On Flashback Fridays I will share with you
the books I was not able to review
when they were first released that have been screaming at me
from my To-Be-Read bookshelf.

Death by Fountain: A Christmas Murder in Rome
(Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series)
Cozy Mystery
5th in Series
Setting – Italy
Independently published (December 10, 2020)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 174 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8579480453
Kindle ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08BF53KKL

Rome—the city of churches, marble, … and murder? For one American tourist, a famous fountain will become her final resting place.

Wedding bells are ringing, and Lana Hansen could not be happier! Wanderlust Tours guide Randy Wright and his Italian girlfriend are tying the knot in Tuscany, right after he and Lana finish leading a Christmas-themed tour around Rome.

Unfortunately for Randy, his ex-girlfriend is still convinced they are meant to be together. When she shows up at his hotel, they have a nasty fight, and Randy threatens to harm her if she doesn’t leave him be.

After her body is found in the Trevi Fountain, Randy is immediately arrested. Lana is convinced he didn’t do it, yet none of her other guests seemed to have wished the young women ill.

With a shortage of suspects, Lana must dig deep in order to sleuth out who really killed Randy’s ex-girlfriend—before his visit to the Eternal City becomes permanent.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Christmas in Italy! What could be more romantic? That is exactly what Wanderlust Tours guide Randy Wright and his Italian girlfriend thought and have planned their wedding take place immediately following the Christmas-themed tour Randy and Lana Hansen are leading. Most of the people on the tour are Randy’s friends and in addition to seeing the sights, they hope to have a great time with Randy before his wedding takes place in an undisclosed Italian location.

All the plans are ruined when an ex-girlfriend of Randy’s shows up in Rome and at the exact hotel, where the tour group is staying. She believes Randy will leave his bride at the altar to be with her. That is not going to happen but they have a very public fight where Randy tells her to go away with a threat if she doesn’t. Not long after the ex is found dead in the Trevi Fountain and Randy is behind bars. Lana believes he is innocent but she can’t find any other suspects that would have wanted the woman dead. She doesn’t have much time to clear his name if she is going to get him to the church on time.

---

Oh! This was such a fun read. I always have a great time on my virtual vacays with Lana. She and Randy make a fantastic team. I love that this tour was all leading up to Randy’s monumental day. Cue the crazy ex and she was one crazy woman. Rachel, the ex has been tormenting Randy for a while and Randy has dealt with it all without mentioning it to Lana so she is completely caught off guard by the woman’s appearance. Rachel is the reason the location of his wedding has been kept secret. But she is in Rome and she is following him everywhere.

Ms. Aldenson has plotted out a wonderful mystery. She puts Randy in the vicinity at the time of Rachel’s death and readers are taken on a great chase trying to find out who else was near the Trevi Fountain with a motive for wanting the woman killed. I was on the trail with Lana every step of the way. Is the murderer part of her group? That is the natural place to start but she just can’t find the tie she was looking for and neither did I until all was revealed.

I always enjoy Ms. Alderson’s descriptions of the places she travels. They are detailed so readers can easily visualize the building, church, fountain, hotel, streets without getting overly wordy.  It is quite a pleasure to virtually travel with her and her group made even better when there is an intriguing mystery to solve. Death by Fountain is a merry addition to this series! I am thrilled the author has many more travel mysteries planned.

Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent

I will be reviewing Death by Leprechaun next Tuesday when the Great Escapes Book Tour stops here!

About Jennifer S. Alderson

Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she moved to Darwin, Australia, before settling in the Netherlands. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip.

Jennifer’s love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning mystery series—the Zelda Richardson Mysteries and Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries—and standalone stories.

Author Links

Website – Goodreads  –Facebook – Twitter  –LinkedIn – BookBub

Books 7 – Death by Flamenco: An Easter Murder in Seville
Books 8 – 12 – Coming Soon!!

I am giving away 1 Kindle copy!
The contest is open to anyone over 18 years old

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.

Add this book to your
WANT TO READ shelf on GoodReads for 3 Bonus Entries.

Pin this giveaway to Pinterest for 3 Bonus Entries.

If you share the giveaway on Twitter or Facebook or anywhere you will receive 5 Bonus Entries For Each Link.

Contest Will End August 27, 2021, at 11:59 PM CST
Winner Will Be Chosen By Random.org
The 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.”

On Flashback Fridays I will share with you
the books I was not able to review
when they were first released that have been screaming at me
from my To-Be-Read bookshelf.

Death by Bagpipes: A Summer Murder in Edinburgh
(Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – Scotland
Independently published (September 14, 2020)
Paperback: 262 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8684013119
Kindle ASIN: B087RMBK7B

When a trip to Scotland ends in tragedy, travel guide Lana Hansen must sleuth out who murdered her guest before she ends up paying the piper.

Lana hasn’t seen her ex-husband, Ron, since their divorce was finalized eight months earlier. So when they bump into each on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, she is not exactly jumping for joy.

To make matters worse, Ron threatens a member of her tour group—a beloved and respected magician named Presto the Amazing. Ron is convinced Presto stole one of his magic tricks—the same act that propelled the famous magician into stardom—and swears he will get his revenge.

After Presto is scared to death by a group of well-meaning bagpipers, the police suspect he was first poisoned—and that Ron is the culprit!

As much as Lana would love to let her ex-husband rot in prison, she soon discovers that he is not the only one who would prefer to have Presto vanish.

Did Ron poison the magician? Or did one of several family members accompanying Presto on the trip use this vacation to knock off the domineering patriarch?

When another guest is murdered, Lana must decide how far she is willing to go to save the man who broke her heart.

Dollycas’s Thoughts

What should have been an idyllic trip to Scotland is ruined by first one murder and then another.

Magician Presto has arranged a tour to Scotland for his family. Lana soon learns the family is highly dysfunctional but she never imagined their patriarch would be killed and that her ex-husband Ron, who she hasn’t seen in months, would be tapped as the prime suspect. Ron does have a history with the deceased by Lana can’t believe he would resort to murder.

Then another member of the family group is killed. With Ron in custody, Lana fears she is traveling with a killer.

---

Lana’s patience is really tried in this Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery. The family is a bunch of spoiled brats expecting their father/grandfather to dole out cash for their every need and want. Ms. Alderson has created a wonderful group of unlikable characters. They are each unique with their own issues and easily envisioned from the author’s descriptions. Lana and Presto’s personal secretary are the only ones besides one of the deceased that have any redeeming qualities.

The roots of evil in this mystery are money and greed and Lana has a plethora of suspects including her ex. The author has put her protagonist in a difficult situation. She sees and overhears things, things that make her realize she is in a prime spot to do some investigating. She uncovers many secrets and lies and in doing so she puts her own life in danger. I found the mystery to be very well-plotted with a nice pace and an exciting reveal.

Again Ms. Alderson takes her readers on a great virtual vacation. Her descriptive voice brings all the landmarks her characters visit to life. I just wish Presto’s family would have appreciated the extraordinary places they were visiting.

Death by Bagpipes was another Perfect Escape. I really am enjoying this series.

Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent

About Jennifer S. Alderson

Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she moved to Darwin, Australia, before settling in the Netherlands. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip.

Jennifer’s love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning mystery series—the Zelda Richardson Mysteries and Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries—and standalone stories.

Author Links

Website – Goodreads  –Facebook – Twitter  –LinkedIn – BookBub

I am giving away 1 Kindle copy!
The contest is open to anyone over 18 years old

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.

Add this book to your
WANT TO READ shelf on GoodReads for 3 Bonus Entries.

Pin this giveaway to Pinterest for 3 Bonus Entries.

If you share the giveaway on Twitter or Facebook or anywhere you will receive 5 Bonus Entries For Each Link.

Contest Will End February 19, 2021, 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.”

Dropping in today to post a review.
Still, many to write, but will post as I get them done 🙂

Death by Windmill: A Mother’s Day Murder in Amsterdam
(Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series)
by Jennifer S. Alderson

About Death by Windmill

Death by Windmill: A Mother’s Day Murder in Amsterdam
(Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Publisher: Independently published (May 16, 2020)
Paperback: 218 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8646330070
Digital ASIN: B0843K7HNQ

A Mother’s Day trip to the Netherlands turns deadly when a guest plummets from a windmill. Was it an accident or a murder? For Lana Hansen, the answer will mean freedom or imprisonment for someone close to her…

 

Wanderlust Tours guide Lana Hansen and her mother, Gillian, haven’t seen eye to eye in over a decade, ever since Lana was wrongly fired from her job as an investigative reporter. So when Lana’s boss invites Gillian to join her upcoming Mother’s Day tour to the Netherlands, Lana is less than pleased.

 

What could be worse than spending ten days with her estranged mother? Lana is about to find out…

 

The tour begins on a high note when the majority of guests bond during their visit to the Keukenhof flower gardens and a cruise around the picturesque canals of Amsterdam.

 

Despite her initial reservations, Lana thinks this might be the best group she had ever led. Until she discovers one of her guests—a recent retiree named Priscilla—is the person who destroyed her career in journalism.

 

All Lana can see is red. But circumstances dictate that she figure out a way to lead the tour, make peace with her mother, and not murder her guest. She doesn’t know whether she can handle the pressure.

 

Lana needn’t worry. Shortly after their fight, Priscilla falls off the balcony of a historic windmill at Zaanse Schans. Was she pushed or simply careless? The investigating officers suspect murder—and topping their suspect list is Lana’s mom!

 

Can Lana save Gillian? Or will her mother end up spending the rest of her days in a Dutch prison?

Dollycas’s Thoughts

Wunderlust Tours is off to the Netherlands for a Mother/Daughter trip over Mother’s Day. Lana is excited that a couple of the Fabulous Five from her first tour will be on the trip with their daughters but is surprised when her boss Dotty joins the trip with her best friend. Before they get on the plane she learns why. Dotty has invited Lana’s mother Gillian to come along in hopes that this mother/daughter combo can heal the rift between them. She has even added Randy as the head tour guide to be sure Lana has whatever time she needs to be with her mother. What Dotty didn’t count on is that one guest could throw the whole trip into a tailspin by her relationship to Lana. When the guest ends up dead, falling off a historic windmill, Lana and her mother both find themselves on the investigator’s suspect list.

_____

I really love this series. A former investigative reporter, Lana Hansen has the skillset and instincts needed to be a great amateur sleuth. This time the victim personally did something to hurt her and she learns other hurtful things as she investigates but she sticks with it all while doing her job as a tour guide too. The woman can think on her feet as she takes on everything thrown at her.

Ms. Alderson’s character development is top-notch. The recurring characters grow book to book and all the characters continue to evolve within the pages of this story. The mystery she has created for them is excellent as well. Her attention to detail shines and kept me guessing right up until the end. I had an idea of where she was going but wasn’t sure until it was spelled out for me.

I really enjoyed the mother/daughter theme, their interactions added so much to the story.  The virtual vacay to Amsterdam was great too. The author continues to take me places I will never actually be able to travel to and her descriptions make every place we go so easy to visualize.

Every book in this series has been a Perfect Escape. I can’t wait for Death by Bagpipes coming September 18 and Death by Fountain coming December 18 for my next virtual vacations with Lana and Dotty. Sans the dead bodies they are so much fun!

Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent

About Jennifer S. Alderson

Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she moved to Darwin, Australia, before settling in the Netherlands. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip.

Jennifer’s love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning mystery series—the Zelda Richardson Mysteries and Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries—and standalone stories.

Author Links

Website – Goodreads  –Facebook – Twitter  –LinkedIn – BookBub

Coming September 18

Coming December 18

Purchase Links – Amazon 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Great Escapes Praise for Death by Windmill: A Mother’s Day Murder in Amsterdam
(Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series)
by Jennifer S. Alderson

Excellent character development, a murder mystery that keeps one guessing and a free (virtual) trip to Amsterdam make Death by Windmill a must-read book of this year.
~The Book Decoder

Since I love to travel the world, I especially love these tour guide mysteries. Alderson writes the perfect amount of location details that make readers believe he/she is right there, in a museum, having High Tea, or dodging a killer through gigantic turning windmills. I give this book FIVE stars.
~Here’s How It Happened

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

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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.”