by Lorie Lewis Ham

For our local readers, I am so excited to share that I will be doing two book events with fellow mystery author Jennifer J. Chow this month! Jennifer has a wonderful new series set in the area and I have my Tower District Mystery series. We will be talking about both, interviewing each other (which sounded fun), opening up for questions from the audience, and possibly reading a little from our books. I will be focusing on the first book in my series, One of Us, for these two events as I didn’t get to do any in person book talks when the book came out in 2021, but will be happy to answer questions about the new book too that was just released! The official book launch for the new book, One of You, will actually be on July 20 from 1-3 at the Book Barn in Clovis and there will be giveaways and swag to hand out so hope you make it to that one too (more on that next month)! Details on the June events below, along with more info on our books, including One of You!

Here is a repost of KRL’s review of Jennifer’s new book, Ill-Fated Fortune!

Ill-Fated Fortune: A Magical Fortune Cookie Novel by Jennifer J. Chow
Review by Cynthia Chow

Felicity Jin is both excited and a little nervous to have finally inherited her matrilineal gift of baking joy into the tasty treats that come out of her oven. The third-generation Chinese American runs their family’s Gold Bakery in Pixie, California along with her mother, who carefully bakes her own special pineapple buns and egg tarts. What is unexpected is when Felicity begins to write out fortunes for her cookies that begin to come true, especially when her benevolent predictions turn dark and one seems to foretell a man’s death. Known as the Fortune Cookie King, Charlie Gong’s death opens up a business opportunity for Felicity that unfortunately also gives her a motive for his murder. Detective Rylan Sun isn’t shy about her suspicion of Felicity, but Felicity is not about to let a chance to keep Gold Bakery prosperous. So that means that she will push herself to the limit to create hand-crafted, very tasty fortune cookies for Fresno’s Foo Fusion restaurant even though it could make her an enemy of Gong’s Smiley Fortune’s struggling business partners. When not writing up a suspect list that includes business owners and a woman poisoned by the Fortune Cookie King’s questionable treats, Felicity deals with the inability to control her gifts.

This first in a brand-new series by author Jennifer J. Chow is essentially two different mysteries and both are equally compelling. The first is the question of who is responsible for the murder of the Fortune Cookie King, while the second follows Felicity’s quest to explore her inherited gifts and how she can control them. Her very protective mother wants Felicity to keep her head down and not cause trouble, but her best friend Kevin and godmother Alma support her efforts to perfect her talents while solving a murder. Perhaps aiding her the most is an adorable white bunny who seems to embody the Moon rabbit legend honoring sacrifice, and the found rabbit she names Whiskers magically provides hints on the secrets of Felicity’s gifts.

The setting is unique as it takes place in Pixie, a mostly white small town near Fresno and its artist-filled Tower District. Readers will immediately feel drawn into Felicity’s insecurity about her talent and be rooting for her to become confident and in charge of her fate. This is an intriguing debut that blends a strong mystery with a touch of the paranormal, and it leaves readers wanting to see how Felicity and the rest of Pixie succeed in their community. As someone who is a third-generation Chinese American on one side and with generations of family from Fresno on the other, I found so much to relate to and adore about this series and it’s definitely going to be one of my favorites. This charming, very well-written novel will appeal to all readers though, as it quickly develops an array of entertaining and very engaging characters. Fortune cookies have never been depicted with so much nuance and love, with Felicity introducing specialty ube and pandan-flavored cookies along with her traditional quality treats. This is another outstanding read from an increasingly popular author.

You can learn more about Jennifer and her books on her website. If you aren’t able to attend the event, you can click here to purchase Jennifer’s new book from Amazon.

Here is just a bit about One of Us, A Tower District Mystery:

A woman starting over. A gossip website. A handsome playwright with a dark side. A director with an explosive temper. And a murder without a motive. It’s a mystery set in the historic Tower District—Fresno’s dining, arts, and entertainment hub.

And a bit about the new book, One of You:

Roxi Carlucci’s new life in Fresno, CA is starting to come together. She has a new podcast, works as a part-time P.I. with her cousin Stephen Carlucci, and is helping local bookstore owner Clark Halliwell put on the first-ever Tower Halloween Mysteryfest! To top it all off, her favorite author, the Queen of Cozy Mysteries, Marilyn Bradford, will be there!

The brutal summer heat is gone and has been replaced by the dense tule fog—perfect for Halloween! While Roxi misses her life as a children’s author living on the California Coast, she is beginning to feel at home in the Tower District—the cultural oasis of Fresno—where she lives with her cousin Stephen, her pet rat Merlin, a Pit Bull named Watson, and a black cat named Dan.

She just wishes everyone would stop calling her the “Jessica Fletcher” of the Tower District! Even if there will be murders on the page at Mysteryfest, there’s no way there will be another real murder like when she first arrived! But when one of the authors is found dead, she fears she jinxed herself! The Carlucci’s are hired to find the killer before they strike again! Will Mysteryfest turn into a murder fest? How is the local gossip website back, and what does it know about the death of Roxi’s parents?

You can learn more about my Tower District Mystery series on my website.

Our books will be for sale at these events and we will be happy to sign them! If you aren’t able to attend, you can find all of the buy links for the new book One of You on my website, or click here to purchase it from Amazon.

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.

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.