A Body in the Belfry by J.B. Hawker | Monday Mini-Review

A Body in the Belfry by J.B. Hawker

Series: A First Ladies Club Mystery, #2

Genre: Cozy Mystery, Christian Fiction

Publisher: J.B. Hawker

Publication Date: Print, 11-3-15 / Digital, 12-1-15

Paperback: 220 pages 

ISBN-10: 1507696620
ISBN-13: 978-1507696620 

eBook File Size: 666 KB  

ASIN: B017IXN3QE

Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | Nook | Kobo | iTunes | Goodreads   

Author J.B. Hawker is discounting the digital versions (Kindle, ePub) to only 99 cents 
for a limited time during the launch. After that, it will return to the regular price of $4.99. 

 The Blurb

Cover Shot by LynDee Walker | Blog Tour with Review and Giveaway

The Blurb

It’s been a slow news month in Richmond, and crime reporter Nichelle Clarke is enjoying the downtime when ominous messages and a dead body kick things into high gear. And that’s before the guy with the rifle takes a hospital full of people hostage.

Up to the top of her knee-high Prada boots in leads, Nichelle finds her favorite detectives under pressure to make an arrest, but it doesn’t add up — and ignoring the “why” of this story could cost Nichelle the most important person in her life.

With too much to lose, a shot at the story of a lifetime, and a missing bullet that might be the key, landing this headline could save the day, but can Nichelle dig up the truth before the killer buries her with it?

Cover Shot by LynDee Walker 

Series: Headlines in High Heels Mystery, #5

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Henery Press

Publication Date: November 10, 2015
Paperback: 312 pages

ISBN-10: 1943390215
ISBN-13: 978-1943390212

Hardcover: 308 pages

ISBN-10: 194339024X
ISBN-13: 978-1943390243

E-Book File Size: 872 KB

ASIN: B0147MGU2S

Amazon | Barnes & Noble |Kobo | iTunes | IndieBound | Goodreads

The Review

The Case of the Defunct Adjunct by Frankie Bow | Blog Tour with Review and Giveaway

Frankie Bow is back, with a new book in the Molly Barda Mystery series!

The Blurb

~~Special introductory price of $0.99. Returns to $3.99 after Dec. 5 ~~

A forbidden kiss. A death in plain sight. And the faculty meeting’s just begun.

Forced to attend the Student Retention Office’s summer retreat, Professor Molly Barda brings her game of buzzword bingo to fend off boredom. But when the lecherous Kent Lovely, Mahina State’s one-man hostile work environment, collapses face-first into his haupia cheesecake, the afternoon goes from dull to disastrous. Now Molly has to fight to keep an innocent out of prison — and herself off the unemployment line.

The Case of the Defunct Adjunct is the spoiler-free prequel to the Molly Barda mysteries, a cozy mystery series set in remote Mahina, Hawaii. If you like Dorothy Parker, Sarah Caudwell, P.G. Wodehouse, or E.F. Benson’s Mapp and Lucia stories, you’ll enjoy this tale of passion, pilferage, and petty politics.

The Case of the Defunct Adjunct by Frankie Bow
Series: Molly Barda mysteries, #0

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Hawaiian Heritage Press

Publication Date: November 23, 2015
Print Length: 238 pages
e-Book File Size: 4635 KB

ASIN: B015U1NM4O

Amazon | B & N | Kobo | iBooks | Goodreads

 The Review

Dead in a Park by B.L. Blair | Blog Tour with Excerpt, Review, and Giveaway

The author of Dead in a Dumpster is back, with another Leah Norwood Mystery!

The Blurb

When Leah Norwood finds the body of Donald Collins in the city park, she doesn’t know he is a distant relative. Young Donnie was a jewel thief and a career criminal. Hidden in the lining of his suit jacket was an exact replica of a ring that has been in Leah’s family for over a hundred years. After her home is burglarized, the sexy chief of police is convinced the ruby ring has something to do with the murder.

Leah wants to find out what happened to Donnie, but why would someone kill for a hundred year old ring? She discovers a connection between Donnie and the drug-dealing Cantono family, between the Cantono family and a jewelry appraiser, and between the jewelry appraiser and one of her own employees. Chief Griggs might be onto something. All clues lead back to the family ring.

Leah loves a good mystery. Can she find the killer before the killer strikes again?

Dead in a Park by B.L. Blair
Series: Leah Norwood Mystery, #2 
Genre: Mystery/Romance
Release Date: November 12, 2015
Publisher: B.L. Blair  
eBook File Size: 1949 KB
Print Length: 177 pages
  Kindle ASIN: B013VYOZBG
Nook ISBN: 2940152095425
e-ISBN: 978-0990658443
Amazon | B & N | Kobo | iBooks | Smashwords | Leah Norwood Mysteries | Goodreads 

The Excerpt

A Pain in the Tuchis by Mark Reutlinger | Blog Tour with Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway

The author of Mrs Kaplan and the Matzoh Ball of Death is back, with another Mrs Kaplan mystery!

The Blurb

Combining the classic charms of Agatha Christie with the delightful humor of M. C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin novels, Mark Reutlinger’s Mrs. Kaplan mystery series returns as a notorious crank meets an untimely fate.

Yom Kippur is a day of reflection and soul searching. But at the Julius and Rebecca Cohen Home for Jewish Seniors, Vera Gold misses this opportunity to atone for her many sins when she up and dies. Indeed, Vera was such a pain in the tuchis to all those around her that when her sister claims Vera was deliberately poisoned, the tough question isn’t who would want to kill her — but who wouldn’t?

Having already solved one murder with her dear friend Ida, Rose Kaplan has a sleuthing reputation that precedes her. It’s only natural that Vera’s sister turns to Mrs. K for help. So do the police, but when her conclusions conflict with theirs, they tell her to butt out! This case has more twists than a loaf of challah. And with a homicidal scoundrel on the loose, Mrs. K has to act fast — or she might be the guest of honor at the Home’s next memorial service.


~Praise for Mrs. Kaplan and the Matzoh Ball of Death

“Is there kosher food in jail? These two heroines have gotten themselves in quite a pickle! Well, it’s a matzoh ball mess, really. Too deliciously funny!”

— Rita Mae Brown, bestselling author of Nine Lives to Die

A Pain in the Tuchis by Mark Reutlinger

Series: A Mrs Kaplan Mystery, #2

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Alibi — An Imprint of Random House

Publication Date: November 17, 2015
e-Book File Size: 1693 KB

ASIN: B00TWE4FHO
e-ISBN-13: 978-0553393408

Amazon | B & N | Google Play | Random House/Alibi | Goodreads

The Review

Accused by Wendy Byrne | Blog Tour with Excerpt, Review, Guest Post, Giveaway

The Blurb

Spawned from the depths of every parent’s worst nightmare, Jillian Beckett’s 16 year old troubled son is charged with murder. He’s unable to remember what happened and swears he’s off drugs, but should she believe him? Her ex-husband doesn’t. The high-priced lawyer she hired doesn’t. Where does motherly instinct intersect with reality?

Afraid and alone, she reluctantly enlists the help of her son’s football coach to find the truth of what happened. As they battle to uncover the guilty party, confidences are shattered, lives are on the line, while her son is one step closer to spending his life behind bars.

Accused by Wendy Byrne
Series: Troubled Boys, Strong Men, #1

Genre: Romantic Suspense  

Publication Date: August 4, 2015
Paperback: 220 pages
ISBN-10: 0692506756
ISBN-13: 978-0692506752
eBook File Size: 2191 KB
ASIN: B011GKZIFO
Amazon | Kindle | Goodreads

The Excerpt

A Stitch to Die For by Lois Winston | Blog Tour Book Blast with Giveaway

Lois Winston, the author of Decoupage Can Be Deadly, is back 

with another Anastasia Pollock Crafting Mystery!

The Blurb

Before the Storm by Leslie Tentler | Blog Tour with Excerpt, Review, and Giveaway

No Matter How Far You Run, The Past Will Find You.

Leslie Tentler is back with another story of romance and suspense… this time in a small Southern beach town called Rarity Cove. What happens when a woman on the run has her dangerous secrets finally catch up with her? Find out in Before the Storm by Leslie Tentler.

The Blurb

Six years earlier, Trina Grissom disappeared, on the run for her life. Now living under an assumed identity — as Samantha Marsh — she still struggles with the dark secret she harbors and the fear she might one day be found. When she moves to the coastal town of Rarity Cove, South Carolina, to open a café, a handsome widower begins to chip away at the walls she’s built to protect herself.

Mark St. Clair lost his wife two years ago in a tragic accident. Head of the grand St. Clair resort, he distracts himself from his lingering grief by running the family business and caring for his troubled young daughter... until a beautiful restaurateur sets up shop in town. Before meeting Samantha, Mark was convinced he could never be drawn to another woman. But as his attraction to Samantha grows, the mystery surrounding her deepens.

As the two begin a hesitant courtship, double perils emerge. Someone from Samantha’s lurid past comes calling, threatening to expose her. And a powerful hurricane is forming in the Atlantic with the small beach town in its path. Trapped in the storm by the brutal man who wants vengeance on Samantha, she and Mark must fight for their lives.

Before the Storm by Leslie Tentler
Series: A Rarity Cove Novel, #1 
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Release Date: October 16, 2015
Publisher: Left Field Press  
Paperback: 334 pages 
ISBN-10: 0990639037
ISBN-13: 978-0990639039
eBook File Size: 4017 KB
ASIN: B015BTKLEO 
Amazon | B & N | Kobo | iBooks | Goodreads 

The Excerpt

Short & Tall Tales in Goose Pimple Junction by Amy Metz | Blog Tour with Review & Giveaway

Amy Metz is back, with a new book in the Goose Pimple Junction mystery series!

The Blurb

This is not your average Southern town. With a hint of mystery, a lot of laughs, and unique charm, you’ll catch a glimpse of everyday life in Goose Pimple Junction in this short story compilation. Short & Tall Tales occurs chronologically between Murder & Mayhem, book 1, and Heroes & Hooligans, book 2, in the Goose Pimple Junction mystery series. Book 1.5 is a fun escape that will answer questions readers may have about the residents of this quirky small town.

• How did Johnny Butterfield become police chief?
• How did Tess and Jack get engaged?
• How did Ima Jean come to live with Louetta?
• How do you celebrate an Apple Day?

These questions and more are answered in Short & Tall Tales in Goose Pimple Junction. Five short stories, one novella, and three recipes will give you more of life in Goose Pimple Junction, make you laugh, and have your mouth watering. If you want a feel-good read, you’ve come to the right place. Grab some sweet tea and escape to Goose Pimple Junction.

Short & Tall Tales in Goose Pimple Junction by Amy Metz
Series: Goose Pimple Junction mysteries, #1.5

Genre: Cozy Mystery, Culinary Mystery

Publisher: Southern Ink Press, an imprint of Blue Publications

Publication Date: August 31, 2015
Paperback: 128 pages
ISBN-10: 0989714063

ISBN-13: 978-0989714068

e-Book File Size: 2120 KB
ASIN: B014XIMXOK

Amazon | B & N | Goodreads


Why wait? You can read an excerpt, the first section of Chapter 10, Talk of the Town, 
here on Author Amy Metz's website.

 The Review

Guaranteed to Bleed by Julie Mulhern | Blog Tour with Review, Guest Post, Giveaway

The author of The Deep End is back, with another Country Club Murders mystery!

The Blurb

With his dying breath, Bobby Lowell begs Ellison Russell, “Tell her I love her.”

Unable to refuse, Ellison struggles to find the girl the murdered boy loved. Too bad an epically bad blind date, a vindictive graffiti artist, and multiple trips to the emergency room keep getting in the way.

Worse, a killer has Ellison in his sights, her newly-rebellious daughter is missing, and there’s yet another body in her hostas. Mother won’t be pleased.

Now Ellison must track down not one but two runaway teenagers, keep her promise to Bobby and elude the killer — all before her next charity gala committee meeting.

Guaranteed to Bleed by Julie Mulhern

Series: The Country Club Murders, #2

Genre: Humorous Mystery

Publisher: Henery Press

Publication Date: October 13, 2015
Hardcover: 288 pages
ISBN-10: 1943390088
ISBN-13: 978-1943390083

Paperback: 268 pages
ISBN-10: 1943390053
ISBN-13: 978-1943390052

e-Book File Size: 790 KB

ASIN: B011PJCKPW

Amazon | B & N | Kobo | BAM! | Indigo Books | Powells | Henery Press | Goodreads

Why wait? An excerpt is included in Author Julie Mulhern's Guest Post!

  

The Review

Diner Knock Out by Terri L. Austin | Blog Tour with Review and Giveaway

Terri L. Austin is back, with Diner Knock Out,

the fourth book in the Rose Strickland Mystery series from Henery Press.

The Blurb

Rose Strickland’s life is complicated. Besides her waitressing gig, she works part-time for Andre Thomas, a PI with no faith in Rose’s ability to investigate, her love life with Sullivan has stalled, and her BFF, Roxy, has found a new bestie, leaving Rose out in the cold.

Determined to prove herself, Rose takes a case on the sly. As she searches for a missing MMA fighter, Rose discovers an illegal fight club, a group of ruthless businessmen, dead bodies, and a trail of drugs.

Hunting down clues that lead too close to home, Rose finds herself in the fight of her life. Can she beat the killer to the punch before she gets knocked out for good?

Diner Knock Out by Terri L. Austin
Series: The Rose Strickland Mysteries, #4

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Henery Press

Publication Date: October 20, 2015
Paperback: 302 pages
ISBN-10: 1943390096

ISBN-13: 978-1943390090

e-Book File Size: 825 KB
ASIN: B012B59QM4

Amazon | B & N | Kobo | iTunes | Henery Press | Goodreads

 The Review

The Devil’s Hook by Pearl R. Meaker | Blog Tour with Excerpt, Review, Interview, Giveaway

The Blurb

Jairus Twombly's familial intuition is faltering and his new personal assistant seems to be trying to replace his wife, Amy.

On the Twombly College campus, someone is breaking into the dorm rooms of female students leaving things instead of taking things: red colored objects including a red golf ball, a red ribbon and a tiny red stuffed dog.

When a recipient of some of the red objects goes missing and is returned after being told, "You're not her," and the personal assistant turns up dead with Amy Twombly's elegant Bloodwood crochet hook in her eye, things heat up for Emory Crawford and her chemist and forensic scientist husband, Dr. Jebbin Crawford.

Emory, along with the Twombly's Nancy Drew-like daughter, Madison, once more turns to her amateur detective skills and intuition to solve the mysteries.

The Devil’s Hook by Pearl R. Meaker
Series: An Emory Crawford Mystery, #2

Genre: Cozy Mystery  

Publication Date: September 15, 2015
Publisher: Promontory Press
Paperback: 218 pages
ISBN-10: 198785716X
ISBN-13: 978-1987857160
e-Book File Size: B013TJ1YM6
ASIN: B013TJ1YM6 
Amazon  | B & N | Kobo | Indigo | Promontory Press | Goodreads

The Excerpt

Dead in a Dumpster by B.L. Blair | Blog Tour with Excerpt, Review, and Giveaway

The Blurb

When Leah Norwood finds the body of Isabel Meeks in the dumpster behind her store, she can’t believe the police consider her a suspect. Sure, she didn’t liked Isabel, but then again, neither did anyone else. Isabel had a condescending attitude and a bad reputation. As manager of the antique store, Patina, she had made a lot of enemies.

There is Patina’s assistant manager, the handsome and charming Trent. Isabel was blackmailing him. There is Patina’s owner, the aloof and influential Anthony Thorpe.  Isabel was smuggling drugs through his store. And there is the entire drug dealing Cantono family. Isabel had lost a box containing heroin from one of their shipments. That is just to name a few and didn’t even include the stranger who was seen arguing with Isabel just hours before her death. 

The police have too many suspects and too many soft alibis. Leah needs to prove to the sexy new chief of police that she had nothing to do with Isabel’s death. 

Leah loves a good mystery. Can she find the killer before the police arrest her for murder?

Dead in a Dumpster by B.L. Blair
Series: Leah Norwood Mystery, #1 
Genre: Mystery/Romance
Release Date: September 21, 2014
Publisher: B.L. Blair  
Paperback: 210 pages 
ISBN-10: 0990658406
ISBN-13: 978-0990658405
eBook File Size: 1295 KB
ASIN: B00MZC65YG 
Amazon | B & N | Kobo | iBooks | Smashwords | Google Play | CreateSpace | Goodreads 

The Excerpt

Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron | Blog Tour with Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway

The Blurb

Check in for some Southern hospitality in Plantation Shudders, the Cajun Country series debut from Ellen Byron.

It’s the end of the summer and Prodigal Daughter Maggie Crozat has returned home to her family’s plantation-turned-bed-and-breakfast in Louisiana. The Crozats have an inn full of guests for the local food festival — elderly honeymooners, the Cajun Cuties, a mysterious stranger from Texas, a couple of hipster lovebirds, and a trio of Georgia frat boys. But when the elderly couple keels over dead within minutes of each other — one from very unnatural causes — Maggie and the others suddenly become suspects in a murder. 

With the help of Bo Durant, the town’s handsome new detective, Maggie must investigate to clear her name while holding the family business together at the same time. And the deeper she digs, the more she wonders: are all of the guests really there for a vacation or do they have ulterior motives? Decades-old secrets and stunning revelations abound in Ellen Byron’s charming cozy debut, Plantation Shudders.

Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron

Series: A Cajun Country Mystery, #1

Genre: Cozy Mystery, Culinary Mystery

Publisher: Crooked Lane Books

Publication Date: August 11, 2015

Hardcover: 288 pages

ISBN-10: 1629532509

ISBN-13: 978-1629532509

e-Book File Size: 766 KB

ASIN: B011IZPRR6

Amazon | B & N | Kobo | BAM! | IndieBound | Powells | Crooked Lane | Goodreads

Why wait? Go to the Publisher's website now to read an excerpt!

  

The Review

Scrapbook of the Dead by Mollie Cox Bryan | Blog Tour with Review, Guest Post, Giveaway

The author of A Crafty Christmas is back with another Cumberland Creek Mystery!

The Blurb

Halloween means spooky scrapbooks for the Cumberland Creek Scrapbook Crop, but what’s been happening around town is truly frightening. First a dead woman is found in the freezer at Pamela’s Pie Palace, and the next day a second woman is found murdered by the river. Reporter Annie Chamovitz learns the victims were sisters and is certain their deaths are linked. Most bizarre of all, both women were found clutching scrapbook pages.

As their Saturday night crop quickly becomes an opportunity to puzzle out the murders, the ladies begin to wonder if Pamela is hiding more than her secret recipes for delicious pies — or if the crimes are related to the startling discovery that there are gangs in Cumberland Creek. As All Hallows Eve approaches, the crafty croppers must cut and paste the clues to unmask a deadly killer.

Includes tips and a glossary of terms for the modern scrapbooker!

Scrapbook of the Dead by Mollie Cox Bryan

Series: A Cumberland Creek Mystery, #5

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Kensington

Publication Date: September 29, 2015

Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages

ISBN-10: 0758293585

ISBN-13: 978-0758293589

e-Book File Size: 677 KB

ASIN: B00RRT30J0

Amazon | B & N | Kobo | BAM! | IndieBound | iTunes | Kensington | Goodreads

Why wait? Go to the Author's website now for a sneak peek!

  

The Review

Bread of the Dead by Ann Myers | Blog Tour with Review and Giveaway

Welcome to my tour stop for Bread of the Dead, the first book in the Santa Fe Café series of cozy mysteries by Ann Myers. The tour runs September 28 - October 23 with reviews, interviews, guest posts and excerpts. Check out the tour page for the full schedule.

The Blurb

Trick or treat — and murder — are on the menu in this first in a new culinary mystery series.

Life couldn't be sweeter for Tres Amigas Café chef Rita Lafitte, decorating sugar skulls and taste-testing rich, buttery pan de muerto in anticipation of Santa Fe's Day of the Dead bread-baking contest. That is, until her friendly landlord, Victor, is found dead next door.

Although the police deem Victor's death a suicide, Rita knows something is amiss. To uncover the truth, she teams up with her octogenarian boss, Flori, the town's most celebrated snoop.

The duo begins to sift through long-buried secrets and to take full measure of duplicitous neighbors, but the clock is ticking and their list of suspects is growing ever longer. Just as the clues get hotter than a New Mexican chile, one of their main suspects winds up dead. Rita fears that the killer is dishing out seconds — and her order might be up.

Bread of the Dead by Ann Myers
Series: A Santa Fe Café Mystery, #1
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Culinary Mystery
Publisher: William Morrow / HarperCollins Avon
Publication Date: September 29, 2015
Mass Market Paperback: 368 pages
ISBN-10: 0062382276
ISBN-13: 978-0062382276
e-Book File Size: 2968 KB
ASIN: B00RTMCOWO

Amazon | B & N | Kobo | IndieBound | Goodreads

The Review

A Peach of a Pair by Kim Boykin | Blog Tour with Excerpt and Review

 The Blurb

Palmetto Moon inspired the Huffington Post to rave, "It is always nice to discover a new talented author and Kim Boykin is quite a find." Now, she delivers a novel of a woman picking up the pieces of her life with the help of two spirited, elderly sisters in South Carolina.


April, 1953. Nettie Gilbert has cherished her time studying to be a music teacher at Columbia College in South Carolina, but as graduation approaches, she can’t wait to return to her family and her childhood sweetheart, Brooks, in Alabama. But just days before her senior recital, she gets a letter from her mama telling her that Brooks is getting married . . . to her own sister.

Devastated, Nettie drops out of school and takes a job as live-in help for two old-maid sisters, Emily and Lurleen Eldridge. Emily is fiercely protective of the ailing Lurleen, but their sisterhood has weathered many storms. And as Nettie learns more about their lives on a trip to see a faith healer halfway across the country, she’ll discover that love and forgiveness will one day lead her home.

A Peach of a Pair by Kim Boykin 

Genre: Southern Women’s Fiction
Publisher: Penguin Random House / Berkley Books

Publication Date: August 4, 2015
Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-10: 042528199X
ISBN-13: 978-0425281994

E-Book File Size: 784 KB

ASIN: B00OQS4DI2

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Goodreads

 
The Excerpt