Archive for May 7, 2015

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Oh Say Can You Fudge
by Nancy Coco

Very fast paced with lots of clues to keep the reader guessing. I was eager to turn each page to see what happened next. The reveal brought with it a total surprise.
~Lisa K’s Book Reviews

I love this series , it is fun, well written and the characters make it a smashing hit.
~Shelley’s Book Case

If you enjoy cozy mysteries – all the elements are here. Somehow our heroine is in the middle of discovering a dead body, she has a cute dog, lots of friends, and some cantankerous folks that blame her for things out of her control.
~Lilac Reviews​

With fireworks and Mal Allie’s wonderful dog you will be kept guessing until the end of who done it in this great mystery.
~Bab’s Book Bistro

Oh Say Can You Fudge
(A Candy-coated Mystery)


Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Publisher: Kensington (April 28, 2015)
Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0758287144
E-Book ASIN: B00ONTR4U8

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 My Review

I was so excited and knew I had to read this book when I discovered it took place on Mackinac Island.

I visited there a few times and loved it. A ferry is the only access to the island and no cars are allowed. You can hire horse drawn carriages or bikes, or you can stroll and take in the loveliness. And the Marriott Grande Hotel is beautiful.

Hard to imagine a murder taking place there, but you know what they say, “I never would have believed it would happen here.”

This started out a bit slow for me in the beginning. It took me a bit to get all of the characters straight as I hadn’t read the first two books. Once I got everyone sorted out in my mind, it picked up.

I learned I’m a troll! People who live under the Mackinac Bridge (the lower peninsula of Michigan). I seem to recall that fact now.

Allie finagled her way into being in charge of the fireworks for the Star Spangled 4th celebration and everything is ready to go. And it does. It goes boom. She received an urgent call from the pyro tech warning her that the fireworks had been tampered with. When she was finally able to get to the warehouse, she discovered a dead body and barely got out before the building disintegrated.

Apparently, this isn’t the first dead body Allie’s stumbled over. I wonder if she’s contagious and next her friends will start finding dead bodies.

Allie knows the show must go on, but while scrambling to find more fireworks and a new pyro tech, plus running her hotel, the Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop,and making the delicious fudge, she still finds time to do some snooping. She just can’t help it. She’s naturally nosy and this puts her in danger. The next dead body might be hers.

And what’s a cozy without some critters. Allie has Mal, her Bichon-poo puppy, and a stray calico cat that adopted her. I was always waiting for more scenes with these cuties.

Also there’s more than one kind of fireworks happening too. Allie’s rich, sexy boyfriend, Trent, and local police officer, Rex, who has a crush on her. It’s not a love triangle on her part, as she’s head over heels for Trent, but I thought Rex would be a better match for her. He’s bossy and stern when in cop mode, but all bashful when he’s not. Probably why he always appears in uniform when around her.

The cover art is adorable and perfect as it features her two furry friends and the main theme of the book, the fireworks. So cute and colorful.

Sprinkled at the end of about every other chapter are some yummy recipes. I’m going to try some of them. That’s a bonus, food and critters!

I always enjoy the colorful characters in cozy mysteries and there are plenty in this book. From snooty to quirky to grouchy, the author brought them to life.

I mentioned wanting to read this book because of the location. It was fun to flash back to my visits to the island. It helped me to visualize this story and relish it when I recognized something.

Great mystery too. It really was a surprise when the culprit was revealed.

I’ll be going back to read the first two books and any new ones that are released.

4 Stars

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Synopsis

Allie McMurphy is busy making yummy fudge for the summer holiday–until murder gives her something else to chew on. . .

Red, White, And Boom

It’s not Fourth of July on Mackinac Island without fireworks and fudge. The Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop is supplying the treats–and Allie has hired Rodney Rivers, the biggest name in aerial displays, to create an unforgettable spectacle. Unfortunately, Allie finds him dead, covered with screaming chicken fireworks, just before the entire warehouse of pyrotechnics goes up in smoke. Is it arson or is it murder? Allie and her bichonpoo, Mal, must sift through the suspects until the killer is caught and the island can enjoy a star-spangled celebration.

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nancy

About This Author

Best known for writing plucky heroines Nancy Coco AKA Nancy J. Parra has 15 books published-

Most recently Nancy has three cozy mystery book series going.
Gluten for Punishment and Murder Gone A-Rye are both part of the Gluten Free Baker’s Treat Mystery series. (Berkley Prime Crime)
All Fudge Up and To Fudge or Not To Fudge are part of the Candy Coated Mystery series (Kensington) -which Nancy writes as Nancy Coco
Then there is Engaged in Murder- the first in the Perfect Proposal series from Berkley Prime Crime.

All Fudged Up was Nancy’s first National Best seller.

Author Links: Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter

Purchase Links
Amazon       B&N          Book Depository     Kobo     Google Play

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Tour Participants

April 28 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – Review, Guest Post

April 29 – Shelley’s Book Case – Review, Guest Post

April 30 – Lilac Reviews – Review

May 1 – Babs Book Bistro – Review

May 2 – 3 Partners in Shopping, Nana, Mommy, & Sissy, Too! – Spotlight

May 3 – A Chick Who Reads – Review

May 4 – Back Porchervations – Review

May 5 – Brooke Blogs – Review

May 5 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – Review

May 6 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Review

May 7 – fuonlyknew – Review

May 8 – Laura’s Interests – Review

May 9 – Griperang’s Bookmarks – Review

May 10 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Interview

May 11 – View from the Birdhouse – Review

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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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Loss Angeles banner

Most of you know by now how much I enjoy short stories and collections.

I’m excited to share Loss Angeles with you.

I’m not sure which genre to tag these stories as, so I’m calling it Life Fiction.

Come on in and check it out and enjoy the excerpt!

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About the Book:

 

Title: Loss Angeles
Author: Mathieu Cailler
Publisher: Short Story America Press
Pages: 217
Genre: Short Stories
Format: Hardcover

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Set in the glamorous city of Los Angeles, California, LOSS ANGELES skips the shine and celebrity the city is known for and instead dives deeply into the lives of ordinary Angelenos. In each of the fifteen stories in this collection, author Mathieu Cailler examines the private lives of a diverse mix of characters. This collection of stories showcases the rawness of real life, the complexity of navigating personal challenges and internal conflicts, and the ever present possibility of encountering unexpected compassion and empathy.

The stories in LOSS ANGELES uncover the reality that the interiors of people’s lives often have huge holes in them. In the collection, a quiet divorced man, who is still deeply in love with his ex-wife, finally speaks up when his son’s soon-to-be stepfather becomes enraged over a broken birthday gift. A young man visiting his parents for the first time in nine years delays his presence at his family’s Thanksgiving dinner to see an old friend who was influential in his early life. Cailler also goes beyond loss and grief to reveal hidden human kindness in the stories of a widower, who steps out of his melancholy to save the life of a stranger, and an aging bachelor, who becomes a father figure for a wayward young woman.

In “Over the Bridge,” Ella is a teenager learning to manage her grief over the death of her mother and the new life she and her seven-year-old brother have with their father, with whom the children have not lived with since their parents’ divorce. While Ella is receiving weekly counseling at school, she continues to struggle with the changes in her life. When the counselor instructs Ella to write a letter to her father explaining the uncertainty and distance she feels in regard to her relationship with him, Ella complies and writes with the type of honesty that one allows when there is no plan to share what is written. But when Ella finds herself in a frightening situation with a boy at a party after consuming drugs and alcohol, the letter becomes the catalyst for a change in perspective for her father.

“Hit and Stay” is the story of a young married man making the long drive home from an out-of-town business trip. Penn is troubled as he drives his SUV through back roads to avoid the highway traffic. The quiet drive in the warm cocoon of the truck affords Penn the opportunity to reflect on the one-night stand he had with a new employee. As he contemplates how or if he will confess his mistake to his wife, Kimberly, Penn reviews his life with the woman he was once passionately in love with who has grown distant since the death of her mother. During the drive, Penn has an unfortunate accident that breaks the delicate hold he has on his volatile emotional state.

The conflict between familial violence and love is the foundation of “Dark Timber.” Clevie and his older brother, Roy, reluctantly accompany their father on a hunting expedition. Their father, an alcoholic recently released from prison after serving time for beating the boys’ mother, is determined to teach his sons how to hunt for their own food.

The relationship between father and sons is strained. Roy has personal experience with his father’s violent temper, but young Clevie remains hopeful that life with their father will improve. Neither boy is interested in hunting. Clevie is the most reluctant to fire on innocent animals. However, when their father comes face-to-face with a menacing predator, both boys instinctively respond to his pleas for help.

LOSS ANGELES is a throwback to eclectic short story collections of past years and is only bound by the theme of loss in a very general sense,” Cailler says. “The stories are by turns fragile, tender, and always memorable. The characters in this book are as diverse as the city itself… they all have a story to share, and it was my job to do just that. I don’t believe in being predestined while writing; therefore, some of the stories end with a bit of hope while others reach their coda in a disconcerting fashion.”

Exposing emotions was Cailler’s focus when writing the collection. “I want the reader to relate to the feelings and sentiments expressed in the book. I think loss is the greatest bond we possess as humans, and there isn’t a single person around who hasn’t experienced it. We’ve all lost something dear to us, something profound,” the author says. “I think if a reader comes away from LOSS ANGELES feeling more connected to others and/or him or herself, I’ll have done my job. Whenever I write, I think of Plato’s words: ‘Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle.’ That’s something that I hope will resonate with the reader.”

For More Information

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Book Excerpt:

Penn continued to drive through the night. Snow and gales of wind assailed his SUV as he barreled towards home, his foot steady on the gas, his hands positioned firmly at ten and two. Heat billowed from the vents on the dashboard and moved loose strands of hair on his face. He didn’t want to replay the scenario—the quiet L.A. hotel room, the closed drapes, the underwear on the floor, the moaning, the taste of her lips—but the SUV’s quiet cabin was a hotbed for reflection.

His headlights brushed a green highway sign, indicating that there were eighty-nine miles left on his journey home to Lake Tahoe. With the winter weather, it might take Penn more than two hours, but that was all right. How would he look at Kimberly after what he’d done?

“Don’t marry young,” people had told him a few years ago when he’d passed around the idea of proposing. “You haven’t tested the waters.” Cliché after cliché came at him, and while the marriage advice was stale and up there with “enjoy each day like it’s your last” and “don’t let anyone tell you something’s impossible,” it wasn’t amiss.

Becky had been with the company for a couple months now; there’d been some mild flirting, but Penn just thought that was the way she was, and he flirted back from time to time, knowing that it was just a game. Becky saw the wedding band on his finger; she could put two and two together.

But on this recent trip, Penn and Becky had found themselves at the hotel bar, overlooking the glimmering L.A skyline. There was a meeting early in the morning, and most of the company’s employees had gone to bed. She approached Penn and slid onto the chair next to his. They drank, and their eyes held one another in the empty bar. The piano man played his versions of “So What” and “Stardust,” songs that made people more attractive and made conversations more interesting. The right strap of Becky’s blue dress kept slipping off her freckled shoulder, and she left her smooth skin exposed longer than normal before bringing the strap back up. Her breasts were pressed up and together, and when she crossed her legs, one of her black heels dangled a few inches from her foot, making it seem as though she was already undressing. Penn remembered the way she reached over and touched his right hand.

The worst part was that Penn had only slept with Becky because of the confidence Kimberly had given him. Many times she’d reaffirmed his self-esteem, telling him he was worthy of love, that he was better-looking than he imagined, and that he deserved the best.

Penn believed the burden would be lightened if he told Kimberly, but at the same time, he thought the words might destroy her, and that’s not what he wanted. It’d taken cheating for him to know how much he loved her, but who would believe a line like that?

The tapping of a snare drum leaked out from the speakers, accompanied by the beat of an upright bass and the trill of a clarinet. He lowered the window and let the cold air flow into the sweltering cabin.

Was there a perfect scenario? Penn thought. He let his mind wander. When he got home maybe Kimberly would be crying.

What’s wrong? Penn would say.

I did something terrible, Kimberly would answer.

Kimberly would go on to tell Penn that she’d slept with someone else, that she was sorry, and that it didn’t mean anything. After that, he’d say the same thing. Two wrongs, one right. But even thinking about her sleeping with someone else made him sick. That wasn’t at all what he wanted.

High school sweethearts turned lovers turned husband and wife turned roommates—that’s what they were. Penn found it more and more difficult to make her laugh. Where there’d been kisses, there were now smiles. Where there’d been heat, there was now platitude. Where there’d been love, there was now familiarity.

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About Author Mathieu Cailler

Mathieu Cailler

Mathieu Cailler is a writer of prose and poetry. His work has been widely published in national and international literary journals. Before becoming a full-time writer, Cailler was an elementary school teacher in inner-city Los Angeles. “I came to writing in a rather circuitous way. I always penned jokes for stand-up comedy appearances but later realized it wasn’t just comedy that applealed to me, but all writing.” A graduate of Vermont College of Fine Arts, Cailler was awarded the Short Story America Prize for Short Fiction and a Shakespeare Award for Poetry. His chapbook, Clotheslines, was recently published by Red Bird Press. LOSS ANGELES is Cailler’s first full-length book.

For More Information

  • Visit Mathieu Cailler’s website.
  • Connect with Mathieu on Facebook and Twitter.
  • Find out more about Mathieu at Goodreads.

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Until the next time…..

Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew!

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Hello and welcome to this week’s Two for Thursday Book Blitz #T4T
presented by Month9books/Tantrum Books!

Today, we will be showcasing two titles that may tickle your fancy,
and we’ll share what readers have to say about these titles!

You just might find your next read!

This week, #T4T presents to you:

Two and Twenty Dark Tales and Very Superstitious Anthologies!

Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post!

Two and Twenty Dark Tales

In this anthology, 20 authors explore the dark and hidden meanings behind some of the most beloved Mother Goose nursery rhymes through short story retellings. The dark twists on classic tales range from exploring whether Jack truly fell or if Jill pushed him instead to why Humpty Dumpty, fragile and alone, sat atop so high of a wall. The authors include Nina Berry, Sarwat Chadda, Leigh Fallon, Gretchen McNeil, and Suzanne Young.

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What Readers Are Saying:

Great short story collection! Allegorical, interpretive, and entertaining.” – Levina, Goodreads Reviewer

“ EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED in this book”Kwinn, Goodreads Reviewer

“I truly enjoyed the stories in this anthology. Some are dark and depressing, and yet beautifully told…” – Angie, Author

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Very Superstitious

The stories are based on urban legends, myths, tribal tales and superstitions from around the world. A charity anthology to benefit SPCA International with stories by Shannon Delany, Jackie Morse Kessler, Stephanie Kuehnert, Jennifer Knight, Marianne Mancusi, Michelle E. Reed, Dianne Salerni and Pab Sungenis.

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What Readers Are Saying:

“VERY SUPERSTITIOUS is a fine anthology for fantasy readers looking for something slightly creepy for Halloween reading.”Liviania, In Bed With Books

“A collection of spook-licious tales that will taunt, and in a few cases, tickle the fear bone in any reader.”S.A. Larsen, Author

A timely collection for a good cause, with some delightful surprises, full of myths and superstitions, and a vast array of stories that will make you laugh, cry and think.” – Tammy, Books Bones Buffy

Giveaway

Complete the Rafflecopter below for a chance to win!

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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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