Lily Gayle and the gang set out to find a killer after local baker Luxen Natolovich is found dead hours before the grand opening weekend at the new Bed and Breakfast in town, Midnight Dragonfly. As Lily Gayle deciphers the clues around Luxen’s death she uncovers a conspiracy of lies and half truths that could very well be tied to a refugee camp in Mississippi during World War II. The deeper Lily Gayle digs, the deeper the conspiracy runs, and the closer she comes to being the killer’s next victim.
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I was so glad to get the chance to read Cherry Cake and a Cadaver, having read Death of a Wolfman (the 1st Lily Gayle Lambert Mystery) during August of last year. The gun rack is full of wacky characters once again, some continuing from the first installment in the series and some brand new for this book. And I say 'wacky' with a little bit of pride as a quote from the tv show Designing Women comes to mind. Julia said (paraphrasing) ... "Here in the South, we don't hide away our crazy relatives and friends, and never talk about them. We bring 'em out and show them off!"
Extra seriousness is introduced in Cherry Cake, as there could be some ties to a WWII refugee camp in Mississippi.
That's one complicated recipe for a book that includes cherry cake, a murder and regional history from 50-odd years ago. Luckily, Ms. Boles is a master baker of cozy mysteries. The multiple story elements are mixed together just right and make Cherry Cake and a Cadaver a worthy addition to the series and a tasty read in its own right.
I look forward to see what Lily Gayle gets into in the future!
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MEET THE AUTHOR
Susan calls McNairy County, TN her home ground even though she has moved away. It was here, at Bethel Springs Junior High School that she began her writing career with two friends. They formed their own little writers group that was so secret they were the only ones who knew it existed. She still has some of the stories they wrote carefully preserved in a loose leaf binder and tucked away for safety.
She has worked in retail management, briefly for the Census Bureau and for many years in the investment/insurance industry in the regulatory compliance arena. All of which are left brain activities. So she exercises her right brain activity with reading and writing…just to keep both sides even.
Reading has been a passion since she was very young. As a toddler, her mother read to her from her ‘baby books’ and her Mother tells a story about her holding one of them upside down and ‘reading’ by repeating the story verbatim from memory.
Death of a Wolfman is the first in the Lily Gayle Lambert mystery series. Her previously published romantic suspense novel, Fated Love, is a contemporary paranormal romantic suspense (with a twist of paranormal) set in Memphis, TN. Her first novel, Kate’s Pride, is a historical women’s fiction set in West Tennessee in the aftermath of the Civil War. The novel is loosely based on her own Great Grandmother and published under the pen name Renee Russell.
Life got in the way of writing for many years but now she’s come back to her early love.
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Click on the banner above to go to the tour page, where you will find links to more reviews, as well as guest posts and interviews with the author and book characters! You can also find out how to become a blog host for future book tours while you are there!
(Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author and publishers via Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.)
This book sounds fantastic! Thanks for hosting.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you like Book 2! Thank you for having me on your blog :)
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