Passport to Spy - A Review & Giveaway

 Review

PASSPORT TO SPY by Nancy Cole Silverman
The Second Kat Lawson Mystery 

Kat Lawson is in Munich, Germany ostensibly as a reporter for Travel Life magazine writing about winter attractions. In reality, she's working for the FBI looking for information about a hidden cache of artwork stolen by the Nazis. She has no trouble getting close to her target, a charismatic museum curator, but unfortunately, she's also caught the eye of a suspicious Russian, a gatekeeper receptionist, and a protective sister. Soon Kat gets in deeper than she ever imagined. Will she get out alive?

Though I'm generally a stickler for reading series in order I didn't have time to read the first Kat Lawson mystery before this one. However, PASSPORT TO SPY works perfectly well as an introduction to the series. In fact, it seems as if it is the first book in the series as this is Kat's first assignment. I never felt as if I was missing anything and the book works perfectly well as a stand alone mystery, though I am quite looking forward to see what happens next.

Both intriguing and captivating the second Kat Lawson mystery has mysteries to unravel, though Kat's job is not to solve them. Instead she's supposed to get close to the museum curator and merely gather intelligence. Kat not only gets close, but gets more involved than her handler wants and discovers more than she should. I love how she's able to incorporate her cover story into her real work, as I got to learn about the winter activities and tourist spots around Munich. I also appreciated how Kat was able to keep calm as things spiraled out of control.

PASSPORT TO SPY is an exciting mystery that's part thriller, part historical fiction, and all fun.

*************************************************************************

Passport to Spy: A Kat Lawson Mystery by Nancy Cole Silverman

About Passport to Spy

Passport to Spy: A Kat Lawson Mystery
Historical Mystery 2nd in Series
Setting - Germany
Level Best Books (June 6, 2023)
Print length: ‎ 268 pages

After losing her job as an investigative reporter for The Phoenix Gazette, Kat Lawson has a new gig. The FBI has asked her to work undercover as a reporter for Travel International to cover Munich, Germany’s festive holiday scene—an excuse to get close to Hans von Hausmann, a very charismatic and popular museum curator suspected of hiding a cache of stolen masterpieces believed to be part of the World’s Largest Art Heist. The job comes with lots of perks: airfare, travel expenses, the opportunity to see the world...and for a seasoned reporter like Kat, nothing she can’t handle. But, when a trusted source is found dead, Kat realizes the tables have been turned. Armed with evidence that will expose a cache of artwork stolen from museums and the homes of wealthy Jews during the 2nd World War, Kat must find a way to avoid being caught by the German Polizie, who have enough evidence to charge her with murder, and those who want her dead to keep their hidden treasures forever secret. The hunter has become the hunted; now, Kat has a target on her back.

About Nancy Cole Silverman

Nancy Cole Silverman spent nearly twenty-five years in news and talk radio, beginning her career in college on the talent side as one of the first female voices on the air. Later on the business side in Los Angeles, she retired as one of two female general managers in the nation’s second-largest radio market. After a successful career in the radio industry, Silverman retired to write fiction. Her short stories and crime-focused novels—the Carol Childs and Misty Dawn Mysteries, (Henry Press) are both Los Angeles-based. Her newest series THE NAVIGATOR’S DAUGHTER, (Level Best Books) takes a more international approach. Silverman lives in Los Angeles with her husband and a thoroughly pampered standard poodle.

Author Links: 

Website www.nancycolesilverman.com  

Facebook Nancy Cole Silverman | Facebook  

Goodreads: Nancy Cole Silverman (Author of Shadow Of Doubt) | Goodreads  

Purchase Links - Amazon  

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kindertransports - A Deadly Travel Guest Post, Review, & Giveaway

I'm pleased to turn over Cozy Up With Kathy to Kate Parker today. Kate pens the Deadly series. DEADLY TRAVEL is the fifth book in the series and was released last month.

Kindertransports
By Kate Parker

By 1938, the number of Jewish residents trying to leave Germany, and then Austria and Czechoslovakia, far outstripped the number of immigrants other countries were willing to take in. The Great Depression still left the industrialized world with high unemployment rates and every country wanted to protect their citizens from newcomers who would take some of their jobs.

A conference was held in July, 1938 in Evian, France with the aim of convincing countries to raise their immigration quotas. Very little was accomplished, and the conference ended in failure.

On November 9, 1938 in Nazi-held territories, a systematic program of looting, burning, and torture was held against Jewish citizens. Called Kristallnacht after all the broken glass in the streets, the next morning people found synagogues and Jewish owned businesses were destroyed and the buildings gutted.

Demand grew from Jewish citizens to leave Nazi-controlled countries for any place that would take them. A group of leading British citizens approached the government with a plan. They wanted to take in Jewish children and house them in England temporarily. The government agreed with the understanding that a fifty pound bond would be raised for each child to assure they wouldn’t become a drain on public revenue. Fifty pounds at that time is equal to nearly a thousand pounds today, and the chore of raising these funds and finding lodging for these children fell to various religious groups.

Between December, 1938 and the end of August, 1939, about 10,000 children from the very young to seventeen-years-olds came to Britain from Germany, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. These groups of hundreds of children, brought in by Jewish, Quaker, and other groups, were called the Kindertransports. Kinder is German for Children.

They traveled by train across Europe, locked into the carriages until they left German held areas, and then took the ferry from the Netherlands to Britain. These children left behind parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles, their homes, toys, schools, and everything familiar to them for the safety of a new land where everyone is a stranger who speaks a new language.

For DEADLY TRAVEL, I used a variety of details to create the Kindertransport in my story. In this case, it was a matter of using an historical event as the backdrop of a murder mystery and surrounding it with spies and danger. The story focuses on two little boys who escape to Britain under Olivia Denis’ care and how they still face danger.

DEADLY TRAVEL takes place in March and April, 1939, a few months before World War II begins in Europe. I try to show England through Olivia’s eyes as everyone faces the threat of war, and Olivia faces a new investigation that begins with the murder of a young Quaker woman who was scheduled to travel on the next Kindertransport.




DEADLY TRAVEL is the fifth book in the Deadly Series. Kate Parker is the author of the Deadly Series of pre-World War II mysteries, as well as the Milliner Mysteries set in 1905, and the Victorian Bookshop Mysteries. All three are set in London. 

***************************************************************************

Review

DEADLY TRAVEL by Kate Parker
The Fifth Deadly Mystery

It's March 1939 and war is looming ever closer. A Quaker woman working with the kindertransport has been murdered and it appears that there is a traitor in their midst, giving information to the Nazis while shepherding Jewish children out of Germany. Olivia Denis is once again conscripted by Britain's counterintelligence service, tasked not only with finding the killer, but catching a spy as well. Her assignment is made more difficult once she arrives in Berlin when she's told she must also get the hysterical wife of a dissident and their two sons out of Germany with the rest of the kindertransport. Will Olivia be able to help get everyone to England safely? Will she succeed in finding the spy before more British secrets are shared with the Nazis? Could a Quaker, a pacifist, actually be both a murderer and a spy? Or is someone not truly a Friend?

I love everything about the fifth Deadly Mystery. From the rich historical backdrop and the deep characterizations to the well plotted mystery and the action packed story. DEADLY TRAVEL grabs you and never lets go.

DEADLY TRAVEL is a taut complex mystery that increases feelings of apprehension and worry as the story unfolds. The thought of being in Berlin in 1939 is already terrifying and adding the daunting task Olivia faces makes for heart racing, pulse pounding, page turning reading. There are scenes that take your breath away. Meanwhile, lighthearted moments throughout the book give readers a break from all of the tension. Moments Olivia shares with her fiance, time spend on the farm outside of London, and Olivia's attitude toward many of the men all give glimmers of hope and laughter. The characters themselves reassure readers. They are so well developed they practically jump off the page. I admit to having a bit of a crush on Oberst Wilhelm Bernhard and fear what will happen to him in future books.

Filled with historical detail that is both fascinating and chilling DEADLY TRAVEL is the best book I've read all year.

**************************************************************************

 Deadly Travel: A World War II Mystery (The Deadly Series) by Kate Parker

About Deadly Travel

Deadly Travel: A World War II Mystery (The Deadly Series)
Historical Cozy Mystery 5th in Series
Publisher: JDP Press (September 28, 2020)
Number of Pages 320

Travel to Berlin in 1939 is treacherous. Carrying out two clandestine missions in the enemy capital could prove deadly.

When a Quaker Kindertransport chaperone is murdered in the East End of London, Britain’s counterintelligence spymaster tasks Olivia Denis to join the group rescuing children from Nazi Germany. Olivia must find not only a killer, but a traitor relaying sensitive material to the enemy.

Once they reach Berlin, Olivia discovers she must rescue the family of an imprisoned British spy before she leaves the next day. An attack convinces Olivia the family’s two young sons are in grave danger, but where to hide them?

Can she protect the boys before they become the traitor’s next victims?

DEADLY TRAVEL, Book Five of the Deadly series, is for fans of World War II era spy thrillers and classical cozy mysteries, of intrepid lady sleuths with spunk and smarts. No explicit cursing, sex, or violence.

Continue your journey today into Olivia’s world of intrigue in London in the days leading up to war.

 

About Kate Parker

Kate Parker caught the reading bug early, and the writing bug soon followed. She’s always lived in a house surrounded by books and dust bunnies. After spending a dozen years in North Carolina, she moved to Colorado. The Rocky Mountains are beautiful, but she’d developed a love of wide rivers, warmer and wetter weather, and fast-growing greenery that sent her hurrying back to North Carolina.

DEADLY TRAVEL is the fifth book in the Deadly Series, and Kate’s plan is to follow it quickly with DEADLY DARKNESS, both set in 1939 in the days leading up to war. There are at least three more of the Deadly Series coming that will bring the beginning of the war to Olivia’s doorstep. Kate reports that she is having fun creating new stories to entertain readers and chaos to challenge her characters.

Author Links: 

www.KateParkerbooks.com,  

www.Facebook.com/Author.Kate.Parker/, 

 https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kate-parker,  

www.goodreads.com/author/show/7123001.Kate_Parker  

 

Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - 

 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Watchman of Rothenburg Dies - An Interview, Review, & Giveaway

I'm pleased to welcome Adriana Licio to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Adriana pens the Homeswapper Mystery series. THE WATCHMAN OF ROTHENBURG DIES is the first book in the series and was released earlier this month.

Kathy: In the Homeswappers Mystery series Etta and Dora swap homes for a vacation. Homeswapping is an interesting concept. Have you ever tried it?

AL: For the past 15 years, my hubby and I have taken all our holidays this way, swapping homes with 40+ fellow travellers around the world.

Since 2010, when Frodo, our golden retriever, joined the family, we have given up flying and been driving all the way to European destinations. Frodo has homeswapped 20+ times, including visits to London and the UK, the Pyrenees, Brittany, Switzerland, Austria, Amsterdam, France, Stockholm and its archipelago, Gdansk and other parts of Poland, Prague, the quaint island of Ærø in Denmark and many more!


Kathy: What made you choose Germany as Etta and Dora’s first country to visit as part of a swap?

AL: My choice was more particular than that: not Germany as a whole, but the charming town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber. It was our first homeswap destination with Frodo back in 2010, and I thought that was something worth celebrating. Especially now, a decade later, when for the first time in years we won’t be going anywhere because of the pandemic.

In addition to that, this quaint little town is intriguing, cosy and mysterious all at the same time. I loved the Night Watchman’s tour, the shame masks that people were forced to wear in the middle ages in public if they misbehaved. Basically, it had all the material I needed to get a story going.


Kathy: Etta and Dora are described as two adventurous sexagenarians. With such a youth focused society I’m pleased to see more mature women as protagonists. Was it a conscious decision to make Etta and Dora older?

AL: Yes, it was a deliberate decision. Giovanni, my husband, is in his 60ies; I’m approaching 50. But we don’t feel that much different to the way we were 20 years ago. Well, in all honesty, there are some differences physically, of course, but inside we have the same energy, we pursue the same dreams and passions.

I wanted to celebrate this energy, this wish to live life to the full at 60 and beyond!

Kathy: Napoleon is a loveably disobedient Basset Hound. Is he based on a real dog?

AL: As I’ve mentioned above, I’m owned by a lovely Golden Retriever, Frodo. He’s my best pal, he’s accompanied us on all our travels, so I wanted to celebrate in my books the magic sparkle that brings humans and their furry friends together.

Frodo is a rather independent dog and has his own opinions on the things we should do, where we should visit, the attractions to see in a new place, his likes and dislikes. Napoleon is more stubborn, but some of his traits have their roots in Frodo.


Kathy: What first drew you to cozy mysteries?

AL: Have you seen my bookshelves? Agatha Christie’s entire collection, Andrea Camilleri, Rhys Bowen, MC Beaton, TE Kinsey. What else could I write?


Kathy: Do you write in any other genres?

AL: Just cosies, at present.


Kathy: Tell us about your series.

AL: My first series, An Italian Village Mystery, is set in the enchanting seaside town of Maratea (why not google it and discover it for yourself?) situated on a breathtaking stretch of coastline in Southern Italy. It features Giò Brando, a travel writer and reluctant sleuth who returns to her home and family to nurse a broken heart after her forthcoming wedding in London is called off. The setting gave me the scope to describe Italian lifestyle, culture, food in a small town.

My second series, The Homeswappers Mysteries, is launching shortly (more details coming soon).

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

AL: I confess, I don’t have a favourite (except Leon, of course!). Even when I write about the baddies, there’s something that attracts me to them, so I can safely say I like all my characters, if to varying degrees and for rather different reasons.


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

AL: Well, my inspiration comes from the things I like the most: travelling, reading, hiking, pets, perfumes, good food, small villages, and homeswapping.

The inspiration for the Homeswappers Mysteries is almost autobiographical, given my love for homeswapping. As for my first series, I set An Italian Village Mystery in Maratea, which again is a real place and my refuge when I need time away from work.

Agnese, Giò’s sister, owns a perfumery and loves to advise her customers on the best fragrance to see them through a particular moment of their lives. And I’m intrigued by the world of essences and perfumes.

Giò herself is a travel writer (did I mention I’m a travel freak?), and then there’s Granny. Granny loves to cook using the old family recipes, but she can also outsmart her two granddaughters when it comes to sleuthing. (I love good food, and old gossips too!)

So in each series and story, there’s a mixture of issues, places, themes I’m fond of or want to explore in more depth.


Kathy: What made you decide to publish your work?

AL: The day I found out that I could control the whole process as an indie author, from deciding the stories I want to write to choosing my own collaborators (editor, cover designer), to publishing and marketing, I decided the time was right for me to write my books.


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

AL: That’s easy! Andrea Camilleri, MC Beaton, Rhys Bowen and Agatha Christie.


Kathy: What are you currently reading?

AL: I’m listening to another book in the Molly Murphy series by Rhys Bowen, and reading my first LJ Ross book, RYAN'S CHRISTMAS. I rarely start a series from Book 1.


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

AL: Hiking (once or twice a week). I need regular contact with nature to put my mind at rest and soothe my wild spirits (so my hubby says). I also love reading and travelling when I can, especially as I now combine homeswapping with research for my stories.

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

AL: We love fresh food from small local producers, so you will always find plenty of veggies and fruit (both of which vary according to season), ricotta and mozzarella, fresh milk. Of course, all kinds of pasta for the three of us (Frodo too enjoys fresh alimentation). Bitter dark chocolate, 85% cocoa.

A fresh cornetto (croissant) with a cappuccino is my treat for breakfast on special days, and guess what? That’s Giò’s favourite breakfast, too.


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

AL: For 2020, I plan to launch two more books in the Homeswapper Mysteries series, with Book 2, A Wedding and A Funeral in Mecklenburg, leading Etta and Dora to the region of 1,000 lakes in Northern Germany to attend a traditional German wedding. (Spoiler alert: it won’t be that traditional!)

And Book 3 An Aero Island Christmas Mystery will be set on a cute Danish Island thrown far into the Baltic Sea. Lots of hygge, mulled wine, a quaint Christmas Market and, my goodness, a cruel murder. Of course!


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

AL: I’m not (yet!) a full-time author; I’d love to be one.

As an indie author, I love the freedom to create my own projects and follow them through, and being able to work from the most remote of places. It would be great to go on even more homeswaps in the future and work from homes other than my own!

*****************************************************************************

GIVEAWAY  

Please leave a message in the comments and we will pick a winner for an eBook of THE WATCHMAN OF ROTHENBURG DIES.

*****************************************************************************

Free eBook: https://adrianalicio.com/murderclub

Website: https://adrianalicio.com

BookBub: https://bookbub.com/authors/adriana-licio

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19378391.Adriana_Licio

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adrianalicio.mystery/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/adrianalici

 ************************************************************

Review

THE WATCHMAN OF ROTHENBURG DIES by Adriana Licio

The First Homeswappers Mystery

Etta and Dora have left Castelmezzano, their small Italian village, and arrived in the medieval town of Rothenburg, Germany for their first homeswapping vacation. They are welcomed by friendly neighbors and charmed by their house as well as the town itself. On their first night the duo go on the historic tour given by the Night Watchman of Rothenburg. Grim tales of torture highlight the walk, but reality takes an even more gruesome turn when Dora and Etta, pulled by the man's dog, find his murdered body. While the more sentimental Dora is more than happy to take Napoleon, the orphaned Bassett hound, under her wing, analytical Etta starts to puzzle out the murder. Will the two retired Italian school teachers solve a German murder? Perhaps more importantly, will Napoleon find a new home?

Armchair travelers can rejoice with the Homeswappers Mystery series! This quick read had me engaged and curious with smart writing and quick wit. It had me alternately smiling and filled with concern. The detailed descriptions of Rothenburg made me feel as if I was exploring alongside Dora and Etta. The book was not merely a travelogue, however, as the author skillfully entwined tourist facts within the mystery. I am partial to history and really enjoyed learning about Rothenburg. I especially loved the Elizabeth Peters reference.

I love the juxtaposition that Dora and Etta represent; soft and hard, round and angular, emotional and rational, opposites, but both together necessary for success. The two protagonists are not the only opposites in the novel as well. We see different sides to many of the characters, some of which are quite a surprise. I really enjoyed seeing these secondary characters shine in their own way. I grew quite fond of a certain patron at the Devil's Ale and Leon easily wormed his way into my heart.

THE WATCHMAN OF ROTHENBURG DIES made me want to pack my suitcase and explore the small European towns found off the beaten path. The mystery is a delightful start to a new series and I eagerly await traveling north for the next installment.

**************************************************************************

The Watchman of Rothenburg Dies: A German Cozy Mystery (The Homeswappers) by Adriana Licio

About The Watchman of Rothenburg Dies

  

 

The Watchman of Rothenburg Dies: A German Cozy Mystery (The Homeswappers)  

Cozy Mystery 1st in Series  

Publisher: The Hometravellers Press (September 1, 2020) ~180 pages

A holiday is a time to relax, unwind and see the sights. But for two adventurous sexagenarians, the sights have a tendency to include dead bodies.

Etta and Dora, both newly retired teachers, travel from their home in Southern Italy to a fairy-tale German town for their first home swap holiday, delighted by their neighbours’ warm welcome. But the welcome turns sour when the Night Watchman of Rothenburg is brutally murdered while his tour group takes photographs nearby, a halberd buried in his chest and a peculiar iron mask by his side.

When the murderer claims a second victim and the son of their hospitable neighbours becomes the number-one suspect, Etta’s analytical mind goes to work. Why was a shame mask left at the scene of each murder? Is there a clandestine trade going on behind the scenes of apparently upstanding local businesses? And why does every lead take her back to the sinister Devil’s Ale pub and the terrifying gang who lurk within?

Meanwhile, Dora has a puzzle of her own – how can she persuade Etta that a loveably disobedient Basset Hound called Napoleon is now a permanent part of their lives?

◆◆◆ Pack your bags, jump into the backseat of Etta and Dora’s old Fiat 500, and join them on their travels around Europe. There’ll be mystery, murder and mayhem aplenty wherever they go. ◆◆◆

About Adriana Licio

 

She loves loads of things: traveling, reading, walking, good food, small villages, and home swapping. She runs her family perfumery, and between a dark patchouli and a musky rose, she reads and writes cozy mysteries. She resisted writing as long as she could. But one day she found an alluring blank page and the words flowed in that weird English she'd learned in Glasgow...

> Get a taste of Adriana's world reading And Then There Were Bones the prequel to her An Italian Village Mystery series, exclusive to the subscribers on her mailing list - https://adrianalicio.com/murderclub

Author Links: 

Free Prequel: https://adrianalicio.com/murderclub  

Website: https://adrianalicio.com  

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/adriana-licio  

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/program  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adrianalicio.mystery/inbox/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/adrianalici  

Purchase Link - Amazon FREE on Kindle Unlimited

Silent Meridian - A Review, Excerpt, & Giveaway

Review

SILENT MERIDIAN by Elizabeth Crowens

The Time Travel Professor Book 1

John Patrick Scott is studying to be a musician in Victorian Scotland, but music is just one part of his life. John has invented a time machine in which he travels back to an unremembered childhood and into the future where he sees himself as a young woman enrolled in a mystical school. In addition to his time travel experiments he has developed a friendship with noted Spiritualist and Sherlock Holmes author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The two devotees of psychic phenomena practice telepathy and perform other psychic experiments, but does Doyle have a less friendly agenda? With an impish spirit guide and some ne’er do well friends John meets noted luminaries of the time including J. M. Barrie, H. G. Wells, and George Bernard Shaw. He even runs into a young Houdini in his travels. Will his experiments lead him to find the connection between his past, present, future and a mysterious red book?

SILENT MERIDIAN is the story of John Patrick Scott. Kind of. It's also a story about arcane knowledge and the ramifications for those that study esoteric mystical things. It's a story of time travel, astral projection, past lives, Spiritualism, and more. It's a story about a mysterious red book. A variety of famous people make appearances, some brief, some an intrinsic part of the story. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is a good friend and psychical partner to our main character and a major player in his own right. There are so many famous people thrown in, it's almost a who's who of every literary notable who was alive at the time. While I know that many of them were acquainted with each other and belonged to the same societies, there were so many found in this book that it seemed the author was merely name dropping! Some seemed to have a greater purpose and I thought would play a vital part of the storyline (Erik Weisz and Aleister Crowley), but their importance was never fully actualized.

The first Time Travel Professor book is extraordinarily well researched and I did enjoy reading about the famous Victorians mentioned. As John traveled in time we read very interesting stories about his younger self in the magical school, the adventures of the woman whose eyes he saw things through in the future, and and intriguing Japanese storyline.  However, there is such a hodge podge of subplots I continually wondered what was the actual point of the book. Yet, there a mystical theme that ties things together.

Ultimately, SILENT MERIDIAN is a look at self discovery, the importance of life lessons, and what one must give up in order to pursue one's dreams. It looks at morality, appearances, and the risks inherent in pursuing a metaphysical life.

*************************************************************************

The Time Traveler Professor, Book One:

Silent Meridian

by Elizabeth Crowens

on Tour August 18 - September 21, 2019

Synopsis:

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is obsessed with a legendary red book. Its peculiar stories have come to life, and rumors claim that it has rewritten its own endings. Convinced that possessing this book will help him write his ever-popular Sherlock Holmes stories, he takes on an unlikely partner, John Patrick Scott, known to most as a concert pianist, but a paranormal investigator and a time traveler professor to a select few.

Like Holmes and Watson trying to solve a mystery, together they explore lost worlds and their friendship is tested to the limits when they go back in time to find it. Both discover that karmic ties and unconscionable crimes have followed them like ghosts from the past, wreaking havoc on the present and possibly the future.

The Time Traveler Professor, Book One: SILENT MERIDIAN reveals the alternate histories of Conan Doyle, H.G. Wells, Houdini, Jung and other luminaries in the secret diaries of John Patrick Scott, in an X Files for the 19th century. First Prize winner of Chanticleer Review's Goethe Award for Turn-of-the-Century Historical Fiction and First Prize for Steampunk in the Independent Press Awards. Stay tuned for A POCKETFUL OF LODESTONES; Book Two in the Time Traveler Professor series by Elizabeth Crowens.

Book Details:

Genre: Alternate History, Mystery, Fantasy Noir
Published by: Atomic Alchemist Productions LLC
Publication Date: June 12th 2019
Number of Pages: 384
ISBN: 9781950384 (ISBN13: 9781950384044)
Series: The Time Traveler Professor #1
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Read an excerpt:

Edinburgh, 1898

Scotland was just barely crawling its way out of the nineteenth century. I was a naïve, but ambitious student studying music at the University of Edinburgh hurrying over to meet Arthur Conan Doyle, the man who would change my life forever.
“John Patrick Scott, sir,” I said and approached Mr. Doyle, who was already seated at a back corner table of the Deacon Brodie, the pub that inspired the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
I extended my hand to greet him and removed my rain-soaked hat, while my overcoat slipped out of my hands and fell on the floor by accident. It was still hard to believe that good fortune finally brought us together, but we were both nervous. “Mr. Conan Doyle, or should I call you Doctor Doyle?” I was unsure how to address him.
Doyle scrutinized me from top to bottom as he signaled the waiter. “John, call me Arthur.”
“Sir, I’m so honored that you agreed to discuss this matter. Perhaps you can enlighten me in a way that I’ve failed to comprehend.”
I wanted to ask him about my unusual turn of events straight away but he caught me off guard and was dead set on pulling me into the swift current of an unexpected conversation.
“Can I assume you believe in the transmigration of souls?” he asked.
“Until now, I haven’t given it a lot of thought,” I said, unsure as to which direction he was leading.
“Did you ever read those books about that Swiss doctor who felt his body and soul had been taken over by a Benedictine monk? That presented a curious case. He claims that he was approached by the spirit of an elderly monk before he died, and that the monk needed to rent his body to continue his spiritual mission.”
“Rent?” I choked in disbelief.
“We truly don’t take anything with us when we pass on, do we? This monk knew he was dying and therefore needed to replace his physical body with something more youthful and vital.”
“That’s incredible. It debunks the theory that you need to die and be reborn as an infant to carry on your spirit.”
Mr. Doyle had the tinge of excitement in his voice.
“John, here’s another instance. I’ve had my suspicions about a famous musician who had an obsession about a notorious and controversial mystic. You’d surmise by his overwhelming attraction to that person he might’ve been him in a previous lifetime, but facts were clear he was born three years before the mystic died. My understanding is the mystic was aware he didn’t have long in his present incarnation. Therefore he made plans for some sort of partial soul transference while he was still alive to imprint his essence upon the child. That would’ve allowed him to carry on and accomplish unfinished business, which couldn’t have been executed otherwise. Essentially he had the ability of being two places at once.”
“Sounds more like Spiritualism,” I replied.
“Honestly, John, I don’t think there are any steadfast rules when it comes to this matter. That’s what makes it so intriguing.”
I sensed he had a secret agenda.
Doyle reloaded his churchwarden pipe with fresh tobacco and continued, “This is not at all like anything you’ve ever read from H.G. Wells or Jules Verne. We’re poking holes in every treatise written on the subject — the idea of being able to reincarnate a part of yourself while you are still alive into another soul.”
Our conversation was quickly becoming like a speeding train ready to jump the tracks. Realizing this, Doyle slowed down the pace and took a deep breath. He carefully composed his next statement.
“Fiction it may seem to be but it’s not hocus pocus. Don’t you also find it strange that you somehow found yourself initiated into a mystical order on a commuter train bound from London to Edinburgh when the instigators kept on mistaking you for me? There are no accidents.”
I became silent for a moment, stalling for time as I slowly raised my glass of ale to my lips. As soon as I fished a small red book out of my coat pocket and placed it on the table in front of us Arthur eyed it intently. It had been the source of intrigue, which led me to Doyle in the first place and piqued his curiosity as much as it did mine.
“Could I have done something terrible in my youth that caused this to happen?”
“You have no recollections, John?”
“I remember so little of my childhood. I wish I could.”
“You’re a smart young man. I’m sure you’ll come up with a clever deduction.”
Mr. Doyle paused to relight his pipe. He had an unnerving look in his eye, which I vainly tried to read into, but he took me for a spin when he brought up the next topic.
“On another note, John, have you ever considered that people are capable of communicating without speech, and I’m not talking about writing letters?”
“Pardon me?”
“Imagine communicating by mere thoughts. I’ve always wanted to experiment with someone open to these concepts. God knows — my brothers at the Society for Psychical Research certainly talk enough about it. My wife, Touie, has been an unwilling subject and is not the most objective choice.”
I looked at him, somewhat perplexed. “Are you asking me to accurately guess what you’re thinking?”
“Come now. We’ll play a game. I’ll form an image in my mind, and for the next minute I will try to project it into yours. Clear your thoughts of any distractions and be as receptive as possible,” he explained.
As much as I tried, I couldn’t have been more preoccupied. Images of that fateful event flashed through my brain. My recollections revealed my rain-soaked train ticket. I kept arguing with the steward about putting me in the wrong cabin. An erroneous judgment had been made when three strangers insisted I was Arthur. We were so different in physical appearance. He was a large, athletic man with a distinguished moustache. On the other hand, I had baby smooth skin and couldn’t grow facial hair to save my life. I was nearly twenty years younger and much shorter with wild auburn hair that resembled Maestro Beethoven’s with the exception of premature strands of gray.
So why was I singled out? Was there laudanum in my brandy? Details spun like a whirlwind. I must’ve been in a drug-induced stupor but I was initiated into some secret Masonic-like society, and when it was all over those mysterious men were gone. What remained were an engraved silver ring on my finger and an ominous red book on the seat beside me.
“Looks like you’ve seen a ghost.” Arthur broke my trance and realized my thoughts had been elsewhere.
“I felt like I had.” Barely able to articulate, I tried to tame my wild mane in place. Visions faded in and out. Timelines jumped. So I gulped down another swig of ale to focus on the present.
Arthur leaned in closer. “I can see you’re still worried about that event on the train. Those men have been after me for some time. Why? It’s hard to fathom. I’ll dilly dally with notions here and there about Sherlock Holmes and his partner, Watson, who fancy themselves as detectives. Me? I’m just a simple doctor and writer with interests in Spiritualism trying to find scientific explanations for the unknown.”
“Arthur, what would anyone want with an unassuming music student like me?”
“Personally, I don’t think this was A Case of Identity,” Arthur replied with a smile.
Obviously he meant to say my dilemma was not a case of mistaken identity, not the name of one of his famous Sherlock stories. He was pleased I caught the humor of his play on words.
“Perhaps it has something to do with that book,” he said pointing to the one I brought.
“I’m concerned it’s dangerous, that it’s a curse. I wish I had never found it.” I shoved it back into my pocket and drained my glass.
* * *
One week later as I was returning home from school, my landlady, Lydia Campbell, yelled from the kitchen as I trudged my muddied shoes through the front door of her boarding house. “John, a letter from Undershaw arrived for you today! I wonder whom it could be from? You don’t know anyone from Undershaw, do you?”
Oh, yes I did. I grabbed the letter and ran upstairs so fast I nearly tripped on my muffler and fell on my face. I poured myself a glass of port to calm my nerves, doffed my wet garments and sank into my most comfortable brass-studded leather chair I affectionately named my thinking chair, where I created many a melody in my head, could think deep thoughts, and drift off to dreamland.
* * *
Dear John,
I wholeheartedly enjoyed our conversation at the Deacon Brodie and kept my promise of a prompt reply. By now, you are well aware of my passion to explore the realms of Spiritualism and related paranormal phenomena far surpasses any personal interests involved with Sherlock Holmes. Public demand for my writing, however, exerts a strain on how much I can overtly reveal to even my most trusted colleagues. Whenever I indulge in any activity, be it a simple séance, investigating a revered medium or attending a meeting of the British Society for Psychical Research, it never fails to raise the eyebrows of my wary publishers and critics. It’s God’s honest truth that I believe in many of these inexplicable accounts. Even my father painted beautiful renditions of fairies, which I trust he witnessed with his own eyes. The betterment of mankind rests on embracing such theories once they are proven to exist by the scientific community. Thus, I’ll have to continue more controversial and debatable endeavors in utmost secrecy, or at least for the time being until more evidence can be brought to light.
Since you seem to be an open-minded young man who has already experienced some effects of the preternatural, this is my proposal: At midnight every night, we should conduct a variety of remote operations with the primary purpose of communicating through means of telepathy. Since I have a tendency to travel, we’ll have to make some sort of adjustment to take into account the different time zones. Of course, you must share this secret with nobody. Besides us, only my wife will know, although she will not participate.
When you shared the account of the strange commuter train incident that was enough to convince me that you would be the perfect partner for this private undertaking. Most assuredly, there was something you did in the past in the realm of the arcane to warrant such a chain of events. That was not mere happenstance, and now since you possess that enigmatic red book, I’m sure it will affect your life in ways you’ve never imagined.
My intentions have been to perform similar trial and error enterprises with Harry Houdini, a rising star whose stage performances have been astounding audiences, but his busy schedule has made it nearly impossible to coordinate such engagements with any sort of regularity. One of these days we’ll catch up. Meanwhile, I collect whatever news comes from across the herring-pond. At one point, he and I will develop a special relationship based on mutual interests.
Regarding the two of us, however, we’ll back up our observations with letters or telegrams as often as possible as proof of results, but those must be destroyed as soon as they are read. Once again, I cannot over emphasize the importance of confidentiality. Regardless, we must keep a faithful agreement, as skill will come with practice.
If you are willing to put aside any apprehensions regarding trains, I’ll pay for you to travel down to Undershaw and visit me on weekends whenever possible. My driver can meet you in London at a pre-arranged time. You’ll stay in one of our guest bedrooms, and as long as you don’t mind the children and can tolerate what our kitchen staff provides, you’ll be well taken care of. That’ll give us the opportunity to expand our repertoire and commence further psychical experimentation with ectoplasm, spirit photography and astral projection. And bring the red book. I’d like a chance to look at it.
I’ve also desired a partner to accompany me for ghost sightings and occult investigations. For all we know with the knowledge gained, we might even break through the barriers of time. That would certainly give Bertie (H.G. Wells) a shock to the senses, proving his imagination does not merely dwell in the realm of fiction. We’ve been at odds on this topic for years.
Regarding telepathic technique, I can only suggest you conduct yourself in a way as you see fit. Personally, I don’t give credence to things like magical amulets, but if it helps to have an etheric link, use this letter you hold in your hand, as it contains my heart, soul and signature with a drop of blood, which I added to the ink. You might wish to reciprocate.
Let’s raise our glasses to honor the quest of conquering the unknown.
Arthur Conan Doyle
* * *
So, Arthur was serious when he first brought up the subject. When he and I left the pub, I really didn’t know what to think. After all, he was a famous author, and I was merely a student. What possessed him to choose me for such an engagement?
I shuffled through my schoolwork to find my pen and ink and a fresh sheet of paper. Blood, I needed blood. Ah, my razor! That would work. I fetched my shaving kit and winced as I drew a few drops. I scribbled a swift, affirmative reply with the blood-tainted ink, mailed the letter the following day and looked forward to our first otherworldly encounter.
***
Excerpt from The Time Traveler Professor, Book One: Silent Meridian by Elizabeth Crowens. Copyright © 2019 by Elizabeth Crowens. Reproduced with permission from Elizabeth Crowens. All rights reserved.

Author Bio:

Crowens has worked in the film and television for over twenty years and as a journalist and a photographer. She’s a regular contributor of author interviews to an award-winning online speculative fiction magazine, Black Gate. Short stories of hers have been published in the Bram Stoker Awards nominated anthology, A New York State of Fright and Hell’s Heart. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America, The Horror Writers Association, the Authors Guild, Broad Universe, Sisters in Crime and a member of several Sherlockian societies. She is also writing a Hollywood suspense series.

Catch Up With Our Author On:
elizabethcrowens.com, Goodreads, Bookbub, Twitter, & Facebook!

Tour Participants:

Tour Participants:
Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!

Giveaway!!!:

This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Elizabeth Crowens. There will be eight(8) winners. One (1) winner will receive an Amazon.com Gift Card and seven (7) winners will each receive Silent Meridian by Elizabeth Crowens (eBook). The giveaway begins on August 18, 2019 and runs through September 23, 2019. Void where prohibited.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Get More Great Reads at Partners In Crime Virtual Book Tours