READING, WRITING, AND MURDER by Joyce Proell & Brenda Whiteside

#2 in Chocolate Martini Sisters Mysteries

Fiction, Cozy Mystery, 273 pages

4****

Blurb: At the writers’ conference, murder tops the program. Aspiring mystery author Emma Banefield and travel writer Nicole Earp are excited to attend a writers’ conference during their latest sisters’ getaway. Nic’s birthday should be all about relaxation, writing, and a chocolate martini to toast another trip around the sun, but the climate at the gathering rumbles like a sudden desert thunderstorm. When sparks fly between the keynote speaker and her timid assistant over a handsome mystery author, the subtitle on this anticipated tranquil weekend spells drama. If a heated love triangle, bruised egos, and betrayal aren’t enough to upset the atmosphere, the conference banquet erupts into a drunken brawl and sends the place spinning. After a body is discovered, Nic and Em do what they do best—snoop—and become embroiled in a mystery that jumps off the pages of a true-crime bestseller. With more than enough suspects and little time, the amateur sleuths have their hands full finding the killer. But can the competitive Chocolate Martini Sisters solve the crime before the prickly chief detective does, or will a murderer outwit them all?

Thoughts: This is a different type of cozy than I am used to. First, there are two sleuths – older sisters. Which is really nice. Second, usually in cozies, the sleuth gets into a really tough situation at the end when they face the killer. That doesn’t happen here. Yes, the sisters are instrumental in catching the perp, but they don’t actually face the killer. An interesting difference. The authors depict the sisters really well. They are individuals, not mirror images of each other. Nic and Em are fun and interesting — and known as the Chocolate Martini Sisters because of their love of that drink.

In this story, they are at a writer’s conference in their town. They are staying at a hotel they stay at for their “birthday weekends” – one of which just also happens to be this weekend. The keynote speaker is a well-known romance writer who manages to alienate everyone with her attitude. And yet, fans swarm around her even when she gets drunk. Along with her, there is her “best friend”, her assistant, her ex-husband, ex-lover, ex-agent—all of whom are trying to get in her good graces. Because of the conference, there are plenty of suspects for the police—and the sisters—to check out. I had to question though, I’ve been to writing conferences and there isn’t a lot of down time (except in the evening) because of classes, pitches, panels, etc. That didn’t seem to be the case so much here. There didn’t seem to be a lot going on for the sisters. One pitch, one class, one dinner… Not a biggie, it just didn’t ring quite right for me. And the one sister’s daughter’s issues seemed to be thrown in as an aside because it didn’t really add anything to the story.

Still, I enjoyed the story and the ending satisfied in that the killer was caught. I’ll be looking for more about the sisters.

Recommendation: recommended.

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

THE FOG LADIES: DATE WITH DEATH by Susan McCormic

Fiction, Cozy Mystery, 4^th in series (240 pages)

4****

Blurb: The Fog Ladies: a lighthearted, humorous whodunnit cozy murder mystery with female senior sleuths, dogs, cats, and food (A San Francisco Cozy Murder Mystery Book 4) Young, overworked, overtired, overstressed medical intern Sarah James has no time for sleuthing. Her elderly neighbors, the spunky Fog Ladies, have nothing but time. 

Thoughts: The elderly ladies along with Dr. Sarah James are at it again. The ladies are exploring the dating scene in a club specifically for seniors. Sarah is contemplating her next step as she tries to decide whether to go into a speciality or stay in San Francisco as a hospitalist with her boyfriend Andy. On one of their first senior outings—at the seashore/bluff—one of the men falls to his death – but was it an accident, or murder? Of course, the ladies have to investigate, but that may not be wise as the new boyfriend of one of the ladies also ends up dead. This time, though, there’s no question.

What I liked: I love that the sleuths are older women with real issues. And they’ve taken Sarah and her relationship with Andy to their hearts. The dogs are also a fun touch. The characters are realistic and believable and the building where most of them live is cute – the fact that they’re not “connected” and prefer “old-time” talk and manners. I also like that you don’t have to have read the first three books to enjoy this one. And there’s a satisfying ending not just for the mystery, but for Sarah too. Favorite line: She could count on them like she could count on the San Francisco early morning fog. 

What I didn’t like: While I love the ladies, I have trouble keeping them all straight – especially in a book with multiple POVs and when sometimes their last names are used, and their first names at other times. 

Recommendation: Recommended.

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

SWEET TEA WITCH MYSTERIES: SOUTHERN MAGIC by Amy Boyles

Fiction, Paranormal Cozy Mystery, 178 pages

4****

Burb: If only takes a second for life to go to heck-in-a-hand-basket!  In less than twenty-four hours Pepper Dunn loses her job, her boyfriend, and her home. It’s the worst day of her life. But when Pepper discovers she’s a witch and has inherited the most important store in the magical town of Magnolia Cove, Alabama, she’s as happy as a pig in mud. Too bad the shop is a familiar pet store and Pepper doesn’t like animals—not even a teensy bit. Determined to sell the shop and get the heck out of town, Pepper’s plans go haywire when a local storeowner winds up dead and Pepper gets accused of murder. Thrust into a magical mystery, Pepper teams up with a mysterious private detective and a cat so traumatized by the murder that she’s not talking—and that cat could hold the key to Pepper’s innocence. Now Pepper must avoid trouble, solve the mystery, and placate her new grandmother, who keeps a strict ten p.m. curfew that’s enforced by the talking end of her shotgun. Sounds like a simple day in the life—as if. Can Pepper solve the murder or will she become the next victim of the Magnolia Cove murderer? And most importantly, will Pepper learn to love the animals she’s in charge of? 

Thoughts: This is the first book in a series of paranormal cozy mysteries. The main character, Pepper, is positively perfect in that she has the worst luck possible. In one day, she loses her job, her roommate kicks her out, and her boyfriend basically dumps her. Oh, and her car dies. But she manages to get to the twon of Magnolia Cove where her mother’s family is from. And she meets her quirky grandmother (who wields a mean shotgun), her two cousins (who help her get her first flying frying pan – no brooms for these witches!), and learns to talk to animals. All while she’s under suspicion of murdering a fellow shopkeeper. Oh, and she meets a hunky PI who has secrets of his own. This is a fun, quirky paranormal mystery. The only thing I had a slight problem with – and it is minor – but Pepper claims (and shows us) rather vehemently that she is allergic to animals. And yet, she takes on a kitten and an entire pet shop with no problems at all. Still, I enjoyed the story and look forward to more of the books in the series.

Recommendations: recommended.

Disclaimer: All thoughts and opinions here are my own and are not influenced by anyone or anything. I was not required to leave a review of this book.

Note: see my review under “fiction”

Hannah Clein will always remember the day she went to a department store with her mother to buy her first bra as her last best day, “B.C.” before the cancer. She considered herself an ordinary child who loved challah bread, reading, and her family – often in that order.

With a normal life in the rear-view mirror, we follow Hannah over three decades, as she navigates the tricky transition from girlhood to womanhood. All her life, she just wants to belong. Be normal.

In a tale that explores a women’s complicated relationships with her body, and the love of her life, we learn the psyche is a funny thing. What are the perfect breasts? And how does the loss of a loved one affect those left behind?

The Perfect Breasts mixes family lore with imagination in a compelling tale of loss, longing, and love.

I have published it on Amazon Kindle for breast cancer awareness month, and all the profits will be donated to cancer research. If you are a member of Kindle Unlimited set your calendar for Sept. 29^th – when it will be available for reading.

Buy link for The Perfect Breasts: Amazon Hyperlink and link

The Perfect Breasts Amazon

Editorial Reviews of The Perfect Breasts:

Brilliantly written, The Perfect Breasts is a riveting tale that chronicles the lifelong impact that breast cancer has on every aspect of the lives of each member of the Clein family. Author Cara Bertoia has penned a tautly emotional plot driven by love, loss, trust, family ties, and the inner strength one must summon to face adversity created by both human fallibility and fate rather than turning away.

The story moves at a comfortable pace with flawed, but believable characters who drive the plot. Readers find themselves rooting for the protagonists from the beginning to the end of the story. The characters evoke strong emotions in readers right from page one. This reader found herself wanting to hug Hannah on one page and throttle her on the next.

The Perfect Breasts is a book that should be required reading for every woman because it does not soft-soap the emotional effect of a life-threatening disease and forces readers to face a hard truth: The ultimate symbol of femininity and womanhood can either be a source of great strength and pride or when lost, a weapon to destroy one’s faith in life and one’s self. — Susie Black author of The Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series

The Perfect Breasts is a heartfelt story about breast cancer and how it affects all of our lives. Because, yes, almost everyone knows someone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. 

In this story we follow, Hannah, a Jewish girl through three decades, from the death of her beloved mother from breast cancer to becoming a self-sufficient woman. Cancer itself becomes a character burrowing into Hannah’s psyche. Knowing oneself is difficult enough, but with this added fear, Hannah struggles to find happiness.    

Cara Bertoia handles the issue with sensitivity and compassion. She takes us on Hannah’s journey. leaving us with hope and a promise for a good future.  This is a story which should be read by everyone. — Janie Emaus author of Latkes for Santa Claus

From the Author:

When I was a child, I grew up in a very crowded house. I have three sisters. The way I would escape all the mayhem was by reading. From the time I could read I became a voracious reader. By the age of eight I was reading my parents’ novels, whatever books I could find. At night instead of counting sheep I would tell myself Cinderella type stories where I got to be the heroine. But my first real writing class was when I worked in high-tech in Boston. I took a class at Harvard Extension, and the professor read my story aloud to the group. He asked me to read it, but I was too self-conscious, because it was the first story I had ever written. From that day on I was hooked.

Author Bio:

Cara Bertoia grew up in a strait-laced Southern family, but she was always fascinated with casinos. In her twenties on a summer hiatus from teaching in North Carolina, she drove to California and became a dealer at Caesars in Lake Tahoe. She discovered that after teaching high school, handling an unruly gambler was a piece of cake. Her mother highly disapproved of her working in a casino, “a place so bad it has ‘sin’ in the middle.”

Eventually, she succumbed to pressure from the family and returned east to take a hi-tech job in Boston. She also began working on her MFA in writing at Emerson. Her goal was to write the first realistic novel about casino life from the perspective of an experienced table games dealer. She is always amazed that normal and sometimes quite intelligent players become absolutely clueless in the casino. They repeat superstitious nonsense and no amount of logic can change their position, maybe her novel will.

While in Boston she was offered the opportunity to join Princess Cruises as a croupier. Jumping at the chance, she spent the next five years circling the globe. Sometimes life exceeds your dreams. She was awed by the wonders of Venice, the fjords of Norway, and the Northern Lights in St. Petersburg.

Cara returned from ships with a very special souvenir, her Scottish husband Ray. They went to work at the Spa Casino in Palm Springs, and now live in Hollywood, Florida, where she writes about her casino years while wistfully gazing out at the ocean.

She loves to connect with her readers. Please send her a picture with any or her work. She will post those pictures to social media.

mailto:carabertoia@yahoo.com

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Birthdays: Prosper Merimee (1803), Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856), Simon Leys (1935), Rosario Ferre (1938), Marcia Muller (1944), Simon Winchester (1944), Piper Kerman (1969),

Prosper Merimee was a French author who wrote the novel “Carmen” on which Bizet based his opera.

Kate Douglas Wiggin is best known for her book “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm”

Piper Kerman wrote the memoir “Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Woman’s Prison” on which the TV series is based.

Quote: “This may sound silly, but I attach a little counter to the corner of my computer so I know I have to produce, say, 100,000 words by December. If I’m ahead one day, I take a break; if I’m behind, I keep working.” – Simon Winchester

Tip: If you must use brand names in your story, be sure they’re used in a positive light and acknowledge the trademarks in the front matter. When possible, use generic terms instead of actual brand names. Same way with names of real people, sports teams, or anything that is trademarked or branded.

Jumpstart: You were in a horrible accident and have been in a coma. What nobody knows is that you can hear everything they say. What do you hear from various friends, relatives, doctors?

Birthdays: Grazia Deledda (1871), Jim Thompson (1906), Nicholas Mordvinoff (1911), Louis Auchincloss (1917), Ernest Becker (1924), Bernard Waber (1924), Paul Goble (1933), Katie Fforde (1952), Martin Handford (1956), Irvine Welsh (1958), Jonathan Evison (1968),

Grazia Deledda won the 1926 Nobel Prize for Literature for “Reeds in the Wind”

Nicholas Mordvinoff won the 1952 Caldecott Medal for “Finders Keepers”

Ernest Becker won the 1974 Pulitzer Prize for Nonfiction for “The Denial of Death”

Paul Goble won the 1979 Caldecott Medal for “The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses”

Quote: “Keep doing good deeds long enough and you’ll probably turn out a good man in spite of yourself.” ― Louis Auchincloss

“If you are prepared to persevere, listen to good advice, recognise bad advice, read a lot and accept it may take many years, you probably will get published, eventually.” – Katie Fforde

Tip: Different types of editing include: Developmental (checks for weak scenes, boring parts, plot inconsistencies, structure—the big picture); line editing (word choice, sentence construction, tags, etc.); copyedit (nitty gritty of grammar, punctuation, spelling, trademarks, etc.), and proofread (final overall look). If you hire an editor to go over your work, be sure you know what you’re getting.

Jumpstart: You wake up one morning, ready to start the day, but when you go into the bathroom, there’s a message on the mirror in your handwriting. It tells you not to go out. There are more notes over the house warning you not to go out. But it’s a beautiful day and you’ve been cooped up for days. What do you do? When did you write the notes and why?

Birthdays: Max Ehrmann (1872), TS Eliot (1888), Minette Walters (1949), Jane Smiley (1949), Will Self (1961), Mark Haddon (1962), Bernice McFadden (1965),

Bernice McFadden was the winner of the 2017 American Book Award and the 1917 NAACP Award for Outstanding Literary Work for “The Book of Harlan”

Jane Smiley won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for “A Thousand Acres”

Quote: “In 1922 everything changed again. The Eskimo pie was invented; James Joyce’s Ulysses was printed in Paris; snow fell on Mauna Loa, Hawaii; Babe Ruth signed a three-year contract with the New York Yankees; Eugene O’Neill was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Frederick Douglass’s home was dedicated as a national shrine; former heavyweight champion of the world Jack Johnson invented the wrench…” ― Bernice L. McFadden, Glorious

“Every first draft is perfect, because all a first draft has to do is exist.” ― Jane Smiley

“At the beginning of my writing process I feel like I have people coming to visit. Like one or two people. When I am really engrossed in the writing my house is full… All I’m doing is recording what I hear. As I get close to the end my house starts to empty out. It feels melancholy and lonely without the characters’ voices.” – Bernice McFadden

Tip: Remember that setting can reveal character. There’s a big difference between someone living in squalid conditions and a posh high rise. The setting helps define the character. Especially if there is a disconnect—someone raised in luxury now living on the streets or someone living in a mansion who grew up in squalid conditions will have very different opinions than someone who’s been there all their lives.

Jumpstart: You’re listening to the local news while cooking dinner. A news flash comes up about a dangerous criminal who’s wanted by the police…and it’s your name and picture they’re flashing. What do you do?

WISHBORNE by Sebastian Black

Fiction, Paranormal Contemporary Romance, LGBTQ

Level 5 heat, 192 pages

3***

Blurb: Be careful what you wish for…. When amateur footage of a mage performing a spell goes viral back home, American Pyromancer Blayze Martinez hops on a plane to London. If the world is about to discover the existence of magic, he wants to be as far from the epicenter of that nightmare as possible. Shy, enormous hunk Dane Peterson can amplify others’ emotions, an ability that takes practice to control. Though he and Blayze come from different worlds, they hit it off. But their casual evening goes sideways when a shared wish at a mage party ends with each of them inside the other’s body—literally. The body swap is one thing, but the magical skill swap is a potential disaster. While Dane and Blayze work out how to reverse the wish, they have to keep their powers under wraps or risk dooming all of magekind.

Thoughts: I was completely baffled by the beginning of this book, but then it got better and better. But… if you’re going to understand what’s going on, you have to read the first book (Oathsworn) first – which I did, but I was still a tad confused. But once you get into the story, it’s much easier to understand what’s going on. In this one, the character of Blayze comes over from the first story and has his own story. He’s tired of New York and, on a lark, heads for London to see what he can find. And he finds Dane—a huge guy who can satisfy his lusty hunger. They go to a club meant just for mages and, while dancing with each other, make a wish. Which come true. Unfortunately. And definitely not in the way they wanted. They have to find a way to undo the wish but that will take some work. Meanwhile, they get to know each other on a level neither one expected.

Recommendation: Read “Oathsworn” first so you can understand what’s going on in this book, then pick this one up.

Disclaimer: Disclosure of Material: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Birthdays: Horace Walpole (1717), F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896), Robert Lewis Taylor (1912), John Brunner (1934), Eavan Boland (1944), David Drake (1945), John Kessel (1950), Richard K. Morgan (1965), Eleanor Catton (1985),

Robert Taylor won the 1959 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for “The Travels of Jaimie McPheeters”

John Brunner won the 1968 Hugo Award for “Stand on Zanzibar”

Quote: “When people will not weed their own minds, they are apt to be overrun by nettles.” ― Horace Walpole

“All fine prose is based on the verbs carrying the sentences. They make sentences move.” F. Scott Fitzgerald

Tip: Figure out the GMC (goal, motivation, conflict) in your story. Every story should have this. In fact, each scene should have this. Try: (who) wants (what) because (why) but s/he can’t because (why not). For instance: Dorothy wants to go home because there’s no place like home but can’t because she needs to defeat the wicked witch and learns running away doesn’t help.

Jumpstart: “I’d never have done that with you if I’d known…”