"Beewitched" by Hannah Reed / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

Dead witches in a corn maze.  What could be finer?  Written by author Deb Baker under her “Hannah Reed” moniker, this is Book 5 in a series about a quaint town and a beekeeping business set in Moraine, Wisconsin. In this installment, a self-proclaimed witch moves into town followed by a whole coven in which one witch ends up dead in a cornfield.  I rarely find my name in books so when I find a series where the main character’s womanizing ex-husband’s name is Clay, it always jolts me to attention and makes me want to follow to find where he pops back up again.  (I’m nothing like him.  Seriously.)  Beewitched is a cozy delight. I love the town of Moraine (probably named after Kettle Moraine).  I love the small town feel and the Wisconsin references.

This should give you something to read for the next few days.  Get in touch with these authors, learn about them, check out their other series, and buy their books.  And tell them you would like to see them at this year’s Killer Nashville.

Until next time, read like someone is burning the books!

Clay Stafford

– Clay Stafford is an author / filmmaker (www.ClayStafford.com) and founder of Killer Nashville (www.KillerNashville.com).  As a writer himself, he has over 1.5 million copies of his own books in print in over 14 languages.  Stafford’s latest projects are the feature documentary “One of the Miracles” (www.OneOfTheMiracles.com) and the music CD “XO” (www.JefferyDeaverXOMusic.com). A champion of writers, Publishers Weekly has identified Stafford as playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” throughout “the nation’s book culture.”  (PW 6/10/13)

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Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.

Visit our bookstore for other similar books.

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

"Books, Cooks, and Crooks" by Lucy Arlington / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

Down in Inspiration Valley, North Carolina – don’t you just love the name? – the kitchen blows up and the mystery hits the fan.  The problem is not finding the killer, but eliminating everyone who would like to see the deceased dead.  Ellery Adams and Sylvia May are the writing team behind “Lucy Arlington” and, boy, do they work well together.  Distance is no barrier for this creative team: Adams lives in Virginia and May lives in Bermuda.  (I’d love to have a collaborative partner somewhere in the Caribbean; would love to get a tax write-off on that get-together.)  “Books, Cooks, and Crooks” is the third book in their series.  In this episode, Inspiration Valley is having their annual Taste of the Town Festival.  Lila Wilkins is a literary agent in town (the Novel Idea Literary Agency) and sleuth, who happens to be helping to put this event together.  She’s probably not the first agent to think she has a killer client.  (I know my agent thinks that about me…yeah, right.)  Anyway, living in an idyllic little town myself, I can relate completely to these annual town gatherings.  If you like a book about crazy agents…well, I won’t go there.  Arlington writes clever mysteries with characters I can completely understand.  It’s always a pleasure spending an evening in Inspiration Valley.

This should give you something to read for the next few days.  Get in touch with these authors, learn about them, check out their other series, and buy their books.  And tell them you would like to see them at this year’s Killer Nashville.

Until next time, read like someone is burning the books!

Clay Stafford

– Clay Stafford is an author / filmmaker (www.ClayStafford.com) and founder of Killer Nashville (www.KillerNashville.com).  As a writer himself, he has over 1.5 million copies of his own books in print in over 14 languages.  Stafford’s latest projects are the feature documentary “One of the Miracles” (www.OneOfTheMiracles.com) and the music CD “XO” (www.JefferyDeaverXOMusic.com). A champion of writers, Publishers Weekly has identified Stafford as playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” throughout “the nation’s book culture.”  (PW 6/10/13)

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Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.

Visit our bookstore for other similar books.

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

"Days of Wine and Roquefort" by Avery Aames / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

Murder, like Roquefort, stinks.  I love it.  Moving westwardly, we go to the fictional town of Providence, Ohio for the Agatha Award-winning Cheese Shop Mysteries.  In this series, you have people who eat cheese and drink wine.  For a guy (me) who thinks wine is for drinking, not sniffing, and can’t taste the difference between a $6 bottle and a $600 dollar bottle, this series is a trip with characters I can definitely be amused by.  In this third installment, a guest arrives at the house of cheeky cheese shop owner Charlotte Bessette and then drops dead.  Written by multi-faceted author Daryl Wood Gerber under the pseudonym of Avery Aames, the delightful plotting of this series and the equally gratifying town of Providence, make this an incredibly fun series to read.  We all have such relatives.

This should give you something to read for the next few days.  Get in touch with these authors, learn about them, check out their other series, and buy their books.  And tell them you would like to see them at this year’s Killer Nashville.

Until next time, read like someone is burning the books!

Clay Stafford

– Clay Stafford is an author / filmmaker (www.ClayStafford.com) and founder of Killer Nashville (www.KillerNashville.com).  As a writer himself, he has over 1.5 million copies of his own books in print in over 14 languages.  Stafford’s latest projects are the feature documentary “One of the Miracles” (www.OneOfTheMiracles.com) and the music CD “XO” (www.JefferyDeaverXOMusic.com). A champion of writers, Publishers Weekly has identified Stafford as playing “an essential role in defining which books become bestsellers” throughout “the nation’s book culture.”  (PW 6/10/13)

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Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.

Visit our bookstore for other similar books.

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

"You Cannoli Die Once" by Shelley Costa / Thursday, May 30, 2013 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

Edgar Award-nominated author Shelley Costa has put the fine touches on the start of a new cozy series centered around a restaurant owned by four generations of Italians and a killer with an ax to grind.  “You Cannoli Die Once” looks to be the first in what may be a long line of wonderful books in this series.

Packed with flavorful humor as well as mystery, the story is set in Quaker Hills on the outskirts of Philadelphia.  The death of the 76-year-old matriarch’s boyfriend has the family questioning the innocence of the feisty grandmother.  When the police are convinced that the grandmother is guilty, they lock her up thinking the case is closed.  The family, then, takes it as a personal mission to find the truth.  This setup is one of the rare cases in which, in this day and time, that cozies actually become plausible: when there is no one else to turn to and the police have given up the search, you end up having to find justice on your own.

There were so many characters – so many relatives – that it was a delight to get to know them all and I look forward to how they are going to be incorporated into the future volumes in the series.  With the array given, the possibilities for plotlines are limitless.  From the Italian families I’ve known, the portrayal hits straight on.  You can’t help but love the – albeit stereotypical – portrayal and animation of the immediate family, relatives, and well-meaning outsiders.  For those chocolate lovers, there’s even a recipe for Rebel Cannoli in the back of the book.

Next from Costa in January 2014?  “The Ziti That Never Sleeps.”  Looking forward to it and wishing Shelley Costa well in kicking this series off.

– Clay Stafford is an author / filmmaker and founder of Killer Nashville. Stafford’s latest projects are the documentary “One of the Miracles” and the music CD “XO”.

Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.

Visit our bookstore for other similar books.

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

"Dead Insider" by Victoria Houston / Friday, May 17, 2013 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

There is so much to like about Victoria Houston’s new novel, “Dead Insider,” I almost don’t know where to begin.

Plot-wise, it is what I might call a suspenseful cozy, or maybe a rural mystery, or a light mystery:  It takes place in a remote area where the ones who solve the case are the locals with some non-law enforcement personnel recruited to handle certain duties (all overseen by a chief of police, however).  No serious violence is written about directly, all found second-hand, though the crimes are a bit grisly even if second-hand.  The main characters are not in that much danger, though we are constantly wondering what will happen next.  And there are, of course, suspects you hope are not, but have every reason to believe are red-handed guilty.

Here’s where the novel jumps its competition:  It’s one of the most well-plotted and character-nuanced rural mysteries I have ever read.  In fact, its one of the best mysteries I’ve ever read, period.  I was blown away.  Everything about it is plausible and the plot develops so subtlety you don’t realize Houston is only reeling you in.  Those who usually don’t like cozies or non-law enforcement populated mysteries should stop immediately and read the first 10 pages of “Dead Insider.”  That’s all it will take.  Ten pages.  Like a fish on the line, they will be hooked.

The plot involves the death of a prominent local woman running in her father’s footsteps for the U.S. Senate.  She is brutally murdered.  Jurisdiction falls under the local police department, which – because it is a remote fishing area – is understaffed.  A local dentist routinely fills in when the coroner is unavailable, which he isn’t at the time of the crime.  Friends and family associated with the Loon Lake Chief of Police are brought in to fill certain duties.  In effect, the police do the police work, but they rely on a small group of seasonal help (for lack of a better word) when crimes do occur in an area where crimes rarely, if ever, occur.  These few hold down the fort until other authorities – if need be – have a chance to get there.  Having spent much time in rural areas such as this, all of this is as plausible as it can get.

It is the interconnection of all the characters in this small fishing community in Wisconsin that makes it work.  Author Houston has assembled the perfect cast for solving just about any crime that could be committed in this village.  The Loon Lake Fishing Mystery Series rivals anything I’ve seen come out of Cabot Cove.  I love the portrayal of the autumn relationship of Osborne and Ferris and the sensitively handled comparison between their relationship and Osborne’s past marriage.  Being a Southerner, I could also not help but be attracted at the dichotomy between the political elite and the folks they are supposed to represent.

“Dead Insider” is the only book I’ve read in the Loon Lake Fishing Mystery Series and I’m a fan.  For 206 pages, I missed Wisconsin.  I’m hoping sometime if Victoria Houston is as good a fly-fisherman as she is an author should the Killer Nashville gang ever make it to the proverbial Loon Lake that she’ll loan us a pair of waders and take us up one of those beautiful rivers she writes about.  Just reading “Dead Insider,” I heard the loons calling and found myself perusing Travelocity.

– Clay Stafford is an author / filmmaker and founder of Killer Nashville. Stafford’s latest projects are the documentary “One of the Miracles” and the music CD “XO”.

Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.

Visit our bookstore for other similar books.

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

"Shadows On a Cape Cod Wedding" by Lea Wait / Monday, May 6, 2013 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

A dead body on the beach, a second murder, and the looming hurricane amidst wedding preparations and a number of romantic and social issues set against an old antique shop are the stuff of this cozy Maggie Summer murder mystery (sixth in the series).  One can smell the salt of Cape Cod in this believable cozy set in a quaint small town.  “Murder She Wrote” fans take note.

– Clay Stafford is an author / filmmaker and founder of Killer Nashville. Stafford’s latest projects are the documentary “One of the Miracles” and the music CD “XO”.

Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.

Visit our bookstore for other similar books.

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

"Final Settlement" by Vicki Doudera / Tuesday, April 30, 2013 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

If cozies are your thing, you’ll be sold with “Final Settlement” by Vicki Doudera.  This is the fourth installment in her Darby Farr real estate mystery series.

I love the characters and the way Vicki Doudera develops them against the winter setting of the small town, Hurricane Harbor, Maine.  Each chapter builds upon the next and the characters’ interrelationships become more entwined as the story progresses.

In this episode, before Darby returns to her hometown to attend the wedding of Tina Ames, a co-realtor in her real estate firm and a friend, the police chief’s assistant dies mysteriously from a fall into the ocean near a lighthouse.  The chief suspects foul play, but doesn’t want to make a commotion in the small town and enlists Darby’s help.  It is up to Darby to find the answers, but there are over 300 pages of twists-and-turns before she gets there.

Sometimes it’s nice to take your crime slow and this small town has enough busy-bodies and suspects to keep you tied up all the way to the very end.

– Clay Stafford is an author / filmmaker and founder of Killer Nashville. Stafford’s latest projects are the documentary “One of the Miracles” and the music CD “XO”.

Buy the book from the Killer Nashville Bookstore and help support a new generation of writers and readers.

Visit our bookstore for other similar books.

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

“Death of a Neighborhood Witch: A Jaine Austen Mystery” by Laura Levine / Thursday, December 13, 2012 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

Today’s featured book isDeath of A Neighborhood Witch (Jaine Austen Mystery) by Laura Levine.

Who says you can’t mix murder with laughs? And some candy?

Why Clay Stafford chose this book:

This book was released by Kensington in time for Halloween. I picked it up, loved it, and decided great fiction needed no holiday.

This is the 11th installment of the cozy Jaine Austen mystery series. Fictional character Jaine is a freelance writer living in the less prestigious part of Beverly Hills. As usual, Jaine is after sugar and Halloween is the perfect excuse.

There are basically two concurrent plots running in this episode, though the murder takes precedence. Mean old Eleanor Jenkins, a crotchety ex-actress, is stabbed in the chest like a vampire on Halloween night with her own “Do Not Trespass” sign bringing the concept of trick-or-treat to a new height. Of course Jaine is suspected of the crime and thus must exonerate herself. The lesser plot is the shenanigans of Jaine and her male neighbor trying to impress a new neighbor whose sexual preferences leave room for doubt. And, of course, there are her elderly parents in Tampa, which are in a plotline all to themselves.

This is a humorous novel, nothing serious about it. It reads like a sitcom and there’s a reason. I’ve known of Levine a long time before she ever started writing this series from her work with 18 episodes of “Out of This World,” several others for “Private Benjamin,” “We’ve Got It Made,” “The Bob Newhart Show,” Three’s Company,” “Laverne & Shirley,” “The Love Boat,” and one of my all-time favorites, an episode of “The Jeffersons,” the last one featuring an appearance by Mother Jefferson (George’s mother). I grew up on her stuff. And not just the TV fare. I ate the cereal she created as an advertising guru: General Mills’ Count Chocula and Frankenberry. My first introduction to her mystery novel collection was “Death of a Trophy Wife,” one of my favorites, though I think “Death of a Neighborhood Witch” tops them all. Everything Levine writes is top-notch: the movement is fast, the dialogue quick and witty, the characters are off-the-wall, the set-ups are crazy, and the situations incongruous.

If you like cozies on the funny side, get “Death of a Neighborhood Witch,” even out of season. I guarantee you’ll laugh out loud.

From the publisher:

“Halloween is just around the corner, and between cauldrons of candy and a deliciously cute new neighbour, Jaine Austen is struggling to resist her sweet tooth. But this year, her once humdrum neighbourhood seems to be handing out more tricks than treats…When her faithful feline Prozac unwittingly scares to death a parakeet belonging to the neighbourhood’s resident curmudgeon, Jaine finds herself knee-deep in toil and trouble. The cantankerous Hollywood has-been once played the part of Cryptessa Muldoon, television’s fourth most famous monster mom. Now a bitter, paranoid old dame, Cryptessa spends her days making enemies with everyone on the street, and accidental bird killer Jaine is no exception. So when the ornery D-lister is murdered with her own Do Not Trespass sign on Halloween night, the neighbourhood fills with relief – and possible culprits. With a killer on the loose, Jaine hardly has time to fall under the spell of her yummy new neighbour Peter. As the prime suspect, she summons her sleuthing skills to clear her name and soon discovers that everyone has a few skeletons in their closets – and the motives for murder are endless. Could it have been Cryptessa’s next door neighbours, the barracuda husband and wife realtors whose landscaping Cryptessa had bulldozed? Or the seemingly sweet old lady whose beloved dog was the object of Cryptessa’s wrath? Or perhaps the crotchety actress was done in by her own nephew in a desperate attempt to get his hands on her money? As the masks come off, Jaine’s search for sweet justice turns up more questions than answers. And just when she thought nothing could be scarier than her run-in with a tortuous Tummy Tamer, she closes in on the killer and learns the true meaning of grave danger…”

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

– Clay Stafford, Founder of Killer Nashville

“Imitation of Death” by Cheryl Crane / Monday, December 10, 2012 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

Today’s featured book is Imitation of Death by Cheryl Crane.

Pruning sheers right in the chest.

Why Clay Stafford chose this book:

What could be finer on a cold winter day than a cozy from sunny California?

“Imitation of Death” by Cheryl Crane is the second mystery featuring Nicolette “Nikki” Harper, a Hollywood celebrity realtor who is also the daughter of fictional Hollywood star Victoria Bordeaux (just as author Cheryl Crane is the actual daughter of film legend Lana Turner).

The present-day murder mystery begins with a pair of pruning sheers. Nikki is not a detective by trade, but she can’t help but get involved to defend the gardener she knows in her heart is innocent. Using her influence as the child of a famous Hollywood actress to gain access to her mother’s rolodex, the investigative techniques of the mother / daughter partnership falls somewhere between “Murder She Wrote” and Nancy Drew. I appreciated the purposeful plotting and excellent end revelation, along with the long list of certainly flawed suspects on all echelons of Hollywood social strata.

Just by growing up in that bubble, children of celebrities know many skeletons in the Hollywood closet and Cheryl Crane fictionalizes them delightfully here. A most-enjoyable couple of hours of amateur sleuthing through Beverly Hills.

From the publisher:

“Cheryl Crane, daughter of movie icon Lana Turner, brings her Hollywood insider expertise to the second book in a star-studded mystery series featuring celebrity realtor-turned-sleuth Nikki Harper and her screen goddess mother, Victoria Bordeaux…Nikki Harper is a superstar among Hollywood realtors. Among private investigators however, she’s strictly amateur, and her first case was a Waterworld-sized disaster. But when a body turns up in a dumpster behind Victoria Bordeaux’s mansion, Nikki feels duty-bound to get involved. Before his demise, Eddie Bernard was the uber-privileged son of one of the biggest TV producers of all time, and a spoiled, violent, party-boy loser. The list of people glad to see him gone could stretch from one end of Bel Air to the other. In fact, about the only person Nikki’s sure is innocent is the prime suspect: Jorge Delgado, her childhood friend and the son of Victoria’s housekeeper. With the D.A. and the media throwing the words “death penalty” around, Nikki has to help. Victoria, of course, can’t wait to delve into another Tinseltown scandal, and soon Nikki is submerged in a secret world of celebrity drug-dealing, dangerous cults, conniving stars, illegal aliens and, of all things, the Food Network. With the aid of a voyeuristic neighbour and some good old-fashioned bribery, Nikki starts to close in on the truth. But can she keep Jorge from facing the final curtain…while keeping herself out of a killer’s spotlight?”

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

– Clay Stafford, Founder of Killer Nashville

“Valley of Ashes” by Cornelia Read / Monday, December 3, 2012 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

Today’s featured book is Valley of Ashes by Cornelia Read.

Nosey joking gets you burned.

Why Clay Stafford chose this book:

For those who have followed the writer/sleuth character Madeline Dare, she’s moved again. From Syracuse, NY (“A Field of Darkness”) to the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts (“The Crazy School”) to New York City (“The Invisible Boy”) and now Boulder, Colorado (“Valley of Ashes”), Madeline changes locale, but she can’t stop her inquisitive spirit nor her smart-mouthed sense of humor. This time, it aims to burn her.

“Valley of Ashes” is the story of Madeline’s attempt to capture a serial arsonist. Madeline – bored out of her gourd after having moved to Boulder from New York City to follow her husband’s job – can’t help but move in on the suspect. As one would expect, when Madeline gets close, the culprit kicks back.

I’ve enjoyed all of Cornelia Read’s books. They’re suspenseful, smart, sassy, and funny, but they have a point, usually deep. There is a character breadth to them that holds you, as well as chock-full laugh-out-loud one-liners. Since the first book, which Oprah Winfrey called one of the “Nine Mysteries Every Thinking Women Should Read,” author Read has been consistent in all her books. What I like about the series is the movement of the character. She’s a fish out of water in every tale. Her movements introduce new characters, bring out her own character when pushed, and causes her to rely on her own skills and brains to solve the crimes that get her piqued. With lines like “I’m fat, my marriage is tanking, and I want to run away with the circus,” you can’t help but like her. And understand. Male or female. And, as a parent, I get it: “Contrary to popular opinion, your butt does not make Play-Doh.” Kids, don’t play with it or smear it on the table. Or when she’s vacuuming to please her overbearing husband and she’s under the sofa “wondering how long it had actually been since I’d last vacuumed, considering the thick ruff of velveteenish furry stuff growing along the edges of the petrified hummus.” And, in the midst of all this, she attempts to save the day.

“Valley of Ashes” is a book you’ll love (if you like off-beat quirky characters). There is much about these books and characters that any family member will recognize. If you are not Madeline Dare, someone close to you is, which would make this a great book to read over the holidays during family visits. I think that may be why these books tend to resonate so popularly.

From the publisher:

“Madeline Dare trades New York’s gritty streets for the tree-lined avenues of Boulder, Colorado when her husband Dean lands a promising job. Madeline, now a full-time homemaker and mother to beautiful toddler twin girls, has achieved everything she thought she always wanted, but with her husband constantly on the road, she’s fighting a losing battle against the Betty Friedan riptide of suburban/maternal exhaustion, angst, and sheer loneliness. A new freelance newspaper gig helps her get her mojo back, but Boulder isn’t nearly as tranquil as it seems: there’s a serial arsonist at large in the city. As Madeline closes in on the culprit, the fires turn deadly-and the stakes tragically personal. She’ll need every ounce of strength and courage she has to keep the flames from reaching her own doorstep, threatening all she holds most dear.”

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

– Clay Stafford, Founder of Killer Nashville

“Death of a Schoolgirl” by Joanna Campbell Slan / Tuesday, November 27, 2012 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

Today’s featured book is Death of a Schoolgirl by Joanna Campbell Slan.

Who would have thought Jane Eyre was such an excellent detective?

Why Clay Stafford chose this book:

Joanna Campbell Slan’s new historical series stars Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre.

“Death of a Schoolgirl,” the first in this historical cozy series, picks up where the classic leaves off. I’m not big on coming-of-age stories (which the original was) and found this definitely more interesting. However, it does pick up where the original story stops, so fans of Jane Eyre will happily devour this, especially since Slan has captured the original voice of Bronte. From the first page, this story quickly pulls you in and Slan wastes no time getting into the meat. I never thought I would read about Jane Eyre getting beaten by thugs, but it does happen. (Beats her fainting on the doorstep of the River’s in the original.)

Jane’s former pupil Adele Varens sends a plea to Jane to come and help. What is at first believed to be a natural death becomes a murder investigation. Slan, best known for her Kiki Lowenstein books, plays fair, dropping clues throughout the novel as to the identity of the killer, but is successful in concealing them until the very end. She’s done an incredible job with the plotting within, what I would consider, to be a character driven novel. One book, the best of both worlds, led by a strong proactive heroine.

It’s always tough to take on an established literary figure. There is always going to be fall-out from devotees. However, I think Slan has done a great job in not only capturing Bronte’s voice, but “Death of a Schoolgirl” is also an excellent example of how to effectively and successfully take on a beloved literary figure.

Whether you’ve read the original or not (whether you like the original or not), if you like historical cozies and light murder, you will enjoy this book. This is a great new series in the making and an incredibly fresh story.

From Amazon:

“In her classic tale, Charlotte Bronte introduced readers to the strong-willed and intelligent Jane Eyre. Picking up where Bronte left off, Jane’s life has settled into a comfortable pattern: She and her beloved Edward Rochester are married and have an infant son. But Jane soon finds herself in the midst of new challenges and threats to those she loves…

Jane can’t help but fret when a letter arrives from Adele Varens – Rochester’s ward, currently at boarding school – warning that the girl’s life is in jeopardy. Although it means leaving her young son and invalid husband, and despite never having been to a city of any size, Jane feels strongly compelled to go to London to ensure Adele’s safety.

But almost from the beginning, Jane’s travels don’t go as planned – she is knocked about and robbed, and no one believes that the plain, unassuming Jane could indeed be the wife of a gentleman; even the school superintendent takes her for an errant new teacher. But most shocking to Jane is the discovery that Adele’s schoolmate has recently passed away under very suspicious circumstances, yet no one appears overly concerned. Taking advantage of the situation, Jane decides to pose as the missing instructor – and soon uncovers several unsavory secrets, which may very well make her the killer’s next target…”

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

– Clay Stafford, Founder of Killer Nashville

“Death in the Floating City” by Tasha Alexander / Wednesday, November 14, 2012 / Reviewed by Clay Stafford

Today’s featured book is Death in the Floating City by Tasha Alexander.

Venice. Cat fights. Ill-fated love. Murder.

Why Clay Stafford chose this book:

With “Death in the Floating City,” Tasha Alexander has written what I think is probably her best book in the seventh installment of the Lady Emily Hargreaves series. Lady Emily and her husband Colin are summoned to help solve the murder of Emily’s childhood associate’s father-in-law. Emily can’t stand her childhood friend. “Exchanging social niceties with Emma was far less pleasant than thinking about murder.” Ouch. The dialogue between these two women is delightful.

I’d put this in a more historical cozy category. It is a light book mixing love and murder in 19th Century Venice. Those who like a little romance with their mystery will love the descriptions of “the Floating City,” the parallel story of the 400 year-old family feud, and the zinger thrown in at the end. I won’t write more because I don’t wish to spoil the plot for those who wish to take the gondola ride. Suffice it to say, if you have not read any of Alexander’s work before, this one would be a grand one to push off with.

From Amazon:

“The Huffington Post calls Tears of Pearl author Tasha Alexander “one to watch – and read” and her new Lady Emily mystery set in Venice proves it!

Years ago, Emily’s childhood nemesis, Emma Callum, scandalized polite society when she eloped to Venice with an Italian count. But now her father-in-law lies murdered, and her husband has vanished. There’s no one Emma can turn to for help but Emily, who leaves at once with her husband, the dashing Colin Hargreaves, for Venice. There, her investigations take her from opulent palazzi to slums, libraries, and bordellos. Emily soon realizes that to solve the present day crime, she must first unravel a centuries old puzzle. But the past does not give up its secrets easily, especially when these revelations might threaten the interests of some very powerful people.”

If you want to make your own comments on this selection, we would love to hear from you. Join our Facebook Killer Nashville group page or our blog and join in the discussion.  For more information on Killer Nashville: A Conference for Thriller, Suspense, Mystery Writers & Literature Lovers go to our website at http://www.killernashville.com.

Remember that these books are listed at a discount through Amazon. You also don’t have to purchase the version that is featured here. Many of these books are available in multiple formats: e–book, hardcover, softcover, and audio. Enjoy!

– Clay Stafford, Founder of Killer Nashville