DEAD AMID THE DOGWOODS (Adina Donati, Accidental Sleuth #5) by Cassidy Salem

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Nothing disrupts a celebration quite like an uninvited corpse. 

Adina already knows the city can be a dangerous place. That’s why she’s looking forward to a stress-free weekend in rural Pennsylvania with her favorite detective. Maybe not all that stress-free. 

They are attending an engagement party and Adina will be meeting Jonathan’s family for the first time. Except the holiday weekend takes a deadly turn when leading industrialists, a hard-core environmentalist, and a bevy of wealthy partygoers converge on the Riverfront Lodge, and the couple stumbles upon yet another dead body. 

Drawn into the ensuing investigation, making a good impression on Jonathan's parents is the least of her worries. A standalone novella, Dead amid the Dogwoods is the fifth mystery in the Adina Donati, Accidental Sleuth Series. 

Available in digital, audiobook, and print formats from all your favorite retailers - GET IT HERE 

The Adina Donati Series

THINK MURDER 

DYING FOR DATA 

KILLER REPUTATION 

FIT FOR MURDER

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cassidy Salem has always been an avid reader. She is especially fond of mysteries (both cozy and traditional) and police procedurals. Over the years, her favorite mystery authors have included Agatha Christie, Kathy Reichs, Mary Higgins Clark, and John Grisham. 

When she’s not reading, she enjoys music and spending time with family and friends, and travels with her husband and son whenever possible. Her travels have taken her to destinations throughout the United States, Europe, and Scandinavia. 

A member of Sisters-in-Crime, Cassidy is the author of the Adina Donati Mystery Series, which includes Think Murder, Dying for Data, Killer Reputations, Fit for Murder, and Dead Amid the Dogwoods. Cassidy co-authors, together with Christa Nardi, a YA mystery series, which includes The Mysterious Package, Mrs. Tedesco’s Missing Cookbook, The Misplaced Dog, Malicious Mischief, and Mayhem on the Midway. You can find Cassidy on her blog (https://cassidysalem.wordpress.com/) or on Twitter (@csalem11).

Interview with CASSIDY SALEM, Author of the Adina Donati Accidental Sleuth Mystery Series

Welcome, Cassidy. Before we talk about your writing perhaps you could tell us a bit about yourself.

Hi, Christa. First of all, thanks for inviting me to stop by. 

Like most authors, I read a lot. I have been an avid reader for as long as I can remember, going back to childhood when I would read my Nancy Drew books with a flashlight under the covers after my bedtime. Mysteries (both cozy and traditional) and police procedurals are my favorites but I also enjoy literature, romance, and historical fiction. 

When I’m not reading, I enjoy music (I sing and dance) and traveling. Both my husband and I have been bitten by the wanderlust bug – we like to travel whenever and wherever we can and have played tourist in destinations throughout the United States, Europe, Israel, and Scandinavia. In that context, I enjoy taking pictures of scenery and sculpture, and I tweet photos from our travels on a regular basis (#mytravelpics). Of course, with the ongoing health crisis worldwide, we’ve been stuck home.

When did you begin writing? 

I always wrote in school and college, but it was in the context of assignments, not writing for the sake of writing. At work, my writing was always semi-academic or technical in nature. Never anything that even resembled creative writing. About five years ago, I decided to try and write fiction. More than anything else, I think I wanted to challenge myself. The result was Think Murder - the first of four books in the Adina Donati, Accidental Sleuth Mystery Series. 

Tell us a bit about Adina and the series. 

Adina is a college graduate in her mid-twenties who moves to Washington, D.C. in hopes of putting her foreign language skills to good use. Instead, she ends up working as an admin assistant at a prestigious think tank. Not what she dreamed of doing when she went to college, but the job market is tough. Although for the most part she enjoys life in the big city, her adventures also expose her to the darker sides of the city – murder, political intrigue and more.

Do you set your stories in places you’ve been? 

Absolutely. When I was young, footless and fancy free, I spent a couple of years living in Washington D.C. and fell in love with the city. Our nation’s capital is amazing. No matter how many times I visit the city, I am always awed by the National Mall, the multitude of monuments, the war memorials, and the Smithsonian Castle. And, as Adina could tell you, it’s a great city for young people. The potential for using different settings as backdrops for a story, not to mention the series, is limitless. 

What do you hope people get from your work? 

For the most part – an engaging, interesting read, with a mystery at its center. At the same time, although it was not a conscious decision on my part, each of the Adina Donati murder mysteries touches on real-life issues and current events, such as animal welfare, environmental protection, medical care, and cybercrime. Adina’s workplace, a think tank in Washington D.C., naturally lends itself to discussions of a wide range of issues from differing points of view. So maybe, just maybe, some readers come away with food for thought.

Thank you, Cassidy, for sharing with us today. I, for one, am looking forward to the next in the Adina Donati Accidental Sleuth Mystery Series.

Connect with Cassidy on social media: 

 • Blog: https://cassidysalem.wordpress.com/ 

 • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AdinaDonati 

 • Twitter: https://twitter.com/CSalem11 

 • Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/cassidysalem/ 

 • Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Cassidy-Salem/e/B00ROZERKI/ 

 • Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/11923940.Cassidy_Salem 

 • Website: https://cassidysalem.wixsite.com/mysite

You can find all of the Adina Donati, Accidental Sleuth Mysteries on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074CFKRW9

SPOTLIGHT : FIT FOR MURDER Adina Donati, Accidental Sleuth #4 by Cassidy Salem

Synopsis

Exercise is good for you, or so they said. So why is the Pilates instructor dead?
Adina signed up for Pilates because she wanted to get some exercise, not to find another body. Initially ruled an accidental death, the victim’s business partner has her doubts, which are soon reinforced by a series of suspicious incidents. With no obvious motives or suspects, Adina sets out to identify the killer – with or without help from her favorite detective.

AMAZON

This relatively  is the fourth in the Adina Donati, Accidental Sleuth Series, and on sale 1/15-22 for $0.99 or always FREE with Kindle Unlimited. Here are some of the reviews so far (on Amazon):

"Exercise is good for you, or so they said. So why is the Pilates instructor dead?
Adina signed up for Pilates because she wanted to get some exercise, not to find another body. Initially ruled an accidental death, the victim’s business partner has her doubts, which are soon reinforced by a series of suspicious incidents. With no obvious motives or suspects, Adina sets out to identify the killer – with or without help from her favorite detective."

"Fit for Murder is the fourth book in the Adina Donati series and these books must be read in order. Seriously, start at the beginning of the series! These books are everything I could want in a cozy mystery series! If you’ve read the previous books in the series, you know Adina has a “gift” of being drawn into murders and then solving them. What I love is that this isn’t a forced situation, it really does just seem to be her lucky/unlucky gift. The author does a great job of writing these situations, and she has created a fantastic character in Adina.

Adina is a strong female character with strong female friendships. I absolutely love this in a book! She is dating someone but he was a very minor part of the book this time. And, if you want to know my feelings about this guy, check out my previous reviews! Of all the books in the series, this one really felt like a strong woman book. There were so many great, diverse female characters and their interactions were just real-life interactions. Well, with a little murder thrown in, but you know, it’s Adina’s gift!"

Other books in the series:

Think Murder

Dying for Data

Killer Reputation

Spotlight: KILLER REPUTATION

Synopsis

Adina can’t resist snooping when someone she knows turns up dead. Again.

When a colleague at a prestigious think tank meets a violent death, Adina’s not convinced any of the obvious suspects disliked him enough to want him dead. Can the young research assistant, her quirky neighbor, and a lovable rescue pup help the police put together the pieces of the puzzle?

Killer Reputation is the third mystery in the Adina Donati, Accidental Sleuth Series by Cassidy Salem. The books are standalone reads and can be read in any order.

Read an Excerpt

Bonzo’s insistent barking woke me out of a sound sleep. The glowing digital display on my clock radio showed it was 1:35 in the morning. Perched at the window, paws up on the sill, the dog focused his attention on the great outdoors.

I dragged myself out of bed, hoping to quiet him before he woke up my housemates. Tail wagging, he gave my hand a quick lick before returning to his vigil at the window. My bedroom was at the back of the house, overlooking a small fenced yard. I looked outside but neither saw nor heard anything out of the ordinary.

I called my loveable mutt back to his doggie bed, gave him a quick tummy rub, and went back to sleep.

I was in the kitchen when Lynda, my housemate, returned from her early morning run. Instead of heading straight for the shower, she burst into the kitchen. “Something must have happened down the street at Patrick’s place. An ambulance and a police car are out front.”

“Bonzo, I think it’s time for a walk.” I grabbed his leash and he sprinted to the front door. More often than not, I didn’t have time to take him for a proper walk in the morning. Instead, he had to make do with a quick romp in the backyard and do his business while I got ready for work. He was happy to reap the benefits of my curiosity.

A police cruiser was parked in front of the pale yellow house on the corner. The ambulance was nowhere in sight. We hadn’t even reached the curb when our next-door neighbor, Mr. Crockett, waved me over. A retired policeman in his eighties, Bartholomew Crockett lived alone and spent most of his time on the front porch.

He met me halfway down his flagstone path, an oversized, dark grey cardigan buttoned up to his neck and hanging over his pants. “A lot of excitement this morning. Something happened at the house where those two young guys live. Always having wild parties and such. You girls know them, don’t you?”

“Sure, we know them. Patrick works at the DIPPeR and Jared invited us to a party over there last month. Do you have any idea what happened over there? Or who was hurt?”

“One of the guys, I think. Couldn’t tell which one from here, and I didn’t want to get in the way – I’ll see what I can find out when the officers come back out.”

“And you’ll let me in on what you find out, I hope.”

“Of course.”

I took Bonzo for a short stroll in the opposite direction before returning home. By then, Lynda had showered and was enjoying a steaming cup of java. She looked up when I came in.

“Find out anything?”

“Not much. I’ll tell you on the way to work.”

Lynda gulped down the last of her coffee, and we headed out to catch the Metro.

Lynda Lowell worked in the Publications Department at the Drake Institute for Public Policy Research – what we insiders refer to as the DIPPeR. That’s how we ended up as housemates. Lynda Lowell, Shari Moss, and I had been sharing a three-bedroom house in the northwest section of Washington, D.C. since February. So far, it was working out great, and a major improvement over the basement studio apartment where I had spent my first two years in the city. Especially since it meant I could have a dog.

“So, what did Crockett tell you? If anyone knows what happened, it’d be him.”

When we first moved in, it felt like he was always watching us. It was almost creepy. That is, until I started talking to him and realized he’s a kind-hearted, lonely old man.

“He doesn’t know much. Not yet, anyway. He said they took someone out on a stretcher. Thinks it was one of the guys who live there, meaning Patrick or Jared. He couldn’t tell who.”

“His eyes are probably not so good at his age.”

“In all fairness, from a distance, lying on a stretcher, would you be able to tell who was injured?”

“Maybe not.”

“Anyway, Mr. Crockett did say he’ll try to wheedle some intel out of the police officers before they leave. I think he misses being a cop. Did you see Shari this morning?”

“Nope. She was gone before I went out for my run. She probably just had an early shift this morning.” A nurse at a hospital in Silver Spring, it wasn’t unusual for our housemate to be up and out of the house before we surfaced.

“She’s been spending a lot of time over there. I hope she’s okay.”

“I heard her come in late last night, so I’m sure she’s fine.”

Excerpt from Killer Reputation by Cassidy Salem © 2018 All rights reserved.

About the Author

Cassidy Salem has always been an avid reader. She is especially fond of mysteries (both cozy and traditional) and police procedurals. Cassidy also enjoys reading historical fiction focused on American and world history, as well as the classics. When she’s not reading, she enjoys music and spending time with family and friends, and travels with her husband and son whenever possible. Her travels have taken her to destinations throughout the United States, Europe, and Scandinavia.



Author Links

Twitter: @csalem11

Facebook: Adina Donati, Accidental Sleuth

Blog: https://cassidysalem.wordpress.com/

Purchase link:

Amazon

NEW RELEASE! THINK MURDER by Cassidy Salem

Synopsis (from Amazon)

Discovering the body of a friend and colleague was not what Adina Donati had in mind when she moved to Washington D.C. in search of excitement. An administrative assistant at a prestigious think tank, Adina is drawn into the middle of the murder investigation. The police don’t seem to be making much progress until Adina stumbles onto important clues and discovers just how dangerous life in the nation’s capitol can be.

"I could not stop reading and was disappointed that I had finished it; I wanted more. Salem captured what I call a classic detective/mystery case and I place this up there with other novels written by Agatha Christie, Henry Christopher Bailey, and Patricia Cornwell."


"This story was positively captivating. I couldn't put it down. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time."

Review

For a first mystery novel, Salem is off to a great start! Set in Washington DC at a think tank, the first things that come to mind are political scandal or theft of intellectual property, but this is much more subtle. Adina's friend, Hilary, is a research assistant working on a project when she is murdered. She's also an avid amateur photographer.  Adina is assigned to finish the project and deals with a cantankerous boss on the project. There are some questions about the project, a contact who seems a bit odd not to mention the new guy at the animal shelter. . . Are they all connected to the murder? the project? or just coincidence?  Did she snap a picture of the wrong person?

Salem has a well-developed plot. It's well-written, with enough tension to keep the pages turning. Adina is a strong, intelligent woman that has depth and doubts that make her human. Besides she loves dogs. There's a hint of possible romance that is left hanging at the end. I only hope there is a sequel. It will definitely be added to the TBR pile (near the top!).

About the Author

Cassidy Salem has always been an avid reader. She is especially fond of mysteries and historical fiction. When she's not reading, she enjoys music and spending time with family and friends, and travels with her husband and son whenever possible.

Contact Cassidy:

Twitter: @CSalem11

Blog: https://cassidysalem.wordpress.com/

Also on Facebook and Goodreads

Purchase link: AMAZON