Tuesday, January 31, 2017


BOOKMAN DEAD STYLE
Book 2 in the Dangerous Type Mysteries
by Paige Shelton


A movie star is typecast as a killer in the second Dangerous Type Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of To Helvetica and Back.
 
It’s January, and the Star City Film Festival has taken the Utah ski resort town by storm. Movie stars are everywhere, carving fresh powder on the slopes and crossing the thresholds of Bygone Alley’s charming boutique shops—including The Rescued Word, where Clare Henry and her grandfather restore old typewriters and beloved books. When cinema’s hottest superhero, Matt Bane, enters their store to buy some personalized notecards, it’s hard not to be starstruck.
 
But when Clare sees the police leading Matt out of The Fountain hotel in handcuffs only a few hours later, she can’t believe her eyes. The affable actor is accused of killing his sister, but Clare’s convinced he’s wrong for that role. Now it’s open call for suspects as Clare tries to reel in the killer before another victim fades to black...

MY REVIEW


If you’re looking for a font of mystery, make yourself a note to read BOOKMAN DEAD STYLE. It’s just the type of mystery that keeps readers coming back again and again for author Paige Shelton’s books. You’ll love every word.

How exciting it was to be back in Star City, Utah! I’ve missed protagonist Clare Henry and her grandfather at The Rescued Word, as well as the other characters that made book one, TO HELVETICA AND BACK such an entertaining read.

The key to any good book is fabulous writing, and the key to a great mystery is giving the reader a twisting ribbon of false leads, and a mystery that really brings out your inner sleuth. Paige Shelton amped up things in BOOKMAN DEAD STYLE by having a film festival in town. With so many people around, there was no short supply of suspects. Thanks to the clever writing of the author, each time I thought I knew who the killer was, they were quickly off my radar as I found someone new to suspect.

Reading BOOKMAN DEAD STYLE will keep you stationary in your chair as you turn page after page. You simply won’t want to put this one down!


BOOKMAN DEAD STYLE
releases 
February 7!
Pre-order you copy today!

Monday, January 30, 2017


I thought it would be fun to share with you some of my favorite cozy mystery series old and new. 

Every Monday I will spotlight a different series that I have loved from the very first book. 

This week my series spotlight is on the
VINTAGE KITCHEN MYSTERIES
by 
Victoria Hamilton


I love everything about this series.
 The characters, the setting, reading about the wonderful vintage kitchen items I remember my Mommom having, as well as learning about items I've never heard of.
I just know you're going to love it too!

BOOK ONE

 A Hoosier to die for?

When vintage cookware and cookbook collector Jaymie Leighton spies an original 1920s Hoosier brand kitchen cabinet at an estate auction, it’s love at first sight. Despite the protests of her sister that the 19th-century yellow-brick house they share in Michigan is already too cluttered with Jaymie’s “junk,” she successfully outbids the other buyers and triumphantly takes home her Hoosier.
But that night on the summer porch where they’ve left the Hoosier to be cleaned up, a man is murdered, struck on the head with  the steel meat grinder that is part of the cabinet. Who is this stranger—and what was he doing on their porch? Does his death have anything to do with the Hoosier?
As the police struggle to determine the man’s identity, Jaymie can’t help doing a little digging on her own, accompanied by her three-legged Yorkie Poo, Hopalong. But in her bid to uncover the truth about the hidden secrets of the Hoosier, Jaymie may be the one who ends up going, going…gone.

BOOK TWO

Stirring up trouble…
Vintage kitchenware and cookbook collector Jaymie Leighton has been estranged from her high school best friend Kathy Cooper since they were teenagers, but she never knew what turned Kathy against her. After fireworks at a Fourth of July picnic, Jaymie discovers the body of her former friend in the park. On the ground nearby is Jaymie’s own Depression-era glass bowl, broken in two. 

With her fingerprints all over the bowl and a troubled history with the victim, Jaymie suddenly finds herself at the top of the list of suspects. Did the killer intend to frame her for the murder? If so, she is ready to mix it up, because solving crimes is vintage Jaymie Leighton…

BOOK THREE

ICE COLD

Trying to escape her overbearing mother, vintage kitchenware enthusiast and soon-to-be columnist Jaymie Leighton retreats to her family’s cottage on Heartbreak Island. While there she hopes to write an article about the Ice House restaurant, owned by good friends and neighbors, siblings Ruby and Garnet Redmond. Once an actual icehouse, the restaurant is charmingly decorated with antique tools of the trade, including a collection of ice picks.
 
One night, while working on her article, Jaymie overhears an argument and, ever the sleuth, sets out to explore. But when she stumbles upon a dead body her blood runs cold. It’s Urban Dobrinskie, whose feud with the Redmonds is no secret, and he’s got an ice pick through his heart. Now Jaymie’s got to sharpen her sleuthing skills to chip away at the mystery and prove her neighbors’ innocence—before someone else gets picked off…

BOOK FOUR

TO THE MANOR DEAD
 
The Queensville Heritage Society is restoring the once-grand Dumpe Manor. While Dumpe relatives and society members use the occasion to dust off old grudges, Jaymie Leighton prefers to adorn the kitchen with authentic Depression Era furnishings. A collection of vintage wooden mallets found in the house is a perfect addition to her display, but one also offers a late-night intruder the perfect weapon to knock Jaymie unconscious before escaping.
 
Though the attack has everyone on edge, nothing is missing from the house. Perhaps it was merely a vagrant who thought the place was still abandoned. But when Dumpe Manor’s resident historian is murdered with a mallet from the same collection, it’s time for Jaymie to turn up the heat on the investigation before someone else becomes history.

Includes recipes!

BOOK FIVE

In the new Vintage Kitchen Mystery from the author of No Mallets Intended, the Heritage Society is re-creating a perfect Victorian Christmas—until good tidings go bad...
 
Queensville has great expectations for their Dickens Days festival. A tourist-trade boon boom means a big turnout for the opening of Queensville Historic Manor and for Jaymie Leighton, food columnist and vintage cookware collector, a chance to promote the manor and give away homemade goodies.  At the end of a long day of festival fun, Jaymie discovers the battered body of local woman Shelby Fretter.

Shelby predicted her own murder in journal entries—and all clues point to Cody Wainwright, the troubled son of Jaymie’s beleaguered newspaper editor. But considering the entire Fretter family had its share of dirty secrets, Jaymie’s not convinced  by the case against Cody. With twists all over, she’s going to have to work like the Dickens to wrap up this investigation before Christmas—especially with the real killer ready to kill again.

 
INCLUDES RECIPES!



As always, please leave a comment and 
let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by 
clicking on the link in the 
upper right hand corner of this page.

Sunday, January 29, 2017


Lisa Ks Book Reviews blog is proud to bring to you
THE COZY TIMES
Special Edition
 
Today The Cozy Times is featuring
The Cozy Times!

🙂

This edition was originaly featured on author
Julie Seedorf's blog.

I hope you'll enjoy!
 Editor: Lisa A, Kelley   Staff Reporter: Lisa A. Kelley  
Staff  Photographer: Lisa A. Kelley

The Glamorous Life of a Cozy Mystery Reviewer/Blogger

I get out of bed at the crack of 7:00, sometimes 8:00, okay . . . sometimes's 9:00 AM. I go through my morning grooming routine, which takes a solid five minutes, unless I'm in a  hurry. I change into my work clothes, a fresh nightgown and my not always so fresh slippers a.k.a my scuff scuffs. It’s on to the kitchen to prepare a healthy breakfast of Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies and my drink of choice for the day. Today it is Hawaiian Punch.

Armed with my nourishing meal, I head to my office, also known as my living room recliner. I  power up my laptop, and check my schedule. I am now in my blogger/reviewer/social media networking zone. My job (volunteer work really) . . . I read, blog, review, blog, Facebook, blog, Tweet, blog, and repeat.  Seven days a week, with the exception of holidays and sick days, I am plugged in.

Of course I do get out of the house. Sometimes I work in my mobile office, as I was doing when writing this article. My mobile office, a 2004 Chevy Malibu named “The Reverend”, is spacious, and offers a wonderful view of wherever I may be parked at the time, waiting for a sibling while they are at an appointment.

And there you have my glamorous reviewer/blogger life.

You know what? I love every single second of it!

~*~*~*~*~

Brick and Mortar Forever!

There is nothing like a real life, walk in the front door, pay at the register bookstore. I adore them! I could spend every day in one. The only thing holding me back is, my town, Dover, DE, capitol of the first state doesn’t have any bookstores. They’ve all closed down. And they were very small, without big selections. Over half of the stock of one of them was used books. (I’ll spare you my germ phobia.)

My sister(s) and I plan day trips to our favorite Barnes & Noble, which is a hour and a half away from us, in another state. We do have one a bit closer in state, but it’s part of a huge mall, and the parking is a nightmare! (I digress). When I walk into “my” Barnes & Noble, I feel my worries and stress just fall away. My sister(s) and I stake out our favorite table at the café, and prepare to spend a day in paradise. It’s nothing for us to get there when the doors open, and stay until 2 or 3:00 in the afternoon. (One day I’m expecting them to start charging us rent.) Settled at my table, a stack of books and magazines surrounding me, and a cold root beer sitting before me, I am whole. I am at peace. I am home. 

I enjoy surfing though Amazon, and Barnes & Noble online, but nothing can compare to the feeling, the smell, the sight of a real bookstore. Forever may they stand! 


~*~*~*~*~

Pets in Cozy Mysteries
I love the wonderful pets that are featured in cozy mysteries. The adorable cats and dogs (mostly) have such big personalities. Some even have sleuthing talents just like their owners.

While a lot of cozy pets are completely fictional, many are based on real life pets of the authors. Some are even based on, and named after reader’s pets!

I would love to have my Emma Belle a.k.a. Emmy show up in a cozy. However, there are a couple of issues. While Emmy is a little ole love bug, all she does is sleep. And when she’s awake, well, she has the most disinterested, bored look on her face.

Think Garfield the cat’s expression on a dog’s face, and there you have my girl. Every scene with Emmy in a book would read something like, Emmy was asleep as usual or Emma looked at me  in that bored way.

No, my fur baby just doesn’t seem to be cozy mystery material. That being said, I couldn't love her more if I tried.

📕📖📘📚📗📖📙

I hope you enjoyed this edition of
The Cozy Times.

Please leave a comment and let me know if you'd like to see more like it.

Saturday, January 28, 2017


Author 
Kathi Daley 
has a new book out! 

You know what that means don't you? 

!!!GIVEAWAY!!! 

Kathi is giving away one copy of her new book  
SNOWMEN IN PARADISE
Book 2 in the Tj Jensen Mysteries


Winter Carnival comes to Serenity, and with it Tj finds her schedule busier than ever. Not only is her ski and snowboard team heavily involved in demonstrations and local competitions, but her ragtag choir is about to debut in their first live performance. To make matters even more complicated, someone has killed Travis Davidson, a town favorite son, world-class snowboarder, and Olympic hopeful. Tj is determined not to get involved in the subsequent investigation until she learns the prime suspect is Chelsea Hanson, her high school boyfriend Hunter Hanson’s sister. Although there’s no shortage of Sereninites with a grudge against the hometown hero, even Tj has to admit there’s good cause to suspect Chelsea of the murder. Balancing bridesmaid duties, Winter Carnival obligations, show choir duty, and after-hours investigation, Tj sets out to prove Chelsea innocent.

Giveaway is open to both US and CANADA
US winner - choice of print or Kindle copy
Canadian winner - Kindle copy only

Use the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post to enter 

📘📖📘📖📘📖📘

Learn more about Kathi


a Rafflecopter giveaway

As always, please leave a comment and 
let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by 
clicking on the link in the 
upper right hand corner of this page.

Friday, January 27, 2017


It's
Cozy Food Friday
with a 
!!!GIVEAWAY!!!

That means it's time to share a recipe from 
another great cozy mystery!

Today I'm featuring 
BOOKMAN DEAD STYLE
Book 2 in the Dangerous Type Mysteries
by Paige Shelton


Available for pre-order now! 
Releases February 7!

A movie star is typecast as a killer in the second Dangerous Type Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of To Helvetica and Back.
 
It’s January, and the Star City Film Festival has taken the Utah ski resort town by storm. Movie stars are everywhere, carving fresh powder on the slopes and crossing the thresholds of Bygone Alley’s charming boutique shops—including The Rescued Word, where Clare Henry and her grandfather restore old typewriters and beloved books. When cinema’s hottest superhero, Matt Bane, enters their store to buy some personalized notecards, it’s hard not to be starstruck.
 
But when Clare sees the police leading Matt out of The Fountain hotel in handcuffs only a few hours later, she can’t believe her eyes. The affable actor is accused of killing his sister, but Clare’s convinced he’s wrong for that role. Now it’s open call for suspects as Clare tries to reel in the killer before another victim fades to black...

About Paige


Paige Shelton is the New York Times Bestselling author of the Farmers' Market, Country Cooking School, Dangerous Type, and Scottish Bookshop mysteries. She's lived lots of places but currently resides in Arizona. Find out more at paigeshelton.com

📕📖📘📚📗📖📙

!!!GIVEAWAY!!!

Paige is giving away 

2 Signed copies of
BOOKMAN DEAD STYLE


Enter using the Rafflecopter form

at the end of this post!


This giveaway is open to US and Canada!


📕📖📘📚📗📖📙

On to the recipe!

Fry Sauce

From Paige

There’s a magical thing in Utah. When you first hear about it, you’re skeptical. When you first see it, you become even more doubtful. And then as you go to dip your first French fry into it, you become downright suspicious. Am I being punked? But then you taste it, and before long you become a convert. No more plain old ketchup for you. It’s all about the fry sauce.

My Dangerous Type series takes place in Star City, Utah, which is a lot like Park City, Utah. I lived in that most beautiful state for a long time, but shortly after the series began with TO HELVETICA AND BACK, we moved to Arizona. We do travel back to Utah every now and then, and shortly after we cross the border we seek out a diner or a café or a fast food joint that will surely serve fry sauce. We are never disappointed. 


However, fry sauce hasn’t caught on in much of the rest of the world, and we can’t go to Utah all the time. So I found a couple of recipes that help us get through the rough moments. Paired with good, old-fashioned fried French fries, the sauces are great, but they’re also pretty good with a somewhat healthier version of potatoes: baked fries.


The second book of the series, BOOKMAN DEAD STYLE, publishes on February 7. The mystery takes place during the Star City Film Festival, which is much like Sundance. After the book was done, I wished I’d included fry sauce in the story, somehow just mentioned it. But I didn’t. I’m glad I get to share a couple recipes here.

First, the baked fries.

All food photos courtesy of Paige Shelton

1 large baking potato
Per each potato:
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon onion powder

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Prepare a baking sheet with foil and non-stick spray. Cut potato into strips. Mix olive oil, paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, and onion powder together. Coat potatoes with mixture, and place on baking sheet. Bake for about twenty minutes. Depends on how thick you sliced the potatoes. Watch them. 


Here are two different fry sauce recipes. Even though the taste is similar throughout the state, there are subtle differences.

Fry Sauce One



Equal parts:
Ketchup
Buttermilk
Mayonnaise (I use light mayo because I can’t taste a difference so why not?)

Stir and serve. You may keep in refrigerator for about a week.

Fry Sauce Two


1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup ketchup (roughly a two to one, mayo to ketchup ratio)
½ tsp onion powder
3 to 4 teaspoons pickle juice (add one teaspoon at a time and check for taste)

Mix together in small bowl. Enjoy!

All of them have about this color and consistency -


Very easy to make, even easier to enjoy!

Thanks for letting me stop by today. If you ever get to Utah, find some fry sauce and dip a few fries for me.

 Happy reading and see you at the bookstores!

📕📖📘📚📙📖📗

Please keep reading and check out my 

installments of 
Book Beginnings on Fridays
and
The Friday 56

Both are from 
BOOKMAN DEAD STYLE


📕📖📘📚📙📖📗



Book Beginnings on Fridays is a meme hosted by Rose City Reader
Share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading

My Book Beginnings


"It's my good luck you're here."

The Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda's Voice
Rules: *Grab a book, any book. *Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader (If you have to improvise, that's okay.) *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you. *Post it.

My Friday 56 

And real serial killers---I needed to remember that part too.


GOOD LUCK!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

As always, please leave a comment and 
let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by 
clicking on the link in the 
upper right hand corner of this page.