Sunday, October 4, 2015


A GALA EVENT by Sheila Connolly 
DEAD WITH THE WIND by Miranda James
FAUX PAW by Sofie Kelly

A GALA EVENT 
Book 9 in the Orchard Mystery series 
by Sheila Connolly 


Wedding bells are ringing for Meg and Seth in the latest Orchard Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Picked to Die

The fall harvest may be just about over, but orchard owner Meg Corey is busier than ever planning her wedding to Seth Chapin. Who knew picking apples would be less work than picking out rings and a dress? And even though the happy couple has invited most of Granford, Massachusetts, to the ceremony, they might have to make room for one more guest…

Ex-con Aaron Eastman has unexpectedly reappeared in his hometown, searching for answers to the tragic fire in his family’s past that put him behind bars twenty-five years ago. Moved by his sincerity, Meg vows to do everything she can to help him solve the cold case. As she cobbles together the clues, it becomes increasingly clear that Aaron may have been considered the bad seed of the family, but someone else was one bad apple…

Includes Delicious Recipes!

MY REVIEW


Author Sheila Connolly has added another delectable installment to her crop of Orchard Mysteries.

This is my favorite series of the many written by Ms. Connolly. I knew I was hooked after book one in the series, ONE BAD APPLE. Trust me when I tell you, there isn’t one bad apple in the whole harvest of titles.

I read this one through in one sitting. It held me captivated as question after question cropped up as the investigation intensified and finally reached its exciting conclusion.

Wonderfully written characters are in no short supply in this book. Meg Corey, the protagonist, and her beau Seth Chapin have both really developed over the course of the series, and it’s been fun watching them grow.

A GALA EVENT takes the blue ribbon for plot, outstanding mystery, and entertaining read. I give it 5 golden delicious stars!

Make sure to check out the back of the book for some yummy recipes!

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DEAD WITH THE WIND 
Book 2 in the Southern Ladies Mystery series 
by Miranda James 


The New York Times bestselling author of Bless Her Dead Little Heart and the Cats in the Stacks mysteries brings back the Ducote sisters, two spry Southern sleuths.

An’gel and Dickce Ducote tend to stay put in Athena, Mississippi, but a wedding is a good reason to say a temporary farewell to Charlie Harris’s cat Diesel and go visit relatives. But while their stay in Louisiana is scorching hot, the atmosphere at the wedding is downright cold, with bride-to-be Sondra Delevan putting her trust fund above little things like love and loyalty.

When a violent storm supposedly sweeps Sondra off a balcony to her death, the sisters discover that many of the guests attending the wedding had major reasons to object to Sondra’s marriage. Now, it’s up to An’gel and Dickce to use their down-home instincts to expose dubious alibis, silver-plated secrets, and one relentless murderer who lives for “till death do us part.”

MY REVIEW


Author Miranda James has kicked it up a notch with the long anticipated second book in the Southern Ladies Mystery series and it was worth every minute of the wait. While the first book, BLESS HER DEAD LITTLE HEART was fantastic, DEAD WITH THE WIND is spectacular!

I was so lost in this amazingly well written story I was shocked to be over a hundred pages into it when I realized there hadn’t been a death. Enjoying An’gel and Dickce Ducote and their witty dialog, and sharing in their exasperation of bridezilla Sondra Delevan, I didn’t come up for air until the body was discovered. The story from that point got even better as the search for answers brought up even more questions, all leading up to one of the funniest reveals I have ever read.

Murder, mystery, fun, and southern charm have ensured that the more wonderful books in this series are a done deal! 

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FAUX PAW
Book 7 in the Magical Cats Mystery series 
by Sofie Kelly 


Magical cats Owen and Hercules from A Midwinter’s Tail are back and ready to help librarian Kathleen Paulson pounce on a killer art thief…

Normally, the arrival of an art exhibition at the Mayville Heights library would be cause for celebration. But thanks to the overbearing curator and high-tech security system that comes with it, Kathleen’s life has been completely disrupted. Even Owen and Hercules have been affected, since their favorite human doesn’t seem to have a spare moment to make their favorite fish crackers or listen to Barry Manilow.

But when Kathleen stops by the library late one night and finds the curator sprawled on the floor—and the exhibition’s most valuable sketch missing—it’s suddenly time to canvass a crime scene. Now Kathleen, her detective boyfriend Marcus, and her clever cats have to sniff out a murderous thief, before anyone else has a brush with death… 

MY REVIEW


Author Sofie Kelly has penned another enchanting installment in the Magical Cat Mystery series.

Cats Hercules and Owen were at their mischievous and delightful best. Their antics in pages one through six alone had me literally laughing out loud.

The plot in FAUX PAW is a wonderful story that is flawlessly written. So many twist and turns! The way Ms. Kelly crafted this mystery was so well done. She kept the story intriguing while managing to inject humor at just the right moments without breaking the spell of the whodunit. I was mesmerized all the way to the reveal.

Cozy mystery fans and/or cat lovers are going to love FAUX PAW. Returning fans to the series are going to be thrilled with this addition to an already excellent series.

My one complaint, and I direct it to author Sofie Kelly – How can you mention maple crème cupcakes and not include a recipe?! ;-) 

All titles are available for pre-order

Release date: Tuesday October 6

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. 

Saturday, October 3, 2015

BOOK TOUR


I'm very happy to be a stop on the blog tour for 
author Mollie Cox Bryan and her new book
SCRAPBOOK OF THE DEAD
Book 5 in the Cumberlain Creek Mystery series


Halloween means spooky scrapbooks for the Cumberland Creek Scrapbook Crop, but what's been happening around town is truly frightening. First a dead woman is found in the freezer at Pamela's Pie Palace, and the next day a second woman is found murdered by the river. Reporter Annie Chamovitz learns the victims were sisters and is certain their deaths are linked. Most bizarre of all, both women were found clutching scrapbook pages.

As their Saturday night crop quickly becomes an opportunity to puzzle out the murders, the ladies begin to wonder if Pamela is hiding more than her secret recipes for delicious pies--or if the crimes are related to the startling discovery that there are gangs in Cumberland Creek. As All Hallows Eve approaches, the crafty croppers must cut and paste the clues to unmask a deadly killer. 


Includes tips and a glossary of terms for the modern scrapbooker!


MY REVIEW

A delightfully crafty mystery, SCRAPBOOK OF THE DEAD is the fifth book in the Cumberland Creek Mystery series by author Mollie Cox Bryan, featuring reporter, Annie Chamovitz.

Ms. Bryan wasted no time getting to the scene of the crime in this installment of her popular series. I’m talking page one, chapter one, first sentence. Nothing like getting kicking in a reader’s adrenaline at the start!

Cumberland Creek sounds like a sleepy little town, but with things like murders and gangs it’s starting to feel like anything but. It can be tricky introducing elements like gangs into a small town setting, but this author met the *challenge head on and has written an engrossing mystery that had be stuck to my book as though it was covered in *adhesive.

This series just keeps getting better and better with every book, and SCRAPBOOK OF THE DEAD is the cream of the *crop. I enjoyed it so much I was able to leave my review *acid-free, and sing its praises.

While this is book five in the series, there are also two eBook novellas that go along with it.

Be sure to check out the back of the book for a Glossary of Basic Scrapbooking Terms, Basic Card Making, Scrapbook Essentials for the Beginner, and an excerpt of A CRAFTY CHRISTMAS.

* Wondering about all the asterisks in my review? Those words are just a few of the scrapbooking terms you’ll read about in SCRAPBOOK OF THE DEAD!

Available Now!


!!!GIVEAWAY!!!
2 Print copies
Two lucky winners will chosen by random draw through Rafflecopter at the end of the tour on October 14. 
This giveaway is through Great Escape Book Tours, not Lisa Ks Book Reviews.


About the author


Mollie Cox Bryan is a food writer and cookbook author with a penchant for murder. Her stories have many forms: cookbooks, articles, essays, poetry and fiction. Mollie grew up near Pittsburgh, Pa., and attended Point Park University, where she received a B.A. in Journalism and Communications. Her first real job out of college was as a paste-up artist at a small newspaper, where she was allowed to write “on her own time” and she did.

She was honored with an Agatha Award nomination for her first novel, SCRAPBOOK OF SECRETS.


Twitter: @molliecoxbryan



Pinterest: Mollie Cox Bryan


As always, please leave a comment and 
let me know what you think!

Follow my blog by 
clicking on the link in the 
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GOOD LUCK!

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Friday, October 2, 2015



GOSSAMER GHOST by Laura Childs 
GHOST WANTED by Carolyn Hart
GHOST TO THE RESCUE by Carolyn Hart

GOSSAMER GHOST 
Book 12 in the Scrapbooking Mystery series 
by Laura Childs


The New York Times bestselling author of Gilt Trip returns to New Orleans for scrapbooking, Halloween, and homicide…

Scrapbook shop owner Carmela Bertrand is ready to head out and enjoy her night until she hears some strange noises coming from Oddities, the neighboring antiques shop, and decides to investigate. Her evening plans are abruptly put on hold when out of a curio cabinet—and into her arms—falls the bloody body of Oddities owner Marcus Joubert.

While Joubert was known for being an eccentric, Carmela never thought he could inspire the passion required to kill—until she learns a priceless death mask was also stolen. As the mystery grows, so does the list of suspects, leaving Carmela with the feeling that it will take every trick in the book to unmask the killer thief before there’s another night of murderous mischief…

Scrapbooking Tips and Recipes Included!

MY REVIEW


When it comes to mystery, author Laura Childs is a master storyteller. GOSSAMER GHOST, book twelve in the Scrapbooking Mysteries is a perfect installment to a wonderful series. With an exceptional plot packed full of mystery and intrigue, plus the infectious personality of main character Carmela Bertrand, Ms. Childs has crafted a book impossible to put down.

The setting of New Orleans during Halloween was a perfect backdrop for this story. Ms. Childs managed to really creep me out during the discovery of the body. Page after page pulled me in deeper until I felt I was a part of this story all the way to the reveal where the who in the whodunit took me by surprise.

This was only my third book in this series, but I am now a solid fan, and I plan to go back and get myself caught up. (My poor TBR!) If the books that came before are even half as good, they’ll be awesome! If you haven’t read any of these books, you can feel confident that you can read GOSSAMER GHOST as a standalone.

At the back of the book you’ll find scrapbooking, stamping, and crafting tips, delicious recipes, and an excerpt from PARCHMENT AND OLD LACE, the newest book in this series. 

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GHOST WANTED 
Book 5 in the Bailey Ruth Ghost series 
by Carolyn Hart 


The New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Gone Wild treats readers to another visitation by ghostly gumshoe Bailey Ruth Raeburn as she lends a hand to an ethereal matchmaker who haunts a library…

Bailey Ruth’s supervisor, Wiggins, is worried about a dear old friend—the ghost of elegant Lorraine Marlow, who haunts Adelaide, Oklahoma’s college library. Known as the Lady of the Roses, she plays matchmaker, using the fragrant flowers to pair up students. But someone’s making mischief after hours, leaving roses strewn about the library and stealing a valuable book. Concerned with Lorraine’s reputation among the living, Wiggins dispatches Bailey Ruth to investigate.

Soon trouble begins to stack up. A campus security guard is shot by an intruder, and Bailey Ruth uncovers a catalog of evidence blaming a student for the crimes. But something isn’t adding up, so with police preparing to make an arrest, the spirited detective must find the real culprit. Because when justice is overdue, it takes more than death to stop Bailey Ruth Raeburn…

MY REVIEW


This is the first book I’ve read in the Bailey Ruth Ghost Mysteries and before I started GHOST WANTED, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to follow it. I was afraid I would be lost. I had no need to worry. On page two, author Carolyn Hart started filling me in on what I needed to know, and it was a fun ride from there.

When I first heard of Ghost Wanted, I assumed it was another book where the protagonist was befriended by a ghost. I had no idea the protagonist was the ghost!

This story was an excellent mystery, told from a view point I’ve never read before, which only served to make reading it more intriguing and irresistible. Ms. Hart’s writing is flawless and kept me captured in the story straight through to the thrilling conclusion.

Rather you’re a fan of mysteries, suspense, or paranormal stories, Ghost Wanted is a title you want to add to your reading list.

If you haven’t read them yet, pick up the other four books in this series, Ghost At Work, Merry, Merry Ghost, Ghost In Trouble, and Ghosts Gone Wild. You’re going to want to own every title!

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GHOST TO THE RESCUE 
Book 6 in the Bailey Ruth Ghost series
by Carolyn Hart

Hardcover

New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Hart’s ghostly gumshoe Bailey Ruth Raeburn is frequently amusing…but this is the first time she’s been a muse.

When you wish upon a star, you get…Bailey Ruth? You do if you’re a little girl whose mom needs help and you touch the soft heart of Supervisor Wiggins at Heaven’s Department of Good Intentions. Granted it’s not the usual task of an emissary, but then again Bailey Ruth is not your usual emissary. So Wiggins dispatches the spunky spirit to her old hometown of Adelaide, Oklahoma, to help a single mother and struggling writer find some creative solutions to her problems.

Deidre Davenport is just about broke, trying to support her two children, and has her hopes pinned on getting a faculty job with the Goddard College English department. Jay Knox, who is in charge of the writer’s conference she’s participating in, will decide who gets the job, but he’s more interested in her body than her body of work.

Not long after his advances are rejected, Knox turns up dead—and Deirdre’s fingerprints are found on the murder weapon. Bailey Ruth knows Deirdre is innocent, and that the professor’s lewd behavior is bound to have rubbed others the wrong way. Now she must find out who really knocked off Knox...if Deirdre and her family are ever going to have a happy ending.

MY REVIEW


The delightful Bailey Ruth Raeburn is back!

GHOST TO THE RESCUE is another brilliant installment in the spirited series featuring the fashion loving ghost, Bailey Ruth. Each book in the Bailey Ruth Mystery series is better than the one before.

Author Carolyn Hart is a magnificent author. With this wonderful book, she made me feel the same joy I felt when watching Touched By An Angel and Highway To Heaven. Bailey Ruth is no angel, but her personality and spunk are completely endearing.

GHOST TO THE RESCUE is in my eyes a flawless story that sent me on a magnificent adventure I didn’t want to end. A mystery filled with twists and turns, this story was also a lot of fun. As exciting as it was to turn each page, the closer to the end of the book I got, the slower I read so I could make it last.  

Fans of this series and new readers alike are going to love this superb mystery packed with ghostly fun.

All titles are available for pre-order

Release date: Tuesday October 6

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. 

Thursday, October 1, 2015


Author 
Kathi Daley 
has a new book out! 

You know what that means don't you? 

GIVEAWAY! 

Kathi is giving away one copy of her book  
GHOSTLY GRAVEYARD 
Book 17 in the Zoe Donovan Mystery series


When Zoe finds a body laying across the grave of Isaac Wainwright, the man behind a hundred year old legend, she sets out to find the killer before the deputy who is substituting for Salinger, finds a way to pin the murder on her. Meanwhile, Ellie is asked to babysit her cousins baby, Levi is AWOL, and the entire Donovan-Zimmerman household is busy with Halloween activities.

Giveaway is open to both US and CANADA
US winner - choice of print or Kindle copy
Canadian winner - Kindle copy only

Use the Rafflecopter form at the end of this post to enter 

Learn More about Kathi Daley





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!

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