Ralphie, Always Loved by Andrea Yerramilli | Blog Tour with Guest Post and Giveaway

"And Now for Something Completely Different"

Maxie is responsible for today's blog post. (Well, all except for the actual typing. I had to help with that.) When she saw an email about an upcoming book tour for Ralphie, Always Loved, Maxie insisted that we join the tour. I pointed out to her that a children's book is quite a departure from our usual genre of cozy mysteries, and she pointed out that our tagline is Mostly Mysteries.

Maxie is familiar with another children's book, The Tenth Good Thing about Barney by Judith Viorst, which can help console children whose cats have crossed the rainbow bridge. She recommends this new picture book, because it will be equally comforting to a family dealing with the loss of their cherished dog, or any pet, in fact.

~~~

The Blurb

This is the story of the life, love, and adventures of a beloved family dog, and how he delighted and touched his family and everyone he met.

Ralphie was born with a heart on his belly.
He loves food, his family, his friends, his neighbors.
He loves pretty much everything and everyone.
And they love him back.
And that's how it is all through his life.
Read the book and fall in love with him too.

Rambunctious and hyperactive, Ralphie had already been returned to the animal shelter three times, but when Andrea and her husband adopted him and gave him a loving home where he was understood, accepted, and taught, he learned fast. As Ralphie's human family grew, so did his capacity for love and the ways he could express it. He remained a loving and beloved family member who touched the hearts of the whole neighborhood until he was ready to say goodbye at the grand old age of sixteen. Ralphie, Always Loved will remind you of all that is good, and reaffirm your belief in love's power to uplift and transform.

Ralphie, Always Loved by Andrea Yerramilli

Illustrated by: Samantha Van Riet

Genre: Children's Fiction, Children's Picture Book

Release date: October 28, 2017

Publisher: About Something Good, LLC

Paperback:  32 pages

ISBN-10: 0998760153

ISBN-13: 978-0998760155

Hardcover: 32 pages

ISBN-10: 0998760102

ISBN-13: 978-0998760100

e-Book File Size: 5832 KB

ASIN: B078C66J6J
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Indiebound

The Guest Post

Chicken Culprit by Vikki Walton | Blog Tour with Excerpt, Review and Giveaway

The Blurb

Finally healing after her heart-breaking divorce, Anne Freemont is ready to put the painful past behind her.

Discovering an old Victorian for sale in the small mountain town of Carolan Springs may be just what she needs. The beauty of Colorado beckons, so Anne heads west to start her new life.

Yet, before Anne's completely settled in, her neighbor is found dead in his compost pile. What’s worse is that Anne’s quirky young neighbor, Kandi Jenkins, could be the killer. When Kandi begs for her help, Anne feels she has no choice but to help the young woman.

However, she finds herself quickly at odds with the local sheriff. And while she uncovers more of the community's secrets, she's also exploring her awakening feelings for Sam Powers, the town's deputy coroner.

Once Anne starts looking at who could be the real killer, the suspect list keeps getting longer and longer. It seems that Carolan Springs is a place of many secrets. But who would want to murder Ralph and who’s willing to kill again to keep their secret?

Chicken Culprit by Vikki Walton 
Series: A Backyard Farming Mystery, #1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: February 12, 2018
Publisher: Morewellson, LTD
Paperback: 272 pages
ISBN-10: 0999440209
ISBN-13: 978-0999440209
eBook File Size: 398 KB
ASIN: B079SS1C4S  
Kindle [currently on sale for 99¢] | Amazon 

The Excerpt

The Silver Gun by L.A. Chandlar | Blog Tour with Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway

The Blurb

New York City, 1936. In the midst of the Great Depression, the Big Apple is defiantly striving toward an era infused with art, architecture, and economic progress under the dynamic Mayor La Guardia. But those in City Hall know that tumultuous times can inspire both optimism and deadly danger…

It’s been six months since Lane Sanders was appointed Mayor Fiorello “Fio” La Guardia’s new personal aide, and the twenty-three-year-old is sprinting in her Mary Janes to match her boss’s pace. Despite dealing with vitriol from the Tammany Hall political machine and managing endless revitalization efforts, Fio hasn’t slowed down a bit during his years in office. And luckily for Lane, his unpredictable antics are a welcome distraction from the childhood memories that haunt her dreams — and the silver gun she’ll never forget.

When Lane gets attacked and threatened by an assailant tied to one of most notorious gangsters in the city, even the mayor can’t promise her safety. The corrupt city officials seem to be using Lane as a pawn against Fio for disgracing their party in the prior election. But why was the assailant wielding the exact same gun from her nightmares?

Balancing a clandestine love affair and a mounting list of suspects, Lane must figure out how the secrets of her past are connected to the city’s underground crime network — before someone pulls the trigger on the most explosive revenge plot in New York history…

The Silver Gun by L.A. Chandlar
Series: An Art Deco Mystery, #1 
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Historical Mystery
Publisher: Kensington
Publication Date: August 29, 2017
Paperback: 336 pages
ISBN-10: 1496713419
ISBN-13: 978-1496713414
File Size: 783 KB
ASIN: B01MQSAJO7
Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Google Play | iBooks | BookBub

The Review

Alice & the Assassin by R.J. Koreto | Blog Tour with Excerpt, Guest Post, and Giveaway

I'm excited to tell you about a new series, the Alice Roosevelt Mysteries. I just finished the first book, Alice & the Assassin, and it's great — Five Kitties! I really enjoy historical mysteries, especially when some of the characters are real people. 

I'm looking forward to reading Book #2, The Body in the Ballroom, which will be published in June.

The Blurb

In 1902 New York, Alice Roosevelt, the bright, passionate, and wildly unconventional daughter of newly sworn-in President Theodore Roosevelt, is placed under the supervision of Secret Service Agent Joseph St. Clair, ex-cowboy and veteran of the Rough Riders. St. Clair quickly learns that half his job is helping Alice roll cigarettes and escorting her to bookies, but matters grow even more difficult when Alice takes it upon herself to investigate a recent political killing — the assassination of former president William McKinley.

Concerned for her father's safety, Alice seeks explanations for the many unanswered questions about the avowed anarchist responsible for McKinley's death. In her quest, Alice drags St. Clair from grim Bowery bars to the elegant parlors of New York's ruling class, from the haunts of the Chinese secret societies to the magnificent new University Club, all while embarking on a tentative romance with a family friend, the son of a prominent local household.

And while Alice, forced to challenge those who would stop at nothing in their greed for money and power, considers her uncertain future, St. Clair must come to terms with his own past in Alice & the Assassin, the first in R. J. Koreto's riveting new historical mystery series.

Alice & the Assassin by R.J. Koreto

Series: An Alice Roosevelt Mystery, #1

Genre: Historical Mystery, Cozy Mystery

Publication Date: April 11th 2017

Published by: Crooked Lane Books

Hardcover: 288 pages

ISBN-10: 1683311124

ISBN-13: 978-1683311126

e-Book File Size: 1431 KB

ASIN: B01MU8WVJ7

Amazon | B&N | Kobo | BAM! | IndieBound

The Excerpt

The Killing at Kaldaire House by Kate Parker | Blog Tour with Review and Giveaway

The Blurb

A dying man. The painting within her reach. What’s a thief to do?

Talented London milliner Emily Gates creates amazing hats for Society ladies, but to collect from those who don’t pay her bill, she burglarizes their homes. She needs every penny to send her deaf brother to school. Late one night, she sneaks in to find Lord Kaldaire badly injured in his study. Unwilling to abandon him, she calls for help.

When Kaldaire dies without revealing who attacked him, his widow agrees to keep Emily’s secrets ― if Emily will help find her husband’s killer. A bigger danger is a Scotland Yard inspector who threatens to arrest Emily — unless she spies on her father’s family of swindlers and conmen. Worst of all are the attacks from an unknown assailant. What will Emily face first, jail or death?

This cozy mystery is set in the era of My Fair Lady and Mary Poppins, of early automobiles and aeroplanes, and of King Edward VII and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. If you enjoyed the Victorian Bookshop Mysteries, you’ll like Emily Gates and the collection of aristocrats and thieves in her world as they step into the 20th century.

The Killing at Kaldaire House by Kate Parker
Series: The Milliner Mysteries, #1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: JDP Press
Publication Date: April 2, 2018
Paperback: 318 pages

ISBN-10: 0997663715

ISBN-13: 978-0997663716

File Size: 3009 KB

ASIN: B079ZBJ935

Amazon | B&N | BAM! | Kobo | iTunes | BookBub

The Review