Sunday, October 27, 2019


Just one for today. But it's an important one for me.


Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mysteries
by J.J. Cook
(Joyce and Jim Lavene)


Set in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, J. J. Cook’s thrilling new mystery series features Fire Chief Stella Griffin, who solves crime with the help of her predecessor, who just happens to be a ghost…NO MATCH FOR MURDERAfter knocking the lights out of her boyfriend when she catches him cheating on her, Chicago fire fighter Stella Griffin hops on her Harley and heads for Sweet Pepper, Tennessee, where she ends up becoming the small town’s fire chief. When her dear friend Tory Lambert dies after her gingerbread-style house is set ablaze, Stella suspects arson and foul play.

As Stella investigates, she gets help from a most unlikely source—the ghost of Eric Gamlyn, Sweet Pepper’s old fire chief. And if that isn’t enough to rattle her, attractive police officer John Trump seems to have taken an interest in her. But Stella’s got to stay focused if she hopes to smoke out a killer before her own life is extinguished.


INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES!


Welcome to Sweet Pepper, Tennessee. Nestled in the Great Smoky Mountains, it’s home to the hottest and sweetest peppers in the world—as well as at least one ghost and a hotbed of secrets…
 
GETTING WARMER
 
Fire Chief Stella Griffin is working to solve the mysterious death of her predecessor, Eric Gamlyn—who also haunts her cabin. Yet the more she learns, the more burning questions she must answer. Just as Stella thinks she has a lead from Deputy Chum, someone snuffs her hopes—and the lawman.
 
Adding fuel to the fire, Stella’s parents soon arrive—with her ex-boyfriend—hoping to persuade her to return to Chicago. Now Stella is torn between the life she left behind and uncovering what happened to her ghostly friend. But she’d better think fast or more than her investigation could go up in flames…


Sweet Pepper, Tennessee, has the world’s hottest and sweetest peppers—as well as a ghost that cooks and a fire chief who fights crime…
 
SPARK OF INTEREST
 
Stella Griffin should be bubbling over with joy now that she’s the full-time fire chief of Sweet Pepper, except trouble is brewing on her doorstep. An angry resident has purchased her cabin, and—with a bulldozer in tow—is ready to tear it down. But as Stella worries over the fate of her home and Eric, her ghostly roommate, there’s soon an even greater cause for alarm.
 
A suspicious house fire in the pricey Sunset Beach community at Sweet Pepper Lake claims the life of ex-state representative Barney Falk. The nature of the death has Stella feeling out of her depth, so she teams up with the state’s arson investigator. Moving full steam ahead with the case, they must smoke out a killer before the firebug strikes again…


INCLUDES RECIPES!


Old rivalries heat up in the fourth Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade mystery from the national bestselling author of In Hot Water.

Fire chief Stella Griffin has been put in charge of judging the annual recipe contest, but Eric—her resident ghost and true culinary genius—has vanished. Before she can track down his latest haunt, she’s called in to investigate a local moonshine distillery that was set ablaze, making her realize there’s more than pies and cakes cooking in Sweet Pepper. 

As rumors of a revived whiskey war ignite, Stella turns to the town’s elders to help her find answers. The past might have some clues as to what has sparked the present fires. But when following a lead lands her in buried rubble, Stella realizes she must extinguish this case fast or she might be going down in flames.


A hot dog and a hot head are on the loose in Sweet Pepper, Tennessee, and it’s up to Fire Chief Stella Griffin to collar them both...
 
The Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade’s newly adopted Dalmatian puppy, Hero, is missing. Stella believes he just wandered away from her cabin and got lost. But despite posters and searches by the fire brigade and spotty sightings by locals, there are no leads, and the furry fire fighter has yet to return.
 
Stella is already worried with a series of progressively dangerous arson fires plaguing Sweet Pepper. And oddly enough, Hero’s appearances are coinciding with the fires. Now with the help of the ghost of Sweet Pepper’s former fire chief, Stella will have to dig up some clues if she hopes to find the pup before he’s lost for good—and find the arsonist before someone loses a life.

 
Includes a preview of the Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mystery, Playing with Fire

I never really wanted to read a cozy mystery with a ghost. But every time I walked past the first book in the series on the store shelf, it's like it called to me. I'm so happy it did! It is not only one of my favorites, but it introduced me to two of the most extraordinary people I have ever known, authors Joyce and Jim Lavene. Sadly, the only reason this series came to an end in because Joyce and Jim both passed away several years ago. I have not only missed their books, I have missed them like I miss my own family who have passed. They were a big presence on social media, so they were known and loved to many. They are greatly missed.


I'm only listing this one series today, because Joyce and Jim deserve a page all to themselves. 

I strongly suggest you check out their other series as well. 


and 


5 comments:

  1. Thank you! I will definitely have to check them out. Their books look and sound amazing.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

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  2. I read their Renaissance Faire series and loved those! Just picked up one of the Retired Witches to try too.

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  3. They had so many fun and unique series!

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  4. I miss them every single day. Thanks for the memory.I have 1 unread book of theirs on my TBR Shelf because I just don't want to say goodbye forever.

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  5. I read every series they came up with and this was probably my favorite. I didn't know about the novella, Hero's Journey. It's now on my Amazon wishlist.

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