Ink and Intrigue at Ivy Tree Inn - An Interview, Review, & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Ellen Butler to Cozy Up With Kathy. Ellen writes the Ariadne Winter Mystery series. INK AND INTRIGUE AT IVY TREE INN is the first book in the series and was released earlier this month.

Kathy: In INK AND INTRIGUE AT IVY TREE INN we meet Ariadne Winter. Though she dreams of being an investigative reporter, it's 1958 and she's tasked with writing fluff pieces for a woman's magazine. If you were looking for work what career would you want...and what would society expect?

EB: To be honest, I would have liked to work for Ariadne’s magazine. However, like Ariadne, it’s likely I would have found it difficult to move up to a more senior level position.

Kathy: What made you choose 1958 as the time period for your series?

EB: The soon-to-be princess was inspired by Grace Kelly who married Prince Ranier in 1956. Originally, I planned to have my novel take place in 1956. As I was writing, I realized I needed it to happen after the Sputnik launch in 1957, which is how I settled on 1958.

Kathy: Ariadne is sent to interview a starlet about to have the "Wedding of the Century". I admit to getting up in the middle of the night to watch Lady Diana marry Prince Charles, but that's been the extent of my interest. What about you? Do you find celebrity weddings compelling?

EB: I find royal weddings chockfull of eye candy—the dress, the tiara, the bouquet, etc. The excitement and joy from the crowds adds to the captivating quality of the ceremony. However, I also pity the wedding couple. I know I wouldn’t want that type of circus for my wedding—so many things are dictated to the bride because of tradition. Brides marrying into royalty can’t marry in their own church or hometown. Even their attendants are dictated. Every little girl wants to marry a prince. Then you grow up and realize the pressures of what that means and it isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.

Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries? 

EB: I grew up reading Agatha Christie. I loved Ten Little Indians, Murder on the Nile, Murder on the Orient Express, and the Miss Marple series.

Kathy: Do you write in any other genres? 

EB: Yes, romance, crime fiction, and historical espionage.


Kathy: Tell us about your series. 

EB: I began writing in romantic suspense with the Love, California Style series. While writing the romances, I realized I enjoyed the suspense side more, and moved onto writing the Karina Cardinal mysteries, a contemporary crime fiction series. Sprinkled in between the Karina Cardinal mysteries, I wrote a spy fiction duology that takes place during WWII and the Cold War—The Brass Compass, and Operation Blackbird, both of which are multi-award-winning historical fiction. Ink and Intrigue at Ivy Tree Inn, is the start of the new Ariadne Winter series.

Kathy: Do you have a favorite character? If so, who and why?

EB: In Ink and Intrigue, I’d have to say my favorite character is Aunt Ruby. She’s lived an interesting life, she’s confident, and ageing gracefully. I also made her a business owner which I love, especially considering the time period.

Kathy: If you could have a dinner party and invite 4 authors, living or dead, in any genre, who would you invite?

EB: Agatha Christie, Elizabeth Peters (aka Barbara Mertz), JK Rowling, and Ian Fleming

Kathy: What are you currently reading? 

EB: THE PEACOCK AND THE SPARROW by I.S. Berry
 

Kathy: Will you share any of your hobbies or interests with us?

EB: When I’m not writing I enjoy reading, spending time with family, working on home improvement projects, and attending car shows. Butler has a passion for classic cars, especially the bright colors of the 1950s vehicles replete with fins and bulbous lights.

Kathy: Name 4 items you always have in your fridge or pantry. 

EB: Milk, eggs, bread, and wine.

Kathy: Do you have plans for future books either in your current series or a new series? 

EB: Working on the next Ariadne Winter mystery, tentatively titled MURDER AT BALLYFORD CASTLE. It takes place in Ireland near the Cliffs of Moher.

Kathy: What's your favorite thing about being an author?

EB: When readers reach out to tell me they loved my book so much it kept them up late into the night reading. 

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Review

INK AND INTRIGUE AT IVY TREE INN by Ellen Butler
The First Ariadne Winter Mystery

 

Ariadne Winter dreams of being an investigative reporter as she works for Ladies’ Lifestyle Magazine. It may not be a crime beat, but thanks to Aunt Ruby's connections she has the opportunity of a lifetime. Traveling to Rhode Island, Ariadne will get to interview a Hollywood star who's about to marry a real prince in what's being called the "Wedding of the Century"! Staying at the Ivy Tree Inn she soon discovers anger simmering amongst the other guests and staff. Problems seem to be plaguing the inn and someone has leaked a secret about the future princess. Then murder strikes. A dead body may be bad news for some, but for Ariadne it could open up a whole new career, if it doesn't kill her first.

INK AND INTRIGUE AT IVY TREE INN is told from multiple points of view. Indeed, almost everyone has a chapter devoted to their perspective. While this method does give more insight into the characters, as you see their views on the situation, it takes away a sense of continuity. The majority of the story is told from Ariadne's point of view, but by reading all the other characters thoughts about her, I lost a sense of closeness and had a difficult time relating to and even liking her. Instead of the protagonist she was more like just another character with issues. The person I really liked was Aunt Ruby. She was a definite scene stealer and I'm much more interested in her!

 

I enjoyed going back in time to 1958 noticing all the differences you don't see today, typewriters, rotary phones with long cords, and, notably, almost everyone smoking. Sadly, some things are just as prevalent today, such as the difficulty women journalists face due to their gender. 

INK AND INTRIGUE AT IVY TREE INN captures the historical flavor of the United States in the late 1950s and creates a compelling mystery whose characters are full of resentment and secrets.

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Ink and Intrigue at Ivy Tree Inn: An Ariadne Winter Mystery by Ellen Butler

About Ink and Intrigue at Ivy Tree Inn

Ink and Intrigue at Ivy Tree Inn: An Ariadne Winter Mystery
Historical Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Publisher: ‎ Power to the Pen (October 2, 2024)
Print length: ‎ 323 pages

Stumbling across a dead body could be the making … or breaking of an aspiring reporter.

During 1958, when the workforce is predominantly male, societal norms dictate women should be compliant, fashionable housewives. To Ariadne Winter, the sole tradition she aims to embrace is that of being fashionable. Amidst the ambiance of Ivy Tree Inn, where she's been dispatched as a writer for Ladies’ Lifestyle Magazine, her focus wavers as she grapples with an interview assignment concerning a Hollywood starlet on the cusp of royal matrimony—an event hailed as the "Wedding of the Century." While Ariadne dutifully attends to her task, her heart yearns for the pursuit of her collegiate ambition: to be an investigative reporter for a renowned newspaper.

However, fate intervenes when she discovers a dead body and recognizes the opportunity it presents to write her way into the role she desires. Yet, as Ariadne delves deeper into the lives of the inn's inhabitants, she uncovers a labyrinth of intertwined relationships and long-buried secrets among guests and staff alike, yielding a plethora of suspects. With a murderer on the loose, her magazine deadline looming, and the inn cordoned off by authorities, Ariadne faces a race against time to untangle the web of deceit and solve the murder before she loses more than just her job.

About Ellen Butler

Ellen Butler is the international bestselling author of the Karina Cardinal mystery series. Her experiences working on Capitol Hill and at a medical association in Washington, D.C. inspired the mystery-action series. Multiple books in the series have hit #1 on Amazon bestseller lists in the US and abroad. Book critics call the Karina Cardinal mysteries, “intelligent escapism." Butler is also the author of the award-winning historical suspense novel, The Brass Compass. The Brass Compass has won multiple awards for historical fiction including: 2022 Speak Up Talk Radio Firebird Book Award, 2018 Indie Reader Discovery Award, 2019 Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal Winner. Butler started writing in the romance genre and won the The Romance Reviews Readers’ Choice Award 2015 with her novel Planning for Love. Her 12th book Operation Blackbird, a Cold War Spy novel, was published in October 2022 and won a Next Generation Indie Book Award gold medal for historical fiction.

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