Teaser/First Chapter Tuesdays - Thread End

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

p. 215

"You weren't ready for your mother and me to meet when she came into the shop the other day."

"You sound like we're going to a war zone rather than out to dinner."

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Every Tuesday, Bibliophile by the Sea hosts First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros, where she shares the first paragraph or (a few) of a book she is reading or thinking about reading soon. Care to join us?

My selection for today is from the above book, "Thread End":

It was almost lunchtime on Friday, and I was pacing.  The museum exhibit I'd been anticipating for two months was finally opening that evening!  My boyfriend, Ted; my friend Rajani "Reggie" Singh; her husband, Manu; and I were all going together.  The guys weren't overly excited about the Padgett Collection textile exhibit, but they knew we were - and they were great guys, so they were taking us.  Reggie was library director for Tallulah Falls's one and only library, Manu was chief of police and Ted was his head detective.  I almost felt that we should be VIP guests, given the extra security Reggie and I would be bringing along.

Angus, my Irish wolfhound, could sense my excitement, and he paced with me.  I perched momentarily on one of the red club chairs that helped make up my embroidery shop's sit and stitch square, and he sat and placed his head on my lap.

"It's all right," I said soothingly as I scratched his head.  "I'm just excited about tonight.  Reggie will be here to see you soon.  Yes, she will!  She's bringing lunch!"

Another book in this series, "Thread on Arrival" was one of the first books I read when I discovered reading for myself again, and reading challenges.  It is also one of the first cozies to land on my shelf.

Come back next Monday for my review of "Thread End".

BOOK REVIEW/GIVEAWAY - Lethal Lily by Joyce and Jim Lavene

(disclaimer: I received an e-copy of Lethal Lily from the author, publisher and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours in exchange for my honest opinion.  No other compensation was offered, requested or received.)

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Synopsis

Part-time garden shop owner/part-time forensic botanist, Peggy Lee is trying to discover if the death of Ann Fletcher 20 years ago was an accident – or foul play. In return, she hopes to receive more information about her first husband’s death. She knows John Lee was murdered, but questions have arisen as to why he was killed. She is working with a private detective who stumbles across his own feet, but her Internet friend, Nightflyer, says that Harry Fletcher has the answers. When Harry is murdered by convallatoxin, from the lily of the valley plant, Peggy begins to understand her role in everything. Now she has to stay alive long enough to prove her theories – and keep her son, Paul out of trouble too!

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Review

This was my first experience with the writing of Joyce and Jim Lavene.  It will not be my last.  "Lethal Lily" is the latest addition to the "Peggy Lee Garden Mysteries", one of several series of books by the same author team.

I must confess, the first thing that struck me (and that I loved) about Lethal Lily was that the main character, Peggy Lee, or Margaret Hughes Lee to the authorities, is a woman 'of a certain age'.  So many stories these days have teen or 20- or 30-something heroines.  A woman's life does not end at 30 or 40, or 50 ... and neither has Peggy's, even though ten years previous to the start of "Lethal Lily", Peggy's first husband, John, was killed in the line of duty.  

Peggy is part-owner of a garden shop, who also does forensic botany - which is the science of how plant materials can be used to help solve crime.  Even though she has worked with the ME's office on multiple occasions, so much so that she has her own desk in the office; yet certain of the establishment still see her as a meddling woman.  "Lethal Lily" handles this (what is for me a) 'thorny' issue in an entertaining manner.

I might even term this a cozy thriller.  It has several of the elements of a cozy mystery, but with a decidedly darker feel - at least for me.  But that made it even more intriguing - like exploring uncharted territory.  There is a Rafflecopter giveaway for a book bag with print copies of both "Lethal Lily" and "Thyme to Die", accessible through the Great Escapes website (use the tour button at the top).

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About the Authors

Joyce and Jim Lavene write award-winning, bestselling mystery fiction as themselves, J.J. Cook, and Ellie Grant. They have written and published more than 70 novels for Harlequin, Berkley, Amazon, and Gallery Books along with hundreds of non-fiction articles for national and regional publications. They live in rural North Carolina with their family.

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BOOK REVIEW: A Killing Notion by Melissa Bourbon Ramirez

Cozy Mystery
Published by Obsidian (April 1, 2014)
Penguin Publishing Group
Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0451417206
E-Book ASIN: B00F9EZBXS
Link:  GoodReads 

SYNOPSIS:

Harlow Jane Cassidy is swamped with homecoming couture requests. If only she didn’t have to help solve a murder, she might get the gowns off the dress forms…. 

Harlow is doing everything she can to expand her dressmaking business, Buttons & Bows—without letting clients know about her secret charm. When she has a chance to create homecoming dresses with a local charity and handmade mums for several high school girls—including Gracie, whose father, Will, has mended Harlow’s heart—she is ready to use her magical talents for a great cause.

But when Gracie’s date for the dance is accused of murder, Harlow knows things won’t be back on course until she helps Gracie clear the football player’s name. If Harlow can’t patch up this mess before the big game, her business and her love life might be permanently benched.

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MY REVIEW:

In Texas they have a saying, "Go big or go home."  Melissa Bourbon (Ramirez) does that in "A Killing Notion".  Harlow Cassidy is a dressmaker in the town of Bliss, Texas.  She is great-great-great-grand-daughter of the Butch Cassidy.  (I was grateful for the family tree at the beginning of the book.)  Because of this connection she has a 'gift', the ability to see people in the outfit that will usher in their destiny.

It's prom season in Texas, and all the girls are a-twitter about their 'mums'.  The corsage girls used to get from their dates were made of chrysanthemums.  Over the years, they have morphed into accessories that can be huge, weighing up to 20-30 pounds and requiring a frame to distribute the weight on the wearer's body.  The daughter (Gracie) of Harlow's current love-interest (Will) comes into Harlow's shop, Buttons & Bows, with her boyfriend (Shane).  Shane's attention to Gracie is engaging.  Unfortunately, at the end of the first chapter, Shane receives news that his father has been killed in an auto accident.

Even worse, Shane becomes prime suspect.  Gracie insists Shane is innocent, and Harlow believes likewise.  Then, Harlow promises Gracie that she will help prove Shane's innocence.  The town's sheriff (Harlow's step-father) and deputy (her step-brother) want none of her 'assistance'.  (Isn't that always the way in cozy mysteries?)

There is no shortage of suspects for the crime, as it turns out many people in town (and in nearby Granbury), who could have a motive to want Shane's father dead.  One of the more unusual sources of help for Harlow comes in the form of the ghost of her maternal great-grandmother, Loretta Mae.  This worked for me, as the subject of the paranormal had already been introduced with Harlow's 'gift'.  

Just when we think we have a handle on the story, and Harlow thinks she has a handle on the crime, a new twist appears.  This happens several times, enough to keep us enrapt, but not enough to make us dizzy.  When your truck (this is set in Texas, after all) rounds the final bend, you will be surprised at the scene on the road in front of you.

"A Killing Notion" is the latest installment in the Magical Dressmaking Mysteries

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AUTHOR INFORMATION

Melissa Bourbon, who sometimes answers to her Latina-by-marriage name Misa Ramirez, gave up teaching middle and high school kids in Northern California to write full-time amidst horses and Longhorns in North Texas.  She fantasizes about spending summers writing in quaint, cozy locales, has a love/hate relationship with yoga and chocolate, is devoted to her family, and can’t believe she’s lucky enough to be living the life of her dreams.

She is the Marketing Director with Entangled Publishing, is the author of the Lola Cruz Mystery series with St. Martin’s Minotaur and Entangled Publishing, and A Magical Dressmaking Mystery series with NAL. She also has written two romantic suspense novels, a light paranormal romance, and is the co-author of The Tricked-out Toolbox, a practical marketing guide for authors.

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(Disclaimer:  I received a print copy of this book from the author, publisher and Great Escapes Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.  No other compensation was offered, requested or received.)

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FCFP Tuesday Intros - Murder at Honeychurch Hall

This is my first time participating in First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesdays, a link-up hosted at Bibliophile by the Sea.

I must begin with a bit of a story.  About a week ago, I received an email from one of the book tour blogs to which I subscribe, telling of an upcoming book tour for Murder at Honeychurch Hall.  I love me some cozy mysteries, so I responded quite quickly, and was a little saddened to find out that the tour was already full!  Well, I had already done the rounds of the authors website and GoodReads page, etc.  A short time later, I received an email from Hannah Dennison herself, thanking me for making the first comment at her new site, and offering to send me an advanced reading copy of the selfsame book!  And guess what came in my mail today?  WOOHOO!  I tried to explain my glee to my 11 year old daughter by saying it would be like her getting a preview of the newest Halo toy before the general public.

On to the book!  The scheduled publication date is May 13, 2014, but is available for pre-order now!

Description from the back cover of the book:

Murder at Honeychurch Hall former TV celebrity host Kat Stanford is just days away from starting her dream antique business with her newly widowed mother Iris when she gets a huge shock. Iris has recklessly purchased a dilapidated carriage house, on an isolated country estate, Honeychurch Hall, several hundred miles from London. When Kat arrives at the house, she discovers that Iris has yet another surprise in store. Iris has been writing in secret for years and reluctantly reveals that she’s actually Krystalle Storm, the famous bestselling author of steamy bodice-rippers. The gentry upstairs and those below stairs at Honeychurch Hall regard the newcomers with suspicion and distrust. When the nanny goes missing, the loyal housekeeper ends up dead, and Iris is accused of the murder, Kat realizes she hardly knows her mother at all and wonders if she is—indeed—guilty. Although the six hundred year old estate has endured wars, corruption and Royal favors, it’s the scandals, secrets and lies of the last few decades that must remain buried at all costs.

So I tore open the envelope and delved into the book.  First chapter having been read, I sat down here to wax lyrical about it.  Since I had already read the first couple of paragraphs on the book tour announcement, I thought I would include a few short paragraphs from the middle of Chapter 1.

"And besides," she added.  "Alfred helped."
"And Alfred is whom? Your Spanish boyfriend?"  Nothing would surprise me at this point.
"Alfred is hardly a Spanish name, dear.  A Spanish name would be Juan or perhaps Pablo," said Mum mildly.  "Alfred is my brother."
I swear I stopped breathing.  "I didn't know you had a brother."
"Well, I do," said Mum.  "As a matter of fact I had two - though Billy's dead and gone.  Aneurism on Blackpool Pier.  He died young.  So very sad."
"So I must have cousins.  I'd love to have cousins."
"You wouldn't like them."
"I would like them."  I could feel my temper rising as I remembered envying my friends' big families, especially at Christmas.  I hated being an only child.  Did Dad know you had brothers?"
"Of course he knew.  He just didn't like them so we didn't see them," said Mum.  "Does it matter?"
"Actually, it does matter,"  I said.  "I always thought you and Dad were orphans."
"Really?  I wonder why?"
"Because that's what you told me," I shouted.
"Well, never mind all that," said Mum briskly.  "You'd better get cracking if you want to be here in time for tea."

I hope you enjoyed this preview.  Here are a picture and some links for you to check out:

HANNAH DENNISON

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