies and the Mystery Writers of America.

Author Links:
Website    Facebook    GoodReads    BookBub    Amazon    Instagram

Purchase Links

Click on the covers or the link below to order.
Amazon 

Great Escapes Praise for Negative Reaction
(Callie Cassidy Mysteries)
by Lori Roberts Herbst

Once again, Lori Roberts Herbst has written a delightful & entertaining cozy mystery that I enjoyed from start to finish. The heart of this series really is the community of Rock Creek Village, and I loved them in Negative Reaction the best so far.
~Reading is my Superpower

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a well-crafted cozy mystery. I have read all of the books in this series and I have loved them all. And this one is no different.
~MJB Reviewers

TOUR PARTICIPANTS – Please visit all the stops. 
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