A Killer Whisky By Susan Calder ~ Peek Inside And Giveaway

Posted: February 25, 2025 in Excerpt, giveaways, Mystery
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Welcome to my stop in the virtual book tour for A Killer Whisky organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Author Susan Calder will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B&N Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner. Don’t forget to enter!

And you can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

A Killer Whisky

By Susan Calder

 

 

Genre: Mystery

Synopsis

The 1918 influenza pandemic strikes Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The Great War rages overseas. While her husband fights in Europe, Katharine works in a doctor’s office to support her children and her brother, a wounded veteran. One night their neighbour suddenly takes sick and dies. The attending doctor concludes the man died from influenza, but Katharine suspects someone laced his whisky with a drug that mimics the deadly flu’s symptoms.

Katharine convinces the police to investigate. Worried about her brother’s involvement with a suspect, she delves into his secrets and comes to fear he’s connected to the murder. She grows disturbingly attracted to the investigating detective who returns her affections. He’s convinced her brother or someone else close to her is a killer and risks his career to pursue the crime. Katharine must discover the truth so she can move forward in a world that has changed forever.

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Enjoy this peek inside: 

Detective Bertram Tanner strode into Calgary Police Headquarters, his steps lighter than they’d been this morning.

“How was your walk?” Julia, the receptionist, asked.

“Reflective.”

“I often think while walking too.”

It was too soon to tell his colleagues he might be leaving the police force. “How was your lunch hour?”

“Busy,” she said. “I tracked down balloons for my son’s birthday celebration tonight.”

“Which son?”

“The oldest. He’s ten years old. We decided to limit the party to family due to the flu. He’s disappointed his friends can’t come, but it will be lively with all of us there.”

Julia, a war widow with three children, lived with her parents—the police chief and his wife.

“I phoned my mother after lunch,” Julia said. “She went to every confectionary in town and managed to find all the children’s favourite sweets despite the sugar shortage.”

The chief’s wife was a ball of energy. A leader in the local suffragette and Prohibition movements, she claimed personal credit for Alberta women gaining the vote and the province going dry in 1916.

Bertram went into his office, closed the door, and draped his coat and hat on the coat tree. What work could he do this afternoon? Reports of the Spanish flu’s arrival on a train from Eastern Canada were keeping people away from the pool rooms and dance halls. Calgary hadn’t had a brawl or knifing in a week. Even the criminals seemed to be staying home.

He took out an old file, a robbery scheduled for trial next week. A man broke into a house in the Sunalta neighbourhood and stole $2.75. Disturbed by a noise, he fled through a window but foolishly returned an hour later. Caught red-handed by three residents, the robber could be sentenced to up to a year of hard labour. Bertram tried to organize his trial notes, but his thoughts kept shifting to his plan to leave the police force when the war ended and soldiers came home to replace him on the job. After fifteen minutes, he set the robbery file aside and decided to take a methodical approach to his lunch hour reflections about leaving.

He took out a clean sheet of paper, drew a vertical line down the middle, and titled each side “pro” and “con.”

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About Author Susan Calder:

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Susan Calder lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. She is the author of five novels published by BWL Publishing Inc. A Deadly Fall, Ten Days in Summer, Winter’s Rage and Spring Into Danger are part of her Paula Savard Mystery Series. The books follow the adventures of Paula, a Calgary insurance adjuster who works with the police to solve insurance-related crimes. Susan’s standalone suspense novel, To Catch a Fox takes a troubled Calgary woman to Southern California on a quest to find her missing mother. In December 2024, BWL will release Susan’s first historical novel, A Killer Whisky. The story is set in 1918 Calgary and will be the 12th and final book of the BWL Canadian Historical Mystery Series. Susan has also published non-fiction articles. Her short stories and poems have won contests and appeared in numerous anthologies and magazines. She is a member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, and the Writers’ Guild of Alberta.

Author Links: Website / Facebook

Purchase Link: Amazon

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

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Comments
  1. Jeanna Massman says:

    I love the mystery genre and the cover!

    • susancalder2 says:

      I love the cover too. My publisher gives me input into the cover design, which starts with me suggesting images. I suggested one of a glass of whisky bearing down on a piano. I can almost hear the clashing chord. Music and whisky play large roles in the story.

  2. Mary Preston says:

    I like the time period for this mystery.

  3. Thank you for featuring A KILLER WHISKY today.

  4. marcymeyer says:

    Sounds like a good story.

  5. susancalder2 says:

    Hi everyone. Do you like reading historical mysteries? If so, why do you think you like them?

  6. susancalder2 says:

    Hi everyone. Nice meeting you all. Do you enjoy reading historical mystery novels? If so, why do you like them?

  7. susancalder2 says:

    Hi everyone. I’m Susan, the author of A Killer Whisky. This is my first historical novel. I’ve enjoyed reading historical fiction since I was a child. Do you enjoy reading historical novels? If so, why do they appeal to you?

  8. Rita Wray says:

    Sounds great.

  9. saubleb says:

    A Killer Whiskey sounds intriguing, unique and captivating. What a talented and creative author. The accomplishments are wonderful as is all the writing. I have been to Calgary and enjoyed the visit.

    • susancalder2 says:

      Great to hear from you. Thank you for your kind words. I’m glad you enjoyed Calgary. It’s changed since my novel setting over 100 years ago, but Calgary’s spirit remains the same.

  10. Melissa Cushing says:

    There is nothing I love better than a good mystery and this one sounds like the perfect fit for me! Thanks for sharing!

  11. Susan Calder says:

    Hi all,

    I’ve been in Palm Springs for the past week and will leave for the airport soon to fly back to my home in Calgary, where it is much colder. I won’t get home until late tonight and won’t have time to check on this site for the rest of the day. it’s been a beautiful week. I’ve make quite a few comments and replies to your posts, but I don’t see them on the site. I really appreciate your interest. Hope some of you will join me on my next blog stop.

  12. wendy hutton says:

    very nice cover

  13. Sherry says:

    This sounds like a great read.

  14. Cotton Tail says:

    I hope to get a chance to read it, sounds great 🙂 ~Lisa Brown in giveaway widget.

  15. wendy hutton says:

    hello fellow Albertan. best wishes with your book

  16. PIroska says:

    The book sounds very intriguing. I love the genre!

  17. Mike Law says:

    This looks like a great novel. Thanks for sharing.

  18. wendy hutton says:

    I love murder mysteries, so exciting

  19. Susan Calder says:

    Thanks, Wendy. I find them exciting too.

  20. Ann Fantom says:

    This sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.

  21. Deborah Wellenstein says:

    I enjoyed the peek inside for A Killer Whisky. Thank you for the giveaway!

  22. Barbara Montag says:

    This looks like a great mystery!
    Thank you for sharing it.

  23. wendy hutton says:

    have a great weekend in this warm Alberta temps

  24. Susan Calder says:

    Yes – heading out soon for an afternoon walk to meet with a writer-friend.

  25. Sandy Klocinski says:

    Sounds like an awesome read!

  26. Deborah Wellenstein says:

    Have a fun weekend!

  27. wendy hutton says:

    this sounds like a great mystery

  28. wendy hutton says:

    hope you are enjoy this beautiful weather, have a geat sunday

  29. Deborah Wellenstein says:

    Have a great week!

  30. wendy hutton says:

    what types of books do you like to read?

  31. wendy hutton says:

    I have never joined a book club but could be intersting

    • Susan Calder says:

      I belong to a book club that meets at my local library and have been a member for over 28 years. I really enjoy discussing books after I’ve read them and discovering books I wouldn’t have read except for the club.

  32. Deborah Wellenstein says:

    Do you write every day?

    • Susan Calder says:

      The simple answer is “no,” since many days I’m doing other things like going to appointments, travelling, hiking, or spending time with family and friends, and I want to give these priorities. But any day that I don’t have another commitment that consumes most of a day, I will probably be writing.

  33. wendy hutton says:

    was it hard designing the cover

  34. Susan Calder says:

    Wendy, my publisher’s process is that authors look through a subscription photo website and select images that they feel would suit the book. they used to use deposit.com photos but now they use shutterfly. My selections go to the cover designer, who works with the images to create the cover. She might use the images I select, or similar ones, and put them together into a cover design. I really enjoy my part of the process, selecting images, but wouldn’t come up with such good covers as the designer.

  35. Sandy Klocinski says:

    Sounds like a great read!

  36. Jennifer R says:

    This mystery sounds fun to read. Thanks for the introduction.

  37. Deborah Wellenstein says:

    Thank you once again for the giveaway!

  38. pleasantlyversatile70033789e7 says:

    sounds like a book I would love to read

  39. wendy hutton says:

    best wishes with the book, its been fun chatting with you

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