There are many reasons why I love writing cozy mysteries. It was such fun to create the town of Clover Ridge, Connecticut, for the Haunted Library series, a picturesque town with a large Green in its center, that I filled with fun characters, many of whom appeared in book after book--as long as they weren't murdered or a murderer.
NFL professional football players and cupcakes wouldn’t seem to go hand in hand, so no one is more surprised than Fairy Tale Cupcakes owner Melanie DeLaura by her new franchise candidates. Star quarterback Keogh Graham and his Arizona Scorpions teammate Tyler Matthews are interested in a George Foreman-like business tie-in, one that will keep them profitable after their eventual retirement.
A Fatal Reception is book four in Kathleen Marple Kalb’s Ella Shane Mysteries featuring Ella Shane, an opera singer in New York City in the early 1900s. Ella is a mezzo soprano “trouser diva” who sings male roles. She’s a remarkable character for both her vocal skills and fencing skills, as well as for her generosity of spirit.
After 13 years, Sue Ann Jaffarian retired from her job as a corporate paralegal. She’d just turned 66. The next day, she sold her car, started a new life as a full-time nomadic writer, and left her former life behind.
We are doing something a bit different this week, we have an interview with mystery author Jill Johnson together with a giveaway of her latest book The Woman in the Garden. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase the book from Amazon.
A few weeks ago, my fourth novel in the Erin McCabe series, Nothing But The Truth, was published. I say with little fear of contradiction, Erin is a unique protagonist. She is a thirty something criminal defense attorney, who happens to be a transgender woman. Before you ask, “Wow, how did you come up with that idea?” you should know that before I became an author, I had practiced law for over forty years, much of doing criminal defense, and I also happen to be a transgender woman. I always hasten to add that Erin is not me.
“You’re too big to surf.” It’s an observation (incorrectly) stated throughout this 20th in the Walt Longmire series, leading to the explanation of why the 6’ 4” sheriff of Absaroka County, Wyoming has a surfboard stored in his cabin. Back in 1964, Walt Longmire was a Rose Bowl-winning football player for USC, giving the Wyoming native a chance to surf the waves with his best friend Henry Standing Bear.
This new Northwoods Mystery starts out with Emma deciding that Cooper’s Cove and the family business is where she belongs. In case you have not read the series starter, there was a bit of a cliffhanger but nothing that impedes the understanding or enjoyment of book two. As a plus, the killer from book one isn’t mentioned. Cooper’s Cove is an amazing lakefront rustic resort situated on the shores of Lake Covington in the Wisconsin Northwoods.
This week we have reviews and giveaways of several more fun mysteries for your summer reading tbr-A Pose Before Dying by Alex Erickson, A Limited Edition Murder: A Beyond the Page Mystery by Lauren Elliott, and Lights Camera Bones: A Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery by Carolyn Haines.
Defense attorney Erin McCabe’s new client Jon Mazur is a New Jersey State Police officer charged with murdering the reporter writing an exposé on corruption within the state police. Part thriller, part courtroom procedural, Nothing But the Truth takes us beyond those two labels and explores some very personal and important issues when the parties in these proceedings are gay or transgender.
