BOOK TOUR

I'm very happy to be a stop on the blog tour for 

author Lea Wait and her new book

THREADS OF EVIDENCE

Book 2 in the Mainely Needlepoint Mystery series

It's hard to imagine anything bad ever happening in picturesque Haven Harbor, Maine--until a famous face rolls into town and unthreads some very dark secrets. . .

Angie Curtis and the Mainely Needlepointers are all too familiar with the Gardener estate. The crumbling Victorian mansion, known as "Aurora," has been sitting vacant for nearly twenty-five years--and some say it's haunted by the ghost of Jasmine Gardener, the teenage girl who died there in 1970 under mysterious circumstances... 

Harbor Haven is abuzz with excitement when Hollywood actress Skye West decides to buy Aurora and sell off its furnishings. And Angie is intrigued when Skye asks her to appraise the estate's sizable collection of needlepoint pictures. But the more she examines the pieces, the more they seem to point toward Jasmine's murder--and the murderer--and it's up to her to stitch the clues together. . .

MY REVIEW

I missed the first book in this series but I didn’t feel lost reading THREADS OF EVIDENCE at all. Author Lea Wait gave enough background to let me know about her characters. Protagonist Angie Curtis, the Mainely Needlepointers, and other characters in the book are extremely well developed. Though they seem more intense to me than characters in most cozies.

This book was an attention getting, fast moving story that led to a reveal like none I have read. There were so many twists and turns. So many things to think about and question. I’m interested to see what the third book will hold.

Not a needlepointer? No worries. You don’t have to know the craft to enjoy this story. It may however inspire you to take up needlepointing. 

Available Now!

Lea's publisher, Kensington is giving away this 

wonderful prize package!

One lucky winner will chosen by random draw through Rafflecopter at the end of the tour on September 18. 

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

www.escapewithdollycas.com

About the author

I've been writing mysteries for grownups (the Shadows Antique Print Mystery Series and the Mainely Needlepoint Series) and historical fiction for young people set in 19th century Maine since I left corporate America in 1998 and moved to Maine, a state I've always loved and where I had family ties. 

SHADOWS ON A MAINE CHRISTMAS, the seventh and latest in the Shadows series, was published in September, 2014, and was honored by Library Journal naming it one of the year's best Christmas reads. 

THREADS OF EVIDENCE ("Suspense Magazine" called it "highly recommended") was published in September, 2015, the second in the Mainely Needlepoint series. TWISTED THREADS, the first in that series, debuted in January, 2015. THREAD AND GONE will be published in January of 2016. 

I earned my B.A. at Chatham College (now Chatham University) and have graduate degrees from New York University. I've owned an antique print business, MAH Antiques, since 1976. I adopted my 4 wonderful daughters when I was a single parent. They're grown now, and I have eight perfect grandchildren. (Aren't all grandchildren perfect?) In 2003 I married Bob Thomas, a man I've known and loved since 1968. Bob's an artist, and is immensely supportive of my writing. (He even does all the errands and cooking so I have no excuses to leave my desk!) 

For more information about me, check my website, www.leawait.com, friend me on Facebook and Goodreads, and read LIVING AND WRITING ON THE COAST OF MAINE and the blog (www.mainecrimewriters.com) I write with 9 other mystery writers from Maine. 

And remember -- LIFE is the REAL mystery!

As always, please leave a comment and 

let me know what you think!

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GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dianne Harman's 

back at the blog today!

Diane is celebrating the release of 

Book 7 in the Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery series 

MURDER AT THE COOKING SCHOOL

Seven Time Amazon All Star Author with her latest book in the highly popular Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series Cooking is nourishing. Murder isn’t. Kelly and her husband, Sheriff Mike, take a belated honeymoon and travel to a cooking school at the Castello di Nardo in Tuscany. The day after they arrive, they discover that Signora Nardo, the owner of the cooking school, has been murdered. The Signora had her share of people who would like to see the first lady of the castle dead, including her brother, Salvadore, her lover, Giovanni, her lover’s wife, Angelica, the Signora’s husband, a rival cooking school owner, and her sister-in-law, who happens to be the resident chef at the cooking school. Identifying suspects isn’t the problem – finding out which of the suspects killed the Signora is. Follow Kelly, Mike, and her new four-legged furry friend, Caesar, while they help the local chief of police try to solve the murder. There’s plenty of mouth-watering food, recipes, and a very big guard dog. This is book #7 in the award-winning and popular Cedar Bay Cozy Mystery Series.

Dianne is giving away 3 Kindle copies of 

MURDER AT THE COOKING SCHOOL

Use the Rafflecopter form below to enter for your chance to win!

Giveaway open to US and Canada.

You can find a full list of Dianne's titles here. 

dianneharman.com

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.

Good Luck! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And

BOOK TOUR

I'm so thrilled to be a stop on the blog tour for 

author Shelley Freydont and her new book

TRICK OR DECEIT

Book 4 in the Celebration Bay Mystery series

The author of Independence Slay invites readers back to Celebration Bay for Halloween festivities with more tricks than treats…

This October in Celebration Bay, you can’t swing a black cat without hitting a haunted house. There are three finalists in the contest for the town’s official Haunted House, and ten thousand dollars will go to the winner, with the rest of the contributions and proceeds funding a new community center. Event coordinator Liv Montgomery has invited her friend Jonathan Preston, the debonair CEO of a philanthropic organization, hoping he will award a grant to the center.

But after the Museum of Yankee Horrors wins first place, the transformed Victorian boarding house is vandalized ... and among scattered mannequins of Hester Prynne, Lizzie Borden, and the Headless Horseman, a real dead body is found—one of the contest judges. Now in addition to playing host to Jon, Liv has to play detective and coordinate the clues to unmask a self-appointed judge, jury, and executioner.

A word from Shelley

Meet The Folks of Celebration Bay

One of the very best things about writing a mystery series, is not the murder, but getting to know the people who populate the stories.

Take the people of Celebration Bay, New York. They give new meaning to the meaning of Yankee ingenuity. When the cannery closed, they’d didn’t despair, they threw a party. And from that party sprang the idea of becoming a destination town. Years later they’ve gotten to be such a tourist attraction, they had to hire a professional event organizer.

Enter Liv Montgomery overworked and underappreciated event planner to the movers and shakers of Manhattan.

She’s burned out and fed up; so she applied for the job and soon she and her Westie Terrier, Whiskey, were on their way to their new home.

It’s idyllic, just the way she imagined a country existence. She lives in a cute little carriage house at the back a large Victorian mansion owned by her two landladies, Ida and Edna Zimmerman, retired schoolteachers, dog lovers, and enthusiastic arm chair, CB radio-listening detectives.

Ted Driscoll, Liv’s assistant (read right hand man) came with the office. He’s a man of certain age and mysterious past who loves holiday sweaters and singing. This season he’s teaching Whiskey to yowl the theme from the Addam’s Family.

Sherriff Bill Gunnison is slow but thorough unless his sciatica is acting up. Then the citizens of Celebration Bay feel it’s their duty to give the investigation a helping hand.

Dolly and Fred Hunnicutt own the Apple of My Eye bakery. Dolly dresses to the holiday and bakes to the season. You’ll never go without a cranberry muffin or a pumpkin pie in Celebration Bay.

Liv’s best friend, BeBe Ford is owner and barista of the Buttercup Coffee Exchange. Another newcomer to the area—she’s only lived there for twelve years—BeBe entered fully into the spirit of things and will serve you up a Monster Mocha Macchiato faster than you can say Trick or Treat.

Every heroine has to have a nemesis and Liv has Janine Tudor, who used to run the festivals as a volunteer and now does whatever she can to make Liv’s life difficult.

And lest we forget our hero—or two. Chaz Bristow looks like a surfer dude out of water. He runs the local paper, The Celebration Bay Clarion , but he rather be fishing. And just because he used to be an investigative reporter in Los Angeles, doesn’t mean he’s willing to help Liv solve a murder.

For that she has A. K. Pierce, a marine and head of Bayside Security, whose team of highly trained men and women keep the crowds safe. For the most part.

If they could just get rid of those pesky murders . . . .

MY REVIEW

In more than plenty of time for Halloween, TRICK OR DECEIT is the perfect book to read for the season. But I bet you won’t last that long before you read this installment of the Celebration Bay Mystery series.

It’s October in Celebration Bay and murder and mischief was not supposed to be on the agenda for event coordinator Liv Montgomery. Well, not the real thing anyway. But that doesn’t stop it from happening.

Halloween is my favorite holiday setting for cozy mysteries. I mean, how perfect, right? And author Shelley Feydont takes full advantage of the holiday to write a delightful mystery that is tricky to figure out and a real treat to devour. TRICK OR DECEIT was a great whodunit with more surprises than candy in a trick or treat bag, and had me second guessing myself right up until the thrilling conclusion.

Don’t be afraid to pick up this Halloween cozy. You’re going to love it! And I look forward to what author Frydont has in store for us next. 

Available Now!

Shelley is giving 2 print copies of 

TRICK OR DECEIT!

2 winners will chosen by random draw through 

Rafflecopter at the end of the tour on September 10. 

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

www.escapewithdollycas.com

About the author

Shelley Freydont is the author of the Liv Montgomery, Celebration Bay Festival Mysteries (Berkeley Prime Crime). She also writes the Katie McDonald Sudoku murder series and Lindy Haggerty Dance Company mystery series. She has written several romance novels under the pseudonym Gemma Bruce. Her books have been translated into seven languages.

Her first women's fiction novel, Beach Colors, written as Shelley Noble, was published by William Morrow June 2012. Stargazey Point will be available July 2013.

A former professional dancer and choreographer, she most recently worked on the films, Mona Lisa Smile and The Game Plan. Shelley is a member of Sisters-in-Crime, Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, and Liberty States Fiction Writers.

For more about Shelley, please visit her website 

www.shelleyfreydont.com.

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.

GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

THE BARK BEFORE CHRISTMAS by Laurien Berenson

HAUNT COUTURE AND GHOSTS GALORE by Rose Pressey

THE BARK BEFORE CHRISTMAS 

Book 18 in the Melanie Travis Canine Mystery series 

by Laurien Berenson

“If you like dogs, you’ll love Laurien Berenson’s Melanie Travis mysteries!” —Joanne Fluke, New York Times bestselling author

Melanie Travis has her hands full with her two young sons, a part-time job, and a half dozen Poodles to her name. But even with the busy holiday season approaching, she still has time to sniff out a Christmastime killer…

There’s nothing lovelier than Christmas in Connecticut, but Melanie can scarcely find a moment to enjoy the festivities. With her youngest son approaching toddlerhood, she’s decided to return to her old job at Howard Academy, a posh private school attended by the children of Greenwich’s well-heeled gentry. Balancing work, motherhood, and the hectic dog show circuit takes some fancy footwork, especially when the headmaster taps her to be the chairman of the school’s Christmas Bazaar.

The Christmas Bazaar is Howard Academy’s biggest and most important fundraiser, so Melanie feels the pressure to make it a huge success. She even enlists her longsuffering sister-in-law Bertie to help with the Santa Claus and Pets Photo Booth. But everything goes awry when a prize show dog goes missing and Santa turns up dead. The dog’s owner is one of the school’s most perfectly pedigreed alums, and she enlists Melanie to help find the purloined pooch. But just as Melanie starts pawing at the truth, she digs up a sleighful of sinister secrets that leaves everyone feeling less than merry…

Avialable for pre-sale

Releases September 29

MY REVIEW

Santa is dead! Well, a Santa is, and A BARK BEFORE CHRISTMAS is where it happened. Author Laurien Berenson kills off Santa and it’s up to Meanie Travis, protagonist of the fun series, to find out why and the real who, (because we all know author LB didn’t really kill him.)

It’s not easy I’m sure to keep series eighteen titles long fresh. But Laurien Berenson, being a wonderful writer, manages to do just that. And I have no doubt it will just continue to get better and better.

A BARK BEFORE MIDNIGHT was well plotted and moved at a good pace. Lots of questions raised, and I didn’t have all the answers until the reveal, which was exciting, if a bit more intense than in most cozies (at least to me).

Dog lovers will be in heaven with not only this title, but the entire series. But I guess the word Canine in the series title already gave you the idea. ;-)

I really enjoyed this book and I’m now going to have to go back and play catch up. But I’m always willing to find a series that’s new to me. If this is one you already follow, you’re going to be happy I’m sure. If you don’t follow this series, pick up a copy and give it a try!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HAUNT COUTURE AND GHOSTS GALORE 

Book 3 in the Haunted Vintage Mystery series 

by Rose Pressey

This looks like a job for the fashion police!

A hot-ticket charity fashion show is the perfect chance for Cookie Chanel, proud owner of It's Vintage Y'All, to show off her stylistic savvy for a good cause. But when a famous fashionista is fatally flattened, and the ghost of a former private investigator asks for Cookie's help, she has to scurry to sew up a solution. With clever clues from Wind Song, her psychic cat, and sassy suggestions from Charlotte, her ghost-in-residence, Cookie must unravel the sinister stitches of a deadly design--before she becomes the next fashion victim... 

Don't miss Cookie Chanel's Fashion Tips

MY REVIEW

HAUNT COUTURE AND GHOST GALORE is the second book I’ve read in this delightful para-cozy series, (somehow I haven’t made my way to the first book) and it’s even better than the last.

I simply adore the way author Rose Pressey starts off each chapter with tips from Cookie, the lead character in this series, and in this book tips from deceased PI Sam. It makes getting to the next chapter fun to me.

This mystery started off with a bang….well, with a corpse. Ms. Pressey wasted no time in killing off her victim, doing so in chapter one. The mystery and intrigue just keep building from there. I did guess the killer in this one pretty early on, (Rare for me, so this time I got lucky) but it did nothing to take away from the story.

Ever present ghost, Charlotte, was in rare for in this story. She makes me laugh out loud so much while reading her. However, if she haunted me in real life, I would have to consider finding an exorcist. ;-)

Rose Pressey is a marvelous write with an imagination that I believe knows no bounds. It certainly reflects in her books. Pressey fans will be thrilled with this latest installment in the Haunted Vintage series.

Make sure to take a look in the back of this book for an excerpt from Cookie’s blog, tips for helping a psychic cat, and a sneak peek of book four, HAUNTED IS ALWAYS IN FASHION!

Available for pre-order

Releases October 27

As always, please leave a comment and 

let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by 

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upper right hand corner of this page.