Autumn Embers by Tina deBellegarde

October 14 – November 8, 2024
Virtual Book Tour
A Batavia-on-Hudson Mystery

Bianca St. Denis travels to Kyoto to return a priceless artifact recovered in Batavia-on-Hudson during last summer’s flood. It’s late October and the city of 2,000 shrines is in full autumn splendor. While she’s in Japan’s ancient capital, Bianca visits with her son, a student at Kyoto University. Ian shows her the sights and introduces her to his circle of friends—his chosen family. 

On the night of her welcome party, Bianca thinks she witnesses a struggle in the garden, perhaps even a murder. When the police investigate and find no body, she is stumped yet alarm bells won’t stop ringing. She knows she’s witnessed something. 

When a dead body surfaces and suspicion falls on her son, Bianca’s maternal instincts spring to action to protect Ian and clear his name. Meanwhile, things in Batavia-on-Hudson are tense. Sheriff Mike Riley is losing his re-election bid while tackling devastating news about his dead partner, and wavering about his troubled marriage. 

Autumn Embers explores the malleable nature of our identities and reminds us that chosen families can be stronger than we think, and that true friendship can bridge any distance.

My Thoughts

As an Upstate New Yorker and loyal mystery reader, I have gravitated to deBellegarde’s Batavia-on-Hudson series and thoroughly enjoyed each one. She has built an engaging series featuring characters who become more complex with each book, especially Bianca who is navigating an entirely new world following the death of her beloved husband.

Autumn Embers is a bit harder-edged than previous entries in the series, bringing in more unsavory elements of the mystery/suspense genre like police corruption and organized crime. This seems to be a natural evolution for Bianca and Mike as they both grapple with major changes and challenges to their lives.

The plot here is intriguing, with deBellegarde delivering two stories of challenges – one with Bianca in Japan and one with Mike in Batavia-on-Hudson. The stories are very different but extremely unsettling for both characters and are delivered with wit and cleverness. The insights into Bianca’s relationship with her son and Mike’s past are woven into the larger story seamlessly.

The author secures her place among the best of New York State mystery authors with this one. Recommended.

Book Details:

Genre: Female Amateur Sleuth
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: September 17, 2024 
Number of Pages: 321 
Series: A Batavia-on-Hudson Mystery, 3
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop | Goodreads

Book Shortlinks:

Author’s Website    https://pictbooks.tours/fG4Mf    
Goodreads    https://pictbooks.tours/RffyP    
BookBub    https://pictbooks.tours/oOnWo    @tinadebellegarde
Instagram    https://pictbooks.tours/snnbX    @tdb_writes
Threads    https://pictbooks.tours/ON7mg    @tdb_writes
Twitter    https://pictbooks.tours/KWC5h    @tdbwrites
Facebook    https://pictbooks.tours/ldYoE    @tinadebellegardeauthor
Sleuths & Sidekicks    https://pictbooks.tours/HUgvj    

Batavia-on-Hudson Kindle Series    https://pictbooks.tours/mJ8P9    
Amazon –    https://pictbooks.tours/dQR74    
BN –    https://pictbooks.tours/qDwAj    
Goodreads –    https://pictbooks.tours/aLbxM    
BookShop.org –    https://pictbooks.tours/mxkpn    

Author Bio:

Tina deBellegarde’s debut novel, Winter Witness, was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel. Dead Man’s Leap, her second book in the Batavia-on-Hudson Mystery series, was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best Contemporary Novel. Reviewers have called Tina “the Louise Penny of the Catskills.” Tina also writes short stories and flash fiction. Her story “Tokyo Stranger,” nominated for a Derringer Award, appears in the Mystery Writers of America anthology When a Stranger Comes to Town edited by Michael Koryta. Tina co-chairs the Murderous March Conference and is a founding member of Sleuths and Sidekicks, where she blogs, tours virtually, and teaches writing workshops. She is a member of Writers in Kyoto and reviews books for BooksOnAsia.net. She lives in Catskill, New York with her husband Denis and their cat Shelby. She travels frequently to Japan to visit her son and daughter-in-law and to do research. Tina is currently working on a collection of interconnected short stories based in Japan.

Catch Up With Tina deBellegarde:
www.TinadeBellegarde.com
www.SleuthsAndSidekicks.com
Goodreads
BookBub – @tinadebellegarde
Instagram – @tdb_writes
Threads – @tdb_writes
Twitter/X – @tdbwrites
Facebook – @tinadebellegardeauthor