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

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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.”

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

July 13 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW  

July 13 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – SPOTLIGHT

July 14 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

July 14 – A Wytch’s Book Review Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW (unable to post)

July 15 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW 

July 15 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 16 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 16 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

July 17 – Here’s How It Happened – REVIEW

July 17 – The Book Diva’s Reads – GUEST POST

July 18 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

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July 19 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

July 19 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

July 20 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

July 20 – My Reading Journeys – SPOTLIGHT

July 21 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW  

July 21 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

July 22 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT

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July 23 – eBook Addicts – 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.”