From the USA Today bestselling author of Little Deadly Secrets comes a gripping story about the frailty of family and a battle of wills between a wife and a sister-in-law, bent on revenge.

She stole my husband. So I’d steal her life.

The Wife
Lane won Candace’s heart over chocolate martinis and karaoke. But weeks into their whirlwind marriage, Candace realized Lane came with burdensome baggage in the form of his possessive live-in sister and her eerily watchful six-year-old son. Lane had a secret that seemed to hold him hostage, and Candace would do anything to uncover it.

The Sister-in-Law
Harper was the kind of woman who cooked homemade meals and dusted under the furniture. It was the least she could do for her brother after her husband’s mysterious death, and Lane took her and her kids in. Then Candace showed up like a tornado passing through, threatening and destructive. But Harper had other plans for her new “sister,” plans Lane could never find out about.

The Husband
All Lane had ever wanted was a white-picket-fence life. The wife. The two-point-five kids. The happy little family. Everything seemed to be falling into place with Candace … until Harper’s jealous streak got in the way, again. But choosing between his sister and wife would be costly … and knowing Harper, the price would be blood.

After I read Little Deadly Secrets, Ms. Crane was instantly added to my “authors to read” list. I just knew that her books would be the perfect match for me and I was right!!!!

The narrative alternates between Candace, Lane’s wife, Lane, and Lane’s sister Harper.

I was hooked on page one and this book had a vice grip on me until the final word. If it wasn’t for adulting, it would have been read in no more than 2 sittings.

When reading suspense thrillers, I always try to figure out the plot but after a few chapters, I threw that idea to the wind because there was so much happening with twists, turns, murder(s), red herrings, lies, secrets, and betrayals that I was afraid I would miss something. So I just went with it and enjoyed the ride. And it was one heck of a ride!!!!

The cast was three-dimensional and believable. With each new chapter and the character’s account of their POV, my suspicion would be with that person. After multiple chapters going back and forth, my head was spinning. I didn’t know who to believe, who to trust, and who to be fearful of.

The crafting of the profound plot and the descriptive writing style made this book exceptional!!

What’s next? I need to get my hands on her next book, Little Does She Know!!!!

Purchase Links: Amazon 🔗 | Barnes & Noble 🔗 | Goodreads 🔗

I received a complimentary copy from William Morrow Books via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

The weather here in RI, during the month of July, wasn’t great pool weather, which is why I didn’t even do a Wrap-Up. But it was definitely pool weather in August, which is why I had a decent month of reading. I wish it was more but, I’ll take it!!. My first, and most enjoyable place for reading, is on one of my pool floats with my protective waterproof Kindle case. Even though it has never leaked, I don’t want to take any chances so I use the first Kindle I ever purchased, which still works. Since I don’t have my phone or TV to distract me that some days I will be floating around in the pool for 2 hours or more. Needless to say, I am quite tanned. In the past, we have had some Septembers where we were in the pool right into October. Keeping my fingers crossed that we have some hot and humid days over the next 30 days to get some more pool time and reading in before we have to close the pool for the winter. 🙁

My review for Such A Good Wife by by Seraphina Nova Glass was posted on August 10th, which can be seen HERE.

My review for The Sister-In-Law by Pamela Crane was posted on August 13th, which can be seen HERE.

My review for Aftermath by Terri Blackstock was posted on August 19th, which can be seen HERE.

My review for I Said Yes by Kiersten Modglin was posted on August 24th, which can be seen HERE.

My review for Silent Island by Dana Perry will be posted on October 7th.

Mailbox Monday

Click on title for synopsis via GoodReads.

Tuesday: (03/09/21)

What To Do When Someone Dies by Nicci French~ eBook from William Morrow via NetGalley
What’s Left Unsaid by Emily Bleeker ~ Kindle from Lake Union Publishers via NetGalley

Thursday: (03/11/21)

The Sister-In-Law by Pamela Crane ~ William Morrow via NetGalle

2021 READING CHALLENGES

2021 Reading Challenge

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1. GoodReads Challenge [Date Completed]
2. Reading Challenge Addict[Date Completed]
3. Color Coded [Date Completed]
4. [Completed 09/19/21]Mount TBR
5. [Completed May 9th]NetGalley & Edelweiss
6. Calendar Of Crime Reading Challenge [Date Completed]
7. Monthly Key Word [Date Completed]
8. Debut Author [Date Completed]
9. What’s In A Name [Date Completed]
10. New Release Challenge [Date Completed]
11. [Completed August 29th]Cloak and Dagger
12. Alphabet Soup ~ Reading Edition [Date Completed]
13. Alphabet Soup ~ Author Edition [Date Completed]
14. Literary Escapes [Date Completed]

03. COLOR CODED
Hosted by Bev at My Reader’s Block

~Read nine books in the following categories:
***1. A book with “Blue” The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer (cover).
2. A book with “Red” or any shade of Red (Scarlet, Crimson, Burgandy, etc.) in the title/on the cover.
3. A book with “Yellow” or any shade of Yellow (Gold, Lemon, Maize, etc.) in the title/on the cover.
***4. A book with “Green” The Betrayal by Terry Lynn Thomas (Cover).
***5. A book with “Brown” Such A Good Wife by Seraphina Nova Glass (Cover)
***6. A book with “Black”: Dream Girl by Laura Lippman (Cover).
7. A book with “White” Aftermath by Terri Blackstock (Cover).
***8. A book with “Other color” in the title/on the cover Pink. The Sister-In-Law by Pamela Crane (Cover))
***9. A book with a word that implies color Ruby Falls by Deborah Goodrich Royce (Cover)

Level: Pike’s Peak (12)
#MountTBR2021
Books must be owned by prior to January 1, 2021. ~ Link up monthly reviews

01. (rec’d 10/28/20) The Betrayal by Terry Lynn Thomas
02. (rec’d 10/23/20) The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer
03. (rec’d 08/24/20) Do No Harm by Christina McDonald
04. (rec’d 08/24/20) The Best Of Friends by Lucinda Berry
05. (rec’d 07/20/20) Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
06. (rec’d 11/06/20) The Stranger In The Mirror by Liv Constantine
07. (rec’d 10/13/20) Ruby Falls by Deborah Goodrich Royce
08. (rec’d 06/24/20) The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
09. (rec’d 12/15/20) Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica
10. (rec’d 05/30/20) The Last Wife by Karen Hamilton
11. (rec’d 02/14/20) I Said Yes by Kiersten Modglin
12. (rec’d 07/27/20) The Liar’s Wife by Kiersten Modglin

Level:Bronze – 10 Books
Link up monthly

01. The Betrayal by Terry Lynn Thomas
02. The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer
03. Do No Harm by Christina McDonald
04. You Will Remember Me by Hannah Mary McKinnon
05. The Best Of Friends by Lucinda Berry
06. Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
07. The Stranger In The Mirror by Liv Constantine
08. The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda
09. Her FIrst Mistake by Carey Baldwin
10. Ruby Falls by Deborah Goodrich Royce

06. CALENDAR OF CRIME READING CHALLENGE
Hosted by Bev at My Reader’s Block

#CalendarOfCrime2021
See Rules on hosting site. ~ Link up reviews monthly

January: (Orig. pub date) The Betrayal by Terry Lynn Thomas
February: (Orig. pub date 02/16/21) Do No Harm by Christina McDonald
March: (Orig. pub date 03/02/21) Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
April: (Orig. pub Date 04/30/21) Her First Mistake by Carey Baldwin
May: (Orig. pub date 05/04/21) Ruby Falls by Deborah Goodrich Royce
June: (Orig. pub date 06/22/21) Dream Girl by Laura Lippman
July: (Orig. pub. date 07/13/21) The Therapist by B.A. Paris
August: (Orig. pub date 08/10/21) Such A Good Wife by Seraphina Nova Glass
September: (Orig. pub date 09/08/21) The Trapped Wife by Samantha Hayes
October:
November:
December:

#MonthlyKeyWordGXO
Read 1 book that includes one or more of the key words in the title.
Key words can be tweaked. ~ Link up end of month

JANUARY – End, Princess, Dance, Midnight, Court, Why, Winter, Story
FEBRUARY – None Do No Harm by Christina McDonald
MARCH – Dear, Ink, Mercy, Fly, Lost, Never, Match, True
APRIL – Girl Her First Mistake by Carey Baldwin
MAY – Away, Wait, Book, Raven, Lake, Angel, Nine, Island
JUNE – Beneath, Crown, Sing, Rule, Earth, Find, Happen, Cruel
JULY – Ever, Shine, Gone, Search, Wood, Under, Road, Like
AUGUST – One, Secret, Will, Tree, Blue, You, Flame, Thousand
SEPTEMBER – Country, House, Top, Man, Wild, Sweet, Once, Wake
OCTOBER – Fear, Night, Silent, Wicked, Hidden, Bones, Lied, Ghost
NOVEMBER – Again, Loud, Star, Stay, Air, When, Since, Race
DECEMBER – Cold, Room, Life, Bell, Kiss, Dream, Until, Drink

08. Debut Author
Hosted by Amber at Books Of Amber

Tier 2: Read 6 debut books
Link up monthly
01. The Betrayal by Terry Lynn Thomas (Thriller genre debut)
02. Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
03.
04.
05.
06.

***01. One/1 Her First Mistake by Carey Baldwin
02. Doubled word (ex. In a Dark, Dark Wood; Wolf by Wolf)
03. Reference to outer space (ex. The Fault in Our Stars)
04. Possessive noun (ex. The Zookeeper’s Wife)
05. Botanical word (ex. The Language of Flowers; The Sandalwood Tree)
06. Article of clothing (ex. Bossypants)

Level 16-25 books – Detective
#CloakDaggerChal
Link up monthly

01. The Betrayal by Terry Lynn Thomas
02. The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer
03. Do No Harm by Christina McDonald
04. You Will Remember Me by Hannah Mary McKinnon
05. The Best Of Friends by Lucinda Berry
06. Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
07. The Stranger In The Mirror by Liv Constantine
08. The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda
09. Her First Mistake by Carey Baldwin
10. The Fiancée by Kate White
11. Ruby Falls by Deborah Goodrich Royce
12. Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens
13. Dream Girl by Laura Lippman
14. Her Ocean Grave by Dana Perry
15. Her Perfect Life by Hank Phillippi Ryan
16. Just Married by Kiersten Modglin
17. The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
18. The Therapist by B.A. Paris
19. Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica
20. The Last Wife by Karen Hamilton
21. Such A Good Wife by Seraphina Nova Glass
22. The Sister-In-Law by Pamela Crane
23. Aftermath by Terri Blackstock
24. I Said Yes by Kiersten Modglin

25.Silent Island by Dana Perry

<

The First Main Word Needs To Be The Letter You Are Counting
Except For those pesky Q, X, AND Z titles then the word that starts with the challenge letter can be anywhere in the title.
You can drop the A’s and The’s from the book titles

#AlphabetSoupChallenge

A ~ Aftermath by Terri Blackstock
B ~ The Betrayal by Terry Lynn Thomas
C ~
D ~ Do No Harm by Christina McDonald
E ~ Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
F ~ The Fiancée by Kate White
G ~ The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth
H ~ Her First Mistake by Carey Baldwin
I ~
J ~ Just Married by Kiersten Modglin
K ~
L ~ Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica
M ~
N ~ The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda
O ~
P ~ The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer
Q ~
R ~ Ruby Falls by Deborah Goodrich Royce
S ~ The Stranger In The Mirror by Liv Constantine
T ~ The Best Of Friends by Lucinda Berry
U ~
V ~
W ~ When I Last Saw You by Bette Lee Crosby
X ~
Y ~ You Will Remember Me by Hannah Mary McKinnon
Z ~

A ~ Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
B ~ The Best Of Friends by Lucinda Berry
C ~ The Stranger In The Mirror by Liv Constantine
D ~ Her Ocean Grave by Dana Perry
E ~
F ~ Population Zero by Fran Lewis
G ~ Such A Good Wife by Seraphina Nova Glass
H ~ You Will Remember Me by Hannah Mary McKinnon
I ~ I Said Yes by Kiersten Modglin

J ~
K ~ The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda
L ~ Dream Girl by Laura Lippman
M ~ Do No Harm by Christina McDonald
N ~
O ~
P ~ The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer
Q ~
R ~ Ruby Falls by Deborah Goodrich Royce
S ~ Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens
T ~ The Betrayal by Terry Lynn Thomas
U ~
V ~
W ~ The Fiancée by Kate White
X ~
Y ~
Z ~

#LiteraryEscapes/

Alabama ~
Alaska ~
Arizona ~
Arkansas ~
California ~ The Betrayal by Terry Lynn Thomas
Colorado ~
Connecticut ~
Delaware ~
District of Columbia ~
Florida ~
Georgia ~ Aftermath by Terri Blackstock
Hawaii ~
Idaho ~
Illinois ~ Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica
Indiana ~
Iowa ~
Kansas ~
Kentucky ~
Louisiana ~ Such A Good Wife by Seraphina Nova Glass
Maine ~ You Will Remember Me by Hannah Mary McKinnon
Maryland ~ Dream Girl by Laura Lippman
Massachusetts ~ The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer
Michigan ~
Minnesota ~
Mississippi ~
Missouri ~
Montana ~
Nebraska ~ Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
Nevada ~
New Hampshire ~
New Jersey ~
New Mexico ~
New York ~
North Carolina ~ The Sister-In-Law by Pamela Crane
North Dakota ~
Ohio ~ The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda
Oklahoma ~
Oregon ~
Pennsylvania ~ The Stranger In The Mirror by Liv Constantine
Rhode Island ~
South Carolina ~
South Dakota ~
Tennessee ~ Just Married by Kiersten Modglin
Texas ~
Utah ~
Vermont ~
Virginia ~
Washington ~ Do No Harm by Christina McDonald
West Virginia ~ When I Last Saw You by Bette Lee Crosby
Wisconsin ~
Wyoming ~

CANADA ~ Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens

LONDON: The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth

01. You Will Remember Me by Hannah Mary McKinnon
02. The Fiancée by Kate White
03. Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens
04. Her Ocean Grave by Dana Perry
05.
06.
07. The Therapist by B.A. Paris
08. Population Zero by Fran Lewis
09. Such A Good Wife by Seraphina Nova Glass
10. Aftermath by Terri Blackstock
11. The Liar’s Wife by Kiersten Modglin

12.
13.
14.
15.

01. The Betrayal by Terry Lynn Thomas
02. The Perfect Daughter by D.J. Palmer
03. Do No Harm by Christina McDonald
04. You Will Remember Me by Hannah Mary McKinnon
05. The Best Of Friends by Lucinda Berry
06. Every Last Fear by Alex Finlay
07. The Next Wife by Kaira Rouda
08. Her First Mistake by Carey Baldwin
09. Ruby Falls by Deborah Goodrich Royce
10. When I Last Saw You by Bette Lee Crosby
11. Dark Roads by Chevy Stevens
12. Dream Girl by Laura Lippman
13. Her Ocean Grave by Dana Perry
14. Just Married by Kiersten Modglin
15. The Good Sister by Sally HepworthHer Perfect Life by Hank Phillippi Ryan
16. Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica
17. The Last Wife by Karen Hamilton
18. Such A Good Wife by Seraphina Nova Glass
19. The Sister-In-Law by Pamela Crane
20. Aftermath by Terri Blackstock 21. I Said Yes by Kiersten Modglin
22. The Trapped Wife by Samantha Hayes
23.
24.
25.

Synopsis:

Rob Ramer was the perfect husband until he committed the ultimate family faux pas — he shot his sister-in-law to death. Believing himself under attack by an intruder in his home, he fired back. But when evidence is discovered that Rob’s wife, Brooke, was plotting his murder, Brooke is charged with conspiracy in her sister’s death. Geneva, a third sister, is desperate for answers and seeks the help of her friend, San Francisco astrologer Julia Bonatti. Geneva’s lost one sister and now it seems she’ll lose the other. Was this a murder plot or just a terrible accident? Julia vows to find the answer in the stars.

Book Details:

Genre: Mystery, Paranormal
Published by: Midnight Ink
Publication Date: August 2017
Number of Pages:336
ISBN: 0738751073 (ISBN13: 9780738751078)
Series: A Zodiac Mystery, 2 | Each is a Stand Alone Mystery
Purchase Links: Amazon 🔗 | Barnes & Noble 🔗 | IndieBound 🔗 | Goodreads 🔗

Read an excerpt:

GUEST POST

Julia Bonatti, my protagonist in the Zodiac Mysteries solves crimes using astrology. And I hear from readers all the time – some love the subject of astrology and want to know more, while others aren’t particularly interested and are happy to skip those parts. That’s fine with me. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea. Julia just happens to have an unusual occupation. Hopefully, there are enough thrills and chills in her investigations that will keep readers turning the pages.

Mostly, people want to know how Julia figures things out and what she sees in a chart that alerts her to possible danger. She can tell an awful lot about an individual from a chart and can make an educated guess about how that person approaches life. Here’s an example that might help explain a few things:

This is a chart of a man born on July 26 at 7:29 p.m. in Kesswil, Switzerland. I won’t mention the year, not yet. What can we tell from the chart, without knowing the man’s name or his profession?

• He’s a Leo with a Moon in Taurus and Aquarius rising. All fixed signs – he’s proud, stubborn and not easily swayed. There’s a heavy emphasis in his 6th house. Mercury and Venus are conjunct on the cusp. And the Sun and Uranus are also in the 6th. The focus of his life will be his work (6th house). He’s possibly involved in medicine. But since Mercury and Venus are in Cancer, a sign ruled by the Moon, there’s an element of “feeling” and “emotion.” The Moon/Pluto conjunction tells us he’s an intensely emotional individual. In the 3rd house he’d probably be a writer of some sort.
• Aquarius rising — he’s eccentric and marches to the beat of his own drum. With Saturn on the Ascendant he would appear cold or clinical, but Uranus (the ruler of his Ascendant) is very close to his 7th house cusp. He’d be radical and eccentric in his relationships.
• Sagittarius is on the cusp of his 10th house (Midheaven), along with Mars in Sagittarius. In his career, he would pay absolutely no attention to what his mentors or colleagues thought. He’d be fearless and innovative.
• Neptune is in square (90 degree) aspect to his Sun sign. This would give him a mystical bent, but he could possibly misuse the Neptune energies and be vulnerable to addiction. He might avoid that escape as long as he is dedicated to his work.

Can you guess whose chart this is? I’ll give you a hint. He was born in 1875. He died in 1961 at the age of 86, a nice long life which he dedicated to developing analytical psychiatry (medicine and emotions). The chart belongs to Carl Jung. He was a prolific writer and a protégé of Sigmund Freud until he broke from his mentor to pursue his own path. He was married with five children and maintained an open extra-marital relationship for many years, heedless of what society at the time thought.

He was also an astrologer! (Uranus) He worked with dream states (Neptune) and observed recurring archetypes in his patients’ dreams. He came to believe that the archetypal images in astrology represented experiences and emotions common to all people and theorized that humans share a collective unconscious. He said, “Whatever is born or done at a particular moment of time, has the quality of this moment of time,” i.e., an astrological chart.

Author Bio:

Connie di Marco is the author of the Zodiac Mysteries from Midnight Ink, featuring San Francisco astrologer, Julia Bonatti. The first in the series, The Madness of Mercury, was released in June 2016 and the second, All Signs Point to Murder, available for pre-order now, will be released on August 8, 2017.

Writing as Connie Archer, she is also the national bestselling author of the Soup Lover’s Mystery series from Berkley Prime Crime. Some of her favorite recipes can be found in The Cozy Cookbook and The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook. Connie is a member of International Thriller Writers, Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

Catch Up With Connie di Marco On:
Website 🔗, Goodreads 🔗, Twitter 🔗, & Facebook 🔗!

Tour Participants:

Giveaway:

This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Connie di Marco. There will be 1 winner of one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card AND 2 winners of one (1) eBook copy of All Signs Point to Murder. The giveaway begins on July 21 and runs through August 24, 2017.

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Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours

WELCOME KATHLEEN DELANEY

KATHLEEN DELANEY

Kathleen Delaney has written four previous Ellen McKenzie Real Estate mysteries, but has never before transported her characters out of California. A number of years ago she visited Colonial Williamsburg and fell in love. Long fascinated with our country’s history, especially the formation years, she knew she wanted to set a story there. Another trip with her brother and sister-in-law solidified the idea that had been rolling around in her head but she needed more information. A phone call to the nice people at Colonial Williamsburg provided her with appointments to visit the kitchen at the Payton Randolph house, where she got her first lesson in hearth cooking and a meeting with the people who manage the almost extinct animal breeds the foundation is working to preserve. A number of books purchased at the wonderful bookstore at the visitor’s center gave her the additional information she needed and the story that was to become Murder by Syllabub came into being. Kathleen lived most of her life in California but now resides in Georgia. She is close to many historical sites, which she has eagerly visited, not only as research for this book but because the east is rich in monuments to the history of our country. Luckily, her grandchildren are more than willing to accompany her on their tours of exploration. You can find Kathleen on the Web at delaney.camelpress.com.
Connect with Ms. Delaney at these sites:

Q&A with Kathleen Delaney

Thank you for inviting me to stop by and tell you all a little about my life as a writer. My initial thought was my approach is not much different than any other writer, but on second thought, that is probably not correct. We are all pretty different people, write different kinds of books, and probably set up our writing agendas differently as well. In writing, as in so many things, there is no right or wrong way to do things, just the way it works for each individual. Having said that…

Do I use current events or personal experience to draw from? I write murder mysteries. Cozies, to be sure, but even in cozies we manage to litter the landscape with dead bodies. I’ve never murdered anyone in real life, and my experience with dead bodies is no more extensive, so really neither. It’s all imaginary. Leaves one to wonder about the imagination of mystery writers, I’ll admit, but maybe it’s therapeutic. I’m not sure. However, I’ve left a battered corpse in an upstairs closet, another pinned to a bale of straw by a pitchfork. Another time I pushed a very disagreeable chef into a wine fermenting tank, and killed off an old man with the marble arm of a cemetery angel. In the most recent book, Murder by Syllabub I did just that. Murdered the man with a glass of a sweet, colonial drink called Syllabub that I liberally laced with poison. But not to worry. He had it coming. Things that have happened to me, usually small things like forgetting to take the plastic wrap off the casserole before putting it in the oven to heat, have made their way into my books, I must admit, but I try not to get too many current events included as I don’t want to tie them to tightly to any particular month or year.

Do I start my books with the conclusion or start at the beginning and see where it all ends up? Since I’m never sure just what the conclusion is, and sometimes who did it, I start at the beginning. I find myself saying “and then what happened” a lot. Some people outline the whole book before writing it,  some write character sketches of everyone who appears, including the paper boy who only appears once and for just one ride by, but I find I can’t do that. My first draft serves as an outline and that’s where I develop my characters. My second drafts really get chopped up and stuff gets either deleted or moved around a lot, but by then I’m confident in my story and it’s just a matter of telling it the best way I can.  By the time we get to the third draft, it’s almost starting to make sense. This requires a lot of rewriting, it’s true, but it seems to be the way I do things best.

Do I have a routine: You bet. Absolutely. Sort of. I get up in the morning, stagger out to the kitchen, let the dogs out and push the button on the coffee maker. After that, well, I try to keep to a loose schedule. Marketing, first thing. I read my email and answer any that require it, post on facebook, twitter, other on line groups, do the basic housework, and then start writing. Of course, if I’m in the middle of an idea and words are pouring out every which way, nothing else gets done. Doctors, hair appointments (very important), Silver Sneakers gym class, grandkids, all that kind of thing, interrupt a perfectly good schedule on a regular basis. For years I fit my writing in and around a day job. I was a real estate broker in a small town on California’s central coast , raised and showed Arabian horses as well as kids, but no  more. I have retired from all that and write full time. As much full time as all those other things will let me.

Authors I admire. The estimable Elizabeth Peters, who died recently, has long been someone I admired and whose work I spent many delighted hours reading. We will miss her. There have been so many over the years that if I started I wouldn’t know where to stop. I read lots of mysteries, always have, but my reading is by no means limited to them. I am currently reading And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. I loved his other two and so far think this is terrific.

Am I writing another book? Yes. I am almost finished with the first draft. It is the first book in a new series and it features dogs. And dog people. Also murder. Please don’t ask me how it ends. I’m not there, yet.

Another question asked was about TV vrs reading. There are very few things on TV that get me away from my latest book. Among them is Downton Abbey. The next episodes start in January, I think. I can hardly wait.

Now, about food and drink. I like to do both, and it really depends on a lot of things, weather, what I’m doing and where I am, as what might be my favorite at any one time. You can’t beat a glass of ice cold sun tea on a hot afternoon in the south. No sugar for me, please. Or the smell of fresh brewed coffee on a cold morning. Actually, any morning. But I’ll tell you about one meal that was special in several ways. A small waterfront restaurant in the south of France, in the middle of the fishing fleet. The boats were tied up for the night, the restaurant supposedly closed, but I was to leave for home the next day and I wanted paella. The people at the hotel where we were staying said that restaurant made the best there was to be had. Naturally, I was disappointed, but not for long. A phone call was made, they would be happy to open for our party of ten. The hotel people were right, the food was wonderful, so was the wine, and the restaurant owner serenaded us with songs he used to sing as a cabaret singer in Paris. Lots of things besides food and drink go into a favorite meal.

ABOUT THE BOOK

A ghost in Colonial dress has been wreaking havoc at an old plantation house in Virginia. The house is owned by Elizabeth Smithwood, the best friend of Ellen McKenzie’s Aunt Mary. Mary is determined to fly to the rescue, and Ellen has no choice but to leave her real estate business and new husband to accompany her. Who else will keep the old girl out of trouble? When Ellen and Aunt Mary arrive, they find that Elizabeth’s “house” comprises three sprawling buildings containing all manner of secret entrances and passages, not to mention slave cabins. But who owns what and who owned whom? After Monty—the so-called ghost and stepson of Elizabeth’s dead husband—turns up dead in Elizabeth’s house, suspicion falls on her. Especially when the cause of death is a poisoned glass of syllabub taken from a batch of the sweet, creamy after-dinner drink sitting in Elizabeth’s refrigerator. Monty had enemies to spare. Why was he roaming the old house? What was he searching for? To find the truth, Ellen and her Aunt Mary will have to do much more than rummage through stacks of old crates; they will have to expose two hundred years of grudges and vendettas. The spirits they disturb are far deadlier than the one who brought them to Virginia. Murder by Syllabub is the fifth book of the Ellen McKenzie Mystery series.

READ AN EXCERPT

BOOK DETAILS:

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Published by: Camel Press
Publication Date: July 1, 2013
Number of Pages: 298
ISBN: 978-1-60381-957-2

PURCHASE LINKS:

           

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DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me, in exchange for my honest review. No items that I receive are ever sold…they are kept by me, or given to family and/or friends.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affiliate. I am providing link(s) solely for visitors that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.

I am sure everyone is busy with last minute shopping and the hustle and bustle of  Christmas.  Have a reader on your list who likes a good suspenseful read?   I am here to help, you still have time to purchase today’s guest’s novel.  She is taking time, out of her busy schedule, to visit as she begins her virtual tour with Partners In Crime Tours.  Please, help me in giving a warm welcome to Cindy McDonald!!

CINDY McDONALD

For twenty-six years my life whirled around a song and a dance: I was a professional dancer/choreographer for most of my adult life and never gave much thought to a writing career until 2005. Don’t ask me what happened, but suddenly I felt drawn to my computer to write about things I have experienced (greatly exaggerated upon of course) with my husband’s Thoroughbreds and the happenings at the racetrack.
Surprised? Why didn’t I write about my experiences with dance? Eh, believe it or not life at the racetrack is more…racy. The drama is outrageous—not that dancers don’t know how to create drama, believe me, they do but race trackers just seem to get more down and dirty with it which makes great story telling—great fiction.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Vic Deveaux’s glory days as a winning jockey have ended, but he refuses to accept that pile of horse hockey! When the West family asks Vic to take an easier position at their Thoroughbred farm, Westwood, he becomes enraged and teams up with two greedy stable hands in a scheme to kidnap the youngest son, Shane. Things turn ugly when Vic discovers that his new-found friends have murder on their minds. Suddenly Vic finds himself between a rock and a hard place. He has betrayed his good friend, Eric West, but will he participate in his son’s murder as well? Not content to sit at home and wait for her men to bring her brother home, Kate West convinces homicide detective, Carl Lugowski, to check out a hunch at an old abandoned mansion. Soon they’re trapped in a hornet’s nest of a notorious biker gang. Oh yeah, Vic’s deception has placed the West family in more danger than they know what to do with!

Purchase links:   AMAZON link     GoodReads link  

Read an excerpt:

Follow Cindy’s tour here, where you can enter to win a copy of Dangerous Deception!

DISCLAIMER
I received a copy of this book, at no charge to me,
in exchange for my honest review.
No items that I receive
are ever sold…they are kept by me,
or given to family and/or friends.
ADDENDUM
I do not have any affiliation with Amazon.com or
Barnes & Noble. I am an IndieBound affliate.
I am providing link(s) solely for visitors
that may be interested in purchasing this Book/EBook.