This week we are once again playing catchup with a fun group of cozy mysteries involving books, monsters, and crafts-A Book Club to Die For: A Beloved Bookroom Mystery by Dorothy St. James, A Death in Door County: A Monster Hunter Mystery by Annelise Ryan, Bound By Murder: An Antique Bookshop Mystery by Laura Gail Black, and Seams Like Murder: A Sewing Studio Mystery by Dorothy Howell.
Haley Randolph would be the first to admit that she’s not exactly a model employee. It was only Hayley’s inattention that resulted in her uncharacteristically volunteering to orientate new employees at Holt’s Department Store, which leads to the discovery of the body of a former salesclerk. This is disastrous, as it could mean the closure of the store, termination of staff, and most importantly, the loss of Haley’s employee discount at their high-end sister store Nuovo.
What a great way to end September and start fall then with this awesome group of mysteries from Penguin and Kensington authors-Basket Case by Nancy Haddock, Murder She Wrote Death of a Blue Blood by Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain, Swag Bags and Swindles by Dorothy Howell, and The Marsh Madness: A Book Collector Mystery by Victoria Abbott. Details at the end of this post on how to win copies of all 4 books, and a link to purchase them.
Jillian phones her best friend Dana Mackenzie—at three o’clock in the morning. It seems that Jillian went home with a man after meeting him at a local wine bar, but now she’s been left alone at his house. To prevent her stranded friend from doing a Walk of Shame, Dana drives over to Brett Sinclair’s home, only to discover that Jillian wasn’t alone there after all.
For twenty-four year-old Haley Randolph, it seems that every silver lining has a cloud. She recently got the awesome job of event planner for the very cool L.A. Affairs but she has to keep working at the questionable-in-taste mid-range Holt Department store for the medical benefits. She won a promotion to work out of Holt’s corporate offices, away from demanding customers who actually want customer service, but it means Haley will be closer to Ty Cameron, her ex-boyfriend whom she can barely think of without crying.
Life is great for Haley Randolph. Sure, she's about to hit twenty-five, that over-the-hill cusp on the way to thirty that she’s totally not concerned about, and yes, she just broke up with the most devastingly handsome, rich and loving boyfriend, Ty Cameron. She did just lose the perfect job as a corporate event planner that she held for five minutes, with the result being that she is still working for eight dollars an hour as a part-time sales clerk at the Holt Department Store owned by her ex-boyfriend's family.
One of the ways that KRL is celebrating Earth Day is to focus in this issue only on e-books. Check out these reviews of 4 different mystery novels/novellas that are all available as e-books, some only as e-books, and you can enter to win a copy of all of them at the end of this post: Fatal Debt: A Dana Mackenzie Mystery By Dorothy Howell, The Play of Light and Shadow By Barry Ergang, Flossed by Elaine Macko, and Justified Action by Earl Staggs.
Haley Randolph always lands on her suitably shod feet. Of course, those shoes match her outfit which is the perfect showcase for her newest, hottest, most enviable designer handbag. She and her BFF Marcy are holding faux bag parties, to let the masses enjoy the look of designer without the heavy duty price tag. Haley herself wouldn’t be caught dead with an imposter bag but those parties pay for her originals so as long as she tells her customers they’re knockoffs, where’s the harm?
