New Releases For The Week Of November 1st, 2020–Part 3

It’s August in Oaks Crossing which can only mean the annual BarbequeFest is underway! Streets are crammed with tourists and residents alike as they sample food cooked by contestants who travelled from all over the country just to partake in the event.

It also means that Ivy has an overflowing campground! Thanks to an error in her new computerized booking system, she has so many reservations, Ivy isn’t certain where to put them all! Revenue may be up at the Happy Camper Resort, but complaints about electrical, no air conditioning, and a lack of a pool might be enough to sink her reviews. It doesn’t help that she and Molly’s new catering business Happy Catering accepted a monumental order of cupcakes for the BarbequeFest from the Mayor!

From bees in a barbeque, unimpressed guests, a washing machine fiasco, and the sweltering heat, Ivy is thinking of having a good old-fashioned meltdown. That is, until she finds out that world champion food eating contestant Jason Kennedy collapsed dead into her cupcake display! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas as Katy Cross, along with the other fine folks in Skeeterville, celebrate Santa Shopping Days dressed from head to toe in their finest Kris Kringle attire.

Merry soon turns to scary, however, when a Santa is found dead on the floor at Sweet-Ums Bakery. Katy would love to stay away from the festive foul play, but when an obvious frame-up causes the wrong man to be arrested, she quickly gets pulled into the middle of the Christmas calamity.

Katy has her very own nightmare before Christmas when her husband John goes from being the lead witness to the lead suspect. Can Katy find the real killer in time, or will she be having a blue Christmas without him?

This humorous holiday cozy mystery contains no graphic gore, foul language, or sexual content. It is a great book for those readers who enjoy southern charm and a Christian world view. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Old dogs and new tricks abound in TO FETCH A VILLAIN, the third installment in the Mutt Mysteries series. Each of the novellas features a cast of furry four-leggeds who help their human friends solve crimes and bring villains to justice. This collection of novellas combines the talents of four cozy mystery authors, and illustrates why dogs are our best friends and the perfect companion for digging up clues. Let sleeping dogs lie? Not when the mutts are on the case!The four stories are:RUFF DAY by Jayne OrmerodStore owner Darby Moore suffers through a “ruff” day when a dead body is discovered in her custom dog house. With her best friend topping the suspect’s list, Darby knows the police are barking up the wrong tree. It’s up to Darby’s Great Dane Mr. Belvedere to channel his inner Scooby-Doo and save the day.AT YOUR SERVICE by Maria HudginsMystery writer Jessica Chastain is deaf, and relies on her service dog Trey who acts as Jessica’s ears. Kim, a Bichon like Trey, is the latest addition to their family. But life is not a walk in the park when someone threatens all they hold dear. Together they take on an unethical breeder and dog-napper, whose bite is worse than his bark. A SHOT IN THE BARK by Teresa IngeDog-loving Catt Ramsey hires an ex-con as her handyman to help with her dog-walking business at the same time a crime wave hits the neighborhood. But it’s Catt who is accused of murder. She enlists the help of family, friends, and her dogs Cagney and Lacey to prove man’s best friend can be crime’s worst enemy. STRUT YOUR MUTT by Heather WeidnerSassy PI Delanie Fitzgerald attends the Strut Your Mutt festival, where her business partner’s English bulldog is a finalist in a pampered doggie pageant. The dog’s new-found fame leads to a client with a missing poodle. Delanie and her team put paws to the pavement, sniff out clues, and show the villain that when you lie with the dogs, you wake up with fleas. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

J

Just the thing to chase the blues away’ M. C. Beaton

Spring is in the air … and so, too, is the sound of music as the residents of Honeychurch Hall are stunned to learn that the Dowager Countess Lady Edith Honeychurch has agreed to the staging of a production of The Merry Widow in the dilapidated grand ballroom.

Fears that the fiercely private octogenarian must be going senile are soon dismissed when our heroine, Kat Stanford, learns that the favour is a result of a desperate request from Countess Olga Golodkin. As one of Edith’s oldest friends Olga is the director of the amateur Devon Operatic Dramatic Organization.

Just a week before, D.O.D.O’s original venue was destroyed in a mysterious fire but since tickets have been sold, costumes made and lucrative local sponsorships secured, Olga is determined that the show must go on. After decades at the helm of D.O.D.O., The Merry Widow will be Olga’s swansong and she wants to go out with a bang . . .

Praise for Hannah Dennison:

‘The perfect classic English village mystery but with the addition of charm, wit and a thoroughly modern touch’ Rhys Bowen

‘Downton Abbey was yesterday. Murder at Honeychurch Hall lifts the lid on today’s grand country estate in all its tarnished, scheming, inbred, deranged glory’ Catriona McPherson

‘Will delight fans and new readers alike’People’s Friend

‘A fun read‘ Carola Dunn

‘Sparkles like a glass of Devon cider on a summer afternoon’ Elizabeth Duncan (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Everyone has secrets, even sleepy river towns.

Forensic auditor Joleen Parker is assigned a case with the potential to catapult her career to new heights. The State Attorney intends to make an example of the small town of Loblolly and gives Joleen two weeks to prove a city clerk and a county judge are stealing money from the city’s coffers.

Joleen arrives in Loblolly ready to exact justice, but at every turn, people go out of their way to make her feel welcome, and she soon admits Loblolly is precisely the kind of place she’s always dreamed of living. And then there’s the handsome sheriff with the mesmerizing blue eyes that may well be involved in the embezzlement scheme she’s tasked to prove.

But Joleen’s holding a few extra secrets in her briefcase. Her real interest in Loblolly lies with the renowned Whispering Pines Rehab Center. Convinced her twin brother’s six-month stint inside Whispering Pines attributed to his death. She’s vowed to hold his doctor accountable.

The more evidence Joleen uncovers, the more questions she unearths, and before long, she realizes nothing in this quiet southern town is what it seems. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

A cop, a pig, & a potty mouthed parrot walk into a bar.

A Santa Claus thief, two special friends, pirates on the high seas, treasure hunts, lost dogs, an unruly pot-bellied pig, and a Jersey cow in the wrong place at the wrong place, spell trouble for Seal Island residents this Christmas.

It is up to Gertrude, a pot-bellied pig, and her cohort, Peaches, a Jersey cow, to help save Christmas from a Grinch-like Santa Claus thief who decides that Seal Island is the perfect place for his base of operations while Betty & Reggie are out of commission having been kidnapped by smugglers on the high seas during their honeymoon.

Throw in a charming nine year-old girl determined to unearth more of Brother Twelve’s loot with her special friend, Also, a dapper young man who loves knock, knock jokes and funny hats, a house full of Saint Bernards, and a suspicious goat farmer, and it’s a free for all of thrills, chills, laughs, and adventure in this the final book in The Gumboot & Gumshoe Series.

This book is designed as a stand alone story. It can be read without reading the first four books.

Here’s what people are saying about the Series:

“Very entertaining, makes you giggle. A light fun read, with lovable characters. I found it easy to keep up with all of them. Certainly a break from the mysteries I usually read . Fun!” Amazon Review- Gumboots, Gumshoes & Murder

“I enjoyed this book. It had some unusual characters, some of the animal variety. The murder plot left you wondering where it was going until late in the story. The story isn’t quite a cliffhanger but you need to read the next book to see where the story is headed.” Amazon Review- Gumboots, Gumshoes & Murder

“Very Enjoyable Read.The story was interesting and entertaining. Having had an opinionated pig I can certainly empathize with the action created by the pair. Frankly, they stole the book.” Amazon Review- The Dastardly Mr. Deeds

“I really liked this book. I laughed, got mad, shaped open mouthed at the antics and characters. It’s like a mystery soap opera.” Amazon Review- The Dastardly Mr. Deeds

“Great read. Hilarious with some serious twists and turns. Well written and keeps your interest. The characters are all believable. Down to earth clean reading.” Amazon Review – Murder Most Fowl

“Good times. Betty has a mess on her hands again. Her pig found treasure and now everyone wants it. A flasher is also on the loose. Add in a cow, a few dogs, and guns you have a wild time.” Amazon Review- Gertrude & The Sorcerer’s Gold (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Our heroine stumbles across a precarious plot while printing political pamphlets…

Thanks to last Season’s scandal, Miss Mnemosyne Seabourne is now officially notorious. Wintering in Town, she hopes to use her new celebrity to campaign about the unfair restriction on portal travel for ladies… while being quietly courted by a certain handsome spellcracker.

As the river freezes over and a spectacular Frost Fair sets up on the ice, Mneme finds herself beset by secret societies, spies and sneaky saboteurs. Who stole her political pamphlets? Who is leaving dead bodies around printing presses for anyone to find?

Mr Thornbury knows more than he’s letting on. If she can’t trust the man she hoped to marry, Mneme is just going to have to unravel the mystery for herself, quickly enough to save both of their lives.

If you enjoy vintage spy adventures, flirtatious couples and cozy sleigh rides, you’ll adore this exciting paranormal cozy novella. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Ah, weddings. All sweetness and light and… poisonous secrets!

When Rhonda Butts, self-described wedding planner to the elite, arrives at Betty Snickerdoodle’s Christmas Inn & Ranch, she makes quite an impression. Despite numerous reminders, she can’t seem to remember that Bea (aka Betty Snickerdoodle herself) actually owns the place. And she shocks Angela–the marketing whiz who catapulted Betty’s sales into the stratosphere–by offering to “fix” the inn’s business.

It’s enough to make unfailingly sweet, polite-to-a-fault Angela call Rhonda an”oaf!”

But Rhonda makes Bea and Angela an offer that’s hard to refuse: You host a mixer for wedding professionals, and I’ll do all the work–and if it’s successful, we’ll make bank hosting big, ‘high-end’ weddings together.

So they decide to go ahead with the mixer, and at first, it’s all sweetness and love and light – until dastardly secrets surface, and the wedding vendors start dropping like flies….

Mixed to Death is book four in the Betty Snickerdoodle Mystery series. It’s full of laughs, heart, and mystery. And it even has four adorable puppies! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

THE IMPERFECT PSYCHIC: A MYSTICAL MURDER is book #2 in a charming new cozy mystery series by Ashley King, which begins with A DUBIOUS DEATH (book #1).

Charlotte Vale, 30, a psychic from New York City, has a dubious gift—her vision, not always accurate, often leaves her customers more confused than happy.

At a crossroads in life, Charlotte has made a drastic change: she has followed a vision to a quaint town upstate, and opened the bed and breakfast of her dreams, her beloved cat and companion Oliver by her side.

Charlotte is thrilled to have her bed and breakfast back up and running. And with a budding romance in the air, it seems as if life couldn’t get any more perfect. Business has finally picked up, and Charlotte is ready to give the bed and breakfast the grand opening it always deserved.

Everything seems to go better than planned—until one of Charlotte’s unsatisfied clients shows up, calls Charlotte a fraud—and winds up dead.

With her reputation in jeopardy once again, can Charlotte solve the crime and prove her innocence?

A page-turning cozy mystery, packed with mystery, magic and humor—THE IMPERFECT PSYCHIC is an un-putdownable cozy series that will keep you turning pages (and laughing out loud) late into the night.

Book #3 in the series—A CLAIRVOYANT CATASTROPHE—is also available for pre-order! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

A missing museum collectible, a scandalous bingo tournament, and a match-making mother…

Third in the Treehouse Hotel Mysteries series!

Chloe’s newest project with the expansion of the hotel leaves her little time for a new love, let alone solving the mysterious death of the newly-hired, snooty museum curator, Bartholomew Higgons. Even so, she ends up smack dab in the middle of the murder and mayhem.

Partnered with her loveable cocker spaniel Max, they find themselves mired in a sticky situation. As Chloe and Max investigate, the clues lead to deeper secrets and complex relationships amongst the suspects. The plot gets thicker when a coveted museum treasure is stolen and the bingo scholarship money disappears.

Can the dynamic duo untangle the truth between disgruntled business partners, spurned romantic partners, and blackmailing bingo players before one of their beloved family members are arrested for murder?

Buttercups and Betrayal is Book 3 in the Treehouse Hotel Mysteries series. A light, cozy mystery in a small town with a puzzle loving, amateur female sleuth, quirky characters (human and canine), and enough flowers and pastries to fill your garden and your belly. No gore, swearing or cliffhangers. Can be read as a standalone. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle

Does time heal all wounds?

Port Marie’s Veteran’s Day celebration and parade reunites Reverend Margot Quade with her old army buddy Derek Nesbit. He’s finally at peace with the death of his uncle and both believe they’ve put their past overseas behind them. Fate has other plans.

When Derek and Sam vanish at the end of the parade, Margot fears something is amiss. A ransom note with the promise that at least one won’t survive the day confirms her suspicions. Now, she is left to chase down the ghosts of her military past in the hopes of bringing her family home safe. Even if it means ignoring police directives.

With time running short, Margot uncovers a shocking truth about a comrade who made the ultimate sacrifice. Determined to not let history repeat itself, Margot races headlong into danger, with only a prayer that the Lord will see her through.

Join Margot on her final case in this gripping conclusion and see why BROTHERS IN ARMS has fans of Mindy Quigley and Alison Golden on the edge of their seats. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

Come Catch the Wave of Western Canadian Crime Fiction with Crime Wave, the first anthology from members of the Canada West Chapter of Sisters in Crime.

Crimes at sea, in coastal villages, in wind-tossed Prairie fields, on icy mountains, in valleys that, instead of offering shelter, trap their residents in fear.

The mysteries unfurl in the cold of a Yukon winter night, on a boutique cruise ship, along the Pacific coast and in the BC interior, in a dying Alberta town as winter closes in and in a historical Saskatchewan farming community in the heat of summer. They’re investigated by an amateur sleuth who’s smarter than the local police detective, a freezing cross-country skier, the desperate owners of a struggling B&B, a timid teenage girl, a young RCMP officer, a cruise-ship entertainer, and a senior combating both dementia and murder.

The eight mystery stories in Crime Wave range from thrilling, to wistful, to laugh-out-loud funny. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

An adventure she’d asked for, being a murder suspect? Not really.

Introverted yet brilliant (former) accountant Aileen Mackinnon ditched her risk-less life in the city for the village of Loch Fuar, nestled in the picturesque Scottish Highlands. Now she’s the co-owner of her Gran’s inn, Dachaigh, and an amateur innkeeper to ten new guests. But when one of her guests doesn’t turn up for breakfast and the other dangles over the window sill, Aileen finds herself in deep waters, especially with the handsome local detective.

One man show, Detective Inspector Callan Cameron couldn’t be happier— finally a murder if not two! The only issue- he’s forced to join forces with the new innkeeper in town. What could be more horrible than having a partner? A partner Callan loves to argue with? A partner that gels with his detection style seamlessly?

Between bloody murders and stolen rings, the tension is high, so is the heat. They might not always see eye to eye, but can they agree: whodunnit?

“When Murder Comes Home” is the first novel in the Aileen and Callan Murder Mysteries Series based in the fictional town of Loch Fuar in the Scottish Highlands. This 55,000 word book will make you bite your nails and laugh alongside lovable characters. Ready to enjoy some gore and lots of suspenseful fun? Download this book now! (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

On the best day of Dr. Rita Davenport’s life, she jumps in front of a speeding London Underground train.

The police think suicide.

Dr. Davenport’s team in Portland, Oregon thinks otherwise.

On the day she died, Dr. Davenport presented a paper highlighting a medical breakthrough that would change the treatment of Alzheimer’s. The breakthrough would undercut the billion-dollar Big Pharma business model, taking money from the grant writers, researchers, doctors and huge pharmaceutical companies who have made their life’s work developing drugs that don’t work.

To Dr. Davenport’s team, that is motive for murder.

They turn to Detective Kate Sawyer, one of their own—a participant in their study who is battling her own genetic form of Alzheimer’s. With her lover, Detective Beck Hudson; Dr. Davenport’s right-hand man, Thea Janeway; and Thea’s romantic nemesis and respected denizen of the Dark Web, Carter Livingston, Kate gets pulled deeper and deeper into the secret places where those on the fringes of synthetic biology ply their trade…for good and for ill.

The killer threatens to kill another of Dr. Davenport’s study participants unless Kate backs off…and he’ll keep killing until she stops.

With lives in the balance, Kate can’t stop…not until the last man falls.

But who will be next?

AN INTERVIEW WITH DEBORAH COONTS

After making a name for yourself in another genre, why switch genres now?

My first series featuring Lucky O’Toole is a light, romantic mystery series. At the time, my life was pretty dark, so I enjoyed the laugh-out-loud snark of Lucky and her pals.

But, now life is a bit brighter and I find the darker side, my love of thrillers calling to me. I’ve always loved thrillers, especially psychological thrillers, medical thrillers, women in jeopardy chase books, that sort of thing. Fast-paced storylines with deep, well-rounded characters—I wanted to add my name to the list of writers who have delved deep into these waters.

You’re a lawyer, so why the medical tie-in?

I’ve always been a science geek. When I first went to college, medical school was my target. Alas, life got in the way, but it didn’t dim my interest in the field. And today, technology is honing a sharp edge in the medical field raising lots of possibilities for cures. But where there is a good use there is also a bad use—the yin and the yang. Nothing ever comes without a price. Great for storytelling.

PRAISE FOR THE SERIES

“Fantastic! Coonts combines her trademark strong characters and clever plotting with one of the freshest concepts in suspense–a heroine with early onset Alzheimer’s who literally can’t remember why everyone wants her dead. Buckle your seatbelt for a wild ride!” – Lisa Gardner, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“A firecracker of a thriller–with an ingenious premise, non-stop suspense and terrific writing. But it’s the heroine who makes this such a winner–a heart-breakingly damaged loner who’s got ‘soon-to-be-a-major-motion-picture’ written all over her.” – Hank Phillippi Ryan, Anthony, Agatha, and Mary Higgins Clark award-winning author

“In this taut romantic thriller, no one is who they seem–least of all, Kate Sawyer…Coonts has a sure winner!” – Barbara Freethy, #1 New York Times bestselling author

“I love Kate Sawyer! Deborah Coonts has created an unforgettable character and thrust her into a fascinatingly unique and dangerous situation. I want more!!!” – Debra Webb, USA Today bestselling author (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Paperback

The twenty-seventh entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series isn’t just the biggest case of Stephanie Plum’s career. It’s the adventure of a lifetime.

When Stephanie’s beloved Grandma Mazur’s new husband died on their wedding night, the only thing he left her was a beat-up old easy chair…and the keys to a life-changing fortune.

But as Stephanie and Grandma Mazur search for Jimmy Rosolli’s treasure, they discover that they’re not the only ones on the hunt. Two dangerous enemies from the past stand in their way—along with a new adversary who’s even more formidable: Gabriela Rose, a dark-eyed beauty from Little Havana with a taste for designer clothes. She’s also a soldier of fortune, a gourmet cook, an expert in firearms and mixed martial arts—and someone who’s about to give Stephanie a real run for her money.

Stephanie may be in over her head, but she’s got two things that Gabriela doesn’t: an unbreakable bond with her family and a stubborn streak that will never let her quit.

She’ll need both to survive because this search for “fortune and glory” will turn into a desperate race against time with more on the line than ever before. Because even as she searches for the treasure and fights to protect her Grandma Mazur, her own deepest feelings will be tested—as Stephanie could finally be forced to choose between Joe Morelli and Ranger. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle, Hardcover, Audiobook

Charlotte Frayne’s boss, Mr. Gilmore, travels to Europe in the fall of 1936 on a mysterious trip, leaving her in charge of the detective agency. The redoubtable Mrs. Jessop hires Charlotte to investigate the untimely death of her son, a disfigured and injured veteran of the Great War. The police ruled it a suicide, but Mrs. Jessop doesn’t agree and wants Charlotte to find out what really happened.

On the same day, Charlotte is hired to infiltrate a small women’s wear manufacturer to uncover communist agitators the owner believes are responsible for the labour unrest in his company. When the factory supervisor is discovered murdered on the job the same day Charlotte turns up for her first shift at Ladies’ Superior Clothing, she finds herself seconded by the police in their investigations. (Amazon)

Editions Available: Kindle