Tag: Mystery

Book Tour, Ghosties, Mystery, paranormal, Partners In Crime, Psychological, Suspense

The Bone Pendant Girls by Terry S. Friedman

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

February 10 – March 7, 2025 Virtual Book Tour
The Andi Wyndham Series

Description

Beware the Fisherman

Andi Wyndham has communicated with spirits since she was a kid. When a bone pendant carved into the likeness of a girl’s face calls to her at a gem show in Pennsylvania, she can’t resist buying it and a sister piece. When she discovers the girls are missing runaways and the pendants are made of human bone, Andi is drawn into a mystery that will force her to confront her gifts, her guilt, and the ghosts haunting her.

Pendant Girls Mariah and Bennie urge Andi to find a man they call “Fisherman,” a master of disguise. Teaming up with a handsome private eye and a South Carolina sheriff, Andi must find the girls’ bodies and put their souls to rest, before the Fisherman casts his deadly net to trap Andi.

My Thoughts

Bone Pendant Girls is a non-stop, nail-biting ride of story. While there are plenty of books out there about people who can talk to the dead, this one comes alive in the hands of this author. Spare prose focuses on the important elements of the story – Andi, the girls, and the Fisherman – and builds tension that ultimately snaps and builds again until you get to the stunning conclusion.

The story is well-paced and full of action. The author skillfully blends a murder mystery with the supernatural elements, which results in one of the most chilling climaxes I’ve read in awhile. The characters, especially Andi, are nicely developed and their relationships add to the success of the story.

As a jewelry artist and a frequent visitor to gem shows, I am always looking at carved stones. This story gives me a new perspective with which to handle and care for these kinds of objects. I will think long and hard about handling or buying any stones that are carved faces!

Recommended for fans of paranormal mysteries.

Book Details:

Genre: Paranormal Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Southern
Published by: CamCat Books
Publication Date: February 25, 2025
Number of Pages: 496
ISBN: 9780744307931 (ISBN10: 0744307937)
Series: Andi Wyndham, Book 1
Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | CamCat Books | Goodreads | Audible

Author Bio

Terry Friedman is a writer and a rockhound. Her novel, BONE PENDANT GIRLS, a paranormal thriller, was published by CamCat January 30, 2024.

Terry began her writing career freelancing for a small newspaper outside Philadelphia. While raising her daughters Jessica and Chelie in West Chester, PA, she taught English for decades and traveled abroad with students. Terry earned an M.F.A. from Wilkes University and also graduated from the FBI Citizens Academy. Thirteen of her fiction and non-fiction pieces have been published, and she co-edited Delaware Valley Mystery Writers’ short stories anthology. DEATH KNELL V.

She is an award-winning author. In 2022 the Southeastern Writers Association awarded her first place in their writing contest for her humor piece, second place for BONE PENDANT GIRLS in a fiction category, and an honorable mention for THE BANSHEE’S WAIL, an unpublished Irish novel. She is a Killer Nashville Claymore Finalist in the Supernatural category.

A Pennwriters Board member and a member of Sisters in Crime, she currently writes thrillers from coastal South Carolina. Terry has traveled the world from Fiji to Delphi and brings to her writing a solid respect for things that go bump in the night.

Catch Up With Terry S. Friedman:
www.TerryFriedmanAuthor.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads – @tfried44
BookBub – @tfried44
Instagram – @wineandreeses
Threads – @wineandreeses
X – @tfried44
BlueSky – @tfried44
Facebook – @TerrySFriedmanAuthor

Shortlinks

Author’s Links:
Website    https://pictbooks.tours/tzRO0
Goodreads    https://pictbooks.tours/xO9IJ    PERSONAL  
Goodreads    https://pictbooks.tours/zkm3f    AUTHOR  
BookBub    https://pictbooks.tours/HUNf9    @tfried44
Instagram    https://pictbooks.tours/gVgO0    @wineandreeses
Threads    https://pictbooks.tours/Lc8Fe    @wineandreeses
Twitter    https://pictbooks.tours/Rf4R2    @tfried44
Facebook    https://pictbooks.tours/ZwOkv    @TerrySFriedmanAuthor
BookSky    https://pictbooks.tours/LIwHa
Amazon Author    https://pictbooks.tours/3MDT2
Terry’s Jewelry Site    https://pictbooks.tours/Ko2lf

Retail Links: 
Amazon –     https://pictbooks.tours/eWOQA
BN –     https://pictbooks.tours/2Ltvc
Goodreads –     https://pictbooks.tours/Pxltg
BookShop.org –     https://pictbooks.tours/OUrS7
Publisher –     https://pictbooks.tours/nWfL0
Audible –   https://pictbooks.tours/zOZt8

PICT Tour Page    https://pictbooks.tours/nH4qG

Historical, Mystery, Suspense, Women

Trouble Island by Sharon Short

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Netgalley Description

A gripping new novel inspired by a real place and events from the author’s family, Trouble Island is the standalone suspense debut from historical mystery writer Sharon Short.

Many miles from anywhere in the middle of Lake Erie, Trouble Island serves as a stop-off for gangsters as they run between America and Canada. The remote isle is also the permanent home to two women: Aurelia Escalante, who serves as a maid to Rosita, lady of the mansion and wife to the notorious prohibition gangster, Eddie McGee. In the freezing winter of 1932, the women anticipate the arrival of Eddie and his strange coterie: his right-hand man, a doctor, a cousin, a famous actor, and a rival gangster who Rosita believes murdered their only son.

Aurelia wants nothing more than to escape Trouble Island, but she is hiding a secret of her own. She is in fact not a maid, but a gangster’s wife in hiding, as she runs from the murder she committed five years ago. Her friend Rosita took her in under this guise, but it has become clear that Rosita wants to keep Aurelia right where she is.

Shortly after the group of criminals, celebrities, and scoundrels arrive, Rosita suddenly disappears. Aurelia plans her getaway, going to the shore to retrieve her box of hidden treasures, but instead finds Rosita’s body in the water. Someone has made sure Aurelia was the one to find her. An ice storm makes unexpected landfall, cutting Trouble Island off from both mainlands, and with more than one murderer among them.

Both a gripping locked room mystery, and a transporting, evocative portrait of a woman in crisis, Trouble Island marks the enthralling standalone suspense debut from Sharon Short, promising to be her breakout novel, inspired by a real island in Lake Erie, and true events from her own rich family history.

My Thoughts

As a native of western New York and a child of the Great Lakes, I love reading books that are set in the area. Trouble Island was especially fun because it blended my regional interest with a cracking good historical mystery.

This one is all about gangsters of the early 20th century and how they used remote locations like Trouble Island to shield and fuel their illicit activities. This story is also about the friendship between two women deeply embedded in the world of crime. The author’s exploration of what brought them to Trouble island and, for one, how she was getting out of it made for a fascinating and relatively quick read. The writing is evocative and the plotting tightly wound and suspenseful. The author’s treatment of the complicated relationship between the two female protagonists is very well done.

This would make a good book club selection. Recommended.

Publication Date: December 3, 2024
Published By: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy

Cozy, Historical, Indie, Mystery, Women

Strong Temptations by Amy Renshaw

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Publisher Description

Reporter Sophie Strong uncovers deadly secrets in a 1912 department store. Can she find the killer?

In 1912 Milwaukee, Wisconsin, aspiring reporter Sophie Strong yearns for a thrilling undercover mission that rivals those of her idol, journalist Nellie Bly. Her dreams of adventure are dashed when her cautious editor assigns her to the seemingly mundane role of a shopgirl.

But appearances can be deceiving. What starts as an ordinary job takes a sinister turn when a fellow employee meets a tragic end. Suddenly, Sophie and her coworkers fall under suspicion. Determined to prove their innocence and driven by insatiable curiosity, she embarks on her own covert investigation. Detective Jacob Zimmer urges her to leave the pursuit of criminals to the professionals, but she can’t resist plunging into the perilous web of secrets, lies, and hidden motives. Sophie explores the shadowy corners of one of the city’s most popular department stores, and each step closer to the truth lures her into more danger.

In this gripping historical mystery, Sophie Strong’s relentless pursuit of justice sets the stage for a heart-pounding race against time. Will she expose the killer’s identity before she, too, becomes a victim? Perfect for fans of Rhys Bowen, Victoria Thompson, and Ashley Weaver.

My Thoughts

This is a solid, entertaining historical mystery featuring a smart and sassy protagonist in Sophie Strong. Modeled after famed reporter Nellie Bly, Sophie longs for an undercover assignment that is more exciting and exhilarating than the women’s columns she habitually writes. Finally given the chance, she finds herself smack in the middle of a murder mystery.

The author writes some strong female characters here who all contribute to the arc of the story. Of course, there’s the underlying romantic element which adds some mild spice to the story and promises of things to come. Sophie is the star here – she’s unflappable, brave, smart, and loyal – all the traits that will endear her to readers.

While I hadn’t read book 1 of the Sophie Strong series, I will go find it and I’m sure will enjoy it. Then I’ll await new entries in the series! Recommended.

Publication Date: April 23, 2024
Published By: Lilac Bower Media
Thanks to Book Sirens for the review copy

Historical, Horror, Mystery, Psychological, Uncategorized

The Death of Clara Willenheim by Charlotte Lesemann

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

Surrounded by family secrets, suspicious deaths, and her own repressed memories, fifteen year-old Clara Willenheim lives as a prisoner in her ancestral estate in 1860s Bavaria. Her only chance of escape is to journey through the castle’s secret passages, unraveling her family’s dark history and its place at the center of a vast web of crime. Driven by the capricious and vengeful ghost of her long-dead aunt, Clara opens doors that threaten powerful enemies, a place where she’s forced to choose between righting past wrongs or losing her own life.

A historical Gothic mystery brimming with suspense and plot twists, The Death of Clara Willenheim is layered in rich, period detail. The novel explores the cost of selflessness and the struggle to choose between justice and vengeance. But at its heart, it’s a story about how, when one part of ourselves dies, something greater can rise in its place.

My Thoughts

If you’re looking for a modern book written in the style of traditional gothics, this is your book. The language is complex, florid at times, and beautifully descriptive which will appeal to readers who truly love language, albeit very dark. The author has a solid grasp of descriptive narrative bolstered by a suspenseful and horrifying story with a satisfying resolution.

The first chapter skillfully set the stage for the suffocating, dangerous narrative which followed. There’s a lot in this story that will make a person with claustrophobia cringe. Which brings me to my only issue with this book – lack of trigger warnings in the description. While gothics traditionally hint at truly terrible things that occur to the heroine, the truly terrible things here – child molestation and trafficking – are topics that I typically avoid in the books I select. Taking my personal reaction to that out of the mix, I am left with a favorable review because the story is very well-written and the plot convincingly dark.

Publication Date: October 29, 2024
Published By: The Gothic Literary Society
Thanks to Book Sirens for the review copy

Cozy, Detective, Ghosties, Mystery

Dead Detective Casefiles Series by TJ O’Connor

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

This inventive, well-written series features Oliver Tucker, a deceased detective who solves his own murder in the first of the series, Dying to Know, and goes on to continue his career solving crime in the next two books.

Dying to Know Description

Detective Oliver Tucker’s dead—murdered—and back as an earth-bound spirit to help his wife, Professor Angela Tucker, crack the most important case of his life—his own. But, this is not a ghost story; it’s a murder case. 

Tuck knows why he is back among the living but not one of them—Detective Solve Thyself. Perhaps he was murdered because of his last case—a murder involving a retired mob boss, a local millionaire land developer, a New York hit man, and the local university elite. Or could it be that Bear Braddock, his best friend and partner for more than fifteen years, wants Angela? Tuck knows that everything surrounds Kelly’s Dig where the discovery of Civil War graves may put an end to a multi-million dollar highway project. If it does, who stands to gain the most? Enough to kill? 

Using his unique skills, Tuck weaves through half-truths and generations-old lies chasing a madman. And he’s not alone—others, dead and alive—are hunting the same killer. Still nothing can change the truth—it is the living, not the dead, who are most terrifying.

Dying for the Past Description

Still an earth-bound spirit-detective, Tuck is on the case of the murder of a mysterious philanthropist with ties to the Russian mob and 1930’s gangsters. With the help of his wife, Professor Angela Tucker, and his former partner, Detective Bear Braddock, they must find the killer and be the first to read “the book”—an old gangster’s journal of the roots of espionage, racketeering, and corruption leading to the identity of modern-day powerbrokers and spies. Tuck finds a colorful cast of allies in a tough Assistant U.S. Attorney General, a secretive FBI agent, and the spirits of a long-dead 1930’s gangster and his sassy girlfriend. 

As Tuck searches to learn the secrets of “the book,” he begins to unravel his own ancestry of mobsters, adventurers, and wayward spirits. Is being a ghost hereditary?

Dying to Tell Description

Detective Oliver Tucker never knew how perilous dying was until he stumbled onto William Mendelson—murdered in a hidden vault where Egyptian relics and World War II secrets were once stashed. Now those relics are missing. The secrets are coming out. The dead are talking. 

Tuck, the detective for the dead—the Dead Detective—is pulled into the case by the spirit of a World War II Office of Strategic Services operative with his own agenda. OSS Captain Ollie Tucker I—Tuck’s namesake—knows the past is catching up to the survivors of an Egyptian spy ring from more than seventy years ago. With the help of his beautiful and brilliant wife, Angel, and his gruff former partner, Detective Bear Braddock, Tuck must unravel a tale of spies, murderers, and thieves. 

As Tuck’s case unfolds, he confronts the growing distance between his death and Angel’s life—and the solution is a killer of its own.

My Thoughts

As I raced through all three of these books, I found myself thinking that I’ve found the next David Handler, whose Stewart Hoag series I have thoroughly enjoyed over the years. O’Connor writes with the same sense of style, sophistication, and wit as Hoag and some of the best of detective fiction authors, but adds the currently-popular paranormal component by making the main character a ghost. I’ve read some paranormal mysteries that handle this well and many more that don’t; O’Connor handles the trope very well indeed.

Tuck’s character is mouthy, smart, and industrious, ferreting out clues and information using his newfound abilities while also moving through space and time in unusual ways. The rest of the characters are also memorable and very likable, particularly Tuck’s widow Angel who is by turns smart, sassy, and very much able to take care of herself.

As the series progresses, O’Connor does a good job of fleshing out the characters and building their backstories. I especially enjoyed the revelation in book 2 about Tuck’s family. In addition to great characterizations, O’Connor is also a really, really good storyteller. The mysteries here are complex and well-plotted and plumped up by dialog that is by turns snarky and sparkling.

I’ll be recommending this series and author for sure.

Book Details

Genre: PI Cozy Mystery
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: September 2024
Purchase Links:Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Shortlinks

Author’s Website    https://pictbooks.tours/POgxP    
Goodreads    https://pictbooks.tours/51toN    
BookBub    https://pictbooks.tours/F7ro0    @tj37
Instagram    https://pictbooks.tours/r1frE    @tjoconnorauthor
Twitter    https://pictbooks.tours/PfTAy    @Tjoconnorauthor
Facebook    https://pictbooks.tours/H85ge    @TjOConnor.Author
YouTube    https://pictbooks.tours/CUDyd    @tjoconnorauthor3905
Amazon Author    https://pictbooks.tours/y2JAz    
Amazon Series    https://pictbooks.tours/tX9X2  

THE DEAD DETECTIVE CASEFILES
Amazon Series    https://pictbooks.tours/tX9X2
Tj’s Website    https://pictbooks.tours/0eM21

DYING TO KNOW
Amazon –    https://pictbooks.review/nXbMGw6G
BN –    https://pictbooks.tours/tDi0z
Goodreads –    https://pictbooks.tours/sBZpL

DYING FOR THE PAST
Amazon –    https://pictbooks.review/kr1NBMHW
BN –    https://pictbooks.tours/zEBKE
Goodreads –    https://pictbooks.tours/EZRwe

DYING TO TELL
Amazon –    https://pictbooks.review/yblBme22
BN –    https://pictbooks.tours/FVFbr
Goodreads –    https://pictbooks.tours/T9qUg

Author Bio

Tj O’Connor is an award-winning author of mysteries and thrillers. He’s an international security consultant specializing in anti-terrorism, investigations, and threat analysis—life experiences that drive his novels. With his former life as a government agent and years as a consultant, he has lived and worked around the world in places like Greece, Turkey, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, and throughout the Americas—among others. In his spare time, he’s a Harley Davidson pilot, a man-about-dogs (and now cats), and a lover of adventure, cooking, and good spirits (both kinds). He was raised in New York’s Hudson Valley and lives with his wife, Labs, and Maine Coon companions in Virginia where they raised five children who supply a growing tribe of grands.

Catch Up With Tj O’Connor:
tjoconnor.com
Goodreads
BookBub – @tj37
Amazon Author
Instagram – @tjoconnorauthor
Twitter/X – @Tjoconnorauthor
Facebook – @TjOConnor.Author
YouTube – @tjoconnorauthor3905
Partners In Crime Book Tours
Book Tour, Books About Books, Mystery, Partners In Crime

The Tell-Tale Homicide by Daphne Silver

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

THE RARE BOOKS COZY MYSTERIES
by Daphne Silver
November 25, 2024 – January 3, 2025 Virtual Book Tour

Rare books librarian Juniper Blume lands her dream job: creating a new museum in her Chesapeake Bay town of Rose Mallow, Maryland. But on her very first day, she makes a shocking discovery – a dead man clutching a book by Edgar Allan Poe, stolen from the collections!

As Juniper gets closer to cracking the coded message hidden inside the book, she realizes someone is desperate to keep its literary secrets buried… even if that means burying her too.

Dressed in her signature vintage style with rescue pup Clover by her side, the fearless bookworm must hunt down the culprit before becoming the next victim. But can she solve the case without jeopardizing a budding romance with her boss, the dashing Leo Calverton? And can she help her sister Azalea perfect their grandmother’s legendary blintz recipe before the Rose Mallow Festival?

A delightfully deadly page-turner, The Tell-Tale Homicide continues the charming Rare Books Cozy Mystery series by Agatha award-winning author Daphne Silver. Fans of Kate Carlisle and Jenn McKinlay will love tagging along with the whip-smart, book-loving Juniper on her adventures.

My Thoughts

The second entry in this series is just as charming as the first. Juniper Blume is back along with her sister Azalea, the hunky Leo Calverton (who is NOT her boyfriend!) and a few other colorful characters populating the quaint town of Rose Mallow.

The murder mystery involves priceless books by Edgar Allan Poe but also plenty of red herrings driven by the chaotic nature of past loves & betrayals and new relationships. Juniper is positioned here to be the bridge between the wealthy Calvertons and the business owners and residents of Rose Mallow, which I think will make for some entertaining future books. The resolution of this mystery was a surprise and went in a completely unexpected direction. I enjoy the author’s style and storytelling quite a bit and will be recommending this series.

Series Details:

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Published by: Level Best Books
Series:The Rare Books Cozy Mysteries
Series Links: Amazon | Level Best Books

Shortlinks:

Author’s Website    https://pictbooks.tours/D0sXv    
Goodreads    https://pictbooks.tours/X7LIz    
BookBub    https://pictbooks.tours/sDzca    @daphnesilverbooks
Instagram    https://pictbooks.tours/C5VYw    @daphnesilverbooks
Facebook    https://pictbooks.tours/TRRI7    @daphnesilverbooks
        
Amazon –     https://pictbooks.tours/KIcgR    
BN –     https://pictbooks.tours/KrTks    
Goodreads –     https://pictbooks.tours/F52VK    
BookShop.org –     https://pictbooks.tours/JgLP3    
Publisher –     https://pictbooks.tours/We0tK    
        
Amazon –     https://pictbooks.tours/WL0jt    
Goodreads –     https://pictbooks.tours/waf7E    
        
SERIES – AMAZON    https://pictbooks.tours/s7CRf   

Author Bio

Daphne Silver is the Agatha Award winning author of the Rare Books Cozy Mystery Series. Her first novel, Crime and Parchment (Level Best Books, 2023), won the Agatha for Best First Mystery Novel. Her latest book, The Tell-Tale Homicide, comes out November 2024 from Level Best Books. She’s worked more than twenty years in museums and symphonies and has the great fortune of being married to a librarian. When she’s not writing, she’s drawing and painting. She lives in Maryland with her family. Although she’s not much of a baker, she won’t ever turn down a sweet lokshen kugel.

Partners In Crime Book Tours

Book Tour, Books About Books, Cozy, Mystery, Partners In Crime

Crime & Parchment by Daphne Silver

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

THE RARE BOOKS COZY MYSTERIES
by Daphne Silver
November 25, 2024 – January 3, 2025 Virtual Book Tour

Description

Rare books librarian Juniper Blume knows this much… an ancient Celtic manuscript shouldn’t be in a Maryland cemetery. But that’s exactly what her brother-in-law claims.

Last year, Juniper saw the 1,200-year-old Book of Kells in Ireland. She learned how their bejeweled covers were stolen centuries ago, never to be seen again. So how could they have ended up in Rose Mallow, a small Chesapeake Bay town? Being Jewish, the Book of Kells might not be her sacred text, but as a rare books librarian, the ancient book is still sacred to her, making it important to Juniper to find out the truth.

Rose Mallow is the same place where Juniper used to summer with her sister Azalea and their grandmother Zinnia, known as Nana Z. Ever since Nana Z passed away, Juniper’s avoided returning, but her curiosity is greater than her grief, so she heads down in her vintage convertible with her rescue dog Clover.

Juniper discovers that her sister Azalea has transformed their grandmother’s Queen Anne style mansion into the Wildflower Inn, backing up to the Chesapeake Bay. Although Juniper isn’t much of a cook, Azalea has kept their grandmother’s legacy alive, filling the house with the smells of East European Jewish treats, like sweet kugels and tzimmes cake. Will coming back here feel like returning home or fill Juniper with a deeper sorrow? Can she apologize to her sister for not being there when she was needed most?

My Thoughts

The first in what appears to be series featuring Juniper Blume, Crime & Parchment is a well-written, clever mystery that will appeal to fans of cozies as well librarians (and there’s a big overlap there!).

Silver does a good job of fleshing out the characters which will certainly have a place in future books. Juniper is portrayed as both self-assured and full of doubt, never quite certain of her place in Rose Mallow. Her sister Azalea rounds out the family connection and the relationship between the sisters is one of the tension points in the story. Then there’s the potential love interest for Juniper, Leo Calverton, and the complicated relationship between Azalea and her ex-husband Rory.

Beyond the relationships is the crux of the mystery – could the long-lost, priceless covers of the the Book of Kells really be in Rose Mallow, Maryland? Sounds preposterous, right? The author makes an interesting case and seamlessly incorporates lots of Maryland history into the story.

This is a series to watch and will be one I recommend. Watch for Silver’s next entry in the series, The Tell-Tale Homicide, coming this fall and reviewed here on November 30.

Series Details:

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Published by: Level Best Books
Series:The Rare Books Cozy Mysteries
Series Links: Amazon | Level Best Books

Shortlinks:

Author’s Website    https://pictbooks.tours/D0sXv    
Goodreads    https://pictbooks.tours/X7LIz    
BookBub    https://pictbooks.tours/sDzca    @daphnesilverbooks
Instagram    https://pictbooks.tours/C5VYw    @daphnesilverbooks
Facebook    https://pictbooks.tours/TRRI7    @daphnesilverbooks
        
Amazon –     https://pictbooks.tours/KIcgR    
BN –     https://pictbooks.tours/KrTks    
Goodreads –     https://pictbooks.tours/F52VK    
BookShop.org –     https://pictbooks.tours/JgLP3    
Publisher –     https://pictbooks.tours/We0tK    
        
Amazon –     https://pictbooks.tours/WL0jt    
Goodreads –     https://pictbooks.tours/waf7E    
        
SERIES – AMAZON    https://pictbooks.tours/s7CRf 

Author Bio:

Daphne Silver is the Agatha Award winning author of the Rare Books Cozy Mystery Series. Her first novel, Crime and Parchment (Level Best Books, 2023), won the Agatha for Best First Mystery Novel. Her latest book, The Tell-Tale Homicide, comes out November 2024 from Level Best Books. She’s worked more than twenty years in museums and symphonies and has the great fortune of being married to a librarian. When she’s not writing, she’s drawing and painting. She lives in Maryland with her family. Although she’s not much of a baker, she won’t ever turn down a sweet lokshen kugel.

Catch Up With Daphne Silver:
www.DaphneSilver.com
Goodreads
BookBub – @daphnesilverbooks
Instagram – @daphnesilverbooks
Facebook – @daphnesilverbooks

Partners In Crime Book Tours
British, Cozy, Mystery

Madrigals and Mayhem by Elizabeth Penney

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

Description

In Madrigals and Mayhem, the fourth in Elizabeth Penney’s charming Cambridge Bookshop series, Molly Kimball finds that even the holidays can come with a healthy dose of mystery.

Molly is eager to experience her first English Christmas with family and friends now that she’s adjusted to her move to Cambridge and her restoration of her family’s ancestral bookshop, Thomas Marlowe—Manuscripts and Folios. When local toyshop Pemberly’s Emporium reopens, Molly is excited to meet the new owner, Charlotte Pemberly, who is determined to make the toy store a success after unexpectedly becoming her grandfather Arthur’s sole heir.

Arthur’s new wife Althea Winters and her unpleasant family loathe Charlotte for inheriting what they believe was theirs and have set their sights on a valuable Madame Alexander doll that’s gone missing. When Althea’s grandson is poisoned by cakes from Tea & Crumpets, Charlotte becomes the top suspect. Molly believes Charlotte was the intended victim and investigates the Pemberly’s home, only to discover that Arthur had been murdered.

To get closer to this treacherous family, Molly and her boyfriend Kieran go undercover by volunteering to act and sing for a madrigal dinner directed by Althea and her daughter at St. Hildegard’s College. Molly must help her new friend clear her name while searching for the missing doll and wrangling her own family during the chaotic holiday festivities at the bookshop.

My Thoughts

Fans of cozy mysteries will thoroughly enjoy this delightful series set in a 700-year-old bookshop in Cambridge. Similar in some ways to Paige Shelton’s Scottish Bookshop mysteries (attractive, young American woman transplanted into a UK bookshop gets involved in solving mysteries) but different enough that readers will be captivated by the warm relationships that form the bones of this series.

The story in this fourth entry features a serial poisoner and a lost Madame Alexander doll worth hundreds of thousands of pounds. It is set in the toy shop of everyone’s dreams at the most magical time of the year (Christmas), and moves at a quick pace but keeps the readers interest easily. The murderer was fairly easy to guess, but the story threads were clever enough to keep me engrossed in the story.

While this is the fourth in a series, it can be read as a stand-alone, although I have recommended the first three in the past. They are quick, enjoyable reads for wintry afternoons.

Publication Date: November 26, 2024
Published By: St. Martin’s Press: Minotaur Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy

Book Tour, Mystery, Partners In Crime

Death in the Ozarks by Erik S. Meyers

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

November 11 – December 20, 2024
Virtual Book Tour

Description

A cross between Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple and a Cheers bartender, Sally Witherspoon, a 50-something accountant turned biker-bar owner, loves solving puzzles. Up to now, she has focused on helping neighbors and friends find lost jewelry, lost pets, and lost loves.

But when she finds her best friend and business partner, Bill Arnold, dead in a dumpster behind her bar on a Saturday night, she needs all her wits and grit to find out who did it.

And she won’t stop until she does.

My Thoughts

Sally Witherspoon is very different from the typical amateur detective you find in most cozy mysteries. She’s older, a bit rough around the edges, worldly, and living life on her own terms. This is a welcome change from the spunky, quirky young women found in many modern mysteries – in one of those, Sally would be the odd auntie driving around town in a vintage car getting into mischief.

Here, Sally shines. She’s gruff and no-nonsense, but loves her people and her place in the world. The mystery is more “Law & Order” style than “Hallmark Channel” and the murder is a bit gritty. The relationships that are key to Sally’s life shine here, and there is plenty of emotion and humor as well as mystery.

I was reminded more than once of Joan Hess’ Maggody mystery series, and in a good way. I’ll be recommending this series for sure.

Book Details:

Genre: Traditional Mystery, Cozy Mystery 
Published by: Level Best Books
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads

Shortlinks:

Author’s Website    https://pictbooks.tours/m8dAs
Medium    https://pictbooks.tours/hWPUw    @erikmey 
Goodreads    https://pictbooks.tours/avqr3    @erikmey
Instagram    https://pictbooks.tours/z4cIB    @erikmeyauthor
Facebook    https://pictbooks.tours/xOSVz    @ErikSMeyersAuthor
       
Sally Witherspoon Mystery Series 
Amazon    https://pictbooks.tours/3whSd    
Publisher —     https://pictbooks.tours/FhR3R    

Death in the Ozarks        
Amazon —     https://pictbooks.tours/JylxH    
BN —     https://pictbooks.tours/voGLD    
Goodreads —     https://pictbooks.tours/40M4s    
BookShop.org —     https://pictbooks.tours/Zrq2I 

Author Bio:

Erik S. Meyers

Currently in Austria, Erik S. Meyers is an American abroad for years and years who has lived or worked in six countries on three continents, spending the longest time in Germany. He is an award-winning author and communications professional with over twenty-five years of expertise in a variety of corporate roles. Reading and writing are his passions, when he is not hiking one of the amazing trails in Austria or elsewhere.

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A Hush at Midnight by Marlene M. Bell

Patricia McDonald Uttaro

October 7 – November 1, 2024
Virtual Book Tour


From the award-winning author of the ANNALISSE MYSTERY SERIES.

THE VISIT THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING.

Celebrity chef Laura Harris dwells on the horror of finding her mentor’s body in the groundskeeper’s disheveled bed—pillow and bedding half covering her open eyes—purple bruising around her mouth. A grisly snapshot in time revealing the Texas woman’s last moments during her attack. The elderly matriarch from the small town of Stenburg has left the physical world, and Laura is shattered.

She is catapulted headlong into the pursuit of a casual executioner, one bold enough to come and go from the crime scene with ease, dropping bizarre crumb trails designed to mock the deceased. But Laura herself doesn’t go unnoticed. As she digs deeper, she is followed and bombarded by warnings to leave the state.

When the victim’s attorney informs Laura that she’s to inherit the entire Stenburg fortune, the last act of kindness has made Laura the main person of interest in the investigation.

Message by message, Laura is methodically taunted by someone so deranged and driven they’ll do whatever it takes to dislodge Laura from Texas – permanently.

My Thoughts

Bell has delivered a taut, suspense-filled tale full of intrigue, betrayal, and surprises. The characters are both engaging and despicable, the plot well-constructed, and the descriptive narrative of the Texas landscape beautifully done.

Complicated relationships abound, as do strong women characters who drive the action of the story forward to its exciting conclusion. The relationship between Laura and Hattie and the suspicion that falls on Laura after Hattie’s death is the stuff that makes a gripping story and Bell deftly leads the reader through some twists and turns. Fans of harder-edged domestic suspense will thoroughly enjoy this one.

Book Details:

Genre: Amateur Sleuth/Mystery/Cozy Mystery
Published by: Ewephoric Publishing
Publication Date: October 1, 2024
Number of Pages: 368
ISBN: 979-8-9863409-6-8
Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Shortlinks:

Author’s Website    https://pictbooks.tours/sywjz    
Goodreads    https://Pict books.tours/BZhYK    
BookBub    https://pictbooks.tours/pRMCn    
Instagram    https://pictbooks.tours/3nZa9    
Twitter    https://pictbooks.tours/9ivZk    
Facebook – Author    https://pictbooks.tours/jFZCa    
Amazon Author Page    https://pictbooks.tours/AVTZV    

Retailers:
Amazon –    https://pictbooks.tours/FFAHA    
Goodreads –    https://pictbooks.tours/Dp80f    

Author Bio:

Marlene M. Bell has never met a sheep she didn’t like. As a personal touch for her readers, they often find these wooly creatures visiting her international romantic mysteries and children’s books as characters or subject matter. Marlene is an accomplished artist and photographer who takes pride in entertaining fans on multiple levels of her creativity.

Marlene’s award-winning Annalisse series boasts Best Mystery honors for all installments including these: IP Best Regional Australia/New Zealand, Global Award Best Mystery, and Chanticleer’s International Mystery and Mayhem shortlist for Copper Waters, the fourth mystery in the series.

She offers her children’s picture book, Mia and Nattie: One Great Team! written primarily for younger kids based on true events from the Bell’s East Texas sheep ranch. The simple text and illustrations are a touching tribute of belonging and unconditional love between a little girl and her lamb.

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