Jane Reads

Thursday, June 30, 2016

Drop Dead Handsome by M.K. Scott | Book Blast with Excerpt, Review, and Giveaway

The Blurb

The Painted Lady Inn is open for business and limping along in the B and B world. A high school reunion package assembles Donna’s least desirable classmates, including the backstabbing cheerleader, her narcissistic high school crush, and Arnie, whose cheesy poem had everyone calling her, hot mama. It’s all something she liked to forget. These are the normal guests.

An octogenarian self-proclaimed sleuth, Father Christmas, a dognapping couple, and a pair who is copying everything in the Inn to set up their own competitive establishment rounds out the group. Maria, the sister-in-law, has a matchmaking agenda for Donna. Daniel, her brother, finds himself serving as a referee with one guest’s multiple wives.

High school reunions can be murder. Detective Mark Taber is on the trail of the murderer, when he isn’t interfering in a smitten Arnie’s determined bid to woo the no nonsense innkeeper.

Drop Dead Handsome by M.K. Scott
Series: A Painted Lady Inn Mystery, #2
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Culinary Mystery
Release Date: June 30, 2016
Publisher: Sleeping Dragon Press
eBook File Size: 814 KB
Print Length: 178 pages
ASIN: B01EQML0RO
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Smashwords | Goodreads

Forthcoming on KOBO, iTunes, and Barnes & Noble

The Excerpt

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Monday, June 27, 2016

Lyrical Press Cozies by Janet Finsilver & Lynn Cahoon | Tour with Excerpts, Reviews, Prizes

Murder at the Mansion by Janet Finsilver

The Blurb

Fortunes, fineries, and foul play . . .

It’s whale-watching season in Redwood Cove, and B&B manager Kelly Jackson’s battening down the hatches for the tourist rush at Redwood Heights — a Victorian-style estate owned by her boss. And due to recent jewelry thefts, her duties include keeping track of the many dust-covered artifacts spread throughout the property. But when Kelly finds Sylvia Porter’s lifeless body, menial tasks don’t seem so terrible.

Enlisting the help of a ragtag group of brainy retirees, aka the “Silver Sentinels,” Kelly’s on the hunt for clues hidden behind the mansion’s glamorous façade and for a killer who may want to make history of her next!

Murder at the Mansion by Janet Finsilver
Series: A Kelly Jackson Mystery, #2
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Publisher: Lyrical Underground
Paperback: 190 pages
ISBN-10: 1616509325
ISBN-13: 978-1616509323
eBook File Size: 568 KB
ASIN: B015MA6EDO
Amazon | B & N | Kobo | iBooks | Google Play | Goodreads

The Excerpt

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Friday, June 24, 2016

Murder on the Menu by Zanna Mackenzie | Blog Tour with Review

The Blurb

After Lizzie’s new boss, celebrity chef Armand, is stabbed in his own kitchen, Lizzie finds herself at the top of the suspect list.

Determined to clear her name she’s forced to enlist the services of her new neighbour, Celebrity Crimes Investigation Agency (CCIA) special agent Jack Mathis, who’s been suspended from his duties for reasons unknown.

Can Lizzie save herself from getting arrested and manage to resist her special agent sidekick’s considerable charms and gorgeous smile? Will they solve the culinary murder mystery or will she end up in a prison cell?

Murder on the Menu by Zanna Mackenzie

Series: A Celebrity Mystery, #1

Genre: Cozy Mystery, Culinary Mystery
Publication Date: September 24, 2015

E-Book File Size: 1093 KB
Print Length: 266 pages

ASIN: B015T6EYEW
Amazon | Goodreads

The Review

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Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Homicide in the House by Colleen J. Shogan | Blog Tour Excerpt, Review, Guest Post, Giveaway

The Blurb

During a government shutdown, Kit’s congresswoman boss is found standing over the dead body of a top staffer she tangled with in front of the press. The police are about to name her as the prime suspect. The weapon was the Speaker’s gavel, an item entrusted to the congresswoman the previous night. The killer knows Kit is on the case. Can she solve the mystery in time to save her job and her life?

Homicide in the House by Colleen J. Shogan
Series: A Washington Whodunit, #2

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publication Date: June 15, 2016

Publisher: Camel Press

Paperback: 258 pages

ISBN-10: 1603813330

ISBN-13: 978-1603813334

eBook File Size: 2550 KB

ASIN: B01GICU1K2

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BAM! | Goodreads

The Excerpt

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Wednesday, May 25, 2016

Murder at Morningside by Sandra Bretting | Review

I just read a really good book, y'all — Murder at Morningside, by Sandra Bretting. Let me tell you a little about it.

Synopsis, from Goodreads:

Hat designer Missy DuBois opened her shop, Crowning Glory, along Louisiana's Great River Road to cater to the sophisticated Southern bride. But bless her heart, who knew creating stylish wedding veils would lead to murder?

Hired to craft a veil for a socialite getting married at Morningside Plantation means Missy can bask in the height of antebellum atmosphere. But when the bride is found dead in a women's bathroom, Missy the milliner finds herself entangled in one unfashionable murder. With the list of suspects thicker than the sweltering Louisiana heat, including a gaggle of bridesmaids shedding nary a tear and a family with no shortage of enemies, it seems anyone at the mansion may have done away with the bride-to-be. While Missy has Southern charm to spare, she's going to need more than manners and a manicure to put a hat pin on this murderous affair . . .

Murder at Morningside by Sandra Bretting
Series: A Missy DuBois Mystery, #1

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publication Date: May 24, 2016
Print Publisher: Kensington
Paperback: 190 pages
ISBN-10: 1601837143
ISBN-13: 978-1601837141
e-Publisher: Lyrical Underground
e-Book File Size: 561 KB
ASIN: B014NWMHEW
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books-a-Million | Google Play | Kobo | Goodreads

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Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Murder at Morningside by Sandra Bretting | Blog Tour with Excerpt, Guest Post, Giveaway

The Blurb

Hat designer Missy DuBois opened her shop, Crowning Glory, along Louisiana's Great River Road to cater to the sophisticated Southern bride. But bless her heart, who knew creating stylish wedding veils would lead to murder?

Hired to craft a veil for a socialite getting married at Morningside Plantation means Missy can bask in the height of antebellum atmosphere. But when the bride is found dead in a women's bathroom, Missy the milliner finds herself entangled in one unfashionable murder. With the list of suspects thicker than the sweltering Louisiana heat, including a gaggle of bridesmaids shedding nary a tear and a family with no shortage of enemies, it seems anyone at the mansion may have done away with the bride-to-be. While Missy has Southern charm to spare, she's going to need more than manners and a manicure to put a hat pin on this murderous affair . . .

Murder at Morningside by Sandra Bretting
Series: A Missy DuBois Mystery, #1

Genre: Cozy Mystery

The Excerpt

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Sunday, February 14, 2016

Death & the Brewmaster’s Widow by Loretta Ross | Blog Tour Review, Guest Post, Giveaway

The author of Death & the Redheaded Woman is back, with another Auction Block Mystery!

The Blurb

They call it the Brewmaster’s Widow; the abandoned brewery where Death Bogart’s brother died in an arson fire.

With his girlfriend, Wren Morgan, Death goes home to St. Louis to take on a deeply personal mystery. When Randy Bogart went into the Einstadt Brewery, he left his broken badge behind at the firehouse. So why did the coroner find one on his body? Every answer leads to more questions. Why did the phony badge have the wrong number? Who set the brewery fire? What is the connection between Randy’s death and the mysterious Cherokee Caves, where the opulent playground of 19th century beer barons falls into slow decay?

Not understanding how and why he lost his brother is breaking the ex-Marine’s heart. But the Brewmaster’s Widow is jealous of her secrets. Prying them loose could cost Death and Wren both their lives.

Praise:

"There are fewer auctions in this second series entry, but readers won't mind as the twisty, Hitchock-style plot unfolds . . . Ross is an author to watch." ― Booklist

“The second case for Death and Wren uses an intriguing premise to flesh out the charming detective duo.” ― Kirkus Reviews

Death & the Brewmaster’s Widow by Loretta Ross

Series: An Auction Block Mystery, #2

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Publisher: Midnight Ink