by Tracy Condie

This week we are reviewing a debut cozy mystery–Tragedy in Tahoe by Rachele Baker. We also have an interesting interview with Rachele. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it.

Tragedy in Tahoe by Rachele Baker
Review by Tracy Condie

Set in picturesque Lake Tahoe, this series starter does an excellent job of bringing the beauty of the region to life. Rylie finds herself out of her permanent job due to a wildfire and in the middle of a mystery by the second day of her summer temp job as the caretaker at Whitaker Cottages.

Colin Matthews, owner of Butter Lane Bakery, is found dead in the Absinthe Room, a small alcove located off of the underground tunnel one reaches via the secret passage adjacent to the butler’s pantry in the main house. Rylie becomes involved because the victim had her name and number on a piece of paper in his pocket, but she never gave him that information. Why did Colin have her information, how did he get it, and what was it he wanted to speak with her about? Both Rylie and Detective Felton would like to know the answers to those questions.

This story checks all the boxes for a cozy novel. Rylie is quick to make friends with the rental cottage managers Liam and Gillian, who often share information between each other and Detective Felton. The three of them even engage in a little sleuthing on the fly, as well as carefully planned scenarios. Word gets out in the local paper that Whitaker Cottages was the scene of the murder, which means possible bad publicity and canceled reservations; yet another reason for Rylie and her pup Bella to lend a hand with solving the crime.

Liam and Gillian introduce Rylie to people whenever possible, and I had to chuckle each time Gillian would mention that one of Liam’s buddies is single. I don’t think Rylie needs any help with finding a possible love interest, especially since Detective (“call me Mark”) Felton seems to be happy to share information, as well as a picnic while investigating. It was during their trip to Vikingsholm that I found myself taking time to research the location. Vikingsholm is now on my bucket list as a California place of interest. Ms. Baker does a really good job of working actual locations into her story.

There are many suspects in this story: Thomas, the young groundskeeper; Patrick, the owner of the soon-to-be-renovated Tavern Grill; Aidan, the hot-tempered husband; Blake Cunningham, questionable attorney; Steve Randall, a general contractor who overpromises and under-delivers, and the list goes on.

Rylie’s college friend Laurent, good friend to Colin, makes mention that Colin got involved with things he should have left alone. Red herrings are plentiful, and new information is revealed with each new chapter, including some really good-sounding meals from Tahoe city restaurants and Gillian’s kitchen. Even Bella’s dog snacks sounded enticing. With Rylie being a vet, the recipes for the dog treats would have been a nice extra to the story either at the end or worked in throughout. Rylie’s adventures continue in book two entitled Vengeance in the Vines.

Tracy Condie is a paralegal by day and cozy armchair sleuth by night. When she is not working or reading, she enjoys preparing the recipes found in culinary cozies or researching recipes of meal items described therein and sharing reviews of both books and food on Instagram and on KRL. She lives in Corona, California with her husband and dog Zoolie, and looks forward to visiting with their grown sons when their time permits.</

Interview with Rachele Baker:

KRL: How long have you been writing?

Rachele: I started writing in 2012. I wrote and published two non-fiction books. I unpublished them some years later when I decided to take my writing in a new direction and write mysteries.

Rachele Baker

KRL: When did your debut cozy mystery, Tragedy in Tahoe, come out? Would you tell us a little about it?

Rachele: Tragedy in Tahoe was published on August 29, 2023.

The story begins when thirty-two-year-old veterinarian Rylie Sunderland’s world is turned upside-down after the veterinary hospital where she’d worked since she graduated from veterinary medical school burns to the ground, and she suddenly finds herself out of a job.

Her mother convinces her to take a temporary summer job as a part-time property caretaker for an old Lake Tahoe estate turned B&B called Whitaker Cottages. Rylie decides to take the job and is looking forward to having a fun summer at the lake and taking some time to figure out what she’s going to do next with her life.

Then a handsome local bakery owner is found murdered in a secret tunnel that runs under the B&B where Rylie’s working, and she unwittingly becomes a suspect in the murder investigation. She has to find the evidence needed to clear her name. Her search takes her all over Lake Tahoe, and she finds clues to the mystery in many locations around the lake.

Anyone who has ever been to Lake Tahoe will recognize the places where Rylie goes in her search for answers. I’ve featured many actual places around the lake with their real names in the book as well as some fictional places such as the B&B where Rylie gets a job.

There are plenty of twists and turns and an ending you won’t see coming.

KRL: Have you always written mysteries and if not, what else have you written?

Rachele: I started out writing non-fiction. I’ve been a practicing small animal veterinarian (dogs and cats) since 2001. I wanted to write books to help pet parents so I wrote a book called Dog Health Care: Seven Simple Ways To Keep Your Dog Healthy.

KRL: What brought you to choose the setting and characters in Tragedy in Tahoe?

Rachele: I made my main character, Rylie, a veterinarian like me because I felt that would allow me to really connect with her and understand her feelings and experiences. This helped me create a well-developed character that readers can relate to.

I chose Lake Tahoe as the setting for two reasons. One reason was because I lived in north Lake Tahoe where Tragedy in Tahoe is set for over seven years some time ago, so I’m very familiar with the area.

But the strongest motivation for me to set my book in Lake Tahoe was a tour of an old Lake Tahoe estate called the Thunderbird Lodge that I went on with a friend back in 2018. The Thunderbird Lodge was built by a very wealthy man named George Whittell in 1936. There are a number of buildings on the estate including the main house, the Card House, and the Boathouse.

Whittell was somewhat reclusive and had a 600-foot-long underground tunnel carved out of the granite bedrock below the estate to enable him to move between the Card House, the Boathouse, and the main house without being seen by people passing by in their boats.

Our tour guide took us through the rooms in the main house and then led us down into the granite tunnel that runs two stories underground.

He stopped briefly to show us a room off the tunnel called the Opium Room. It was creepy with devils on the fireplace screen and a red glow behind them. I was fascinated by this room and stayed there taking photos while the rest of the group continued on.

It looked like the perfect place for a murder. That granite-walled room captured my imagination and became the inspiration for me to write Tragedy in Tahoe.

In Tragedy in Tahoe, the murder victim, Colin Matthews, is found in a room that looks just like the Opium Room in the Thunderbird Lodge except in my book it’s called the Absinthe Room.

I’ve written an 8-page booklet titled Behind the Scenes: Author Rachele Baker shares her inspiration for writing Tragedy in Tahoe. It includes some cool photos I took during that tour. Anyone that subscribes to my monthly e-newsletter gets the opportunity to download it for free. Here’s the link to subscribe to my monthly e-newsletter.

KRL: Do you write to entertain or is there something more you want the readers to experience from your work?

Rachele: I write for the love of a good mystery. I personally enjoy reading cozy mysteries and joining in with the amateur sleuth to try to figure out whodunnit, and I hope to bring that same enjoyment to my readers.

KRL: Do you have a schedule for your writing or just work whenever you can?

Rachele: I start writing first thing in the morning as soon as my first cup of coffee kicks in. I usually only write on weekdays and leave the weekend free for other things.

KRL: What is your ideal time to write?

Rachele: Definitely in the mornings when my mind is fresh and focused. However, sometimes I get on a roll and continue writing until mid-afternoon.

KRL: Do you outline? If not, do you have some other interesting way that you keep track of what’s going on, or what needs to happen in your book when you are writing it?

Rachele: I don’t prepare an outline before I start writing my books. The story reveals itself to me as I write. That’s what I find the most fun about writing.

I write in Scrivener, and it has many excellent features that allow me to keep track of everything including subplots, timelines, character profiles, and information from the research that I perform.

All of my book’s chapters and the scenes in each chapter are listed on the left side of the screen in Scrivener. I give each of my scenes a title so I know at a glance what happens in each scene.

I do create most of my characters in advance. I have character profiles for each of my characters in Scrivener. I find photos online of people who embody my characters as I envision them and post them in their character profiles. This ensures that I always know what a character looks like and don’t make mistakes like saying they have blond hair in one scene and brown hair in another. Character profiles are listed on the left side of the screen in Scrivener.

Although I don’t outline my books in advance, I do usually figure out what’s going to happen in the next scene or so by the end of a day of writing, so I’ll often write notes in the Notes section of Scrivener (on the right side of the screen) about the things I plan to write about in the next scene or so.

The Notes section in Scrivener is also the place where I’ll write down things that need to happen at some point in the future such as when a character arranges to meet up with someone on a certain day and time.

KRL: Did you find it difficult to get published?

Rachele: I queried literary agents for Tragedy in Tahoe but did not receive an offer of representation, so I decided to indie publish the Rylie Sunderland mystery series. One of my best friends is indie published, and she has served as an invaluable resource in helping me through the process.

Indie publishing my first book and launching it with appropriate marketing and advertising took a massive amount of work and time. Now that I’ve purchased formatting software and other things necessary to get set up as an independently published author, it should take a lot less time to publish and launch the second book in the Rylie Sunderland mystery series, Vengeance in the Vines, as well as subsequent books.

KRL: What are your future writing goals?

Rachele: I’ve written about 30,000 words of the first book in an entirely new series that I’m eager to get back to as soon as I finish launching Books 1 and 2 in the Rylie Sunderland mystery series.

My new book takes place in a small college town in northern California similar to where I now live. My main character and her brother own and work at an Italian deli there. It’s the second location for their family’s Italian deli business. Their parents own and work at the original deli location on the other side of town. Having the main character be from a big Italian family is really fun to write.

KRL: Who are your writing heroes?

Rachele: I think they’re probably some of the most successful cozy mystery authors that write cozy mysteries similar to mine.

KRL: What kind of research do you do?

Rachele: I do a lot of research to make sure that I accurately represent different locations, forensics, medical conditions, techniques, etc. to bring authenticity to my stories.

KRL: What do you like to read?

Rachele: I mostly read cozy mysteries, but I also read historical mysteries, women’s fiction, and anything else that catches my interest. I’ll also read non-fiction if it’s about a subject that interests me.

KRL: What are your favorite TV shows or movies?

Rachele: I like reality TV like the Real Housewives of Orange County, the Bachelor, and Dancing With The Stars. I also like the mysteries on Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. I watch a lot of HGTV shows about renovating houses. I also like House Hunters International so I can virtually visit places where I’d like to go to someday.

KRL: Have you any advice for aspiring or beginning writers?

Rachele: Yes, I do. I’d advise them to take the time to learn the art and craft of writing before they start writing or while they’re working on their first book. I joined Sisters In Crime and Mystery Writers of America writing groups early on, and I’ve attended many webinars about writing that they’ve put on that have been invaluable to me as a writer. I’ve also attended in-person and virtual writing conferences and read a number of books about writing. I belong to some very large writing groups on Facebook that are places where authors can go to discuss things. There are also online forums for members of Sisters In Crime where I can get answers to questions that arise. I would recommend that aspiring and beginning writers find their genre-specific writing communities and get involved with them.

Another thing that’s very important is to make sure to put the best possible version of their book out into the world. That means that they need to take the time to write, edit, and re-write their story as many times as it takes to get it right.

I honestly can’t tell you how many times I wrote, edited, and re-wrote Tragedy in Tahoe before I finally published it. But I started writing it in 2018 and didn’t publish it until 2023, so that should give you some idea.

Also, I’d recommend they make sure there are no typos, grammatical errors, or plot holes in their book before they start querying literary agents or go the indie publishing route.

And if they decide to indie publish, I would strongly recommend that they hire a professional cover designer that has designed a lot of covers in their genre. Homemade book covers are easy to spot and are a red flag for potential readers.

KRL: What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

Rachele: Before I was a veterinarian, my ex-husband and I owned and managed a motel in Tahoe City, California, for over seven years. After my divorce at age 35, I went back to school to become a veterinarian. I spent five and a half years completing my undergraduate degree and prerequisites for veterinary medical school and went on to spend the next four years attending veterinary medical school in order to obtain my doctorate in veterinary medicine.

I strongly believe that you’re never too old to re-invent yourself. I’m currently working towards the goal of becoming a full-time writer and author. I truly appreciate the readers who read my books, write reviews, and support me on my author journey.

KRL: Do you have any pets?

Rachele: Sadly, not at this time. My Golden Retriever who was the love of my life, passed away quite suddenly and unexpectedly a few years ago.

KRL: So sorry. Is there anything you would like to add?

Rachele: I love to read the nice reviews of my books that readers post on Amazon, Goodreads, and BookBub. It’s very gratifying to me as an author to know that I’m giving readers an experience that they enjoy and a mystery that keeps them turning the pages. Writing is a very solitary endeavor so that connection with readers helps keep me going.

KRL: Website? Twitter/X? Facebook? Instagram?

Rachele: Rachele Baker, Mystery Author, website
Sign up for Rachele’s monthly e-newsletter here
Follow Rachele on Facebook
Follow Rachele on Instagram
Follow Rachele on Twitter/X

To enter to win a signed copy of Tragedy in Tahoe, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “tahoe” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen December 4, 2023. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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. Also listen to our new mystery podcast where mystery short stories and first chapters are read by actors! They are also available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Spotify. A new episode goes up next week.

You can use this link to purchase the book. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the Amazon link. You can also click here.

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.