Blog Tour: Buried Leads by LynDee Walker (A Headlines in High Heels Mystery #2) (Review and Giveaway!)

About The Book

Book Details

Genre: Cozy Mystery – 2nd in Series
Published by: Henery Press
Release Date: October 15, 2013
Number of Pages: 276


When an Armani-clad corpse turns up in the woods, crime reporter Nichelle Clarke smells a scoop. A little digging, and Nichelle uncovers a web of corruption that stretches all the way to Washington, D.C. Politics. Murder. And a dead lobbyist. It’s everything Nichelle’s ever dreamed of.

The cops are playing it close, the feds even closer, and Nichelle’s afraid her boss will assign the story to the political desk any day. Richmond’s new ATF SuperCop makes an arrest before she can say “Louboutin,” but Nichelle’s gut says he’s got the wrong guy.

Her sexy Mafia boss friend warns her off the case, her TV rival is hot on her designer heels, an ambitious copy editor wants her beat, and victims are piling up faster than she can track them down. As Nichelle zeroes in on the truth, it’ll take some fancy footwork to nab this headline before the killer nabs her.

My Review

This cozy mystery has it all – humor, mystery, drama and a dash of romance. The author weaves all of these things together to perfection. An intriguing storyline to make this a real page-turner. Just when you think you’ve solved the case, another clue is tossed in to change everything. If you like to guess “whodunit” along with the characters, this is the story for you.  It’s the perfect mystery story - a little more grittier than the usual cozy.

The characters are well developed and practically come to life on each page. LynDee Walker gives us a heroine with the strength to carry this book on her own. To make things even more interesting, our heroine gets two hot guys – total opposites. One is a mafia king and the other an ATF agent. Shades of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum trying to choose which guy she wants.  The bad boy vs. the good guy.

This is the second book of the “A Headlines in High Heels Mystery” series. I didn’t read the first one and it didn’t really matter, but I definitely want to catch up. Fortunately, I only have to read one to catch up and I have that one on my Kindle already. I don’t think the book suffers if you read it on its own, I just want to know the characters better and want to start from the beginning.

A great “new-to-me-author”!

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

About The Author

LynDee Walker grew up in the land of stifling heat and amazing food most people call Texas, and wanted to be Lois Lane from the time she could say the words “press conference.” An award-winning journalist, she traded cops and deadlines for burp cloths and onesies when her oldest child was born. Writing the Headlines in Heels mysteries gives her the best of both worlds. Her debut novel, Front Page Fatality (A Nichelle Clarke Headlines in Heels Mystery),http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=dollycsthoug-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1938383125 is an amazon new humor #1 bestseller. LynDee adores her family, her readers, and enchiladas. She often works out tricky plot points while walking off the enchiladas. She lives in Richmond, Virginia, where she is working on her next novel. You can visit her online atwww.lyndeewalker.com.

Online Links

Twitter: @LynDeeWalker
Facebook: www.facebook.com/lyndeewalkerbooks
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/lyndee_walker
Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/lyndeewalker
Website: www.lyndeewalker.com

GIVEAWAYS!!!

In addition to the Rafflecopter giveaway below, if you leave a comment below, one lucky winner will also win a swag prize package.  I will choose a random commenter using List Randomizer.  The author will then mail out the package.  U.S. address only! The chance to have your comment count in the second giveaway ends November 2nd.

So, that's two exciting giveaways to enter!!!  Good luck!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour: Bran New Death by Victoria Hamilton (Review, Giveaway)

Genre:
Cozy Mystery

Format:
E-Book (available as paperback, too)

Publisher:
Berkley

Release Date:
September 2013

Review: Kneading to Die by Liz Mugavero

Genre:
Cozy Mystery

Format:
E-Book (available in paperback, too)

Publisher:
Kensington

Release Date:
May 2013

Blog Tour: A Cookbook Conspiracy by Kate Carlisle (Q&A and Book Giveaway!)

The 7th book of the Bibliophile Mystery series by Kate Carlisle was released on June 4th.  How would you like to own a hardcover copy of this book for your very own?  Thanks to the author and Cozy Mystery Tours, I can offer one hardcover copy to one lucky winner!  This is a one day only giveaway!

Learn more about the series at Kate Carlisle's website.

This is a one day only giveaway!  It ends midnight tonight!

Just a few simple rules...

1) You must fill out the form below.

2) US residents only.

3) For an extra entry: Follow this blog

4) For an extra entry: Follow me on Twitter

5) For an extra entry: Follow me on Goodreads

6) For an extra 2 entries: Post this giveaway on your blog.

7) For an extra 2 entries: Tweet about this giveaway.

The giveaway begins on June 6th (midnight est) and ends on June 6th (11:59 pm)

The winner will be notified by email and has 48 hours to respond, otherwise a new winner will be chosen.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Q&A With Author Kate Carlisle

1.     What's your favorite thing about being an author?

I love giving my imagination free reign. Something magical happens when I’m writing a book. Each day when I sit down to write (and yes, I write every day), it starts out hard. But I force myself to start writing. It feels almost like I’m trying to wrestle my body through thick sludge, plodding forward one sentence at a time. At a certain point, though, my imagination takes over, and gravity ceases to exist. I rise up over that sludge, and I glide forward, wind in my face, flying ahead in the story. That’s the magic. Sometimes I’m surprised by what comes out of my own brain. Sometimes I make myself laugh. Sometimes I scare myself.

And I get to do this for a living!!!

2.     What is next after A Cookbook Conspiracy for your readers?

After A COOKBOOK CONSPIRACY, the next Bibliophile Mystery will be out next year. I’m writing it now and having WAY too much fun! Brooklyn is invited to serve as the book expert on a show like the Antiques Roadshow. Antiques Roadshow with a dark side. The antiques experts are hiding dark secrets and irrepressible greed… and so are some of the regular folks who come to have their treasures appraised.

Bloody Ham by Brian Kavanagh

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Format: EBook
Publisher: BeWrite Books
Release Date: September 2010

It’s back to England for another Belinda Lawrence adventure. After vacationing in her homeland of Australia, Belinda reconnects with an old boyfriend and begins to doubt her current relationship with Mark.

When Belinda’s colleague and best friend, Hazel, is commissioned by a movie studio to use of her antiques in a movie, both women take off to go on location to keep an eye on their items. Things take a wild turn when dead bodies start turning up on the set and Belinda is put to work as a stand-in for the lead actress.

Belinda sets out to discover who the murderer is before the person commits another crime and puts everyone on the set in danger. At the same time, Belinda ponders accepting Mark’s marriage proposal or starting a new relationship with her former beau.

This is the third book in the series and another page-turner for me. It’s a wonderful cozy mystery series with an excellent cast of characters. The addition of a second love interest really spices things up. I feel as if Belinda is an old friend. Bloody Ham has all the ingredients of an intriguing murder mystery and keeps the readers guessing. There’s one more book in the series, but I do hope more will follow in the future. This is one series I do not want to see come to an end.



For reading challenge:

Cruisin’ thru the Cozies

The Diva Runs Out of Thyme by Krista Davis

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Sophie Winston is a domestic diva! Her family expects the perfect Thanksgiving dinner from her and she aims to please.

During her Thanksgiving shopping, she meets up with a man trying to give her a homeless cat. She turns down the offer, but soon feels bad. After she’s finished shopping, she tries to find the man with the cat, but instead finds the man’s dead body. She takes the cat, but is shocked to learn that the police found her picture in the man’s car. Suddenly she finds herself as the number one suspect of a murdered man she didn’t even know.

Sophie tries to put this incident aside so she can create a happy festive holiday for her family, but somehow she ends up with more guests for dinner than she anticipated including her ex-husband Mars and his fiancée, Natasha. Natasha is Sophie’s main competition in the annual Stupendous Stuffing Shakedown contest, as well as both women having domestic advice columns.

Several contestants find themselves the victim of having their ingredients tampered with and when Sophie finds the sponsor of the contest dead, all eyes turn toward her as the lead suspect in two murders. With a little help from her family and friends, Sophie sets out to prove her innocence. It’s just a shame the sexy detective in charge of the investigation also thinks she’s a murderer.

This is the first book in a brand new cozy mystery series, “A Domestic Diva Mystery”. I could not put this book down. The story has a wonderful array of characters. Each one has their own special qualities that come alive throughout this book. I practically devoured this one. I can’t say enough good things and I loved every minute of reading this one.

Krista Davis is a “new-to-me” author that I’ll be watching out for. I already have the second book in this series and the third comes out in February 2010. If they are anything like the first one, I have quite a bit of great reading ahead.

I can’t help but give this my Socrates’ Great Book Alert medal.


For reading challenges:

Amateur Sleuth Reading Challenge
Mysteryreadercafe Reading Challenge

Death in Daytime by Eileen Davidson

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Alexis Peterson is the star of the popular daytime drama hit “The Yearning Tide”, but her head writer, Marcy Blanchard, has old issues with Alexis and is determined to write the actress off the show.

After a particularly nasty brawl between Alexis and Marcy, the writer is found dead - killed by her own Emmy award. The investigation turns bitter when most of Alexis’ co-workers tell the police they believe she could have committed the murder. Homicide detective, Frank Jakes, is immediately convinced of her guilt, while his partner tends to confuse Alexis with her TV alter-ego and is sure she’s innocent.

Alexis takes matters into her own hands. She has to prove her innocence for her own sake as well as for the sake of her beloved three-year old daughter, Sarah. Alexis’ first husband walked out on them, taking all her money, leaving her as a single mother with a demanding career. Alexis’ boyfriend, Paul, is a forensic expert who consults on another TV show, but she insists on handling her personal investigation on her own, which leaves hurt feelings between Alexis and Paul. It, also, doesn’t help their relationship when Alexis finds herself attracted to Detective Jakes, who wants nothing more than to put Alexis behind bars.

Eileen Davidson has been a major daytime drama star for years. I used to watch her on Days of Our Lives where she played devious Kristin Blake. She was amazing in that role and now it looks as if she has added another career to her already impressive resume. The author takes us behind the scenes of a daytime drama, who better to do that than an actress who has spent so many years working in the daytime drama arena?

I found the writing style to be fast-paced, light, and witty. Her story took so many twists and turns. She kept me on my toes until the end. I already began reading the second book in her “A Soap Opera Mystery” series.

For reading challenge: Cozy Mystery

Catch as Cat Can by Rita Mae Brown

Genre: Mystery

First, let me start off with how much I love the Mrs. Murphy series. I just adore re-visiting the town of Crozet, Virginia and getting reacquainted with Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen and her family of fur babies. I can’t get enough of this series.

Crozet’s annual Dogwood Festival is coming and as the citizens begin preparations, Mrs. Hogendobber discovers her hubcaps have been stolen – right off her car! Imagine that! As Harry helps her investigate the crime, they begin to stumble upon dead bodies. Obviously this is about more than stolen hubcaps.

Mrs. Murphy isn’t about to let Harry walk right into the middle of danger, at least not alone. She recruits the help of her buddies Tucker and Pewter to help assist in unraveling this mystery.

Mrs. Murphy, Tucker and Pewter are so much fun to read. Two cats and a dog solving mysteries…what could be better?