Dianne Freeman’s third mystery featuring the Countess of Harleigh, A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder, will be released July 28. Pre-orders are always helpful to authors and booksellers. You should order your signed copy now while they’re available. Check it out, along with Freeman’s other books, in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2C5HIKI

Dianne Freeman is the acclaimed author of the Countess of Harleigh Mystery series. Her debut novel, A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder, won both an Agatha Award and a Lefty Award and was nominated for the prestigious Mary Higgins Clark Award from Mystery Writers of America. She spent thirty years working in corporate accounting and finance and now writes full-time. Born and raised in Michigan, she and her husband split their time between Michigan and Arizona. Visit her at www.DiFreeman.com.

With her new book coming out, it was the perfect time to ask Dianne Freeman about her book “Distractions”. You can order any of them through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

*****

February seems so long ago. My husband and I were enjoying an Arizona winter with friends and family visiting. The month ended with a trip to Boston for a wedding.

Then March arrived and with it the realization that the pandemic was here. No more visitors, events cancelled, the news on all day, and I was suffering from a reading block. I’ve never had this affliction before and it was horrible. I couldn’t focus no matter what book I picked up. Without reading, how could I escape? But there was one thin paperback calling to me from the bookshelf. I picked it up, opened it, and finished it in one sitting!

Thank you, Julie Mulhern and the Country Club Murders!

The book on my shelf was Send in The Clowns, number four in the series.

The story is set in 1974 Kansas City. The sleuth is Ellison Russell a single mother and part of the country club set. Ellison has a controlling mother, a sometimes-rebellious teenager, a housekeeper who doubles as a detective, and a bad habit of finding dead bodies. The series is witty and fun, but so much more than fluff. Start with any one that appeals to you, and I’m willing to bet you’ll read them all.

With my reading block broken, I was ready to tackle my growing TBR stack and I started with The Right Sort of Man by Allison Montclair.

The story takes place right after WWII. Two wonderful characters, and unlikely partners, Iris and Gwen are running a marriage bureau—a dating service for the marriage minded. Though the partners have different backgrounds, talents, and instincts, together their assessment of their clients is unerring. So, when one client is arrested for the murder of another, they believe the police must have it wrong. The two set about conducting their own investigation to save their client and their business. I came for the plot and stayed for the characters. I couldn’t put this one down.

I love a good PI story and I love Chicago. Tracy Clark serves up both with a confidence that brings the story to life. Cass Raines is a former homicide detective turned PI. Cass is so real she jumps off the page! Yes, the woman has a few flaws, but she also has a razor-sharp wit, determination, and a capacity for risk that leaves me breathless. I just finished Borrowed Time, but I’d recommend starting with the first in the series, Broken Places, and read all three.

*****

A Lady’s Guide to Mischief and Murder is the forthcoming book, the third in Dianne Freeman’s Countess of Harleigh series.

In Dianne Freeman’s charming Victorian-era mystery series, Frances Wynn, the American-born Countess of Harleigh, finds her sister’s wedding threatened by a vow of vengeance.  
 
London is known for its bustle and intrigues, but the sedate English countryside can host—or hide—any number of secrets. Frances, the widowed Countess of Harleigh, needs a venue for her sister Lily’s imminent wedding, away from prying eyes. Risings, George Hazleton’s family estate in Hampshire, is a perfect choice, and soon Frances, her beloved George, and other guests have gathered to enjoy the usual country pursuits—shooting, horse riding, and romantic interludes in secluded gardens.
 
But the bucolic setting harbors a menace, and it’s not simply the arrival of Frances’s socially ambitious mother. Above and below stairs, mysterious accidents befall guests and staff alike. Before long, Frances suspects these “accidents” are deliberate, and fears that the intended victim is Lily’s fiancé, Leo. Frances’s mother is unimpressed by Lily’s groom-to-be and would much prefer that Lily find an aristocratic husband, just as Frances did. But now that Frances has found happiness with George—a man who loves her for much more than her dowry—she heartily approves of Lily’s choice. If she can just keep the couple safe from villains and meddling mamas.
 
As Frances and George search for the culprit among the assembled family, friends, and servants, more victims fall prey to the mayhem. Mishaps become full-blooded murder, and it seems that no one is safe. And unless Frances can quickly flush out the culprit, the peal of wedding bells may give way to another funeral toll. . . .

*****

If you haven’t started the series yet, you can order the award-winning A Lady’s Guide to Etiquette and Murder.

In this exciting historical mystery debut set in Victorian England, a wealthy young widow encounters the pleasures—and scandalous pitfalls—of a London social season . . .

Frances Wynn, the American-born Countess of Harleigh, enjoys more freedom as a widow than she did as a wife. With her young daughter in tow, Frances rents a home in Belgravia and prepares to welcome her sister, Lily, arriving from New York—for her first London season.
 
But no sooner has Frances begun her new life than the Metropolitan police receive an anonymous letter implicating Frances in her husband’s death. Frances assures Inspector Delaney of her innocence, but she’s also keen to keep him from learning the scandalous circumstances of Reggie’s demise. As fate would have it, her dashing new neighbor, George Hazelton, is one of only two other people aware of the full story.
 
While busy with social engagements on Lily’s behalf, and worrying if Reggie really was murdered, Frances rallies her wits, a circle of gossips, and the ever-chivalrous Mr. Hazelton to uncover the truth. A killer is in their midst and Frances must unmask the villain before Lily’s season—and their lives—come to a most unseemly end . . .
 
“This lighthearted debut tale of mystery, love, and a delightful sleuth will leave you wanting more—which is presumably just what Freeman had in mind.”
 —Kirkus Reviews

There can’t be a conversation with David Rosenfelt without talking about dogs and dog rescues. Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, kicks off the recent conversation about Rosenfelt’s latest Andy Carpenter mystery, Muzzled, by talking about dogs. And, you’ll be interested to know Rosenfelt’s books start with the dog, not the case itself. You can order a signed copy of Muzzled, or copies of Rosenfelt’s other books, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2ZmRgd8

Here’s the summary of Muzzled.

In David Rosenfelt’s Andy Carpenter mystery, Muzzled, Andy and his beloved golden retriever, Tara, are back on the case as a favor to a friend.

Andy Carpenter is a lawyer who would rather not practice law. He’d rather spend his time working with the Tara Foundation, his dog rescue organization, and being with his family and his two dogs, Tara and Sebastian. But when a friend asks him for a favor that involves both dogs and his lawyerly expertise, he can’t say no.

Andy’s friend Beth has found a stray that seems to have belonged to a murder victim–in fact, the man and two of his colleagues died in an explosion a few weeks ago. But when the murdered man contacts Beth, asking for his dog back, Andy knows there must be more to the story. The man claims his life is in danger, and that’s why he disappeared. As much as Andy doesn’t want to get involved–anything to avoid a new case–he can’t help but come to the rescue of a man who’d risk everything, even his life, to reunite with his dog.

Once again, David Rosenfelt delivers suspense and laughter in equal measure in another engaging mystery from “one of the most unforgettable voices in the genre.” (Associated Press)

*****

You can enjoy the conversation here.

Lynn Cahoon is such a prolific writer that I thought it was time I asked her to write a book “Distractions” piece and tell us what she’s been reading during the pandemic. She writes the Tourist Trap mysteries, the Cat Latimer ones, the Farm-to-Fork mysteries, and this coming January she launches a new series with One Poison Pie, a Kitchen Witch mystery. Cahoon’s most recent book is the eleventh Tourist Trap Mystery, Murder in Waiting, which just came out a couple weeks ago. You can find Lynn Cahoon’s books in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2D72b0U Look for her book “Distractions” there as well. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Lynn Cahoon is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Kitchen Witch Mysteries, the Cat Latimer Mystery series, the Tourist Trap Mysteries, and the Farm-to-Fork series. Originally from Idaho, she grew up living the small-town life she now loves to feature in her novels. A member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers, she lives with her husband and two fur babies in a small historic town on the banks of the Mississippi River. Visit her at https://LynnCahoon.com

*****

Before the world changed (pandemic) ““ I listened to a lot of audio books during my commute. My print reading was limited to travel time and weekends at the cabin. I read the In Death series over two years and had just finished the Jim Butcher Harry Dresden urban fantasy series. I was going to dig into a new audio series when I started working from home and not spending over an hour a day on weekdays commuting. 

At home, I like to grab a print book and lose myself in my recliner. I have a lot of books I haven’t read sitting and waiting for me. (I can’t say no to a book’s possible adventure.)

I went digging through my large TBR library looking for one specific book (Find Her -Lisa Gardner) but it wasn’t there. Either the dogs ate it when they were in that puppy stage or I’d loaned it out without remembering.

Instead, I realized I had a bunch of books on my TBR pile that I’d never cracked the spine. I’m reading the Krewe of Hunters series by Heather Graham. I’d bought one (The Hexed) a few months ago and I realized I had several more in my pile to read. The series starts with Phantom Evil (I bought it since I didn’t have it.) After reading some from the middle, I wanted to know the beginning of the Krewe.  Phantom Evil didn’t disappoint.

The right mix of mystery, romance, history, and paranormal all mixed into a New Orleans setting (one of my favorite cities to visit.) If you don’t know the Krewe, they’re an FBI unit with special talents. They can see ghosts. Some of them are tech wizards. Others, are crazy good at video, but they all have the same belief that there is more to the world than just what we can see. And there’s always a love story for one of the Krewe members. Now I’ll read the others I have and then start buying to fill in the holes. 

As an author, I’m always looking for new ways to tell stories. All the Missing Girls (Megan Miranda) has been calling to me for a while now from the pile.

The cover is amazing. The story is told in bits and pieces, jumping from the current day to the past to times in between, keeping the reader questioning the narrator’s and her high school friends’ involvement in the disappearance of not one but two missing girls from the same small NC town some twenty years apart. I loved the first-person style of the author. It also got me thinking about the choices we make and when we decide we’re happy and what that means. The main character’s growth ARC is kind of crazy in this book.

Full disclosure, I’m a devoted King fan, especially when he writes fantasy or explores our extrasensory talents. I devoured The Institute (Stephen King).

King does this thing in the beginning of his books where he introduces one character, then leaves us questioning what’s going on and goes on to another. Finally, he brings them all together and you see why the structure was perfect. He writes strong kid characters and keeps a tight POV (point of view) for them. This book was just what I expected of King, a paranormal I couldn’t put down and reminded me of The Talisman. For King fans, it shouldn’t be passed by.

I could go on, but I’ve got a small window of time that I can pick up another book.

*****

Murder in Waiting is the most recent Tourist Trap Mystery.

In the latest Tourist Trap mystery from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Lynn Cahoon, bookshop café owner Jill Gardner contends with a best friend-turned-bridezilla while trying to solve a local historian’s untimely date with death . . .

At Coffee, Books, & More, Jill’s the boss. But as Amy’s maid-of-honor, she can barely keep up with marching orders–and now she’s in charge of organizing an epic bachelorette! Adding to Jill’s party-planning panic, the South Cove Heritage Society just unceremoniously dumped her historic landmark bid. While vying proposals rush in from a loaded land developer and a pushy travel guide company, Jill finds an unexpected ally in Heritage Society expert, Frank Gleason. But their happy union is cut short when Frank is mowed down in a suspicious hit-and-run. With Amy’s big day on the horizon, Jill vows to catch the killer before she has to catch a bouquet.

*****

Here’s a preview of Cahoon’s forthcoming Kitchen Witch mystery, One Poison Pie.

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lynn Cahoon launches a sparkling new series featuring Mia Malone, a kitchen witch who’s starting over in her grandmother’s Idaho hometown of Magic Springs, where the use of magic is an open secret and murder is on the menu…

What’s a kitchen witch to do when her almost-fiancé leaves her suddenly single and unemployed? For Mia Malone, the answer’s simple: move to her grandmother’s quirky Idaho hometown, where magic is an open secret and witches and warlocks are (mostly) welcome. With a new gourmet dinner delivery business–and a touch of magic in her recipes–Mia’s hopes are high. Even when her ex’s little sister, Christina, arrives looking for a place to stay, Mia takes it in stride.

But her first catering job takes a distasteful turn when her client’s body is found, stabbed and stuffed under the head table. Mia’s shocked to learn that she’s a suspect–and even more so when she realizes she’s next on a killer’s list. With Christina, along with Mia’s meddling grandma, in the mix, she’ll have to find out which of the town’s eccentric residents has an appetite for murder…before this fresh start comes to a sticky end…

It’s not often that The Poisoned Pen highlights a true crime book. Patrick Millikin recently interviewed Mark Bowden, the journalist author of The Case of the Vanishing Blonde and Other True Crime Stories. You can pre-order a copy, and order copies of Bowden’s other books, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2G31ggV

From Mark Bowden, a “master of narrative journalism” (New York Times), comes a true-crime collection both deeply chilling and impossible to put down.

Six captivating true-crime stories, spanning Mark Bowden’s long and illustrious career, cover a variety of crimes complicated by extraordinary circumstances. Winner of a lifetime achievement award from International Thriller Writers, Bowden revisits inThe Case of the Vanishing Blonde some of his most riveting stories and examines the effects of modern technology on the journalistic process.

From a story of a campus rape at the University of Pennsylvania in 1983 that unleashed a moral debate over the nature of consent when drinking and drugs are involved to three cold cases featuring the inimitable Long Island private detective Ken Brennan and a startling investigation that reveals a murderer within the LAPD’s ranks, shielded for twenty six years by officers keen to protect one of their own, these stories are the work of a masterful narrative journalist at work. Gripping true crime from a writer the Washington Post calls “an old pro.”

*****

You can watch the entire conversation between Mark Bowden and Patrick Millikin here.

If you’re a fan of the virtual events The Poisoned Pen staff host on Facebook, and then YouTube, you’ll want to check out the upcoming programs. (Programs are added often, so keep watching!) Check for the authors’ books, including signed copies of many of them, in the Web Store. The authors appreciate pre-orders, and you have a better chance of grabbing up that signed copy! https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Glen Erik Hamilton, author of the Van Shaw novels, will join Jeff Abbott and Ellison Cooper for a virtual conversation on Facebook, Tuesday, July 14 at 6 PM MT (9 PM ET). July 14 is also release date for the latest book in the series, A Dangerous Breed. Today, Hamilton joins us to talk about book “Distractions”.

A native of Seattle, Glen Erik Hamilton grew up aboard a sailboat, and spent his youth finding trouble around the marinas and commercial docks and islands of the Pacific Northwest. He now lives in Burbank, California, with his family, punctuated by frequent visits to his hometown to soak up the rain.

Hamilton’s books, and the books he suggests, can be ordered through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

*****

The chaos of 2020 has created a growth market for irony. We finally have time away from the office, but we’re busier than ever with homeschooling and learning to work remotely. The highways are wide open, but we have to stay in place.  We have to stay in place, but we need our communities to gather and stand together for justice more than ever.

So perhaps it’s not so strange that as the walls squeeze tighter each day, I’ve reacted by narrowing my focus: finding escape within the pages of a good book. Going in to get out.

Which creates one last contradiction: My schedule is packed, and I’m finding time to read more great books than I have in years. 

If our bodies can’t travel, at least our imaginations—lifted by an excellent story—can take flight. Here are a few books that are making my world feel a little wider.

Murder at the Mena House

by Erica Ruth Neubauer

There’s nothing quite like the joy of discovering a great debut novel. I also love delving into an occasional traditional mystery, especially period pieces, to see how the writer tackles the strict rules and reader expectations of the genre. Those challenges are daunting. Newer authors often lean too far in keeping the tale light and airy, maybe forgetting just how treacherous the fictional worlds of Dame Agatha and her contemporaries could be. Erica Ruth Neubauer doesn’t make that mistake. This is a classic mystery, full of intriguing historical tidbits and suspicious characters. Even better, Neubauer has invented a heroine who is immediately sympathetic and strong, a woman challenging the social mores in the wake of WWI.

The Missing American

by Kwei Quartey

I’m halfway through Quartey’s interwoven tale of Ghanian political intrigue, police corruption, and online swindlers—aided by ritual magic, no less!—and I didn’t want to wait to recommend it.  The first in a new series featuring rookie private investigator Emma Djan, The Missing American has as rich a sense of place and atmosphere as one could hope.  Emma’s boss and mentor, Sowah, reminds me of Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache in his calm, almost humble approach to instructing his subordinates, and seeing that relationship from the junior employee’s point of view is refreshing. I’m looking forward not only to reading the book’s final acts but also seeing an increased focus on these characters in sequels.  

The Ninja Daughter

by Tori Eldridge

Lily Wong’s apartment is painted entirely in a soothing pale green, save for one violently red wall in her home dojo. Because, as she tells us: fighting is easy, tranquility is hard. And while Lily seeks to find some calm amidst her loving but meddlesome family and the attentions of a not-quite-right suitor, it’s a good thing she’s an expert combatant. Her drive to protect women in danger has placed our ninja in the crosshairs of a deadly (and deadly attractive) killer and at least two different gangs to boot. A fascinating blend of martial arts action, cultural collisions, and potential romance that will no doubt fuel future entries in the series. 

The Burglar

by Thomas Perry

I’ve been a fan of Thomas Perry ever since finding Sleeping Dogs, the sequel to his Edgar-winning debut The Butcher’s Boy, in a used bookstore in the mid-’90s.  His recent run of thrillers prove Perry hasn’t lost any momentum.  Most of his protagonists are individuals or married couples who are quiet by nature, largely solitary, and exceedingly proficient at very unusual professions.  Elle Stowell, the heroine of The Burglar, fits that mold perfectly.  Elle would be perfectly content to live a life of pilfering from mansions of Beverly Hills while the owners are summering in Gstaad or wherever.  But when she stumbles onto three murder victims in her latest caper, she quickly becomes the target of pursuers who track her step for step. Breakneck fun from a true master.

Hollywood Ending

by Kellye Garrett

audiobook read by Bahni Turpin

The pandemic hasn’t completely eliminated driving around, and when there are errands to run, I usually have an audiobook keeping me company. And there’s no better company than Dayna Anderson, one-time actress and brand-new P.I.  In this second entry in the series, Dayna is still broke, still enthusiastically motivated to change that status, and chasing the killer of a celebrity publicist.  If only she could get the people on the LAPD tip line to take her seriously. Garrett’s writing frequently causes me to laugh out loud, alarming people nearby.  Her observations about fame—and those who circle the famous, angling for their own celebrity or wealth—are as sharp as ever.  Here’s hoping the divine Dayna has better luck, but not so much that she stops scrambling.  This heroine’s misadventures deserve a long and successful run.

*****

As I said, Glen Erik Hamilton’s latest Van Shaw novel, A Dangerous Breed, is released July 14. You can order signed copies through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2Tt8Afd

“Atmospheric and taut, A Dangerous Breed is a winner.”   — Allison Brennan, New York Times bestselling author

Van Shaw’s past and present collide when an ingenious blackmailer pushes him to the brink in this electrifying fifth novel in Glen Erik Hamilton’s gritty and emotionally powerful thriller series.

An invitation addressed to his long-dead mother sparks Van Shaw’s curiosity about the woman he barely knew. As he digs into young Moira Shaw’s past, he uncovers startling details about her life, including her relationship to a boy named Sean Burke—a boy Moira may have been seeing when she became pregnant. Could this Burke be the biological father who abandoned Van before he was born? Although Van knows all too well that some doors shouldn’t be opened, he decides to investigate the man—only to discover that Burke has an even darker family history than Van’s own.

But Van’s got more immediate problems. His friend Hollis is in a jam, and helping him out accidentally steers Van into the path of a master extortionist named Bilal Nath.  Nath demands that the talented thief mastermind a daring heist targeting a Seattle biotechnology firm, or the blackmailer will destroy the lives of people Van loves. Will Van be forced to steal a viral weapon with the potential to kill thousands? 

With Bilal Nath coercing him into a possible act of domestic terrorism, Van turns to his formidable crew of lawbreaking friends—including Hollis, Big Will Willard, and Willard’s sly and seductive niece Elana—for help. Yet even this team may not be enough. To outwit a brilliant sociopath, Van might just need a cold-blooded killer . . . a criminal whose blood may run through his own veins. 

I’ve been waiting to share this conversation. Barbara Peters, owner of The Poisoned Pen, recently hosted Linda Castillo for the virtual book launch of Outsider, the new Kate Burkholder thriller. Outsider is the Hot Book of the Week at the Pen. You can still order signed copies of it through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/2TDPi4M

Here’s the summary of the latest book in the series.

Linda Castillo follows her instant New York Times bestseller, Shamed, with Outsider, an electrifying thriller about a woman on the run hiding among the Amish.

While enjoying a sleigh ride with his children, Amish widower Adam Lengacher discovers a car stuck in a snowdrift and an unconscious woman inside. He calls upon Chief of Police Kate Burkholder for help, and she is surprised to recognize the driver: fellow cop and her former friend, Gina Colorosa.

Years before, Kate and Gina were best friends at the police academy and patrol officers in Columbus, but time and distance have taken them down two very different paths. Now, Gina reveals a shocking story of betrayal and revenge that has forced her to run for her life. She’s desperate for protection, and the only person she can trust is Kate—but can Kate trust her? Or will Gina’s dark past put them all in danger?

As a blizzard bears down on Painters Mill, Kate helps Gina go into hiding on Adam’s farm. While the tough-skinned Gina struggles to adjust to the Amish lifestyle, Kate and state agent John Tomasetti delve into the incident that caused Gina to flee. But as Kate gets closer to the truth, a killer lies in wait. When violence strikes, she must confront a devastating truth that changes everything she thought she knew not only about friendship, but the institution to which she’s devoted her life.

*****

If you’re a fan of this series, or just discovering the Kate Burkholder books, you’ll want to watch the conversation.

When Sherry Harris apologized because she didn’t send her book “Distractions” earlier, I replied that she’s an author. People want to read the books she’s writing, so it’s important that she take care of that first. The author of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale mysteries launches a new series on July 28. From Beer to Eternity is the first Chloe Jackson, Sea Glass Saloon Mystery. You can order Harris’ books, and the books she suggests, through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

Sherry Harris is the Agatha Award”“nominated author of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale mystery series and the upcoming Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon mysteries. She is a past president of Sisters in Crime, and a member of the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime, the New England Chapter of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers.
 
In her spare time Sherry loves reading and is a patent holding inventor. Sherry, her husband, and guard dog Lily are living in northern Virginia until they figure out where they want to move to next.

Harris’ website is https://www.Sherryharrisauthor.com. She blogs at https://www.Wickedcozyauthors.com

I hope you check out some of Sherry Harris’ book “Distractions”.

*****

I’ve read voraciously since mid-March ““ there’s nothing like escaping the real world by visiting fictional friends old and new. Readers often ask me why I wanted to be a writer. I point them straight to my favorite childhood series ““ the Betsy/Tacy books by Maud Hart Lovelace. The series starts when Betsy is five and ends when she gets married.

Betsy wanted to be a writer and so did I. They are based on the life of Lovelace, a native of Minnesota. The books are set in the late eighteen and early nineteen hundreds. Rereading these books is like getting a warm hug. I highly recommend them to young and young at heart readers.

I’m also rereading one of my favorite but way to short series ““ the Detective By Day mysteries by Kellye Garrett.

Dayna Anderson, a broke actress, turns into a sleuth for the reward money and then finds out she has a knack for solving mysteries. I used to live in the greater Los Angeles area and love revisiting through these books. They have everything ““ great plots, humor, and a dynamic protagonist.

The Pearl Dagger, the third in the Art Deco series, by LA Chandler has been on my TBR pile for way too long.

A visit to the past is always a great way to escape the present! Lane Sanders sails for London to hunt down violent syndicates that are spreading throughout Europe and search for answers about her past. Finn Brodie tags along and has some devils of his own to fight.

In March I read Mimi Lee Gets A Clue by Jennifer J. Chow.

It’s the first in Jennifer’s Sassy Cat series. I haven’t loved a cat in a book this much since I read the first The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lillian Jackson Braun a hundred years ago. This series is also set in the Los Angeles area — hmmm, am I missing California? ““ Mimi has opened a pet grooming service so she meets a lot of quirky pet owners. Mimi’s mother is a hoot, too. Mimi is a delight and I can’t wait to hang out with her again.

*****

You can hang out with Sherry Harris’ characters in her most recent books. From Beer to Eternity introduces a librarian who is starting over. It will be released July 28. You can find Harris’ books in the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3iIkCu4

A whip smart librarian’s fresh start comes with a tart twist in this perfect cocktail of murder and mystery—with a romance chaser.

MURDER ON TAP

With Chicago winters in the rearview mirror, Chloe Jackson is making good on a promise: help her late friend’s grandmother run the Sea Glass Saloon in the Florida Panhandle. To Chloe’s surprise, feisty Vivi Slidell isn’t the frail retiree Chloe expects. Nor is Emerald Cove. It’s less a sleepy fishing village than a panhandle hotspot overrun with land developers and tourists. But it’s a Sea Glass regular who’s mysteriously crossed the cranky Vivi. When their bitter argument comes to a head and he’s found dead behind the bar, guess who’s the number one suspect?

In trying to clear Vivi’s name, Chloe discovers the old woman isn’t the only one in Emerald Cove with secrets. Under the laidback attitude, sparkling white beaches, and small town ways something terrible is brewing. And the sure way a killer can keep those secrets bottled up is to finish off one murder with a double shot: aimed at Chloe and Vivi.

“An incredibly enjoyable book.”
—Mystery Scene on Sell Low, Sweet Harriet

*****

The most recent book is Harris’ Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery is Sell Low, Sweet Harriet.

ONE WOMAN’S TRASH . . .
Sarah Winston’s garage sale business has a new client: the daughter of a couple who recently died in a tragic accident while away on a trip to Africa. Their house is full of exotic items from around the world that need to be sold off. When Sarah learns that the deceased were retired CIA agents, the job becomes more intriguing—but when an intruder breaks in and a hidden camera is found, it also becomes more dangerous. And Sarah has enough on her plate right now since she’s investigating a murder on the side at the nearby Air Force base, where her status as a former military spouse gives her a special kind of access.
 
. . . IS ANOTHER WOMAN’S TROUBLE
With so much work piling up, Sarah decides to hire some help. But her assistant, Harriet—a former FBI hostage negotiator—has a rare talent for salesmanship. Which is good, because Sarah may have to haggle for her life with Harriet’s assistance . . .
 
Praise for the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mysteries

“There’s a lot going on in this charming mystery, and it all works . . . Well written and executed, this is a definite winner.”
—RT Book Reviews, 4 Stars on All Murders Final!

“Full of garage-sale tips…amusing. A solid choice for fans of Jane K. Cleland’s Josie Prescott Antique Mystery series.”
—Library Journal on Tagged for Death
 
“A slam dunk for those who love antiques and garage sales . . .surprising twists and turns.”
—Kirkus Reviews on A Good Day to Buy

John Charles of The Poisoned Pen staff recently hosted two cozy mystery authors, Abby Collette and Ellie Alexander. Collette’s latest books is A Deadly Inside Scoop. The eleventh book in Ellie Alexander’s Bakeshop Mystery series is Nothing Bundt Trouble. You can order books by both authors through the Web Store. https://store.poisonedpen.com/

You can listen to the conversation here.

https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-u7f2k-e201f2

Here’s the summary of Abby Collette’s A Deadly Inside Scoop.

This book kicks off a charming cozy mystery series set in an ice cream shop—with a fabulous cast of quirky characters.

Recent MBA grad Bronwyn Crewse has just taken over her family’s ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and she’s going back to basics. Win is renovating Crewse Creamery to restore its former glory, and filling the menu with delicious, homemade ice cream flavors—many from her grandmother’s original recipes. But unexpected construction delays mean she misses the summer season, and the shop has a literal cold opening: the day she opens her doors an early first snow descends on the village and keeps the customers away.

To make matters worse, that evening, Win finds a body in the snow, and it turns out the dead man was a grifter with an old feud with the Crewse family. Soon, Win’s father is implicated in his death. It’s not easy to juggle a new-to-her business while solving a crime, but Win is determined to do it. With the help of her quirky best friends and her tight-knit family, she’ll catch the ice cold killer before she has a meltdown…

*****

Ellie Alexander’s Nothing Bundt Trouble is here.

This time, Torte’s pastry chef and amateur sleuth finds herself coming out of the oven and straight into the fire in Ellie Alexander’s Nothing Bundt Trouble: A Bakeshop Mystery.

Spring has sprung in Ashland, Oregon, and everything at Torte seems to be coming up buttercream roses. But just when Juliet Capshaw seems to have found her sweet spot—with her staff set to handle the influx of tourists for this year’s Shakespeare festival while she moves back into her childhood home—things take a dramatic turn. Jules discovers a long-forgotten dossier in her deceased father’s belongings that details one of the most controversial cases in Ashland’s history: a hit-and-run accident from the 1980s. Or was it?

Now it’s up to Jules to parse through a whole new world of details from another era, from unraveling cassette tapes to recipes for Bundt cakes, before an old enemy brings the Capshaw “pastry case” to a modern-day dead end.

The Bakeshop Mysteries are:

“Delicious.”—RT Book Reviews
“Marvelous.”—Fresh Fiction
“Delectable.”—Portland Book Review

Nicholas Basbanes has written about book collecting, libraries, paper. It was David McCullough who suggested that he should try a biography. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is the subject of Basbanes’ new book, Cross of Snow. You can order a copy, as well as copies of Basbanes’ other books, through the Web Store. https://bit.ly/3iEpl0b

A major literary biography of America’s best-loved nineteenth-century poet, the first in more than fifty years, and a much-needed reassessment for the twenty-first century of a writer whose stature and celebrity were unparalleled in his time, whose work helped to explain America’s new world not only to Americans but to Europe and beyond. From the author of On Paper (“Buoyant”–The New Yorker; “Essential”–Publishers Weekly), Patience and Fortitude (“A wonderful hymn”–Simon Winchester), and A Gentle Madness (“A jewel”–David McCullough).

In Cross of Snow, the result of more than twelve years of research, including access to never-before-examined letters, diaries, journals, notes, Nicholas Basbanes reveals the life, the times, the work–the soul–of the man who shaped the literature of a new nation with his countless poems, sonnets, stories, essays, translations, and whose renown was so wide-reaching that his deep friendships included Charles Dickens, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Julia Ward Howe, and Oscar Wilde.

Basbanes writes of the shaping of Longfellow’s character, his huge body of work that included translations of numerous foreign works, among them, the first rendering into a complete edition by an American of Dante’s Divine Comedy. We see Longfellow’s two marriages, both happy and contented, each cut short by tragedy. His first to Mary Storer Potter that ended in the aftermath of a miscarriage, leaving Longfellow devastated. His second marriage to the brilliant Boston socialite–Fanny Appleton, after a three-year pursuit by Longfellow (his “fiery crucible,” he called it), and his emergence as a literary force and a man of letters.

A portrait of a bold artist, experimenter of poetic form and an innovative translator–the human being that he was, the times in which he lived, the people whose lives he touched, his monumental work and its place in his America and ours.

*****

Here’s the lengthy interview with Nicholas Basbanes. Barbara Peters, owner of the bookstore, and then Patrick Millikin talked with Basbanes about his books, including Cross of Snow. There’s also a slideshow.