Showing posts with label Tower District Mystery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tower District Mystery. Show all posts

Sunday, July 21, 2024

Book Review: ONE OF YOU (Tower District Mysteries) by Lorie Lewis Ham

One of You (Tower District Mysteries) Mystery 2nd in Series Setting – The Tower District of Fresno, CA 
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mystery Rat’s Books (June 4, 2024) 

About the Book 

With her life on the California Coast behind her, Roxi Carlucci is beginning to feel at home in the Tower District—the cultural oasis of Fresno, CA—where she now lives with her cousin P.I. Stephen Carlucci, her pet rat Merlin, a Pit Bull named Watson, and a black cat named Dan. She has a new entertainment podcast, works as a part-time P.I., and is helping local bookstore owner Clark Halliwell put on the first-ever Tower Halloween Mysteryfest! The brutal summer heat is gone and has been replaced by the dense tule fog—perfect for Halloween! 


She just wishes everyone would stop calling her the “Jessica Fletcher” of the Tower District simply because she found a dead body when she first arrived. But when one of the Mysteryfest authors is found dead, she fears she jinxed herself! The Carlucci’s are hired to find the killer before they strike again. Will Mysteryfest turn into a murder fest? How is the local gossip website back, and what does it know about the death of Roxi’s parents? 

Review 

The Mysteryfest is stressful enough without the murder. As the story builds up, Ham gives the impression that the murder - and, of course, there's a murder - will be of the one no one has a kind word for. Not wanting to give it away, but with a small cast of "celebrities" and the erstwhile publisher and tyrant, it's all about jealousy and competition. Or is it? The Tower gossip tweets are back and it's not clear whose offering the hints or why. She or he might know the answer.

This is the second in the Tower District Series, but easily read as a stand-alone. Roxi's still trying to get her bearings but is in the thick of things trying to figure out who the killer is and why. The main characters are well-developed; the quirky ones are definitely quirky. This was a fun read. Cozy mystery lovers will enjoy the Tower District Series. 

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. 

The Tower District Series
One of Us
One of You

About the Author 

Lorie Lewis Ham lives in Reedley, California and has been writing ever since she was a child. Her first song and poem were published when she was 13, and she has gone on to publish many articles, short stories, and poems throughout the years, as well as write for a local newspaper, and publish 7 mystery novels. 

For the past 14 years, Lorie has been the editor-in-chief and publisher of Kings River Life Magazine, and she produces Mysteryrat’s Maze Podcast, where you can hear an excerpt of her book (link below).

You can learn more about Lorie and her writing here:


Purchase Links 







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Saturday, September 18, 2021

Blog Tour and Book Review: ONE OF US (A Tower District Mystery) by Lorie Lewis Ham

 

Synopsis

At 35, children’s book author Roxi Carlucci finds herself starting over again after her publisher drops her book series. With no income, she has to pack up her life on the California Coast, along with her pet rat Merlin, and move in with her cousin, P.I. Stephen Carlucci, who lives in Fresno, CA. The one redeeming factor is that Stephen lives in the Tower District—the cultural oasis of Fresno.

Stephen talks Roxi into helping out with a community theatre production, which is also a fundraiser for a local animal rescue. Little did she know that someone would be murdered during a rehearsal, and that she and Stephen would be hired to find the killer. The killer has to be one of Roxi’s new acquaintances since the theatre was locked at the time of the murder, but no one seems to have a motive. How can they solve a murder without a motive? Could the local gossip website hold any clues? Can they stop the killer before they strike again?

        GIVEAWAY 
Leave a comment - one lucky commenter will win a digital copy of One of Us.

Review

Roxi moves in with her cousin to decide on the next chapter in her life. She's worked for Stephen before but is not thrilled with the idea of Fresno. Not her favorite place. He's helping with the theater company and she agrees to work with the mousy stage manager. The very first night she's there, an argument breaks out between the director and an actor over an issue with the script. The next day the mousy manager is found dead. 

Well-written, Ham walks you through the twists, turns, and surprises that face Roxi and Stephen as they work with the local police to solve the murder. In trying to come up to speed with what's happening, Roxi discovers the local gossip website. Is who is talked about important? Or maybe who's missing? 

This is the first in series and the stage is set for Roxie and Stephen to be solving more murders in the Tower District. There might even be a possible romance blooming. If you like a good mystery with some quirky characters (and don't forget Merlin), you'll like this one. I've added the next to my TBR pile.

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 Lorie Lewis Ham

Lorie Lewis Ham lives in Reedley, California and has been writing ever since she was a child—her first stories were about her stuffed animals. Her first song and poem were published when she was 13, and she has gone on to publish many articles, short stories, and poems throughout the years, as well as write for a local newspaper. Four out of 5 of her previously published mystery novels feature gospel singer Alexandra Walters and are set in the San Joaquin Valley. Those books were inspired by the many years she spent traveling and singing gospel music with her family. 

One Of Us is the first in a brand new mystery series set in the Tower District of Fresno, California featuring podcaster and part-time detective Roxi Carlucci. Lorie has also been the publisher of the online magazine Kings River Life for the past 11 years (kingsriverlife.com), and of its sister website KRL News & Reviews (krlnews.com). She also launched a mystery podcast called Mysteryrat’s Maze (mysteryratsmaze.podbean.com) 3 years ago which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors, including the first chapter of this book. You can find the podcast on Apple Podcasts, and all of the other usual places. You can learn more about Lorie on her website mysteryrat.com and find her on Twitter @mysteryrat and Facebook. Another way to keep up with Lorie’s writing is to subscribe to her newsletter—you can find info on doing that on her website.

Lorie has been married to Larry for 30 years and they have 2 grown children—Jayce and Joseph Ham. She currently has 5 cats (Merlin, Sam, Dean, Sidney, and Willow), 4 dogs (Lestat, Huey, Xander, and Phoebe), and a pet dwarf rabbit (Sherlock). For many years, she worked in pet rat rescue and has had many pet rats of her own over the years. 

Author Links 

Purchase Links 

TOUR PARTICIPANTS 
September 15 – I'm All About Books – SPOTLIGHT 
September 16 – Novels Alive – GUEST POST 
September 16 – Christy's Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST                             POST 
September 17 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT 
September 18 – I Read What You Write – GUEST POST
September 19 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW 
September 20 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW 
September 21 – Baroness' Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT 
September 22 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST 
September 23 – Mysteries with Character – REVIEW 
September 24 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 
September 25 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book –                                     SPOTLIGHT 
September 26 – Cozy Up With Kathy - REVIEW, AUTHOR                                     INTERVIEW 
September 26 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT 
September 27 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT September 28 – Reading Authors Network – GUEST POST
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