Blog Tour: Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen by Vicki Delany (Review/Guest Blog/Giveaway)

About the Book

Genre: Cozy Mystery, #1 in A Year-Round Christmas Mystery Series
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime Mystery
Release Date: November 2015


Synopsis from Goodreads...

FIRST IN A NEW SERIES!

In Rudolph, New York, it’s Christmastime all year long. But this December, while the snow-lined streets seem merry and bright, a murder is about to ruin everyone’s holiday cheer…

As the owner of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures, Merry Wilkinson knows how to decorate homes for the holidays. That’s why she thinks her float in the semi-annual Santa Claus parade is a shoe-in for best in show. But when the tractor pulling Merry’s float is sabotaged, she has to face facts: there’s a Scrooge in Christmas Town.

Merry isn’t ready to point fingers, especially with a journalist in town writing a puff piece about Rudolph’s Christmas spirit. But when she stumbles upon the reporter’s body on a late night dog walk—and police suspect he was poisoned by a gingerbread cookie crafted by her best friend, Vicky—Merry will have to put down the jingle bells and figure out who’s really been grinching about town, before Vicky ends up on Santa’s naughty list…

My Review

Merry Wilkinson finds herself right in the middle of a murder mystery which is very unusual in the quaint town of Rudolph, New York. This type of thing never happens there. To add to the drama, the neighboring town of Muddle Harbor is declining and fast. They are thrilled to see Rudolph deal with the bad publicity of a murder in the hopes that it will help their own town's economy rise. When people start canceling their reservations in Rudolph, Muddle Harbor not only appears to be cashing in on the tourism but the authorities wonder if they aren’t responsible for the murder – not to mention the strange things suddenly happening in Rudolph.

I heard about this book a few months ago and I’ve anxiously been awaiting its release. It’s everything I hoped for and more. The idea of a year-round town dedicated to Christmas is so sweet and unique. Some of the characters are just as cute as the town, others not so much. However, you always need villains to keep the story moving along. Vicki Delaney gives us a wide array of characters with a marvelous mix of good and bad.

I delved right into this story – it grabbed me in and wouldn’t let me go. It’s perfect for this time of year. Although the town is a year-round Christmas town, this particular book is set around the Christmas holiday. The storyline has a nice blend of mystery and romance. There were twists and turns that come with a good mystery. I didn’t see the ending coming at all. It totally took me by surprise, which is always a plus in my book.

I’m looking forward to reading more in this series. It’s a fun way to spend a few hours. The only thing more fun would actually be visiting a town like Rudolph, New York.

FTC Disclosure: The publisher provided me with a copy of this book to review for this blog tour. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

Author Guest Blog

The Fun of Creating a Whole New Town

By Vicki Delany

Sept 2015

What power we writers have. We can create whole towns, populate them with only the people we want, we can play with their minds, and think: What’s the worst thing that could happen to this person at this time.

And then do it!

Case in point: my new Year Round Christmas Series from Berkley Prime Crime. When I was tossing around the idea of a Christmas-theme-shop book, the first thing I had to consider was if it would be a shop in a nice, typical town. Or in a town totally dedicated to Christmas.

It didn’t take long to decide on the latter, and Rudolph, New York was born. In Rudolph, they love Christmas so much they celebrate it all year round.

Now, I had my town, so I had to fill it with something. Mrs. Claus’s Treasures sells everything you need for decorating your home, as well as toys and jewellery, and many of the goods are locally made. Victoria’s Bake Shoppe is famous for its gingerbread. There’s Candy Cane Sweets, the North Pole Ice Cream Parlour, The Elves Lunchbox, Cranberries Coffee Bar, Touch of Holly Restaurant, The Yuletide Inn, the Carolers Motel. The possibilities are endless. (Looking at this list it seems as though the residents and visitors to Rudolph like to eat a lot.)

Then we need people. Merry Wilkinson is the owner of Mrs. Claus’s Treasures. Merry’s father, Noel, is the town’s Santa Claus. Merry knows her dad isn’t really Santa, but sometimes she does wonder how he knows what people want before they so much as say so. Merry’s best friend, Vicky, owns the bakery.

The fondest wish of the residents of Rudolph is to be known officially as America’s Christmas Town. But they have tough competition from the likes of Snowflake, Arizona or North Pole, Alaska. In the first book of the series, Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen, they’re delighted when a reporter from an international travel magazine arrives to do a feature he is going to title “America’s Christmas Town”.

Delight changes to something else when the reporter dies from eating a poisoned gingerbread cookie baked at Victoria’s Bake Shoppe. And rivals from a nearby town begin to whisper the worst: Christmas Town or Horrorville?

Can Merry Wilkinson and the residents of Rudolph solve the murder and save the reputation of their town as the place to find that real Christmas magic?

I’ve had great fun creating Rudolph and it’s inhabitants, and I hope you enjoy reading about their adventures.

BOOK GIVEAWAY!!!!

Now is your chance to win a paperback copy of Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen by Vicki Delany? Thanks to Berkley, I have one paperback to giveaway to one lucky winner.

Just a few simple rules...

1) You must fill out the rafflecopter form below.

2) Contest is open to anyone over 18 years old

3) US Residents Only

4) For one extra entry: Tweet about this giveaway.

5) For one extra entry: Leave a comment for the author.

6) For one extra entry:  Follow this blog...old followers, too!  Just let us know how you follow and under what name.

7) For one extra entry: Follow me on Twitter.

8) For one extra entry: Follow or friend me on Goodreads

No purchase necessary.  Void where prohibited.

The giveaway begins on November 18th (midnight est) and ends on November 25th (midnight est).

The winner will be chosen randomly by Rafflecopter. The winner will be notified by email and has 48 hours to respond, otherwise a new winner will be chosen. I will announce the winner here on my blog.

Good luck!

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