I'm happy to welcome Daryl Wood Gerber back to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Daryl starts a new series with ESSENCE OF FOUL PLAY. The first in the Aroma Wellness Mystery series it will be released next week.
Kathy: You start a new series with ESSENCE OF FOUL PLAY. What led you to create a wellness venue as your backdrop?
DWG: My editor and I discussed this at length. At first we thought we wanted a series that focused on a flower business, but while I was writing the opening chapters, she said the publisher decided they didn’t want that theme after all. She suggested I write something focusing on “wellness.” I was enthralled with the concept. I get massages. I do self-care. So I researched the various aspects of a wellness spa and landed on this idea, which includes a gift shop and café.
Kathy: If you were to visit Emma's Aroma Wellness Spa, what offering would you be most excited about trying?
DWG: I hope everyone will try a sound bath. For the uninitiated, a sound bath is a meditative experience where attendees are awash in sound waves produced by running a crystal rod around the inside of different sized crystal bowls. It’s super relaxing. I’ve had one!
Kathy: Before writing this series were you interested in New Age topics? Aside from fairies, of course. ;)
DWG: I can’t say I was interested in “New Age” per se, though I’ve had a crystal reading (by you!) which made me study more about crystals and their origins and powers. I do like to meditate and I do get massages and facials, but learning about the various minerals and essential oils one can use to give these treatments is a whole new world. Gaining a wider, deeper understanding over the course of writing the book has been enlightening.
Kathy: The Aroma Wellness Mystery series is set in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. What made you choose the same town as your Fairy Garden Mystery series?
DWG: My editor and I both wanted the new series to stay in Carmel. It’s a lovely, spiritually grounded town. I knew she didn’t want me to include any sleuth-solving fairies, but when I asked if I could include a few characters from the Fairy Garden Mysteries as regulars in the new series—specifically Lissa Reade, the librarian at Harrison Library—she agreed, and Lissa sees fairies. So, fairies return to this series. They simply will not help Emma solve crime. However, they might nourish her garden, and they might frolic with her beautiful Birman cat, Vivi.
Kathy: Was there a specific inspiration for this series?
DWG: Like I said, my editor suggested the idea, and then poof, like magic, my interest blossomed into something close to obsession. It seemed a logical pursuit after writing the Fairy Garden Mysteries. Digging into the spiritual side of wellness has been inspirational for me. It does not go against any of my regular faith beliefs, either. It simply enhances it.
Kathy: Will you share any other upcoming books?
DWG: MURDER BY THE MILLIONS, the 2nd in the Literary Dining Mysteries, is coming out in October.
Here’s a teaser: Feast for the Eyes bookstore manager and Allie’s best friend, Tegan, is hosting a book club soiree and wants it to be a glittering affair based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic Jazz Age-set novel, THE GREAT GATSBY. Soon, Art Deco table settings and visions of flappers are dancing the Charleston in their heads. Even Tegan’s prickly sister, Vanna, is on board. And surely, Allie’s tuxedo cat, Darcy, thinks it’s the cat’s meow.
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Review
ESSENCE OF FOUL PLAY by Daryl Wood Gerber
The First Aroma Wellness Mystery
With the help of Nana Lissa and her cousin, Sierra, Emma Brennan is ready for the grand opening of her spa, Aroma Wellness. While there are other spas in Carmel by-the-Sea, Emma's is unique, offering sound baths and aromatherapy in addition to massages, manicures, and pedicures. The spa also has a cafe with healthy options run by Sierra and a gift shop carrying crystals, massage oils, and other goodies. Despite Emma previously sharing this information with her frenemy, Willow, Willow, who happens to run a traditional spa on the other side of town, is livid. And Willow isn't the only person angry. Indy and Palmer hate the idea of anything New Age and would like nothing better than for Emma's new business to fail. When Willow is found dead Emma is the one everyone remembers having an argument with her. Believing that she's the prime suspect Emma is determined to prove her innocence and find the real killer!
In ESSENCE OF FOUL PLAY Daryl Wood Gerber has created a close knit community of holistic healers adding to the charm of Carmel by-the-Sea. While I'm not one for traditional spas, no mani/pedis for me, I would love to spend time at Aroma Wellness Spa! I'd adore a sound bath and would even be willing to try a prickly pear massage. I know I'd also be doing some retail therapy in the gift shop and indulging in something from the cafe-hey, it's healthy! While Emma strives to make her spa a place of peace and serenity reality comes crashing in, literally and figuratively. It's sad that some people are so close minded when it comes to alternative healing and spiritual beliefs.
The mystery itself was intriguing with many suspects and possible motives. I appreciated Emma's method of sleuthing and enjoyed seeing her grandmother take the lead a few times. While several of the characters are downright nasty, there is a core of good-hearted people with whom you enjoy spending time. I also liked seeing several old friends from the Fairy Garden Mystery series.
A complex mystery with several moving parts ESSENCE OF FOUL PLAY is a feel good tale in more ways than one. Take some deep cleansing breaths, choose your affirmation, and make room in your library for this great new series!
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Essence of Foul Play (An Aroma Wellness Mystery) by Daryl Wood Gerber
About Essence of Foul Play 
Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Setting - California
Publisher: Kensington Cozies (March 25, 2025)
Paperback: 320 pages
Emma Brennan may have her head in a cloud of eucalyptus, but her feet are firmly planted on the ground in breathtaking Carmel, California, as she prepares to open her new spa business, Aroma Wellness. But all the reiki, shiatsu, and massage in the world can’t help her relax when she’s accused of murder . . . Everything is going smoothly as Emma prepares for the grand opening of the spa. The therapy rooms are painted. The sales shop and café are stocked with meditative and delicious goodies, from essential oils to avocado masks and prickly pear massages. The fountain in the Courtyard of Peace is burbling with good vibrations. In fact, there isn’t a whiff of trouble until that morning when Emma is shocked to learn that a rival spa owner has been bludgeoned . . . with an item from the goodwill basket Emma gave her. Worse, a witness is pointing the finger at Emma . . . With the police treating Emma like she’s the only suspect, and the town’s anti New Age anything posse badmouthing her every step of the way, she’s left with no choice but to conduct her own investigation. Incensed by the accusations but empowered by her cousin, her nana, and her trusted Birman cat, Vivi, Emma reviews the potpourri of possible suspects, determined to uncover the essence of foul play—before she’s cold-pressed for murder . . .
About Daryl Wood Gerber
Daryl Wood Gerber is the Agatha Award-winning and nationally bestselling author of the Literary Dining Mysteries, the Fairy Garden Mysteries and the Cookbook Nook Mysteries. As Avery Aames, she penned the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries. In addition, Daryl writes suspense including the well-received The Son’s Secret, Girl on the Run, and the popular Aspen Adams suspense novels. Recently Daryl, who loves a challenge, published a Christmas romance, Hope for the Holidays. Fun Tidbit: as an actress, Daryl appeared in “Murder, She Wrote.” She loves to cook, garden, read, and walk her frisky Goldendoodle. Also she has been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane. You can learn more on her website: httsp://darylwoodgerber.com
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Kathy, I'm so glad you enjoyed this story. Thanks for the lovely review. And thanks to you for so much inspiration information while I was writing it. ~ Daryl
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by!
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