Lisa Ks Book Reviews

Thursday, February 12, 2015

It's

Whodunit Wednesday EXTENDED

Do you like to solve mysteries?

Do you love to win prizes?

If you said yes to both questions,

you're in the right place!

It's easy.

Read the following story and if you think you know

Whodunit, enter your answer into

the Rafflecopter form below.

Giveaway is open to US and Canada

This week's Whodunit is being hosted by author

Beverly Allen!

One lucky winner will receive a copy of

FOR WHOM THE BLUEBELL TOLLS

Book 2 in the Bridal Bouquet Shop Mystery series!

Deadly thorns lurk among the roses in this Bridal Bouquet Shop Mystery

Florist Audrey Bloom, co-owner of the Rose in Bloom, creates fragrant bouquets for brides. But when a wedding goes fatally wrong, it’s up to Audrey to sniff out a killer . . .

Everything is coming up roses for Audrey when her dazzling creations are picked to be featured on a wedding reality show. The hot series is filming an episode about a bride who’s bonkers for bells, and Audrey’s bouquets of campanulas, calla lilies, and Bells-of-Ireland are perfect for the bridal theme.

But Audrey’s debut quickly becomes a hothouse of trouble. Her ex, Brad, shows up as a crew member on the show, threatening her blossoming relationship with Nick the baker. To make matters worse, when one of the show’s hosts is found dead in the bell tower of a historic church, all the evidence points toward Brad.

Now Audrey needs to weed out the real killer before someone else’s chance at stardom is permanently nipped in the bud . . .

MY REVIEW

I have been looking forward to this book ever since finishing the first book in the Bridal Bouquet Shop Mystery series, BLOOM AND DOOM. Author Beverly Allen did not disappoint me! I was reminded of all the reasons I dubbed this series to be one of my three favorite new series of 2014.

I adore Audrey and her friends and staff. They are a group of people I would love to hang out with. I’d spend a lot of time in the flower shop for sure. And any book that makes me want to be friends with fictional characters, is a book after my own heart.

Ms. Allen has a very smooth, no nonsense writing style. It’s like that of a natural born singer, clear and crisp. Not forced. Her knowledge of flowers and their meanings really shine through. I’ve learned so many interesting facts.

The murder is FOR WHOM THE BELL TOLLS was done in a way I have never read before. So very creative. The entire story moved and flowed quickly. Each page making me want to read the next and the next, straight through to the shocking reveal. I sure didn’t see that coming!

You will not be disappointed with this book. It will however leave you wanting more. I’m ready for the third book in the series to come out!

Pre-order your copy of FOR WHOM THE BLUEBELL TOLLS today. It releases January 6, 2015! And while you’re at it, if you haven’t already, buy a copy of BLOOM AND DOOM to read while you wait!

You really want to win a copy, don't you?

Well then, read the Whodunit and get your entries in!

DEATH OF A SWINGER

"We had an abandoned quarry like this back home." Despite the tragic scene, Sherman couldn't repress a smile. "The local swimming hole. I remember being a kid and swinging on a rope, Tarzan-style, just like this poor fellow."

His wistful tone contrasted sharply with the bloody, broken body just in front of him. The deceased was a youth of about twenty, wearing swim trunks and lying on a granite slab a dozen feet from the edge of a deep, clear pool. Wreathing the body was a thirty-foot length of rope.

Sergeant Wilson lifted the corpse to reveal the rope's freshly severed end. "See? The rope was cut halfway through, then torn the rest of the way." He held the body up a Sherman inspected the rope, then settled the body back down on top of it. "This was murder."

Both men turned and looked up the sheer rock face. Sixty feet above them was the cliff on which Bobby Fixx had stood. Even from here, Sherman could see the other end of the rope, tied to the branch of a towering pine. The ten-foot section swayed gently in the summer breeze.

"looks pretty obvious," Wilson said. "Our Mr. Fixx swings out on the rope, just like he's done a hundred times before. Only this time, someone's cut through it. Instead of swinging into the water, he falls straight down, taking this useless piece of rope with him."

"Isn't this private property?" asked Sherman.

"Yep," said Wilson. "Owned by Midlands Granite. Fixx and his college buddies rent an off-campus house just over the ridge. Let's go pay them a visit."

They found the three collage juniors sitting in stunned silence on the porch of a tattered cabin. Sergeant Wilson checked his notes. "Thad Killian? You actually saw it happen?"

"Yeah." The short blond boy on the porch swing nodded his head. "I was hiking along the ridge, a couple hundred yards from the cliff. I saw Bobby. He grabbed the rope and took a running start. As soon as he cleared the edge, the rope broke. He screamed and then there was this thud instead of a splash. I came right back here and called 911."

"I heard the scream, too," said a tall, burly redhead. "I'm Rick Dawson. I was walking on the road, by the barbed-wire fence. I figured the scream must have come from the swimming quarry. I hopped the fence and found his body a few minutes later. I didn't touch anything."

"Forensics will know if you did," the sergeant said curtly. He approached the third student. "You must be Julio Mendez."

"Right," answered the last roommate. "I was supposed to go swimming with Bobby today, but I fell asleep. Thad woke me after he called 911". He shivered. "I used that rope swing as much as Bobby. It could have been me dying like that."

Wilson took his friend aside. "This could be a hard one, Sherman. We don't even know if Fixx was the intended target. Whoever sawed through that rope . . ."

"Whoever sawed through that rope is right here on this porch. I don't know what the motive was, but one of Fixx's roommates is definitely lying."

Who killed Bobby Fixx?

What gave the killer away?

The Whodunit solution will be posted on tomorrow's blog .

I want to thank Beverly Allen for hosting this week's Whodunit Wednesday.

Learn more about Beverly Allen

www.barbaraearly.com

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