Thursday, November 30, 2017


WHAT'S COOKING?

Cookie, cookies, and more cookies!   

🥄🥄🥄🥄🥄🥄🥄


SALLY’S COOKIE ADDICTION
IRRESITABLE COOKIES, BARS, SHORTBREAD, AND MORE FROM THE CREATOR OF
SALLY’S BAKING ADDICTION
By Sally McKenny


Bake exquisite cookies, bars, and doughs perfectly every time with Sally's Cookie Addiction. A world of baking wonder awaits you and all the lucky people you’ll share them with.

Are you ready to sink your teeth into Brown Butter Toffee Chocolate Chip Cookies? How about Peanut Butter Nutella Swirl Cookies or Pumpkin Spice Sugar Cookies? Featuring a mouthwatering selection of cookiescookie barscookie dough dipsslice-and-bakesno-bakes, and more, Sally's Cookie Addiction features dozens of exciting flavors, including chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter, sugar, coconut, lemon, s’more, and oatmeal, oh my!
 
The best part? Sally's Cookie Addiction, Sally will tell you how to make each and every cookie in the book ahead of time. So, if you want to start preparing for the holidays, or if you just like keeping cookie dough in your freezer for those critical cookie emergencies!
 
Complete with tips on how to bake the perfect cookie and gorgeous photographySally's Cookie Addiction is the only cookie book you need on your shelf. Get ready for your kitchen to be the most popular room in the house while the smells of Warm Chocolate Chunk Skillet CookiesLemon Crème Sandwich Cookies, and Soft-Baked Sugar Cookie Bars emanate from the oven!

🥄🥄🥄🥄🥄🥄🥄

MY REVIEW


If the title of this book doesn’t make you want to own it, I’m not sure anything I say will either. But that’s not going to stop me!

SALLY’S COOKIE ADDICTION is 192 pages filled with amazing cookie recipes! Everyday favorites, and new, soon to be treasured favorites.

Author Sally McKenny starts this wonderful cookie experience with a lovely introduction followed by the pages, Key Ingredients, Kitchen Essentials, Sally’s Top 10 Cookie-Making Tips, How To Prevent Excess Spreading (a problem I have with my cookies, and hips!), Make-Ahead Tips and Freezing Instructions, Frosting and Icing. I find pages such as these immensely helpful, and I wish all recipe books would go the extra mile to include them. I know Ms. McKenny taught me a few things through them!

What comes next are eight chapters packed with delicious cookie recipes, and tempting color photos sure to make your mouth water, and your sweet tooth begging to be fed! Recipes like, Brown Butter Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Sugar Cookies, Jude & Franklin’s Favorite Dog Biscuits (can’t forget the pups!), Banana Almond Berry Breakfast Cookies, Ginger Pistachio Cookies, Coffee Toffee Shortbread, Rainbow Kiss Cookies, Outrageous Peanutty Caramel Thumbprints, Chocolate Pretzel Cookiewiches, Spiced Pumpkin Whoopie Pies, Espresso White Chocolate Chunk Cookies, and so many more! Many more!!!

There are so many cookie recipe books out there, and I’m sure you own several of them, just as I do. That being said, you’re going to want to add this one to your collection! Christmas, birthdays, parties, Monday – Sunday will all be better with the amazing cookies you will bake using, SALLY’S COOKIE ADDICTION - IRRESITABLE COOKIES, BARS, SHORTBREAD, AND MORE!


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.

Wednesday, November 29, 2017


I'm so excited to join Berkley Mystery in celebrating the December 5 paperback release of 
EGG DROP DEAD
by author
Laura Childs


EGG DROP DEAD
is book 7 in the Cackleberry Club Mysteries


The ladies of the Cackleberry Club seek a killer in the latest mystery from New York Timesbestselling author Laura Childs. 

Maintaining good personal relationships with their suppliers is one of the secrets of the Cackleberry Club café’s success, so Suzanne doesn’t mind going out to Mike Mullen’s dairy farm to pick up some wheels of cheese. She’s looking forward to a nice visit with the mild-mannered farmer before heading back to their hectic kitchen.

But when she arrives, Mike’s nowhere to be found. The moaning of his cows leads her to look in the barn, where she discovers a bloodcurdling sight—the farmer’s dead body. Apparently not everyone was as fond of Mike Mullen as the Cackleberry Club.

Churning with grief and outrage, Suzanne, Petra, and Toni vow to find the farmer’s murderer—but as they get closer to the truth, the desperate killer gets whipped into a frenzy and plans to put the squeeze on them…

📘📘📖📘📘

*****!!!GIVEAWAY!!!*****

One lucky reader will win a print copy of

EGG DROP DEAD

Enter using the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post.

USA only

This giveaway was made possible by Berkley Mystery

📘📘📖📘📘

MY REVIEW

From my original hardcover review

Lucky number seven? Luck has nothing to do with the seventh installment of the Cackleberry Club Mysteries. Brilliant writing however, that has everything to do with it! 

Scramble feisty leads and eclectic townsfolk, with action, humor, and wonderful food, add in mystery that will keep you guessing with every turn of the page, and there you have EGG DROP DEAD. 

Author Laura Childs doesn’t keep readers waiting for the excitement in EGG DROP DEAD. The mystery in this tale starts off in the first chapter and keeps building from there. It was impossible not to get drawn into this story. 

I guessed whodunit after only a few chapters! But, um . . . of course I was wrong. This book went in a completely different way than I expected, which made for truly great reading. Laura Childs has a real talent for leading you where she wants you to go, and then switching directions so fast you won’t know what hit you. 

The Cackleberry Club series has really grown since book one, and has developed into a must read on my TBR as I’m sure it will become for you! Come on book eight!

Make sure to check out the back of this book for a bunch of great recipes!
Available December 5!
Pre-order now

📘📘📖📘📘

About Laura


Laura Childs is the New York Times bestselling author of the Tea Shop Mysteries, Scrapbook Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries. In her previous life she was CEO/Creative Director of her own marketing firm and authored several screenplays. She is married to a professor of Chinese art history, loves to travel, rides horses, enjoys fund raising for various non-profits, and has two Chinese Shar-Pei dogs.

Laura specializes in cozy mysteries that have the pace of a thriller (a thrillzy!) Her three series are:

The Tea Shop Mysteries - set in the historic district of Charleston and featuring Theodosia Browning, owner of the Indigo Tea Shop. Theodosia is a savvy entrepreneur, and pet mom to service dog Earl Grey. She’s also an intelligent, focused amateur sleuth who doesn’t rely on coincidences or inept police work to solve crimes. This charming series is highly atmospheric and rife with the history and mystery that is Charleston.

The Scrapbooking Mysteries – a slightly edgier series that take place in New Orleans. The main character, Carmela, owns Memory Mine scrapbooking shop in the French Quarter and is forever getting into trouble with her friend, Ava, who owns the Juju Voodoo shop. New Orleans’ spooky above-ground cemeteries, jazz clubs, bayous, and Mardi Gras madness make their presence known here!

The Cackleberry Club Mysteries - set in Kindred, a fictional town in the Midwest. In a rehabbed Spur station, Suzanne, Toni, and Petra, three semi-desperate, forty-plus women have launched the Cackleberry Club. Eggs are the morning specialty here and this cozy cafe even offers a book nook and yarn shop. Business is good but murder could lead to the cafe’s undoing! This series offers recipes, knitting, cake decorating, and a dash of spirituality.

Time to enter the giveaway!
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.

Tuesday, November 28, 2017



When a famous glass artist is murdered at his own exhibit, deadly secrets are put on display, and it’s up to glass shop owner Savannah Webb to see through a killer’s cover.

Celebrated glass artist Dennis Lansing is returning to St. Petersburg, Florida, for an exhibit at the world-renowned Salvador Dali Museum. His unique style of embedding document images in his art is at the vanguard of contemporary glasswork. But as Savannah’s first boyfriend and a former apprentice to her father, Dennis’s return home has her reflecting on the past—a trip down memory lane that takes a dark turn when Dennis is found murdered at the museum with an old reference letter from her father in his pocket. A search through her father’s records sheds new light on Dennis’s history, but it seems his present life wasn’t so transparent either. Now, with a gallery of suspects to consider, it’s up to Savannah to figure out who fits the mold of a murderer.


She’s handling a bridezilla—and hunting a killer . . .
 
Moving from Minnesota to Arizona was a big change for Sophie “Phee” Kimball. She’s much closer to her mother’s retirement community now—which can drive her a little crazy, but at least her mom, Harriet, has her book club and her chiweenie dog, Streetman, to keep her company. And now there’s even more activity, with Aunt Ina’s upcoming wedding. The seventy-four-year-old bride has roped Phee into working on the tent, the pastries, and even her headpiece in preparation for the ceremony. But it’s Harriet who really gets demanding when a dead body turns up yards from her front door.
 
Aunt Ina’s fiancé is acquainted with the victim—a local millionaire restaurateur murdered at the golf course. Working for a private investigator, Phee is drawn into the case—not just professionally but personally, since Harriet is in a panic about her safety. With a killer on the loose, Phee vows to figure out the plot—that is, if her side job as a wedding planner doesn’t kill her first . . .


On an expedition into Oregon’s Lava River Cave, outdoor journalist Meg Reed stumbles across a body buried way more than six feet under . . .
 
A debate is raging over the use of public lands, and to cover the story for Northwest Extreme magazine, Meg joins a congressman and several others on a subterranean adventure—despite her intense claustrophobia. The thoughts of cave-ins and cougars are unnerving, but at least it’s a distraction from her other anxieties, like her best friend’s departure for Italy, her boss’s plan to sell the company, and the ongoing questions about her father’s suspicious death. But in the chilly darkness of the volcanic rock, she discovers a Forest Service employee, stabbed with a trowel. Now Meg will need to do some in-depth investigating or the truth may never come to the surface . . .


Faith Hunter, who is supposed to be planning her wedding, instead finds herself distracted by the town scrapbook she was commissioned to create. Eden’s oldest mystery, the founding family’s exodus nearly a hundred years ago, remains unsolved.
A search through the family’s abandoned mansion leads to the uncovering of bones on that very property. And then ex-boyfriend Steve Davis announces a surprise heir has staked a claim.
How can Faith not be distracted? Now she’s determined to dig up the truth left behind.
Because scrappers are multi-taskers extraordinaire, Faith can’t say no when family friend Wyatt Buford asks her to look into his deadbeat father’s disappearing act and his connection to the murder.
Her quest for answers unearths secrets past and present that some would prefer stay buried at any cost. Faith’s resolve to present the facts and nothing but about Eden’s history could lead to her own future being cut short.

The small town of North Harbor on the shores of Lake Michigan is about to have a new mystery bookstore. But before the first customer can browse its shelves, the store’s owner is suspected of her own murder plot . . . 
 
Samantha Washington has dreamed of owning her own mystery bookstore for as long as she can remember. And as she prepares for the store’s grand opening, she’s also realizing another dream—penning a cozy mystery set in England between the wars. While Samantha hires employees and fills the shelves with the latest mysteries, quick-witted Lady Penelope Marsh, long-overshadowed by her beautiful sister Daphne, refuses to lose the besotted Victor Carlston to her sibling's charms. When one of Daphne's suitors is murdered in a maze, Penelope steps in to solve the labyrinthine puzzle and win Victor.
 
But as Samantha indulges her imagination, the unimaginable happens in real life. A shady realtor turns up dead in her backyard, and the police suspect her—after all, the owner of a mystery bookstore might know a thing or two about murder. Aided by her feisty grandmother and an enthusiastic ensemble of colorful retirees, Samantha is determined to close the case before she opens her store. But will she live to conclude her own story when the killer has a revised ending in mind for her?

 

As the newest member of the Rose Avenue Wine Club, Halsey wants to expand her palate—not solve murders. But when a neighbor is found dead, it’s up to her to pair the culprit with a deadly crime . . .
 
Leaving behind a failed marriage, New Yorker Annie “Halsey” Hall is ready to begin the next phase of her life in coastal Southern California. From the moment she arrives at her new digs on cozy Rose Avenue, she looks forward to joining the neighborhood ladies for their weekly Wine Club gathering. With only a rambunctious yellow lab puppy to keep her company, Halsey could really use a confidant—and a glass or two of her favorite white wine . . .
 
Unfortunately, she finds nothing but red at the Wine Club meeting—and judging by the dead woman lying face down in the backyard, it’s not spilled merlot. Halsey accidentally stumbled into the wrong address at the wrong time, and with suspicions about her past on the rise, she must prove that she isn’t a killer. Enlisting the eclectic talents of the Wine Club ladies, Halsey searches for the true criminal at large. But separating friends from foes isn’t easy on Rose Avenue, and as she racks up a suspect list, Halsey can’t shake the feeling that someone in her inner circle has a taste for murder . . .


A Los Angeles transplant, Sister Louise “Lou” LaSalle feels right at home in Briar Coast, New York. After all, her beloved nephew, Chris, works at the college founded by her congregation. But while Sister Lou has always played by the rules, she’s about to have her faith in herself tested—by murder . . .
 
Sister Lou expects some pushback when she invites her friend, Maurice Jordan, to be the guest speaker for the St. Hermione of Ephesus Feast Day presentation. The theology professor is known far and wide for his controversial views. What she’s not prepared for is finding him dead in his hotel room, bashed over the head.
 
When the local deputies focus on the members of her congregation as suspects, Sister Lou takes matters into her own hands. Against Chris’s wishes, she teams up with a cynical local reporter to delve into Maurice’s life. The unlikely partners in crime-fighting uncover a litany of both devotees and detractors. And though it might take a miracle to find the killer, Sister Lou vows to carry on until justice prevails . . .


Love is in the air in Aspen Hills, and it’s making a terrible mess of Cat Latimer’s writers’ retreat—especially when blood stains the plot . . .

Ever since her business partner, Shauna, fell for a wealthy landowner in town, Cat has been working double time to keep her writers’ retreat running. And with the January session almost underway, that spells trouble. As if scheduling mishaps aren’t disastrous enough, Shauna skips out on kitchen duties one morning, forcing Cat to serve unsuspecting guests store-bought muffins . . .

But best laid plans really go awry when Shauna discovers her beau missing from their bed. When his body later turns up in the horse barn, they quickly find out the victim’s scandalous lifestyle left many dying for revenge. While balancing an eccentric group of aspiring writers and a suspect list for the record books, Cat soon finds herself on the heels of a killer—and authoring her most deadly conclusion yet . . .


Santa’s summer vacation plans turn deadly in this festive mystery from the author of Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen and We Wish You a Murderous Christmas.

The town of Rudolph, New York, has the Christmas spirit all year long—but when homicide heats up a summer holiday, it’s up to shop owner Merry Wilkinson to wrap up the case.

In Rudolph, Christmas in July heralds Santa’s arrival by boat to begin his summer vacation at the lake, and Merry Wilkinson, owner of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, is looking forward to a busy weekend. But she’s caught off guard when her ex-fiancé, Max Folger, unexpectedly arrives with a team from a lifestyle magazine wanting to do a feature on the July festivities.

It’s clear that Max’s visit has less to do with business and more to do with winning back Merry’s heart. Merry has too much on her plate to deal with an old flame, but when Max is found strangled to death in Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, she must find out who wanted him dead—and stop a killer from ruining the summer holiday cheer.


The old Chadwick mansion on the edge of Moosetookalook, Maine, has been shrouded in mystery for generations—until Scottish Emporium owner Liss MacCrimmon uncovers a forgotten family secret. But she never imagined that a little curiosity would lead her into such deadly territory . . .
 
While perusing auction items from the Chadwick estate, Liss purchases a painting of a bagpiper to add to her collection. Her interest shifts from art to sleuthing upon a strange discovery—what appears to be a treasure map tucked behind the canvas. She’s even more intrigued when she links the scroll to an early Chadwick who smuggled goods across the Canadian border.
 
So during a business trip to Canada, Liss arranges a meeting with an archivist in hopes of pinning down the truth about the map and the Chadwick bloodline. Before her quest moves forward, however, she finds the archivist’s murdered body at a local genealogical society. One thing is certain—Liss isn’t alone on this treasure hunt . . . 
 
Liss returns to Moosetookalook, terrified that the killer may have followed her home. With her life in real peril and the map at risk of being stolen, she launches into full-scale investigation mode. But as she deciphers clues and inches toward the dangerous culprit, Liss quickly realizes she’s only a step away from ending up like the Chadwick clan—permanently wiped out.

eBook Short Story

Psychic investigator Larue Donavan is usually dedicated to helping lost spirits find peace. But this time she's tasked with helping a lost woman find her Christmas spirit.

Audible

Maddie James has arrived in Daybreak Island, just off the coast of Massachusetts, eager to settle down and start her own business - and maybe even fall in love. When a stray orange tabby pounces into her life, she's inspired to open a cat cafe. But little does Maddie know that she's in for something a lot more catastrophic when her new furry companion finds the dead body of the town bully.
Now all eyes are on Maddie: Who is this crazy cat-whisperer lady who's come to town? If pet-hair-maintenance and crime-fighting weren't keeping her busy enough, Maddie now has not one but two eligible bachelors who think she's the cat's pajamas...and will do anything to win her heart. But how can she even think about happily-ever-after while a killer remains on the loose - and on her path?

Audible

Tax cheats, beware: The Treasury Department's Criminal Investigations Division has a new special agent on its payroll. A recovering tomboy with a head for numbers, Tara's fast becoming the Annie Oakley of the IRS-kicking ass, taking social security numbers, and keeping the world safe for honest taxpayers. Or else.
Tara's latest mission finds her in hot pursuit of ice-cream vendor Joseph "Joe Cool" Cullen. Along with frozen treats he's selling narcotics-and failing to report his ill-gotten gains on his tax returns. Over Tara's dead body. Then there's Michael Gryder, who appears to be operating a Ponzi scheme...with banker Stan Shelton...whose lake house is being landscaped by Brett Ellington...who happens to be dating Tara. If following that money trail isn't tough enough, now Tara must face a new conundrum: Should she invest her trust in Brett-or put him behind bars? New love always comes at a cost, but justice? Priceless.

Audible

Bailey King is living the sweet life as assistant chocolatier at world-famous JP Chocolates in New York City. But just when Bailey's up for a life-changing promotion, her grandmother calls with news that her grandfather's heart condition has worsened. Bailey rushes to Harvest, Ohio, where her grandparents still run Swissmen Sweets, the Amish candy shop where she was first introduced to delicious fudge, truffles, and other assorted delights.
She finds her grandfather is doing better than she feared. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for a local Englisch developer, whom Bailey finds dead in the candy shop kitchen - with Jebediah King's chocolate knife buried in his chest. Now the police are sweet on her grandfather as the prime suspect. Despite the sincere efforts of a yummy deputy with chocolate-brown eyes, Bailey takes it on herself to clear Jebediah. But as a cunning killer tries to fudge the truth, Bailey may be headed straight into a whole batch of trouble....

Audible

Vintage cookware and cookbook collector Jaymie Leighton has agreed to help her sister clear out the house of a deceased older neighbor, and she's thrilled at the prospect of discovering antique kitchenware and other treasures - until she opens a vintage trunk in the cellar and finds the remains of a teenage girl with a cleaver buried in her skull. When the body of a second girl is found just days later in a nearby river, the clues all indicate that the crimes are connected - and that the culprit's motives are hidden in the past.
Jaymie just wants to cut and run, but the victims were both high school classmates of her sister when they disappeared, and that makes Jaymie the perfect person to help the local police investigate the killings. As she dredges up old memories and even older rivalries and jealousies, her list of suspects grows. But Jaymie knows she'll have to whittle it down to just one, and fast, because someone has decided to cut their ties to Jaymie - in the most fatal of ways....


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.

Monday, November 27, 2017


I'm so happy to join Berkley Mystery
 in celebrating the December 5 release of 
A CRIME OF POISON
by author
Nancy Haddock


A CRIME OF POISON
is book 3 in the Silver Six Crafting Mysteries


The Silver Six are known for their arts and crafts—but they’re about to be tested in the art of catching a crafty killer.

It’s early October, time for the Fall Folk Art Festival and Bake Sale in Lilyvale, Arkansas. Every business along the town square will benefit from the event, including the craft store run by Leslee Stanton Nix—aka Nixy—and the Silver Six, a group of retirees. In charge of making the festival go smoothly, Nixy is confident that it will be a success.

But things become knotty when local troublemaker Cornell Lewis is found dead with a plate of Snickerdoodles from the bake sale. Two members of the Silver Six are accused of cooking up a murder plot, but Nixy knows that the cookies weren’t literally to die for. With time running out, Nixy and company must catch the actual killer...before the Silver Six find their number permanently reduced to four.

👓📖👓📖👓📖👓

*****!!!GIVEAWAY!!!*****

One lucky reader will win a print copy of

A CRIME OF POISON

Enter using the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post.

USA only

This giveaway is made possible by Berkley Mystery.

👓📖👓📖👓📖👓

MY REVIEW


Author Nancy Haddock has turned silver to platinum!

I fell in love with this series on the first page of book one, BASKET CASE. Brilliant writing, and a fabulous cast of characters, have ensured the Silver Six Crafting Mysteries will always be one of my favorite series.

I made sure I had a day cleared to read, A CRIME OF POISON. I knew once I started reading, I wasn’t going to want to put this book down. And I didn’t! This third installment of the Silver Six was even more delightful than the first two. Spending time with Nixy and her half dozen quirky seniors is always fun. I laughed out loud so many times I lost count! Even when murder strikes town, and two of the six are suspects, the fun just kept coming.

A CRIME OF POISON was also a first rate mystery. Author Haddock certainly has what it takes to build suspense, and keep her readers guessing until the end. From the time the body was found, until the exciting reveal, I was enthralled by the cleverness of this tale. I had no idea how it was going to play out, and had to force myself not to peek ahead.

If you’re looking for a well written mystery, and you like to have fun, look no further. A CRIME OF POISON, I think fans of this series will agree, is the best book in this series so far!

👓📖👓📖👓📖👓
Available December 5!
Pre-order now

👓📖👓📖👓📖👓

About Nancy


A national bestselling and award-winning author, Nancy majored in Education/ Speech and Language Pathology at the University of Tulsa, and worked in a both private and public-school settings. When she remarried and more children came into her life, she attended graduate school full time. She also took classes in American Sign Language, and later taught classes to both adults and children. After moving to the Dallas area when her husband was transferred, Nancy began writing romance.

Though Nancy has written everything from children's picture books to teleplays, she insists that moving to Florida in 2002 inspired new story-telling energy. She loves her adopted hometown of St. Augustine, is tickled to live near the beach, and enjoys various volunteer jobs.

Nancy lives with a rescue dog named Baron, and with her super-supportive husband, who is also the chef in the family. Good thing, because her persistent streak doesn't include cooking. She'd live on microwave meals and Starbucks.

👓📖👓📖👓📖👓

Time to enter the giveaway!

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.