Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: One of Our Darcies is Dead (Hawthorne Cove Mystery, #1) by Grace Caldwell

 

One of Our Darcies is Dead

A Hawthorne Cove Mystery

by

Grace Caldwell

About One of Our Darcies is Dead

 

One of Our Darcies is Dead: A Hawthorne Cove Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting: Hawthorne Cove, a seaside town in New England
Publisher: Paper Lantern Press
Publication date: September 1, 2026
Print length: 193 pages
Paperback
ISBN-13: 979-8951927019 / ASIN: B0HG6CNYH1
Digital
ISBN-13: 979-8951927002 / ASIN: B0HFYYY4F4

The residents of Hawthorne Cove are determined to prove their seaside town deserves a place on every literary lover's travel list. With a brand-new Jane Austen Festival, charming boutiques, and enough Regency flair to satisfy even the most devoted Austen fan, they're ready for their grand debut. But when opening night ends with a dead Mr. Darcy, literature professor Chloe Sinclair, in town to escape a life that hasn't gone to plan, learns that the most captivating stories aren't always the ones written in books.

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About Grace Caldwell

 

Grace Caldwell writes cozy mysteries for people who'd bring a book to a murder. An award-winning screenwriter and a professor of creative writing and literature, she's published across more genres than she can reasonably list at a dinner party, but cozy mysteries are where she feels most at home. She lives in Central Florida with two fluffy feline assistants, Elsa and Anna, who supervise every page and approve of none of her deadlines. 

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Tour Participants

September 17 – Christy's Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST

September 17 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – REVIEW

September 18 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT

September 18 – View from the Birdhouse – SPOTLIGHT

September 19 – Jody's Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT

September 20 – FUONLYKNEW – RECIPE

September 21 – Sarandipity's – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

September 21 – Books1987 – SPOTLIGHT

September 22 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 23 – Boys' Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT

September 23 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

September 24 – Sarcastically Yours, Jen – SPOTLIGHT

September 25 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

September 26 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

September 27 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT

September 28 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

September 29 – Salty Inspirations – CHARACTER GUEST POST

September 30 – Romance Novel Giveaways – AUTHOR GUEST POST

September 30 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book - REVIEW

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Book Review: Sinister Remnants (Tori Winters Mystery, #4) by Anita Dickason

Sinister Remnants by Anita Dickason
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Will a legal challenge to Tori’s ownership of the Leichter inheritance ruin all her dreams?

Sinister Remnants is the fourth book in author Anita Dickason’s charming, yet suspenseful Tori Winters Mystery series set in Granbury, Texas. In the final run up to the grand opening of the Red Door Inn, rumors questioning the validity of Tori’s ownership of the former Leichter mansion and property begin to circulate and when a Houston attorney approaches David Tucker with cryptic promises that an anonymous client has proof of the claim, Tori begins to wonder if her dream of turning her grandmother’s home into an elegant B&B will ever become a reality.

The plot kicks off at a brisk pace with the stunning accusation occurring in the very first chapter, and the tension builds steadily as each new legal maneuver hits and long-held secrets come to light, bringing with them a new danger. In between, readers learn a little more about the family and the past as the complex case unfolds.

Tori and her friends have been through so much renovating the house and getting the historic old home ready to serve as a weekend B&B and weekday meeting center and café, so the rumor that it all may have been for naught hits pretty hard. These are good, kind people with a lot of energy and enthusiasm for Tori’s dream, and you can’t help but want for them to succeed. Conversely, the author has created some new characters who, after only a brief introduction, you know are trouble. For example, attorney Mark Houghton and Metro News reporter Charlotte Polaski are the very pictures of smarm.

Tori, David, and the rest of the Red Door Inn characters have become a family, and having read the previous books, I almost feel as though they were part of mine, so it was no surprise how quickly and completely I was invested in the outcome of the story. However, while this is the fourth Tori Winters book, the author subtly provides enough highlights from the past that readers new to the series can easily read and enjoy this one as a standalone novel. But the earlier books are great fun and really are must-reads in and of themselves.

I recommend SINISTER REMNANTS to cozy mystery readers, especially those who enjoy Texas-set stories.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.

View all my reviews

Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: In the Dead of Winter (Blue Water Mystery, #1) by Lyn Farrell

 

In the Dead of Winter

The Blue Water Mysteries

by

Lyn Farrell

About In the Dead of Winter

 

In the Dead of Winter (The Blue Water Mysteries)

Mystery
1st in Series
Setting - Michigan
Publisher: Camel Press
Publication date: February 10, 2026
Print length: 260 pages
Paperback
ISBN-10: 1684923182 / ISBN-13: 978-1684923182
Digital
ISBN-13: 978-1684923199 / ASIN: B0G2TD4JKH

Victoria Treadwell, dispatcher for the sheriff's office, is driving to work in a snowstorm when she sees a car fish-tailing behind her. Horrified, she watches at the car swerves off the road. When she heads back to help, she finds the driver bent over the steering wheel and barely breathing. In the back seat is a tiny child in a pink snowsuit. Victoria calls for an ambulance and then dials her boss, Pete Manstead, Undersheriff, of Charlevoix County. The ambulance arrives and the paramedic tries to shock the woman's heart back into rhythm, but the driver, who they learn is named Carly Yellowwood, is dead. From the autopsy, Pete finds Carly died of a drug overdose, although she didn't use drugs. The coroner lists the cause of death as murder. Pete sends his deputies to visit Carly's neighbors and learns she has been seeing two men. One is her ex-husband, Joe Yellowwood, a Native American living on the nearby reservation. No one knows the second man. Since Carly Yellowwood was divorced and has a new boyfriend. Pete believes it's a crime of passion. Victoria, who hopes to adopt Carly's motherless child, thinks the motive is far darker.

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About Lyn Farrell

 

Lyn Farquhar—pen name Lyn Farrell—holds a Ph.D. from Michigan State University and is an experienced author, having published the seven-book series (the Mae December mysteries) with Epicenter Press and four books in the Rosedale Investigations series. She has also published one women’s fiction book. To date, eight of her books have been picked up by a secondary publisher, Harlequin. Sales to date from both primary and secondary publishers are approaching 50,000. Lyn worked for Michigan State University’s College of Human Medicine for 35 years before retiring to pursue her dream of becoming a published fiction author. Lyn is the mother of two, has six stepchildren, and twelve grandchildren. She loves gardening, playing with her Cavalier King Charles spaniels, and is always on the lookout for paintings by her famous artist grandfather, Eugene Iverd.

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Review

4 stars!

Who could possibly want the young mother of a three-year-old dead? 

In the Dead of Winter is the first novel in author Lyn Farrell’s new Michigan-set series, the Blue Water Mysteries, and pairs the investigative talents of a sharp-witted civilian sheriff’s dispatcher with the untested but earnest undersheriff, investigating his first homicide. Victoria Treadwell was making her way to work over treacherous snow-covered rural roads when she saw a car come up behind her, fishtail, and slide off the road and stop headfirst against a tree. When she turned back to see if the driver needed help, she discovered a young woman, barely breathing and crumpled over the steering wheel, as her toddler daughter witnessed everything from her car seat in the back. As the young woman succumbs, it becomes apparent that her death was not the result of the accident but of the premeditated actions of a murderer. 

Victoria, the married mother of two, is a talented amateur sleuth, hampered by her status as an untrained civilian. She’s quick to see connections in the clues, and her online research skills really help further the investigation. She takes a personal interest in the case and hopes she and her part First Nations husband can adopt the dead woman’s tiny daughter, a First Nations child, out from under the girl’s own father and grandmother, neither of whom may be in the best situation to care for the toddler. 

Undersheriff Pete Manstead, while a dedicated officer, is the tortoise to Victoria’s hare in their race to bring in the killer before the sheriff, who is out of town at a conference, returns to take over the investigation. A self-acknowledged plodder, Pete thinks and rethinks his every move. Still, he tends to leap to some pretty tenuous conclusions as he works to identify the killer. Together, the result is quite a unique police procedural with several potential suspects, all of whom look good for the murder until their alibis prove they’re not the one. Slowly but surely, the two tease out the truth of Carly Yellowstone’s sad death. 

I recommend IN THE DEAD OF WINTER to readers of mysteries, especially those who enjoy a story set in blizzard-like conditions or Michigan’s rural north.

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

April 29 – Jody's Bookish Haven - SPOTLIGHT

April 29 – Books1987 - SPOTLIGHT

April 30 – Sarcastically Yours, Jen – SPOTLIGHT

April 30 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

May 1 – Deal Sharing Aunt – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

May 2 – Sarandipity's – SPOTLIGHT

May 2 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

May 3 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

May 5 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

May 6 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

May 7 – Christy's Cozy Corners – REVIEW

May 8 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW

May 9 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

May 10 – Christa Reads and Writes - SPOTLIGHT

May 11 – Salty Inspirations- AUTHOR GUEST POST

May 12 – Reading Is My SuperPower – SPOTLIGHT

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Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: Arson, Old Lace, and Murder (Charlie Kingsley Mysteries, #8) by Michele Pariza Wacek

 

Arson, Old Lace and Murder 

(Charlie Kingsley Mysteries)

by

Michele (PW) Pariza Wacek

About Arson, Old Lace and Murder

 

Arson, Old Lace and Murder (Charlie Kingsley Mysteries)

Cozy Mystery
8th in Series
Setting - Redemption, Wisconsin, in the 1990s
Publisher: Love-Based Publishing
Publication date: March 25, 2026
Page count: 200 pages
Paperback ISBN: 9798893510393
ASIN: B0GNZPYN1L
Digital ASIN: B0FHQHXNGR

Charlie Kingsley is not a private investigator. She makes and sells custom teas out of her home. Which is why she initially refused to look into a recent case of a bar that had burned down. 

Yes, it was tragic that the owner's body was found inside. But this is an arson case, and what does she possibly know about arson? 

Except...one of the waitresses is missing.

Who's pregnant.

Who everyone thought was having an affair with the owner of the bar. 

How can Charlie say no to the owner's widow? And when Charlie accidentally finds the pregnant waitress, things start to take a strange turn. And suddenly, Charlie finds herself thrust into a decades-old mystery that haunts Redemption to this day. 

A mystery that could very well cost Charlie her life. 

Meet Charlie. Also known as “Aunt Charlie” from the award-winning Secrets of Redemption series. She's back, making teas and solving cases in this funny, twisty, cozy mystery series set in the 1990s in Redemption, Wisconsin.

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About Michele (PW) Pariza Wacek

 

A USA Today Bestselling, award-winning author, Michele taught herself to read at 3 years old because she wanted to write stories so badly. It took some time (and some detours) but she does spend much of her time writing stories now. Mystery stories, to be exact. They're clean and twisty, and range from psychological thrillers to cozies, with a dash of romance and supernatural thrown into the mix. If that wasn't enough, she posts lots of fun things on her blog, including short stories, puzzles, recipes and more, at MPWNovels.com.

Michele grew up in Wisconsin, (hence why all her books take place there), and still visits regularly, but she herself escaped the cold and now lives in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona with her husband and southern squirrel hunter Cassie.

When she's not writing, she's usually reading, hanging out with her dog, or watching the Food Network and imagining she's an awesome cook. (Spoiler alert, she's not. Luckily for the whole family, Mr. PW is in charge of the cooking.)

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While each book is a standalone, you may find it more enjoyable to read the books in order, which is:

The Murder Before Christmas
Ice Cold Murder
Murder Next Door
Murder Among Friends
The Murder of Sleepy Hollow
Red Hot Murder
A Cornucopia of Murder
Arson, Old Lace and Murder
Masquerading as Murder (coming 2026)

Other books in the Charlie Kingsley Mystery series include:
A Grave Error (prequel)
Loch Ness Murder
A Wedding to Murder For
Three French Hens and a Murder
A Room For Murder
Margaritas and Murder
Secret Santa Murder (coming 2026)

Review

5 stars!

Charlie is drawn into a deadly case of arson, murder, and revenge. 

Arson, Old Lace, and Murder is the eighth book in author Michele Pariza Wacek's always-intriguing Charlie Kingsley Mystery series, where a deadly case of arson draws Charlie into the affairs of the clannish 1888ers, the direct descendants of the children left behind when every adult in Redemption mysteriously disappeared in a single night. While Charlie is delivering a tea order to her one client who lives in a part of town almost exclusively inhabited by 1888ers, she discovers a local business ablaze, with a young woman trapped inside. After rescuing her and hearing that a man was still in the building, Charlie returns to make another attempt, but it's too late. In the meantime, though, the survivor, who is well along in pregnancy, disappears with Charlie's coat and the money from her wallet. Shockingly, the police officer on the scene is completely uninterested in locating the young mother-to-be, or in investigating what is obviously a case of arson. The following day, after the local paper reports Charlie's actions at the fire, the wife of the man who perished comes to hire her to investigate his murder. 

Once again, Charlie Kingsley is at the center of a baffling crime that Officer Brandon Wyle doesn't want her investigating. However, this story is unique in that even her friends are adamantly opposed to her involvement, except for pseudo-detective and retired high school English teacher, Mildred Schmidt, who is eager to assist. 

Charlie hits a brick wall with every clue she pursues, and even the young woman who had pulled the disappearing act is unwilling to tell what she knows. In an interesting twist, Wyle is warned off asking questions about the case by his superiors and is forced to encourage Charlie to dig up something so concrete that the case can no longer be swept under the rug. The barriers to the official investigation into anything related to the 1888ers are unknown, but whatever they are, they are closely guarded secrets. 

Charlie and Wyle's relationship is off-kilter and uneasy, and I'm becoming less and less an advocate of their pairing as time goes on. I don't feel like he supports her or truly respects her as a smart and capable adult. It's time she explores other options. 

The story maintains a brisk pace as Charlie does her best to pry information from anyone who might shed light on the secrets of the 1888ers and an even more insular group, The Forgotten. The resolution was surprising, but it made sense. 

While this book is the eighth in the series, it can be read and enjoyed as a standalone. However, for the best experience, read a couple of the previous books in this or the related series by the author. I recommend ARSON, OLD LACE, AND MURDER to readers of cozy mysteries, especially those who enjoy paranormal elements in their stories.

Tour Participants

March 23 – Boys' Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT

March 23 – Sarah Can't Stop Reading Books – REVIEW

March 24 – Jody's Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT

March 25 – @bibliophile_foodie – REVIEW

March 26 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

March 27 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

March 28 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

March 28 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

March 29 – Deal Sharing Aunt – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

March 30 – Sarandipity's – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

March 31 – Christy's Cozy Corners – REVIEW

April 1 – Because I Said So – REVIEW

April 1 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read- REVIEW

April 2 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

April 2 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT

April 3 – Salty Inspirations – AUTHOR GUEST POST

April 4 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

April 5 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

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Book Review: A Grave Denied (Kate Shugak, #13) by Dana Stabenow

A Grave Denied by Dana Stabenow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The murder of the local jack-of-all-trades reveals that deeper and more tragic secrets are lurking in the Park.

A Grave Denied, the thirteenth book in Dana Stabenow’s iconic Alaska-set mystery series featuring Private Investigator Kate Shugak, is a bit of a change agent for this strong female protagonist. With Jack Morgan’s son part of her life, Kate dragged herself out of the pit of grief she’s been in since Jack’s death. She’s started to live again, needing to provide Johnny with a good home, a safe and secure environment, and a dependable and consistent role model in his life, or watch him get returned to his manipulative, emotionally abusive mother.

When Johnny and his classmates discover the body of the Park’s odd-jobs man hidden in a melting glacier, State Trooper Sergeant Jim Chopin hires Kate to investigate his murder. However, the more digging she does, the more she puts herself and Johnny in a killer’s crosshairs.

After her long suffering the emotional devastation of Jack Morgan’s death, I’m glad to see Kate is finally starting to heal, even if it is Johnny’s troubles that jumpstart her recovery. I feel like she’s come back stronger, sharper, and better than before as she unravels this truly baffling case.

The story begins quietly enough: Johnny is settling in, and he and Kate are contemplating ways to improve her cabin to accommodate his move-in. But with the discovery of the body, there’s one twist after another until the absolutely shocking revelation of who was responsible and their motive for what they did. Meanwhile, Johnny’s mother and her jealous machinations must be handled, Bobby Clark’s past shows up in Niniltna in the form of an older brother, and the long-avoided feelings between Jim Chopin and Kate must finally be addressed. The unique personality and heartwarming community spirit of Kate’s hometown are on full display throughout the book, especially when neighbors need help.

I recommend A GRAVE DENIED to fans of the previous books in the series.

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Book Review: Last Rituals (Thóra Guðmundsdóttir, #1) by Yrsa Sigurdardóttir

Last Rituals by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Witchcraft and murder in modern-day Iceland.

Last Rituals is the first book in the Thóra Guðmundsdóttir series by Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurdardóttir, and it is a compelling but creepy start. When German graduate student, Harold Guntlieb, is found murdered, his corpse gruesomely mutilated, his friend and drug dealer is too conveniently pegged by the local police for his death. His skeptical but wealthy parents back in Germany ask local attorney Thóra Guðmundsdóttir to conduct a private investigation to find the real killer or confirm the official findings. Along with the Guntlieb's local representative in Iceland, Matthew Reich, Thóra retraces the original investigation, discovering more questions than answers the deeper they dig.

Thóra is such a relatable character: a recently single mother of a son and a daughter, with a detached ex-husband who's remarried a younger replacement and is the partner in a small law firm in Reykjavik. Besides coming to terms with her new life, the lease for the office space included a receptionist, the property owner's daughter, who is completely worthless in running the office, so she's having to navigate around her. Thóra's frustration with the clueless but prickly girl leads her to make comments later in the book about the girl's physical appearance that some may find offensive. This book was originally published more than 20 years ago, so it was written even earlier, when such comments weren't viewed as critically as they are now. Thóra does step up in a big way, though, to emotionally support her teenage son when he is discovered to have made a major misstep on the path to his future.

While the murder inquiry is outside of Thóra's wheelhouse, the remuneration offered by the Guntliebs is too good (and needed) to pass up, and she and Matthew conduct a good, methodical investigation. Along the way, they learn a great deal about Harold's field of study: witchcraft and the persecution of those accused of witchcraft in Iceland during the Middle Ages. In meeting his friends, they also discover that witchcraft is more than just an entertaining topic to some of them, who may be putting what Harold had learned into practice, especially upon Harold's death.

A caution to those readers sensitive to such matters: the means and manner of Harold's death are described, as are the body modifications he had made to himself prior. Also, there is some discussion of the horrific treatment and torture of those suspected of witchcraft, and some of the charms and spells call for very off-putting elements.

I enjoyed the story, but wasn't a complete fan of the narrator of the Audible audiobook edition I listened to. Although she provided a great range of voices for the different characters, I felt her delivery of some of Thóra's dialogue did not match the scene's tone or the circumstances, making Thóra come off as a flighty, lightweight airhead who wasn't taking her job seriously. I will probably read the subsequent books in the series in a physical or ebook format.

I recommend LAST RITUALS to readers of mysteries and thrillers, especially those who enjoy grittier tales or Icelandic settings.

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Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: Trapped and Tested (DeeLo Myer Cat Rescue Mystery, #2) by Sharon Marchisello

 

Trapped and Tested

A DeeLo Myer Cat Rescue Mystery

by

Sharon Marchisello

About Trapped and Tested

 

Trapped and Tested
A DeeLo Myer Cat Rescue Mystery
Cozy Mystery
2nd in the Series
Setting – Georgia
Publisher: Level Best Books
Publication Date: December 16, 2025
274 Pages
Paperback ISBN: 979-8-89820-057-2 / Digital ISBN: 979-8-89820-058-9

When DeeLo’s niece, Demi Myer, tries to find her father on an ancestry site, she meets Kwintone, a half-brother with a few secrets. After getting a speeding ticket, Kwintone is assigned to community service in the Pecan Point Humane Society’s Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return program—trapping cats with DeeLo on the new Oakwood Studios lot. The disinterested trainee leaves abruptly on his first night, and later DeeLo finds his car abandoned beside the road, phone on the seat.

Where is Kwintone, and is he connected to the stabbing of the CEO of Neuroscience Laboratories—a medical research facility that tests its products on cats?

DeeLo is still determined to change the county’s animal ordinance to support TNVR, but is the newcomer candidate she backs for the open commissioner slot involved in a murder?

Click to Purchase!

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About Sharon Marchisello

 

Sharon Marchisello is the author of the DeeLo Myer Cat Rescue Mystery series, which began with Trap, Neuter, Die. She is a long-time volunteer and cat foster for the Fayette Humane Society (FHS) with a Master’s in Professional Writing from the University of Southern California. She also published three mysteries with Sunbury Press—Going Home (2014), Secrets of the Galapagos (2019), and Murder at Leisure Dreams - Galapagos (2025). Sharon has written short stories, a nonfiction book about personal finance, training manuals, screenplays, a blog, and book reviews. She is an active member of Sisters in Crime, the Atlanta Writers Club, and the Hometown Novel Writers Association. Retired from a 27-year career with Delta Air Lines, she now lives in Peachtree City, Georgia, and serves on the board of directors for the Friends of the Peachtree City Library.

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Tour Participants

January 12- Jody's Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT

January 12- Guatemala Paula Loves to Read - SPOTLIGHT

January 13 – Christy's Cozy Corners – SPOTLIGHT

January 14 – StoreyBook Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST

January 15 – Sarah Can't Stop Reading Books – REVIEW

January 16 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

January 17 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

January 17 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

January 18 - Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

January 19 – Sarandipity's – SPOTLIGHT

January 19 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT

January 20 – Salty Inspirations – AUTHOR GUEST POST

January 20 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT

January 21 – Sneaky the Library Cat's Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

January 22 – The Editing Pen – SPOTLIGHT

January 23 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – REVIEW

January 24 – Reading Is My SuperPower – SPOTLIGHT

January 24 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

January 25 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!

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Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: Murder at Leisure Dreams - Galapagos (Giovanna Rogers Mysteries, #2) by Sharon Marchisello

 

Murder at Leisure Dreams - Galapagos 

Giovanna Rogers Mysteries

by

Sharon Marchisello

About Murder at Leisure Dreams: Galapagos

 

Murder at Leisure Dreams - Galapagos (Giovanna Rogers Mysteries)
Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting - Galapagos
Publisher: Milford House Press
Publication date: June 26, 2025
Print length: 340 pages
Digital ASIN: B0FFR9Y2GW

Giovanna Rogers restarts her career as expatriate manager of the new Leisure Dreams resort hotel on Santa Cruz Island in the Galapagos. Due to her youth and limited proficiency in Spanish, she struggles to gain the respect of her staff and the company’s executives. She has to prove to them that she got the job because of merit, not because the CEO is a family friend. And prove to herself that she can overcome a past business failure and make the hotel a success.

When the story opens, Giovanna and her staff prepare for the hotel's grand opening. Friends, family, and corporate bigwigs fly in for the event. Renowned documentary producer Claire Costello and her film crew have arrived; Giovanna has the staff send a bottle of champagne to Claire's room to welcome the VIP guest. The next morning, Claire is found dead in her bed; the cause of death is apparent poisoning. Now Giovanna must work with her boyfriend, local police detective Victor Zuniga, to solve the case while juggling the details of the grand opening and controlling the narrative around the mysterious demise of a VIP guest on the property.

Complications in her relationship arise when Giovanna’s ex-boyfriend decides to join her family to attend the grand opening. Her best friend and several of her employees have a history with Claire. And Claire’s team is somewhat dysfunctional, keeping secrets and telling contradictory stories. Despite Giovanna’s efforts to maintain normalcy and apprehend the culprit, things continue to worsen.

Click to Purchase!

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Author Guest Post

Please welcome Sharon Marchisello, the author of today's featured book, to the blog with this special guest post just for us!

Sharon, thank you for being here today!

Plotting a Mystery Like a Pantser

by Sharon Marchisello

Writers often say we are divided into plotters and pantsers. Plotters develop an outline before they begin writing. The level of detail varies considerably, but they basically know where they are going: where the major turning points in the story will be, who the characters are, what the climax will be, and of course, the ending. Pantsers, sometimes known as “discovery writers,” just start typing. They often don’t know from one day to the next how the story will turn out. I’m a pantser, and it’s maddening.

I wish I were a plotter. I created and followed an outline when I wrote my nonfiction book, Live Well, Grow Wealth, and the writing process was so easy! I wish I could transfer those skills to my fiction projects, but I’ve tried and failed miserably.

However, when writing a murder mystery, especially a simple whodunnit, some of the plotting is standard issue, almost fill-in-the-blank. Someone dies, usually near the beginning, and most likely, the cause is murder. A sleuth, usually a main character if not the protagonist, solves the case by the end of the book. And of course, there are suspects: characters with means, motive, and/or opportunity. Hopefully, enough to challenge the sleuth and make the story interesting for the reader. Sometimes, a second death occurs at the mid-point, and it’s often one of the main suspects, which can send the sleuth back to the drawing board or in another direction.

That still leaves a lot of work for the author, many questions to answer before you begin (if you’re a plotter) or while you’re writing (if you’re a pantser). Who is the victim? How did the person die? Why would someone kill them? And how? Who is the sleuth? If the sleuth is an amateur, how and why does she get involved? What’s at stake if she can’t solve the crime?

For my most recent mystery, Murder at Leisure Dreams – Galapagos, I pulled my protagonist from a previous novel, Secrets of the Galapagos, so her character was already developed. Giovanna Rogers is the manager of the new Leisure Dreams resort hotel just outside Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island. She’s dating Victor Zuniga, a local police detective, so it made sense that a murder would happen in her hotel, and she’d work with Victor on the investigation.

Since the hotel is new, it needed to have a grand opening, bringing in outsiders, lots of people in close proximity, creating pressure for Giovanna and her staff. The murder occurs only a few days before the big event. Giovanna’s career is on the line; she wants everything to be perfect and for her guests to feel safe.

To up the stakes, I made the victim a VIP guest. Claire Costello is an American documentary producer who plans to use the hotel as a base while shooting her next nature film. One of my beta readers thought Claire seemed more like a movie star than a real documentary producer, so I leaned in to that aspect rather than change her character. She’s accompanied by a dysfunctional crew and has a history with some of the locals, including hotel employees.

How to kill her? I don’t claim any knowledge of firearms, and many readers are gun experts who are quick to call out an author for a mistake, so I wasn’t going to tackle death by gunshot.

Poison has always fascinated me. When I became a Master Gardener in 2014, I learned that many common, easily accessible plants can be highly toxic. During the pandemic, I attended a Sisters in Crime webinar featuring Luci Zahray, a retired pharmacist with a master's degree in toxicology, who is known as “The Poison Lady.” She gave a fascinating presentation tailored to mystery writers who want to kill people (on the page, of course) by poison. I was sold. Claire would die by poison.

My online research led me to the manzanillo (also known as manchineel), which is the only toxic plant indigenous to the Galapagos. (Not unique to the islands, it’s also found in the Caribbean, Central America, and even southern Florida.) I put a tree on the Leisure Dreams property. Every part of the plant is toxic, especially the fruit—the poison apples. Cool fact: although ingesting the apples can kill a human, they don’t bother the giant Galapagos tortoises, who like to snack on them.

I reached out to Luci via Facebook, and she gave me her email address. During the year I spent writing my first draft, I pelted her with questions about the plant and its active toxin, physostigmine. She was a wealth of knowledge and added much depth to the plot.

To keep track of my suspects, I created an Excel spreadsheet with a timeline for the night Claire drank the poisoned champagne. Each character who was present at the hotel that night had a column where I tracked their movements. Then I created another tab with a line for each character with a description, role, and possible motive, means, and opportunity.

I was pretty confident I knew whodunnit—until it was almost time for Victor to arrest the culprit. Then, I realized the person’s motive wasn’t strong enough to commit murder. My perp was innocent! So, it was back to the spreadsheet to study the other characters’ motives and figure out who really did the crime.

I guess if I were a plotter, I wouldn’t encounter these problems.

I share my first drafts chapter by chapter with my critique groups, which sometimes saves me from heading down disastrous, dead-end paths. Often, they’ll tell me, “This is great! I can’t wait to see what happens next.” And I think, yeah, me too.

About Sharon Marchisello

SHARON MARCHISELLO is the author of two other mysteries published by Milford House, the fiction imprint of Sunbury Press: Going Home (2014) and Secrets of the Galapagos (2019), which is the prequel to Murder at Leisure Dreams – Galapagos. She also writes the DeeLo Myer Cat Rescue Mysteries from Level Best Books. Besides novels, Sharon has published short stories in anthologies and online magazines; one was a 2022 Derringer finalist. She has written travel articles, training manuals, screenplays, book reviews, and a nonfiction book (Live Well, Grow Wealth - 2018). She earned a bachelor’s degree in French from the University of Houston and a master’s in professional writing from the University of Southern California. She is an active member of Sisters in Crime, the Atlanta Writers Club, and the Hometown Novel Writers Association. Retired after 27 years with Delta Air Lines, Sharon now lives in Peachtree City, Georgia. She serves on the boards of the Fayette Humane Society, Hometown Novel Writers Association, and the Friends of the Peachtree City Library. She loves to travel, including a trip to the Galapagos Islands in 2014.

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Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway: Die, Die, Birdie (Kiki Lowenstein Mystery, #19) by Joanna Campbell Slan

 

Die, Die, Birdie

a Kiki Lowenstein Mystery

by

Joanna Campbell Slan

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About Die, Die, Birdie

 

Die, Die, Birdie (Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series)

Cozy Mystery
19th in the Series
Setting - Missouri
Publisher: Spot On Publishing
Publication date: July 1, 2025
Print length: 230 pages
Paperback ISBN-13: 979-8289334954
Digital ISBN-13: 979-8349429880
ASIN: B0FDT3Q8C9

When her son's new pet becomes evidence in a murder case, scrapbook store owner Kiki Lowenstein-Detweiler discovers that some family secrets are worth killing for.

All eight-year-old Erik wanted for his birthday was a bird. What he got was Solo-a traumatized lovebird whose mate was recently devoured by a boa constrictor at a local pet shop.

But when Kiki learns that Solo originally belonged to Ruthie Goldman, a beloved member of their temple community who died after a brutal home invasion, she realizes this is no ordinary rescue pet.

Solo may be small, but he's carrying big secrets-literally. X-rays reveal the tiny bird has swallowed several diamonds from the robbery that killed his previous owner. Now someone is desperately trying to track down Erik's feathered friend, and Kiki's family is in danger.

As Detective Chad Detweiler investigates the diamond theft that triggered Ruthie's fatal stroke, Kiki uncovers a web of family betrayals, frozen embryos, and twisted ideas about genetic purity.

With her trademark blend of humor, heart, and small-town Missouri charm, Kiki must protect her family while helping to solve a murder that hits frighteningly close to home. Because when inheritance, infertility, and identity collide, even the most loving families can harbor deadly secrets.

"Fans of cozy mysteries will delight in this charming blend of family drama, small-town secrets, and feathered friends. Kiki Lowenstein-Detweiler proves once again that the most dangerous mysteries often begin with the most innocent questions."

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About Joanna Campbell Slan

Joanna Campbell Slan is a New York Times and a USA Today bestselling author who has written more than 70 books, both fiction and non-fiction. Currently, she writes four ongoing mystery series: the Kiki Lowenstein cozy mysteries (Agatha Award finalist/first novel/contemporary); the Jane Eyre Chronicles (Daphne du Maurier Award for Literary Excellence winner/historical); the Cara Mia Delgatto mysteries (contemporary); and the Friday Night Mystery Club mysteries (set in 1980s). She’s also the editor and co-author of the Sherlock Holmes Fantasy books.

Her publication career began as one of the earliest Chicken Soup for the Soul contributors, and her stories appear in five of those New York Times bestselling books. Joanna’s first non-fiction book, Using Stories and Humor: Grab Your Audience (Simon & Schuster/Pearson), was endorsed by Toastmasters International and lauded by Benjamin Netanyahu’s speechwriter. Her books on scrapbooking have won fans all over the world, and she has taught scrapbooking techniques in Europe and on cruise ships, as well as in the United States.

When she isn’t writing, Joanna is an avid crafter. Contact Joanna at JCSlan@JoannaSlan.com.

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