I'm pleased to welcome Ralph, the Shakespeare-Quoting Parrot to Cozy Up With Kathy today. You can find Ralph on the pages of the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries by Lois Winston. Embroidered Lies and Alibis is the fifteenth book in the series and was published last week.
If you were expecting a guest post from one of the two-legged characters who populate Lois Winston’s Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, I’m sorry to disappoint you. However, if you keep reading, I promise you won’t regret it. I’m quite the raconteur, if I do say so myself.
Lots of cozy mysteries feature dogs and cats, and you’ll find one of each within the page of Lois’s series, but yours truly, the taloned and feathered member of the family, is the real star of the household. Chief among my superpowers is my ability to squawk situation-appropriate quotes from old Will’s many plays and sonnets. My talent developed over decades of living with Anastasia’s great-aunt Penelope Periwinkle, a Shakespearean scholar and professor. I even accompanied her to her lectures. Those college kids loved me, if I do say so myself.
Anastasia inherited me when Professor Penelope “shuffled off this mortal coil” (Hamlet, Act Three, Scene One) to join the Bard of Avon inside the Pearly Gates. At first Anastasia wasn’t thrilled with her inheritance. She would have preferred Great-aunt Penelope’s cameo collection, but that was left to Anastasia’s mother. However, I believe I’ve since proven my worth. And FYI, unlike a certain canine member of the household, I’m potty-trained. No one has to walk me several times a day during New Jersey nor’easters or blizzards.
Having spent most of my long life with Professor Penelope, I’m quite the Shakespearean scholar myself. And although African Greys are known to have exceptional intelligence and huge vocabularies, I’m not exaggerating when I state that I completely out-parrot the other members of my species.
Given that Lois Winston has seen fit to dump all sorts of murder and mayhem on poor Anastasia, one of my tasks within the series is to insert a bit of much-needed comic relief as a counterbalance to all that murder and mayhem. You should see how unsuspecting characters react when they first hear me recite a few lines. Not only is my timing spot on, but so is the context, not to mention that in addition, I always quote the play’s title, act, and scene. It’s a shame there are no stage parts written for Shakespeare-quoting parrots. If there are any playwrights reading this, have your people call my people. You won’t be sorry.
I’m also far better at dealing with intruders than the four-legged resident of Casa Pollack or the furball who occasionally makes her home with us. You should see my magnificent wingspan, not to mention my swooping prowess. I’ve employed both when suspicious characters show up at Anastasia’s door, like that sketchy Jeremy Dugan in Embroidered Lies and Alibis, the most recent Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery.
Sometimes, all I have to do is pierce someone with my menacing stare to send the culprit running. However, on more than one occasion, I’ve had to resort to unleashing my African Grey Ninja skills. Check out Scrapbook of Murder or Sorry, Knot Sorry to see what I mean. Anyone who attacks Anastasia doesn’t stand a chance against my talons and beak.
Finally, I like to think that my matchmaking skills are unparalleled. The moment Zachary Barnes entered our lives, I knew that man was the best thing to happen to Anastasia since Lois started messing with her life. Even after fifteen books, not to mention a marriage, Anastasia isn’t quite sure Zack is who he claims to be. Yes, he’s an award-winning photojournalist, but is he more? Does he, as Anastasia suspects, work for one of the alphabet agencies? Enquiring minds want to know, but this parrot really doesn’t care. I’m taking full credit for Zack sticking around and the two of them tying the knot.
As protective as I am of Anastasia and her sons, Zack is my favorite human. We’ve developed quite the bromance. At times, I think Anastasia was even a bit jealous, but since I’ve saved her life on more than one occasion, she really doesn’t have any right to complain, does she?
Do you have a favorite nonhuman with superhuman abilities? Both Lois and I would love to hear from you.
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Embroidered Lies and Alibis (An Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery) by Lois Winston
About Embroidered Lies and Alibis
Cozy Mystery 15th in Series
Setting - New Jersey
Independently Published
Publication Date: February 10, 2026
Print Length: 199 pages
A Stitch in Time Could Save a Life…
When Anastasia’s mother Flora is offered a free spa vacation from Jeremy Dugan, a man connected to her distant past, Anastasia and husband Zack suspect ulterior motives. After all, too-good-to-be-true often spells trouble. Their suspicions are confirmed when the FBI swoops in to apprehend Dugan. However, Dugan isn’t who he claimed to be, and his arrest raises more questions than answers.
The Feds link Dugan to a string of cons targeting elderly single women across the country, but his seemingly airtight alibi leaves investigators stumped. Then, shortly after his release on bail, he’s kidnapped. A certain segment of New Jersey’s population is known for delivering deadly messages, and the FBI believes Dugan received one of them.
Meanwhile, bodies begin showing up in the newly created public garden across the street from Anastasia and Zack’s home. With two baffling crimes, no clear suspects, scant evidence, and every possible motive unraveling, both the FBI and local law enforcement are once again picking Anastasia’s brain. This time, though, her involvement is far from reluctant. Will she stitch together enough clues before she or someone she loves becomes the killer’s next victim?
Craft project included.
About Lois Winston
USA Today and Amazon bestselling author Lois Winston began her award-winning writing career with Talk Gertie to Me, a humorous fish-out-of-water novel about a small-town girl going off to the big city and the mother who had other ideas. That was followed by the romantic suspense Love, Lies and a Double Shot of Deception.
Then Lois’s writing segued unexpectedly into the world of humorous amateur sleuth mysteries, thanks to a conversation her agent had with an editor looking for craft-themed mysteries. In her day job Lois was an award-winning craft and needlework designer, and although she’d never written a mystery—or had even thought about writing a mystery—her agent decided she was the perfect person to pen a series for this editor. Thus, was born the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mysteries, which Kirkus Reviews dubbed “North Jersey’s more mature answer to Stephanie Plum.” The series now includes fifteen novels and three novellas. Lois also writes the Empty Nest Mysteries, currently at two novels, and one book so far in her Mom Squad Capers series.
To date, Lois has published twenty-four novels, five novellas, several short stories, one children’s chapter book, and one nonfiction book on writing, inspired by her twelve years working as an associate at a literary agency. To learn more about Lois and her books, visit her at www.loiswinston.com. Sign up for her newsletter to receive an Anastasia Pollack Mini-Mystery. She also blogs regularly at The Stiletto Gang and Booklover’s Bench.
Author's Links:
Website: http://www.loiswinston.com
Newsletter sign-up: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/dc9t0bjl00
Booklover’s Bench: https://bookloversbench.com
The Stiletto Gang: https://www.thestilettogang.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/722763.Lois_Winston
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lois-winston
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