Tag: #BookReview

Posted in Cozy Mysteries

Assault and Batter (Donut Shop Mysteries Book 11)

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From Jessica Beck, the New York Times Bestselling Author of The Donut Mysteries, The Classic Diner Mysteries, and The Ghost Cat Mysteries.

ASSAULT AND BATTER, Book 11 in the Donut Mystery Series!

When Emily Hargraves tells Suzanne that she’s marrying Max, her ex-husband, Suzanne is happy enough for her, but when Jude Williams, one of Emily’s old flames, decides to light the ceremony up, someone decides to extinguish his flame before he can act. Was it Max, the groom-to-be; Peter, his best man; Lisa, the woman Jude had been dating; her jealous husband, Frank; or perhaps it was Reggie Nance, a man who had reasons of his own to want to see Jude dead? Suzanne and Grace must act quickly and solve the murder before someone else ends up missing the reception, permanently.

Praise for the Donut Mysteries by New York Times Bestselling Author Jessica Beck

“A delight. Suzanne Hart is a lovable amateur sleuth who has a hilariously protective mother and great donut recipes! Readers will have a blast with this book.” —Diane Mott Davidson, New York Times bestselling author of Fatally Flaky

“If you like donuts—and who doesn’t?—you’ll love this mystery. It’s like a trip to your favorite coffee shop, but without the calories!” —Leslie Meier, author of the Lucy Stone mysteries New Year’s Eve Murder and Wedding Day Murder

“The perfect comfort read: a delicious murder, a likeable heroine, quirky Southern characters—and donut recipes!” —Rhys Bowen, Agatha and Anthony award–winning author of the Molly Murphy and Royal Spyness mysteries

“A tribute to comfort food and to the comfort of small town life. With great donut recipes!”—JoAnna Carl, author of The Chocolate Cupid Killings

“A yummy new treat in the culinary mystery genre. Skillfully weaving donut recipes throughout a well-plotted story, the author proves that life after divorce can be sweet; all you need are good friends, your own business, and comfort food. Delicious!”—Tamar Myers, author of Death of a Rug Lord and The Cane Mutiny

“A cleverly plotted cozy mystery with a wonderful small Southern town…Fatally Frosted is a great follow-up to Glazed Murder. Suzanne is a great heroine, Ms. Beck has a sure-fire winner!”—Fresh Fiction

“Along with the hilarious plot, author Jessica Beck treats the readers to a few recipes strategically placed within the novel. Sinister Sprinkles will keep you guessing until the very end.”—The Mystery Librarian

“A sugary concoction that provides readers a glimpse through the donut hole of living in a small town.”—Harriet Klausner, Genre Go Round Reviews

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Posted in #Anthology

Lagos Noir (Akashic Noir)

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“A stellar cast of award-winning Nigerian authors . . . a must-read for crime lovers looking for something different.”—Brittle Paper

In Akashic Books’s acclaimed series of original noir anthologies, each book comprises all new stories set in a distinct neighborhood or location within the respective city. Now, West Africa enters the Noir Series arena, meticulously edited by one of Nigeria’s best-known authors.
In Lagos Noir, the stories are set in “a city of more than 21 million and an amazing amalgam of wealth, poverty, corruption, humor, bravery, and tragedy. Abani and a dozen other contributors tell stories that are both unique to Lagos and universal in their humanity . . . This entry stands as one of the strongest recent additions to Akashic’s popular noir series” (Publishers Weekly, starred review, pick of the week).
The anthology includes stories by Chris Abani, Nnedi Okorafor, E.C. Osondu, Jude Dibia, Chika Unigwe, A. Igoni Barrett, Sarah Ladipo Manyika, Adebola Rayo, Onyinye Ihezukwu, Uche Okonkwo, Wale Lawal, ‘Pemi Aguda, and Leye Adenle.
“The beauty of this book, which contains 13 stories from Nigerian writers, is that it serves as a travelogue, too.”—Bloomberg, “The Darkest Summer Reading List for Those Bright, Beachy Days”
“With writers like Igoni Barrett, Leye Adenle, and E.C. Osondu contributing, Lagos Noir offers wildly different perspectives on both the city itself and the state of noir fiction. This book is almost like a world in itself, one that you’ll want to dive back into and get lost in again and again.”—CrimeReads, “One of the 10 Best Crime Anthologies of 2018”


Editorial Reviews

Review

“A not-to-be-missed fiction anthology edited by Chris Abani, Lagos Noir features Nigeria’s most compelling writers on the darker side of Lagos. A must-read for literary fans of all kinds.”
― The Root

“Noir comes to Africa . . . [Don’t] think for a minute that Lagos has a corner on African noir. Akashic has Addis Ababa, Nairobi, Accra, and Marrakech waiting in the wings.”
― Kirkus Reviews

“There is . . . greed, innocence, ambition, and all the trappings that make crime stories so engaging. The Lagos angle is as educating and eye-opening as it is engaging, quickly encouraging the reader to side with any protagonist, no matter how shady, because they’re still better than the corruption all around them. Well, most of the time.”
― Manhattan Book Review

“This volume is a must, as it introduces new writers of considerable talent and new works by writers you may have read and enjoyed previously . . . If you just like good stories about ordinary people with an extraordinary twist, this collection should not be missed.”
― New York Journal of Books

“In the introduction to this excellent anthology, Abani welcomes readers to Lagos, Nigeria, a city of more than 21 million and an amazing amalgam of wealth, poverty, corruption, humor, bravery, and tragedy. Abani and a dozen other contributors tell stories that are both unique to Lagos and universal in their humanity . . . This entry stands as one of the strongest recent additions to Akashic’s popular noir series.”
― Publishers Weekly, Starred Review, Pick of the Week

About the Author

Chris Abani, a Nigerian-born, award-winning poet and novelist, currently teaches at Northwestern University in Chicago. He is the recipient of a PEN USA Freedom-to-Write Award, a Prince Claus Award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, a California Book Award, a Hurston/Wright Legacy Award, a PEN Beyond Margins Award, a PEN/Hemingway Award, and a Guggenheim Award.

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Posted in Cozy Mysteries

Deadly Donuts (Donut Shop Mysteries Book 10)

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The New York Times Bestselling Donut Mysteries from Jessica Beck!

“Jessica Beck’s Glazed Murder is a delight. Suzanne Hart is a lovable amateur sleuth who has a hilariously overprotective mother and great donut recipes! Readers will have a blast with this book!
Diane Mott Davidson, New York Times Bestselling Author of Fatally Flaky.

“The perfect comfort read: a delicious murder, a likeable heroine, quirky Southern characters–and donut recipes!”
Rhys Bowen, Agatha and Anthony award winning author of the Molly Murphy and Royal Spyness mysteries.

“A tribute to comfort food and to the comfort of small-town life.”
Joanna Carl, author of The Chocolate Cupid Killings.

“A yummy new treat in the culinary mystery genre.”
Tamar Myers, author of Death of a Rug Lord and The Cane Mystery.

“If you like donuts, you’ll love this mystery.”
Leslie Meier, author of the Lucy Stone mysteries.

DEADLY DONUTS
Book 10 in the Donut Mysteries from New York Times Bestseller Jessica Beck, Author of The Classic Diner Mysteries and The Ghost Cat Mystery Series!

ABOUT THE BOOK
When a mysterious stranger shows up at Donut Hearts threatening to reveal a deadly secret about Suzanne’s late father, she believes that he’s lying, but when he offers to show her proof that her dad wasn’t who she thought he was, Suzanne realizes that she has to listen. It’s just too bad that the stranger is murdered before he can share what he knows. Suzanne and her mother are the main suspects, but it turns out that there are plenty of other people who wouldn’t mind seeing the stranger dead!

Posted in #Anthology

São Paulo Noir (Akashic Noir)

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This anthology of noir fiction set in São Paulo, Brazil, “might be the strongest entry yet in the long-running and globe-spanning Akashic Noir series” (San Francisco Book Review).

Once known as the Land of Mist, São Paulo is now a dense, diverse, and globalized metropolis. It is the most populous city in the Americas, the Portuguese-speaking world, and the southern hemisphere—with some of the worst traffic on the planet. From its gleaming skyscrapers to its historic downtown and its rough, drug-infested outskirts, this unique anthology explores a truly unique city with “a timely feel, giving noir a host of feminine faces” (Kirkus).São Paulo Noir includes fourteen brand-new stories by Tony Bellotto, Olivia Maia, Marcelino Freire, Beatriz Bracher & Maria S. Carvalhosa, Fernando Bonassi, Marcelo Rubens Paiva, Marçal Aquino, Jô Soares, Mario Prata, Ferréz, Vanessa Barbara, Ilana Casoy, and Drauzio Varella.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Bellotto has no trouble discovering dark doings . . . São Paulo’s size and diversity give this volume’s 14 storytellers room to roam . . . In the year of , Bellotto’s Akashic entry has a timely feel, giving noir a host of feminine faces.”
― Kirkus Reviews

“In the latest entry to this globetrotting series, a man goes for a tarot reading and winds up poisoned by the daughter he never knew he had. And that’s just one story in a collection that takes us down the mysterious alleys and mazy favelas of Rio, just in time for the Olympic Games.
“
― O, the Oprah Magazine

About the Author

Tony Bellotto was born in São Paulo in 1960 and has lived in Rio de Janeiro for over twenty years. Guitarist and songwriter for the Titãs (Titans), one of the most important rock bands in Brazilian musical history, Tony’s literary debut was the novel Bellini e a esfinge in 1955. Since 1999, he has hosted Afinando a língua, a television program focused on literature and music.

Posted in Cozy Mysteries

Illegally Iced (Donut Shop Mysteries Book 9)

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Donut shop owner Suzanne Hart knows how to treat her customers. But sometimes life can get a bit sticky. When a spat she has with a local blacksmith—one that could have been solved with a handshake and a mixed dozen—ends with his murder, Suzanne is caught dead in her tracks. Suddenly everyone in April Springs has their eyes on her. And they’re hungry with suspicion.
Left with little choice but to catch the killer herself, Suzanne starts lining up suspects. But her case is full of holes. How did the killer strike in the middle of the day without a single witness to the crime? Who knew that the humble blacksmith was actually an heir to a family fortune? The heat is on as Suzanne tries to solve the case and save her business. Can she have her cake-donut and eat it too?

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A delight. Suzanne Hart is a lovable amateur sleuth who has a hilariously protective mother and great donut recipes! Readers will have a blast with this book.” ―Diane Mott Davidson, New York Times bestselling author of Fatally Flaky, on the Donut Shop Mysteries

“A tribute to comfort food and to the comfort of small town life. With great donut recipes!” ―JoAnna Carl, author of The Chocolate Cupid Killings, on the Donut Shop Mysteries

“If you like donuts–and who doesn’t?–you’ll love this mystery. It’s like a trip to your favorite coffee shop, but without the calories!” ―Leslie Meier, author of the Lucy Stone mysteries New Year’s Eve Murder and Wedding Day Murder, on the Donut Shop Mysteries

“The perfect comfort read: a delicious murder, a likeable heroine, quirky Southern characters–and donut recipes!” ―Rhys Bowen, Agatha and Anthony award–winning author of the Molly Murphy and Royal Spyness mysteries, on the Donut Shop Mysteries

“A yummy new treat in the culinary mystery genre. Skillfully weaving donut recipes throughout a well-plotted story, the author proves that life after divorce can be sweet; all you need are good friends, your own business, and comfort food. Delicious!” ―Tamar Myers, author of Death of a Rug Lord and The Cane Mutiny, on the Donut Shop Mysteries

“A sugary concoction that provides readers a glimpse through the donut hole of living in a small town.” ―Harriet Klausner, Genre Go Round Reviews, on the Donut Shop Mysteries

“Along with the hilarious plot, author Jessica Beck treats the readers to a few recipes strategically placed within the novel. Sinister Sprinkles will keep you guessing until the very end.” ―The Mystery Librarian

From the Back Cover

WELCOME BACK TO DONUT HEARTS―
where the coffee is hot, the donuts are fresh, and the pastries aren’t the only thing getting iced…

Donut shop owner Suzanne Hart knows how to treat her customers. But sometimes life can get a bit sticky. When a spat she has with a local blacksmith―one that could have been solved with a handshake and a mixed dozen―ends with his murder, Suzanne is caught dead in her tracks. Suddenly everyone in April Springs has their eyes on her. And they’re hungry with suspicion.

“A delight. Suzanne Hart is a lovable amateur sleuth.” ―Diane Mott Davidson

Left with little choice but to catch the killer herself, Suzanne starts lining up suspects. But her case is full of holes. How did the killer strike in the middle of the day without a single witness to the crime? Who knew that the humble blacksmith was actually an heir to a family fortune? The heat is on as Suzanne tries to solve the case and save her business. Can she have her cake-donut and eat it too?

“The perfect comfort read [with] a likeable heroine, quirky Southern characters―and donut recipes!” ―Rhys Bowen