Christa Reads and Writes
Thursday, May 19, 2022
Book Review: SWEET SIERA GULCH (A Paige MacKenzie Mystery) by Deborah Garner
Monday, May 16, 2022
Book Review: POISONED IN PROVENCE (A Nina Brown Paranormal Cozy Mystery) by Cat Green
Monday, May 9, 2022
Blog Tour and Book Review: BEAR WITNESS (An Alaska Untamed Mystery) by Lark O. Jensen
Before the tour boat reaches shore Stacie—accompanied by her beautiful blue-eyed husky, Sasha—must deduce just who sent the testy tourist tumbling into the turgid waters and have the authorities take custody. Because if she can’t, then the killer might aim a fatal ice-cold stare at Stacie.
Review
Stacie Calder is a naturalist whose passion is learning more about nature and sharing that knowledge as the tour guide for a prominent Alaska tour company. She and her dog, Sasha, work with the same crew and captain all the time, and Stacie is very loyal to the captain and the company. Needless to say, when a man is questioning her and the company, she becomes uncomfortable and suspicious that he may try to ruin the company and searches for him. Only he's disappeared and now she's a suspect.
She insinuates herself into the investigation and the primary investigator, Liam, ultimately gives her permission to keep sleuthing with the promise that she'll share what she finds out. Not all her coworkers are enthused with her questions, nor is the dead man's 'friend' who continues to take the tour day after day.
Throughout the story, Jensen provides descriptions of scenery and wildlife, ice floes and glaciers calving, the birds, and other animals they encounter. The descriptions are rich and the reader can appreciate the experience. Having taken tours like that one, it's also very accurate. These are interwoven with the growing relationship between Stacie and Liam, the animosity of some of the crew, her sleuthing, and increased concern when one man is acting strangely.
This is a great start to a new series. The pace is good, Stacie is a likable protagonist, there are multiple suspects, and it's very well-written. There's something for everyone in this great story.
FTC Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book in the hopes that I would post an honest review. This has not affected the content of my review in any way.
About the Author
Lark O. Jensen is the pseudonym of Linda O. Johnston, a former lawyer who is now a full-time writer. Lark has written Bear Witness, the first Alaska Untamed mystery for Crooked Lane. Linda has written the Barkery & Biscuits Mystery series and the Superstition Mysteries for Midnight Ink and the Pet Rescue Mysteries and Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime. Linda also writes for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, and her stories often involve dogs.
Author LinksSaturday, May 7, 2022
Blog Tour and Book Review: MARGARITAS, MAYHEM & MURDER (An Andi Anna Jones Mystery) by Mary Cunningham
Synopsis
Andi Anna Jones, so-so travel agent and amateur sleuth, puts aside her resentment of her father's widow and books a sixtieth birthday cruise to Cancun for Ruby and three friends. Never does Andi imagine the cruise will include the murder of a has-been lounge singer—or that Ruby might be the main suspect.
Flirting with more than danger after arriving in Mexico, Andi connects with charming local sheriff, Manual Gonzales. An embarrassing night involving the sheriff, too many margaritas, and a Mariachi band, can't quell her determination to clear the name of her ex-stepmother.While gathering clues and interviewing witnesses, however, she suspects dear old step-mom isn't the only one in jeopardy.
Author, Mary Cunningham, grew up on the northern side of the Ohio River in Corydon, Indiana. Her first memories are of her dad's original bedtime stories that no doubt inspired her imagination and love of a well-spun "yarn."
Through the author's horrifying stint as a travel agent, Andi Anna Jones sprang to life. The adult/mystery series gives extra meaning to the phrase, "Write what you know." Cunningham has several books published, including Cynthia's Attic, a five-book middle-grade fantasy, women’s lifestyle/humor book, WOOF: Women Only Over Fifty, Ebooks, Christmas With Daisy and Ghost Light. A biography of an army brat, turned UConn and WNBA basketball player, will be published in the spring of 2022.
She is a member of Sisters In Crime, Sisters In Crime-Atlanta Chapter, International Thriller Writers, Inc., and the Carrollton Writers Guild.
When she gives her fingers a break from the keyboard, Mary enjoys golf, swimming, and exploring the mountains of West Georgia where she makes her home with her husband and adopted, four-legged, furry daughter, Lucy.
Author Links- Website: http://www.marycunninghambooks.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marycunninghambooks
- Twitter: http://twitter.com/MaryCunningham
- Amazon Author Page: com: Mary Cunningham: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle
- Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/author/show/367223.Mary_Cunningham
- GoodReads Link - Margaritas, Mayhem & Murder by Mary Cunningham | Goodreads
Friday, April 29, 2022
Blog Tour and Review: KNIT OR DYE TRYING (A Riverbank Knitting Mystery) by Allie Pleiter
Synopsis
Business is booming for Libby Beckett and her fabulous Maryland shop, aptly named Y.A.R.N., but when a town festival brings a fatality with it, Libby gets all tangled up in murder.
As spring comes to Collinstown, the village launches a food festival to draw a new group of tourists. Libby, the proud owner of Y.A.R.N., has planned a yarn event to provide an alternative option to a foodie weekend. Artisan fiber dyer Julie Wilson—known for her work with animal-friendly, plant-based knitting fibers such as bamboo and hemp as well as her brilliant use of color—will hopefully draw a crowd with a special dyeing workshop.
The festival begins, but it draws more than crowds. First, a flock of sheep parades down the street, herded by farmers protesting Julie’s anti-wool stance. Then Julie’s celebrity chef sister appears, and the siblings resume a long-standing rivalry. Despite all this, Julie’s workshop has sold out. Libby is thrilled, and they’re preparing for a full house. But the night before the event, Julie is found alone in the warehouse event space—dead. The witty “Watch Julie Wilson Dye” workshop title now has a terrible new meaning—and it’s up to Libby to catch a crafty killer.
An avid knitter, coffee junkie and firm believer that “pie makes everything better,” Allie Pleiter writes both fiction and non-fiction working on as many as four novels at a time. The bestselling author of over fifty books, Allie has enjoyed a twenty-year career with over 1.5 million books sold. In addition to writing, Allie maintains an active writing productivity coaching practice and speaks regularly on the creative process, publishing, and her very favorite topic—The Chunky Method of time management for writers.
Author LinksMonday, April 25, 2022
New Release: MUSIC AND MEMORIES, ANOTHER MURDER (A Sheridan Hendley Mystery #7) by Christa Nardi
Thursday, April 7, 2022
Blog Tour Cover Reveal: MURDER IS NO PICNIC (A Cape Cod Foodie Mystery) by Amy Pershing
Murder Is No Picnic (A Cape Cod Foodie Mystery) by Amy Pershing
COMING JUNE 7, 2022
When a celebrity chef is found dead,

Samantha Barnes, the "Cape Cod Foodie,"

turning into a search for a killer . . .

READY!

SET!!

REVEAL!!!

Murder Is No Picnic (A Cape Cod Foodie Mystery)
Cozy Mystery 3rd in Series Setting – Cape Cod, Massachusetts Publisher : Berkley (June 7, 2022)
Mass Market Paperback : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593199189 ISBN-13 : 978-0593199183 Digital ASIN : B09K66BGZF
The Fourth of July is coming, and for professional food lover Samantha Barnes, it’s all about the picnic. Okay, and the fireworks. And the parade. But mostly the picnic. What could be better than a DIY clambake followed by the best blueberry buckle in the world? Sam has finally found the perfect recipe in the kitchen of Clara Foster, famed cookbook author and retired restaurateur, and she’s thrilled when Clara agrees to a buckle baking lesson.
But when Clara dies in a house fire blamed on carelessness in the kitchen, Sam doesn’t believe it. Unfortunately, her doubts set in motion an investigation pointing to the new owner of Clara’s legendary restaurant—and a cousin of Sam’s harbormaster boyfriend. So, in between researching the Cape’s best lobster rolls and planning her clambake, Sam needs to find Clara's killer before the fireworks really start....
You can Pre-Order Your Copy Today!
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Amy Pershing, who spent every summer of her childhood on Cape Cod, was an editor, a restaurant reviewer and a journalist before leading employee communications at a global bank. A few years ago she waved goodbye to Wall Street to write full time. Murder Is No Picnic is the third of the Cape Cod Foodie mysteries featuring Samantha Barnes, a disgraced but resilient ex-chef who retreats home to Cape Cod where she finds herself juggling a new job as the local paper’s “Cape Cod Foodie,” a complicated love life, a posse of just-slightly-odd friends, a falling-down house, a ginormous dog and a propensity for falling over dead bodies.
Elizabeth Gilbert called the first book in the series, A Side of Murder, “the freshest, funniest mystery I have ever read,” and Kirkus Reviews gave the second book, An Eggnog to Die For, a starred review, saying, “A delightful sleuth, a complex mystery, and lovingly described cuisine: a winner for both foodies and mystery mavens.”