Vacations Can Be Murder - A Review, Excerpt, & Giveaway

 Review

VACATIONS CAN BE MURDER:
A TRUE CRIME LOVER'S TRAVEL GUIDE TO NEW ENGLAND
VOLUME 1
By Dawn M. Barclay 

 

True crime enthusiasts who like to travel, even if it's only via armchair, will appreciate VACATIONS CAN BE MURDER: A TRUE CRIME LOVER'S TRAVEL GUIDE TO NEW ENGLAND VOLUME 1. This handy book gives each state its own chapter which is then divided into sections: basic crime statistics and brief segments about the crimes followed by a sampling of true crime books set in that state. The next section includes various places to see including accommodations, restaurants, and other attractions. Addresses, websites, and current hours and prices are also given as well as more snippets about the crimes that took place there. The last section for each state features the itineraries, multiple ones for each state giving driving directions to a set of true crime sights. As with any travel book the problem is that they can easily become outdated. Information such as prices and hours of operations can change quickly and the author urges people to call before making any definitive plans. In addition, the stories remain the same even if restaurants and tour companies fade away.

 

The book includes notorious true crime cases, such as Lizzie Borden and Kitty Genovese, and historical cases such as the Salem Witch trials and the Boston Strangler, however a large number of the cases are tawdry murders which only die hard true crime fans, or those with some association, would be interested. I personally wouldn't care to visit the site where a man repeatedly stabbed his neighbor, though I may want to pay respects nearby where a woman was hanged for witchcraft.

 

This book is exceedingly well researched with a wonderful bibliography and index at the end. I really enjoyed reading about the haunted restaurants and hotels and found those bit even more interesting than some of the true crime sections.

 

Well organized and easily readable VACATIONS CAN BE MURDER: A TRUE CRIME LOVER'S TRAVEL GUIDE TO NEW ENGLAND VOLUME 1 is an enjoyable travel guide for fans of true crime and those interested in more unique travel destinations.

 

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VACATIONS CAN BE MURDER

A TRUE CRIME TRAVEL GUIDE TO NEW ENGLAND

by Dawn M Barclay

April 28 - May 23, 2025 Virtual Book Tour

Synopsis:

Vacations Can Be Murder

 

As Close as You Can Get to True Crime While Still Breathing!

For the true crime lover—finally, a travel guide from an award-winning travel journalist and suspense author that gives you the down and dirty on exactly where the major crimes occurred, and where the bodies are buried. For aficionados of paranormal, prison, and tombstone travel, there’s a goldmine of tourism suggestions for you here as well.

Along with summaries of the major crimes committed in New England, you’ll discover where to find the best crime and ghost tours; which hotels and restaurants are former jails, courthouses, or harbor paranormal activity; where infamous criminals are/were jailed, and which venues and attractions might feed your fancy for murder and justice. Reading lists in each chapter will guide you to books expounding on the crimes discussed.. Best of all, suggested itineraries bring all the pieces together to help you traverse New England’s criminal landscape in an organized and entertaining way. Up for a true crime road trip? Let Vacations Can Be Murder be your ultimate travel guide.

Praise for Vacations Can Be Murder:

"The perfect reference book for the U. S. crime traveler. Barclay rounds up a collection of known and obscure crimes, arranged by geographic area, that features museums, cemeteries, hotels, prisons, and private properties. She even offers itineraries, murder tours, a location-specific list of true-crime books, victim resources, and some ghost stories. This travel guide is a gem. Be packed and ready before you start reading because you’ll want to go explore."
~ Katherine Ramsland, author of Darkest Waters, The Nutcracker Investigations, and How to Catch a Killer

Vacations Can Be Murder Trailer:

Book Details:

Genre: True Crime, Travel
Published by: Level Best Books
Publication Date: March 25, 2025
Number of Pages: 340
Series: Vacations Can Be Murder, Book 1
Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads

Read an excerpt from Vacations Can Be Murder: A True Crime Lover’s Travel Guide to New England:

This is from the Crime Summaries section of the Connecticut chapter. The actual addresses of these crimes are all included in the Itineraries section of the chapter.

Hartford may be considered one of Connecticut’s most dangerous cities, but its suburbs have seen their fair share of crime over the years.

The Hartford Witch Trials occurred between 1647-1663. In all of Connecticut, there were 43 trials and 16 executions, many in Hartford and three in Wethersfield. On May 26, 1647, Alice (Alse) Young of Windsor was the first to be executed. Servant girl Mary Johnson was the first to confess to witchcraft in Connecticut but was likely coerced by extensive torture. She was executed somewhere between 1648-1650 (reports vary).

In 1839, The Amistad criminal and civil cases were tried at Old Statehouse in Hartford. The case revolved around a mutiny by, and subsequent charging of, 53 Mende African men, women, and children who had been captured and were being transported between Sierra Leone and Havana, Cuba aboard the ship to serve as slaves. The story was the subject of the Steven Spielberg film, Amistad. Several other Connecticut locations connected to the trial can be found at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/travelamistad/visit.htm.

Joseph “Mad Dog” Taborsky was a murderer sentenced to death after a string of brutal robberies and murders in Hartford and West Hartford in the 1950s. He was sentenced twice to be executed for two different crimes, but the first conviction was overturned due to the mental competency of a witness, his brother Albert, testifying against him. (Albert was later declared insane.) In December 1956, a little over a year after his release from prison, Taborsky launched a 14-month murder spree that killed gas station attendant Edward Kurpewski and customer Daniel Janowski, package store owner Samuel Cohn, shoe store customers Bernard and Ruth Speyer, and pharmacy owner John M. “Jack” Rosenthal. The second conviction stuck, and he died in the electric chair in 1960, the last execution in Connecticut until that of Michael Bruce Ross in 2005.

In 2004, Matthew Steven Johnson was convicted of the 2000 and 2001 slayings of three female sex workers he murdered—Rosali Jimenez (33), Aida Quinones (33), and Alesia Ford (37)—who were all found dead in the Asylum Hill neighborhood of Hartford. Each of the women had drugs in their system and were found with their bodies stomped upon, strewn with Johnson’s semen, and with their pants pulled down around one leg. Johnson was found guilty and sentenced to three consecutive 60-year sentences at the Cheshire Correctional Institution.

Lazale Ashby became one of the youngest prisoners on Connecticut’s death row for kidnapping, raping, burglarizing, and murdering his neighbor Elizabeth Garcia in 2002, when he was just 18. He was suspected of another Hartford rape, as well.

Ashby has actually been tried and sentenced three times for Garcia’s murder, the final time in 2023, when he confessed to the crime. Now that Connecticut has abolished the death penalty, he’s been sentenced to 46.5 years in prison. In addition, he was convicted and received a 25-year sentence for the 2003 fatal shooting of 22-year-old Nahshon Cohen of Manchester, whose body was found on a street in the city’s North End.

Speaking of Manchester, in August of 2010, the city became the location of a mass shooting at a beer distribution company, Hartford Distributors. Disgruntled former employee Omar Thorton, forced to resign after video evidence revealed he’d been stealing and reselling the company’s beer, fatally shot eight coworkers and injured two others. He then committed suicide on site. Those who knew him cited racism as the reason for his upset, but these allegations were disputed by the firm and not substantiated by the investigation that followed.

William Devin Howell’s rape and murder spree, which started on New Year’s Day in 2003, took place in Seymour, West Hartford, and Wethersfield, as well as New Britain. Triggered by a fight with his girlfriend, Howell succumbed to years-long rape fantasies, Referring to himself as the “Sick Ripper,” he would lure female drug addicts, unlikely to be missed, into his “murder mobile.” There, he would rape them, often videotaping bizarre sex acts, before murdering them and disposing of the bodies in a seldom frequented area behind a strip mall in New Britain which he called his “garden.” He was arrested in North Carolina and plea-bargained his way into a fifteen-year sentence for the manslaughter of Mary Jane Menard. However, new evidence that surfaced while he was already in jail earned him six consecutive life sentences (360 years in prison) to be spent at the Cheshire Correctional Institution.

In 1986 at the Jamaican Progressive League, a club in Hartford’s North End, Bonnie Foreshaw stopped to get a beer and ended up committing a murder that bought her the longest jail sentence ever handed down to a woman in the state. Having endured a lifetime of sexual and spousal abuse, when Hector Freeman offered to buy her a drink and wouldn’t let up when she turned him down, the encounter triggered her. She drew her handgun to fire a warning shot, but Freeman protected himself by using a pregnant woman, Joyce Amos, as a human shield. Foreshaw’s bullet killed her accidently.

Foreshaw spent the majority of her jail time at the York Correctional Institution in Niantic where author Wally Lamb taught a writing class for prisoners. Lamb took up her cause, believing she’d been over-sentenced, and thanks to his help, Foreshaw was granted clemency after serving just 27 years of a 49-year sentence. Once released, she changed her name to Bonnie Jean Cook and helped other ex-convicts adjust to life on the outside until her death in 2022.

All of these murders pale in comparison to the crimes of Amy Archer-Gilligan. While she was charged with five deaths (though only tried for one), she may have killed as many as one hundred. Archer-Gilligan ran the Archer Home for Elderly People and Chronic Invalids in the Hartford suburb of Windsor, where countless older residents were bilked out of money and then poisoned by arsenic, including the murderer’s own husbands. Other locations tied to Archer-Gilligan include Newington, where she and her first husband James Archer lived with John Seymour until he died, and then they transformed the home into Sister Amy’s Nursing Home for the Elderly. In 1917, she was convicted of the murder of Franklin Andrew and sentenced to death by hanging, but she appealed. During a second trial in 1919, she pleaded insanity and was convicted of second-degree murder, earning her a life sentence. In 1924, she was transferred to the Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane in Middletown, where she remained until her death in 1962. The play Arsenic and Old Lace is loosely based on her story.

Also in Hartford, the Circus Fire that killed 168 persons and injured 412-700 others through trampling and asphyxiation occurred on July 6, 1944 (“The Day the Clowns Cried”) and is considered one of the country’s worst fire disasters. The Big Top Tent was coated in paraffin plus gasoline or kerosene for waterproofing; therefore, it was highly flammable. On top of that, some of the exits were blocked by animal chutes. Arson was suspected; others blamed a carelessly tossed lit cigarette. A mentally ill man named Robert Dale Segee, 21, of Circleville, OH, confessed to setting the fire, as well as up to 30 other blazes in Maine, New Hampshire, and Ohio. He later recanted his confession and was never tried in Connecticut. However, Segee was indicted and convicted in Ohio on two charges of arson and served eight out of a four-to-forty-year jail sentence. He died in 1997.

Finally, on May 18, 1988, Billy “Hot Dog” Grant, a bookie who was in charge of Connecticut safe houses for New York’s five families, was reportedly murdered in the parking lot of the Westfarms Mall in Farmington. Grant, who had owned Augie and Ray’s Hot Dog and Hamburger shop in East Hartford, and later the South End Seaport restaurant on Franklin Avenue, was suspected of having given up details of the hiding spot of the brother of a mafia boss. He is supposedly buried underneath a Farmington residence.

***

Excerpt from Vacations Can Be Murder by Dawn M Barclay. Copyright 2025 by Dawn M Barclay. Reproduced with permission from Dawn M Barclay. All rights reserved.

 

 

Author Bio:

Dawn M. Barclay is a veteran travel trade reporter and an award-winning author who writes nonfiction under her own name and fiction as D.M. Barr. Her first nonfiction book, Traveling Different: Vacation Strategies for Parents of the Anxious, the Inflexible, and the Neurodiverse (Rowman & Littlefield, 2022) received a starred review from Library Journal, and won the 2023 Lowell Thomas Gold Award from the Society of American Travel Writers Foundation, Honorable Mention from the American Society of Journalists and Authors (Books that Make a Difference), and first prize in the Maxy Awards. When not writing, she edits for various authors and publishers, creates book trailers, ghostwrites (nonfiction only!), plays competitive trivia, rescues senior shelter dogs, travel, reads, and apparently, drives her family nuts...but they won't admit it, of course, since she knows a lot about murder.

Catch Up With Dawn M Barclay:

www.VacationsCanBeMurder.com
Amazon Author Profile
Goodreads
Instagram - @authordmbarr
Facebook - @TrueCrimeTravelGuides

 

 

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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.

Serving Up Suspense with Style Ellenbutler.net Instagram Facebook  

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Murder at the Breakers - A Review

 Review

MURDER AT THE BREAKERS by Alyssa Maxwell
The First Gilded Newport Mystery

 

Emma Cross' charming, but ne'er do well brother, Brady, needs her help. Though he won't reveal exactly what's going on, she agrees to distract Cornelius Vanderbilt for him during a fancy ball at the Breakers. But when she loses track of her uncle she becomes a witness to murder when the body of Mr. Goddard falls from a balcony in front of her. When Brady is found in a compromising position at the crime scene Emma knows it will be up to her to prove his innocence, no matter the danger.

Emma Cross is a wonderful protagonist. She's smart, resourceful, and determined. She lives life on her own terms, as challenging as that can be for a single woman during the Gilded Age. Never forget that Emma is a Vanderbilt, with the grit and determination that comes with the name. While she loves her family, it is not a blind love. She sees their foibles and realizes they could be culpable for all manner of transgressions, including murder. A picture is painted of this fabled family...but painted with cracks showing. 

Relationships play a vital role in the first Gilded Newport Mystery. Of course, it's Emma's relationship with her brother that leads her to investigate the murder, as well as her relationship with her childhood friend, Jesse, who happens to be a detective. Though a poor relation, she's still close to the Vanderbilt family. Family and friends circle each other, motives pop up, secrets come out, and not everyone is who they seem. I love Nanny and, though she never appears in the book, having died previously, Aunt Sadie certainly leaves her mark and is a woman I admire.

I really enjoyed the mystery. Lots of red herrings had me suspicious of a lot of people...but I did figure out the killer before Emma did. There was enough danger and excitement to get my heart racing along with a touch of romance to keep things even more interesting.

From the opulence of the rich to those striving to fit in MURDER AT THE BREAKERS is a rich period mystery filled with machinations and memorable characters. Reading this entry to the Gilded Newport Mystery series has sparked a desire to learn more and I’m excited to delve deeper into the intricacies of this time period and read more about the fascinating people and gorgeous “cottages”.

Murder at the Breakers - An Interview with Alyssa Maxwell

I'm pleased to welcome Alyssa Maxwell to Cozy Up With Kathy today. Alyssa writes the Gilded Newport Mystery series. MURDER AT THE BREAKERS, the first book the series, has just been adapted into a Hallmark movie that will be premiering this Friday!

Kathy: Before you started writing the Gilded Newport Mystery series, were you interested in the Gilded Age?

AM: Yes! But not exclusively. I’m a history fan and interested in lots of different time periods. But writing this series has deepened my understanding and appreciation of the period and the people who lived during it. I’ve learned about the huge strides in technology, in business and industry, and even in social norms, which were gradually becoming less restrictive. But the most significant thing I learned, which helped me in presenting historical figures as characters in the series, was how much like the rest of us people like the Vanderbilts and Astors were. Yes, they had unimaginable resources at their disposal, but they still experienced many of the same issues as the rest of us, such as poor health, family divisions and estrangement, divorce, rebellious children, addiction, etc. Their wealth didn’t make them invulnerable, and this made them much more human to me, rather than historical icons. Emma is fond of her Vanderbilt relatives. So am I.


Kathy: I’m intrigued by so many different aspects of this era of American history, the huge discrepancies between the have and have nots, those amazing parties, and more. What's your favorite bit about this time in history, or the part that interests you the most?

AM: Again, it’s the people. Each story takes place in a different mansion, but it’s the families who owned them that help shape each plot. For instance, in the book I’ve just completed, MURDER AT VINLAND, the house was owned by Hamilton and Florence Twombly (a Vanderbilt). In my research Florence struck me as a very strong woman with set opinions on the proper way to do things. This led me to focus on her, rather than her husband, as the owner of Vinland, and from there, I built a story almost entirely around women, as both victims and suspects. As I’ve discovered, the Gilded Age fostered some remarkable personalities.


Kathy: When first writing MURDER AT THE BREAKERS, did you see it as a film? Did you think of certain actors in the various roles?

AM: Other than all authors hoping one of their books might someday be made into a movie, no, I never envisioned this specifically.


Kathy: Who had the idea of actually turning your series into a Hallmark Mystery Movie?

AM: This is a story of luck! One of the executive producers on the project happened to tour The Breakers right before the pandemic and spotted MURDER AT THE BREAKERS in the gift shop. He had been hoping for a while to find a good Newport project, so he bought the book, read it, and soon after approached my agent.


Kathy: How much of a role did you play in its inception and production? Did you get to work on the screenplay at all? Did the screenwriter, or anyone involved in the film ask you for details or your own thoughts?

AM: I’ve been asked this a lot! And the answer is no, I wasn’t consulted at all. Once an author sells the film rights to a production company, she no longer has any control over what happens. Some authors like J.K. Rowling or Stephen King might be consulted, but that’s actually rare. I like to say my creative input was in writing the book.


Kathy: The movie version is always different than the book, in some cases more than others. How close is the Hallmark Mysteries and Movies version to your original story?

AM: Although they had to pare it down to fit into a 90-minute time slot, I feel they’ve done a good job with the main story, changing a few things but basically sticking to the plot I wrote.


Kathy: What's the scariest thing about having your book turned into a film?

AM: Having no control over the finished product!


Kathy: What's the best thing about having your book turned into a film?

AM: The best thing—so wonderful it’s almost surreal—is seeing my characters brought to life and hearing words I wrote spoken by those characters. It’s both thrilling and a bit humbling to think this is happening because of my efforts as an author (working away at home in scrubby clothes, drinking coffee and munching on pretzels or whatever to keep myself going) and that SO many people (producers, actors, writers, cameramen, lighting techs, costumers, etc.) have come together to produce this movie. It’s also exciting to know that this is Hallmark’s first period-set mystery.


Kathy: Are there plans for other books in your series to be adapted to film?

AM: That’s getting a bit ahead of things. We’ll have to see how the first one does, but I’ll say they certainly set it up to be a series of movies.


Kathy: Will you share any upcoming books?

AM: At the moment I just finished up copyedits and a readthrough of MURDER AT VINLAND, the 12th book in the Gilded Newport Mysteries, to be released on August 20th; and I’m in the middle of writing TWO WEDDINGS AND A MURDER, the 9th book in my Lady & Lady’s Maid Mysteries, which should come out early in 2025.

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Blurb:

Newport, Rhode Island, August 1895: She may be a less well-heeled relation, but as second cousin to millionaire patriarch Cornelius Vanderbilt, twenty-one-year-old Emma Cross is on the guest list for a grand ball at the Breakers, the Vanderbilts’ summer home. She also has a job to do—report on the event for the society page of the Newport Observer.
 
But Emma observes much more than glitz and gaiety when she witnesses a murder. The victim is Cornelius Vanderbilt’s financial secretary, who plunges off a balcony faster than falling stock prices. Emma’s black sheep brother Brady is found in Cornelius’s bedroom passed out next to a bottle of bourbon and stolen plans for a new railroad line. Brady has barely come to before the police have arrested him for the murder. But Emma is sure someone is trying to railroad her brother and resolves to find the real killer at any cost . . . 

Murder at the Elms - A Spotlight & Giveaway

 Murder at the Elms (A Gilded Newport Mystery) by Alyssa Maxwell

About Murder at the Elms

Murder at the Elms (A Gilded Newport Mystery)
Historical Cozy Mystery 11th in Series
Setting - Rhode Island
Kensington (August 22, 2023)
Hardcover: ‎ 304 pages

As the nineteenth century comes to a close, the illustrious Vanderbilt family dominates Newport, Rhode Island, high society. But when murder arrives, reporter Emma Cross learns that sometimes the actions of the cream of society can curdle one’s blood in the latest installment of this bestselling cozy historical mystery series . . .

1901: Back from their honeymoon in Italy, Emma and Derrick are adapting to married life as they return to their duties at their jointly owned newspaper, the Newport Messenger. The Elms, coal baron Edward Berwind’s newly completed Bellevue Avenue estate, is newsworthy for two reasons: A modern mansion for the new century, it is one of the first homes in America to be wired for electricity with no backup power system, generated by coal from Berwind’s own mines. And their servants—with a single exception—have all gone on strike to protest their working conditions. Summarily dismissing and replacing his staff with cool and callous efficiency, Berwind throws a grand party to showcase the marvels of his new “cottage.” Emma and Derrick are invited to the fete, which culminates not only in a fabulous musicale but an unforeseen tragedy—a chambermaid is found dead in the coal tunnel. In short order, it is also discovered that a guest’s diamond necklace is missing and a laborer has disappeared. Detective Jesse Whyte entreats Emma and Derrick to help with the investigation and determine whether the murdered maid and stolen necklace are connected. As the dark deeds cast a shadow over the blazing mansion, it’s up to Emma to shine a light on the culprit . . . Excerpt

About Alyssa Maxwell

Alyssa Maxwell is the author of The Gilded Newport Mysteries and A Lady and Lady’s Maid Mysteries. She has worked in publishing as a reference book editor, ghost writer, and fiction editor, but knew from an early age that she wanted to be a fiction author. Growing up in New England and traveling to Great Britain and Ireland fueled a passion for history, while a love of puzzles drew her to the mystery genre. She and her husband have make their home in South Florida. She is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and the South Florida Fiction Writers.

Author Links:

Website www.alyssamaxwell.com  

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AlyssaMaxwellauthor/  

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The Ghost Goes to the Dogs - A Review & Giveaway

 Review

THE GHOST GOES TO THE DOGS by Cleo Coyle

The Ninth Haunted Bookshop Mystery

Quindicott, Rhode Island, and Buy the Book in particular, has gone to the dogs. In honor of St. Francis Day, the local university is spreading their celebrations into town and the Paw-some reading group has convinced Penelope Thornton-McClure to host Pet Mystery Week at her shop. Jane Cunningham, a core member of the group, was instrumental in arranging many of the activities, but it's her dog, Sparky that gets Pen's attention. Barking outside the bookstore, he leads Pen and her son Spencer to Jane, lying on the sidewalk, shot...but alive. While the Chief of Police believes it's simply a hunting accident, Pen is doubtful, and ghostly PI Jack Shepard agrees.

 

You get twice the mystery and twice the fun in a Haunted Bookshop Mystery. I love the dual mystery as how Jack teaches Pen how to solve the mystery in her time by sharing one from his. Vivid descriptions, especially of Penny's 1940s clothing immerse me in that time. The wrestlers from Jack's time still have me grinning-I want to throw some pickles! 

 

While I am most definitely a cat person, I love dogs too and was happy to meet Sparky in the ninth Haunted Bookshop Mystery. It was heartwarming to see that slice of Americana - a boy and his dog...even if it was just temporary. It was also fun watching people who don't really know about dogs handle the rambunctious pup.

Not everything is what it seems in THE GHOST GOES TO THE DOGS. However, I cottoned on to several clues, and I even solved the last line of the riddle well before Penny. I also had a fairly good idea of what was going on behind the modern mystery, at least one aspect of it, but I still didn't know who dun it until the very end! This ability to solve the mystery along with the protagonist made a great read even more enjoyable and reminded me of works from the Golden Age of detective fiction.

With laughs, thrills, and ghostly chills THE GHOST GOES TO THE DOGS is a doggone fun tale!

 

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The Ghost Goes to the Dogs (Haunted Bookshop Mystery) by Cleo Coyle

About The Ghost Goes to the Dogs

The Ghost Goes to the Dogs (Haunted Bookshop Mystery)
Paranormal Cozy Mystery 9th in Series
Setting -‎ Rhode Island
Berkley (May 2, 2023)
Mass Market Paperback: ‎ 320 pages

A stray dog leads bookseller Penelope McClure and her gumshoe ghost on a chase for a cunning criminal in this brand-new entry in the "UTTERLY CHARMING" (Mystery Scene) Haunted Bookshop Mysteries from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

Pet Mystery Week brings brisk business to Penelope's Rhode Island bookshop, but a real mystery comes barking at her door when a lost dog turns up in a panic. Pen and her son Spencer follow the furry fugitive to a wooded area where the dog's owner lies unconscious. Mrs. Cunningham is a warm-hearted widow who volunteers at the animal shelter and runs Buy the Book's pet lovers book club. Why would anyone shoot such a sweet soul?

The police believe it's an accident, a shot by a careless deer hunter, but Pen remains skeptical. To straighten out this doggone mess, she whistles for the ghost of PI Jack Shepard, an expert in hounding as well as haunting. Jack has a dog story of his own, a case from the 1940s that may help Pen sniff out clues to her present predicament. Yet even with Jack's hard-boiled help, Pen may not be able to stop the killer from striking again or letting this whole case go to the dogs...

About the Author 

CLEO COYLE is a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Both are New York Times-bestselling authors of the long-running Coffeehouse Mysteries and Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, now celebrating nearly 20 years in print. With more than one million books sold, their work has been honored with starred reviews and multiple best-of-year list selections by reviewers. Alice and Marc are also bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, Toho, and MGM. They live and work in New York City, where they write independently and together.

Author Links: 

Webpage: https://www.coffeehousemystery.com/cleos_haunted_bookshop.cfm  

Free Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cleocoylerecipes/newsletter  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CleoCoyle/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CleoCoyle  

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cleo-coyle 

 Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/51488.Cleo_Coyle  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cleocoyle_author/ 

 

Purchase Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo Google Play Bookshop.org Indiebound 

 

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Currently Reading...

I'm currently reading The Ghost Goes to the Dogs by Cleo Coyle. This book is the ninth in the Haunted Bookshop Mystery series and was released yesterday.

Quindicott, Rhode Island, and Buy the Book in particular, has gone to the dogs. In honor of St. Francis Day, the local university is spreading their celebrations into town and the Paw-some reading group has convinced Penelope Thornton-McClure to host Pet Mystery Week at her shop. Jane Cunningham, a core member of the group, was instrumental in arranging many of the activities, but it's her dog, Sparky that gets Pen's attention. Barking outside the bookstore, he leads Pen and her son Spencer to Jane, lying on the sidewalk, shot...but alive. While the sheriff believes it's simply a hunting accident, Pen is doubtful, and ghostly PI Jack Shepard agrees.

The Ghost and the Stolen Tears - A Review & Giveaway

 Review

THE GHOST AND THE STOLEN TEARS by Cleo Coyle
The Eighth Haunted Bookshop Mystery 

When bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure visits her friend Fiona at the Finch Inn, she enters a world of chaos. An internet influencer is screeching that her jewels have been stolen. Norma, a nomadic woman currently working as a housekeeper at the inn and helping out at the bookstore, is soon accused of the crime. No one who knows her thinks Norma could be guilty, but when she disappears things look grim. PI Jack Shepard isn't as sure of Norma's innocence, but he knows that those jewels bring nothing but trouble, having worked a case involving them before he was killed. Now Jack and Pen, with the help of some friends, will have to figure out just who stole the Valentino Teardrops. 

While the mystery is first rate, it's the characters that make THE GHOST AND THE STOLEN TEARS so special. From Pen and her aunt to her bickering buddies and most of the residents of Quindicott, they all create a cozy environment where you want to spend time. While I'm not a huge fan of children in my mysteries I do like Spencer. I especially like how his school project entwined with the mystery. It's the  relationship between Pen and Jack that is the heart of this series, however. What's especially unique about their relationship is how Jack is able to bring Penny into his former world through her dreams. Instead of just telling her stories or giving her clues, Jack brings her into his world to explore, experience, and learn from his past. She's actually able to live it and bring the knowledge back to apply it to the present day mystery. By allowing her to do this readers also get the benefit of a historical mystery mixed with a modern day cozy. 

There's so much I love about this series, not least of which is a certain ghostly detective. In addition to great characters I love the wordplay found in the Haunted Bookshop Mystery series. From the noirish speech of Jack to the fact that a woman with a teardrop trailer is suspected of stealing the Tears of Valentino, tidbits such as these enhance the writing and the story.

Multiple mysteries past and present entwine themselves in THE GHOST AND THE STOLEN TEARS with surprises happening in all timelines. Carefully plotted clues and characterizations come together creating a confounding mystery to tickle the little grey cells. With missing jewels and a woman on the run THE GHOST AND THE STOLEN TEARS is a hauntingly good read.

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 The Ghost and the Stolen Tears (Haunted Bookshop Mystery) by Cleo Coyle

About The Ghost and the Stolen Tears

The Ghost and the Stolen Tears (Haunted Bookshop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery 8th in Series
Berkley (October 4, 2022)
Mass Market Paperback: ‎ 288 pages

Norma is a modern-day nomad. Living out of her van and teardrop trailer, she revels in self-reliance, solitude, and reading in the glorious peace of nature. Jovial, wise, and scrupulously honest, she's become an uplifting presence in the little town of Quindicott, Rhode Island, where bookseller Pen is thankful to have her part-time help. But it's Norma's other job, working as a housekeeper at the Finch Inn, that gets her into terrible trouble. Norma is accused of stealing jewels from a guest's room: the legendary Valentino Teardrops, an antique necklace and earring set, inherited by a young socialite. Pen doesn't believe Norma is guilty of the crime—though the evidence is distressingly strong. And when the spirited Norma vanishes before her arrest, Pen turns to another spirit...

Jack Shepard, PI, may have been gunned down decades ago, but his memory hasn't been ghosted. Back in the 1940s, those same Valentino Teardrops starred in a bizarre case of betrayal and murder. From the look of things, history is about to repeat. Now Jack is back on the job, and Pen is eternally grateful.

About Cleo Coyle

CLEO COYLE is a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Both are New York Times bestselling authors of the long-running Coffeehouse Mysteries—now celebrating eighteen years in print. They are also authors of the nationally bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, previously written under the pseudonym Alice Kimberly. Alice has worked as a journalist in Washington, D.C., and New York, and has written popular fiction for adults and children. A former magazine editor, Marc has authored espionage thrillers and nonfiction for adults and children. Alice and Marc are also both bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, and MGM. They live and work in New York City, where they write independently and together.

Author Links

Webpage Free Newsletter Facebook Twitter BookBub Goodreads Instagram

Purchase Links - Amazon - B&N - Kobo - Penguin Random House - BAM

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Currently Reading...

I just finished reading The Ghost and the Stolen Tears by Cleo Coyle. This book is the eighth in the Haunted Bookshop Mystery series and was released earlier this month.

When bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure visits her friend Fiona at the Finch Inn, she enters a world of chaos. An internet influencer is screeching that her jewels have been stolen. Norma, a nomadic woman currently working as a housekeeper at the inn and helping out at the bookstore, is soon accused of the crime. No one who knew her thinks Norma could be guilty, but when she disappears things look grim. PI Jack Shepard isn't as sure of Norma's innocence, but he knows that those jewels bring nothing but trouble, having worked a case involving them before he was killed. Now Jack and Pen, with the help of some friends, will figure out just who stole the Valentino Teardrops.

The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait - A Review & Giveaway

 Review

THE GHOST AND THE HAUNTED PORTRAIT by Cleo Coyle
The Seventh Haunted Bookshop Mystery

When Penelope Thornton-McClure and her friends drive out to pick up some paintings for her book shop's big event on cover art, she doesn't expect Seymour to fall in love with a haunting painting, which may be haunted. Captivated by what appears to be an early work of local legend, Seymour scoffs at the rumor that the painting is cursed. But a flat tire on a rainy night and the death of its seller are just the start of misfortunes for Pen and her friends. A case from PI Jack Shepard's past may help Pen as cover art, shady business dealings, and murder converge in this charming Rhode Island town.

Hardboiled and softboiled mysteries combine as 1940s PI Jack Shepard assists bookshop owner Penelope McClure in a new mystery. Readers not only get a thrilling cozy mystery, but a historical hardboiled PI mystery softened somewhat by the addition of the 21st century bookseller. The two mysteries run parallel with ties to each other and a means for Pen get a better understanding of her current problem. We can see how the past colors the present and future, in more ways than one.

Nothing is cut and dried in this seventh Haunted Bookshop Mystery. I like how Pen follows red herrings herself and make mistakes while searching for the truth. Although Jack was guiding her from the onset, reminding her that things aren't always what they seem, Pen and readers alike jump to some wrong conclusions leading to more than one surprise. 

I'm so happy to once again welcome Jack back. This gruff, but charming PI has me enthralled once again. I love how he is able to travel with Pen, but more, he can become a living breathing man when he brings Pen into his memories via her dreams. It's a fantastic method that both develops the plot and their relationship.

In addition to the fictional tale, there's a real caveat in THE GHOST IN THE HAUNTED PORTRAIT. It's a sad fact that there are plenty of shady people in the publishing world and I'm pleased that this book takes an honest look at bad practices that haunt the publishing industry more than ghosts or curses. Reading this mystery may help one fledgling writer or artist avoid the real life monsters out there.

THE GHOST AND THE HAUNTED PORTRAIT is a diabolically clever mystery with a reminder to never judge a book by its cover. It's a smart witty mystery, that also gives sage advice. I love this book and this series and look forward to seeing what Pen gets up to next. And Jack...I'll see you in my dreams.

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 The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait (Haunted Bookshop Mystery) by Cleo Coyle

About The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait

The Ghost and the Haunted Portrait (Haunted Bookshop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery 7th in Series
Publisher: Berkley (May 4, 2021)
Mass Market Paperback: 336 pages

Bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure and her gumshoe ghost team up to solve the stunning mystery at the heart of a madwoman’s self-portrait in this all new installment from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

While gathering a collection of vintage book cover paintings for a special event in her quaint Rhode Island bookshop, Penelope discovers a spooky portrait of a beautiful woman, one who supposedly went mad, according to town gossip. Seymour, the local mailman, falls in love with the haunting image and buys the picture, refusing to part with it, even as fatal accidents befall those around it. Is the canvas cursed? Or is something more sinister at work?

For answers, Pen turns to an otherworldly source: Jack Shepard, PI. Back in the 1940s, Jack cracked a case of a killer cover artist, and (to Pen’s relief) his spirit is willing to help her solve this mystery, even if he and his license did expire decades ago.

About Cleo Coyle

CLEO COYLE is a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Both are New York Times bestselling authors of the long-running Coffeehouse Mysteries—now celebrating eighteen years in print. They are also authors of the nationally bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, previously written under the pseudonym Alice Kimberly. Alice has worked as a journalist in Washington, D.C., and New York, and has written popular fiction for adults and children. A former magazine editor, Marc has authored espionage thrillers and nonfiction for adults and children. Alice and Marc are also both bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, and MGM. They live and work in New York City, where they write independently and together.

Author Links: 

Webpage: https://www.coffeehousemystery.com/cleos_haunted_bookshop.cfm  

Free Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/cleocoylerecipes/newsletter  

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CleoCoyle/  

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CleoCoyle 

 BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cleo-coyle  

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/51488.Cleo_Coyle  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cleocoyle_author/  

Purchase Links: Amazon Barnes & Noble Kobo Google Play IndieBound 

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The Ghost and the Bogus Bestseller - A Review and Giveaway

Review

THE GHOST AND THE BOGUS BESTSELLER by Cleo Coyle

The Sixth Haunted Bookshop Mystery

Jack Shepard, the ghost of a 1940s private detective is back on the scene. A slightly snobbish customer has fled Buy the Book, unpaid novel in hand. It's more than the theft that concerns Penelope Thornton-McClure, it's the older woman's reaction to the latest bestseller. Concerned, Pen, accompanied by Jack, tracks the woman down. What they discover is a slightly decrepit apartment, a talking bird, and a dead body. While it appears that the troubled customer committed suicide, the scene doesn't quite add up. Pen and Jack agree-it's murder!

Almost fifteen years ago I met a man. He was a little rough around the edges, but dashing, charming, and mysterious. I developed a major crush. Oh, I knew it would never work out between us, after all, he was dead...and fictional, but that didn't stop me from dreaming. Then he disappeared. For ten years I didn't hear from him, you might say he ghosted...but now Jack Shepard is back and better than ever!

After a ten year hiatus, the sixth Haunted Bookshop Mystery continues as if practically no time had passed and while readers may appreciate more subtleties if they've read the previous books in the series, especially how Jack and Pen met, it is certainly not necessary to appreciate this captivating new mystery that is both timely and timeless.

Cleo Coyle skillfully weaves a mystery filled with intersecting stories, past and present. It gives a look at literary snobbishness and academic condescension in the face of mass popularity as well as the perils of publishing. What's fascinating is how Jack shows cases from his past that shed light on the current mystery. The way in which Jack and Pen can be together is magical, and a fun trip to the 1940s for readers. But the mystery is just part of it. 

THE GHOST AND THE BOGUS BESTSELLER illustrates how past choices can affect the present. It deals with love and loss, courage and partnership. Jack's been helping Pen, not only solve crimes, but believe in herself, heal herself and learn to love again. Welcome back, Jack.

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The Ghost and the Bogus Bestseller (Haunted Bookshop Mystery) by Cleo Coyle

About the Book

 

The Ghost and the Bogus Bestseller (Haunted Bookshop Mystery)  

Paranormal Cozy Mystery 6th in Series  

Berkley (September 25, 2018) Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages ISBN-10: 0425237451 

Penelope Thornton-McClure and her bookshop's ghost-in-residence Jack Shepard are back on a new case in this delightful paranormal mystery from New York Times bestselling author Cleo Coyle.

A big bestseller leads to small town trouble.

Bookshop owner Penelope Thornton-McClure didn't believe in ghosts, until she was haunted by the hard-boiled spirit of 1940s private investigator Jack Shepard. Now Jack is back on the job, and Pen is eternally grateful...

After an elegant new customer has a breakdown in her shop, Penelope suspects there is something bogus behind the biggest bestseller of the year. This popular potboiler is so hot that folks in her tiny Rhode Island town are dying to read it--literally. First one customer turns up dead, followed by another mysterious fatality connected to the book, which Pen discovers is more than just fiction. Now, with the help of her gumshoe ghost, Pen must solve the real-life cold case behind the bogus bestseller before the killer closes the book on her.

About the Author

 

Cleo Coyle is a pseudonym for Alice Alfonsi, writing in collaboration with her husband, Marc Cerasini. Both are New York Times bestselling authors of the Coffeehouse Mysteries--now celebrating nearly fifteen years in print. They also write the nationally bestselling Haunted Bookshop Mysteries, which were originally published under their second pseudonym, Alice Kimberly (The Ghost and Mrs. McClure, The Ghost and the Dead Deb, The Ghost and the Dead Man's Library, The Ghost and the Femme Fatale, The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion). Alice has worked as a journalist in Washington, DC, and New York, and has written popular fiction for adults and children. A former magazine editor, Marc has authored espionage thrillers and nonfiction for adults and children. Alice and Marc are also bestselling media tie-in writers who have penned properties for Lucasfilm, NBC, Fox, Disney, Imagine, and MGM. They live and work in New York City, where they write independently and together. You can learn more about Cleo, her husband, and the books they write by visiting www.CoffeehouseMystery.com.

Author Links:

Visit Cleo online: www.coffeehousemystery.com  
Friend Cleo on Facebook:www.Facebook.com/CleoCoyle  
Follow Cleo on Twitter: https://twitter.com/cleocoyle/  

Purchase Links Amazon B&N Kobo Google Play BookBub

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Currently Reading...

I'm currently reading The Ghost and the Bogus Bestseller by Cleo Coyle. This book is the sixth in the Haunted Bookshop Mystery series and was released last week. After 10 years, Jack is back!

Jack Shepard, the ghost of a 1940s private detective is back on the scene. A slightly snobbish customer has fled Buy the Book, unpaid novel in hand. It's more than the theft that concerns Penelope Thornton-McClure, it's the older woman's behavior. Concerned, Pen, accompanied by Jack, tracks the woman down. What they discover is a slightly decrepit apartment, a talking bird, and a dead body. While it appears that the troubled customer committed suicide, the scene doesn't quite add up. Pen and Jack agree-it's murder!

Review & Giveaway - Murder at Rough Point

Review

MURDER AT ROUGH POINT by Alyssa Maxwell

The Fourth Gilded Newport Mystery

Emma Cross believes she's finally making a name for herself as a reporter when she's been asked to cover a story of a group of artists coming to stay at Rough Point for an artist retreat of sorts. The brooding estate happens to belong to her uncle, who has rented the place out, leaving his manager in charge, and pleased that Emma will keep an eye out on things as well; who knows what those artistic types could get into. Emma soon discovers that the artistic troupe is rife with conflict. She connects with Sir Randall who has been bullied by critics and peers alike. Sir Randall is buoyed by Emma's comments, his artistic fire burning once more. However, he goes missing after a walk and is later found dead. Was it an accident, suicide, or murder? When another artist misses the next dinner Emma is sure it's murder!

Although MURDER AT ROUGH POINT is not quite a locked room mystery, it's close. Being the off season, as well as the estate's relatively isolated location, neighbors are scarce. The storm makes visitors even more improbable. That leaves a Gothic Newport "cottage" full of suspects who are pretty much trapped there. A perfect setting for a mystery.

Relationships are key in MURDER AT ROUGH POINT. Relationships between the artists are stormy and passionate, positive and negative, but most of all, secretive and shuttered. And unexpected. Emma has to deal with the return of her parents (a strained relationship), as well as a woman she has always detested and one she always admired...with both of those feelings soon being exchanged. Emma has to ferret out the truth of the artists feelings toward each other, as she considers her feelings toward Newport police detective Jesse Whyte and currently out of the picture in Italy, Derrick Andrews.

I enjoy historical cozies for many reasons, especially the author's attention to detail and historical accuracy bringing another time to life. In Maxwell's afterword we're able to learn even more about the real life Rough Point as well as some creative license she took. Hey, why not add more bedrooms?! Maxwell creates a delightful mystery in MURDER AT ROUGH POINT and I'm pleased to travel back in time with her.

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A Golden Interview, Review, and Giveaway

I'm so pleased to welcome Shelley Freydont back to Cozy Up With Kathy. Shelley pens the Newport Gilded Age Mystery series. A Golden Cage, the second book in the series, was released earlier this week!

Kathy: In A Golden Cage Deanna makes her debut in society. Do you ever wish you could have had a similar season when you were young, without any dead bodies, of course?

SF: Actually I was raised in the south and in my town there was this extended debutante order, beginning when you were in grammar school with something little the wee sub debs, then the junior sub debs etc. I participated for a few years then stopped. I don’t even remember how you got in, voted in , invited by the mothers? or if you were voted out. It was not my cuppa as they say. I can relate to how Deanna feels. She wants to participate in the glamorous adult life, but finds so much of it not as much fun as having adventures.


Kathy: Without her overbearing mother on the scene, Deanna explored bathing costumes, bicycles, and the theatre. Which do you think was more scandalous at the time?

SF: It depended on whom you were asking. The poor Victorians were getting bombarded by the ‘modern life’ from all angles. And though I sometimes wonder if much has changed, in those days , men were used to calling the shots, having the power. They hated and feared (subconsciously at least) women on bicycles because it freed women from the home and their dependency on men to take them places and control where they went. So there was all this hoopla about not only bicycling leading to sin, but being unhealthy for a woman to ride such a thing. The new swim suits which still covered most of the body were considered scandalous, fast and one of the many steps to ruin. The theatre has always been looked down on, actors considered “sinful” when actually in Deanna’s time, it was one of the few professions where women could earn as much or more than men. Naturally this alone was enough for the establishment to rail against it, while going to the opera one night with their families and enjoying the lower brow theatricality of the revues and comedies the next.

And it just kept coming, the typewriter, the washing machine, “rational” dress and the bloomer girl, higher education, physical fitness, dime novels. It was an exciting time; exciting and fun to write about.


Kathy: While Deanna is able to see things upstairs, her maid, Elspeth, is able to see things downstairs. As a woman, would you prefer to be upstairs or downstairs at the close of the nineteenth century?

SF: Upstairs definitely. As much as television and movies have focused on “downstairs”, it was a long and arduous life. Yes, they were fed and clothed and housed, but they worked long hours, did back breaking work, were sometimes ignored or abused by their employers. They were a lot better off than many of the populace and often considered themselves lucky. Especially if you had the refinement to be an upstairs servant. The hours were still long, not so arduous physically, but perhaps more so, psychologically. When once Deanna is thinking about running away and Elspeth says, “And lose this cushy life?” She’s being serious.


Kathy: Was there a specific inspiration for this story?

SF: Newport and the Gilded Age. Perfect together.


Kathy: Are you able to share any future plans for Deanna Randolph?

SF: I have a story in the works. Deanna’s friend Herbert brings one of the new motor cars to town to test before the big First American Automobile Race in Chicago, upsetting the horsey set and setting the scene for murder.


Kathy: Will you share any other upcoming books?

SF: I also write women’s fiction beach read as Shelley Noble. Forever Beach is available now. It takes place on the Jersey Shore. Also an idea percolating for another historical mystery series.

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Review

A GOLDEN CAGE by Shelley Freydont
The Second Newport Gilded Age Mystery

Deanna Randolph is enjoying her new found freedom spending the summer with Gran Gwen far from her stifling mother. Much to Gwen's delight and Joe's consternation Deanna has joined a bicycle club and is consorting with theatre folk. Amabelle Deeks, a chorus girl who has run away from her upperclass background, literally, turns up at Bonheur apparently seeking refuge. When morning comes a young actor is found murdered in the conservatory and Amabelle is gone. Did Amabelle kill him or is she another victim? With the help of her maid, Elspeth, Deanna sets out to find Amabelle and discover just who killed the actor!

Freydont once again transports us to Newport's Gilded Age when the class system was just starting to get muddled and women were seeking and starting to achieve more rights and privileges. In addition to bicycles, we get a closer look at the theatre of the time. It was a place where a woman had the opportunity to earn as much money as a man; however, it was a career still looked upon as immoral. We learn more about Deanna and watch her grow in this second installment of the series. Deanna wants to be an independent woman in an age when such independence was generally frowned upon. Her clever mind and the support of like minded older women encourage her to be more than society wants her to be, and make her a much more interesting character. Freydont has a gift of creating characters that leap off the page and inhabit a world described with such detail that I feel myself a part of that age.

In A GOLDEN CAGE Freydont takes an intelligent look at societal issues combining it with well developed, complex characters to form a well crafted mystery that encourages readers to think, learn, and become a part of that historical age. I highly recommend this smartly written mystery filled with historical accuracy which includes an intriguing touch of romance.

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