Lisa Ks Book Reviews

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

I'm very excited to be spotlighting the

release of author

Vicki Delany's

newest book

BODY ON BAKER STREET

Book 2 in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mysteries

Gemma Doyle and Jayne Wilson are busy managing the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium on Baker Street and adjoining Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room in anticipation of the store’s upcoming book signing with the illustrious Renalta Van Markoff, author of the controversial Hudson and Holmes mystery series. But during the author Q&A session, dedicated Sherlockian Donald Morris verbally attacks Renalta and her series for disgracing Sherlock’s legacy, only to be publicly humiliated when the author triumphantly lashes back and gains the upper hand. That is until Renalta collapses on the table―dead.

Donald insists he didn’t do it and pleads to his friends to clear his name. Fortunately, Gemma and Jayne have no shortage of suspects between author’s bullied personal assistant, her frustrated publicist, the hapless publisher, a handsome rare book dealer, an obsessively rabid fan, and a world of other Sherlock enthusiasts with strong objections to Renalta’s depiction of the Great Detective. It’s up to the shrewd sleuthing duo to eliminate the impossible and deduce the truth before the West London police arrest an innocent man in Body on Baker Street, the second Sherlock Homes Bookshop mystery perfect for fans of Miranda James and Kate Carlisle.

An Interview With Vicki Delany

LKBR: Thank you for being here today!

VICKI: It is my pleasure. I love your blog, Lisa.

LKBR: Please tell us a bit about your book/series.

VICKI: Body on Baker Street, is the second in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series. This is a cozy series, set on Cape Cod, about a character who owns the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and adjacent Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room. There’s lots in the books for Sherlock Holmes fans, but you don’t have to be a Sherlockian to enjoy them. The first book in the series is Elementary, She Read.

LKBR: How did you come up with the concept for this series? How about the idea for this installment?

VICKI: As well as a writer, I’m a keen mystery reader. When I was looking for inspiration for a new series, I thought a bookstore would be fun. The idea popped into my head: A bookstore dedicated to all things Sherlock Holmes.

When I started to do some research on that, I quickly discovered it’s not such an unfeasible idea. You could easily stock a store with nothing but Sherlock. Not only books, but all the stuff that goes with it: playing card sets, tea towels, games, puzzles, action figures, cardboard cut-out figures. The list is just about endless. Throw in all the modern pastiche novels, nonfiction works on Sir Arthur and his contemporaries, maybe a few books set in the “gaslight” era. And, presto, a fully operational bookstore. All I needed to add was a tea room and a black cat named Moriarty!

What’s a bookstore without visiting guest authors, and thus we have the plot behind Body on Baker Street. Here’s a brief description:

When Renalta Van Markoff, author of the controversial Hudson and Holmes mystery series is murdered at a book signing in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, the game is afoot and it’s up to the unusually perceptive Gemma Doyle and her confused but ever-loyal friend Jayne Wilson to eliminate the impossible and deduce the truth before the police arrest an innocent man.

LKBR: Do you have a favorite character in your book/series?

VICKI: I love writing Gemma Doyle, who is my version of Sherlock Holmes, reimagined as a modern young woman. She’s been enormous fun to write. Gemma has an amazing memory (for things she wants to remember), incredible observational skills, and a lightning fast mind. She is also, shall we say, somewhat lacking on occasion in the finer points of social skills. But she’s kind at heart and always tries to do the right thing.

LKBR: When you’re in the process of writing/creating a book, do you use a computer, typewriter, dictate, or use pen to paper?

VICKI: I do everything on a computer. I have a laptop that is used for writing and only writing. Nothing else. Most of the year, I stand-up at a half-counter between the kitchen and the dining room; in the nice weather I like to sit outside on the deck.

LKBR: Do you have any writing quirks or rituals that you do before, during, and/or after writing a new book?

VICKI: What do I do when I finish writing a book? I start the next one. Sometimes even the same day.

LKBR: What was one of the most surprising thing(s) you learned when trying to get your first book published?

VICKI: How hard it was! Persistence was the key. Just keep on writing.

LKBR: What book are you reading?

VICKI: About Sixty, edited by Christopher Redmond. A different Sherlockian takes each of the sixty original Holmes stories and explains why it’s the best of them all. I don’t base my books on the Sherlock Holmes stories themselves, but it’s been fun getting reacquainted with them.

LKBR: Do you have any advice for aspiring cozy writers?

VICKI: The same advice I have for all aspiring authors. Read, and read widely. To paraphrase Stephen King, if you want to be a writer you have to do two things: write and read.

LKBR: Where can readers go to learn more about you and your books?

www.vickidelany.com

www.lighthouselibrarymysteries.com

www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor

twitter: @vickidelany

@evagatesauthor

LKBR: Thank you so much for letting us get to know you better!

VICKI: Thank you for asking me.

About Vicki

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than twenty-five books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. Under the name of Eva Gates, she writes the Lighthouse Library cozy series for Penguin Random House. Her newest novel is Body on Baker Street, the second in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series from Crooked Lane.

Vicki is the past president of the Crime Writers of Canada. Her work has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards.