Friday, July 11, 2014

Blog Tour: Tailing a Tabby by Laurie Cass (Review/Guest Post/Giveaway)


About the Book

Genre: Cozy Mystery, #2 in A Bookmobile Cat Mystery Series
Publisher: Obsidian Mystery
Release Date: July 2014


Synopsis from Goodreads...

In the bookmobile, librarian Minnie Hamilton and her rescue cat, Eddie, roll out great summer reads to folks all over the lake town of Chilson, Michigan. And when real-life drama turns deadly, Minnie makes sure justice is never overdue.

The bookmobile is making its usual rounds when Minnie and Eddie are flagged down by a woman in distress. The woman’s husband, a famous artist, needs emergency medical care. After getting him into the bookmobile, Minnie races the man to the hospital in time…but his bad luck has only just begun.

After disappearing from the hospital, the artist is discovered slumped over the body of a murdered woman. Minnie knows that her new friend didn’t commit the crime, but the evidence paints an unflattering picture. Now this librarian and her furry friend have to put the investigation in high gear and catch the real killer before someone else checks out.


My Review

Minnie and her faithful feline sidekick Eddie are back in the second adventure of “A Bookmobile Cat Mystery”. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, you can’t go wrong with a bookmobile and a cat! This is such a lovely and sweet series.

I loved how Minnie jumped right in to save a stranger and then continued to stay by his side when he was accused of murder. After all, she didn’t know the guy. For all she knew, he could be a murderer. However, once you are a friend of Minnie’s she’s loyal to a fault. In fact, she’s loyal even to great danger to herself.

Minnie knows the police are going to concentrate on investigating her new friend instead of looking for the real culprit. She’s not about to sit around and let that happen. With Eddie by her side, they dig deep into the murdered woman and their investigation takes them in many different directions, but only one of them proves to be dangerous to everyone concerned – including Minnie and Eddie.

At the same time, Minnie is trying to have a romantic relationship with a handsome doctor, but their schedules are not conducive to making it work. That doesn’t stop either one of them from trying.

Minnie is an endearing, adorable heroine. She’s a bit of a risk-taker and doesn’t always make the safest decisions, but she’s loveable. Eddie is a darling. As I read the book, there were so many times I wanted to pick him up and cuddle. LOL Minnie and Eddie are clearly the stars of the show in this book.

The story moved along at a steady pace with a couple of secondary storylines thrown in. The secondary storylines don’t overpower or overtake the storyline, they are a nice complement to the main plot. I didn’t figure out who the killer was until late in the book. That’s always a plus. I’m looking forward to the next entry into this charming cozy series.




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 Post


How I’m Spending My Summer Vacation
by Laurie Cass

Not so very long ago, I sent my editor the manuscript for the third bookmobile cat book, Borrowed Crime, a full three hours before the deadline. Hooray!

I celebrated in style by checking some books out of the library and settling in with a healthy quantity of dark chocolate. After a few days I resurfaced, blinked at the bright shiny world, and said, “Hey, I don’t have a book due any time soon.”

Matter of fact, I have months and months until the next one is scheduled for delivery. For the rest of the summer, I can be a normal person! There will be no need for me to write in the morning before starting the day job. For a few weeks I won’t have to write during my lunch hour, and I won’t have to spend the summer inside writing when my family and friends are outside playing in the sunshine!

After that blinding realization, I started thinking about all the things that I could do to fill my summer. There will, of course, be a lot of reading, specifically reading outside. Reading on the porch, reading in the hammock, reading on the patio, reading on the swing, reading at the beach, etc.

And gardening. I want to do lots of gardening. Last summer I was so busy writing that I never caught up with either the weeds, the plant-moving, or the trimming and I’m loving a chance to roll up my sleeves, pull on the gardening gloves, and get down to the wonderfully dirty work of gardening.

Plus, not far away, there’s an outstanding new mountain biking trail system that I’ve been wanting to explore. And there’s waterskiing to do – maybe this will be the summer that I learn to do one-handed turns. And there are a number of new restaurants in the area whose menus look extremely interesting. And, once I get the piano tuned, the Maple Leaf Rag is still waiting me.

Then again, if I don’t have to work on a book for a few weeks, I’ll have time to do all that promotional stuff I’ve wanted to do but never had time. Last winter, a reader suggested that I create an Eddie bookmark and put it up on my website to people can download and print it at home. Wonderful idea! And now I have time!

And I’ve also wanted to come up with a paper version of my fictional bookmobile. Thanks to the Association of Bookmobile and Outreach Services, I have a blank version of the cutest little bookmobile ever – all I have to do is work the graphics onto it.

And I can’t forget the author events I have lined up this summer, which can be great fun. And I should get going on setting up a template for my e-newsletter.

Plus, there’s some research I’d like to do for future book ideas. I have a couple of potential plots in mind, but to make sure they’ll actually, you know, make sense, I have to do some delving.

But, hang on. Maybe it would make more sense to get a head start on the next bookmobile cat book, the books that my husband calls “the Eddie books.” Or…should I try to be more normal this summer?

Such a dilemma. I think there are three conclusions to this:

1) All that stuff is never going to get done. (And I didn’t even mention painting the house.)
2) I’m a writer and should, by now, be used to the idea that I’m never going to be a normal person.
3) I’m okay with both 1) and 2).


BOOK GIVEAWAY!!!!

How would you like to win a paperback copy of Tailing a Tabby by Laurie Cass? Thanks to Obsidian, 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.

No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.

The giveaway begins on July 11th (midnight est) and ends on July 18th (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!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

34 comments:

  1. I love a good cozy mystery. This sounds cute.

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  2. Sounds like a good book. I'm adding it to my reading list. I love the cover.

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  3. looks great, thank you for the chance to win

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  4. Hi Laurie, 4 grown and married kids (and I'm tired of babysitting). I totally enjoyed the first Eddie book and would even jump up and down on my bad knees to win a copy of this one.

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  5. How did I miss your books? I'm a total cat lady and love to read! A purrrfect fit...sorry I couldn't resist that.

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  6. This sounds a great addition to the series....

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  7. This cozy sounds captivating. thanks. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

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  8. I'm looking forward to reading this one!

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  9. I really like the cover of this book.
    CABWNANA1@bellsouth.net

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  10. Books and cats, I have got to start this series. And Minnie sounds wonderful, someone I'd enjoy reading about.

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  11. Great review, I can't wait to read the book.

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  12. A cozy mystery AND a cat—this book was written for me!

    skkorman AT bellsouth DOT net

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  13. I love the cover. and would love to read it.
    rlrlaney at yahoo dot com

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  14. I thought the cover was adorable. That is the first thing that draws me to a cozy mystery. I have at times just seen the cover and picked it up to take it home without even reading what it is about.

    Angie Young
    http://thelittlereadingcabin.blogspot.com

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  15. Love the idea of a bookmobile cat...go Eddie! You deserve a break...enjoy summer and don't worry about getting so much done.

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    1. My rafflecopter entries aren't updating...phooey!

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  16. You had me at bookmobile + cat! But in case that wasn't enough, a loyal-to-a-fault heroine and a hint of romance? Done and done. I'm definitely starting this series... at the beginning.

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    1. Apparently, my Rafflecopter entries aren't updating either. I put them in, it looked like they had "taken", I updated the page, and whoosh, it thinks I have 0 entries. Weird. Must be some problem at Rafflecopter.

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  17. Love this series, looking forward to reading this one.

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  18. It sounds like a great mystery. I love the cat Eddie, and I'm sure he really makes the story. Thanks for having the giveaway.

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  19. I missed the first in the series - and now both are on my wishlist.

    kpbarnett1941[at]aol.com

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  20. Congrats on the new release! I know what you mean about stuff not getting done...and painting the house is the worst! Very time consuming! Thanks!

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  21. I ordered this book as soon as I was aware it existed. I look forward to reading it as soon as possible.

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  22. I love Laurie's books. After the recommendation from another author I started reading the bookmobile series while on vacation in Jamaica. Her books grabbed my attention all the way through and it was hard to put the book down. The characters were believable and I love the reference to location in Michigan that I had visited or even worked at! ;) Thanks Laurie and Eddie!

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  23. I love the concept of this book. Who doesn't love bookmobiles and cats? Oh, and this is such a nice giveaway! Just fine small tasks! :-)

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  24. i really like this series. Bookmobiles bring back such fond memories.

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  25. Dear Laurie: Thank you for such a fun smart series. I enjoy the bookmobile series as I have always been a fan of bookmobiles and I believe they encourage people and children to read that otherwise would not have access to a library. It brings back such wonderful memories of Nancy Drew and Little Women being checked out of a bookmobile on a summers day with anticipation of reading.

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  26. Yvonne I follow via GF FB and email. Thank you for this great givewaway

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  27. Sounds like a great book, it seems like my daughter could be reading this in a few years, too.

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  28. a definite 'add' to my Wish List!!!
    thank you for the giveaway!!!

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  29. Ahh. Books. Cats. Summertime. Yay! I have the first book in the series and would love to have this one.

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  30. Thanks for all the wonderful comments about the series! There's nothing an author likes better than hearing good things about her books. Thanks so very, very much!
    --Laurie Cass

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  31. Eddie is just the perfect cat for a cozy. I can't get enough of him.
    suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com

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