On Flashback Fridays I will share with you the books I missed when they were first
released that have been screaming at me from my To-Be-Read bookshelf.
When I was asked to organize a book tour for Hy Conrad’s new book, Dearly Departed
Toured to Death (An Amy’s Travel Mystery)
1st in Series
Cozy Mystery –
Setting – Monaco
Kensington (January 27, 2015)
Hardcover: 320 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1617736780
Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1617736803
E-Book ASIN: B00M4ASP1K
While Fanny takes care of the business end of Amy’s Travel in New York City, Amy is traipsing around Monte Carlo, managing their first mystery-themed excursion, a road rally in which guests compete to solve a fictional murder along the way. Amy still has reservations about partnering up with her mother. But both women, having lost the men in their lives, need a fresh beginning.
The trip starts off without a hitch. Clues quickly mount, the competition is lively, and just when the suspense is peaking, the writer they hired to script their made-up mystery is found murdered in his New York apartment. Suddenly, on top of running a new venture together, mother and daughter must solve a real-life case of foul play, while trying not to drive each other bonkers. But Amy and Fanny are ready, willing, and Abel to track down a clever killer with some serious emotional baggage, one who will go to any lengths to keep dark secrets from seeing the light of day…
Dollycas’s Thoughts
A traveling whodunit based on a real case, sign me up!
Amy and Fanny are trying to pump some life into Amy’s Travel. Amy hires a man to write a murder mystery game for a tour she has booked to Europe. It will be more of a rally than a race. There are 6 teams of 4, each representing a character in the mystery. Each day the guests will find and follow the clues to try to be able to solve the whodunit by the time they reach the final stop. Sounds like fun but soon there are extra clues, a hotel break-in, and rocks flying. One of the guests thinks the mystery is based on a real life murder. An investigation they were part of… Then Amy learns from Fanny the author of the mystery has been killed. She hopes everything she needs to complete the tour has been sent, but when one of the group dies suspiciously, the game fades. The group realizes their is a killer among them. An arrest is made but has the killer been caught?
This was a entertaining read. The guests on the tour are an eclectic bunch, from a couple with their teenage sons, a wealthy socialite and her “companion”, an uncle with his 12 year old niece, and even a judge.
The story itself is broken into 2 parts. The first is the game and the time abroad, part 2 takes place after Amy and some of the guests return to the states. Amy tries to track the original case and determine if and how it relates to the new cases. It has to be the same person/s for all 3, or does it? The author throws some clever twists throughout the book and a really good one at the end. I had it narrowed down to one or two people myself, but he surprised me with the details.
A quick read, a good pace, great characters, beautiful settings. This was an enjoyable excursion. I am looking forward now to Dearly Departed
About The Author
Hy Conrad was the co-executive producer of the hit television series Monk
Author Links:
Webpage – Facebook – Blog – GoodReads
I am sorry I don’t have a giveaway for this book because it was an e-book. But Hy Conrad is touring Dearly Departed with Great Escapes Book Tours. Click Here to go to the tour page and enter to win a copy of Dearly Departed or Toured to Death
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.”