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Friday, April 24, 2015

Cozy Mystery Blog Tour: Author Guest Post, Review & Giveaway: The Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco by Laura DiSilverio

Amy-Faye Johnson’s book club, the Readaholics, enjoys guessing whodunit in mysteries like The Maltese Falcon. But when a murder happens in their midst, they discover that solving crimes is harder that reading about them…

Amy-Faye has always loved her idyllic Rocky Mountain town of Heaven, Colorado. Her event-planning business is thriving, her fellow book-obsessed Readaholics are great, and her parents live only a few blocks away. But lately her hometown has felt a little less heavenly. First, she agrees to plan a wedding without realizing the groom is her ex-boyfriend. Then, Ivy, one of her fellow Readaholics, dies suddenly under mysterious circumstances.


The police rule Ivy’s death a suicide by poisoning, but Amy-Faye and the remaining Readaholics suspect foul play. Amy-Faye soon discovers that Ivy was hiding dangerous secrets—and making deadly enemies. Taking a page from her favorite literary sleuths, Amy-Faye is determined to find the real killer and close the book on this case. But finding the truth could spell her own ending. 




Finding a Book Club that Fits

Up front confession: I do not currently belong to a book club, even though I've just launched a series about the five women who make up the Readaholics book club.

Over the stifled gasps, I add: I would like to, but with two teens still at home, I have not carved out the time to join one or start one. [Embarrassed pause.]  Okay, that's weak. We make time for the things that are important to us, right? I mean, I make it to the gym 3-4 times a week, and to Bible study every other week, so if I were serious about wanting to join a book club, I would. After all, CEOs and government ministers and stay-at-home moms with six kids find time (and babysitters) and get to their once a month book club meetings.

Book Club Types

I've gotten as far as debating what kind of club I would like to join. One that reads best-sellers? One that reads classics? A club that mixes it up with fiction one month and non-fiction the next? One that has husbands and wives, or one that's all women? One that spends ten minutes discussing the book du jour and an hour catching up with friends and noshing? Or a club that huddles around a facilitator with a long list of prepared questions?

I divide most book clubs into two groups: social and serious. There's usually a lot of wine or margaritas at a social book club, and furrowed brows and note-taking at the serious ones. As a writer, I've talked to clubs of both kinds and enjoyed them both. I get all my best what-to-read-next recommendations from book clubs.

Reading Like a Writer

I think part of my inertia is because I haven't ever been part of a book club that wants to look at books the way I do, as a writer. Francine Prose wrote a book called Reading Like a Writer some years back, and I think she'd be great to have in a book club. Yeah, it can be interesting to argue about the social issues raised in a book, and ask "What would I do in such-and-such a situation?" But I want to dissect how an author makes a character sympathetic, or how she raises the tension in a particular scene, or why he chose a particular setting. Few of my friends and neighbors want to take a book apart that way. That's not a slam on them--they're not writers.

I'm sure a movie director would have a similar experience watching movies with non-industry friends. Her buddies might be gushing about the moral dilemma portrayed in the film, while the director says, "Did you notice how that shot was framed, or that transition, or the lighting?"

Resolved

While writing this post, I've come to the conclusion that I really do want to be part of a book club. If I start a book club that spends at least part of every meeting looking at how the author wrote the book (and part of each session quaffing wine, chatting and arguing about the book's content), will any of you join me? We'll have to call ourselves the Readaholics, of course.

In the comments, please recommend a book for us to start with!

P.S.:  If you don't live close enough to Colorado Springs to make it to meetings, why not check out the Readaholics and the Falcon Fiasco to see what they're reading? 

Eeek! LOVE LOVE LOVE! First of all, who doesn't LOVE a great book club?!  Second, I love the way that the author pulls references from other literary classics to help the heroine solve the crime.  Brilliant!  Amy-Faye is a wonderful protagonist with the perfect job to make her grade A cozy material.  And in this book, it shows!

I love the setting, I love the characters, and of course, all of the references.  It makes a book nerd like myself so happy! :) I'm definitely looking forward to visiting this series again.

Rating: 5 stars

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All conclusions reached are my own. 


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