Whips, Cuffs, and Little Brown Boxes

Lilly M. #1

by Kathryn Long

Aunt Fran is missing. Those words echoed throughout the town, worrying family and friends. So, Lilly Millenovanovich, a mystery writer, decides to help the authorities find her aunt. The Barton police have very few leads and Lilly is between novels with time on her hands. Her search becomes a hazardous journey in Whips, Cuffs, and Little Brown Boxes. Thrown into awkward situations is familiar to Lilly Millenovanovich, like hiding in a stranger’s bedroom closet and discovering a naked man cuffed to the bed. Though events sometimes turn dangerous Lilly continues her sleuthing and recruits Mona, her cousin and best friend, to assist in the search.Complications erupt, making their quest almost impossible. A chain of store robberies, the unusual behavior of Aunt Fran’s husband, and death threats from the mob are just a few. No matter where the search takes them, Lilly sees one common element – Ron Kinecki, known by women in town as Slick Dick Ron. He’s the owner of Repo Ron’s Used Cars, but might be selling more than automobiles. As luck would have it, not all eyes watching Lilly intend harm. Her eccentric neighbor, Kooky Colonel Crockett, proves to be a helpful witness as he stands guard over the neighborhood. Aunt Sadie, the bold matriarch of Lilly’s family, who may tip the bottle once too often, executes strong will and bold opinions to keep Lilly on a straight path. Even an anonymous emailer feeds Lilly clues.Before it’s over, Lilly must face more trouble than she can manage alone. Still, with friends and family to lend their support, everything turns out well in the end. Certainly, it doesn’t happen without a murder or two, but then all is back to normal. At least until the next mystery hits town. The author of WHIPS, CUFFS, AND LITTLE BROWN BOXES also writes young adult novels under the pen name Jennkrist. CINDERELLA GEEK, available in PB and Kindle eBook is one of a planned series on modern day fairytales.

Genres: Mystery

341 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 3, 2011

About the author

Kathryn Long’s passion is writing mysteries, creating the intricate details and weaving them into the clues which the reader will enjoy collecting to solve the crime. However, she’s worn many hats over the years – bookseller, teacher, mom, wife, and author.

To date, readers can find her self-published cozy Lilly M Mysteries, and her traditionally published work, romantic suspense, A Deadly Deed Grows, traditional mystery Buried in Sin, and cozy mystery Boarding with Murder at online retailers.
As Bailee Abbott, she writes the Paint by Murder Mysteries. A Brush with Murder will release October 12, 2021.

Kathryn lives in the City of Green located in northeast Ohio with her husband and little pooch, Max.

Learn more at www.kathrynlongauthor.com

**Represented by Dawn Dowdle at Blue Ridge Literary Agency

Reviews

[Denise Mullins · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this first of a series, Lilly M's facing more than one challenge besides submitting timely copy to her harpy publisher: area businesses are undergoing a rash of robberies, confrontations with sleazy used car salesman Ron are a trail, a demented neighbor guards the area with his rifle looking for century old villains, her boyfriend's beautiful ex-wife wanders into town, and Aunt Fran has gone missing.
You have to give Kathryn Long her due since she manages to provide nonstop action and zany situations that will make you laugh (or groan) at their sheer absurdity. The added plus that her protagonist, Lilly is a self-deprecating 40 year old who can't resist sticking her nose in any situation while knoshing on kifle, french toast, or deli makes her a delight. It's such a hoot to join in her eccentric sleuthing. This is a perfect read if you want pure light escapism that takes the form of a cosy with bite ( kinda like one of Lilly's snacks).

[Elaine Nickolan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was an ok read, not amazing, but good. Maybe it's me and I cannot appreciate this protagonist. The bumbling along, almost "Monkish" style without the super sharp mind just isn't my cup of tea. I wanted to love this story, but Lilly was not believable for me, and don't get me started on those "moms" of hers, but maybe that is the schtick. From the title I almost expected something with a bit of zing like Shades of Grey and got very little in that field. The constant narrow escapes, the killer that cannot clearly kill, Curious George, were just not enough to make this reader go back to another installment. Thanks D for the book, and the thought, but this is one of those times that we were not in step.

[Rosalee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lilly M is a mystery writer trying to finish the book due to her publisher and keep her relationship with Kline a secret so Aunt Irene (Mom) won’t start planning the wedding. Fran and Sadie are also aunts who have figured in her life, and Aunt Fran is missing. Fran’s husband Mike is clearly either not functioning in her absence or he is hiding something. The police have very few leads on the string of burglaries or her missing aunt, so Lilly tries to figure out where Aunt Fran might be and why she was at the scene of one of the burglaries. She decides to check out Aunt Fran’s computer and finds her aunt has somehow gotten involved with a sex chat room. But where could she be? And why is Kline’s ex-wife Lilly didn’t even know existed in town? And the naked man tied to the bed? Add in Lilly’s best friend, Mona and sleezy Ron, Kooky Colonel Crockett who keeps trying to shoot Lilly’s dog, and Lorraine, the contact person online, and you have a few of the quirky characters. Lilly is going in circles, finding out things about her aging aunt she really doesn’t want to think about, and gets shot in the bargain. Lots of twists and turns but the confusion gets straightened out in the end. There are some cute and “eeew!” moments as the plot unfolds that keep it going.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in a brand new cozy mystery series and it's off to a great start! It’s filled with some of the most eccentric characters I’ve seen in awhile. Most of them are from Lilly’s very own family. LOL

It all starts when her Aunt Fran disappears and her family panics. Lilly decides to lend a helping hand in locating her aunt. She gets hit with a few obstacles along the way in her search, including her cop boyfriend who wants her to stay out of it, a crazy neighbor who thinks Lilly’s dog is wild game, her interfering adoptive mother, and her Aunt Fran’s husband’s odd behavior. It all equals one madcap adventure.

The characters were all very vivid and entertaining. I adored Lilly’s friendship with her cousin Mona and their camaraderie in locating their aunt. I did not want to put this book down until I knew what the outcome would be. It’s a bit of a cross between chick lit and cozy mystery. Reading this book gave me several hours of fun. If the rest of the series is this good, Kathryn Long has a winner on her hands.

FTC Disclosure: The author provided me with a copy of this book to review for the blog tour. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars

With the title I was a little afraid of this book, but no graphic scenes. Lots of bumbling humor along the way to solve the mystery.
Some of the slapstick was to my taste and others not so much.

The characters were a mixed bag, which is good. The main character is Lilly Millenovanovich. She is a writer. Were books don't earn her a lot respect. Her boyfriend is a cop. She comes with a big family. I like her she does remind me of Stephanie Plum with all the trouble she gets into. She wants to help find her missing Aunt Fran.

Mona is her sidekick and gets into trouble with her.

I am glad I don't have her neighbor living by me. He is not all their.

I liked the story but it was easy to get distracted. For some reason just did not hold my attention for long periods. I would like to see where these characters go to next.

I think the book description gives a lot of the suspense away. Still a fun book to read.

I was given this book for purpose of reviewing it and being part of its blog tour.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy these kind of quirky little mysteries! The characters are funny and crazy at the same time!

Lilly is a mystery writer; although I don't know how she survives because she is always putting her nose into other business when she gets a "feeling" that there may be a problem somewhere. Her boyfriend is also a detective so that gets her into more trouble than she needs to be in also!

Her Aunts and Uncles are all very quirky, but seem like a family that loves each other very much, which is good because then Lilly has someone to either get into trouble with or help her get out of it!

I also loved her neighbor who must be deep into Alzhiemer's or Dementia. He stands up on his balcony and watches for wild animals and cowboys and indians. He is always shooting something off and scaring the neighborhood, especially Lilly! Rockets, old guns, flares....you name it.

I guess through all this I never figured out what the mystery was until the very end! I look forward to reading book #2 in this series and any future books as well!

[mlady_rebecca]

The character name "Lilly Millenovanovich" and the blurb makes me think this may be a kinky variation on Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series.

[Terri Borkgren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whips, Cuffs, and Little Brown Boxes

A fun and surprising plot and mystery. A perfect plan for a fun weekend and an escape to the best adventure, with a quirky cast of characters to join you.

[bex · Rating 3 out of 5]

The MC was slow on the uptake. But beyond that and some minor stuff it was decent. Would read more.

The title had made me a little nervous that it would have a lot of sexual content, but it didn't.

[Leslie aka StoreyBook Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would probably give this 3 1/2 stars. I think this is a series that has a lot of potential but I felt like there wasn't a good introduction to the characters for the first book in a series. It seemed like many things were revealed about Lilly throughout the book that maybe could have been done in the beginning when introducing her as the main character. The storyline was fun and the characters engaging (and quirky!) and I will read the 2nd book to see if the writing style improves.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

[AJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty Good

I enjoyed this book. I did find Lily a little dense sometimes. Which bothered me a bit because she is the protagonist of the series. Book is in the vein of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. If you like that series you will like this series.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute, I'll watch for more by this author.