Guest post & Giveaway:The Widow's Walk League by Nancy Lynn Jarvis

Today, it is my pleasure to welcome Nancy Lynn Jarvis to Pudgy Penguin Perusals. Thank you, Nancy,  for agreeing to come and introduce us to your series. I think you and most of my readers know how much I love a good cozy! Let's see what Nancy has to say about her books and then below will be the giveaway details. 

Too Many Coincidences for Comfort

The Widow’s Walk League, the fourth book in the Regan McHenry Real Estate Mysteries series I write is newly released and I’m getting a little nervous. I have all the usual, “will people buy it, more importantly, will they like it,” jitters writers have with each of their books, but this is something else.

The book blurb reads: “Santa Cruz husbands are being murdered. The local news media is buzzing because a dark-clad figure witnesses describe as Death had been seen lurking nearby each time a murder is committed. Regan McHenry discovers all the murdered men have something in common: their wives belong to a walking group called The Widow’s Walk League.”
Regan, my protagonist, is a real estate agent like I was. What happens to her at work is based on things that happened to me or to other Realtors I know. The real estate stories, strange as they may be, are true; the murders are not. At least they’re not supposed to be. And that’s what’s worrying me.

The first series book, The Death Contingency, began with a young surfer partying too much, getting swept out to sea, and dying of hypothermia. I got a couple of outraged emails telling me that would never happen to a fit, experienced young man…until local headlines proclaimed a young surfer died just as I described his death in my book. The real death occurred about a year after my book was released.

Buying Murder, book three in the series, opens with the discovery of a partially mummified body hidden in a wall anomaly. It only took three weeks after my book’s release for a headline like that to hit the local news.

The area president of our Woodies car club helped me set the scene for a murder at Woodies on the Wharf, a popular annual Santa Cruz event, for The Widow’s Walk League. I took a newly released book to the event for him and, just for fun, decided to tell the Woodie owner parked in the book’s fatal spot to be careful.

The Woodie owner was nonplussed, but I left the event somewhat shaken. It turns out he shared a name with the murder victim and told me he was a retired cop who knew the real Dave I base a recurring character in my books on and had even been with him when my real cop friend lost his eye in a shootout, the back-story I use for the Dave character in the books.
I don’t believe I’m a psychic. Like Regan, I don’t believe in psychics, but like she discovers in The Widow’s Walk League, some things are hard to explain.

And this is all getting weird. Really weird.

Wow, thanks, Nancy! Your books sounds really intriguing and a lot of fun.

For more info on the author please visit her website where you can read some sample chapters for free. Nancy is also a Goodreads author and can be found actively participating in the cozy mysteries group.

Thanks to Nancy's generosity I can give away one copy of her new book, The Widow's Walk League.

Giveaway details: Open to US only and deadline to enter is August 3rd at 5 PM.  The winner will have their choice of paperback or kindle format.

 Please be sure to leave an e mail address in your comment. Bonus entries available for this contest are as follows:


+1 for posting on your facebook page with link to giveaway
+2 for being a follower, old or new. Just remind me how you follow and under what name.
+3 for blogging (sidebar is fine) or tweeting about the giveaway. Leave me a link, please.  Good luck!

Mailbox Monday

This month's Monday Mailbox is being hosted by Gwendolyn at A Sea of Books. 

Caveat: Monday Mailbox can lead to an exponentially exploding TBR list.  Here's what showed up in the past week chez moi:

Paperback, 592 pages
Published August 6th 2001 by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd (first published 1995) ISBN0006512070 (ISBN13: 9780006512073)

This was sent to me by the ever-so-wonderful Staci of Life in the Thumb. Thanks a million, Staci! I'm looking forward to reading it.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

The gripping new suspense story by the bestselling author of LADY OF HAY and ON THE EDGE OF DARKNESS, is set in richly mysterious Egypt, where past and present elide. Recently divorced, Anna Coburn decides to cheer herself up by retracing a journey her great grandmother made in the nineteenth century: a Nile cruise from Luxor to the Valley of the Kings. Anna carries with her on the voyage two mementoes of her great-grandmother Louisa: an ancient Egyptian scent bottle, and the diary of that original Nile cruise, which has lain unread for a hundred years. As she follows in Louisa's footsteps, Anna discovers in the diary the chilling secret of the scent bottle and is pursued by the same terrifying spectres as her great grandmother.

Paperback, 478 pages
Published May 11th 2011 by Allison & Busby (first published April 15th 2011)
ISBN0749009519 (ISBN13: 9780749009519)
primary languageEnglish

A review copy was received from Sourcebooks for review in October.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

Eva's film star sister Katrina dies, she leaves California and returns to Cornwall, where they spent their childhood summers, to scatter Katrina's ashes and in doing so return her to the place where she belongs. But Eva must also confront the ghosts from her own past, as well as those from a time long before her own. For the house where she so often stayed as a child is home not only to her old friends the Halletts, but also to the people who had lived there in the eighteenth century. When Eva finally accepts that she is able to slip between centuries and see and talk to the inhabitants from hundreds of years ago, she soon finds herself falling for Daniel Butler, a man who lived - and died - long before she herself was born. Eva begins to question her place in the present, and in laying her sister to rest, comes to realise that she too must decide where she really belongs, choosing between the life she knows and the past she feels so drawn towards.

288 pages

Expected publication: September 13th 2011 by Atria Books

ISBN1416575758 (ISBN13: 9781416575757)

 primary languageEnglish

 
A copy of the book was received from Atria.

Synopsis from Goodreads:

In bestselling author Lisa Tucker’s latest, a family discovers that it’s only when the walls between the present and past crumble that the future can bloom.

Together for over a decade, Kyra and David Winter are happier than they ever thought they could be. They have a comfortable home, stable careers, and a young son, Michael, who they love more than anything. Yet because of their complicated histories, Kyra and David have always feared that this domestic bliss couldn’t last - that the life they created was destined to be disrupted. And on one perfectly average summer day, it is: Michael disappears from his own backyard.

The only question is whose past has finally caught up with them: David feels sure that Michael was taken by his troubled ex-wife, while Kyra believes the kidnapper must be someone from her estranged family, someone she betrayed years ago.

As the Winters embark on a journey of time and memory to find Michael, they will be forced to admit these suspicions, revealing secrets about themselves they’ve always kept hidden. But they will also have a chance to discover that it’s not too late to have the family they’ve dreamed of; that even if the world is full of risks, as long as they have hope, the future can bloom.

Lyrical, wise, and witty, The Winters in Bloom is Lisa Tucker’s most optimistic work to date. This enchanting, life-affirming story will charm readers and leave them full of wonder at the stubborn strength of the human heart.

Review & Giveaway: Pie à la Murder by Melinda Wells

Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages

published July 5th 2011 by Penguin Group (USA)

ISBN

0425242218 (ISBN13: 9780425242216)

primary language English

Della Carmichael hosts her own cooking show, In the Kitchen with Della, on cable tv. Along with this endeavor, she also runs a culinary business with Eileen O'Hara, her honorary daughter.

Nicholas D'Martino has been the main man in her life for the last year but it seems he has kept one big secret from Della. He springs the surprise of an 18 year old daughter,Celeste, on her only because Celeste is  coming to stay with him in his home in Santa Monica.

Celeste, quite the cosmoplitan young lady,has been living in high style, with her mother in London and Vienna. Now, she wants to be an actress and where better to go but California? Neither her mother nor Nick is thrilled with her career choice and after living among the Hollywood types for years, Nick has good reason.

So, when Alex Redding, photographer to the stars, takes a risqué photo of Celeste, Nick is furious.When he goes to confront Alex, he finds him with his head bashed in. Ooooh, not a pretty sight; obviously, someone else is not a fan of Alex either!

Even though Della is not too far behind Nick when he finds the body, the police insist he still had enough time to commit the crime and now he is their prime suspect. His credible motive is sufficient for them. Della is convinced Nick doesn't have it in him to be a killer despite any strong motive. There must be someone else in Alex's life with a murderous grudge; but with some conflicting alibis, it's confusing. Della needs to stir the suspect pot a little and see what shakes out. Will she be in time to save her man?

Although this is the 4th book in the Della Cooks series, I jumped right in and didn't feel like I was missing anything vital about the characters. Della and Nick are both credible and likeable. The setting is great and that always adds some nice ambiance to the plot. Their romance part of the book just enhanced the story and showed them as normal human beings. I did figure out the culprit but it took me until close to the end. Good job, Melinda! Lots of recipes included at the end. 4****

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by Berkley in exchange for my honest opinion.

To celebrate this month's release of Pie a La Murder, Berkley is allowing me to host a giveaway for one copy of the book. Open to US only and deadline to enter is July 30th at 5 PM (est).  Please be sure to leave an e mail address in your comment. Bonus entries available for this contest are as follows:

+2 for being a follower old or new. Just remind me how you follow and under what name.
+3 for blogging or tweeting about the giveaway. Leave me a link, please.

Good luck!

Mini Opinion: Don't Breathe a Word by Jennifer McMahon

Paperback, 464 pages

Published May 17th 2011 by Harper Paperbacks

ISBN0061689378 (ISBN13: 9780061689376)

From Goodreads:

On a soft summer night in Vermont, twelve-year-old Lisa went into the woods behind her house and never came out again. Before she disappeared, she told her little brother, Sam, about a door that led to a magical place where she would meet the King of the Fairies and become his queen.


Fifteen years later, Phoebe is in love with Sam, a practical, sensible man who doesn’t fear the dark and doesn’t have bad dreams—who, in fact, helps Phoebe ignore her own. But suddenly the couple is faced with a series of eerie, unexplained occurrences that challenge Sam’s hardheaded, realistic view of the world. As they question their reality, a terrible promise Sam made years ago is revealed—a promise that could destroy them all.

My thoughts:  Although this is not my usual genre, the cover was so appealing, I decided to give it a try thinking that  it was going to be more of a typical mystery/suspense story but it had all the creepy elements of a fantasy/fairy tale; not the cinderella happy-ever-after type fairy tale either.

I have to admit I was drawn in at the very beginning, suspending my disbelief in the fairy world, and getting caught up in the characters. McMahon sure knows how to impart a sense of eerie foreboding while making her characters come alive through shifting points of view and going back and forth in time. Twists and turns with no one being what they seem. The king of the fairies did warn the reader that fairies lie.Some of the elements in the book might make you want to read this story in the daylight only!  *Shiver*

However, as the book was nearing the end and despite or maybe because of the many whiplash-inducing twists, my enchantment with the characters came to a screeching halt. Although most of the plot is well constructed there were some implausible and inexplicable things that just did not add up. While I was reading, I had a 3 *** rating in my head but the ending so turned me off (just too weird for me and explaining why would necessitate spoilers) that I'm giving it a 2** rating. As I said, this is not my usual reading fare and that may have had something to do with my feelings. This is just my opinion of the book but you may very well love it!

Jennifer McMahon is also the author of Dismantled, Island of Lost Girls and Promise Not to Tell.
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Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by SA/Harper Collins.

Mailbox Monday

This month's Monday Mailbox is being hosted by Gwendolyn at A Sea of Books. 

Caveat: Monday Mailbox can lead to an exponentially exploding TBR list.  Here's what showed up in the past week chez moi:

Hardcover, 320 pages

Expected publication: August 2nd 2011 by Berkley Hardcover

ISBN 0425241432 (ISBN13: 9780425241431)

primary language English

From Goodreads:

Clare's Village Blend coffee beans are being used to create a new java love potion: a "Mocha Magic Coffee," billed as an aphrodisiac. The product, expected to rake in millions, will be sold exclusively on Aphrodite's Village, one of the most popular online communities for women.

But at its launch, one of the website's editors is murdered. Clare is convinced a bitter killer wants the secret formula. Can she catch who's gone loco for mocha? Received from Berkley for review/giveaway.

Paperback, 304 pages

Expected publication: August 2nd 2011 by Berkley

ISBN 0425242757 (ISBN13: 9780425242759)

primary language English

series Fortune Teller Mystery #1

From Goodreads : Using various fortune telling tools to interpret her visions, Sunny seeks to aid the residents of Divinity, New York. But when she uses tea leaves to read the frazzled town librarian, what lies at the bottom of the cup is anything but helpful. Received from Berkley for review/giveaway.

A novel about a jilted bride who's about to discover that not marrying the wrong man can sometimes lead you to the right one. From Goodreads:

Paperback, 384 pages

Expected publication: August 2nd 2011 by NAL Trade

ISBN 0451233352 (ISBN13: 9780451233356)

When Tallulah gets jilted at the altar, she gets very drunk and starts making passes at the male wedding guests. She even propositions the caterer. But in the next few weeks, reality comes crashing down around her. Her difficult mother becomes more impossible than ever. Her lesbian sister starts trying to have a baby. Nana Ida gets busy matchmaking. What Tallulah is about to discover is that happiness doesn't always come in the form of the perfect doctor- and that sometimes real love doesn't require a catered affair.  Received from Nal for review.

Paperback, 304 pages

Expected publication: August 2nd 2011 by Berkley

 

ISBN 0425242749 (ISBN13: 9780425242742)

primary language English

From Goodreads:

New Orleans pastry chef Rita Lucero is out to bake her way to the top. But when she finds her almost-ex-husband killed with a chef's knife in his back, she becomes suspect number one. Now it's up to her to find the real killer before she winds up as the next victim served.  Received from Berkley for review/giveaway.

Kid Konnection: Star of the Sea by Janet Halfmann

Kid Konnection is hosted each weekend by Julie at Booking Mama. This meme features anything to do with children's books.

Hardcover, 32 pages

Published May 24th 2011 by Henry Holt & Company

ISBN: 0805090738 (ISBN13: 9780805090734)

primary language English

The ochre sea star is the common starfish of the Pacific coast. With sticky tube feet, she can cling to the rocks but when high tide rolls in, the star is able to crawl on the land by pumping water into her feet.

Sea star hunts among the shore for a morning feast using her rays as a means of propulsion. Little eyespots at the end of each ray tell her light from dark. If somehow the sea star flips over she can manage to fold herself over in two and somerault back to normal position. What an agile acrobat the sea star is! When she finds a tasty mussel, she grips the shell with her strong feet. A tug-of-war ensues; the star fish wants the mussel open while the mussel struggles to stay closed.  Guess who wins; sea star of course!

If the sea star stays too long on the shore and not in the water, her tube feet will no longer work. She needs to keep them moist so she won't be vulnerable to the ever vigilant sea gulls. They can make short work of a sea star biting off one of her rays. The good news is if the star escapes, eventually her ray will grow back. How amazing is that?

As entertaining as Janet's book always are, they are also very educational. She successfully strives to instill wonder into young children about the natural world around them. At the end of all her books is some more information about the animal in the story along with a glossary. In this book, Joan Paley is the illustrator.

Janet Halfmann is the author of numerous award winning children's books and can be found at her website. Other books of Janet's that I have reviewed are: Little Skink's Tail,  Little Black Ant on Park Street, Good Night Little Sea Otter and Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea.

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was sent to me by the publisher in the hopes that I would review it.

Saturday Snapshot: A travesty!

Snapshot Saturday is hosted by Alyce of At Home with Books. To participate in the Saturday Snapshot meme post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky. Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online.


In this beautiful, pristine setting it is disturbing to see that someone would just leave a brown bottle on the rocks. I imagine even the gull is disgusted! Whoever the litterbug is, they should be ashamed!

Review & Giveaway: Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay

Paperback, 240 pages

Published July 5th 2011 by Berkley Pub Group (Mm)

ISBN : 0425242188 (ISBN13: 9780425242186)

primary language English

series: Library Lover's Mystery #1

The Brier Creek public library is usually a quiet place and for director, Lindsey Norris, and her best friend Beth Stanley, the children's librarian, it's a pleasant place to work in a safe community. When word gets out that an editor from New York will be vacationing in their little town, Lindsey convinces Beth to show the editor her children's book she has been working on for quite some time.

Even though Beth's boyfriend Rick Eckman, local celebrity kid's author, tells her the book is too amateurish, she is convinced by Lindsey to try to see the editor and get her work appraised. The editor tells her she is talented but just not with that particular book. She is stunned when she finds out why Rick has been so disparaging of her work. Time for a confrontation!

When Lindsey and Beth arrive at  Rick's home on Thumb island, Beth goes in to speak to Rick first but unfortunately it's too late. She finds him dead and it's obviously not from natural causes. Since half the town witnessed their break-up the night before at the local watering hole, the police finger Beth as the most likely suspect without looking any further into Rick's life.

Chief Daniels is happy to take a short cut to end the investigation. As far as he is concerned Beth is a suspect with a viable motive and that's good enough for him. Case closed! Not so good for Beth and Lindsey who is determined to find the real killer and prove Beth's innocence. Will Lindsey be able to close the book on this investigation without her best friend being put on trial?

Disclosure: a review copy of the book was provided by Berkley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Jenn McKinlay, who consistently pens a perfectly paced plot, is also the author of the Cupcake Bakery series; one of my favorites! Writing under the pen name of Lucy Lawrence, Jenn always writes another cozy series with a decoupage theme. Books Can Be Deceiving, the first in the new Library Lover's Mystery series is an auspicious beginning to a new series.  Due or Die, the second book in the series, will be published soon. Can't wait! 4****

To find out more about this author, you can visit her web page or find Jenn on facebook .

To celebrate this month's release of Books Can Be Deceiving, Berkley is allowing me to host a giveaway for one copy of the book. Open to US only and deadline to enter is July 22nd at 5 PM (est).  Please be sure to leave an e mail address in your comment. Bonus entries available for this contest are as follows:

+2 for being a follower old or new. Just remind me how you follow and under what name.
+3 for blogging or tweeting about the giveaway. Leave me a link, please.

Winner of Unraveled by Maggie Sefton

                    Winner! Winner! We have us a winner!!     

                           Who might that be?          

              It's Bonnie from  Red Lady's Reading Room.

                                  Congrats, Bonnie !

Review: Foul Play at the PTA by Laura Alden

Paperback, 320 pages

Published July 5th 2011 by Signet (first published May 25th 2011)

ISBN

0451234081 (ISBN13: 9780451234087)

primary language English

Once again, the PTA meeting at the Tarver Elementary School can be  a hostile and dangerous place. After the latest meeting, one of the most loved and respected members, Sam Helmstetter, is found strangled in his car. Beth Kennedy, local bookstore owner and secretary to the PTA, is dumbstruck. Who could possibly want to murder Sam? What could be the motive? Everyone loved Sam!

As if this isn't worrying enough, Beth has an employee problem and needs more help. When Yvonne breezes into the store and almost magically breaks up a cat fight between the town's two nonagenarians, Beth hires her immediately even after hearing about Yvonne's past. She was finally pardoned after being convicted on a murder charge.Gossip in a small town runs rampant and after word got around about Yvonne's past, some parents in the town feel that her proven innocence is meaningless and that they want Yvonne gone. Or else!

With parents protesting her bookstore and no business to speak of, this is just the impetus Beth needs to start looking into the murder herself, find the real killer and prove Yvonne innocent after all. Beth's best friend Marina does her part in helping to figure out the crime and when she thinks she knows who the real killer is, she and Beth try to get incontrovertible proof. But how? Will it put them in danger? The scary thought is that it could be someone from the PTA. If they don't find the killer, Beth's fragile employee, Yvonne, will be the town pariah and Beth's business will be done for.

This is one series where I really like the two main characters and their friendship. Beth is the serious one and Marina is a little more off-beat,quirky and spontaneous. Marina brings Beth out of her shell. They play off each other well with realistic banter. Makes for some fun puzzle solving!

Foul Play at the PTA is the second book in the series. Murder at the PTA is the first. I read and reviewed that one last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. A well paced and constructed mystery made this cozy fan one happy reader. 4****

Disclosure: A review copy of the book was provided by the author, Laura Alden in exchange for my honest opinion.

Mailbox Monday

This month's Monday Mailbox is being hosted by Gwendolyn at A Sea of Books. 

Caveat: Monday Mailbox can lead to an exponentially exploding TBR list.  Here's what showed up the past week chez moi:

Monday:  Shut Your Eyes Tight by John Verdon from SA/ Crown. If it is as good as Think of a Number, TBG and I will be happy readers!

The Things we Cherished by Pam Jenoff from SA/Doubleday.

Thursday:  The First Love Cookie Club by Lori Wilde won from Karen at Bookin' with Bingo.

How was your mailbox last week? Did you get anything truly exciting?