A California Online Magazine with Local Focus and Global Appeal
My husband and I have had plenty of ups and down, and we always try to put the pain, joy, and absurd humor of our daily lives into our novels. It’s one of the reasons readers tell us they’ve formed deep connections with our characters, especially our amateur sleuth, single mom and coffeehouse manager Clare Cosi, whose quirky adventures and complicated love life have helped us sell more than one million books in our Coffeehouse Mystery series.
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After leaving her life, marriage, and career as a pastry chef for a luxurious cruise ship, Juliet Capshaw has found her true happiness back in her hometown of Ashland, Oregon. Now the owner of Torte Bakeshop and it’s smaller offshoot Scoops, Jules has also become the part-owner of the winery Uva with her estranged husband Carlos. They are actually not-so-estranged anymore, as to Jules’s surprise Carlos seems to revel in their low-key life in Ashland, where the healing powers of the water and the celebration of all things Shakespeare seem to inspire and challenge him. Jules is just as proud of her young staff at Torte, and she is thrilled when her barista Andy is announced as being a contestant in the West Coast Barista Cup.
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It’s three a.m. when Mae is abruptly awakened by Dottie, the campground manager, pounded on her camper window, “There’s someone in the storage unit.” Another break-in had occurred a couple of weeks ago, so Mae wasn’t taking any chances. Racing over with an oar in hand, she sees a shape rummaging through her locker. “Whack!” The intruder falls to the ground, but as he rolls over, Mae is surprised to find Stanley Shelton, her ex-con, long dead husband’s lawyer.
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I can’t believe that summer is already half over. It only seems like it just began. At the academic library where I work, we are getting ready for fall classes to begin. This year is especially busy as all of the furniture that has been in storage over the span of the pandemic have to be put back out as social distancing guidelines have expired. It is a thrilling time as we are seeing the library come back to be seen as a place for the students to collaborate and congregate. It’s starting to feel like home again.
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This week we have another fun group of mysteries with food and craft related settings-Four Cuts Too Many: A Sarah Blair Mystery by Debra H. Goldstein, Murder in a Scottish Garden: A Scottish Shire Mystery by Traci Hall, and Murphy’s Slaw: An Alaskan Diner Mystery by Elizabeth Logan.
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BritBox is an extraordinary streaming option for Anglophiles, and one of which I have been a member for a reasonable fee that you can choose to make monthly ($6.99) or annually ($69.99) for a discount. For several years I’ve enjoyed their extensive library, updated regularly, with access to decades-old favorites or “fresh out of lockdown” TV shows, mini series, and movies to meet my every mood: comedies, dramas, mysteries, or nail-biting police procedurals.
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After inheriting the Spirit Canyon Lodge from her late Aunt Lily, former journalist Zo Jones has been enjoying the transition into managing the Happy Camper gift shop in Spirit Canyon, South Dakota. To celebrate Halloween, Zo has organized an in-store book talk and signing by inspirational author Marianne Morgan. Although “Embracing Your Inner Witch” is meant to motivate women into reclaiming their female power, Marianne readily admits to being an actual practicing witch. While suitable for the town’s annual Spirit Spooktacular weekend celebration, it does stir up a mild protest from the town’s busy-body helicopter mom.
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If you’ve read Randy Wayne White’s Doc Ford series set in southeast Florida, then you will know Hannah Smith. She’s not an academic like Ford, but rather counts herself among generations of Smith women who have blazed trails through Florida. Hannah’s knowledge comes from living in the midst of legends that sprang from her ancestors’ experiences, events, and conditions, trying her best to champion what is right without the least bit of fanfare. She has an uncluttered quality about her: she knows the water, she knows the land, she knows how to teach game fishing, and she knows how to apply what she knows to investigating her friends’ problems.
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Here is your weekly reminder that there are also new articles up on our other website KRL News & Reviews! Every week there will be book reviews and giveaways, plus sometimes pet articles, theatre articles, and more! And listen to our new podcast!
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Theatre professors and spouses, Nicky Abbondanza and Noah Oliver, are on their honeymoon at a Hawaiian resort, where musclemen in grass skirts are keeling over like waterfalls. Things erupt faster than a volcano when Nicky and Noah, along with their best friends Martin and Ruben, try to stage a luau show. Nicky and Noah will need to use their drama skills to figure out who is bringing the grass curtain down on male hula dancers before things go coconuts for the handsome couple. You will be applauding and shouting Bravo for Joe Cosentino’s fast-paced, sidesplittingly funny, edge-of-your-seat entertaining fourth novel in this delightful series. Curtain up and aloha!
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I’m often asked where my ideas come from when writing a new book series or a standalone. In this case, Murder at the Lakeside Library, pairs two of my favorite things: water and books. Just like you, I, too, am looking for an escape—even in my writing.
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Emory Martinez is passionate about creating unique cupcake flavors, and after garnering “you’re so talented” praise and winning first-place honors in county fair competitions for her sweet treats, she bravely thought it time to leave her “9 to 5” job and go professional. Her own shop may not be practical, but her “only by a few minutes,” “almost identical” older sister Carrie Berger runs a party planning and catering business offering Emory regular gigs to highlight her specialty cupcakes.
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Barb Goffman leads the way with “A Tale of Two Sisters.” Emma is getting married. She wanted just friends and family, but her mother had other ideas. Instead of twenty people, there are two hundred guests. Mom has ‘The Look’ that can make grown men cower. Emma didn’t have a chance.
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A bed & breakfast on the California coast. A 400-year-old shipwreck. Rumors and roomers, and an 11-year-old girl investigating her suspicions. Of course, there has to be a murder in Treasure Most Deadly, Terry Ambrose’s fifth Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mystery.
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Meet little dolly Molly, she is a kitty who has a quiet elegance, a big heart, and an undemanding personality. She is independent, sits back to observe before exploring. Such a down-to-earth attitude is probably the result of being the single sister with three lively brothers who all have easy, undemanding natures, but love playtime and each other. Like them, this pretty sweetheart does love to leap and swing at toys on a wand, is especially fond of chicken, and can’t resist a tasty kitty treat! She has also gotten along with bigger cats and small dogs. A beautiful, silky black and white ensemble has her always looking dressed for success. What a devoted and adorable addition lovely Molly will be in a home where she will be given time to adjust to a new situation. How about your home sweet home? Molly is very shy and will need a lot of time to adjust to a new home, she is a little hissy with lots of attitude she would be a great friend for a current kitty and not much of a person cat. She loves other cats. Molly is available for adoption at their Blackstone Ave Petco Adoption Center, from Cat House on the Kings.