The Corpse with the Crystal Skull - A Spotlight

Today I'd like to shine a spotlight on The Corpse with the Crystal Skull by Cathy Ace. This book is the ninth in the Cait Morgan Mystery series and will be released next week.

The Corpse with the Crystal Skull (The Cait Morgan Mysteries) by Cathy Ace

About The Corpse With The Crystal Skull

 

The Corpse with the Crystal Skull (The Cait Morgan Mysteries)  

Cozy Mystery 9th in Series 

Publisher: Four Tails Publishing Ltd. (June 29, 2020)  

Print Length: ~300 pages 

Welsh Canadian globetrotting sleuth, and professor of criminal psychology, Cait Morgan, is supposed to be “celebrating” her fiftieth birthday in Jamaica with her ex-cop husband Bud Anderson. But when the body of the luxury estate’s owner is discovered locked inside an inaccessible tower, Cait and her fellow guests must work out who might have killed him – even if his murder seems impossible. Could the death of the man who hosted parties in the 1960s attended by Ian Fleming and Noël Coward be somehow linked to treasure the legendary Captain Henry Morgan might have buried at the estate? Or to the mission Bud and his secret service colleagues have been sent to the island to undertake?

PRAISE FOR THE CAIT MORGAN MYSTERIES

“…touches of Christie or Marsh but with a bouquet of Kinsey Millhone.” —The Globe and Mail

 

“A sparkling, well-plotted, and quite devious mystery…” —The Hamilton Spectator

 

“…a sympathetic amateur detective, a locked-room mystery, a small cast of colourful suspects, loving descriptions of food and drink, and a few red herrings thrown our way…with a nod to a fresh literary or filmic artifice in each novel in the series…” – Crime Fiction Lover

About Cathy Ace

Born and raised in Wales, now-Canadian Cathy Ace is the author of the Cait Morgan Mysteries, featuring her Welsh Canadian criminology professor sleuth who travels the world tripping over corpses, and The WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries, featuring a quartet of female PIs, working from a Welsh stately home. Both series are traditional, entertaining, and have been well reviewed.

Author Links:  
Website  
Facebook  
Twitter: @AceCathy GoodReads  

Purchase Links - Amazon - Kobo
 

The Wrong Boy - A Spotlight & Giveaway

The Wrong Boy by Cathy Ace

 

About the Book

The Wrong Boy  

Suspense/Thriller 

Four Tails Publishing Ltd. (January 9, 2019)  

Print Length: 307 pages 

Perched on a Welsh clifftop, the ancient, picturesque hamlet of Rhosddraig has its peaceful façade ripped apart when human remains are discovered under a pile of stones. The village pub, The Dragon's Head, run by three generations of women, becomes the focal point for those interested in the grisly find, and it’s where layers of deceit are peeled away to expose old secrets, and deep wounds. The police need to establish who died, how, and why, but DI Evan Glover knows he can’t be involved in the investigation, because he's just two days away from retirement. However, as the case develops in unexpected ways, it becomes irrevocably woven into his life, and the lives of local families, leading to disturbing revelations – and deadly consequences . . .

About the Author

Born and raised in Wales, now-Canadian Cathy Ace is the author of the Cait Morgan Mysteries, featuring her Welsh Canadian criminology professor sleuth who travels the world tripping over corpses, and The WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries, featuring a quartet of female PIs, working from a Welsh stately home. Both series are traditional, entertaining, and have been well reviewed.

Author Links:
  
Website 
Facebook  
Twitter: @AceCathy GoodReads  

Purchase Links - Amazon - Kobo

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An Ace Pre-Release Party with Giveaway!

I'd like to welcome Cathy Ace back to the blog today. Cathy writes the Cait Morgan Mystery series. We're having a pre-release party for her next book, The Corpse with the Platinum Hair, which will be released October 14th, 2014.

Kathy: A closed room mystery is a classic. What made you decide to to use this subgenre?

CA: The Cait Morgan Mysteries are all closed circle mysteries, where only a small number of people could have “dunnit,” so making the circumstances even more confined, by shutting up all the suspects in one room really appealed to me. By placing the victim, all the suspects, and most definitely the killer, in a room from which they cannot escape for twelve hours, and by killing off more people as those hours pass, I hope that the reader feels an increasing amount of tension within the ever-more claustrophobic setting.


Kathy: Do you have a favorite closed room mystery?

CA: There are quite a few “locked room” mysteries—where the victim is locked in a room and no one could have managed to get inside to kill them (except, of course, they somehow did!), making for a classic “impossible crime”—but relatively few true closed room mysteries. That said, if you allow for an island as the “closed” environment instead of an actual room, then the most famous of all is Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None,” which I adored when I first read it, and still find fascinating today.


Kathy: Setting plays such an important role in a mystery. How did you choose Las Vegas for The Corpse with the Platinum Hair?

CA: Readers of the previous Cait Morgan Mysteries will know that I like to throw groups of people together who have different relationships with the setting for the book. I like to consider how those who have grown up in a place, and have that place in their blood, mix with those who are “incomers” and those who are merely visiting, or passing through. It’s a tension that exists naturally and I like to use it, play with it, and exploit it in my work. I also find history, art and architecture fascinating, and all three feature in most of my books. This book allows me to use the history of Vegas, and the flights of architectural and cultural fancy that are played out there, in a way that doesn’t often happen in books that feature Vegas as a setting. I especially enjoyed inventing the fictional Tsar! Casino and Hotel, Babushkas Bar, the Romanoff Room Restaurant and the private owners’ dining room for this book. Tsarist themes abound, and there’s even a Russian operatic Diva as one of the ever-dwindling group of suspects!


Kathy: Have you visited Vegas? Do you like to gamble?

CA: I accept that Las Vegas is one of those places which people love, or hate. It really doesn’t allow for a neutral opinion. I happen to love it. It’s one of the most extraordinary places in the world, where “normal” can mean pretty much anything! Living just outside Vancouver, Canada means I am just a couple of hours away from Vegas, so it’s possible to fly down on a Friday night and come back at the end of the weekend having had a complete change from my rural lifestyle. In that respect, it’s a perfect escape for me, even though I’m not a big gambler.


Kathy: Was there a specific inspiration for this story?

CA: Yes, the Eiffel Tower Restaurant at Paris, Las Vegas can only be reached by an elevator. Having dined there (and, yes, it really is VERY good) it set me thinking about an inaccessible restaurant, the sort of people who might be there, and the type of over-indulgence that was possible. I had some excellent private time at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant with the man who runs it, and I learned a lot! Also, the Executive Chef for Mon Ami Gabi (also at Paris, Las Vegas) allowed me to talk about my favourite foods from their menu, and make my choice of menu the menu for Miss Shirley, the owner of the Tsar! The managers at Mon Ami Gabi have worked with me to perfect a special cocktail called the Tsar!Tini too!


Kathy: When it comes to writing I understand there are 2 general camps-plotters, who diligently plot their stories, and pansters, who fly by the seat of their pants. Are you a plotter, a panster, or do you fall somewhere in between?

CA: Definitely a plotter. I make copious notes about my characters, location, do all my research, plan out the whole book and run it through in my head as though it were a movie before I sit down to write. For me, it works. This method works for me because every clue and red herring is planned into place before I start—it has to be, because each action and interaction needs to flow naturally from each character, so that it’s totally believable from their psychological point of view.


Kathy: Authors are required to do a lot of their own marketing, especially for a new release. What's your favorite part of marketing your work? What do you dislike about marketing?

CA: I enjoy marketing—in fact, that’s what I did for a living all my working life. Having written nine textbooks about marketing communication and brand strategy, I suppose I really can say “I wrote the book on it”! I don’t have a part I don’t enjoy. I think that the most fun part is meeting with book clubs, either face to face or over Skype, to talk about my book—and that’s because we can all chat about the book without the danger of there being any spoilers raised. It’s very liberating!


Kathy: Will you share any other upcoming books?

CA: Yes, I can! I’m pleased to say that spring 2015 will have Cait meeting THE CORPSE WITH THE SAPPHIRE EYES, in a gothic Welsh clifftop castle, no less. In the fall of 2015 she’ll be off exploring the Hawaiian Islands on a luxury cruise ship, where she’ll encounter THE CORPSE WITH THE DIAMOND HAND! She’s a busy girl, is Cait. I think that’s why she needs to eat and drink so much—she has to keep her strength up. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Researching Food & Drink - A Guest Post by Cathy Ace

RESEARCHING FOOD AND DRINK FOR MY CHARACTER TO CONSUME

By Cathy Ace

A topic that comes up a lot in Q&As with readers is how I research my books. I think it’s true to say that every Cait Morgan Mystery holds within it a fair amount of cultural background and historical context. This isn’t surprising since I have always been fascinated by such matters. But what I will admit to having done is making my protagonist a bit of an adventurous eater and drinker, because I also think that food and drink can tell us a great deal about a culture. And a person, of course!

In THE CORPSE WITH THE SILVER TONGUE Cait Morgan, my Welsh Canadian criminology professor, finds herself in the south of France. Being a woman after my own heart in terms of her attitudes toward eating and drinking (generally positive, with a side of guilt) I allowed Cait to indulge in some of the things I used to enjoy encountering when I lived in Nice. Escargots feature heavily in this book, as does champagne. At one point Cait even exclaims that she’s NOT looking forward to more servings of pâté de foie gras—something she thought she’d never feel nor admit to herself.

In THE CORPSE WITH THE GOLDEN NOSE I dropped Cait into British Columbia’s delightful wine country, where she is a willing participant in a foodie feast. At one luncheon a “retro food” theme is employed, and Cait finds herself face to face with all sorts of “delicacies” she wishes she could forget. Of course, this is offset with servings of liberal quantities of local wines, and even some real foodie treats like snail caviar and chilled sweet and savory soups, so she struggles through the book somehow!

In her latest escapade she’s on the Pacific coast of Mexico, which could offer her tastebuds some real delights—the fish in the area is excellent, the local methods of preparation simple and delectable. But she’s disappointed by the “fake” food she seems to find. Cait also has to face up to the challenge of tequila, since she’s secreted at a tequila-producing agave plantation. It’s something she grapples with unhappily. As I had to myself. You see, I’ve promised myself and my readers that I will consume everything Cait does, and everything all my other characters do, too.

So—back to research. I promise that I do it for all the food and drink, and I also promise that it’s not always fun. Yes, to be fair it’s MOSTLY fun, but not all. My worst experience to date has to be tequila. Don’t get me wrong—I enjoyed discovering the very different flavors and sensations of the drink in all its forms. I also enjoyed the people who taught me about it—very genuine people who had worked hard, for generations, to perfect their method of making this now world-famous drink. But, although some tequila is very smooth and enticing, my body doesn’t seem to care for the after-effects. I found that even when taken in moderation, and accompanied by appropriate amounts of foods that are said to -allow the body to deal with the spirit produced by the awe-inspiring agave plants, I still found myself with a painful head the next morning, and an inability to face more than a couple of painkillers and a gallon of water! So, if you’re going to eat and drink your way through the Cait Morgan Mysteries, as I know some people, and especially some book clubs, like to do, let me be clear that I have warned you. Not everything is for everybody. Though the white chocolate bread pudding in her fourth mystery (THE CORPSE WITH THE PLATINUM HAIR, set in Las Vegas, and due out in September 2014) might be the closest thing to perfection I’ve ever tasted! Again, you have been warned!

Wine, Food, and Murder: Let's Meet Cathy Ace

I'd like to welcome Cathy Ace to the blog today. Cathy writes the Cait Morgan Mysteries. The Corpse with the Golden Nose is the second in the series, following The Corpse with the Silver Tongue. In this outing Professor Cait Morgan attends an exclusive gourmet event in British Columbia's wine country.

Kathy: I am so lucky in that I live in the heart of New York Wine Country. Three different viticultural regions are a stone throws away from me. I take full advantage of this proximity going to different wineries for tastings and events.A setting in British Columbia wine country is of obvious interest to me. What can you tell us about the wines and wineries of this region?

CA: The Okanagan viticultural region is the northernmost "serious" wine producing area in the world, and it is Canada's oldest. Originally making wine for religious uses using largely north American stock to grow a small variety of grapes, the 1980's saw a lot of changes. "Old country" stock was introduced and the numerous micro-climates in the region allow for many different varietals to be grown. Now producing a wide range of single grape and blended wines around the chain of lakes that stretch over 125 miles from Salmon Arm in the north to Osoyoos in the south, right on the Washington State border, there are about 200 wineries, numerous hotels and B&B's as well as an ever growing number of wonderful restaurants, which often specialize in creating meals from locally grown produce. This is possible because the Okanagan is also famous for its fruits, vegetables, and herbs, as well being close enough to the coast to have access to world-class wild Pacific salmon, as well as many fish from the clean rivers in the area, and some excellent grazing land for all sorts of livestock. The wineries might have tiny, homey tasting rooms, or grand, well-developed public properties, including golf courses, concert arenas and offering many classes in horticulture, viticulture and crafts. Kelowna is the main city in the area, and it offers access to long sandy beaches on the lake, as well as a vibrant cultural and sporting life.

Kathy: I enjoy all sorts of wines, but my favorite is Gewurztraminer. Do you have a favorite?

CA: I’m a red grape girl! Other than champagne, which, in my case is a given, Mt Boucherie Family Estate Winery produces a delightful Blaufrankish, which pairs well with any food, a rich Melange Noir, for steaks and spicy foods, and a light Gamay Noir, which I pop in the fridge for summer evenings.

Kathy: Cait is a foodie. Are you a foodie too? If so, do you enjoy cooking yourself, or just enjoying the culinary delicacies of others?

CA: I think that, like Cait, I'm a fledgling foodie, more of a gourmand than a gourmet, but, also like her, I enjoy eating adventurously and lavishly when I have the chance to do so. However, I also love to be in the kitchen. Every meal I prepare is from scratch, though I don't make my own pasta (I've tried, with disastrous results!) or bread (ditto!). I think the most important ingredients in a kitchen are salt, butter, wine and love.

Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?

CA: All my Mum's fault! She encouraged me to read Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, and Enid Blyton's Famous Five and Secret Seven series when I was young, then, aged about ten, I was allowed to "graduate" to her collection of Agatha Christie, Ngaio Marsh and Dorothy L Sayers books. Those authors' works are my oldest friends.

Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?

CA: Having published nine under-grad and post-grad marketing textbooks, I much prefer what I do now! That said, in my collections of short stories and novella, I have also written police procedurals (Detective Inspector Evan Glover cases) and madcap PI tales (The Ladies of the WISE Detective Agency). I enjoy writing the Cait Morgan Mysteries, but, if I have the chance, I'd like to be able to take my other characters on some more adventures of their own in the future.

Kathy: Tell us about your series.

CA: Welsh Canadian Cait Morgan is a single, middle-aged professor of criminology at the University of Vancouver who specializes in victim profiling. She's able to use her incredible memory, her ability to read people and her psychological training to solve crimes which, sadly, present themself to her when she'd really rather be over-indulging in her foodie pleasures. She likes to travel - which is surprising, given what happens to her when she does. My books have been likened to “Christie or Marsh with a bouquet of Kinsey Millhone” (Globe & Mail).

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

CA: I like Cait. She’s feisty, and somewhat bossy, yet vulnerable. She's far from perfect: she's got a bit of a checkered history when it comes to relationships, so has become highly self-reliant and doesn't see her own faults as quickly as she sees those of others. She shares many of my own shortcomings – but I’ve given her some of her very own as well.

Kathy: Did you have a specific inspiration for your series?

CA: I'm Welsh Canadian, and I love to travel, and eat and drink as I do so...all I did was throw in my love of closed-circle mysteries, add a few quirks that are NOT my own, and Cait was born.

Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?

CA: My Mum and Dad were very proud when my textbooks were published, and were over the moon when a short story I’d written was produced for BBC Radio 4 in the UK. When my Dad died I realized that I wouldn’t have forever to do what I wanted, and, coming from the generation I do, I suppose I thought that “traditional publishing” was something to which every writer aspired. I self-published two volumes, used them to try to interest a publisher (my second attempt worked) and then, on May 11^th 2011, which would have been my late-father’s birthday, I was offered a contract.

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

CA: Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, PD James and JRR Tolkien. If Shakespeare were to drop by for dessert, I’d pull up another chair . . . or stand up myself and let him sit.

Kathy: What are you currently reading?

CA: I’m not, because I’m writing. I cannot read when I’m writing – I even find the newspaper a challenge! The last book I read was “The Complaints” by Ian Rankin, and I have “Death Comes To Pemberley” by PD James ready for when I have finished writing this book.

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

CA: I’m an avid gardener. We live on five acres and garden a lot of it. Living in a climate that’s relatively damp and mild, I’m able to indulge my love of rhododendrons (we have a couple of hundred now), hydrangeas and aspera (only about a hundred), roses (about fifty) and all manner of what one would call “English Country Garden” plants, like columbine, hostas, rudbekia, day lilies and lots of beautiful trees – we’ve planted about a hundred since we moved here ten years ago. My husband is a great hole-digger, whereas I enjoy ripping at the weeds while I plot!

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

CA: Well, they are always both pretty well stocked…but if I look as though I’m running out of any of these four things, I panic! Champagne (not necessarily Veuve Cliquot, which is my #1 choice and reserved for special occasions, more often than not it’s Cipes – a sparkling wine made using the champagne method by Summerhill Wines in the Okanagan), butter (salted for eating , and cream for baking), eggs (scrambled on toast, poached and tossed onto salad leaves, or to make an omelette/frittata, they are the perfect ‘go-to’ food) and, currently, my obsession is Nona Pia’s Merlot Cabernet balsamic reduction, made in Whistler, BC…wonderful on anything from strawberries to steak!

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

CA: In spring 2014 Cait visits Pacific coastal Mexico in THE CORPSE WITH THE EMERALD THUMB, and I’m currently writing the fourth book in the series, due out in the fall of 2014. There’ll be two more Cait Morgan Mysteries in 2015.

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

CA: I get to work at home, with my dogs (two chocolate Labradors) at my feet – which is exactly where they are now!

Kathy: Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions.

CA: You’re very welcome – thanks for having me!

Want to learn more about Cathy Ace? Check out these links!

Website: cathyace.com

Cathy Reads From Corpse With The Golden Nose.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cathy.ace.author?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AceCathy

GoodReads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3913679.Cathy_Ace

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The Corpse with the Silver Tongue (Cait Morgan Mystery) (Cait Morgan Mysteries)