Reviewed By Liz

ISBN: 1590585011

Poisoned Pen Press
Hardcover - 4/15/08

UNRAVELING OF VIOLETA BELL - A Morgue Mama Mystery - Newspaper librarian Maddy Sprowls never gives story ideas to the editors at The Hannawa Herald-Union. She prefers to stay in the “morgue” and do her job, and hopes the editors stay in the newsroom and do theirs. Then one Saturday she sees four elderly women get out of a taxicab at a garage sale. Those women must hire that cabby every week, she figures, to drive them from garage sale to garage sale while they search for treasure. And wouldn’t that make a great feature story for the paper. Monday morning she runs straight to the newsroom with her idea. Shortly after the story runs, one of the four women is murdered, retired antique dealer Violeta Bell. Maddy wants no part of the investigation. But before she knows it she’s on another of her infamous snoopathons. And, good gravy, enjoying every minute of it.Was Violeta Bell murdered by one of the other garage sale ladies. Former striptease artist Kay Hausenfelter perhaps, Or real estate agent Gloria McPhee, Or eccentric philanthropist Ariel Wilburger-Gowdy. Or was it Eddie French, the scruffy cabby with a police record as long as his arm? And what about Violeta’s claim that she was the rightful queen of Romania. Any truth to that? Readers who loved C.R. Corwin’s first two Morgue Mama mysteries–The Cross Kisses Back and Dig-will be happy to see that Maddy is as crafty and cantankerous as ever. If not more so!

C.R. Corwin is a former newspaper reporter living in Akron, Ohio.

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New book releases are a feature provided for our readers by reviewedbyliz, but are not written by us. Where available, the descriptions of the books are those provided by the Author or publisher.

Welcome to Sample Chapter Sunday!

For those of you have been here before, welcome back!

Sample Chapter Sunday is the cure for the boring Sunday afternoons when you have no new reading material. You can swing by here and find links to sample chapters of mysteries by favorite authors and authors you haven’t read before.

Any mystery author is welcome to put a link to their online sample chapter by leaving a comment on this post. Hopefully, they will also give us their name, title of the book, and a brief description or synopsis to pique our interest. Tell your friends to come read and your favorite authors to come show off their sample chapters!

To see the access the sample chapters that the authors have posted links to, click on the COMMENTS link below (if you are an author, this is also the place you add a comment and post your book description and sample chapter links).

ISBN: 0425219461

Berkley
Hardcover - 3/4/08

THE SILVER NEEDLE MURDER - A Tea Shop Mystery - The national bestselling author of Dragonwell Dead returns with a mystery proving that the price of fame can be murderously steep.

The Charleston Film Festival has brought Theodosia Browning and the staff of the Indigo Tea Shop a busy week of catering jobs. First up is the opening night gala at the historic Belvedere Theatre. Tinseltown and local luminaries seem to be mingling happily in the glamorously renovated lobby, but Theo notices that the atmosphere backstage is tense. Then famous director Jordan Cole is shot on his way to the podium, and the entire audience witnesses his death silhouetted across the scrim. Never has a festival started off with this big a bang.

Check out Laura’s web site at www.laurachilds.com.

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New book releases are a feature provided for our readers by reviewedbyliz, but are not written by us. Where available, the descriptions of the books are those provided by the Author or publisher.

ISBN: 1880284944

Perseverance Press
Paperback - 3/20/08

CHASING CANS - A Gail McCarthy Mystery - Horse Wreck–Or Is It Homicide? In this tenth installment in the Gail McCarthy series, Gail is faced with legendary barrel racing trainer Lindee Stone, and a large entourage of clients and rivals who all have a reason to hate the double-tough contender. When a strange barrel racing wreck results in a dead rider, the police are convinced its an accident, but Gail isn’t so sure.

Laura Crum is a writer living in Santa Cruz California. She is best known for her mystery series featuring equine veterinarian Gail McCarthy. Laura has spent twenty years training and showing western cowhorses and has used her background to create a unique blend of mystery and the modern west.

Check out Laura’s web site at www.lauracrum.com.

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New book releases are a feature provided for our readers by reviewedbyliz, but are not written by us. Where available, the descriptions of the books are those provided by the Author or publisher.

ISBN: 0738710482

MIDNIGHT INK
Paperback - 3/1/08

LITTLE SHOP OF MURDERS - A Kate London Mystery - Kate and Aunt Kitty are at the bank depositing their hard-earned fundraiser proceeds when Walter, a bathrobe-clad octogenarian, robs the bank using a banana. Kate and Kitty speed off in Kitty’s mammoth white 1974 Eldorado convertible to retrieve their funds, but find a dead body instead. Handsome Sheriff Ben arrives, but not until AFTER the murderers have come calling. Things get stickier when the Treasury Department and a biker gang - the Devil’s Cheerleaders - get involved, too. Despite continuous misadventures - from Sausage Festival pandemonium to unsympathetic law enforcement officials in unattractive shoes to a malfunctioning giant man-eating plant from Splotski’s Theatre Rentals - Kate and Kitty are determined that the show must go on.
Sexy, sassy, and hilarious, this mystery is the second in a series featuring amateur sleuth Kate London.

Susan Goodwill (Michigan) has been involved in community theatre for years. She is a graduate of the Writers Retreat Workshop and a member of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Little Shop Of Murders is her second novel.

Check out Susan’s web site at www.susangoodwill.com.

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New book releases are a feature provided for our readers by reviewedbyliz, but are not written by us. Where available, the descriptions of the books are those provided by the Author or publisher.

ISBN: 0425220915

Berkley
Paperback - 3/4/08

HEY DIDDLE, DIDDLE, THE CORPSE AND THE FIDDLE - A Callie Parrish Mystery - Nobody’s leaving the island-including the killer…

Mortuary cosmetologist Callie Parrish is thrilled to pack up her banjo and take off with her best friend Jane for a bluegrass festival on Surcie Island. A whole weekend of her favorite kind of music, Gullah food, and fun in the sun is just what Callie needs to erase the memory of being locked in a casket last fall. But somehow, she just can’t seem to leave her work behind her…

Little Fiddlin’ Fred might be tiny in stature, but he’s huge in the bluegrass world. When his dead body tumbles out of a bass case on stage, the festival erupts in chaos. Local cops advise Callie not to get involved, but when Jane discovers a second corpse-and then disappears-Callie has no choice. Her sleuthing leads her to a widow too busy flirting to mourn, a fiddler too eager to fill in, and a water witch convinced he can find whatever treasures might be hiding under the sand-but she’ll also learn that on an island, you tend to keep going in circles…

Fran Rizer was born in South Carolina on December twelfth and stayed there. Callie Parrish came to life after she retired from twenty-five years’ teaching in public schools. her family includes her mother, two sons, and one grandson, who also loves to write.

Check out Fran’s web site at www.franrizer.com.

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New book releases are a feature provided for our readers by reviewedbyliz, but are not written by us. Where available, the descriptions of the books are those provided by the Author or publisher.

ISBN 1-59133-238-9

Hilliard & Harris Publishers - Hardcover
March 12th 2008

Austin Carr returns in Jack Getze’s second book, BIG MONEY. Our favorite stockbroker has lost his securities license, but this doesn’t keep his boss, Vick Bonacelli, from leaving him in charge of the store while Vick takes a long vacation. Vick also makes Carr promise to watch over his adult daughter Carmela and his mother, Mama Bones. As soon as Vick’s boat sails, Carmela’s ex-husband shows up, Mama Bones is arrested, the regulatory audit turns up some potentially disastrous transactions in the company’s books, and the local mob boss politely requests that Shore Securities launder some money for him. Well, perhaps not so politely…

Yes, it is a typical day in the life of Austin Carr. Carr is the everyman who lives his entire life caught between a rock and a hard place - and watching him try to wiggle out is a delight. A despised ex-husband but devoted father, Carr is motivated to protect his small ownership stake in the securities company so he can provide for his children. But Carr is out of his league when it comes to the machinations of the local mafia and has to rely on the more worldly assistance of his favorite bartender, Luis, and the surprising Mama Bones.

I love it when an author’s second book surpasses a good debut, and Getze achieves this with BIG MONEY. Getze hits his stride in this book and tips us the wink on Carr’s true character. For all his posturing, Carr is always the most naïve person in the room (even when his children are present) and you end up both laughing out loud at his view of the world and rolling your eyes at his sexual impulses, which he has as much control over as your average 14 year-old male of the species. But because he is obviously the innocent in the piece, you end up cheering for him, as well. BIG MONEY becomes a real page turner as you find yourself desperately hoping that everything will turn out all right for Austin Carr in the end.

Favorite character? The Creeper has some wonderful and bizarre appearances in this book, but I have to go with Austin Carr. Did I guess it? Some of it. Will I read another? Absolutely.

Check out Jack’s web site at jackgetze.com.

Mystery Book Reviews by Liz at http://reviewedbyliz.com ©2008

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Welcome to Sample Chapter Sunday!

For those of you have been here before, welcome back!

Sample Chapter Sunday is the cure for the boring Sunday afternoons when you have no new reading material. You can swing by here and find links to sample chapters of mysteries by favorite authors and authors you haven’t read before.

Any mystery author is welcome to put a link to their online sample chapter by leaving a comment on this post. Hopefully, they will also give us their name, title of the book, and a brief description or synopsis to pique our interest. Tell your friends to come read and your favorite authors to come show off their sample chapters!

To see the access the sample chapters that the authors have posted links to, click on the COMMENTS link below (if you are an author, this is also the place you add a comment and post your book description and sample chapter links).

ISBN 978-1-56947-474-7

Soho Press - Hardcover
2008

In MURDER IN THE RUE DE PARADIS. Aimée’s former lover, Yves, has returned and asks her to marry him. Aimée accepts and begins to contemplate a more settled life, but the next day Yves leaves their bed before Aimée awakens and is murdered. Aimée learns some surprising information about Yves and comes to suspecs that Yves’ last overseas investigative journalist assignment has something to do with his death. As she investigates, Aimée realizes that distant political controversies have made their way to Paris and a terrorist group is about to make a major statement if Aimée can’t stop them in time.

I have a love/hate relationship with Cara Black’s Aimée Leduc series. I love the historical and architectural details that she includes in the books. Practically every building Aimée walks by is described - its appearance, its history, its claim to fame - and this gives so much flavor to the books. As I read them, I want maps, pictures, and an encyclopedia standing by to augment her intriguing little histories because my interest is truly piqued.

Strangely enough, the reason that I’m not wild about the series is because of something Black does well, too. Black has captured a very old-fashioned noir detective atmosphere. She has set the series in modern day France and has a female main character, but many of the characteristics are there. Leduc is a loner with few close friends or family and who mourns and is obsessed with her past. She works outside the law - she makes sure she gets to the crime scene, the victim’s apartment, or potential witnesses before the police and removes evidence and instructs the witness to run from the police, hindering any other investigation. She uses people, lies constantly, and the way she waltzes through any building she wants - public or private - is just bizarre. She is incredibly self-centered and her single-minded pursuit of the answer puts others in jeopardy or gets them killed. Black writes this character well, but the dark style just isn’t me. But if you like your characters edgy and in an urban atmosphere, you should definitely try this modern noir series.

Favorite character? René, Aimée’s business partner. Did I guess it? Yes. Will I read another? Tough call. I do so love those architectural and historical details… What I really need is the Cara Black walking tour of historical Paris – for that I will be first in line.

Check out Cara’s web site at www.carablack.com.

Mystery Book Reviews by Liz at http://reviewedbyliz.com ©2008

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ISBN: 1602729530

Amber Quill Press
Trade Paperback - 28-Feb-08

HIGH RISK - Her Secret Life… Beth Walsh seems like such a demure housewife. Taking care of her attorney husband and doing volunteer work, the young woman is someone you’d meet at a church social. But Beth has a secret life. While her husband works, Beth slides into what she calls her “slut clothes” and goes on the prowl. She becomes a completely different woman, wanton and uninhibited, with dozens of handsome strangers. Until she meets the one blindingly gorgeous stranger who will make her more than sorry for her secrets and lies. . . Abbott Lowery is every woman’s dream: handsome, muscular, with intense blue eyes that contrast with his thick black hair. Women want him. Men want him. But Abbott is deeply damaged, and inside lurks a monster just waiting to be released. When Beth Walsh pursues him, it pushes a deeply-buried rage to the fore and he becomes determined to punish her. Beth meeting Abbott lights the fuse on a bomb. Its explosion leads to a tale of terror and desperation so intense it will sear everyone who knows them. High Risk is a story of secrets, tainted histories, murder, kidnapping, and an ending so brutal and shocking readers will be left breathless. Rick R. Reed is the author of the novels Obsessed, Penance, A Face Without a Heart, IM, In the Blood, Deadly Vision, and High Risk. His short fiction has appeared in more than twenty anthologies. He lives in Miami, FL with his partner.

Rick R. Reed is the author of the novels Obsessed, Penance, A Face Without a Heart, IM, In the Blood, Deadly Vision, and High Risk. His short fiction has appeared in more than twenty anthologies. He lives in Miami, FL with his partner.

Check out Rick’s web site at www.rickrreed.com.

Available at Amazon

New book releases are a feature provided for our readers by reviewedbyliz, but are not written by us. Where available, the descriptions of the books are those provided by the Author or publisher.