fuonlyknew

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A Murder Yule Regret

A Bread Shop Mystery

by Winnie Archer

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A Murder Yule Regret (A Bread Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
7th in Series
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kensington Cozies (November 30, 2021)
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 149673355X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1496733559
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08Y69YZKB

Freelance photographer and Yeast of Eden bakery assistant Ivy Culpepper has just scored the job of a lifetime shooting the Dickensian dress-up X-mas party thrown by It Girl film actress Eliza Fox . . . until an unwanted guest appears.

A holiday costume party in the sleepy coastal town of Santa Sofia could be just the boost Ivy needs for her fledgling photography business. At the party, Ivy enters a Victorian fantasy come to life, all courtesy of the fabulous Ms. Fox. Ivy gets to play shutterbug while hanging with Scrooge, Marley, the Cratchits, and more classic Dickens characters. But what begins as the best of times turns out to be the very worst for one of the party guests—a tabloid journalist with more enemies than Ebenezer himself.

When the man’s body is found sprawled across the jagged rocks below the house, the fingers begin pointing at Eliza. Meanwhile, Ivy gets roped into helping prove the starlet’s innocence. Her festive photos are now official evidence—and the Ghosts of Christmas Present could mean the party for Eliza is over, once and for all.ance photographer and Yeast of Eden bakery assistant Ivy Culpepper has just scored the job of a lifetime shooting the Dickensian dress-up X-mas party thrown by It Girl film actress Eliza Fox . . . until an unwanted guest appears.

A holiday costume party in the sleepy coastal town of Santa Sofia could be just the boost Ivy needs for her fledgling photography business. At the party, Ivy enters a Victorian fantasy come to life, all courtesy of the fabulous Ms. Fox. Ivy gets to play shutterbug while hanging with Scrooge, Marley, the Cratchits, and more classic Dickens characters. But what begins as the best of times turns out to be the very worst for one of the party guests—a tabloid journalist with more enemies than Ebenezer himself.

When the man’s body is found sprawled across the jagged rocks below the house, the fingers begin pointing at Eliza. Meanwhile, Ivy gets roped into helping prove the starlet’s innocence. Her festive photos are now official evidence—and the Ghosts of Christmas Present could mean the party for Eliza is over, once and for all.

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Olaya stood behind the bread table, hands on her hips, her chin lowered. “Maggie, you are here to help me, not to star gaze,” she scolded.

Maggie did her best to look sheepish, but didn’t quite pull it off. Her gaze strayed past the people gathering at the food tables and toward the backyard, still searching for another glimpse of Eliza. “I know but—”

“No,” Olaya said in a tone that brought Maggie’s head back around. Olaya snapped her fingers three times.“I am paying you, yes?”

Maggie nodded.

“Bueno.” And that was it. With five little words, Olaya had made it clear that she expected Maggie to tamp down the fangirl and stay put at the bread table.

Maggie looked appropriately chastised.

“Oh God, the carbs!” a woman said as she took two slices of panettone.

Olaya’s lips curved into an almost imperceptible smile. I suspected that she’d worked a little of her magic, the mere aroma of her bread drawing in the perpetual dieters, making them disregard their carb-counting and caloric intake for the evening, instead giving them the mental boost of satisfying a long-suffering hunger for all things baked.

I knew better than to take too many pictures in the library with all the food being consumed, so I left Maggie and Olaya and drifted back out to the great room. Some of the partygoers had made their way upstairs to the loft. The great room felt manageable now, and I was able to catch people in candid poses just as Nicole had requested. One by one, I took shots of each and every person downstairs, which took a solid hour and a half. Some people were not as photogenic as others. Even though they were candids, I wanted each subject to be shown in their best light. Finally, I headed upstairs to capture the rest. Outside, the ocean had become an inky expanse, a few lights appearing far in the distance. Even with the low lights, the backyard was still dark. It was eerie knowing that with the blackness outside and the bright lights inside, we were all on display.

Not that it was possible for anyone to actually see in. We were on a cliff, after all. I gripped the metal railing and continued upstairs, freezing when a shrill scream cut through the party chatter.

The entire house seemed to have gone mute for a few seconds. I spun around, trying to place the location, realizing suddenly that it was coming from outside. A few of the guests had come to the same conclusion. I raced back down the stairs and through the frozen crowd, joining those who had propelled themselves into action by plowing through the side door. Down the square cement steps.

Onto the patch of grass.

A serving tray lay upside down on the grass, bits of bread and smashed appetizers scattered around it. A young woman, who couldn’t have been older than twenty, backed away from the huge boulders, one hand covering her mouth, the other pointing past the edge of the yard and down over the cliff.

Those of us who had rushed outside moved forward while the girl continued to back up.

“Someb-b-body—” she stammered.

That’s when I noticed her outstretched arm, her finger pointing . . . down.

My heart climbed to my throat as I dropped to my knees and inched forward. Carefully, I peered over the edge. Sure enough, splayed out on the rocks below, was the dark form of a body.

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About Winner Archer

Winnie Archer is the nationally bestselling author of the Bread Shop Mystery series, and the Magical Dressmaking Mystery series written as Melissa Bourbon. A former middle school English teacher, lives in North Carolina with her educator husband, Carlos, and the youngest of their five children. She can be found online at MelissaBourbon.com.

Author Links: Kensington / Website / Facebook

Purchase Links – Amazon  – B&N – Kobo – IndieBound

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GIVEAWAY

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 29 – Valerie’s Musings – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 29 – Reading Authors Network – SPOTLIGHT WITH RECIPE

November 30 – Novels Alive – GUEST POST

November 30 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW

December 1 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

December 1 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW

December 2 – Author Elena Taylor’s Blog – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

December 2 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

December 3 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

December 3 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

December 4 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

December 5 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

December 5 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

December 6 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST

December 6 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

December 7 – I Read What You Write – REVIEW, RECIPE

December 7 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 8 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

December 9 – BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT  

December 9 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

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Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour for Two Many Sleuths organized by Goddess Fish Promotions.

Author M. K. Scott will be awarding a $40 Amazon Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Don’t forget to enter!

And you can click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour and more chances to win.

Two Many Sleuths

by M. K. Scott

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Synopsis

Can the Brits and Yanks team up to solve a murder?

What should have been an easy week for small town detective Mark Taber and his amateur sleuth and innkeeper wife, Donna Tolllhouse Taber goes awry when a local garden club member is shot. One of the inn guests, a Scotland Yard detective’s insistence on helping could actually make things worse. Can ruffled feathers be smoothed before the killer strikes again?

Find out in Book Twelve of The Painted Lady Inn Mystery series, Two Many Sleuths.

Enjoy this peek inside:

Both grinned at her as Donna schooled her face into something looking a bit less like shock. She found herself nodding her head as she surveyed their attire. Jeans. Sneakers. Who were they? Did they think she served as a driver? Maybe their driver failed to show on time and thought anyone standing about could be the missing chauffeur. Before Donna could formulate a response to clear up matters, she remember the man had a clipped manner of speaking.

Nothing elegant and cultured like the BBC shows, though. “Howard? Elizabeth?”

“That’s us,” Elizabeth agreed with a nod.

“I’d thought you’d be wearing hats,” Donna uttered the words, then she realized how stupid they sounded.

“Wait,” Elizabeth said, then dug into her backpack. She pulled out a red cap with Boston stitched on the front. “I bought this at the last airport. Should I be wearing it?”

“No.” The last thing the newly arrived Brits needed was to get the cold shoulder from the southerners who held a grudge almost two hundred years later about the War of Northern Aggression. “Let me show you to the baggage area. How did you recognize me?”

Howard puffed out his chest. “I am a Scotland Yard trained detective. Most of the people had already scattered, so, not that many people to choose from. I then subtracted all the airport workers. Finally, I looked for a lush lady.”

“Lush lady,” she repeated the words, not liking the sound of them. Either they thought her a heavy drinker or overweight. Sure, she had to buy her clothing in the plus-size department, but only because the garment industry decided to end misses’ sizes at twelve now.

“Lush lady. That’s how Mark described you.”

Well, someone would be getting a chat tonight. Did he really think of her that way? He’d always assured her he loved her curves and not to change a thing. Was it just nonsense men say to keep their wives from chattering on? A bewildered smile served as her response until she realized a verbal response might be expected. “Lovely.”

Author M. K. Scott

M. K. Scott is the husband and wife writing team behind the cozy mystery series, The Painted Lady Inn Mysteries, The Talking Dog Detective Agency, The Way Over the Hill Gang, and Cupid’s Catering Company.

Morgan K Wyatt is the general wordsmith, while her husband, Scott, is the grammar hammer and physics specialist. He uses his engineering skills to explain how fast a body falls when pushed over a cliff and various other felonious activities.

The Internet and experts in the field provide forensic information, while the recipes and B and B details require a more hands on approach. Morgan’s daughter, who manages a hotel, provides guest horror stories to fuel the plot lines. The couple’s dog, Jane, is the inspiration behind Jasper, Donna’s dog.

All the series are full of quirky characters, humorous shenanigans, along with the occasional murder.

Amazon

The book will be $0.99 during the tour.

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. Product images are linked.

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It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Murder

A Catering Hall Mystery

by Maria DiRico

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It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder (A Catering Hall Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kensington Cozies (October 26, 2021)
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 288 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1496725360
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1496725363
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08VFBT9B2

Astoria, Queens, is decorated within an inch of its life for the Christmas season, and Mia Carina is juggling her job at the Belle View catering hall with a case of murder . . .

Mia’s busy with a full schedule of events at the family business—among them an over-the-top Nativity-themed first birthday party and a Sweet Sixteen for a teen drama queen. But her personal life is even more challenging. Her estranged mother has returned—and her lifelong friend Jamie has discovered a shocking secret about his past. He’s so angry that he starts hanging out with Lorenzo, who claims to be his long-lost brother—even after it becomes clear that Lorenzo’s story is as fake as a plastic Christmas tree.

Then a body turns up among the elves in a Santa’s-workshop lawn display, and amateur sleuth Mia has a buffet of suspects to choose from. Amid the holiday celebrations, she intends to find out who’s the guilty party . . .

Italian recipes included!

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Donny took Mia’s hands in his and squeezed them.

“Mille grazie, Mia. All we ask is that you keep this news to yourself until we meet together to tell Jamie. You can share it with your father. I trust him with my life. But no one else.”

Mia nodded her agreement. A thought occurred to her.

“Does Donny Junior know?” Jamie’s older brother, a textbook goombah who barely made it out of high school, lived to tease his more cerebral little brother and give him grief.

Donny Senior shook his head. “We’re not saying a word to Little Donny until we talk to Jamie.”

“Good. I’m worried he might throw this in Jamie’s face.”

A bookcase suddenly rotated out of place and Donny Junior burst into the room from a secret location, eliciting startled screams from the office occupants. “I would never do that,” Donny Junior declared with passion.

“Donny, what were you thinking?” his angry mother scolded. “You know your father has high blood pressure. You could have given him a stroke.”

“Or me,” Mia said, pouring herself a small shot of Strega. “I know you have a hidden bar, but what the hell is that?” She pointed to a small room behind the faux bookcase.

“It’s a panic room,” Donny Senior said. “We’ve got a few around the place. This one was a birthday present from Aurora.” He glared at his son. “You got a lot of nerve, sneaking up on your family like that.”

Donny Junior returned his father’s glare. Even though he had half a foot on his father, he was often referred to as Little Donny by friends and family. He and “Big Donny” shared the same coloring, muddy brown eyes, and fleshy facial features, making it impossible for anyone to deny that Little Donny was a biological Boldano. “I’ve seen how you all been whispering to each other and shutting up the minute I came into the room. When I heard Mia was coming over by herself, I knew something was up and if you weren’t gonna tell me, I was gonna do whatever it took to find out what was going on.” His expression softened. “Jamie is my brother. I know we’re always on each other, but I love him. And I should be part of this conversation.”

His father began to protest, but Aurora cut him off.

“You’re right, son,” she said. “You should be. We’ll tell Jamie tomorrow night. At Piero’s restaurant. Jamie loves Piero’s mushroom pasta alla carbonara. It’ll make the news go down easier.”

That’s so typically Italian, Mia thought. If there’s a problem, a dish of homemade pasta will solve it. But as far as she was concerned, there wasn’t a pasta dish in the world that would ease Jamie into this revelation.

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About Maria DiRico

Maria DiRico is the pseudonym for Ellen Byron, author of the award winning, USA Today bestselling Cajun Country Mysteries. Born in Queens, New York, she is first-generation Italian-American on her mother’s side and the granddaughter of a low-level Jewish mobster on her father’s side. She grew up visiting the Astoria Manor and Grand Bay Marina catering halls, which were run by her Italian mother’s family in Queens and have become the inspiration for her Catering Hall Mystery Series. DiRico has been a writer-producer for hit television series like Wings and Just Shoot Me, and her first play, Graceland, appears in the Best Short Plays collection. She’s a freelance journalist, with over 200 articles published in national magazines, and previously worked as a cater-waiter for Martha Stewart, a credit she never tires of sharing. A native New Yorker who attended Tulane University, Ellen lives in Los Angeles with her husband, daughter, and two rescue dogs.

Author Links – Website – Chicks on the Case – Facebook –  Twitter

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – IndieBound 

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GIVEAWAY

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 1 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

November 1 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

November 1 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – RECIPE

November 1 – Christa Reads and Writes – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

November 2 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

November 2 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

November 2 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW, RECIPE

November 2 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

November 3 – Island Confidential – SPOTLIGHT

November 3 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW

November 3 – I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT

November 3 – My Journey Back – RECIPE  

November 4 – Novels Alive – GUEST POST

November 4 – Brooke Blogs – RECIPE

November 4 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW

November 4 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

November 5 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW, EXCERPT

November 5 – Author Elena Taylor’s Blog – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 5 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT, EXCERPT

November 5 – This Is My Truth Now – REVIEW

November 6 – StoreyBook Reviews – RECIPE

November 6 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – SPOTLIGHT

November 6 – Laura’s Interests – REVIEW

November 6 – I Read What You Write – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST,

November 7 – Celticlady’s Reviews – RECIPE

November 7 – BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT  

November 7 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW

November 7 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

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Thanks so much for visiting fuonlyknew and Good Luck!

For a list of my reviews go HERE.

For a list of free eBooks updated daily go HERE

To see all of my giveaways go HERE.

I am an Amazon Affiliate. Product images are linked.