Thursday, May 31, 2018




The Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel is happy to announce the return of Hailey Dean!


Sunday, June 3, Hailey is on a new adventure in 
2+2=MURDER

                       
2+2=MURDER
is the first in three all new 
Hailey Dean Mysteries coming in June,
starring Kellie Martin!


Don't forget to check out Hallmark Movies & Mysteries' Hailey Dean Instagram Takeover on
(@HallmarkMovie)!  You can help investigate the next pieces of Hailey's Personal Clue Board and solve them! Make sure to share your theories in the comments! #SLEUTHERS


While I'll be wrapping up the online event, 
on Sunday 3, I will try to drop by Twitter with comments about the movie. 
June 10 and 17
I will be live Tweeting during the 
Hailey Dean movies!
I hope to see you there! 
If not, I'll be posting on Facebook as well.


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, May 30, 2018

Today joining #BerkleyMystery
in celebrating author
Kate Carlisle
and her paperback release of
ONCE UPON A SPINE
Book 12 in the Bibliophile Mysteries


In the latest paperback in the New York Times bestselling series, murder sends San Francisco book-restoration expert Brooklyn Wainwright down the rabbit hole...

Brooklyn's future in-laws are traveling from England to meet her, and if that's not enough to set her on edge, rumors abound that the charming Courtyard Shops across the street may be replaced by high-rise apartments. Their trendy neighborhood will be ruined unless Brooklyn and her fiancΓ©, Derek Stone, can persuade the shopkeepers not to sell.
 
But with a rare edition of Alice in Wonderland causing bad blood at the Brothers Bookshop and a string of petty vandalism making everyone nervous, Brooklyn and Derek feel overwhelmed. Then the owner of the Rabbit Hole juice bar is felled by his own heavy shelves, and the local cobbler lies dead beside him. Things get curiouser and curiouser when a second priceless copy of Alice is discovered. 
 
As the Brits descend, Brooklyn learns they're not so stuffy after all. Derek's dad is won over with chocolate cream pie, and his psychic mum would kill to help Brooklyn solve this murder--before another victim takes a tumble.

!!!GIVEAWAY!!!

1 lucky reader will win 1 print copy of

ONCE UPON A SPINE 

USA only

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

πŸ“šπŸ“–πŸ“šπŸ“–πŸ“š

MY REVIEW


I simply love the thrill of discovery that comes with the stories in the Bibliophile Mysteries. As a book lover, the thought of finding a rare edition of one of my favorite books, well, it makes my toes wiggle. I’ll admit, I wasn’t excited about the treasured volume of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland like main character, Brooklyn Wainwright was. I have never liked that tale. But, I was wrapped up in Brooklyn’s excitement about it.

ONCE UPON A SPINE is another well written installment in the Bibliophile Mysteries. And it certainly shares something in common with the story of Alice, not everything it as it seems. This was a clever mystery that had my brain hopping around like a frantic rabbit, trying to guess the outcome.

More than just a mystery, ONCE UPON A SPINE introduced new characters to readers, Derek’s parents. I enjoyed the energy of the story when they were in the scene. They were simply delightful and fit in perfectly with the already established characters. I’m looking forward to their next appearance in the series.

As if all of that isn’t enough to entice you to read this book, wait until you see some of the sassy recipes included with names like Hot Buttered Rump Bites, and Perky Breast Nibbles. ;-)


Available for pre-order
Release Date: June 5!

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, May 29, 2018


Author 
Kathi Daley
has a new book!
FINDING ANSWERS
Book 2 in the Rescue Alaska Mysteries


Rescue Alaska is a small town in northern Alaska where visitors come to hike and ski. Harmony Carson is a lifelong resident who volunteers as a member of the local search and rescue team. Harmony has a unique gift which she often considers a curse. She is able to 'see' the individuals she is meant to help rescue, and more often than not she can feel their fear and their pain as well. When she isn't aiding in a rescue, Harmony works at Neverland - the bar owned by her brother in law Jake, and volunteers at the local animal shelter. Harmony lives in a rustic cabin with six dogs, four cats, six kittens, eight rabbits, and a blind mule named Homer. 

In the second book in the series, Jake and Harmony are in the process of training a new search and rescue dog when they get a call that a four year old boy has gone missing from the cabin his family rented while on vacation. They join the search and rescue team, along with the local police, in the hope of finding the child before it is too late. Along the way they discover the freshly dumped body of an important member of the community. The police are stumped as to why this popular town resident would have been murdered, until Harmony inadvertently stumbles across something shocking, that might very well provide the lead they need to provide the answers they seek.

πŸ“šπŸ“šπŸ“šπŸ“šπŸ“š

!!!GIVEAWAY!!!

For your chance to win a copy of
FINDING ANSWERS
use the Rafflecopter form below

USA - Choice of Print or Kindle copy
Canada - Kindle copy only

πŸ“šπŸ“šπŸ“šπŸ“šπŸ“š


GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

πŸ“•πŸ“–πŸ“—πŸ“–πŸ“˜πŸ“–πŸ“™πŸ“–πŸ“šπŸ“–πŸ“•πŸ“–πŸ“—πŸ“–πŸ“˜πŸ“–πŸ“™


Take a look at all of the great titles out today!


Daisy Swanson and her Aunt Iris run a delightful shop in Pennsylvania’s Amish country with an emphasis on tasty teas and treats—but murder is not so sweet . . .
 
As local merchants unite to attract tourists for a much anticipated weekend quilting event, business is sure to spill over into eateries like Daisy’s Tea Garden. Gorgeous craftwork is hanging everywhere—but among the quilts, potholders, and placemats, one gallery owner is wrapped up in some dangerous affairs . . .
 
Reese Masemer had been dating one of Daisy’s employees, Tessa, an artist, though their last interaction was as strained as a cup of loose leaf tea. Now Reese has been found dead near a covered bridge where Tessa’s been practicing her sketches. She’s the obvious suspect, but Daisy’s learning that there were some major secrets in Reese’s background, and several of his relationships were infused with resentment. To save Tessa, she’ll have to find out who’s tainted this quaint little town with murder . . .

 
Includes delicious recipes!


As a reporter, she’s used to covering the news.
Now she’s the headline.
 
Alex Vlodnachek has been a reporter for 12 years, a P.R. rep for three months, and a murder suspect for all of 24 hours. When her agency's double-dealing CEO is stabbed, scheming co-workers cast the new redhead as a compelling red herring. The story is media catnip—especially her salacious nickname: Vlod the Impaler.
 
Even Alex has to admit she looks guilty.
 
Out of a job and under suspicion, Alex is running low on cash, when she’s visited by a second disaster: her family. Soon her tiny bungalow is bursting with her nearest and not-so-dearest. To keep herself out of jail—and save what’s left of her sanity—Alex returns to her reporting roots. She goes undercover to reclaim her life, break the story, and unmask a murderer. Pretty much in that order.
 
What she doesn’t know: The killer also has a to-do list. 
And Alex is on it.


When Cookie Chanel moonlights as a costume designer for a local theater, murder takes center stage . . .
 
Folks say the Sugar Creek Theater is haunted. But that doesn’t scare off Cookie Chanel, owner of Georgia’s chicest vintage clothing store, It’s Vintage Y’All—especially since Cookie talks to the ghost of her grandmother every day through her cat Wind Song. Still, after she agrees to be in charge of costumes for a production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, she’s surprised to find the specter of a young woman in the theater, keeping watch over a trunk of 1950s dresses. And when Cookie's best friend Heather is found standing over a stabbed actor, she has two mysteries to solve. This is not a dress rehearsal. A desperate killer is waiting in the wings. If Cookie doesn't tread the boards lightly, it'll be curtains for her as well . . .
 
Don’t Miss Cookie Chanel’s Shopping Tips


As autumn air settles into the quaint small town of Silver Hollow, there’s nothing more popular than Sasha’s teddy bears—and murder in cold blood . . . 
 
Silver Bear Shop and Factory manager Sasha Silverman is cozying up to the fall season by hosting Silver Hollow’s Cranbeary Tea Party, the opening event of the village’s Oktobear Fest—a too-cute celebration themed around teddy bears. She barely has a moment to agonize over the return of her former high school rival, Holly Parker, whose new toy and bookstore in town could spell big trouble for the Silver Bear Shop and her cousin’s small bookstore . . .
 
But when Sasha discovers Holly’s shop assistant dead with a knife plunged in her body, the unpleasant woman suddenly looks like a real backstabber. So does Sasha’s ex-husband, rumored to have rekindled the fiery extramarital affair he once had with the victim. Now, before a gruesome homicide case takes the fun out of both the Fest and her personal life, Sasha must identify the true culprit from a daunting suspect list—or risk becoming as lifeless as one of her stuffed bears . . .


No more cheating . . .
 
Best friends Tallie Graver and Gina Laudermilch both seem to spend a lot of time around urns. For Tallie, they're part and parcel of the family business, Graver's Funeral Home. Even though she's traded ashes for dusting with her own cleaning business, she still works part-time for her folks and lives above the funeral parlor. For Gina, they're the vessels that contain her heavenly brew at her coffee shop, Bean There, Done That. And both women are learning that owning a business can make finding time for romance challenging.
 
But when Gina's new beau turns out to have a wife, who barges into the coffee shop to take him home, she can't contain her bitterness and loudly threatens to poison his cup or boil him in a vat of coffee. So when Mr. Wrong turns up dead at the bottom of a staircase inside Gina's locked home, she finds herself at the top of the police's suspect list. Tallie needs to sweep in to save her friend. But she'll need to watch her step, or she may go from being a funeral home employee to becoming their next client . . .


When a trendy, underground dinner club leaves some guests six-feet-under the table, entertaining professional and amateur sleuth Sophie Winston hopes she has all the right ingredients to put a murderer on ice in New York Times bestselling author Krista Davis’s new Domestic Diva mystery . . .
 
Domestic diva Sophie Winston can whip up an elaborate event in her sleep, but as the hippest hostess she rarely gets to enjoy the full guest treatment. Which is why her best friend Nina Reid Norwood loops her in to the latest culinary craze: a pop-up gourmet dinner party. The celebrity chef, the epicurean menu, and the high-profile attendees are all a surprise, turning the decadent dining experience into the hottest ticket in Old Town. But Sophie’s just pleased as punch that she finally has an opportunity to join her fellow foodies in some fun.
 
The posh party proves to be a recipe for disaster when Hollis Haberman sours spirits by bringing his own hot new dish—his young trophy wife. With Hollis’s son and ex-wife in attendance, there may be more heat at the table than in the kitchen. But by aperitifs, Sophie discovers Hollis swallowing his last bits of air, and she must scramble to stop a killer before the swanky supper becomes anyone else’s last meal.
 
Includes delicious recipes and entertaining tips!


Rescue Alaska is a small town in northern Alaska where visitors come to hike and ski. Harmony Carson is a lifelong resident who volunteers as a member of the local search and rescue team. Harmony has a unique gift which she often considers a curse. She is able to 'see' the individuals she is meant to help rescue, and more often than not she can feel their fear and their pain as well. When she isn't aiding in a rescue, Harmony works at Neverland - the bar owned by her brother in law Jake, and volunteers at the local animal shelter. Harmony lives in a rustic cabin with six dogs, four cats, six kittens, eight rabbits, and a blind mule named Homer. 

In the second book in the series, Jake and Harmony are in the process of training a new search and rescue dog when they get a call that a four year old boy has gone missing from the cabin his family rented while on vacation. They join the search and rescue team, along with the local police, in the hope of finding the child before it is too late. Along the way they discover the freshly dumped body of an important member of the community. The police are stumped as to why this popular town resident would have been murdered, until Harmony inadvertently stumbles across something shocking, that might very well provide the lead they need to provide the answers they seek.





Which of these great books 
are you adding to your list?


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, May 28, 2018

BOOK TOUR


I'm thrilled to be a stop on the blog tour for author
Dana Dratch
and
Book 1 in the Red Herring Mysteries
CONFESSIONS OF A RED HERRING


As a reporter, she’s used to covering the news.
Now she’s the headline.
 
Alex Vlodnachek has been a reporter for 12 years, a P.R. rep for three months, and a murder suspect for all of 24 hours. When her agency's double-dealing CEO is stabbed, scheming co-workers cast the new redhead as a compelling red herring. The story is media catnip—especially her salacious nickname: Vlod the Impaler.
 
Even Alex has to admit she looks guilty.
 
Out of a job and under suspicion, Alex is running low on cash, when she’s visited by a second disaster: her family. Soon her tiny bungalow is bursting with her nearest and not-so-dearest. To keep herself out of jail—and save what’s left of her sanity—Alex returns to her reporting roots. She goes undercover to reclaim her life, break the story, and unmask a murderer. Pretty much in that order.
 
What she doesn’t know: The killer also has a to-do list. 
And Alex is on it.

πŸ“šπŸ“–πŸ“šπŸ“–πŸ“š

!!!GIVEAWAY!!!
Winner will be chosen after June 10
at the end of the tour

2 lucky readers will each win 1 print copy of
CONFESSIONS OF A RED HERRING


USA only

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

This giveaway is through Great Escape Book Tours, not Lisa Ks Book Reviews.


A Word From The Author

The Importance of Food in the Cozy
By Dana Dratch

It’s a classic combination: food and cozy mysteries.

Almost as good as chocolate and peanut butter. Or chocolate and anything.

But it wasn’t always that way. Edgar Allan Poe is widely credited with inventing the modern detective story. But he cared more about motive, guilt and atmosphere, than what was on the dinner table. Save a cask or two of Amontillado. 

And Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes was more likely to be sawing away on his violin than tucking into a good lunch.

But somewhere along the way – about the time of mystery’s Golden Age – all of that changed. Detectives, sidekicks and victims alike were sitting down to bountiful breakfasts at country estates, afternoon tea with all the trimmings, and delectable dinners prepared by trusted, old family retainers. Granted, diners didn’t always live through the meal. But for true foodies (whose books often bear the odd splatter of strawberry jam or hot fudge sauce), this was a huge step in the right direction.

So it’s no coincidence that today’s mysteries (often penned by authors who skip breakfast or write through lunch), feature a virtual buffet. Good thing, too. Because readers may show up for the murder, but they stay (and keep coming back) for the food.

Canny cozy writers are setting their stories in candy stores, restaurants, caterer’s kitchens and coffee houses. And, whether your tastes run to Pennsylvania Dutch treats  or a savory New England clam bake, you can vicariously indulge in a little sleuthing  -- and a hearty meal.

Some very thoughtful authors even slip in a few recipes, in case you want to try to whip up your favorite mystery menu. (Minus the dead bodies, of course.)

Forget Julia Child. For the real cozy fan, the (recipe) book to die for is The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook.

The cozy mystery: It’s what’s for dinner. And definitely dessert.

Dana Dratch is the author of CONFESSIONS OF A RED HERRING, out May 29. A former newspaper reporter and current personal finance writer, she’s currently finishing the sequel, SEEING RED, which has Alex, Trip, rescue-pup Lucy, and the whole crazy Vlodnachek family going up against spies, art thieves and a very determined murderer.  You can visit her website: ConfessionsofaRedHerring.com. Or connect with her on Goodreads, BookBub, Amazon, or Twitter (@ReadAboutMoney)



Well written with an intricate plot, CONFESSIONS OF A RED HERRING is a good debut book for author Dana Dratch.

Ms. Dratch wasted no time getting to the murder in this whodunit. And, her protagonist, Alex Vlodnachek , found herself to be the lead suspect in the before the end of first chapter! While I love a fastmoving book, I would like to haven gotten to know Alex a bit more. As for the victim, I didn’t need any time to get to know him.He was very smarmy, and any number of people would have been happy to do him in.

Some of the language wasn’t necessary for a cozy. Not a lot of it, but enough for it to stick out at me. I’m finding more and more “cozy” authors using cursing in their books. Be it mild or not, it simply isn’t needed in this type of book.  

I didn’t solve the mystery in CONFESSIONS OF A RED HERRING, but when I read the killer’s name it all because clear and I couldn’t believe I must have overlooked some clues that would have helped me guess successfully. All those red herrings the author through in really did a number on me.

I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book from Kensington Publishers

GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

May 28 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews - REVIEW, GUEST POST
May 29 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf - AUTHOR INTERVIEW
May 29 – Rosepoint Publishing – REVIEW
May 30 – The Ninja Librarian - REVIEW, GUEST POST
May 30 – A Holland Reads – REVIEW
May 31 – Sneaky the Library Cat's Blog - CHARACTER INTERVIEW
May 31 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
June 1 – Cozy Up With Kathy - AUTHOR INTERVIEW
June 1 – Teresa Trent Author Blog – SPOTLIGHT
June 2 – MJB Reviewers - REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
June 2 – The Montana Bookaholic - CHARACTER GUEST POST
June 3 - Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
June 3 - Babs Book Bistro – REVIEW
June 4 – Bibliophile Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
June 4 – Sinfully Wicked Book Reviews – REVIEW
June 5 – The Self-Rescue Princess – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
June 5 – My Reading Journeys - REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
June 6 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT
June 6 – Moonlight Rendezvous - REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
June 7 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW
June 7 – Mysteries with Character – REVIEW
June 8 – A Blue Million Books – GUEST POST
June 8 – StoreyBook Reviews - REVIEW
June 9 – Brooke Blogs - REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
June 9 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
June 10 – The Mysterious Inkspot – REVIEW
June 10 – Laura's Interests – CHARACTER GUEST POST



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.