Blog Tour and Book Review: UNDER THE RADAR : A Zoe Chambers Mystery #9 by Annette Dashofy

Synopsis
Paramedic and deputy coroner Zoe Chambers responds to a shooting and discovers her longtime friend, Horace Pavelka, has gunned down a man who’d bullied him mercilessly for decades. Ruled self-defense, no charges are filed. When another of his tormentors turns up dead in Horace’s kitchen, Police Chief Pete Adams questions the man’s innocence in both cases…especially after Horace and his girlfriend go into hiding.

While fighting to clear her friend, Zoe is handed the opportunity to finally learn what really happened to her long-lost sibling. What starts out as a quick road trip on a quest for answers leads her to an unfamiliar city in the middle of a November blizzard, where she finds way more trouble than she bargained for.

Pete’s own search for his missing fiancée and a missing murderer ultimately traps him in a web of deception. Face-to-face with one of the most cunning and deadly killers of his law enforcement career, Pete realizes too late that this confrontation may well be his last.

Review

This is a story that has multiple plot lines that naturally intersect. The initial murder is followed by a second involving Zoe's long time friend. While seeking to prove Horace's innocence, both Pete and Zoe find connections with their personal "cold cases." The two major characters - Pete and Zoe - are likable and have depth. Even Kimberly and Lauren. Their relationships and emotions come across as does the greater message of "Life's too short." The pace is steady with sufficient twists to maintain interest. 

This is the 9th in the Zoe Chambers series. I haven't read the previous eight and the story can be read as a stand-alone. Dashofy provides sufficient back history without it becoming tedious to follow the story line. I suspect, however, that the relationships would be better appreciated if the books were read in order. 

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.

Purchase Links 

Amazon – B&N – Kobo 

 About the Author

Annette Dashofy is the USA Today best-selling author of the Zoe Chambers mystery series about a paramedic and deputy coroner in rural southwestern Pennsylvania. A former EMT and lifelong resident of the area about which she writes, Annette lives with her husband and one very spoiled cat on what was once her grandfather’s dairy farm. UNDER THE RADAR (February 2020) is the ninth in her series.

Author Links

Website– www.annettedashofy.com

Blog– http://annettedashofy.blogspot.com/

Facebook– https://www.facebook.com/annette.dashofy

Twitter– @Annette_Dashofy

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Blog Tour : Interview with Annette Dashofy, Author of WITH A VENGEANCE

Today I am pleased to have Annette Dashofy as my guest to talk about writing the Zoe Chambers mystery series and WITH A VENGEANCE...

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? Do you always write in the same place or have to have specific objects or food/drink handy?

I’m afraid I’m notoriously boring in this department. I don’t have any real “quirks” but I do have a routine. I get up, shoo my husband off to work, grab a cup of coffee and some breakfast and then take my second cup of coffee into my home office where I write for two or three hours.

When writing this book what was the hardest thing about it? Easiest?

The hardest part was the research. And the easiest part was…the research! There was a lot of police procedure in WITH A VENGEANCE, and often I’d mistakenly think I knew what I was talking about! I’d write a scene the way I thought it would happen. But then I had a long chat with our local police chief who talked me through how the situation would really play out. The “easy” part was—the more accurate version was so much better! The rewriting was a blast! Later, rather than write the scene I envisioned first, I took the set-up to a cop friend of mine and said, “Okay, what would Pete do?” He gave me a long detailed account of different ways to handle it. My response was WOW. He just wrote the end of my story for me! Well, not quite, but he sure contributed a lot.

When did you first come up with the idea for the Zoe Chambers series?

Zoe and Pete first appeared in a short story in Mysterical-e back in 2006 (I think) and was a finalist for the Derringer Award of 2007. About that time, the series I’d been working on failed to find a publisher, and I wanted to start something new. A reader asked if we would ever see more of Zoe and Pete, so I thought I’d toy with fleshing them out a bit. I guess it worked!

This is book four in the series. How much have your main characters grown?

Zoe has definitely matured and overcome some obstacles in her life and in her career. After Bridges Burned, the previous book in the series, she was faced with a brand new devastating problem. I won’t say what in case you haven’t read it yet. But she continues to struggle with it in this book and will for the next couple as well. Also, her rocky romance with Pete is progressing slowly, but definitely progressing. 

How would you describe the audience who will most enjoy reading the Zoe Chambers series?

I’ve had my books compared to Julia Spencer Fleming’s and Louise Penny’s series, which I find immensely flattering. But I think if you like a good mystery with a strong sense of setting, but something not too fluffy, you’ll enjoy my series. Hank Phillippi Ryan once called them “not-quite-cozies” and I like that!

Can these be read as stand-alones or should readers start with the Book 1?

If you pick up the fourth book and read it first, you won’t be lost. But if you do start with Book 1 (Circle of Influence) and read them in order, you’ll pick up little tidbits that won’t mean anything to you otherwise.

Have you started the next in the series? What’s in store for Zoe and Pete?

Yes! I’m finishing up Book #5 in the series, which is due to my editor June first (cue hysterical screaming!), and it takes Zoe out of her comfort zone and into the wild west of New Mexico. It’s definitely a fish-out-of-water tale involving three homicides, two states, and some very hot topic issues. Don’t worry, though. Zoe comes home to Pennsylvania by the end!
Who are your favorite authors (any genre)?

This is always a dangerous question because I have so many and can’t list them all! I adore Julia Spencer Fleming, Craig Johnson, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Nancy Martin, and Margaret Maron, just to name a few. And I’m an Agatha nominee this year for Best Contemporary Novel with two of those ladies! (Squee!) And I love the other nominees (Louise Penny and Catriona McPherson), too! (Double squee!)

What else would you like to share about yourself and your books with your readers?

I love to meet my readers, so please check out my list of appearances on my website and come say hello! http://www.annettedashofy.com/

Or track me down on Facebook (where I spend way too much time). https://www.facebook.com/annette.dashofy/

Books in the Zoe Chambers Mystery Series

• CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE (#1)
• LOST LEGACY (#2)
• BRIDGES BURNED (#3)
• WITH A VENGEANCE (#4)

WITH A VENGEANCE

Synopsis

Paramedic Zoe Chambers and the rest of rural Monongahela County’s EMS and fire personnel are used to wading into the middle of trouble to rescue the sick and the injured. But when someone with an ax to grind seeks retribution by staging accident scenes and gunning down the first responders, Zoe finds herself forced to not only treat her own brethren of the front lines, but also, in her role as deputy coroner, seek out whoever is killing her friends.


At the same time, Vance Township Police Chief Pete Adams races to track down a gun, a mysterious all-terrain vehicle, and the sniper before Zoe goes back on duty, placing herself—and Pete—firmly in the gunman’s crosshairs.

Related subjects include: cozy mysteries, women sleuths, murder mystery series, whodunit mysteries (whodunnit), book club recommendations, audio books for download, police procedurals series, amateur sleuth books.

About The Author 

Annette Dashofy is the USA Today best-selling author of the Zoe Chambers mystery series about a paramedic and deputy coroner in rural Pennsylvania’s tight-knit Vance Township. CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE, published by Henery Press, was a finalist for the Agatha Award for Best First Novel and for the David Award for Best Mystery of 2014. LOST LEGACY, was released in September 2014 followed in April 2015 by BRIDGES BURNED, which has been nominated for the Agatha for Best Contemporary Novel. WITH A VENGEANCE, the fourth in the series, will be available May 3.

Author Links
website– www.annettedashofy.com

blog– http://annettedashofy.blogspot.com/

Facebook– https://www.facebook.com/annette.dashofy

Twitter– @Annette_Dashofy

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Blog Tour: BRIDGES BURNED (A Zoe Chambers Mystery #3) - Guest Post by Annette Dashofy

Today I'd like to welcome Annette Dashofy, author of BRIDGES BURNED, as my guest!  

Walking Those Fictional Country Roads

A friend and I were recently discussing our favorite authors and I fired off a list of mine, including Craig Johnson, who writes the Longmire series; Julia Spencer-Fleming, author of the Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries; and Linda Castillo, who writes a series of Amish thrillers. My list goes on, but these three illustrate what seems to be a main draw for me.

Location, location, location.

Whether it’s Johnson’s Absaroka County, Wyoming, Spencer-Fleming’s Millers Kill, New York, or Castillo’s Ohio Amish Country, the settings of these series are so rich I feel like I’ve walked those country roads.

In the case of Linda Castillo’s Amish Thrillers, I have walked those roads—or at least driven them, since I live only a couple of hours away. And she nails that world.

After reading a number of Ella Clah Mysteries (by David and Aimee Thurlo), I took my first trip to northwestern New Mexico a couple of years ago, but felt as though I’d been there many times. I had. Through those novels, I’d experienced that landscape and that lifestyle.

I guess it’s no surprise then, that I love to offer my readers a taste of rural southwestern Pennsylvania in my Zoe Chambers mystery series. I’ve lived here all my life, but I’m not sure that’s an advantage. Locals tend to overlook the nuances that jump out at first-time visitors.

I’m teaching a workshop on the subject at next month’s Pennwriters Conference, and a large part of what I ask participants to do is to step into the world they’re writing about and observe. Not just the sights, but the sounds, the smells, the sensations. It’s a practice in mindfulness, which hopefully goes a long way to finding those details that will help the reader experience the setting and the story.

Of course, this isn’t always easy. Bridges Burned is set in July, but took almost a year to write. Hence, I was trying to find details to show a hot, humid, drought-stricken Pennsylvania summer, while outside my door, snow was piled high, ice clung to the trees, and the biting cold temperatures made my face hurt.

My first novel, Circle of Influence, was set in January, but I spent may sultry summer days working on it, conjuring up that intense chill.

Only my readers across the country can tell me if I got it right.

What about you? Do you enjoy visiting new places in the fiction you read? Or do they remind you of a place you know well? Or isn’t location something you necessarily look for in a book? I’d like to hear your thoughts.

Thank you again for joining us today Annette!  

About Annette Dashofy

Today best selling author Annette Dashofy is a Pennsylvania farm gal born and bred. After high school, she spent five years as an EMT for the local ambulance service. Since then, she’s worked a variety of jobs, giving her plenty of fodder for her lifelong passion for writing. She, her husband, and their two spoiled cats live on property that was once part of her grandfather’s dairy.

Links:

Website: www.annettedashofy.com,
Writing, etc. blog: annettedashofy.blogspot.com,
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/annette.dashofy,
Twitter: @Annette_Dashofy

Synopsis:

Paramedic Zoe Chambers is used to saving lives, but when she stops a man from running into a raging inferno in a futile attempt to rescue his wife, Zoe finds herself drawn to him, and even more so to his ten-year-old daughter. She invites them both to live at the farm while the grieving widower picks up the pieces of his life.

Vance Township Police Chief Pete Adams, of course, is not happy with this setup, especially when he finds evidence implicating Zoe's new houseguest in murder times two. When Zoe ignores Pete's dire warnings, she runs the very real chance of burning one too many bridges, losing everything—and everyone—she holds dear.

Related subjects include: cozy mysteries, women sleuths, murder mystery series, whodunit mysteries (whodunnit), book club recommendations, audio books for download, private investigator mystery series, amateur sleuth books.

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