Great Escapes Blog Tour & Giveaway: Flamenco, Flan, and Fatalities (Happy Hoofers #2) by Mary McHugh

Murder is nothing to tap at...


The high-kicking Happy Hoofers - Tina, Janice, Pat, Mary Louise, and Gini - have been booked to flaunt their fabulous flamenco footwork on a luxury train ride through northern Spain. But when a blowhard talk show host is found deader than four-day-old flan - with Gini as suspect numero uno - the feisty friends waste no time stepping into their sleuthing shoes to protect one of their own.

The dynamite dancers will have to step up their game before a clever killer brings the curtain down on one of them... for good!

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Mary McHugh graduated from Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, with a B.A. in English Literature and studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. She is the author of nineteen nonfiction books and two novels. She was a contributing editor for Cosmopolitan, an articles editor at Woman's World, Travel Holiday, and Bridal Guide, and has written articles for The New York Times, Good Housekeeping and Family Circle.

She loves to tap dance and to travel - two passions that inspired her to write the Happy Hoofers series.

She lives in the New York area.

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Great Escapes Blog Tour & Giveaway: Follow Your Neighbor by Rosalee Richland

When her new neighbor Jake Carstairs is murdered in her driveway, square dance caller and accidental sleuth Darla King has a new mystery to solve. This time, it hits close to home. The mystery, and Jake’s wife, follow Darla to the National Square Dance Convention in Nashville. Darla needs to figure out what Jake’s wife and the killer want before Darla faces more trouble than she can handle. As the tension builds, Darla and her friends from Clearton Squares once again contribute to solving a mystery. Her romantic life tangles up with her professional life and her sleuthing, but eventually Darla figures it all out.

Follow Your Neighbor is the third book in the Darla King mystery series. The first book in the series, Right and Left Grand, found Darla and her friends involved in solving a string of burglaries. The second book, Load the Boat, featured a square dance cruise where Darla encountered a dead crew member, a mysterious man with a satchel, and the return of an arrogant yet irresistible FBI agent.

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Rosalee Richland is the pen name of two square dancers and writers. As Rosalee, co-authors Cyndi Riccio and Rhonda Brinkmann joined forces to create the Darla King cozy mystery series.  Darla’s curiosity often puts her squarely in the midst of unusual circumstances, and Darla can’t let go until the mystery is solved.  Through Darla and her friends, readers are exposed to the warmth and friendship among square dancers, as well as the enjoyment square dancing brings worldwide.

When not writing, Darla’s co-authors enjoy reading, traveling, meeting readers and fans, networking with other authors, and – of course – square dancing.  The first in the series is RIGHT AND LEFT GRAND and takes place at various locations in Texas.  The second in the series is LOAD THE BOAT. As you might guess from the title, this one takes place on a cruise ship.

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Great Escapes Blog Tour, Review & Giveaway: Community Affairs (Jersey Shore Mystery #3) by Michele Lynn Seigfried

A tale of kidnapping, murder, and neighbors you’d like to kidnap and murder…

Bonnie Fattori is a sexy, sassy, Italian Princess living in New Jersey. She’s loving life with a rich husband, beachfront living, and a promotion at work—until a new neighbor, Lyla Spratt, is determined to destroy her happiness.

After several run-ins with the unstable woman next door, Bonnie starts to suspect a connection between her new neighbor and the untimely death of a local resident, Polly Pitcher. She recruits her good friend Chelsey to help figure out if her suspicions are correct.

As the neighbors go head-to-head in a hilarious battle, Lyla is pushed to the brink of insanity. The more unhinged Lyla becomes, the more Bonnie’s life and the safety of her family are at risk. Can Bonnie find out what really happened to Polly Pitcher before it’s too late?

A perfect read for those who like laugh-out-loud humor in their mysteries!

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What I Liked:
*The Characters
Wow. These characters are fabulous.  The description of Bonnie in the synopsis is perfect.  She IS sexy. She's sassy, and she truly is what I would call an Italian princess.  Lyla is quite a character as well, and the supporting cast - strong and well developed. They truly add so much!  

*The Humor
It's rare for a cozy to contain so much humor.  I literally found myself laughing out loud several times.  Bonnie's larger than life personality was honestly so honest, it made me chuckle more than one time.  

*The Writing
The author does a very good job of capturing the reader's attention and keeping it throughout the entire book.  She has created a wonderful world with fascinating characters.  This was my first time reading one of her books, and even though it's part of a series, I never once felt like I was behind or lost.  That's a true talent! 

Overall: 
I truly enjoyed this book.  I'm going to go back and read the first two books, and I'll eagerly await the next one too!  

Rating: 5 stars

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

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Great Escapes Blog Tour, Author Guest Post & Giveaway: Gilt by Association (Caprice De Luca Mystery #3) by Karen Rose Smith

Caprice De Luca's latest house staging is all about hearts, flowers, lace and chintz since Valentine's Day is around the corner.  She never expects her client to be murdered in the greenhouse the day of the open house.

With her six-month-old pup Lady by her side and her own love life in disarray, Caprice ferrets out clues from the victim's best friend, Caprice's mother, the housekeeper and a special male friend who insists his relationship with the victim was platonic.  However, as Caprice digs deeper, she finds the victim's past is filled with secrets that she kept from her husband for thirty years.

The past isn't merely history.  The present isn't always what it seems.  When hearts are involved, passion and even murder aren't far behind.

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Cats In My Life Blog

In my Caprice De Luca home staging series, Caprice takes in strays and either adopts them or finds them homes.  Little did I know when I conceived this series and began writing it, my husband and I would be doing the same.  Dream it and it becomes a reality?

I had begun writing the first novel in the series which was STAGED TO DEATH when we found six week old Zoie Joy in a gnarled redbud bush in our yard and knew it was love at first sight.  At least I did.  That day was my deceased parents' anniversary. The day was 98 degrees and humid.  Zoie was malnourished and dehydrated. Through later development, I learned she must have been with siblings because she wanted to jump on our twelve-year-old cat Ebbie, nip at her and wrestle with her.  Ebbie wanted none of it.  I spent hours upon hours just holding Zoie Joy close to my heart and stroking her.  She had to be segregated for two weeks in a sunroom because of getting through a flea treatment. Then it was another 10 days because of an eye problem.  Finally we could integrate her with our two twelve year old cats, Ebbie and London.  It took a year until there was true harmony in the house.

Last summer brought a new kind of upheaval. Lancelot, a yellow tabby, first came to our yard protecting a kitten.  He had obviously been in a fight, possibly protecting the little one. Lance would check the perimeter of the yard while the little one was eating.  We were considering capturing the kitten when it stopped coming. I'm hoping someone rescued him.  But Lance kept coming. We earned his trust by just sitting on the patio while he ate.  His cheek, his worst injury began to heal and so did his other wounds but something was wrong with his tooth. Finally when he couldn't eat, we took him to the emergency ER.  There we received the devastating news that he had FIV.  Lance was the sweetest yellow tabby I ever knew. Once he adopted us, he stayed. We took care of him as long as we could and he took a piece of our heart when he died.

Ebbie was my soul mate cat.  We rescued her on a snowy day before Christmas.  She and I had a bond from the first day that transcended cat-human relations.  She was a very sick kitten and I sat up many nights massaging her sinuses so she could breathe.  When she was well, she would sit where I needed her comfort most—I have fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis.  We spent day and night together.  But I was careful with Lance because of her—she had a recessive virus that could emerge again if she was stressed.  I used Chlorox wipes and took showers any time I handled Lance which was about 4 times a day.

This Mother's Day, a tortoiseshell, malnourished cat took a nap in our garden. Although she was tortoiseshell, the last two inches of her tail were yellow tabby.  For that reason we called her Halo.  Halo had digestive issues we could only help by cooking for her.  I had the feeling she came to us to nest and I was right.  She was pregnant.  After a vet visit and an emergency vet visit, we brought her inside and kept her in my office.  In July she delivered three live kittens there.  We helped them thrive and grow.  The journey with them was amazing and I documented it on my blog.  We decided to keep Halo and one of the kittens we named Paddington.  Thank goodness we did.  Because two months after the kittens were born, we lost Ebbie to a sudden heart attack.  I was devastated.  Having Halo and the kittens here helped.

One of the kittens, Tia, went to her adoptive home at thirteen weeks.  Although we integrated Halo, Mason and Paddington with our two year old Zoie, Mason left for his forever home at 15 weeks. Our 14 year old gray tabby London still spends most of her time upstairs while the rest of our feline family lives downstairs. But she is visiting the others more and more and creating her own kind of kinship with them.

In each mystery Caprice finds a stray cat or dog. The solution can be finding the animal a good home or as in the case of the litter of cocker spaniel puppies she helped deliver, finding adoptive parents for more than one. Or she can add fur babies to her family.  Little did I know when I began writing the Caprice De Luca home staging mystery series that my life would begin to mirror hers!

Award-winning author Karen Rose Smith was born in Pennsylvania. Although she was an only child, she remembers the bonds of an extended family. Family is a strong theme in her books and she suspects her childhood memories are the reason. 

In college, Karen began writing poetry and also met her husband to be. They both began married life as teachers, but when their son was born, Karen decided to try her hand at a home-decorating business. 

She returned to teaching for a while but changes in her life led her to writing relationship novels. Now she writes romances as well as mysteries full time. Her first book was published in 1992; her 80th novel will be published in 2013. A winner of New Jersey's Golden Leaf Award in Short Contemporary Romance, Colorado Romance Writers Award Of Excellence for short contemporary, as well as the Phoenix Desert Rose Chapter's Golden Quill for Traditional Romance, she has also been honored with Cataromance.com's award for Best Special Edition and Washington Romance Writers Career Achievement Award. Her romances have made both the USA TODAY list and the Amazon Romance and Contemporary Romance Bestseller lists. 

She has written for Meteor/Kismet, Kensington, Silhouette and Harlequin. Readers can contact Karen through her website, on Facebook (Karen Rose Smith Author) and on Twitter @ Karenrosesmith. They can also follow her monthly e-zine IN TOUCH with KAREN ROSE SMITH which has the latest news about her books, recipes and contests. 

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Great Escapes Blog Tour & Giveaway: Twisted Threads (Mainely Needlepoint #1) by Lea Wait

Returning to the quaint coastal town of Harbor Haven, Maine—a place she once called home—Angie Curtis finds her memories aren’t all quite pleasant ones…

After leaving a decade ago, Angie has been called back to Harbor Haven by her grandmother, Charlotte, who raised her following her mother’s disappearance when she was a child. Her mother has been found, and now the question of her whereabouts has sadly become the mystery of her murder.

The bright spot in Angie’s homecoming is reuniting with Charlotte, who has started her own needle pointing business with a group called Mainely Needlepointers. But when a shady business associate of the stitchers dies suddenly under suspicious circumstances, Charlotte and Angie become suspects. As Angie starts to weave together clues, she discovers that this new murder may have ties to her own mother’s cold case.

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What I remember most about growing up was wanting to learn everything.

I read historical novels and went to auctions and antique shows with my grandmother, who was an antique doll and toy dealer, and pretended I lived in the past.

I built a tree house with Charlie, who lived two houses away, and we studied the patterns of airplanes flying to and from nearby Newark Airport and imagined being on them. At night we looked at the constellations and dreamed of being astronomers discovering new universes.

In the summer I looked into Maine tide pools, identifying sea creatures who lived between the tides and collecting shells and rocks. I would be a marine biologist.

Until I saw my first political convention on television, and visited the Senate in Washington. Then I wanted to be a senator, or maybe even president.

So many possibilities.

But I always knew that whatever else I did, I would also be a writer.

I majored in drama and English at Chatham College in Pittsburgh. Later I did graduate work in American Civilization at New York University at night while I wrote speeches and films and did strategic planning for AT&T.

I adopted four girls born in Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong and India. When they came home they were the ages of the characters in the books I now write for young people. I wrote about the joys and challenges of single parent adoption. In 1977 I started an antique print business.

In 1998 I left corporate life to live in Maine, run my antique print business, and write fulltime.

I’m still excited about learning, and about sharing what I learn. With every book I write, I learn more.

I hope there are many books, and many more things to learn, still ahead of me. 

I loved this book! It was such a rush of a story, and I loved all of the intricate detail the author put in to it.  They certainly did their research! I loved Angie and her relationship with Charlotte.  Charlotte would be the kind of character anyone would enjoy spending time with :)  I love the creative business that Charlotte has created (what an awesome name!), and I really enjoyed the little town of Harbor Haven.  Such a great setting!  

The mystery itself was thrilling.  I very much enjoyed the anticipation that it brought about throughout the story.  I'll definitely read more from this author in the future!

Rating: 5 stars

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

Leave a comment below about your favorite kind of cozy for your chance to win a copy of Twisted Threads! 

Blog Tour/Another Chance Giveaway & Review: Diners, Drive-Ins and Death by Chritine Wenger

For Sandy Harbor’s tastiest comfort food, venture to the Silver Bullet Diner. But head next door to the new drive-in theater if you have an appetite for murder…. 

Trixie Matkowski has a tall order to fill this fall. Aside from dishing out delicious fare at the Silver Bullet during peak fishing season, she’s helping her friend—Antoinette Chloe Brown, or ACB for short—open a drive-in movie theater in the vacant lot beside her diner. It’s just the thing to take ACB’s mind off Nick, her missing biker beau.

But their plans are fried after Nick’s body is discovered during the groundbreaking for the drive-in. And when the police connect the murder weapon to ACB, she becomes the prime suspect in eighty-sixing Nick. With the fate of her innocent friend and her business on the line, Trixie must make the guilty party pay up before someone else gets stiffed. 

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This third installment of the series finds our heroine, Trixie, trying to help her friend, ACB, locate Nick, ACB's missing boyfriend.  But when Nick winds up dead and ACB becomes the number one suspect, Trixie has to try and solve the murder to prove her friend's innocence! 

Sandy Harbor is such a fun place to visit.  Trixie and her friends always make me smile, and they keep me so engaged from cover to cover.  I just love them!  In this book, the story is so enthralling.  The murder mystery is exciting, the character development is perfectly paced, and the setting is one you can easily fall in love with.  And..... the food.  Oh, the food :)  You'll appreciate the recipes the author has in store for you too!  

This series just keeps on amazing me.  This comfort food series has become a comfort read for me :)  

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.  

I'm offering my readers a second giveaway opportunity for this great book!  Just leave a comment below, telling me your favorite thing to eat, and I'll choose a winner on Friday, January 9th :)