Holmes Away From Home (An Althea Adler Mystery) by Samantha Larsen
Showing posts with label book blast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book blast. Show all posts
Monday, July 6, 2026
Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Book Blast/Review: Dreidels and Dead Ends (Bad Hair Day Mysteries) by Nancy J. Cohen (Blog Tour/Tour-Wide Giveaway)
Dreidels and Dead Ends (Bad Hair Day Mysteries) by Nancy J. Cohen
Thursday, April 10, 2025
Book Blast: Pineapple Easter Egg by Amy Vansant (Blog Tour/Tour-Wide Giveaway)
PINEAPPLE EASTER EGG
by Amy Vansant
April 10, 2025 Book Blast
Synopsis:
PINEAPPLE PORT MYSTERY SERIES
NOW OPTIONED FOR TELEVISION!
Every book can be read as a standalone mystery - hop in anywhere in the series!
USA Today, Amazon All-Star and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Amy Vansant has her Pineapple Port crew on an egg-cellent adventures near and far!
Easter eggs surround the body. One of them has a note. Charlotte teams up with Sheriff Frank to solve a cryptic murder in a do-or-dye situation...
Too bad she won't have help. Uncle Seamus and Bob accompany Declan to his charity swim in Tampa, Florida, only to find themselves in pursuit of a stolen life-sized Jimmy Buffett cutout. Darla and Mariska travel to the center of Florida to meet Mariska's newly found cousin at an art festival, where a man with a crush on Mariska bobs up in the lake and she's thrown in jail as a murder suspect. It's up to Darla and some very familiar locals to hatch a plan, solve the crime, and clear Mariska.
It's all very egg-citing!
A super fun and unique mystery full of hidden "Easter eggs" for you to spot! Famous actors anagram names, Jimmy Buffet song references - find them all!
Book Details:
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Classic Mystery
Publication Date: April 9, 2025
Number of Pages: 350
Series: Pineapple Port Mystery Series, 24
Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
Chapter One
Coby Karola stood over his sink, cleaning a dinner plate, when he heard something strike the window near his kitchen table. The noise was sharp. Loud. Too loud to be a bird.
“What the heck was that?” he said to no one, moving to the back door.
He cupped his hands around his face to peer out the window, but it was too dark to see.
He dried his hands on his pants and flipped the back porch light on. Nothing seemed amiss until his attention fell on the center of his unmowed lawn. Unnaturally bright specks of color scattered across an area about the size of a round picnic table—yellow, pink, purple…
Grumbling to himself, Coby opened the door. From the small landing, he saw the color blobs were equally round. Maybe a little oblong. Sort of like…
Eggs?
It was April...
Easter eggs?
Shaking his head, he walked out and bent to pick up one. It was plastic—the typical cheap, hollow plastic eggs people hid candy in this time of year.
Kids.
It was almost Easter. This stunt had to be kids thinking they were funny. This time of year, the residents’ grandkids visited Florida for spring break. Every spring was a nightmare of blaring speakers on golf carts wheeling around the neighborhood.
Coby shook the plastic egg and then cracked open a purple one. There was nothing inside. He picked up another to find it empty as well.
He snorted. If someone was going to take the time to scatter eggs around his yard, at least they could throw in a chocolate or two.
In the hopes of finding something, he kept at it, twisting one egg after the next. Distracted by curiosity, he never heard the stranger running up behind him.
The one with the hammer.
But then, that was the point.
Chapter Two
Charlotte padded into the kitchen to start the morning coffee, her oversized sleep shirt tapping her knees as she walked.
It was still a little strange to wake up in Declan’s house.
She’d given up thinking she’d ever live anywhere but Pineapple Port, the fifty-five-plus community where she’d grown up, but here she was—a whole three miles away in her husband’s house.
She didn’t mind.
Marriage was pretty cool.
Who knew?
She had a new pattern at Declan’s house, and it felt more and more like home every day.
Her soft-coated wheaten terrier, Abby, approached and sat, waiting to be taken for her morning walk. The dog had figured out her patterns faster than her mommy, but to be fair, all her patterns revolved around treats, so things were pretty straightforward for her.
Charlotte suspected Abby liked it better at Declan’s house. Declan had a pool and a fenced back yard, and the terrier could romp whenever she wanted—no waiting for official walks. Charlotte was pretty fond of that new aspect of their lives as well—
Hold on.
Charlotte stopped as something flashed in her peripheral vision. She glanced at the back slider doors in time to see a shadow pass the full-length shade.
Something outside was moving.
Something big.
It didn’t look like a stray cat passing by. It was bigger and more person-shaped. She knew Declan was in the bedroom, so that ruled him out.
She heard splashing and cocked her head.
Someone’s in Declan’s pool?
The splashing made her feel better. Thieves and killers didn’t usually take a quick swim before breaking into a house.
Goofball kids stealing a swim?
Probably. It was that time of year when grandkids came to Florida. People on vacation sometimes acted like vacation spots didn’t carry the same rules or consequences as back home. That’s when they ended up with kids in the pool and golf carts planted in mailbox posts.
Abby heard the intruder splashing and offered her opinion in the form of a deep-chested boof—that pre-full-bark noise all dogs made before completely losing their minds. The dog jogged to the door and entered the lowered shade from the side to peek outside.
Abby’s bark alone would probably scare away the kids—but she didn’t bark. Instead, her little nub of tail wagged.
Charlotte stood behind her failing guard dog but couldn’t see anyone from her angle. Whoever was in the pool had stopped at the far end, out of sight, but she heard someone say, “Whoo! Cold!”
She left Abby and hustled to the bedroom to wake up her husband.
“Declan,” she hissed, shaking him.
He cracked one eye open.
“Hm?”
“There’s someone in the pool.”
“What?”
Declan sat up, alarmed but clearly still half asleep. It didn’t look like his mind would be joining them for another minute or so. The man slept like the dead.
Must be nice.
“There’s someone in our pool,” she repeated.
“In the pool? The cleaning guy?”
“It’s Friday. It’s not the cleaning guy. He was yesterday,” she said, slipping into her robe.
Declan checked his watch and grunted. He stood and stretched. His eyes focused on her. It looked like his brain had caught up to the rest of him.
“There you are,” she said, giving him a quick kiss.
Abby barked twice, and Declan strode toward the living room in the sweat shorts he usually wore to bed without bothering to get dressed. Now, he was all business. Whoever was out there was lucky the man hadn’t had his coffee yet.
Charlotte followed. Declan grabbed a controller from the sofa table, opened the automatic curtains, and watched in stunned silence as someone stroked their way to the edge of his pool.
“Why would someone steal a swim at four in the morning?” asked Charlotte.
Declan switched on the back porch light as the swimmer grabbed the side and bobbed up for air. Noticing the lights and open blinds, he pulled the goggles over his bushy gray eyebrows and squinted at them from the water.
He waved.
“Is that Bob?” asked Declan.
“I think it is,” said Charlotte. “I should probably call Mariska and tell her her husband’s loose.”
Declan glanced over his shoulder at her.
“This is what I was afraid of. Your crazy has followed you from Pineapple Port.”
She smirked and smacked his arm.
“You knew what you were signing up for. No takebacks.”
Declan had experienced plenty of Pineapple Port insanity during their dating years. She, on the other hand, had never known anything else. She was young when she moved into the retirement community to live with her grandmother after her mother died. When her grandmother also passed, the community let her stay, though she was far from the minimum fifty-five years old.
By the time she met Declan, she’d gotten so used to the crazy that she’d stopped noticing it—until she saw it through his eyes. Turns out, life was strange growing up as a retirement community’s young mascot.
Mariska and Bob the Morning Swimmer had served as her foster parents and lived across the street from her in Pineapple Port— though, apparently, now Bob lived in their pool.
Declan opened the slider, and Abby shot out, tail-wagging hello to the familiar man in the pool.
“Whatcha doin’, Bob?” asked Declan.
“I’m getting a quick swim in before we go,” said Bob, patting Abby while she licked the water off his arm.
Declan scowled. “Before we go?”
Charlotte put her knuckles against her lips.
Oh no.
She saw where this was heading.
I think I messed up.
“I’m coming with you to the charity swim in Tampa,” said Bob.
Charlotte nodded.
Yep, I messed up.
Declan turned to look at her. The whites of his eyes flashed, signaling either annoyance or panic. Probably both.
“Hey sweetheart, did you tell Bob I was going to a charity swim in Tampa today?” he asked in a sing-song voice.
His frozen smile answered her question.
Annoyed. Definitely annoyed.
She winced. “I might have mentioned it to Mariska.”
Her husband let out a slow, steady breath. She’d seen him do that move a few times before. One or more of the Pineapple Portians were usually nearby when it happened. Or, Declan’s Uncle Seamus—but a Seamus Sigh came with extra teeth gritting. He was the only thing crazier than the residents of Pineapple Port.
“I’m guessing you’d like to carpool there with me?” he asked Bob.
He’d given in fast. Like her, he’d figured out it was always easier to just accept the crazy was happening.
“That be great,” said Bob. “We should grab some breakfast here first.”
“Sure, the pool always comes with a complimentary breakfast.” Declan turned. “Maybe you could start on that, darling?”
She stuck her tongue out at him and moved to the kitchen to scoop extra coffee into the machine.
It was official—she’d been swept into the nuttery. She should have run away the second she saw it was Bob and not a killer taking a quick dip, pre-murder spree.
She turned on the stove and found a pan.
“Ask Bob what he wants—”
“Eggs!” called Bob, lowering his goggles back over his eyes. “And bacon. And toast. And orange juice!”
Declan nodded and left Abby outside to run around the pool, chasing Bob back and forth as he swam. He’d almost shut the door when Bob popped up again.
“Coffee!” he yelped.
Declan signaled he’d heard and turned to Charlotte.
“What have you done?” he asked.
She laughed. “I’m sorry. It never occurred to me he’d want to go with you. He hasn’t been into swimming for years.”
“I suspect it has more to do with the beach bunnies in Tampa than the swimming,” said Declan.
She snorted a laugh. “You said beach bunnies—you’ve been hanging out with the oldies too long.”
He smirked. “Well, whose fault is that? I’m just glad it wasn’t Seamus—”
“Top o’ the mornin’ to ye,” said Seamus as he burst through the front door.
***
Excerpt from Pineapple Easter Egg by Amy Vansant. Copyright 2025 by Amy Vansant. Reproduced with permission from Amy Vansant. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Amy Vansant has written over 40 books, including the fun, thrilling Shee McQueen series, the rollicking, twisty Pineapple Port Mysteries, and the action-packed Kilty urban fantasies. Throw in a couple of romances and a YA fantasy for her nieces...
Amy specializes in fun, exciting reads with plenty of laughs and action -- she tried to write serious books, but they always ended up full of jokes, so she gave up.
Amy lives in Jupiter, Florida, with her muse/husband and a goony Bordoodle named Archer.
Catch Up With Amy Vansant:
AmyVansant.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads - @AmyVansant
BookBub - @AmyVansant
Instagram - @TheAmyVansant
Threads - @TheAmyVansant
X - @AmyVansant
Facebook - @TheAmyVansant
BlueSky - @amyvansant.bsky.social
YouTube - @AmyVansant
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Tuesday, April 1, 2025
Book Blast: Murder on the Steel Pier by Rosie Genova (Blog Tour/Tour-Wide Giveaway)
MURDER ON THE STEEL PIER
by Rosie Genova
April 1, 2025 Book Blast
Friday, December 20, 2024
Thursday, August 22, 2024
BOOK BLAST: A Corpse at the Witching Hour: A Food Blogger Mystery by Debra Sennefelder
A Corpse at the Witching Hour: A Food Blogger Mystery by Debra Sennefelder
About A Corpse at the Witching Hour
A Corpse at the Witching Hour: A Food Blogger Mystery
Cozy Mystery 6th in Series
Setting - Connecticut
Publisher : Beyond the Page
Publishing (October 6, 2023)
Paperback : 228 pages
ISBN-10 : 1960511394
ISBN-13 : 978-1960511393
Digital ASIN : B0CKM7LTGJ
Hope Early has to contend with ghosts, a fatal curse, and a decades-old family secret to catch a killer in the new Food Blogger Mystery . . .
When her best friend’s Aunt Issy falls ill, food blogger Hope Early agrees to help him hand out Halloween candy at his aunt’s house, which is rumored to be cursed. A murder-suicide took place there a century ago, and legend has it that a woman has died there every twenty years since—on Halloween. Hope doesn’t really believe in curses or ghosts, but when all the trick-or-treaters are gone and she discovers a woman’s dead body on the front lawn, she wonders if the curse might be real after all.
Then Hope and her friend discover a cache of love letters linking the dead woman to Aunt Issy’s husband years ago, and Hope is certain they’ve uncovered the motive for murder—and the police are certain Aunt Issy is their main suspect. Determined to prove Issy’s innocence and nab the real culprit, Hope starts shaking other branches of the family tree. But she forgets that Halloween isn’t the only day people hide behind masks, and if she’s not careful, Hope will come face-to-face with a ghoulish fiend who’s not afraid to kill again . . .
Includes two tasty recipes!
About Debra Sennefelder
Debra Sennefelder lives and writes in Connecticut, where she lives with her family and slightly spoiled Shih Tzu. An avid reader across a range of genres, mystery fiction is her obsession. Her interest in people and relationships is channeled into her novels against a backdrop of crime and mystery. She’s the author of the Food Blogger Mystery series, the Resale Boutique Mystery series and the Cookie Shop Mystery series. When she’s not writing, she’s either baking or reading. To learn more, visit her on the web at www.debrasennefelder.com
Author Links
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2WfkxY8
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Website: http://bit.ly/2lQwSNi
Facebook: http://bit.ly/2qjwHyT
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Instagram: http://bit.ly/2EQh6da
Purchase Links
Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Kobo - Bookshop.org
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Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Book Blast: Audio Book – Double Scoop of Murder: Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries by Lena Gregory – Read by Eleanor McCormick
Audio Book – Double Scoop of Murder: Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries by Lena Gregory Read by Eleanor McCormick
Wednesday, May 22, 2024
Audio Book - Grounds for Murder: Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries by Lena Gregory - Read by Eleanor McCormick - Book Blast
Audio Book Grounds for Murder: Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries by Lena Gregory Read by Eleanor McCormick
Tuesday, April 23, 2024
Book Blast: Murder a la Mode: Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries by Lena Gregory - Read by Eleanor McCormick - Audio Book (Blog Tour)
Audio Book Murder a la Mode: Coffee & Cream Café Mysteries by Lena Gregory Read by Eleanor McCormick
Tuesday, August 1, 2023
Book Blast: The Ghost Camper's Tall Tales by Elizabeth Pantley (Blog Tour/Tour-Wide Giveaway)
The Ghost Camper's Tall Tales
by Elizabeth Pantley
August 1, 2023 Book Blast
Synopsis:
Hayden meets a mysterious ghost with secrets to tell. Can he help explain the unsolved mystery surrounding the death of someone who was already dead? Can Hayden, with the help of her family, friends, and her sassy cat, Latifa unscramble this mystery and keep Destiny Falls safe?
A mysterious old man keeps popping up to tell Hayden a series of tall tales. Who is he? And is he actually glowing? Are his stories fiction, or is he telling her the history of her family, the enchanted islands, and the witch? And why did a dead body show up . . . of someone who is already dead?
Can Hayden and her quirky sidekick, Latifa unscramble this mystery?
Hayden’s adventures in the magical world of Destiny Falls continue in this gripping story that answers your questions about the mysterious world she entered through a mirror in book one, Falling into Magic. We learn more about her missing mother, whose story begins in book two, The Disappearance of Emily.
Praise for The Ghost Camper's Tall Tales:
"A captivating read! I couldn’t put it down."
~ Linda C., Goodreads
"A mix of unique characters, romance, mystery and magic."
~ Charlene Q. Goodreads
"Just when I thought I knew who the killer was, BAM, a twist."
~ Leslie, Storeybook Reviews
"Generously seasoned with sass, class, and a dose of spunk. Delish!"
~ Pages & Paws
Book Details:
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publication Date: July 2021
Number of Pages: 341
ASIN: B095177BFG
Series: Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic, 3
Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads
Read an excerpt:
1
It had taken a week, but finally I had memorized my long-lost mother’s letter. Now I was struggling to get a fire started in my fireplace in which to burn it. It hurt my heart to give up something so precious to me, but there was no other option. Now, if the dang logs would just ignite!
I rearranged the logs, and finally, after three false starts, I had a nice blaze going. I decided to recite the letter one more time before giving it up to the flames.
“Oh, goodie! Another reciting of the mysterious letter!” Latifa said. Not only did my cat’s comment enter my head, but her joy was evident in the tone of her voice.
“How do you know that? Is it one of your telepathy skills?” I asked her.
“Nothing so mysterious. You always cough twice before you begin. I thought it was part of the introduction. ‘Cough. Cough. My darling daughter, Hayden . . .’”
“Ah. Well then. Relax, sit back, and enjoy the show.”
She took my instructions literally. She jumped up on the bed, planted her ample behind on my pillow, and shifted her body this way and that until she was perfectly comfortable. Latifa leaned back against the headboard and looked like a furry, laughing Buddha.
I stared into the flames and took in a breath. It had taken forever to memorize this. Not just because it was a long letter, but because of the lifetime of emotions it brought to the surface.
I cleared my throat. Cough. Cough. I gave Latifa the side-eye, and she wiped the smirk off her face.
My darling daughter, Hayden,
I hope with all my heart that you find this letter. I have been trying in vain to reach you since you arrived in Destiny Falls. I have things I must tell you.
All your life you have believed that I abandoned you. I want you to know that I did not leave you of my own choosing. You were my life, my precious new baby. First, I lost Leonard, the love of my life, gone so fast. So mysteriously he vanished. Taking with him my little son, my heart, my precious Axel. Then I was stolen from you. Not a day has passed that I don’t grieve for you, for all that we’ve lost. Our little family, torn apart.
Your birth was a beacon. A beautiful thing, drawing evil to it. I discovered that it was the reason they found Leonard. They removed him to Destiny Falls. And it was the reason they found me. There are things you have never been told because no one knew the story to tell. I have learned much, and I will tell you some of these things now.
I have great pain and empathy for you being abandoned by your mother as a newborn. Because you see, they snatched me away from my mother, days after my own birth.
Days after I was born, I was found in Seattle, in unusual circumstances, too complicated to explain now. I was placed in a foster home with two wonderful, kind-hearted people who then adopted me. Your Nana and Granana. They did not know the circumstances of my abandonment, nor did they care. They embraced the maternal roles and raised me as their own. And then they raised you as well. They are saintly, beautiful women, and I miss them desperately.
It pains me to think they live with the belief that I left them willingly, without a backward glance. That I disappeared without a trace. Well, except for that horrible note that I was forced to write. The words cut me deeply and they created a scar on my heart that I feel to this day. “I can’t do this. Take the baby. Goodbye.” The smudges on that paper were remnants of my tears.
There are so many things that Nana and Gran did not know. Things that they could not know, for their safety and yours. Facts that were well hidden.
I was not a normal baby found in abnormal circumstances. Anything but normal. I didn’t know my background until I was stolen away from you. That’s when I began to learn the truth, in bits and pieces, over years of searching, prodding, and discovering one small piece at a time.
My mother brought me to Seattle. She had escaped with me from a cold, dangerous island called Gladstone, which is where I was returned and where I remain.
There is one family here that holds a power within them: the Gladstones. It is a power that fuels the engine of Gladstone. They need the family here to maintain their illusions and their magic.
There is a parallel place where you find yourself now. Destiny Falls.
Gladstone and Destiny Falls are two halves of what was once a whole. The yin and the yang, the dark and light, the moon and sun. Destiny Falls is the positive half, but it is also fed by the power of a family—the Caldwells. Your father was needed there for that reason, as the Caldwell power runs through him.
Hayden, you need to know something very important. My birth name was Emily Gladstone, and the Gladstone power runs through me. That makes you half Caldwell and half Gladstone. You are unique. I do not know exactly in what ways. I can only imagine what powers might flow through you. In all my studies, I have not found there to be another like you.
Keep this information well hidden. Do not tell anyone, as it can be used against you if the truth comes to light. I have learned in life that there is no one you can trust. Especially here. Be wise in this. Hold this information close. Memorize this letter and then destroy it.
I will continue my attempts to reach you, but so far it has been hopeless. Please know that I love you with all my heart. Be careful, my sweet daughter. I hope to see you some day. Stay safe.
Love, your mother,
Emily
I heard the soft puff of two furry paws being tapped together. “Brava! If I weren’t wearing these furry mittens, you’d hear my applause. Sometimes I feel like Bernie Sanders.”
“Why Bernie Sanders?” I asked.
“The most famous mittens in history! Stop living under a rock, Cricket, and read the news once in a while.”
I crossed my arms and frowned at her. “And where exactly do you read the news?”
“Oh, sweetie, sweetie.” She shook her head and scrunched her nose. “Chanel and I pore over the paper every morning once Eleanor has completed her perusal of it. Your grandmother kindly spreads out the pages for us. Speaking of newspapers, when’s the next issue of the Destiny Falls Observer? You had a magnificent first issue. The story of the capture of that murderous ferry helmsman and his fiery death! Ooooo, gripping stuff! Oh. Can I say death now, or do I have to say demise?”
I ignored her reference to my aversion to the word “death.” I mean, since I had been so close to two deaths who could blame me? They were people I knew. People who had not died of natural causes. That gave me the shudders.
“The paper is on a once-a-month schedule, you know.” I lifted my chin and attempted to look confident.
“Then you best get yourself a new calendar, Cupcake. It’s been a month since your big debut.”
I knew that, of course. I’d been working diligently at my new job as editor of the Observer. But it had been an effort since we lived in a small town with little actual news.
Well, to be clear, I thought Destiny Falls was a small town, though others had indicated that I was wrong in that assumption. The enchanted location was on an island ... somewhere. Where exactly was a big secret that I’d been unable to crack. Where in the world was I? It had been on the top of my list of research projects, but I kept get sidetracked.
“The lack of interesting news makes reporting a challenge. What do I put on the front page? Hmmm?” I shrugged my shoulders and tapped a finger on my lips. “Should it be the local arts and craft fair, or the ribbon cutting at the new hair salon downtown? Hardly a good follow-up to the capture of a murderer and the police car crash that killed him on the way to prison.”
“I have confidence you can dig up some juicy gossip. You’re good at that.”
“Um. Thanks? I think.”
I realized with a start that I was still holding my mother’s letter in both hands, close to my heart. I was reluctant to give it up to the flames. It answered some long-held questions, but it brought up more mysteries than it solved.
My mother did not leave me by choice. That was earth-shattering news. All my life, I’d believed I was abandoned, and I was wrong. My mother did not discard me. She loved me with all her heart and was wrenched from me as much as I was stolen from her. And Nana and Gran adopted her as a baby? How was it I never knew this?! Neither one of them was known for being able to keep secrets—and this was a doozy. What could be their purpose in keeping this from me? I couldn’t imagine.
“Gladstone has her,” I said aloud, feeling a chill zap through me.
“Da-da-da-dumm. The forbidden, mysterious island of doooom,” whispered Latifa as she slowly crept toward me across the bed.
Latifa’s theatrics jarred me out of my melancholy moment.
“And I don’t understand something.” I was pacing the room now. Questions were rolling through my head. “She says I’m unique, that there’s not another like me. But what about Axel? He was born of the same parents. Doesn’t that make him half Caldwell and half Gladstone, too? Doesn’t this power run through him as well? And, what exactly is this power she refers to?”
“It’s needed to fuel the illusions and magic. Like the great and powerful Oz.”
My cat loved her old movies and occasionally tried to tie them to real life. It was often a stretch, but this time it seemed to accurately define this very weird situation. I was a normal human being, yet was I somehow behind the curtain, making the magic happen?
“And why isn’t there a letter to Axel, too? Or one for my father? Doesn’t it seem odd that she would write only to me? Now? What about all these years that Dad and Axel have been in Destiny Falls? Something’s definitely off ...”
I was pacing the room, thoughts jumbled up and swirling through my head. I couldn’t even catch some of the ideas as they raced by.
“And here I am with another colossal secret.” I sat on the floor and put my head in my hands.
“Yeeeesss.” Latifa hissed out the word. “She warned you. ‘Do not tell anyone,’ she said. She did not say, ‘Do not tell anyone except Axel.’ Or ‘Do not tell anyone except your father.’ Or “Do not tell . . .”
“Ugh! I get it, Latifa!”
I stood up and walked over to the fire. It was time to do this. Tears came unbidden, and I gently kissed the paper that had been handwritten by my enigmatic mother. Then I slowly moved it over the flames. I gasped and yanked the paper back before it caught.
The back side of my letter had the impression of writing. Like when someone presses on paper with a pen and leaves a shadowy indent on the page beneath it.
What did my mother write on the page before my letter? Did she write a letter like this to Axel or my father before she wrote mine? Or was it something as mundane as her grocery list? I needed to find out.
I tilted the paper back and forth but could not see more than a bit of a shadow in spots.
I remembered back to when I was little. Gran and I used to write secret messages to each other using this technique. We’d press hard on the top page, leaving what we called “invisible ink messages” on the page below. The reader would decode the message by gently rubbing the side of a pencil over the page.
I took the letter over to my desk and pulled out a pencil. Starting at the top of the page, I gently sketched over the imprinted letters, and as I hoped, some words showed up. It took a while, but I had lightly drawn over the entire page. I puzzled over the words that appeared:
6. Write letter to Hayden
7. Transfer letter to Nakita
8. Pay Nakita “postage”
9. Reapply for ticket?
10. Lazarus??????
Clearly, this was the second page of a list. I wish I knew what the first five items were! Could letters to Axel and my father be on this list? It would certainly help if I knew that—then I could discuss the letter with them. Without knowing this, I was hesitant to expose the secret.
Nakita was the ferry captain who had been murdered right after she mailed the mysterious box of documents to me. It appeared that my mother paid her to deliver the letter to me—at least that was what I took this to mean. Did “reapply” refer to the illegal tickets on the ferry between Gladstone and Destiny Falls? My mother’s name had been on several lists apparently related to the transport scheme, but the word DENIED always followed. Was she going to try again?
The question marks after Lazarus on number ten were darker than the rest of the writing. As if she pressed much harder on those than all the other writing. Who was Lazarus? Was she frustrated or confused about him? Or did she simply have no idea what her next plans were?
I needed more time to make sense of the message. Perhaps another session of research at the library would uncover more pieces to this puzzle, including who Lazarus of Gladstone was. I would hide the letter for now and examine it again later. And to think! I almost dropped it into the flames!
I carefully folded the letter and tucked it inside a paperback mystery I kept on hand as a backup in case my Kindle ever lost power. I zipped the book into the pouch of my backpack and placed it on the shelf of my closet.
With that done, I changed into my running clothes and made my way downstairs.
***
Excerpt from The Ghost Camper’s Tall Tales by Elizabeth Pantley. Copyright 2021 by Elizabeth Pantley. Reproduced with permission from Elizabeth Pantley. All rights reserved.
Author Bio:
Elizabeth Pantley is the international bestselling author of The No-Cry Sleep Solution and twelve other books for parents, published in over twenty languages.
She simultaneously writes the well-loved Destiny Falls Mystery & Magic book series and the new Magical Mystery Book Club series.
Elizabeth lives in the Pacific Northwest, the gorgeous inspiration for the setting in many of her books.
Catch Up With Elizabeth Pantley:
www.NoCrySolution.com
Goodreads
BookBub - @DestinyFalls
Instagram - @destinyfallsmystery
Facebook - @DestinyFallsMysteryandMagic
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Monday, June 5, 2023
Book Blast: Hot Pot Murder (L.A. Night Market) by Jennifer J. Chow
Hot Pot Murder (L.A. Night Market) by Jennifer J. Chow
Thursday, September 22, 2022
Book Blast: What Not to Wear to a Graveyard (A Resale Boutique Mystery) by Debra Sennefelder (Blog Tour)
What Not to Wear to a Graveyard (A Resale Boutique Mystery) by Debra Sennefelder
Monday, September 12, 2022
Book Blast: The Meld: Magic, Please by Kelley Kay Bowles (Blog Tour/Tour-Wide Giveaway)
About The Meld: Magic, Please
Young Adult Paranormal 1st in Series
Setting - The fictional Mountain West town of Pinewood, Colorado
All Things That Matter Press (July 3, 2022)
Paperback : 143 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8986288529
Kindle ASIN : B0B5RZPXCX
The Meld, an otherworldly group of six, has gathered in the past millennium to bestow gifts on the most interesting of all populations: adolescents. The Meld members comprise a yin/yang of deadly behaviors which qualified their membership: half took lives for noble reasons, half for selfish ones. They completed their circle with Delilah Mackley in 1962 and have since been operating at full strength to give a supernatural gift to their chosen charges. This time, they choose Colorado sophomore Millie Mahoney.
The murder of Millie’s mother and the resultant self-destruction of her father have rendered her life chaotic, which Millie fights by immersing herself in her great passion: words and their power. The Meld gives her the ability for her words to become real:
Everything she writes comes true.
While she’s too smart to bring her mother back to life, Millie does look for a way to heal her family … and maybe catch the loving attention of Derek Samson while she’s at it.
About Kelley Kay Bowles
Kelley (Kelley Kaye, Kelley Kay Bowles, Kelley Gusich) taught High School English and Drama for twenty years in Colorado and California, but her love for storytelling dates back to creating captions for her high school yearbook. Maybe back to the tales she created around her Barbie and Ken. A 1994 MS diagnosis and many years of fertility struggles have (circuitously) brought Kelley, finally, to the life of writer and mother, both of which she adores. Death by Diploma, released by Red Adept Publishing in February 2016 and #1 for cozy mystery on Amazon in August that same year, is her debut cozy mystery, first in the Chalkboard Outlines® series. Book 2, Poison by Punctuation, was released on April 24, 2018, and the latest, Strangled by Simile, was released in March 2022. Her debut Young Adult Paranormal, Down in the Belly of the Whale, received the 2017 Indie Book of the Year from Aionios Books, which published the book on May 5, 2018. The first of The Meld YA Paranormal series: Magic, Please, was released July 3, 2022.
She’s also working with her husband to raise two active and busy teenage sons.Author Links
Website - https://kelleykaybowles.com/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/kelkay1202
GoodReads Link - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1380492.Kelley_Kay_Bowles
Purchase Link
Tour-Wide Giveaway
BOOK BLAST PARTICIPANTS
September 12
September 13
Tuesday, June 14, 2022
Book Blast: Death Under The Perseids (A Havana Mystery) by Teresa Dovalpage (Blog Tour/Tour-Wide Giveaway)
Death Under The Perseids (A Havana Mystery) by Teresa Dovalpage
Friday, March 18, 2022
Book Blast: Ghost Agents: Revelations (The Ghost Agents Trilogy) by Nita DeBorde (Blog Tour/Tour-Wide Giveaway)
Ghost Agents: Revelations (The Ghost Agents Trilogy) by Nita DeBorde
Monday, January 17, 2022
Book Blast : The Cape May Cozy Mysteries by Jane Gorman (Blog Tour)
The Cape May Cozy Mysteries by Jane Gorman
Monday, February 22, 2021
Friday, December 11, 2020
Book Blast: Christmas Cookies on a Cruise Ship by Parker Fairchild (Blog Tour/Tour-Wide Giveaway)
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Parker Fairchild will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
On a Caribbean cruise, a platter full of cookies, and a shot of Christmas magic yields a perfect pairing.
Chemist and budding romance writer Olivia Chasen is on a cruise to avoid spending Christmas with her beautiful twin sister and new fiancé—Olivia’s ex. Now, thanks to her lonely, intoxicated ramblings on Santa’s lap, her fellow passengers think she’s in love with a fictional character.
Former Navy SEAL Commander Jace Morse has dealt with plenty of unusual situations in his career, but he’s never had the honor, the pleasure, or the privilege of being a beautiful and intelligent woman’s fantasy hero come to life. While he hasn’t officially met the sexy chemist, he’s sure eager to explore the chemistry that’s sizzling between them.
Bringing the charming SEAL together with the skeptical Olivia is going to take more than just Christmas cookies and a little help from Mrs. Claus; it’s gonna take a heaping dose of Christmas magic.
Read an Excerpt
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” He reached out to touch her cheek, but she swatted his hand away.
She was gettin’ good!
“Don’t you dare call me sweetheart, you lying scoundrel you!”
She shoved her phone in his face. “Explain this, Commander Casanova? Did you think you could get away without ever telling me? Sneak it past me that you were my sister’s ex-boyfriend?”
How satisfying it was to watch all the color drain from his face.
About the Author
A Virginia native, she and her husband have their own shipboard romance as they met on a cruise ship tender in Maui, and as her mom is fond of saying, "they haven't stopped talking since." When she's not busy playing with words, she loves spending time with her husband and family in Arizona where she now resides.
http://www.5princebooks.com/parkerfairchild
http://www.parkerfairchild.com
parker@parkerfairchild.com
https://www.facebook.com/ParkerFairchildAuthor
https://twitter.com/ParkerFairchild
https://www.instagram.com/parker.fairchild/
https://www.pinterest.com/parker_fairchild
https://www.linkedin.com/company/69048882
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/120400979-parker-fairchild
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Cookies-Cruise-Perfect-Pairing-ebook/dp/B08N8P1G1P/ref=sr_1_1
Tour-Wide Giveaway
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
Book Blast: On the Run by Traci Hunter Abramson (Blog Tour/Tour-Wide Giveaway)
On the Run
by Traci Hunter Abramson
October 27, 2020 Book Blast
Synopsis:
Friday, August 28, 2020
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