Earl Grey and Shallow Graves by Victoria Tait – Spotlight & Blog Tour

When I signed up for this blog tour, I had planned to grab a cup of Earl Grey tea and read the book. This did not happen. Neither the Earl Grey tea drink nor the reading.

So, I’m shining a spotlight on this exciting cozy mystery by Victoria Tait, an author whose books I’ve long wanted to read.

Like several other books and blog tours I’ve signed up for, I’ll be reading this mystery over the summer and sharing my review then.

For now, here’s what you need to know about Earl Grey and Shallow Graves: A British Cozy Murder Mystery with a Female Sleuth.

 

About the book

Earl Grey and Shallow Graves: A British Cozy Murder Mystery with a Female Sleuth

Book 1 in the Waterwheel Cafe Mystery series

Author: Victoria Tait

Genre: Cozy Mystery

Setting – England

Publisher: Kanga Press

Publication date: 19 May 2023

Number of Pages: 240 pages

Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BXQL5YS5

 

Book synopsis:

A 30-year-old skeleton. A missing girl. Can a community police officer read the tea leaves or will a deadly secret remain buried forever?

Sergeant Keya Varma is delighted with her new part-time role as the Cotswolds’ Rural Engagement Officer. She’s also fulfilling her dream of opening a small neighbourhood café. But she gets herself into a stew with renovation works when builders unearth a young girl’s remains.

While Keya and her police colleagues gain ground reviewing the unsolved disappearance of a local girl, her brief taste of success turns to dust when a friend is found dead at her tea shop. Confusion over identities threatens to bury the investigation and our junior police officer is worried that justice won’t be served.

Can Keya dig into the mystery and uncover the real culprit?

 

Earl Grey and Shallow Graves is the first book in The Waterwheel Café series. If you’ve enjoyed the Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery series, then you’ll love meeting some of your favourite characters and making new friends in Victoria Tait’s intriguing British cozy mystery.

 

About the Victoria Tait

Victoria Tait

I was born and raised in Yorkshire, UK, and never expected to travel the world. I’ve drawn on my experiences following my military husband to write cozy murder mystery books with vivid and evocative settings. My determined female sleuths are joined by colourful but realistic teams of helpers, and you’ll experience surprises, humour, and sometimes, a tug on your heartstrings.

I hope you enjoyed Keya’s first book.  Why not join her and her friends as they solve more mysteries in my Dotty Sayers Antique Mystery series, also based in the Cotswolds.

Visit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09TMJFL7L

Do you like tea, cakes and books? Then why not join our TeaCozy Club for regular news and updates, and receive your free book gift at  www.victoriatait.com  

Who doesn’t like tea, cake, and a slice of murder?

Connect with Victoria Tait via her Website, BookBub, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads.

  

The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait by Cleo Coyle – Book Review

I've been looking forward to reading a book by Cleo Coyle. So when I got the opportunity to read The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait, I hopped right on it.

And to my surprise Cleo Coyle is actually two people! But more on that in the author bio below.

Book: The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait
(A Haunted Bookshop Mystery)
Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Berkley

Publication date: 4 May 2021
Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages
ISBN-10: 0425251861
ISBN-13: 978-0425251867
Digital ASIN: B08274WCLM

Synopsis:

Bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure and her gumshoe ghost team up to solve the stunning mystery at the heart of a madwoman’s self-portrait in this all new installment from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

While gathering a collection of vintage book cover paintings for a special event in her quaint Rhode Island bookshop, Penelope discovers a spooky portrait of a beautiful woman, one who supposedly went mad, according to town gossip. Seymour, the local mailman, falls in love with the haunting image and buys the picture, refusing to part with it, even as fatal accidents befall those around it. Is the canvas cursed? Or is something more sinister at work?

For answers, Pen turns to an otherworldly source: Jack Shepard, PI. Back in the 1940s, Jack cracked a case of a killer cover artist, and (to Pen’s relief) his spirit is willing to help her solve this mystery, even if he and his license did expire decades ago.

 

Book Review by Nadaness In Motion

The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait by Cleo Coyle is the seventh book in the Haunted Bookshop Mystery series and my first read for Coyle.

Penny McClure is the proud co-owner of Buy the Book, along with her aunt Sadie. Together with Penny's son Spencer, they live above the bookshop.

Penny has a ghost friend, Jack, a former private investigator (PI) from the 1940's. But Jack doesn't haunt the library. He only communicates with Penny with her mind. She can't see him and no one else can. Naturally, no one except her knows of his existence.

"I could tell from [the Sheriff's] change in expression and tone that she no longer though I was a threat. Clearly, I'd been demoted from "suspicious character" to "neurotic busybody" (or rambling idiot)."

Along with her two constantly-bickering-and-humorous friends Brainert and Seymour, Penny visits a Walt Waverly to borrow some art pieces for an upcoming exhibition in her book store. But the next day, as she goes to Waverly's again, she discovers the man dead.

At the same time, Seymour has purchased a portrait (from Waverly) of a Harriet McClure, an older relative of Penny's late husband. Seymour becomes obsessed with the painting.

One of the things I liked about The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait, was the fact there were not two but three mysteries! Two in Penny's world and one in Jack's.

In the modern world, Penny encounters not one but two deaths. With one of them coming close to home as her son's babysitter is accused of murder.

In addition, Seymour's recently-acquired portrait is believed to be haunted and a killer is trying to get their hands on it – no matter the number of dead bodies they leave in their wake.

Jack uses a kind of dream-memory technique to transport Penny (not physically) to his time and draws her into a case that more-or-less to her present. Jack's case relates to one of the borrowed paintings now sitting in Penny's bookstore.

I liked how Jack offered tips and ideas to Pen using his dream-memory technique, while also giving her a heads-up along the way as she searches for a killer.

I must say I did not expect the ending in The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait but I was intrigued by the mysteries.

Unlike most cozy mysteries, The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait doesn't offer a romantic opportunity for the main character, Pen. I found that different – in a good way. Although many cozies have led me to expect a touch of romance.

While it's unclear how Penny and Jack met the first time (it's definitely in book 1), I didn't feel like anything was missing as I started with the seventh book in the Haunted Bookshop Mystery series.

The Cleo Coyle duo has created a different kind of ghost, albeit it's a bit confusing. It felt like Penny could be crazy. She can't see the ghost but only hear him. She has a coin that belongs to Jack and by taking it out of the library, she's able to communicate with Jack anywhere.

Cleo Coyle's The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait can be easily read as a standalone. That said, I'd love to read more of this series, whether past or future books.

Overall rating for The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait by Cleo Coyle: 5 stars

 

Note: I got a free Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait by Cleo Coyle from its publisher as part of blog tour with Lori Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours. This did not in any way affect my review of the book.

Update:

Check out book 8: The Ghost and the Stolen Tears

About the author(s)

Cleo Coyle is a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Both are New York Times bestselling authors of the long-running Coffeehouse Mysteries—now celebrating eighteen years in print. 

They are also authors of the nationally bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, previously written under the pseudonym Alice Kimberly. Alice has worked as a journalist in Washington, D.C., and New York, and has written popular fiction for adults and children. 

A former magazine editor, Marc has authored espionage thrillers and nonfiction for adults and children. Alice and Marc are also both bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, and MGM. They live and work in New York City, where they write independently and together.

Connect with the author(s) via their website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram, and Bookbub.

Purchase Links:

Amazon    Barnes & Noble     Kobo     Google Play    IndieBound

Keep up with the rest of the blog tour including interviews, more reviews, guest posts, and spotlights.

4 May – Baroness' Book Trove & FUONLYKNEW – Spotlights

5 May – The Editing Pen & Laura's Interests – Book reviews & Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers – Spotlight

6 May – MJB Reviewers – Spotlight, Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Book review & Novels Alive – Guest Post

7 May – Books to the Ceiling & Christy's Cozy Corners – Book Reviews & I'm All About Books – Spotlight

8 May – The Avid Reader – Book Review & Literary Gold & StoreyBook Reviews – Spotlights

9 May –Diane Reviews Books – Book review & Brooke Blogs – Spotlight

10 May –Brianne's Book Reviews & Cozy Up With Kathy & Nadaness In Motion – Book Reviews

11 May –  ebook addicts & Sapphyria's Book Reviews – Spotlights

12 May – Here's How It Happened & Maureen's Musings – Spotlights & The Book's the Thing & Books a Plenty Book Reviews – Book reviews

13 May – BookishKelly2020 & Author Elena Taylor's Blog – Spotlights & Mysteries with Character – Guest Post

Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston – Book Review

Book: Amari and the Night Brothers

Author: B.B. Alston

Genre: Adventure Fantasy, Middle Grade

Publisher: Egmont Books

Publication date: 19 January 2021

Number of pages: 416

ISBN 13:  9780062975164

 

"What if I told you that living among us are all the things we've come to pass off as myth? Dwarves and sphinxes, mermaids and oddities you could see with your own eyes and still not believe – these and countless more dwell in our towns and walk our streets. One might be your neighbour or even your favourite teacher."

Wow! It's been a LOOOONG time since I read such an exciting book!

Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston is the first installment in the Supernatural Investigations Series. AND IT'S AMAZINGGGG!

I was expecting an adventure and fantasy but what I got was tons of humor, snark, bravery, adventure, and not just a touch of fantasy tons of it mixed with all kinds of supernatural and mythological creatures.

Amari Peters is a 13-year-old black girl, living in a low-income housing neighborhood with her mother. Her brother Quinton disappeared a few months prior, supposedly while working.

Amari is constantly bullied in school for coming from a low-income family. Until one day, when Amari gets a visit from a beggar-like-looking-man who asks her to sign for something, says he "won't erase her memory" but that she should check her brother's wardrobe after midnight.

When she does, she finds a suitcase with strange-looking clothes and sunglasses. Putting the sunglasses on, Amari sees her brother in a hologram. He tells her many things but many questions also come to light. Amari is invited to attend a summer bootcamp where, if she succeeds in for several summers, she would be eligible for a scholarship at an Ivy-League university.

"There's a huge part of me that wants to tell her about Quinton's Wakeful Dream. She deserves to know. But how do you explain being visited by your missing brother in a dream where you took a flying boat to go look at some underwater trains without sounding delusional?"

There she discovers a new world of fantasy and mythical creatures living amongst humans. The bootcamp is part of the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, an entity and task-force that manages affairs between humans and non-humans, that is the secret world.

This reminded me of how Harry Potter discovered a whole world of magic just surrounding him. Many aspects of the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs reminded me of the Ministry of Magic in the Harry Potter books.

Especially the bureau's Director Van Helsing (yeah those Van Helsings!), who was a lot like Cornelius Fudge. And I'm just going to leave it at that.

There were many parts in Amari and the Night Brothers that reminded me of the Harry Potter books – but the characters and book are significantly different.

There are many interesting and lovable characters in Amari and the Night Brothers including Amari herself, Elsie, Agent Fiona and others. Then there is Lara Van Helsing, a Draco Malfoy-like character (that you can't help but hate) while her brother is something else entirely. And I loved how Amari confronted him about being nice one minute and a meanie the next.

"I try again to think of something I'm really good at. Falling asleep on the sofa after school I doubt the Bureau would have much use for that."

I instantly fell in love with Elsie and not just because she's part dragon. There was lots of character development for Amari and her friends.

There's a ton of humor in almost every chapter and with every character in Amari and the Night Brothers. Here's one after Amari goes to the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs and meets Agent Magnus.

"Just to be clear…you're having a conversation with the elevator?" I mean, sure I talk to my laptop sometimes when it's not working, but it's never spoken back.

The story is narrated from the first person perspective of Amari herself, a super sarcastic, fun, and brave character.

Amari's sole purpose in joining the Bureau is to uncover what happened to her brother and find him. But…

"I thought for sure that coming here would finally give me some real answers about Quinton, but it's just as big a mystery in the supernatural world as it is back home."

At the Bureau, the students like Amari discover their abilities. But Amari doesn't have an ability or rather she has an illegal ability. She has magic blood. Something deemed by the Bureau as instantly evil. Why? Because of the Night Brothers.

Two brothers who had magic blood like Amari and nearly destroyed the world. One of the brothers is dead but the other lives…

As a black kid, she discriminated against in the known or human world. When she goes to the Bureau, she finds another kind of discrimination, with everybody trying to get her to lose and leave.  

Overall I loved Amari, how she's human, who makes mistakes, how she's intelligent, brave, and creative.

It's the first time I notice or realize a main character as a black girl. And it was both interesting and different. And I laud B.B. Alston for that. That and letting Amari take over the story.

Originally, the author had other plans for Amari but the character pretty much took his writing pen and crafted a world and character of her own.

Overall, I absolutely loved Amari and the Night Brothers and can't wait for other installments to be written and published.

That said, the book doesn't have an open ending. :D

 

Overall rating: 5 stars

Note: I got a free Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of Amari and the Night Brothers by B.B. Alston as part of a blog tour with The Write Reads.

Add Amari and the Night Brothers on Goodreads.

What We Bury by Carolyn Arnold - Book Review

Book: What We Bury 

(Book 10 in the Detective Madison Knight Mystery series)

Author: Carolyn Arnold

Genres: Hard-Boiled, Mystery, Detective, Police Procedural

Publication date: Wednesday, 28 October 2020

Publisher: Hibbert & Stiles

ASIN: B08DH9X9PK ISBN; 9781989706404

What We Bury by Carolyn Arnold is the 10th installment in the Detective Madison Knight Mystery series and my first read in the series.

And what do I think of it?

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS BOOK AND SERIES!

My first read but certainly not my last!

But let me start from the beginning. Madison Knight is a detective with the Stiles PD, who gets a call from her real estate agent on a Saturday morning because…dead body!

Madison heads over there, calls her partner, the lab techs, and the team to begin investigating.

A woman is found murdered in the basement of an elderly couple, who were going to sell their home. Not only does the dead body have no identification, Madison discovers the letters GB written in blood.

"What I'm struggling with is why Doe went to their shed. And did she know it was sitting unlocked or just strike it lucky that way?"

As Madison begins searching for the identity of the murdered woman and the killer, she finds herself and her team in a web of lies, deceit, and false names and identities.

There's literally lots buried in What We Bury. But you'll have to discover that for yourself.

In addition to the mystery, Madison is embroiled in a side investigation into the Russian Mafia in Stiles. We learn that, in the previous book they had kidnapped Madison's sister and threatened her personally.

This personal investigation weighs heavily on Madison's personal life and her relationship with SWAT Leader Troy Matthews becomes tense but Madison keeps avoiding confrontation.  

One of the things I liked about Madison is her humanity, how she feels about murder victims:

"Jane Doe, yep." She hated to think of the murdered as "victims," detesting the assignment of label to the once-living individual, loved by people.

What We Bury reads like a super-fast-paced CSI novel. I loved it and finished it in almost 3 sittings.

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It's interesting how Madison's strength is also her weakness. Her "vow to protect and serve the city of Stiles meant something to her down to her marrow."

This desire and mission to "protect and serve" hurts Madison personally, in terms of her health and strains her relationship with her boyfriend.

Madison is also an obsessive character, whether in regards to the mystery at hand, the side investigation, or her curiosity why her boyfriend Troy hasn't proposed to her.

The latter makes Madison annoying and a bit childish sometimes, but very realistic.

I like how the title What We Bury reflects both the ongoing investigation and Madison's secrets and what's being "buried" and hidden throughout. Novel title puns are common with Carolyn Arnold's books and mysteries and I love them every time!

"As she was pulling away from the house, [Madison] thought about how unpredictable life could be. Alive one minute, gone the next. She doubted anyone woke up thinking, 'Today's the day I die.' Plans were always on the horizon, as if people preferred to play in a world without acknowledging death. It wasn't until it slapped them in the face that people were reminded of their mortality. Otherwise, most harbored fantasies of beating or outsmarting the Grim Reaper. But poor Chantelle Carson had failed, and Madison doubted she ever would have envisioned herself stabbed and bleeding out in a shed."

Having read several books and series by Carolyn Arnold, I'd love to see Madison Knight and Brandon Fisher in one book. It would be epic!

Overall rating for What We Bury by Carolyn Arnold: 5 Stars.

Note: I got a free Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of What We Bury from the publisher Hibbert and Stiles in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my review in any way.

Add What We Bury on Goodreads.

More books by Carolyn Arnold, read and reviewed on Nadaness In Motion:

FBI series, psychological thriller:

On the Count of Three

Past Deeds

 

Historical fiction and adventure:

The Secret of the Lost Pharaoh, Book 2 in The Matthew Connor Series

The Legend of Gasparilla & His Treasure, Book 3 in The Matthew Connor Series

Cozy mysteries:

Coffee Is Murder

Halloween Is Murder

Exercise Is Murder

Money Is Murder