PAINT THE TOWN DEAD by Nancy Haddock

DIGGING UP THE DIRT by Miranda James

PAINTING THE TOWN DEAD

Book 2 in the Silver Six Mysteries

by Nancy Haddock

From the national bestselling author of Basket Case comes the second mystery starring the crafty and cantankerous Silver Six.
 
Leslee Stanton Nix—aka “Nixy”—thought moving to small-town Lilyvale, Arkansas, would be about as thrilling as watching paint dry. But keeping up with her retired Aunt Sherry and her troublemaking housemates—collectively known as the Silver Six—has proven to be as exciting as it is exasperating.
 
To kick off the grand opening of their craft shop, the Handcraft Emporium, Nixy and the Silver Six invite Doralee Gordon to teach a gourd painting class. Doralee’s spirit gets squashed when her ex-husband crashes the class with his new fiancée, but things really get messy when the bride-to-be later turns up dead. Now it’s up to Nixy and the Silver Six to use their melons to find the killer—before someone else gets painted out of the picture...

MY REVIEW

Book one may have been silver, but book two is gold!

Once again author Nancy Haddock shares with us her brilliant writing, and gives us a second installment in her Silver Six Mysteries, that is even better than the first! I wouldn’t have that that possible, but I am so glad to be wrong!

Author Haddock’s style of writing can’t help but pull a reader in. As informative as it is entertaining, her words flow across the pages in a way that keeps you wanting to turn the next page and the next. I sat down with the intention to start PAINT THE TOWN DEAD, but I didn’t stop reading until this wonderful book was finished.  

Everything I look for in a cozy mystery is between the pages of PAINT THE TOWN DEAD. The characters are simply fantastic. From protagonist Leslee Stanton Nix “Nixy”, to the entire group of the Silver Six. They are, sweet, fun, whacky, a handful, and I love every minute I spent with them when reading. The setting of Lilyvale, Arkansas is a lovely backdrop for this series. I could see each and every place the author described. Like the Handcraft Emporium, the group’s new craft shop, is the perfect addition to the series. I feel I know what every corner of what that store looks like. And of course, an excellent plot, with a superb mystery that will keep you on your toes, guessing and second guessing all the way to the exciting conclusion.

I said in my review of book one, “BASKET CASE is one of the cutest, most refreshing new cozy mysteries of the year”. That was in 2015. So, I say now, PAINT THE TOWN DEAD is one of the best cozies of 2016, and the Silver Six Mysteries is one of the best cozy series I have read!

Treat yourself to a copy of PAINT THE TOW DEAD. You deserve it! And if you haven’t read book one, BASKET CASE, pick them both up and read them back to back!

And when you do have your own copy, be sure to check out the back of the book for a couple fun craft projects, and a yummy recipe!

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DIGGING UP THE DIRT

Book 3 in the Southern Ladies Mysteries

by Miranda James

The New York Times bestselling author of Dead with the Wind and Bless Her Dead Little Heartis back with more of those sleuthing Southern belles, the Ducote sisters...

An’gel and Dickce Ducote, busy with plans for the Athena Garden Club’s spring tour of grand old homes, are having trouble getting the other club members to help. The rest of the group is all a-flutter now that dashing and still-eligible Hadley Partridge is back to restore his family mansion. But the idle chatter soon turns deadly serious when a body turns up on the Partridge estate after a storm...
 
The remains might belong to Hadley’s long-lost sister-in-law, Callie, who everyone thought ran off with Hadley years ago. And if it’s not Callie, who could it be? As the Ducotes begin uncovering secrets, they discover that more than one person in Athena would kill to be Mrs. Partridge. Now An’gel and Dickce will need to get their hands dirty if they hope to reveal a killer’s deep-buried motives before someone else’s name is mud...

MY REVIEW

As delightful as sweet tea on a hot summer day!

With this third book in the Southern Ladies Mysteries, author Miranda James proves the third time is a charm. Sassy southern sisters, An’gel and Dickce Ducote are back and in rare form, hot on the heels of another murderer.

Writing An’gel and Dickce as the two southern aunts I would most likely have, if I indeed had southern aunts, is what first endeared me to author James and this series. Though I will admit, I think I’d only want to visit them once a year or so. LOL. They are way too much for me to handle! James does have a way with characters from the south, and I could easily hear, and see all the mannerisms of each and every one as I read them.

DIGGING UP THE DIRT has a well written plot that will keep readers hooked until the end. There are surprises to keep you excited, false leads to keep you guessing, and a reveal worthy of the story.

If you’re a fan of the Southern Ladies Mysteries, you are going to be thrilled with DIGGING UP THE DIRT!

The only thing that I didn’t care for in this book was what I felt to be the over use of the word h*ll. Some cozies are starting to have a bit more cursing. I just don’t see where it’s needed. But this is just my own personal feeling on it. It in no way takes away from the talented writer Miranda James is.

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You can pre-order both of these great books today!

Both titles release

September 6!

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