by Kathleen Costa

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win either an ebook or print copy of Seashells and Murder, and a link to purchase it from Amazon. We also have a cocktail recipe from Kathleen.

A Pinch of This and A Dash of…Murder!
Ellie Bishop just wanted to escape: a dead-end job, a broken heart, and cold, dreary London weather. Her fairy godmother, aka Aunt Olive Goldberg, has granted her the perfect remedy…an up-scale, beachside resort on Florida’s Gulf coast. Her parents and sister were quite vocal in their opinions she should spend her time finding a “career” rather than jetting off on vacation, but who would pass this up? She’s young, single, and promised she’d look for something more stable after the new year. The Sunset Palm Resort is everything she’s hoped: sunny weather, delightful regional treats, and friendly people from the waiter Sol and the hunky Dr. Thornton to the squawking scarlet macaw named Hemingway and the nosy cat named Mohito. Sure her first few days of vacation were fraught with a missing aunt and a murder, but all was resolved, with only a bit of personal peril, and she’s able to relax and get her bikini tan.

Barefoot Sleuth Mystery
Flip Flops and Murder (August, 2020) KRL Review HERE
Seashells and Murder (September, 2020)
Cocktails and Murder (October, 2020)

Seashells and Murder earns 5+/5 Key Lime Pie Bites…Engaging Delight!
Shady Pines Resort is hosting their own version of the Great British Baking Show competition to highlight Florida’s iconic dessert…Key Lime Pie. Five competitors of varying age, background, temperament, and experience vie for an all-inclusive vacation as first prize. It is described as quite a culinary coup to get former TV chef, now food critic, Chad Coleman to agree to judge, and since Ellie has made a name for herself with her last success uncovering a murderous resort guest, she’s been asked by the resort owner to act as a judge in a runner-up contest…delicious, she thinks! But, possible sabotage is the least of the competitor’s antics. During round one’s tasting, Coleman keels over, crashes onto the table of pies…dead! But, the “how” in this murder mystery is just as curious as the “why,” and Ellie is prepared to uncover both!

Serving up Entertainment! H.Y. Hanna has penned a marvelously delicious cozy mystery set on the coast of Florida with intrigue, surprises, close calls, and in this second book…delicious Key Lime Pie! The mystery is a great challenge for one’s inner Sherlock with so many having opportunity and means to “do in” the judge from the contestants to the resort’s head chef Remy Marcel, but the motive? Slowly the twists, the connections, the possible reasons are revealed keeping me totally engaged in the drama. I was tempted to leap to the end, but I found the lead up and the predicaments in which Ellie found herself too compelling to pass up. There’s the “romance” dance between Ellie and the hunky doc to also keep me reading, and what new escapades will Hemingway the resort’s macaw engage in to drive Ellie crazy? H.Y. Hanna’s writing style has always been the reason I’m a big fan. She plots well so many possibilities hiding the killer often in plain sight, creates endearing and frustrating characters to add realism, and uses descriptive language to create delicious pictures of the resort, the beach, and the characters. She doesn’t rely just on the third-person narrative. Her dialogue is fun, informative, and best suits each of the different personalities. Aunt Olive is a favorite character illustrating the adage “you’re never too old,” but I really like following Ellie. Hanna always creates realistic lead characters in her work: strong, self-sufficient, clever but struggling with confidence and often in the romance department, too. Animal lovers will be delighted with the two supporting characters in the somewhat devilish macaw and “lucky to be around” black cat. Fantastic!

Hurrah! Book 3 Cocktails and Murder is out now! Ellie witnesses a restaurant kerfuffle when a hoity-toity trophy wife mercilessly pranks a young waitress. Her friend and head waiter tries to quiet the guests, but instead is threatened. So, when the husband ends up dead, the waitress and Ellie’s friend have a lot to answer for. Order HERE.

Alert! Book 4, Bikinis and Murder, is on PREORDER. Set to release in January 2021, what new trouble will Ellie discover?

Audible Delight! Book 1, Flip Flops and Murder, has made it to audio with my favorite narrator Pearl Hewitt! What a marvelous way to enjoy H.Y. Hanna’s work! Order HERE.

Be a Big H.Y. Hanna Fan!
USA Today bestselling author H.Y. Hanna is the author of my all-time favorite series; the now ten-book Oxford Tearoom Mystery always added a little treat for me to bring a proper English tearoom into my home. Another top favorite is the six-book Bewitched by Chocolate series, which sprinkles a bit of magic to the delectable descriptions of all kinds of chocolate. I am thrilled that she has given me another favorite with the entertaining four-book English Cottage Garden Mystery planting wonderful characters and a clever mystery along with a bit of humor. All of her series are in print and eBook, but several are also in audio format giving readers a little extra with the delightful voice artistry of narrator Pearl Hewitt who enriches the already engaging story with varied accents, dialects, emotions, and tone. I always say “Murder is better with an English accent.”

Facebook – H.Y. Hanna Books
Website – H.Y. Hanna
Twitter At @_HYHanna

Tropical Treat Key Lime Martini
Resource: mixthatdrink.com/key-lime-martini
The Key Lime Martini tastes a lot like a Key Lime Pie. It features vanilla vodka, Coco Lopez cream of coconut, pineapple juice, cream, and graham cracker crumbs on the rim of the glass. Delicious!

Ingredients:
• 2 ounces vanilla vodka
• 1/2 ounce key lime juice or regular lime juice
• 2 tablespoons Coco Lopez cream of coconut
• 1 ounce pineapple.

Instructions:
1. Rim a cocktail glass with the graham cracker crumbs.
2. Fill a martini shaker with ice and put all the other ingredients in it.
3. Shake thoroughly and strain into a chilled martini glass.
4. Garnish with a wheel of lime or a lime twist.

To enter to win an ebook or print copy of Seashells and Murder , simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “seashells,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen September 19, 2020. U.S. residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. You can read our privacy statement here if you like. MAKE SURE TO STATE IF YOU WANT PRINT OR EBOOK.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Be sure to check out our new mystery podcast too with mystery short stories, and first chapters read by local actors. A new episode went up this week.

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Kathleen Costa is a long-time resident of the Central Valley, and although born in Idaho, she considers herself a “California Girl.” Graduating from CSU-Sacramento, she is a 35+ year veteran teacher having taught in grades 1-8 in schools from Sacramento to Los Angeles to Stockton to Lodi. Currently Kathleen is enjoying her retirement revitalizing hobbies along with exploring writing, reading for pleasure, and spending 24/7 with her husband.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.