Book Spotlight; THE WITLESS PROTECTION PROGRAM (A Catering Hall Mystery) by Maria DiRico

About the Book 

Mia Carina has steered her Italian-American family’s Astoria, Queens, catering hall, Belle View Banquet Manor, into becoming the borough’s premiere party site, and nothing could make her happier—except her boyfriend proposing. There’s just one presumed-dead obstacle in the way . . . 

A strong, independent woman and respected entrepreneur, Mia never imagined she’d pine for a marriage proposal. Yet lately, with her beloved Shane, she’s on tenterhooks. It’s especially surprising, considering Mia’s first husband, Adam, was a philandering grifter, assumed lost-at-sea after a boating disaster. But everyone knows what happens when you assume . . . 

While working a huge wedding expo in Manhattan, Mia is shocked to spot the man who nearly destroyed her life. The one who’s supposed to be sleeping with the fishes. But she loses him in the crowd. And when it happens again the next day, it’s time for an emergency meeting with the family—and the Family. Because if Adam is alive, Mia is still married . . . 

Everyone wants Adam dead. Everyone except Mia. She’s dealt with enough police for a lifetime. Mia needs to be a divorcée, not a widow. But someone out there disagrees, and if Mia doesn’t discover who, she may never be free to marry Shane—or anyone else . . . 

Italian recipes included! 

Purchase Links 

Amazon ~ B&N ~ Kobo ~ Bookshop.org ~ Kensington

The Catering Hall Mysteries

Here Comes the Body (Book 1)

Long Island Iced Tina (Book 2)

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder (Book 3)

Four Parties and a Funeral (Book 4)

The Witless Protection Program (Book 5)

About the Author 

Maria DiRico is the pseudonym for Ellen Byron, author of the award-winning, USA Today bestselling Cajun Country Mysteries. Born in Queens, New York, she is a first-generation Italian-American on her mother’s side and the granddaughter of a low-level Jewish mobster on her father’s side. She grew up visiting the Astoria Manor and Grand Bay Marina catering halls, which were run by her Italian mother’s family in Queens and have become the inspiration for her Catering Hall Mystery Series. 

DiRico has been a writer-producer for hit television series like Wings and Just Shoot Me, and her first play, Graceland, appears in the Best Short Plays collection. She’s a freelance journalist, with over 200 articles published in national magazines, and previously worked as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart, a credit she never tires of sharing. 

A native New Yorker who attended Tulane University, Ellen lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and two rescue dogs. 

Author Links 

Website ~ Chicks on the Case ~ Facebook ~ Twitter 

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Blog Tour and Book Review: DEATH A SKETCH - A Paint & Shine Mystery by Cheryl Hollon

 

In eastern Kentucky, Miranda Trent runs a unique tour company called Paint & Shine, but sometimes the peaceful mountains play host to murder . . .

 

Miranda’s business—combining Appalachian adventure tours with art and a bit of moonshine—is the perfect place for an outdoor sporting goods company to hold an employee retreat. It’ll be a challenge, but the money they’re paying will definitely help with building her new distillery.

Miranda has lots of teamwork-fostering activities planned, from sketching classes to Southern cooking, but the executive running things prefers a more competitive spirit. In fact, after the workers are split into teams, they’re told that only the winners will keep their jobs, and tensions begin to spike. Even after a participant is found dead, the contest continues—while Miranda starts drawing her own conclusions about the ambitious attendees. Now she just has to find the proof . . .

Review:

Miranda's on a mission - make enough money with her tour company to building her new distillery. Only there's a deadline on that. The combination of great scenery, art, and moonshine for her usual tours isn't enough. Hence her venture into the corporate world with what she envisions as a team-building experience. Unfortunately, the people in charge of the company have very different ideas, pitting the employees against each other. The silver lining is reconnecting with her old friend, Rowena, only Rowena is obviously fearful of losing her job if things don't work out.

If it had been her choice and she didn't need the money, Miranda would have cancelled the mess especially after the murder. Only the people in charge insisted it continue. Unfortunately, the misfortunes continued as well with an interesting cast of suspects. The bright spot is the forest ranger, Austin Morgan, with more than a passing interest in Miranda.

The characters are well-developed, especially Miranda, Austin, and others in the town. The plot played out with twists and turns, and a surprising ending. Hollon has done a great job of combining eco-themes with art and mystery, a cute dog named Sandy, and a budding romance. I look forward to reading more in this series, and have already bought the first one. Although this is the third  in the series, it can easily be read out of order. If you like cozy mysteries with a strong female MC, you'll enjoy this one.

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 Cheryl Hollon

Cheryl Hollon now writes full-time after she left an engineering career designing and building military flight simulators in amazing countries such as England, Wales, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, and India. Fulfilling the dream of a lifetime, she combines her love of writing with a passion for oil painting and creating glass art. 

Cheryl and her husband live in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. Visit her online at http://cherylhollon.com, on Facebook or on Twitter @CherylHollon.

Purchase Links Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Google Play - IndieBound - Kensington  

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Book Review: CRIMINAL CONFECTIONS (A Chocolate Whisperer Mystery) by Colette London

Synopsis (from Amazon)

Hayden Mundy Moore is an expert on everything chocolate, helping clients develop new products and revamp recipes until they're irresistible. But sometimes, a dash of murder finds its way into the mix. . . 

Hayden Mundy Moore has bushwhacked through African jungles and haggled in exotic markets to find the finest cacao beans and the most flavorful blends. It's thrilling work but rarely dangerous--until a colleague turns up dead at the exclusive chocolate-themed Lemaître resort spa in San Francisco. 

Adrienne Dowling's heart attack is blamed on an accidental overdose of the secret ingredient used in Lemaître Chocolates' new line. Hayden can't believe that conscientious Adrienne would make that mistake. And between chocolate body scrubs, cocoa mud baths, and a non-stop frenzy of chocolate-based treats, Hayden starts to suspect that she, not Adrienne, was the intended target. Finding a killer among the rival chocolatiers and potential suspects won't just be satisfying--it might save her life. . . 

Review 

An interesting concept - someone who goes "undercover" to test out new varieties of chocolate or determine why some chocolate product isn't selling - all on the hush, hush. Hayden definitely has an interesting job (and apparently skill) and has spent some time at Lemaître evaluating their new creation that infused caffeine into chocolate. In the process she became close to Adrienne, who was spearheading its production. Also, she was invited to their chocolatier weekend celebration. She drags along her friend Danny as her plus one, only Danny has a colorful past.

Adrienne is killed, possibly an accidental overdose via her green smoothie, one she had shared with Hayden. Other than that the smoothie was the least appealing item in the story, Hayden's not sure if they knew which smoothie was Adrienne's. Both for her own safety and because of their friendship, Hayden needs to find the killer. Danny is in full agreement.

The book is filled with quirky characters, including Hayden, for sure. She's a character and interacts in ways that are not always appropriate, but add a bit of humor. There are many suspects from the elderly Bernie who started the company and his son, Christian, who took it over to the potentially failing and smarmy chocolatier, and others who work for Lemaître. A different writing style for sure, yet I enjoyed the book. As a chocolate lover myself, I loved the descriptions of the drinks and foods, not so much the chocolate body wrap. I'll be trying the recipe for chocolate mousse and reading others in the series.

AMAZON

About the Author

Colette London is the pseudonym of a best-selling novelist who's published more than three dozen books worldwide. Her Chocolate Whisperer series (featuring chocolate expert—and amateur sleuth!—Hayden Mundy Moore) kicked off with Criminal Confections and now includes Dangerously Dark, The Semisweet Hereafter, Dead and Ganache, and The Peppermint Mocha Murder, all from Kensington Books. 

Visit www.colettelondon.com today to find fantastic chocolate recipes, sign up for new-book reminder e-mails, and catch sneak previews of upcoming books in the Chocolate Whisperer series.