Cozy Mystery Blog Tour: Author Guest Post, Review & Giveaway: No Mallets Intended (Vintage Kitchen #4) by Victoria Hamilton

TO THE MANOR DEAD

The Queensville Heritage Society is restoring the once-grand Dumpe Manor. While Dumpe relatives and society members use the occasion to dust off old grudges, Jaymie Leighton prefers to adorn the kitchen with authentic Depression Era furnishings. A collection of vintage wooden mallets found in the house is a perfect addition to her display, but one also offers a late-night intruder the perfect weapon to knock Jaymie unconscious before escaping.

Though the attack has everyone on edge, nothing is missing from the house. Perhaps it was merely a vagrant who thought the place was still abandoned. But when Dumpe Manor’s resident historian is murdered with a mallet from the same collection, it’s time for Jaymie to turn up the heat on the investigation before someone else becomes history.

Includes recipes!

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Love and Mystery

By: Victoria Hamilton

I started out my writing career as a romance author. Did pretty good, too! I wrote Regency romances, paranormal historicals, and historical mysteries that were actually labeled as romances. But my true love has always been mystery novels. That’s what I read, and now what I write.

Having read hundreds of mysteries and yet as a writer of both romance and mysteries, I’m hyper aware of romance elements in mystery fiction. Particularly in so called ‘cozy’ or ‘traditional’ mystery, it almost seems that there has to be some romantic element. Most cozy protagonists are women, and they are usually single, widowed, or divorced.

Even the ones where the main character is happily married, the marriage is often the result of romance in the first few books of the series. The protagonist may start out single, widowed or divorced, but she met, fell in love with and married her significant other in the course of the series. A couple of my favorites are Diane Mott Davidson’s Goldy Schulz mysteries, and the Mary Daheim bed-and-breakfast series, and both started that way.

But then there are those who carry on the romance phase for quite a time. The ones I’m thinking of are Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swenson mysteries, where the triangle has been carrying on for many many books. She’s making it work, though I know Fluke has experienced a lot of criticism for the extended romantic triangle.

In my Vintage Kitchen Mysteries I was wary of that. Jaymie has a steady boyfriend, Daniel. She has a crush on Detective Zack, who makes her pulse race. She has recovered from the broken heart that Joel’s desertion left her with, and she is growing in so many ways, finally figuring out what she wants in her life. But… as a reader of romance, Jaymie is aware that she is often criticized as being unrealistic to want both the steadiness of a good fellow and the heart racing appeal of the sexy stud.

So with two good men in her life, what’s a girl to do? You may just be surprised.

I can confidently say, with books 4 (No Mallets Intended; November 4^th, 2014) and Book 5, (White Colander Crime, November 2015) I will be breaking free of any worry about a love triangle, which I feel is unsustainable over the long run. How many men would put up with it? None that I know of, or at least none who are self respecting. A woman has got to choose at some point.

And Jaymie will. In writing No Mallets Intended I was as surprised as anyone at some of what happens, but it all fits now. I get Jaymie; she’s really not wishy washy in the slightest, she was just looking for that perfect match of reliable and sexy. I just hope – and I am nervous about this – that readers are going to be happy with the direction I go in. I trust that readers will let me know one way or the other!

Victoria Hamilton is the author of three nationally bestselling series, the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries and Merry Muffin Mysteries as Victoria, and the Teapot Collector Mysteries as Amanda Cooper. She is also the bestselling author of Regency and historical romance as Donna Lea Simpson.

Victoria loves to cook and collects vintage kitchen paraphernalia, teacups and teapots, and almost anything that catches her fancy!  She loves to read, especially mystery novels, and enjoys good tea and cheap wine, the company of friends, and has a new found appreciation for opera.  She enjoys crocheting and beading, but a good book can tempt her away from almost anything... except writing! 

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What a creative story!  When I think of potential murder weapons in a kitchen, a mallet is not one of them.  Not because it wouldn't be... efficient... but because knives always seem like the obvious choice.  Right?  But mallets... brilliant!  

Jaymie has always been a character I just love to spend time with.  I can appreciate her taste in all things vintage.  So when she gets herself tangled up in a murder mystery involving a vintage kitchen utensil, you know she can't resist trying to get to the bottom of it.  It's a clever story with all of the usual charm this series has to offer.  The characters (including Jaymie) are fabulously written, and the mystery itself is wonderful.  

This was yet another brilliant addition to a greatly loved series.  I can't wait to see what Ms. Hamilton has in store next! 

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.  

Thanks to the awesome ladies at Penguin, I have 1 paperback copy of No Mallets Intended by Victoria Hamilton to give away to one of my lucky readers!  Just enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win, and be sure to keep checking back for more awesome giveaways!

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Cozy Mystery Review: A Haunting is Brewing (A Haunted Home Renovation & A Witchcraft Mystery Novella) by Juliet Blackwell

In this all-new novella, New York Times bestselling author Juliet Blackwell’s popular characters from her Witchcraft Mysteries and Haunted Home Renovation Mysteries find themselves joining forces to solve a supernatural dilemma…

When Mel Turner is hired to rehab an old Victorian mansion to act as the eerie setting for a Halloween bash, she’s expecting the normal challenges—old wiring, bad plumbing, maybe a ghostly specter or two. But when a young man is killed after spending the night in the house, and the mannequins in the attic start to come to life, it’s clear that this is serious paranormal activity. Maybe this time, a real witch is needed.

Recommended by a mutual friend, vintage clothes expert Lily Ivory arrives to offer her help with the mannequins. Armed with Lily’s spells and Mel’s know-how, the two women must figure out the cause of all of the ghostly commotion—before Mel’s renovation project turns into even more of a deadly haunt. 

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Juliet Blackwell (aka Julie Goodson-Lawes, aka Hailey Lind) started out life in Palo Alto, California, born of a Texan mother and a Yankee father. The family soon moved to what were, at the time, the sticks of Cupertino, an hour south of San Francisco. Walking to and from kindergarten every day she would indulge in her earliest larcenous activity: stealing walnuts and apricots from surrounding orchards.

By the time she graduated middle school, the orchards were disappearing and the valley at the southern tip of the San Francisco Bay had become the cradle of the silicon semi-conductor. A man named Steve Jobs was working in his garage in Cupertino, just down the street. Juliet's father advised his daughters to enter the lucrative and soon-to-flourish field of computers.

"Bah" said Juliet, as she went on to major in Latin American Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz (they had, by far, the best parties of any department). Rather than making scads of money in computers, she read, painted, learned Spanish and a little French and Vietnamese, lived in Spain and traveled through Europe, Mexico, and Central America. She had a very good time.

Juliet pursued graduate degrees in Anthropology and Social Work at the State University of New York at Albany, where she published several non-fiction articles on immigration as well as one book-length translation. Fascinated with other cultural systems, she studied the religions, folklore and medical beliefs of peoples around the world, especially in Latin America. Juliet taught the anthropology of health and health care at SUNY-Albany, and worked as an elementary school social worker in upstate New York. She also did field projects in Mexico and Cuba, studied in Spain, Italy, and France, worked on a BBC production in the Philippines, taught English as a second language in San Jose, and learned how to faux finish walls in Princeton, New Jersey. After having a son, moving back to California, and abandoning her half-written dissertation in cultural anthropology, Juliet started painting murals and portraits for a living. She has run her own mural/faux finish design studio in Oakland, across the bay from San Francisco, for more than a decade. She specializes in the aesthetic renovation of historic homes.

Finally, to round out her tour of lucrative careers, Juliet turned to writing. Under the pseudonym of Hailey Lind, Juliet penned the Art Lover's Mystery Series with her sister Carolyn, about an ex-art forger trying to go straight by working as a muralist and faux finisher in San Francisco. The first of these, Feint of Art, was nominated for an Agatha Award; Shooting Gallery and Brush with Death were both IMBA bestsellers, and Arsenic and Old Paint is now available from Perseverance Press.

Juliet's Witchcraft Mystery series, about a witch who finally finds a place to fit in when she opens a vintage clothes shop on Haight Street in San Francisco, allows Juliet to indulge yet another interest—the world of witchcraft and the supernatural. Ever since her favorite aunt taught her about reading cards and tea leaves, Juliet has been fascinated with seers, conjurers, and covens from many different cultures and historic traditions. As an anthropologist, the author studied and taught about systems of spirituality, magic, and medicine throughout the world, especially in Latin America. Halloween is by far her favorite holiday.

When not writing, painting, or haranguing her funny but cynical teenaged son, Juliet spends a lot of time restoring her happily haunted house and gardening with Oscar the cat, who ostensibly belongs to the neighbors but won't leave her alone. He started hanging around when Juliet started writing about witches...funny coincidence. 

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Yay! I love both of these series and to see them join forces in such a fun and exciting way made my whole month! :)  Mel and Lily have perfect chemistry as partners in crime trying to manage quite the ghostly scenario.  Their personalities just work well together, and it was a real treat to see them as a pair.  The story itself is fascinating and thrilling, and it's honestly just a fantastic story.  I certainly hope Ms. Blackwell will treat us to another pairing again in the future!  

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.  

Cozy Mystery Blog Tour: Author Guest Post, Review & Giveaway: Gossamer Ghost (Scrapbooking Mystery #12) by Laura Childs

Carmela Bertrand knows that Halloween in New Orleans means a week of rabble-rousing, costumed craziness—and she can’t wait to get the party started. But when a local antiques dealer turns up dead, Carmela suddenly finds herself in a real-life danse macabre…

An evening’s work deciding on the class schedule for her scrapbooking shop has put Carmela in the mood to kick up her heels. But after some strange noises draw her into Oddities, the neighboring antiques shop, Carmela’s night is abruptly put on hold when a bloody body falls out of a curio cabinet—and into her arms.

While shop owner Marcus Joubert was known for being an eccentric with a penchant for eclectic merchandise, Carmela never thought he was the kind of man who could inspire the passion required to kill. But when Marcus’s assistant—and fiancée—Mavis reveals that a priceless death mask was also stolen, it becomes clear that murder wasn’t the culprit’s sole intention.

Carmela can’t resist the urge to investigate the growing mystery, but as the list of suspects increases, she realizes it’ll take every trick in the book to unmask the killer thief before there’s another night of murderous mischief.

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I'm delighted that crafting is suddenly back with a vengeance!  And not just scrapbooking, card making, rubber stamping, and journaling - all those fun goodies that are detailed in my Scrapbooking Mysteries.  Today we're caught up in a veritable tsunami of hot glue gunning, embellishing, collaging, silk-screening, painting, stippling, knitting, felting, and all manner of creative tweaking.  

Craft fairs are popping up like errant mushrooms.  Craft stores are selling supplies like crazy.  Schools and churches have scrapped bake sales in favor of craft auctions.  And the craft site Etsy racked up an amazing $29 billion in sales last year.  

What's at the heart of all this craft mania?  For one thing, I believe that crafting gives us all a respite from this slick, digital world that we now find ourselves living in.  And when big box stores are filled with row upon row of homogenous products, it's only natural that we want to create something unique.  Something handmade and one-of-a-kind.  

And we crafters are a devilishly clever and resourceful bunch.  We love the notion of repurposing paper, labels, ephemera, and even flea market finds.  It's smart, challenging and kind to the environment.  We know that hand made greeting cards (which truly do come from the heart!) will trump a quickie email any day.  

According to the Craft & Hobby Association, more than half of all households take part in at least one crafting activity - whether it's actually making soap, or buying bars of soap and then lovingly wrapping them in beautiful paper.  Believe me, you don't need a specially tricked out, designated craft room to reap the joys of crafting.  All you need is a flicker of an idea - and the desire to play around a little bit.  (Remember playing?  From when you were a kid?) 

I love weaving craft projects into all my Scrapbooking Mysteries, and my newest mystery, Gossamer Ghost, is no exception.  This one is a Halloween myster, so it's particularly suited for this time of year.  And, as you might expect, there are a few Halloween-themed crafts that are detailed.  Of course, there are also sachets, collaging, and scrapbooking.  And tips on how to rubber stamp your own guest towels and design your own wine labels.  

But I'm getting ahead of myself now, because the story's really the thing.  And I think you'll get swept up in the mystery as scrapbook maven Carmela Bertrand discovers that the owner of Oddities Antiques has been murdered and a Napoleon death mask stolen.  She and her BFF Ava scramble for clues, of course.  But a Halloween investigation in New Orleans' French Quarter also means shuffling zombies, a phony French countess, and a tricked out ghost train with a deadly confrontation.  Oh yes, and along the way are New Orleans recipes for Seafood Bisque, Spoon Bread, Baked Porcupines, and Beignets.  

Interested?  Then please do enjoy!

All my very best, 
Laura Childs

Laura Childs is the New York Times Bestselling Author of the Scrapbooking Mysteries, Tea Shop Mysteries, and Cackleberry Club Mysteries.  Visit her website or become a friend on Facebook!  

Wow! This book was amazing!  It's thrilling and fun - full of a great mystery, the wonderful characters that we've grown to know and love, and, of course, scrapbooking!  Ms. Childs has created yet another gem of a book to add to this wonderful series.  I've said it once, and I'll continue to say it, she truly is a master at her craft.  Gossamer Ghost is the epitome of what a cozy mystery is and should be, and she continues to improve on this fantastic series.  

Book 13, I can't wait to meet you. 

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. 

Thanks to the awesome ladies at Penguin, I have 1 paperback copy of Gossamer Ghost by Laura Childs to give away to one of my lucky readers!  Just enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win, and be sure to keep checking back for more awesome giveaways!

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Cozy Mystery Blog Tour: Author Guest Post (with Recipe!), Review and Giveaway: A Midwinter's Tail (Magical Cats #6) by Sofie Kelly

Kathleen Paulson is snowed under running her library and caring for her extraordinary felines, Owen and Hercules. But when a fund-raiser turns deadly, she’ll have to add sleuthing to her already full schedule....

Winter in Mayville Heights is busy and not just because of the holidays. Kathleen is hard at work organizing a benefit to raise money for the library’s popular Reading Buddies program. She has her hands full hosting the event. And when a guest at the gala drops dead, her magical cats, Owen and Hercules, will have their paws full helping her solve a murder.

The victim is the ex of town rascal Burtis Chapman, but she hasn’t lived in the area in years. And though everybody is denying knowledge of why she was back in town, as Kathleen and her detective boyfriend, Marcus, begin nosing around, they discover more people are connected to the deceased than claimed to be. Now Marcus, Kathleen, and her uncanny cats have to unravel this midwinter tale before the case gets cold.

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Most of the celebrations in my family begin or end around a table. I like to cook. My daughter likes to bake. So it’s not really surprising that the characters in my books eat a lot. In fact, in the latest Magical Cats mystery, A Midwinter’s Tail, chocolate truffles play a major role in the story.

The recipe I get the most requests for though, is Kathleen’s brownie recipe. They’re a favorite of her best friend, artist and tai chi instructor, Maggie Adams. Did you know some food historians trace the first brownie to Chicago’s Palmer House Hilton, while others credit Lowney’s Cook Book, written by Maria Willet Howard?

This recipe is always changing because I’m always tinkering with the ingredients. White chocolate chips? Delicious. Peanut butter chips? Not so much. Crushed candy canes? Very messy.

These brownies have even been made with pea puree for a school project. Yes, they were good. Put enough chocolate chips in and anything tastes good! Use good quality cocoa and chocolate chips for the best result, although I wouldn’t turn up my nose at brownies made with generic versions of both.

By the way, if you have any tasty brownies variations, I’d love to hear about them.

Maggie’s Favorite Brownies

Ingredients:

½ cup flour

¼ cup cocoa

⅛ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¾ cup white sugar

2 eggs

⅓ cup margarine

2 Tablespoons of water

1 ¼ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1 teaspoon vanilla

¼ cup toasted, slivered almonds (optional)

Instructions:

Grease an 8 by 8 inch baking pan. Preheat oven to 325°F.

In a small bowl whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. In a medium saucepan, mix margarine, sugar, and water. Cook over medium high heat just until mixture boils. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of the chocolate chips until the chocolate melts and the mixture is smooth.

Add eggs one at a time. Mix well. Stir in vanilla. Slowly add the flour mixture and stir until well mixed. Add almonds and the remaining ¼ cup of chocolate chips.

Spread the batter evenly in the pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the brownies begin to pull away from edges of pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool and cut into 16 squares.

Sofie Kelly is the pseudonym of young adult writer and mixed-media artist, Darlene Ryan. Sofie/Darlene lives on the east coast with her husband and daughter. In her spare time she practices Wu style tai chi and likes to prowl around thrift stores. And she admits to having a small crush on Matt Lauer.

Author Website

I am a huge fan of the residents in Mayville Heights.  I love Kathleen and her main squeeze, Marcus, and I absolutely adore Hercules and Owen, Kathleen's magical and adorable cats.  They add SO MUCH to every one of these stories, and give it just the right amount of magic to keep the story alive and fun.  

A Midwinter's Tail has the perfect setting with a thrilling mystery.  It's everything that this series has built itself up to be and so much more.  It was quite honestly my favorite book so far!  If they continue to get better with each one, then I'm waiting on pins and needles for book #7!  

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.  

Thanks to the awesome ladies at Penguin, I have 1 paperback copy of A Midwinter's Tail by Sofie Kelly to give away to one of my lucky readers!  Just enter the Rafflecopter below for your chance to win, and be sure to keep checking back for more awesome giveaways!  

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