BLOG TOUR – Broken Bone China – REVIEW

March 13, 2019 Valerie @ Valerie's MusingsLeave a comment

Welcome! I’m hosting a spot for the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Broken Bone China by Laura Childs. This is one of her Tea Shop mysteries which I love!

About the Book

Broken Bone China (A Tea Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
20th in Series
Berkley (March 5, 2019)
Hardcover: 336 pages
ISBN-10: 0451489632
ISBN-13: 978-0451489630
Digital ASIN: B07DMZPLWY

Purchase Links: Amazon – B&N – Kobo

Rafflecopter Giveaway

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Synopsis

Theodosia Browning serves tea and solves crimes in Charleston, a city steeped in tradition and treachery in the latest Tea Shop Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Laura Childs.

It is Sunday afternoon, and Theodosia and Drayton are catering a formal tea at a hot-air balloon rally. The view aloft is not only stunning, they are also surrounded by a dozen other colorful hot-air balloons. But as the sky turns gray and the clouds start to boil up, a strange object zooms out of nowhere. It is a drone, and it appears to be buzzing around the balloons, checking them out.

As Theodosia and Drayton watch, the drone, hovering like some angry, mechanized insect, deliberately crashes into the balloon next to them. An enormous, fiery explosion erupts, and everyone watches in horror as the balloon plummets to the earth, killing all three of its passengers.

Sirens scream, first responders arrive, and Theodosia is interviewed by the police. During the interview she learns that one of the downed occupants was Don Kingsley, the CEO of a local software company, SyncSoft. Not only do the police suspect Kingsley as the primary target, they learn that he possessed a rare Revolutionary War Union Jack flag that several people were rabidly bidding on.

Intrigued, Theodosia begins her own investigation. Was it the CEO’s soon-to-be ex-wife, who is restoring an enormous mansion at no expense? The CEO’s personal assistant, who also functioned as curator of his prized collection of Americana? Two rival antiques’ dealers known for dirty dealing? Or was the killer the fiancée of one of Theodosia’s dear friends, who turns out to be an employee—and whistle-blower—at SyncSoft?

INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES AND TEA TIME TIPS!

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Review

I love this series and this one did not disappoint! In fact, I thought it was one of the better ones of the series, perhaps even my favorite.

Our wonderful, quirky, loveable characters are back and up to their own tricks of snooping, though I certainly can’t blame them after the things they witnessed! No spoilers! You have to read for yourself what happened!

It was a terrific plot with some great red herrings. It wasn’t until just before Ms. Childs had Theodosia figure it out that I started wondering about the villain. All in all a great edition to the series!

BLOG TOUR – Murder Once Removed – REVIEW

March 12, 2019 Valerie @ Valerie's Musings1 Comment

Greetings! Today I’m hosting a spot on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Murder Once Removed by S.C. Perkins.

About the Book

Murder Once Removed (An Ancestor Detective Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Minotaur Books (March 19, 2019)
Hardcover: 336 pages
ISBN-10: 1250189039
ISBN-13: 978-1250189035
Digital ASIN: B07D2BJ2JT

Purchase Links: Amazon – B&N – Kobo

Rafflecopter Giveaway

Synopsis

S.C. Perkins’ Murder Once Removed is the captivating first mystery in the Ancestry Detective series, in which Texas genealogist Lucy Lancaster uses her skills to solve murders in both the past and present.

Except for a good taco, genealogist Lucy Lancaster loves nothing more than tracking down her clients’ long-dead ancestors, and her job has never been so exciting as when she discovers a daguerreotype photograph and a journal proving Austin, Texas, billionaire Gus Halloran’s great-great-grandfather was murdered back in 1849. What’s more, Lucy is able to tell Gus who was responsible for his ancestor’s death.

Partly, at least. Using clues from the journal, Lucy narrows the suspects down to two nineteenth-century Texans, one of whom is the ancestor of present-day U.S. senator Daniel Applewhite. But when Gus publicly outs the senator as the descendant of a murderer—with the accidental help of Lucy herself—and her former co-worker is murdered protecting the daguerreotype, Lucy will find that shaking the branches of some family trees proves them to be more twisted and dangerous than she ever thought possible.

Review – 4 out of 5 stars.

I had a hard time getting into this book but I really feel like this is just due to where I am right now in life, how my chronic illnesses/mental illnesses are affecting me right now, and the weather/time change. Normally I would jump at a book like this.

The book is well-written. There’s nothing wrong with it in that sense. If you like genealogy and cozy mysteries, I’m pretty sure you will love this book. The characters are quirky and well-rounded. The plot is excellent and the genealogy angle adds a nice unique touch to it.

I will certainly read the second book in the series when it comes out as I really think it’s just me and not the book that’s the problem!

BLOG TOUR – Eclairs, Scares, & Haunted House Repairs – REVIEW

February 28, 2019 Valerie @ Valerie's MusingsLeave a comment

Greetings!! My apologies for getting this post up very late today. I’ve spent most of the day with a migraine. But I do apologize to Erin for it not being up sooner! I’m excited to be hosting a stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Eclairs, Scares, & Haunted Home Repairs by Erin Johnson! I just love this series and this installment was no different!

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About the Book

Eclairs, Scares & Haunted Home Repairs (Spells & Caramels)
Cozy Mystery
9th in Series
Self Published (February 15, 2019)
Print Length: 298 pages
ASIN: B07NLJS93J

Purchase Link: Amazon

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Synopsis

A bakehouse in the making. A dangerous ghost in the tower. Will their welcome to the neighborhood be short-lived?

Imogen wants nothing more than to complete her sweet dream. With her adoring fiancé Hank at her side, the witch and her friends dive into renovations for their new home and soon-to-be bakery. But all their efforts seem futile when they wake to find the house eerily ripped apart all over again…

As Imogen examines her humble abode’s shady history, she discovers evidence for a malevolent spirit living inside. But with less-than-welcoming neighbors keeping a close, suspicious watch, she wonders if it’s not the dead but the living who pose the biggest threat…

Will Imogen root out the culprit, or will her culinary future collapse under the weight of an unsolved murder?

Eclairs, Scares & Haunted Home Repairs is the ninth book in the charming Spells & Caramels paranormal cozy mystery series. If you like lovable characters, chilling twists, and enchanting adventures, then you’ll love Erin Johnson’s marvelous tale.

Buy Eclairs, Scares & Haunted Home Repairs to solve a magical whodunit today!

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Review – 4.5 out of 5 stars

If you’ve seen any of my other reviews of books in this series, you will know that I absolutely LOVE this series! I’ve been hooked from beginning and have always stayed on top of when the next one was coming out because I just adore them! This one was no exception.

I love everything about this series – the characters, the settings, the plots, all of it. This one finds our illustrious characters trying to fix up a house that was said to be haunted. It sure seemed like it since things that were done the day before seemed to be undone the next morning and all sorts of weird things were happening! The ending was almost more surreal than the thought of it being haunted!

There were plenty of twists and turns in the plot. Just when you thought you had it all figured out, there was a new twist on the subject! I did finally figure out the villain before it was announced, but not without a lot of following red herrings! And that’s one of the signs of a great mystery.

To read this series, you do need to start at the beginning with Seashells, Spells, & Caramels, but I highly recommend that you start your journey today! It’s one of the best cozy series I’ve read.

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About the Author

Erin Johnson is a native of Tempe, Arizona, Erin spends her time crafting mysterious, magical, romance-filled stories that’ll hopefully make you laugh. In between, she’s traveling, napping with her dogs, eating with her friends and family, and teaching Pilates (to allow her to eat more).

Website: www.erinjohnsonwrites.com. Facebook: www.facebook.com/EJohnsonWrites. Twitter:@EJohnsonWrites

BLOG TOUR – Grand Slam Murders – GUEST POST

February 14, 2019February 14, 2019 Valerie @ Valerie's Musings1 Comment

ARGH! I wrote this on the calendar, wrote myself a NOTE about it, and STILL missed this post yesterday. *headdesk* Anyway, I’m posting a very late stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Grand Slam Murders by R.J. Lee.

Mr. Lee has provided a guest post for us, so thank you to him. Information about the book will be below the guest post.

Guest Post from R.J. Lee

When the four wealthy widows who comprise the exclusive Rosalie Bridge Club are all poisoned together at a bridge luncheon, everyone in this historic Mississippi River port is in shock. Someone stirred cyanide-laced sugar into their coffees, and the Gin Girls—as they nicknamed themselves because of their love affair with the juniper berry brew—were all DOA at the Rosalie General Hospital.

Enter Wendy Winchester, the young, frustrated social columnist for the local paper, who has been trapped doing wedding and sip ‘n see write-ups for three long years. Wendy is particularly traumatized by the murders because she had recently been admitted to the prestigious club to learn the game of bridge, and now her icons are dead.

However, she sees in the ladies’ demise an opportunity to obtain justice for the group and possibly earn herself a promotion to full-time, investigative reporter. She approaches her curmudgeonly, sexist editor, Dalton Hemmings, with a proposal to do a series of features on the ladies and their families because of her knowledge of the Rosalie social swirl. Her secret intention is to do enough research and interviewing to solve the crimes herself and move up in the world of journalism. She knows she will have the cooperation of her police chief father, Bax Winchester, and her sometimes boyfriend, police detective, Ross Rierson, as they leak things here and there from their official investigation during her daily encounters with them.

There are boatloads of suspects with motive as she begins her journey—at one point with her life on the line; but when the official investigation is stumped, Wendy comes through with her outside-the-box thinking in a complex case where nothing is what it appears to be.

About the Book

Grand Slam Murders (A Bridge to Death Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Kensington (January 29, 2019)
Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-10: 149671914X
ISBN-13: 978-1496719140
Digital ASIN: B07CWF82MH

After four bridge players are poisoned, newspaper reporter Wendy Winchester sets out to catch a killer who’s not playing with a full deck . . .

When the four wealthy widows who make up the venerable Rosalie Bridge Club never get up from their card table, this quiet Mississippi town has its first quadruple homicide. Who put cyanide in their sugar bowl? An aspiring member and kibitzer with the exclusive club, Wendy takes a personal interest in finding justice for the ladies.

She also has a professional motivation. A frustrated society columnist for the Rosalie Citizen, she’s ready to deal herself a better hand as an investigative reporter. This could be her big break. Plus, she has a card or two up her sleeve: her sometimes boyfriend is a detective and her dad is the local chief of police.

Partnering up with the men in her life, Wendy starts shuffling through suspects and turning over secrets long held close to the chest by the ladies. But when a wild card tries to take her out of the game, Wendy decides it’s time to up the ante before she’s the next one to go down . . .

About the Author

R. J. Lee follows in the mystery-writing footsteps of his father, R. Keene Lee, who wrote fighter pilot and detective stories for Fiction House, publishers of WINGS Magazine and other ‘pulp fiction’ periodicals in the late ’40’s and ’50’s. Lee was born and grew up in the Mississippi River port of Natchez but also spent thirty years living in the Crescent City of New Orleans. A graduate of the University of the South (Sewanee) where he studied creative writing under Sewanee Review editor, Andrew Lytle, Lee now resides in Oxford, Mississippi.

Author Link – Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/bridgetodeathmysteries/

Purchase Links

Amazon – B&N – Google Play – IndieBound – Kobo

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BLOG TOUR – Broken Heart Attack – REVIEW

January 18, 2019January 18, 2019 Valerie @ Valerie's Musings4 Comments

Welcome! Today I’m hosting a stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Broken Heart Attack, the 2nd book in the Braxton Campus Mystery series by my friend, James J. Cudney! I’m so excited about this tour and happy to be apart of it!

About the Book

Broken Heart Attack (Braxton Campus Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Independently Published (November 25, 2018)
Paperback: 270 pages
ISBN-10: 1731310501
ISBN-13: 978-1731310507
Digital ASIN: B07KGGJX1T

Purchase Link: Amazon

Rafflecopter Giveaway

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Synopsis

Who killed Gwendolyn Paddington?

When an extra ticket becomes available to see the dress rehearsal of King Lear, Kellan tags along with Nana D and her buddies. But when one of them dies of an apparent heart attack in the middle of second act, Nana D asks Kellan to investigate.

With family members suddenly in debt and a secret rendezvous between an unlikely pair, Kellan learns that the Paddingtons might not be as clean-cut as everyone thinks.

But can Kellan find the killer, or will he get caught up his own stage fright?

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Review – 4.5 out of 5 stars

Wow! This book is so full of twists and turns! Many things happen that completely rock Kellan’s world, the mystery is quite compelling and full of red herrings, and Nana D is running for mayor. All of this combines for a fast-paced, exciting read!

All our favorite characters are back and getting into all kinds of shenanigans. I love the addition of Emma, Kellan’s daughter. She’s so sweet yet smart and precocious. I just love her and am glad we’re getting to see her more and more.

This time around we get insight into the drama department instead of the sports and baseball programs. I love the insight into the various departments of the school.

I did not figure out the villain in this one before it was revealed. The red herrings were powerfully convincing!

I think I like the first book more, but that isn’t meant to detract from this one. It’s incredibly fun and full of twists and turns!

You should definitely read this series in order, starting with Academic Curveball and you should start today!

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About the Author

James is my given name, but most folks call me Jay. I live in New York City, grew up on Long Island, and graduated from Moravian College with a degree in English literature. I spent fifteen years building a technology career in the retail, sports, media, and entertainment industries. I enjoyed my job, but a passion for books and stories had been missing for far too long. I’m a voracious reader in my favorite genres (thriller, suspense, contemporary, mystery, and historical fiction), as books transport me to a different world where I can immerse myself in so many fantastic cultures and places. I’m an avid genealogist who hopes to visit all the German, Scottish, Irish, and British villages my ancestors emigrated from in the 18th and 19th centuries. I frequently blog and publish book reviews on everything I read at ThisIsMyTruthNow via WordPress.

Writing has been a part of my life as much as my heart, my mind, and my body. I decided to pursue my passion by dusting off the creativity inside my head and drafting outlines for several novels. I quickly realized I was back in my element growing happier and more excited with life each day. My goal in writing is to connect with readers who want to be part of great stories and who enjoy interacting with authors. To get a strong picture of who I am, check out my author website or my blog. It’s full of humor and eccentricity, sharing connections with everyone I follow—all in the hope of building a network of friends across the world.

When I completed the first book, Watching Glass Shatter, I knew I’d stumbled upon my passion again, suddenly dreaming up characters, plots, and settings all day long. I chose my second novel, Father Figure, through a poll on my blog where I let everyone vote for their favorite plot and character summaries. It is with my third book, Academic Curveball,, the first in the Braxton Campus Mysteries, where I immersed myself in a college campus full of so much activity, I could hardly stop thinking about new murder scenes or character relationships to finish writing the current story. Come join in the fun!