Review - Dressed to Kilt

This is one of my favorite cozy mystery series that I have been following since the first book. Check out my previous reviews:  Off Kilter (click here) , second book Hooked on Ewe (click here), and the author graciously provided a guest post (click here).  It is time for the next installment in this series set in rural Scotland.  FYI, there is a quote from my review of the debut book in the first pages! Yay

Author: Hannah Reed

Copyright: July 2016 (Berkley) 304 pgs

Series: 3rd in Scottish Highlands Mystery series

Sensuality: Mild

Mystery Sub-genre:  Cozy

Main Character: Eden Elliott, recently divorced and romance author

Setting: Modern day, Glenkillen Scotland

Obtained Through: Publisher for honest opinion

"Winter is leaving the residents of Glenkillen snowbound, but Eden isn’t about to let the weather dampen her spirits. With only a little time left in Scotland, she’s determined to make the most of it—starting with attending a fancy whisky tasting with local looker Leith Cameron. But her classy date turns into a major party foul after a woman is found drowned in one of the vats of alcohol.

Eden immediately steps in as a Special Constable to help solve the case, but her investigation turns sour when she realizes that the killer could be somehow connected to her own Scottish heritage. Now, in order to find the proof she needs to put the murderer behind bars, she’ll have to take a shot at unearthing her family’s past—before she herself winds up buried."

Eden must face a painful part of her Scottish heritage that she has avoided her entire time in the country, besides facing that she doesn't want to leave the country but seems powerless to change it.  She takes in the murder victim's Scottish Fold cat (on the cover) for her last few weeks, and it is touching. Vicki MacBride, her good friend while living there, is up to something and trying to keep it a secret, and Eden has mixed feelings about.  Even her State-side BFF is being uncommunicative, which adds to her struggle to stay upbeat.  Leith Cameron, the epitome of a romance novel highlander also seems a bit stand-offish.  Eden also faces what her true feelings are regarding him.  Detective Inspector Kevin Jamieson seems reluctant to accept she is leaving. Special Constable Sean Stevens is back from training and is a combination of haughty and bumbling.  Bridie Dougal is a clan Chieftain who doesn't let her advanced age slow her down, she is the break-out character - irascible, used to getting her way, and a touch scheming.
 

The snowbound and icy highlands are so well portrayed that I forgot it was blistering summer out and thought I should grab a coat after reading for a while!  The beautiful rolling hills and vistas are now a frozen landscape with its own dangers.

The climax is a delightful mix of killer showdown with challenges that threaten Eden living to go back to the states.  The wrap up is touching and secures future adventures for Eden (I can't say anymore without spoilers).

This series is a must read for me and it is consistently a fun read with a balance of mystery and characters.  Eden has grown and is a mature-acting woman turning her life around and learning to follow her heart.  The addition of her family story is a bonus.  Not too heavy, but not too breezy either....just the right mix for an outstanding series.

Rating: 
 Near Perfect - Buy two copies: one for you and one for a friend. 

Refreshing Summer Spritzer
 -  4-6 bags Favorite herb tea (mine are Rasberry or Black Berry Zinger).  Brew, remove bags and cool.  Make strong because you will dilute.
-  2 Liter bottle of non-cola soda (7-up or Ginger Ale)

Mix in large pitcher or by-the-glass to taste.  The soda should sweeten the tea, but add slight amount of sweetener if needed - a little will do you in this.  Over ice this is a great summer treat with endless variety of flavors to go with any meal.
 

Author Guest Post - Betty Hechtman

Please welcome author Betty Hechtman to the blog today.  Betty writes two national best selling series for Berkley. GONE WITH THE WOOL is the fourth Yarn Retreat mystery. SEAMS LIKE MURDER is the tenth Crochet mystery. In addition, she is the author of STOLEN TREASURE, A Blue Schwartz Mystery. She has a B.A. in Fine Arts has written newspaper, magazine pieces, short stories and several scripts. She splits her time between Tarzana and Chicago with yarn stashes in both places.

Meet Casey Feldstein

I thought it might be fun to interview Casey Feldstein, the amateur Sleuth in the Yarn Retreat series. It’s a little bit like being two people, though, since I get to ask the questions and then answer them.

Me: You probably get asked this all the time, but what is a Yarn Retreat?

Casey: You’re right. I do get that a lot. Yarn – well, that refers to the yarn craft activities we have. In my latest adventure GONE WITH THE WOOL, the group learns how to knit with a loom and crochet a Monarch butterfly. And retreat – it means to get away from it all. Vista Del Mar, the hotel and conference center where I put on the retreats is a perfect place for that. It’s located on the tip of the Monterey peninsula and the weather is moody with lots of fog. The place has gone totally unplugged, so there is no cell phone reception, no Wifi, or even television to bring in all the troubles of the outside world. There is a message board and some old fashioned phone booths with landlines so we’re not totally cut off.

Me: Speaking of troubles – there seem to be a lot of murders in Cadbury by the Sea since you moved there.

Casey: Oh, you noticed. My ex boss Frank – he runs a P.I. agency in Chicago where I used to live – says the same thing all the time. Working for him was my favorite job. I was either an assistant detective or a detective’s assistant, depending on who you talk to. We’re still in touch, though. He is my go to for advice since I seem to get involved with investigating all those murders you mentioned. He complains about it, but I know he likes helping.

Me: So what about your latest investigation.

Casey: Go figure. The whole town was wrapped up in the return of the Monacrch Butterflies – In case you don’t know, every October thousands of Monarchs come to Cadbury to overwinter. They have a sanctuary in a stand of trees. The whole town goes crazy with a week long festival to welcome them back. There’s a Butterfly Ball, a street fair, a parade and even a Butterfly Queen. And in the midst of it this woman with a lot of enemies turns up dead. I had to get involved because of who the main suspect was.

Me: I understand a lot of you amateur sleuths have a ghost. You know, something hanging over your head that worries you. What’s yours.

Casey: You had to bring that up. Okay, I’m in my mid thirties and so far have a history of not sticking with things. I’m hoping that maybe I’ve changed. But who knows....

Me: Do you want to talk about the two men in your life?”

Casey: They’re not exactly in my life. Dr. Sammy Glickner is my ex and insists that he’s staying in Cadbury because he can pursue his magic career while still working as a urologist. Of course, our paths keep crossing and I do have a soft spot for him, but its just friendship. Really. And Dane Mangano is the cop who lives down the street. There might be some chemistry between us, but I’m fighting getting involved.

Me: What would you like readers to know about you?

Casey: You didn’t mention my other job. I think it’s important that it be known that I am a dessert chef and muffin baker. I make the desserts for the Blue Door restaurant and bake muffins for all the coffee spots in town. Everything I make sells out. It could be why the people of Cadbury look the other way about the dead bodies that keep showing up. They like my baking too much. By the way, I share recipes and patterns. I hope that’s all, because I got a group of retreaters waiting for me. Bye.

Website: BettyHechtman.com Facebook: Betty Hechtman (author) Twitter: @BettyHechtman

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Thank you Ms. Hechtman for that fun introduction to Casey Feldstein from the Yarn Retreat mysteries.  

Guest Author Post - Terrie Farley Moran

Terrie Farley Moran, author of the Read ‘Em and Eat mystery series and an Agatha Award Best First Novel winner joins us today.  Please welcome her as she provides a taste of her newest release.

READ TO DEATH

If you loved the recipe for Miss Marple’s Orange Iced Scones that Karen Owen (https://acupofteaandacozymystery. blogspot.com/ ) created for Caught Read-Handed, the second book in the Read ’Em and Eat cozy series, just wait until you try the recipe for Drunken Raisin Scones that Karen developed for Read to Death. The scones are delicious and a great match for the Old Man and the Sea Chowder recipe that I concocted.

Just ask Pastor John. He had guest coming and needed a quick lunch. Of course his wife Jocelyn, she of the straw textured hair and sour personality, was nowhere to be found. Sassy Cabot, book maven of the Read ’Em and Eat, came to the rescue with scones and chowder. And I must say, it is a delicious combination. You can find both recipes in the back of Read to Death.

But of course Pastor John’s lunch problem happened several days after Sassy’s BFF and business partner Bridgy Mayfield discovered a dead body in the Read ’Em and Eat parking lot and became the prime witness and (maybe) suspect.

What’s a girl to do when she’s under suspicion of murder? Why call her mom, that’s what. And Bridgy’s mom does what any mother would do—she jumped on a plane and headed to Fort Myers Beach to support her little girl. Of course there is a catch. Bridgy’s mom, Emelia, is Aunt Ophie’s sister and trust me when I tell you that the sisters don’t always see eye to eye. Actually you’d be on target if you said they never see eye to eye. So, happy as Bridgy is to have the comfort of her mom nearby, we witness lots of clash and bang anytime Ophelia and Emelia are in the same room.

There is so much going on what with snowbirds packing to head back north, book club meetings, family drama, tasty food and handsome young men, be they sheriff’s deputies, lawyers or newspaper reporters, that Bridgy and Sassy have quite the time fitting it all in while they try to throw suspicion off Bridgy’s shoulders and toss it to the real killer, whoever that may be. Sounds impossible but turns out to be highly doable for the spunky duo in Read to Death.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

THANK You Ms Moran for that fun run down of your most recent release.  

Review - Veiled Magic

I have reviewed Deborah Blake's paranormal amateur sleuth Baba Yaga series, Wickedly Dangerous (click here).  But this is a different series that is more along the lines of Urban Fantasy with a complex witch/cop as the main character.

Author: Deborah Blake

Copyright: November 2015 (Intermix) 280 pgs

Series: 1st in Donata Santori Mystery series

Sensuality:  Adult situations mentioned, sprinkled cursing

Mystery Sub-genre: Paranormal Police Procedural

Main Character: Policewoman Donata Santori is a witch who talks to the dead.

Setting: modern day, large city (never named)

Obtained Through: Publisher for honest opinion

"Police officer and Witch Donata Santori spends her days interrogating dead witnesses by summoning their spectral forms. Normally the job (Witness Retrieval Specialist) is little more than taking statements and filing reports. But when she’s called in on the case of a murdered art restorer, she finds herself suddenly in possession of a mystical portrait that both the human and paranormal communities would kill to get their hands on.

Unable to take on the forces hunting her alone, Donata seeks help from two unlikely and attractive allies: a reluctant shape-changer and a half-dragon art forger. But as the three of them hurry to uncover the truth about the powerful painting, Donata realizes that she’s caught in the middle of not one but two wars—one for possession of the painting’s secrets and one for possession of her heart."

Donata, the black sheep of her powerful witch family, gets in over her head trying to handle investigating the murder outside her official duties because the world doesn't know about the rest of the paranormal entities even though witches out now out-of-the-broom-closet.  She faces a lot and risks even more.  

Peter Casaventi, the half-dragon art forger, has to deal with finding out he is half dragon plus learn about the paranormal world.  I liked this character a lot and really want to see more of him in the next novel. Donata compares him to Cary Grant as John Robie the sophisticated cat burglar in To Catch a Thief and I had already made that comparison before it came up in the book.  

Magnus Torvald is Donata's prior boyfriend, a bear shapeshifter from a Viking tradition that glorifies fighting - but he is a pacifist.  Magnus helps Donata and Peter even though it is clear he would like to rekindle the flame with Donata.  Yeah, it's the old love triangle.  

Donata's mother and two sisters and difficult - like so many families are.  I liked Ricky, the Kobold Earth Spirit with the temper, but a loyal friend.  He was a great sidekick.

The plot and subplots were engaging and kept my interest.  The pages turned quickly as the story flowed easily.  The climax was action packed, although it sneaked up on me fast.  The wrap-up sets the stage perfectly for a continuation of Donata's adventures.

I loved this debut novel.  It is a great urban fantasy without being too dark, has developed characters, an interesting sidekick, plenty of action, some romance, and a sprinkling of humor.  The writing flows easily and draws you into this world.  I am loving this new series.

Rating:  Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now and put this author on your watch list

Save Our Cozies Readathon

Save Our Cozies Readathon

 Saturday – July 16th, 2016

Hosted by Franz Chapman and Bree Herron

I am reposting, but I originally found this on "Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book" Blog.  There are several of my favorite cozy mysteries on the cancellation list, and no doubt some of yours.  This readathon is our way of influencing the publishers and showing our support to the authors.

Purpose of the Readathon: 

Due to mergers among publishing companies, several beloved cozy mystery series have either been cancelled or are in danger of being cancelled.  Depending upon an individual author’s contract, he or she may not even be able to self-publish or take the series to a new publisher.  The Save Our Cozies Readathon seeks to:

• Raise the reading public’s awareness of this issue across a range of social media platforms.
• Introduce the reading public to these series.
• Encourage publishers to rethink their decision to cancel cozy mystery series.
• Create and support a community of readers and authors.
• Read lots of quality, fun cozy mystery books!

Series canceled (verified list)

Penguin Random House

Avery Aames – Cheese Shop mysteries

Beverly Allen – Bridal Bouquet Shop Mysteries (not renewed) Now writing Vintage Toyshop Mysteries for Crooked Lane as Barbara Early.

Janet Bolin – Threadville Mysteries

Melissa Bourbon –Magical Dressmaking Mysteries. Is thinking of self publishing but not anytime soon. Source: Author’s FB page.

Jacklyn Brady – Piece of Cake mysteries

Lucy Burdette – Key West Food Critic series

Amanda Carmack – Kate Haywood Elizabethan mysteries

Maia Chance – Fairy Tale Fatal Mysteries

Erika Chase – Ashton Corners Mysteries

Peg Cochran – Gourmet DeLite Mysteries

Laura DiSilverio – Mall Cop Mysteries

Monica Ferris – Betsy Devonshire Needlework series. Is shopping for new publisher and has plans for future books.

Christy Fifield – Haunted Souvenir Mysteries. Owns rights, plans to self-publish.

Shelley Freydont – Celebration Bay Mysteries

Eva Gates – Lighthouse Library Mysteries 

Rosie Genova – Italian Kitchen Mysteries

Victoria Hamilton – Vintage Kitchen Mysteries (she is continuing the series with another publisher, ebook only.)

Mary Ellen Hughes – Pickled and Preserved Mysteries

Annie Knox – Pet Boutique Mysteries

Elizabeth Lee (Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli) Nut Shop Mystery Series

Meg London – Sweet Nothings Lingerie Mysteries

Molly MacRae — Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries (plans to continue the series)

Leigh Perry – Family Skeleton Mysteries –  Shopping for a new publisher.

Cate Price – Deadly Notions Mysteries

Paige Shelton – Farmer’s Market Mysteries and Country Cooking School Mysteries

Christine Wenger – Comfort Foods Mysteries (NAL, which was merged into Berkley); is considering self-publishing.

FIVE STAR (Gale Cengage)

Five Star has dropped their entire mystery lineup.

Nancy Cohen – Bad Hair Day Mysteries

Maggie Toussaint – Dreamwalker Mysteries

Susan Van Kirk- Endurance Mysteries

Limitless Publishing

A E H Veenman – Marjorie Gardens Mysteries

Kensington

Anna Loan-Wilsey – Hattie Davish Mysteries

Macmillan / St. Martin’s Press

D.E. Ireland – Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins Mysteries (switching publishers)

Start Times

We will be starting at Midnight Friday July 15th and run through Midnight Saturday July 16th EDT.   For the sake of challenges and hourly activites, we will all start at the same time.   Therefore, when it is Midnight July 15th in EDT, it will be 9:00 PM July 15th in Los Angeles, California.

Go here to find your time zone start time:

Save Our Cozies Readathon Event Time Announcer

FAQ

What is a cozy?

A sub-genre of mystery or crime fiction in which the violence is downplayed or happens “off screen”.  The books tend to focus on non-professional crime solvers and contain little or no sex or foul language.  For a complete definition visit the excellent  Cozy-Mystery.com at http://www.cozy-mystery.com/Definition-of-a-Cozy-Mystery.html

What is an online cozy readathon?

An online readathon is an online 24 hour event that brings together a community of readers and authors to participate in all things cozy.  This includes reading, posting frequently on social media, visiting author’s websites, posting reviews, visiting book blogger’s websites, and/or participating in fun challenges/activities.  The amount and type of participation is up to the individual.

How do I participate?

The Cozy fans can participate through any or all of the following:

1. Sign up to participate on this Wordpress website  using your online social media home – be it Facebook, Tumblr,Twitter,Goodreads, etc.  and your role, author, reader, cheerleader, admin. (you are not limited to using just one social media account, I just want a main one where I can find you).
2. The starting time of the readathon will be  midnight on  July 15th EST or 12:01 AM on July 16th as the time zone calculator is set up. Everyone will start at the same time.  Use the time zone page to determine when to start for you time zone.  This is so everyone will be at the same point at the same time.   Participants can join in for any amount of time from 1 hour to all 24.
3. Every hour there will be an activity of the hour that you can choose to participate in.
4. When not reading or participating in activities, you can visit participating author’s and/or book blogger’s websites.  The lists of participants will appear on the signup page as people join.
5. Respond to other participants’ posts on social media to encourage them.
6. Check in with the Save Our Cozies Readathon web page and/or Facebook group.
7. Post your reading progress/ activity on your social media of choice, if hashtags are applicable use #saveourcozies #readathon
8. Post cozy reviews on your medium of choice. I believe authors’  prefer Amazon and/or Goodreads
9. Donating prizes for challenges/activities – (can be as simple as bookmarks)
10. Work admin duties – I hope for us to have a presence on several social media platforms, we already have a Facebook groupthanks to Shelly Toler Franz. I will open a WordPress  webpage for handling all sign up and linking needed for the readathon.  I will link the web page to a Twitter account.  I can also form a Goodreads group. I don’t personally use Tumblr,Booklikes,Librarything,  or many others, so if someone uses those platforms I’d appreciate it if they would volunteer to admin there.  There will be closing down duties as well.  Books or pages read by everyone and participants will need to be tallied.  Thank yous will need to go out, etc.

Authors can participate by:

1. See 1 – 9 above (Authors are fans, too. Right?)
2. Posting on his or her own webpage.
3. Hosting challenges or activities.
4. Setting up interviews with book bloggers to be posted during the challenge
5. Setting up a Q&A session on Twitter during the readathon. (usually this is done by collecting questions from readers over the couple weeks leading up to the readathon and then tweeting them with answers during the event.)

Donated Prizes

Each hourly event will have a winner and if we have enough prizes there will be other categories to win in as well (most pages read, most books listened to, most activities participated in, etc.)

• Terrie Farley Moran – Signed set of all 3 Read ‘Em and Eat Mysteries and a mousepad
• Tina Chapman AKA Franz Chapman AKA AngryGreyCatReads – Signed copies of Written Off and The Question of the Unfamilar Husband both by E.J. Copperman
• Anonymous  reader- pillow or totebag with Save Our Cozies Readathon
• Molly MacRae – 2 copies of Last Wool and Testament
• Maggie Toussaint – 3 Kindle books of Bubba Done It
• Eva Gates AKA Vicki Delany – Reading Up a Storm plus bookmarks
• Anna Loan-Wilsey – A Deceptive Homecoming or A March to Remember
• Janet Bolin – Your choice of a Threadville Mystery
• Marty Wingate – Audio book of The Red Book of Primrose House
• Erika Chase – Signed copy of Law and Author
• Susan Van Kirk – Three May Keep A Secret plus bookmarks
• Victoria Hamilton – No Mallets Intended and White Colander Crime plus bookmarks
• Nancy J. Cohen – 1 signed copy of Shear Murder and 2 ebooks of Permed to Death plus bookmarks
• Laura Disilverio – 1 signed copy each of The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco and The Readaholics and the Poirot Puzzle
• Denise Swanson – audio books of Murder of an Open Bookand Between a Book and a Hard Place.
• Kathleen Bridge- 2 print copies of Hearse and Gardens  (mailed directly through Amazon not available for International winners – US only)
• Cate Price – An autographed copy of A Dollhouse to Die For
• Edith Maxwell – 2 signed hardcover books  Farmed and Dangerous & Murder Most Fowl
• Susannah Hardy/Sadie Hartwell – 1 copy each of Yarned and Dangerous, Olive and Let Die, & Feta Attraction
• Barbara Early/Beverly Allen – 1 signed copy of Floral Depravity
• Diane Vallere – 2 copies of Crushed Velvet in a choice of format, either ebook or print
• Mary Ellen Hughes – 1 signed copy of License to Dill
• Sandra Bretting – 2 copies of Murder at Morningside
• Jenny Kales – 3 ebooks of On the Chopping Block
• Daryl Wood Gerber – choice of anyone of the first 4 Cookbook Nook series books.
• Anna Lee – an assortment of 6 cozy mystery books and bookmarks
• Ellen Byron – a hardcover copy of Plantation Shudders and a fun bag of swag
• Nancy Herriman – 2 signed copies of No Comfort for the Lostand 1 signed copy of No Pity for the Dead
• Toni LoTempio/T.C. Lotempio – signed copies of Meow if it’s Murder and Claws for Alarm
• Krista Davis – 1 copy of The Diva Serves High Tea and 1 copy of Murder Most Howl
• Tracy Weber – choice of books from the Downward Dog Mystery Series, a mug, and signed bookmarks
• Sofie Kelly AKA Sofie Ryan- 2 copies of Faux Paw and 3 copies of A Whisker of Trouble
• Nancy Lynn Jarvis – 1 copy of A Neighborly Killing
• Carol J. Perry – 3 copies of Tails You Lose 
• Marla Cooper – choice of hardback or ebook of Terror in Taffeta
• Leslie Budewitz – a winner’s choice of either Assault and Pepper or Guilty as Cinnamon
• Brian Kavanagh – a kindle copy of each of the books in theBelinda Lawrence series.
• Lisa Q. Mathews – 3 ebook prizes in winners’ choice of Cardiac Arrest or Permanently Booked along with bookmarks and pens.
• C. Michele Dorsey – 1 hardback copy of No Virgin Island

Participant Signups – Over 200 people have already signed up!

You can sign up in a couple different ways.

1 –  CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE READATHON BLOG –

In the comment box, tell me:

• Name – What you would like to be known as during the readathon
• Reader and/or Author
• Blog address (Optional)
• Online home – any social media site(s) that you want to use for the readathon (facebook, tumblr, twitter, Goodreads, etc.)  Please provide a link so we can find your posts/activity during the readathon

OR

2 – Email the above information to saveourcoziesreadathon@gmail.com.  Please enter Readathon in the subject line.

OR

3 – Message Fanficfan44  on Goodreads.com

Once you are done you can see other participants here.

Whether you can join for the whole day or even just an hour this is a great way to support cozy authors.

If you have questions you can contact the organizers at https://saveourcoziesreadathon.wordpress.com/ or post on the Save Our Cozies Facebook Page.