Archive for November 4, 2014

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I’ve found a new cozy mystery series!

Usually I come into a series after the beginning and have to go back to catch earlier books. This time I have the first book in the Five Ingredient Mysteries, By Cook or by Crook, by Maya Corrigan.

Check it out.

Enjoy my review.

And enter the giveaway for a chance to win a signed print copy of your very own!

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20702316By Cook or by Crook
(A Five-Ingredient Mystery)

New Cozy Series
Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Kensington (November 4, 2014)
ISBN-13: 978-1617731389
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Synopsis:

Take one burned-out city girl. Add a crusty codger, a pinch of gossip, and a dash of romance. Stir in a generous helping of murder and you’ve got the ingredients for one truly delicious mystery…

Haunted by the car accident that ended her career as a cookbook publicist, Val Deniston has traded in the chaos of New York City for a quieter life near the Chesapeake Bay. Living with her curmudgeonly grandfather in the tourist town of Bayport is hardly glamorous, but she enjoys working at the Cool Down Café at the local fitness club, and she finally has time to work on her long-planned cookbook. But when one of the club’s patrons is found dead, she’ll have to cook up a scheme to find the killer. 

Includes 8 five-ingredient recipes!

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My Review

With tennis, vying for manager of the Cool Down Cafe, and trying to sell real estate, there are some pretty serious competitions going on in this book.

That’s what makes this such a fun mystery.

When one of the woman from the local tennis club is found murdered, there’s also an unsolved hit-and -run, and some arson going on and it may all tie together, or not.

I bet Val didn’t expect to be helping the police with a murder when she left New York City behind to move in with her grumpy grandfather in the small town of Bayport in Chesapeake Bay.

Managing the cafe and playing on the local tennis team, Val quickly gets to know a lot of the people in this small town. And like most small towns, it’s hard to keep a secret and the gossip is rampant.

Val is drawn into the murder investigation when she discovers the body of a fellow tennis player. And the number one suspect is her cousin. Not wanting to believe her capable of murder, Val starts her own investigation, but being a stickler, she doesn’t scratch her cousin off the list of suspects. And that list is long.

As Val’s suspect list shrinks, the danger escalates. She’s being stalked and someone ran her off the road. She’s getting close, but to which case. The hit-and-run, the arson, the murder, or all three?

The author had me going in circles trying to figure out who the killer was. It wasn’t obvious. There were lots of false trails. And I didn’t have a clue until about two thirds of the way through the book. There was still a ways to go so I knew things could change and have me suspecting someone else, so I paid close attention, sniffing for clues.

This cozy mystery had a lot to offer.  Several mysteries, lots of colorful characters, danger, and romance.

Val and Gunnar are flirting with a burgeoning romance. This wasn’t the main focus in the mystery, just a dollop of whipped cream to add zest, and it’s early in the romance stage.

Val has her own personal mystery to solve too. Her memory of the car crash that ended her budding career in New York is still not clear. Did she cause the crash or was it an accident?

Lots of questions and the author gave me the answers bit by bit. There was no rush to wrap this up, and the ending left me happy and eager for more.

4 Stars

Thanks so much to the publisher and author for this ARC for my honest review.

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maya corrigan

About This Author

Maya Corrigan lives near Washington, D.C., within easy driving distance of Maryland’s Eastern Shore, the setting for this series. She has taught courses in writing, detective fiction, and American literature at Georgetown University and NOVA community college. A winner of the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense, she has published essays on drama and short stories under her full name of Mary Ann Corrigan. Visit her at mayacorrigan.com.

 

 

 

Author Links

WebPage: mayacorrigan.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Maya-CorriganBooks/305167769636032

Purchase Links
Amazon B&N

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I have one signed print copy to give away.

To enter, please leave your email address and answer this question:

“What’s your favorite food?”

Giveaway ends November 10th.

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Tour Participants

November 4 – fuonlyknew – Review, Giveaway

November 5 – The Bookwyrm’s Hoard – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway

November 6 – Melina’s Book Blog – Review, Giveaway

November 7 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway

November 8 – StoreyBook Reviews – Review

November 9 – Chloe Gets A Clue – Interview

November 10 – Brooke Blogs – Review, Giveaway

 

Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?

Click Here Find Details and Sign Up Today!

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

To see all of my giveaways click on the lucky horseshoe below!

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Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

TeaserTuesdays2014e

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!

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My tease is from

Real Elves

Emily Castles Short Mysteries #3

by Helen Smith

23154680

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My tease from 21% in the eBook

Then Emily had a clever idea. One thing you must never do at work is have a clever idea. If you do have one, you need to keep quiet until the urge to share it passes. Emily should have known better. She really should.

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Synopsis

~ This is a short story ~

In a department store in London, a little girl called Sophie visits Santa’s magical forest with her grandfather. As they emerge from the forest, Sophie’s grandfather reports her missing… but the little girl’s right there. Is she a ghost, a twin, an alien abductee—or is there some simpler explanation? Twenty-six-year-old amateur sleuth Emily Castles has fifteen minutes to figure out the puzzle before the police are called and Christmas is ruined.

REAL ELVES is a standalone story set in London. It first appeared in the anthology Naughty or Nice in aid of Kids Need to Read. The Emily Castles mysteries can be read in any order.

Helen Smith has created a great little cozy series with the charming Emily Castles Criminal Element.

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How about you? Got a tease? Tell me!

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