Monday, June 08, 2026

Week Blast & Giveaway: Snow Place Like Home (Snow Globe Shop Mystery, #5) by Christine Husom


Snow Place Like Home
A Snow Globe Shop Mystery
by
Christine Husom

Traditional Mystery / Amateur Sleuth / Small Town Fiction / Minnesota Mystery
Publisher: The Wright Press
Publication Date: January 19, 2026
Page count: 285 pages

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SYNOPSIS:

The past collides with the present for Camryn Brooks on one cold winter evening. A man’s body is found in the passenger seat of a car, parked in her driveway. Camryn is chilled to the bone when she learns his identity: her old nemesis, the one whose actions ruined her career and tarnished her stellar reputation in Washington D.C.

 

Early Reviews


“Camryn Brooks soon discovers, like snowflakes, no two suspects are alike . . . a captivating cozy read.” 
~Mary Seifert


“A cozy snow day read with wonderful characters and intriguing clues to a twisty mystery.”
~Alicia Kozak


“It pulls you right in. An ideal cozy mystery with just enough police procedural to keep you hooked.” 
~Timya Owens


"So many twists and turns, it leaves you thinking, ‘There's snow place like home!'" 
~Michelle Hess


“Mystery readers will appreciate the subtle clues sprinkled throughout and an unexpected twist at the end. A great read from a great author.” 
~Natalie Fowler


“Set against a frigid Minnesota winter, Snow Place Like Home shows that friendship and forgiveness can go a long way in chasing the chill of murder away.” 
~Thekla Madsen


EXCERPT:


I yawned on my way to the living room, stretched out on the couch, pulled a comforter over my body, and opened a book I’d been reading. I was involved in the novel’s complex plot when my cell phone buzzed. I reached over and plucked it from the coffee table. My best friend Alice “Pinky” Nelson’s name appeared on the screen.

I smiled and pushed the accept button. “Hey, Pink—”

She cut me off. “Ahhhh. Cami, you need to come out here. Now.” She spoke with a hushed intensity. Was she hurt, in trouble?

My heart sank as I dropped the book, threw back the comforter, and jumped off the couch. “Come out where? Where are you, Pinky?”

“Kitchen . . . window. . . yours. . . look . . . out.” It took me a second to process her words, comprehend what she meant. She was in my backyard? Had she tripped and fallen?

I crossed the ten feet in a flash, slid my feet into boots by the back entry, cast all apprehension aside, and pushed open the door. The early evening sky was cloaked in darkness, and with the help of an alley’s street lamp, I spotted a vehicle I didn’t recognize parked by my garage. What in the world?

Pinky’s car sat next to it. I flipped on the outside house light and saw Pinky sitting in her car. When I went down the steps and moved toward her, she jumped out from her driver’s seat and pointed at the other vehicle. “I think he might be dead.”

My heart sank even lower as I glanced at a bulky form in the other vehicle’s passenger seat. I was unable to move, frozen to my spot on the snow-covered lawn. Pinky closed the gap between us and threw her arms around me. We turned our heads in sync toward the vehicle occupied by an unknown—dead or alive–person.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Christine Husom is a bestselling author from Buffalo. She writes the Winnebago County Mysteries and the Snow Globe Shop Mysteries. Christine has stories in six anthologies, wrote a collaborative novel with eight other authors, and co-edited A Festival of Crime for Nodin Press. She trained with the St. Paul Police Department and served with the Wright County Sheriff's Office. She's a member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, active with the Twin Cities chapter. She loves meeting readers at events.


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Sunday, June 07, 2026

Book Campaign: Up From Hell by Joan Moran

 

UP FROM HELL

Echoes of the Past:

Crimes in Central Texas

Book 1

By Joan Moran


Crime Thriller

Publisher: Next Chapter

Publication Date: April 7, 2026



SYNOPSIS




Growing up in Las Vegas, Neil Dixon's future looked bleak. The son of a drug-addicted mother, he didn't have a lot of options until a police officer, Sergeant Finch, pulled him from danger and sent him to a new life in Texas.


Now, years later, Neil has become the police officer he always wanted to be—steady, principled, and unafraid to stand alone. But Jarrell, Texas, is not the clean slate he hoped for. Corruption in the department is rampant, and traffickers operate across the border.


When Neil’s mother dies, he returns to Las Vegas and meets the father he’s never known. He gets pulled into a deadly game with his father that stretches from Vegas to the police department in Jarrell, to cartel-scarred border towns. To survive, he must decide what kind of man he truly is - and how far he’s willing to go to stop the people who profit from chaos.


The first book in Joan Moran's series of crime thrillers, UP FROM HELL, is a gripping, character-driven novel about the weight of the past and the cost of justice. 


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Joan holds two master’s degrees: in Theater and in Education. Her desire to teach in the theater department at UNLV led to her position there, where she taught acting and theater history. Five years later, Joan founded and was the artistic director of the Meadows Playhouse, Las Vegas’s first year-round theater. Her interest in film led to her admission to the American Film Institute in Los Angeles as a producing fellow. Joan wrote her first screenplay and continued to write for film in Hollywood for the next 15 years. She produced several films.


Joan also pursued a career as a motivational speaker and blogger. As a keynote speaker, Joan commanded the stage with her delightful humor, raw energy, and wealth of life experiences. She spread her knowledge and energy as she combined 15 years of theater experience, as well as over 13 years of experience as a yoga and meditation instructor at UCLA. 


Joan began her writing journey with her memoir, 60, Sex & Tango: Confessions of a Beatnik Boomer. Other books followed: I’m the Boss of Me: Stay Sexy, Smart & Strong at Any Age, a compilation of her most popular blogs, and An Accidental Cuban, a thriller that takes place in modern-day Havana. The novel was developed into a streaming series. Her recently published book, Once A Homecoming Queen, is a darkly humorous take on senior alcoholism. Joan also adapted Once A Homecoming Queen into an award-winning screenplay. Her latest book is a historical memoir of her mother: Suddenly, I Was Jewish: The Life and Times of My Jewish Mother. Up From Hell is her seventh novel. She is developing Up From Hell into a trilogy: ECHOES OF THE PAST: CRIMES IN CENTRAL TEXAS.



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REVIEW


4 stars!

A young boy comes of age in not-so-sleepy Central Texas.

Up From Hell is the first book in author Joan Moran’s gritty crime fiction series, Echoes of the Past: Crimes in Central Texas, featuring a young boy who was dealt a rough start in life but who has a plan to turn it all around and make the most of his dream to become a good police officer. When Neil Dixon’s mother goes into the hospital to treat her drug addiction, the eight-year-old is befriended by Las Vegas Police Sergeant Jordan Finch, who gets him to a safe, stable place before arranging for a more permanent solution with the boy’s aunt and her family in distant Jarrell, Texas. Finch’s example and kindness become Neil’s ideal for his own future, and as he grows, he plots a course to become a police officer in his new hometown. But law enforcement in small towns in dusty Central Texas was a whole different beast at that time. Corruption was rife through the little communities, and the bad guys went unpunished while the cops took money to look the other way. Still, Neil pursued his dream, with the ultimate goal of changing the way justice was served, from the inside out. 

Told from Neil’s point of view, his experiences and impressions from his early life are hard to read, even as Neil keeps himself together and strives for more. After leaving his life in Las Vegas behind, things improve marginally for him, but his aunt is also fighting her own battles with an alcoholic live-in boyfriend. Still just kids, Neil and his cousin, Jack, take the necessary steps toward getting her the help she needs. 

One of the hallmarks of small-town living is that neighbors help neighbors, and Neil is the beneficiary of some good people who want to give the honest, hard-working kid a break, which is how he comes by his first job and first modes of transportation. Another small-town element is the undeniable familiarity; everyone knows everyone else, their families, and their business. This truth both helps and hinders Neil as he progresses toward his goal. 

Because of his unbuffered childhood, Neil had to grow up quickly, but along with the hard knocks, he gained a keen sense of survival and a strong intuition that served him well. I liked how Neil could see through most people’s smokescreens of lies, half-truths, and other obfuscations to get to the heart of what was going on. 

The story moves at an even pace as Neil grows to maturity, punctuated with exciting encounters with criminals, potential danger, and obstacles laid by those who should have been on his side. The young man experiences even more tragedy in his life yet keeps rebounding even stronger than before. I look forward to more of his crime-stopping adventures. 

I recommend UP FROM HELL to readers of character-driven crime fiction.





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Book Review: Terra Cotta Theft (Succulent Sleuth Cozy Mystery, #0.5 by Iris March

Terra Cotta Theft (Succulent Sleuth #0.5)Terra Cotta Theft by Iris March
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Unique introduction to the series' characters as children.

When money from the register at Patty's Plant Place suddenly goes missing, how will Grandpa Will discover who the thief is among those present in the store? This is the tricky question Will Flores faces when the stack of twenties disappears, and there are plenty of suspects, both employees and customers, to consider and rule out.

The Terra Cotta Theft is a prequel to author Iris March's fun and satisfying Succulent Sleuth Cozy Mystery series, featuring Will's granddaughters, Molly, May, and Shannon (the twins' cousin), and their families and friends. This story introduces the main characters as children, other characters who will become recurring faces in later books, and the business that will eventually become theirs.

A short story, the plot sets up the series' background and establishes close family relationships and long-held ties with their customers and neighboring business owners. There is a cozy, comfortable hometown-family feel right away, and I was easily drawn into the story. The characters are regular people, engaging and familiar, with no one over the top. My interest was immediately piqued by the prospect of reading about their further adventures as adults.

I recommend TERRA COTTA THEFT to readers of cozy mysteries, especially fans of the SUCCULENT SLEUTH series. Readers can obtain their own copy of the story by signing up for the author's newsletter on her website at https://irismarchbooks.com/newsletter-sign-up/.

View all my reviews

Saturday, June 06, 2026

Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: The Diva Hosts a Murder (Domestic Diva Mystery, #19) by Krista Davis

 

The Diva Hosts a Murderer
A Domestic Diva Mystery
by
Krista Davis


About The Diva Hosts a Murderer

 

The Diva Hosts a Murderer (A Domestic Diva Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
19th in Series
Setting - Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia
Publisher: Kensington Cozies
Publication date: May 26, 2026
Print length: 336 pages
Hardcover
ISBN-10: 1496743482 / ISBN-13: 978-1496743480
Digital
ISBN-13: 978-1496743503 / ASIN: B0FP7LXJ8C
Audiobook
ASIN: B0FVW9XKRW

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Old Town Virginia’s entertaining guru and occasional sleuth Sophie Winston – a young Martha Stewart in the making – juggles Fourth of July fireworks, a houseful of guests, and homicide in the latest Domestic Diva culinary mystery from New York Times bestselling author Krista Davis.

With a big crowd descending on her Northern Virginia home, it’s a good thing event planner Sophie Winston is an expert at entertaining. Whipping up patriotic pastries is as easy as pie for her, though meeting the man her widowed Aunt Melly just impulsively married in Las Vegas is a little more awkward. Especially when Melly’s longtime, now-heartbroken secret admirer is there too, which could lead to some fireworks.

But the house party really gets explosive when Sophie’s favorite tour guide falls victim to a killer—and evidence points to Sophie’s own father. Will DNA really incriminate her dad? And what’s the real story with her new uncle-by-marriage and the mysterious pal he’s brought along with him? Some of the secrets Sophie’s discovering are raising flags—and while the police department casts suspicion on her father, she has to declare her independence as a detective to find the real culprit, and serve justice along with her red, white, and blue cupcakes . . .

Includes delicious recipes, fabulous decorating tips, and easy entertaining hacks!

Click to Purchase!


About Krista Davis

New York Times bestselling author Krista Davis writes the Domestic Diva Mystery series. Krista lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with two cats and a brood of dogs. Her friends and family complain about being guinea pigs for her recipes, but she notices they keep coming back.




Tour Particpants

May 25 – Christy's Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST
May 26 – Jody's Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
May 27 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
May 28 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
May 29 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea - SPOTLIGHT
May 29 – FUONLYKNEW - RECIPE
May 29 – Reading Is My SuperPower – RECIPE
May 31 – Books1987 – SPOTLIGHT
June 1 – @bibliophile_foodie - REVIEW
June 2 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
June 3 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – REVIEW
June 4 – @review_thick_and_thin – REVIEW
June 5 – Sarandipity's – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
June 5 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
June 6 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read - SPOTLIGHT
June 7 – Melina's Book Blog – REVIEW

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Enter for a chance to win one of two print copies of The Diva Hosts a Murderer (A Domestic Diva Mystery) by Krista Davis!



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Friday, June 05, 2026

Book Tour & Giveaway: Cain's Chameleon by Mark G. Bearss


Cain's Chameleon
by
Mark G. Bearss

Historical Fiction / Mystery / Thriller
Publisher: Bearss Lair Books
Publication Date: January 26, 2026
Page count: 282 pages

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SYNOPSIS:

If the newspaper reported your death and no one questioned it, would you correct the mistake… or take the lifeline?

Dan Driscoll is consumed by gambling debt, cornered by bookies and loan sharks, forced to bet on one last scheme. When things turn violent and two people are shot, his best friend, Stan Neumann, swallows what he suspects. He can’t risk divulging a closely-held family secret.

Then a body washes up on the Lake Michigan shoreline, and the lake gives Dan what the bookies never would: a way out. Authorities call it an accident and list him as the drowning victim. For Dan, it’s an escape route delivered in black ink.

He becomes a ghost, an imposter, a chameleon. But lies don’t stay buried.

As America is pulled into World War II, Stan enlists, choosing duty on his terms before the draft can rewrite his life. In Pearl Harbor, one chance encounter dredges up a name he thought was long buried.

War changes everything, but it doesn’t erase unfinished business. And when the truth demands to be heard, how long can a stolen life stay buried before the past comes to collect?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

While author Mark Bearss was setting the stage for his retirement, concerned co-workers would ask, “What are you going to do when you’re not working?” He found this question rather curious. It should have been posed, “What are you going to do first?” Mark knew that if travel was involved, he had had enough of commercial flights after 28 years of teaching for the medical device industry. Mark yearned for road trips – to visit those places he only saw from 38,000 feet. Little did he know that wish journeyed down an unexpected fork in the road. He would become an author.

While conducting genealogy research, Mark discovered archived de-classified military documents that revealed the name of a U.S. Navy destroyer his father served aboard during WWII. The reason this was a poignant discovery was because, while growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, his father made no mention of this. Apart from being a U.S. Naval Reserve flight instructor, he knew his father served aboard the carrier USS ESSEX. But in what capacity? That, too, was not revealed. More discoveries materialized the further he dug. In fact, there was a lot more his father didn’t mention. This wasn’t unusual. Many WWII veterans didn’t talk about what happened back then.

Because of the pandemic, the National Archives in St. Louis was closed and rendered Lt. Bearss’ military records unavailable. Thus began a project that challenged Mark’s research endeavors for over two years and about 5,000 miles on the road. The biographical sketch was sorted from creative Internet search strings, history books, navy publications, and networking with journalists, librarians, archivists, bloggers, aviation enthusiasts, museum and historical society curators, navy veterans, relatives, and more. One online resource that was instrumental in tracking his father’s journey was the weekly newspaper published in the county where his parents grew up: The Oceana Herald. It included a Local News section where family members and organizations could submit a short blurb about a relative’s visit, a social gathering, or – where a son or husband was currently stationed.

This project culminated in 2022 with Mark’s first publication titled, Undisclosed Stories Discovered: Honoring the World War II Military Journey of Lt. Joseph Ward Bearss, USNR. When asked what was one of the highlights surrounding this story, he described the road trips to seek out and discover places where his father lived, trained and was stationed during the war. What prompted him to write this as a biography took place during a meeting with the curator of the World War II Home Front Museum on St. Simons Island, Georgia. St. Simons Naval Air Station was the site for the U.S. Naval Radar Training Station, where Lt. Bearss was trained in shipboard radar operations, enemy interception, and Fighter Direction. While the museum had ample archived materials about the facility, it had very little documented about the servicemembers who trained there.

Only 250 copies were printed. Mark went back on the road in his Class-B motorhome and personally donated those copies to family members, friends and relatives, the librarians, archivists, researchers, museums, curators, historical societies, newspapers, The American Heritage Center, VFW Posts, airport FBOs, and other assorted WWII enthusiasts in 12 states who helped in his endeavors. It was a two-fold reward. Not only did his father’s story finally become told, Mark experienced the pleasure of meeting all these wonderful people who were his resources, advisors, collaborators, and consultants. Up until that point, they were only names in an email contact list.

You’re probably asking, “How is all this relevant to Mark’s new novel, Cain’s Chameleon?” It was the research from The Oceana Herald that planted the seed for this story. While perusing its issues, Mark stumbled on two articles that piqued his curiosity. The first reported an attempted murder in a home close to his family’s summer cottage on Lake Michigan. The second reported a drowning victim that washed up on the beach right where Mark and his friends used to play. Just two more stories never divulged while growing up. He wondered, Were these two events related? Then Mark decided — he would make them related.


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Virtual Excerpt Tour & Giveaway: Moccasin Trace by Hawk MacKinney


MOCCASIN TRACE
by
Hawk MacKinney

Historical Fiction
Publisher: Speaking Volumes
Publication Date: July 2, 2023
Page count: 346 pages

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SYNOPSIS:

…it was about the land.

 

It is July of 1859, a month of sweltering dog days and feverish emotional bombast. Life is good for widower Rundell Ingram and his hazel-eyed, roan-haired son, Hamilton. Between the two of them, they take care of Moccasin Hollow, their sprawling ancestral plantation home in the rolling farming country outside Queensborough Towne in east Georgia. Adjoining Ingram lands is Wisteria Bend, the vast slave-holding plantation of Andrew and Corinthia Greer, their daughter Sarah, and son Benjamin. Both families share generations of long-accepted traditions, and childhood playmates are no longer children. The rangy, even-tempered Norman-Scottish young Hamilton is smitten with Sarah, who has become an enticing capricious beauty—the young lovers more in love with each passing day, and only pleasant times ahead of them.

 

…but a blood tide of war is sweeping across the South, a tide that will forever change everyone and everything.


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ENJOY AN EXCERPT:

Sarah toyed with making Hamilton jealous, and on an afternoon sashay stroll in Queensborough Towne, she made sure he caught her flirting with a casual familiarity.  Unlike most of her other young acourting squires, his aloof stare at her was thunderingly silent.  For the next few weeks Hamilton kept himself even busier around the Hollows.  It wasn't at all what Sarah expected, and she never forgot her miscalculation.  Some days later when she rode over to the Hollows, she received another eye-opener.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

With postgraduate degrees and faculty positions in several medical universities, Hawk MacKinney has taught graduate courses in both the United States and Jerusalem. His professional writing includes articles on chordate neuroembryology, and aerospace research on muscle metabolic behavior in multi-orbital environments.

In addition, Hawk has authored several works of fiction including historical romance, Moccasin Trace, which was nominated for both the prestigious Michael Shaara Award for Excellence in Civil War Fiction and the Writers Notes Book Award. His Cairns of Sainctuarie science fiction series and his Moccasin Hollow Mystery series have received national and international attention. He is currently working on a series of horror/suspense novels.


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Hawk MacKinney will be awarding a $15 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.


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