Murder Once Removed

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Lucy Lancaster is a genealogist, but she bills herself as an ancestry detective. In the age of DNA testing, everyone wants to know who their ancestors are and she is busier than ever. In Murder Once Removed by S.C. Perkins, Austin, Texas billionaire Gus Halloran has hired Lucy to discover who murdered his great-great-grandfather Seth in 1849. (Murder Once Removed will be published on March 19 by Minotaur Books.)

She has also assembled a family tree for Gus that stretches back into the 1840s. Fortunately Texas kept good records. When Seth Halloran died in 1849, his widow pleaded with the authorities to prove it was murder, but they brushed her off as an hysterical widow. While researching, Lucy finds a photographer named Jeb Inscore who witnessed the crime and photographed the body.

Now with the aid of the granddaughter of the photographer, Lucy tracks down actual photos of the scene. Not really photos but daguerrotypes - photos printed on silver-coated copperplates and essentially very fragile and sensitive to light.

Lucy also finds a diary left by Jeb Inscore with an entry describing seeing two men standing over the

body. After they left, he took the photo of the body, but suddenly the killers returned with a horse and trod over Seth's body. They also threatened Jeb. In his journal Jeb wrote the initials of the murderer were C.A. and mentioned that C.A. was a member of the Texas Legislature. This leads to Lucy to two possible suspects - Caleb Applewhite or Cantwell Ayers.

With this new information, Lucy is free to fly. Unfortunately Gus is an impatient man and has had a long-running feud with Senator Daniel Applewhite, who is running against Gus' son for the Senate seat.

An impromptu press conference gets Lucy into trouble as Gus accuses the Applewhite family of killing his great-great grandfather and exposing the existence of the nearly priceless daguerrotypes which in turn leads to a murder.

This is the first in an engaging and timely series featuring spunky Lucy Lancaster and hunky FBI Agent Ben Turner.

Interview with Libby Klein

What is the title of your newest book? How many books have you published?
Restaurant Weeks Are Murder is the third story in the Poppy McAllister series. There will be at least

five titles at this point. So many fun things are planned. Fingers crossed for more. (For a review of Restaurant Weeks Are Murder click here.

How did you develop your character and choose your location?
I went with a lot of what I know, and then embellished it. I grew up in Cape May, NJ so I know the location very well. There is a wealth of beauty in the area, and at the same time, great opportunity to have a constant influx of tourists bringing a seedy underbelly of crime into Poppy’s home town. Poppy is a very honest character. Her flaws and mistakes are as much a part of her as her red hair and freckles. I think what makes her so easy to identify with is that she reveals the things we are all thinking and feeling.

What is a day in the life of an author like? Do you write a certain number of words, do you write in the morning or evening?
My day always starts with coffee. I start thinking about it when I go to bed at night. I work a day job so my writing schedule has to revolve around payroll and taxes and boring things like that. I find I work the best in the afternoon, and if I can get a few hours in a row I tend to write a chapter a day.

Do you model your character after yourself or any one you know?
Poppy has some of my qualities, some of the qualities I wish I had, and some things are just hers

alone. She is much more emotional than I am. And of course, her life has taken a different path than mine did as my very alive husband will tell you. I think Poppy is someone I’d love to be friends with.

If your books were made into a movie, who would you want to play the lead character?
Carol Burnett would be a fabulous Aunt Ginny. Poppy is a plus sized heroine and needs to be played by a plus sized actress. If Sara Rue were heavier she’d be perfect as Poppy.

Who is your favorite author?
I have too many to list. I love Ann B. Ross and Lilian Jackson Braun. For traditional mystery I really enjoy Kathy Valenti. For fantasy I love Jasper Fforde. And two of my favorite series were written for children by Lemony Snicket and Eoin Coifer.

If you could invite five people – living or dead – to a dinner party, who would they be?
Agatha Christie, Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Oscar Wilde, and Edgar Allen Poe. I think we’d all be terrified of Edgar, and Oscar would say something horrendously inappropriate and offend Carol. Tim would act up the entire time and Agatha and I would just sit and watch and take notes.

If you could not be an author, what would like to do as a career?
I wanted to be a pastry chef. Now I’d like a job that sends me around the world and pays me to taste chocolate and coffee. I know I’d be good at it because I’ve been training for it my whole life.

City of Secrets

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A delectable mystery with just the right amount of revenge. In City of Secrets by Victoria Thompson, Elizabeth Miles has returned from a stint in jail for her part where she met socialite Mrs. Bates. Now Mrs. Bates is trying to teach Elizabeth to navigate the world of New York society.

Elizabeth has spent her early days learning from the Old Man (her father) to be a grifter and a con artist. When she meets Gideon Bates, though, she thinks she might enjoy the society life and adapt to Mrs Bates' lessons.

At church on Sunday, Elizabeth is approached by Priscilla Knight, a young woman newly widowed for the second time in a short period. After her first husband DeForrest Jenks died, it was rumored he had left her penniless. She was so lost in grief and before she knew it, her pastor and his wife coerced her into marrying Endicott Knight.

When he dies, it appears that Endicott did indeed leave her penniless and with a mortgaged house. She asks Elizabeth to help her.

With the assistance of her father and her brother, Elizabeth discovers how the money taken and who has it. Getting it back make City of Secrets quite entertaining.

The Night Olivia Fell

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A mother’s worst nightmare - a phone call in the middle of the night. In The Night Olivia Fell by Christina McDonald Abi Knight learns her daughter Olivia fell off a bridge and is brain dead. Worse yet she is pregnant.

As Abi rushes to the hospital she wonders what else she doesn't know about daughter. Although there are bruises on her wrist, the police believe Olivia fell accidentally and they don't appear to investigate too thoroughly. Also missing is a charm bracelet Olivia always wore. This causes Abi to believe someone pushes Olivia, but she cannot get the police to budge. Abi’s life turns upside as she tries to figure out what happened to her daughter and who the baby’s father is.

While Olivia was growing up, Abi had secrets of her own including who her daughter's father was. When Olivia asked, Abi told her he had died in a car accident. In reality he was someone who paid her to have an abortion and threatened her. She fled Seattle and never made contact with him again. 

Through a total coincidence while on a college visit to the University of Washington in Seattle, Olivia catches a glimpse of a young woman around her own age who looks almost exactly like her. Even her friends comment on the resemblance. When Olivia tracks her down on Facebook she makes plans to meet her and soon discovers Kendall's father is state senator Gavin Montgomery. Their uncanny resemblance leads Olivia in one direction - to her father. 

The story is told through flashbacks so we learn more about the devastating lies and hidden secrets that impacted their lives as Abi tries to unravel the truth surrounding her daughter's fall. 

 An emotionally heartbreaking story, but with some hope for the future.

Charity's Burden

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Frightening parallels to today's fight for women's reproductive rights. Quaker midwife Rose Carroll tries to help women plan their children and space them out a little. In Charity's Burden by Edith Maxwell one of Charity's clients is in distress in what seems like an early miscarriage. Rose rushes to Charity Skells side but soon realizes she is in serious condition. (Charity's Burden will be release on April 8 by Midnight Ink and is available for pre-order.)

When the autopsy reveals Charity died from a perforated uterus that could have been as a result of a botched mechanical abortion or intentional murder, Rose is determined to discover the truth.

There are plenty of suspects including Charity's husband Ransom who has been known to keep company with a woman at his job. There are also two practitioners of herbal remedies for women who have less than stellar backgrounds. And one of Charity's cousins seems to be up to no good.

On the home front Rose's fiance David cannot seem to convince his mother to give her blessing for

their marriage. This has taken a toll on Rose, especially now as her young niece Faith is about to marry Zeb. She is thrilled for her niece, but quietly saddened because of her situation. That doesn't stop Rose from continuing her investigation.

When on a dark night, her carriage is forced off the road and she has to tramp back home in the dark, Rose begins to wonder whether she is on the right track in her investigation. Along with police detective Kevin Donovan, they try to unravel Charity's mysterious death.

Rose and the real women who performed midwife duties during this era were heroic women in a difficult time. Unfortunately the burden of birth control fell on women who were ill-equipped to deal with it. Another stellar book from Edith Maxwell.

Bones Behind the Wheel

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What would it be like for some people in the family to see ghosts and others to not be able to see them? This is what life is like in Alison Kirby's New Jersey seashore guest house. I'll bet that's a fun household in which to live. By the way did you know the National Language of New Jersey is Sarcasm? Now you do.

In Bones Behind the Wheel by E.J. Copperman, it's the offseason on the Jersey shore. Alison discovers a crew moving sand to prevent shoreline erosion in her back yard. Suddenly they hit something metal and a 1977 Lincoln Continental sedan complete with a skeleton behind the wheel is unearthed.

Living with ghosts, especially one who was a private investigator, prepares Alison for her calm demeanor toward the discovery. When the sedan disappears that night then reappears in the hole again the next night, Alison's temper starts to flare.

Using the ghosternet, Paul and Maxie, two of the ghosts, try to figure out who the victim was. Declining to be involved in this investigation, Alison soon realizes her new husband Josh has caught the detecting fever, even though
he cannot hear or see the ghosts.

What's a girl to do when everyone around her is involved in the case. When she finds a giant emerald and some bullets in her ceiling and a gun in a hole under her refrigerator, she's involved reluctantly.

Laugh out loud funny antics with the ghosts and the police detective who refuses to enter the house because of the ghosts.

Interview with Kathleen Ernst

What is the title of your newest book? How many books have you published?
My newest book is The Lacemaker's Secret: A Chloe Ellefson Mystery (Midnight Ink, 2018). It's the 9th book in the series, and my 37th published book! It took me a long time to hone my craft well enough to break in, so I find that number a bit astounding.

Why is your book set in 1983? How did you develop your character and choose your location?
I am passionate about historic places and objects, and the stories they can tell. I worked as a curator of interpretation and collections at a large historic site in Wisconsin in the 1980s and 1990s, and after I moved on, discovered that I missed the museum world. Chloe Ellefson is a fictional character, but she works at the same historic site where I once did. She also travels to other museums and historic sites as the series progresses. One of my primary goals for the series was to celebrate special historic places and stories.

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I chose to set the series in the 1980s for several reasons. First, I'm writing from memory. My own museum career began in 1982, so that's what I know. The sites world and curatorial work is very different today.

Second, since I write about real places, I like to put some distance between my fictional murder and mayhem and readers' modern experiences at any of the features historic sites.

Third, the 1980s setting means Chloe has to rely on her own skills and training to find answers and get out of trouble. She can't whip out her cell phone and call for help or search for information!

What is a day in the life of an author like? Do you write a certain number of words, do you write in the morning or evening?
I have been a full-time writer for over a decade. That means I spend more time on the writing business than I do actually writing the books. Mornings and evenings are usually spent answering correspondence, preparing programs, writing blog posts, etc. Also, I often travel to make presentations at libraries or conduct research for upcoming books. I try to get some solid writing time in every afternoon. I'm not rigid about word count, but in general aim to produce between 1,000 and 2,000 words a day. It goes more slowly at the beginning of the process.

I also take week-long writing retreats several times a year, holing up in some quiet location with my laptop. Those weeks are tremendously productive, and make it possible for me to meet deadlines.

Do you model your character after yourself or any one you know?
Superficially, Chloe and I have a lot in common. She has a job I used to have, she rented the farmhouse I once rented, she went to college where I did, etc. However, Chloe is definitely a fictional character, created to serve the stories.

None of my characters were developed to represent any single real person. Ralph Petty, Chloe's boss, is an amalgamation of every bad boss I've ever had--plus some of my friends' bad bosses too. Spending time with police officers helped me create Roelke McKenna, local cop and Chloe's love interest. I knew very little about police work before starting the series, and so am very grateful to the officers who have let me shadow them.

If your books were made into a movie, who would you want to play the lead character?
That's a delightful question! I think, though, that I would prefer unknown actors to play Chloe and Roelke. Readers have their own image of these characters, and it might be jarring to have a famous star in the roles. (I know, I should be so lucky!)

Who is your favorite author?
Oh dear, so many to choose from. I don't think I can pick one mystery author. Favorites outside the genre include Barbara Kingsolver and poets Ted Kooser and Mary Oliver.

If you could invite five people – living or dead – to a dinner party, who would they be?
Abigail Adams, Harriet Tubman, Olympia Brown, Eleanor Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart.

If you could not be an author, what would like to do as a career?
My undergraduate degree was in environmental education, and I'd be delighted to work again for a park or historic site. But I wouldn't stop writing!

Trouble on the Books

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Shelby Cox returns to her hometown of Alexandria Bay in the beautiful Thousand Islands area of New York after living in Boston for most of her life. In Trouble on the Books by Essie Long, Shelby finds herself as a part owner of Bayside Books with her aunt Edie. One of the book stores is located in a Castle on Blye Island.

Gearing up for the tourist season and getting to know the Castle book store, Shelby encounters town pain in the behind Loreena Swan, also curator of exhibits at the Blye Castle. Not ready to be bossed around by someone with no experience in book stores, Shelby and Loreena do not hit it off the first time they meet.

Days later when Shelby founds Loreena's body in the nearby grotto, she is worried about the island caretaker Matthew Kessler as he has had varied negative encounters with Loreena. Shelby gets it into her head that Loreena's death was related to smuggling especially as she encounters Coast Guard investigator Zack Griffin.

With all this going on Shelby is having a hard time getting a straight answer from her aunt about her mother's death. Every time she brings it up, Edie changes
the subject. Before her father died, she was not able to get a straight answer out of him either and this is frustrating Shelby.

When the sheriff considers Matthew as a person of interest in the murder, Shelby buckles down and searches for clues to clear him, but naturally puts herself in danger.

The first in a new series by Essie Lang AKA Linda Wiken. I would love to visit the Thousand Islands and a castle bookstore sounds fantastic.

Hollywood Ending

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I know, I know, Kellye Garrett won the Agatha for Best First Novel last year at Malice Domestic and now her third book is nearly ready for publication. I've finally gotten around to reading one of her books and I am happy I did.

Hollywood Ending continues the pursuit of quirky former actress Dayna Anderson to become a private detective. First of all she has to convince her boss Aubrey Adams-Parker to get his license. Once a spokesperson for Chubby's Chicken, she now spends her time calling the LAPD Tip Line.

When Hollywood publicist Lyla Davis is shot at an ATM after the Silver Sphere Cocktail party, Dayna or Day as she likes to be called, is sure she can solve the mystery. With the assistance of her computer nerd friend Emme to search for background information, Day is off and running.

Because her boyfriend, actor Omari Grant was in the ATM before Lyla was shot, Day feels he might have seen something. With only the fuzzy photo from the ATM  camera to go on, Day has her pal Emme try to get more detail from the photo. When they finally see a glimpse of a recognizable tattoo, they try to track down the alleged killer.

The plot becomes more complicated when the tattooed man kills himself. But that doesn't satisfy Day so she keeps pursuing the case. What she finds is back-stabbing Hollywood gossip, treacherous publicists and duplicitous actors.

A funny, insider's look at Hollywood and the awards industry.

Something Read, Something Dead

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Lucy Richardson's cousin Josie is finally getting married in what she hopes will be a small, simple wedding. In Something Read, Something Dead by Eva Gates that is not to be. With the wedding only one month away, Lucy keeps prodding Josie to purchase her dress. (Something Read, Something Dead will be released on March 13 by Crooked Lane) 

Some of the details have been arranged including a reception at Jake's restaurant, an Outer Banks favorite. When Josie's demanding grandmother arrives from New Orleans with her entourage in tow, she sets Josie's already frayed nerves on fire. It's her plan to help her granddaughter Mirabelle, a would-be wedding planning, plan Josie's wedding in a more extravagant manner, something Josie is dead set against.

Mirabelle aims high. She wants the wedding to be on the cover of a regional magazine, but Josie wants no part of it. She badgers Josie at her shop and it evolves into a shouting match with Josie threatening to "kill her." Worse yet, Mirabelle declares she is gluten-free and requires special treats for the shower.

At the bridal shower in the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library, Lucy is trying to keep everyone from each other's throats and temper the extravagant plans so they are more in line with Josie and Jake's original plans. When Mirabelle falls ill at the shower and dies the next day, the state police are called in to investigate and that makes everyone more nervous.

Was someone targeting Mirabelle or was Josie the main target? Lucy tries to keep the tabloid journalists at bay while she figures out how the crime was committed and how to keep the wedding on track.

Love the lighthouse library and wish it were a real place.