Laurel Richards's Blog - Posts Tagged "mystery"

Looking for humor? Mystery? Romance? Try The Clam Festival Murders.

Nothing ever happens in a small clamming town like Fatmire, FL. At least, that’s what Mitch Chase thinks until he teams up with eccentric mystery writer Cassie Wynn to solve a murder. Vicki Cash is found facedown in her seafood dinner after someone at the Clam Festival slipped her a deadly ingredient. Now Mitch and Cassie have to eliminate suspects, but that’s easier said than done. Vicki wasn’t exactly well liked. She took her ex-husband for everything he was worth, evicted the town’s most successful clam farmer, feuded with her sister, and bad-mouthed the mayor’s wife. As they investigate, Mitch discovers this small town isn’t what it seems, and he’s attracted to more than Cassie’s powers of observation. With his quirky and intriguing partner by his side, he’s sure to lose his heart while he catches a killer.

E-book:
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Clam-Festival-M...
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clam-Festival...
Amazon Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/Clam-Festival-Mu...
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/d/ebook/Cla...
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-c...
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebo...
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-...
Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/311167445...
ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id11...

Print:
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Clam-Festival-M...
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clam-Festiva...
Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Clam-Festival-M...
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1530761557/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-c...
Books-A-Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Clam-F...

Today (5/7/16), I'm guest blogging at Naughty and Nice Romance about my humorous romantic mystery, The Clam Festival Murders. Come check it out at https://naughtyandniceromance.com/201...

Read an interview with Mitch and Cassie from my humorous romantic mystery, The Clam Festival Murders. I'm on Annette Mardis's blog at http://www.annettemardis.com/blog/the...

I'm on Cover Reveals today with my humorous romantic mystery, The Clam Festival Murders. Come check it out at http://coverreveals.blogspot.com/2016...

The Fish Fry Fiasco (A Cassie Wynn Mystery, Book 2) is out now and available from Amazon, ARe, Omnilit, and other booksellers. Get it in print or e-book.

Cassie and Mitch are back, and their new PI firm, Chase Investigations, has its first big case. Roman Ricardo, owner of Roman Tackle and the sponsor of one of the biggest fishing tournaments in town, has been murdered. Someone slipped a lethal amoeba into Roman’s nasal spray. Now Mitch and Cassie have to figure out who did it, and their list of suspects grows as they investigate the people who last came into contact with the victim. With Mitch’s dad in town, they have some extra help, but father and son don’t exactly see eye to eye. Will Chase Investigations be able to catch the killer?

E-book
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Fish-Fiasco-Ca...
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fish-Fiasco-...
Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Fish-Fiasco-Cas...
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebo...
Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/314668071...
Apple: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id11...

Print
Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Fish-Fiasco-Cas...
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fish-Fry-Fia...
Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Fish-Fry-Fiasco...

Cassie and Mitch are newly engaged, and it’s time to meet the in-laws. When environmentalist Herb Flores turns up dead beneath a sand castle, though, they have to balance investigative work with family obligations. With suspects like a board president, a female bodybuilder, and the Chief of Police, identifying Herb’s killer is a risky business. Throw in their families, a high-maintenance cat, and sand sculptures, and the town of Fatmire, Florida, just got more interesting.

Humor, mystery, and romance collide in the Cassie Wynn Mystery series.

E-book
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Sand-Castle-Ca...
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sand-Castle-...
Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Sand-Castle-Cal...
Amazon Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/d/ebook/San...
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-s...
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebo...
Kobo UK: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/the-...
Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/317272689...
ITunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id11...

Print
Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/Sand-Castle-Ca...
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sand-Castle-...
Amazon Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/Sand-Castle-Cal...
Amazon AU: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/1532841884/
Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-s...
Books-A-Million: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Sand-C...\

Today, author Stuart R. West is here to share his comedic cozy mystery, Bad Day in a Banana Hammock. As those of you who have read my Cassie Wynn Mysteries know, I love a good whodunit that makes me laugh. So without further ado, welcome, Stuart!
_

Bad Day in a Banana Hammock is my first straight-up comedy. It’s a cozy mystery. Sorta. Gone are teacups, replaced by male g-strings. A femme fatale using the (false?) name of “Kat” replaces the customary kitties. Comfy chats about food are relegated to spam and fast-food burgers. But it’s a cozy, I tell you!

Here, this explains it better:

Zach wakes up with no memory, no phone, and no clothes except his stripper g-string. And oh yeah! There’s that pesky naked dead guy in bed next to him. Problem is Zach’s not gay. Or a murderer. At least, he doesn’t think so. Only one person can help him, his sister, Zora. Of course Zora’s got problems of her own—she has three kids at home and is eight month’s pregnant with the fourth. So she’s a bit cranky. But that’s not going to stop her from helping her brother. With kids in tow, the siblings set how to find the true killer, clear Zach’s name, and reassure Zach he’s not gay.


Full disclosure time: I wrote the book on a dare. A writer friend dared me to pen a book about a vapid male stripper involved in a mystery. I did it. But it’s his sister that’s proving to be the fan favorite. Zora is a very pregnant, very irritable ex-detective who knows her stuff and ain’t afraid to use a gun. Forget about getting her husband dinner on time...the game is afoot!

“An hilarious murder mystery romp. Ride along with Zach and Zora on this most entertaining of mysteries.”
-Heather Brainerd, author of the Jose Picada, P.I. mystery series.

“A fun, quirky whodunit so full of wild antics, it will keep you guessing...when you’re not giggling.”
-Heather Greenis, author of The Natasha Saga.

“Bad Day in a Banana Hammock will have you wiping up tears of hysterical laughter.”
-Suzanne de Montigney, author of the Shadow of the Unicorn series.

Buy it here:

Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Banana-Hammock-...

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Banana-Hammo...

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Banana-Hammock-...
__

Excerpt:


Zora stared into the dryer, stuck in the deep knee bend of advanced pregnancy. Unable to get up. Of course that’s when the doorbell rang, the way it always seems to happen. Her knees wobbled, unsteady, threatening to dump her over. In her condition, she felt less than athletic.

“I’ll get it,” screamed Nikki, her six year old. Always ready to open the door to strangers, but can’t open and shut a clothes dryer. Maybe if Zora installed a TV above it.

By the time Zora rolled onto her side and negotiated the six-point maneuver necessary to get to her knees, the real screaming started.

Nikki. Justin caterwauled alongside her.

Eight months pregnant or not, Zora bounced to her feet.

Hold on, kids! Mom’s coming to the rescue!

She looked hurriedly around for the closest potential weapon and grabbed a bottle of stain remover. Hey! Any old port in a storm! Bottle in hand, she hustled down the hallway.

Nikki stood in the open doorway, still yelling at the top of her lungs. Her hands were fastened over her four year old brother’s eyes, not so much his screaming mouth. Zora took one look over her daughter’s head and joined the line-up, her hands slapping down over Nikki’s eyes. Figures. Zora’s brother Zach stood outside wearing nothing but a fur coat, a golden thong and a stupid, shameless grin.

“What in the…what now, Zach?” She turned her linked entourage away, shushing them.

“Oh my God, Zora, you’ve gotta help me! I’ve had the worst day! My wallet and phone and pants are missing, and I’m not gay, and I woke up next to a dead guy, and I just spent 45 minutes singing the EZ Brite song with a cab-driver, and he can’t sing at all, and—”

“Wait, wait, wait.” Like a traffic cop, Zora stuck her hand up. Zach could never tell a story for his life. Or keep it together in a crisis. Something she’d come to expect from him over the years. “Back up a minute. What’s this about a dead guy? No…wait…” She bent over, lightning ripping up and down her spine. “Kids, it’s just Uncle Zach. I need to talk grown-up stuff. Go do your homework.”

“It’s summer, Mommy!”

“Well go play, watch TV, torture the neighbor…whatever you do all day.”

They scampered off at a dangerous inside sprint, singing the EZ Brite song. “EZ Brite takes out the greeennn…”

“Get in here, Zach! Before the neighbors see you!” Still holding the stain remover, she wagged him in. Then thumped him in the head with the bottle.

“Owwww, dammit! Why’d you do that?”

“Because I know you and I know this isn’t gonna be good.”

“Come on, sis.” His grin blossomed into a face-wide smile, one that never worked on her. “I didn’t do anything. Really.”

“Yeah, right.”

He jacked a thumb behind him. “Um, I sorta told my cab driver you’d pay him. Please? Cash only, Bennie doesn’t like plastic. You know I’m good for it.”

Good for nothing, more like. With a sigh, she grabbed her purse.


Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Banana-Hammock-...

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Banana-Hammo...

Amazon CA: https://www.amazon.ca/Banana-Hammock-...

__

Author Links

Blog: http://stuartrwest.blogspot.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/StuartRWest

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stuartrwestw...#

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Stuart-R.-West/...

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

Google+: https://plus.google.com/1019342002841...

I’ve read comments by several readers who complain that browsing for new books is difficult. Stores like Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble have such huge databases of books that visitors usually don’t browse past the first few pages. It’s easy to get lost.

Well, in this blog series, I’m going to share one of my books or series in each post (because, come on, I really want you to give my work a try). Then I’ll share a list of similar books that I thought were great, so you can check those out too. It’s sort of a “Readers who liked this might also like this” feature. And because story lovers enjoy multiple mediums, I’ll also include TV shows or movies in the same vein. It’s quick, one-stop browsing for works in a certain genre and tone.

----

Quick Book Browsing: Comedy and Mystery

* *

This first post has to do with funny mysteries. My Cassie Wynn series combines comedy, mystery, and romance as a small town mystery writer joins forces with a journalist turned private eye. The series includes The Clam Festival Murders, The Fish Fry Fiasco, and The Sand Castle Calamity. There’s nothing gruesome in the Cassie Wynn series, hence the cartoon covers.

----

Books I Recommend:


Light in Shadow by Jayne Ann Krentz and its sequel Truth or Dare – While not a comedy, these are full of fun bits of humor and dialogue that will have you laughing, not to mention romance and mystery.



Amanda Quick’s Arcane Society series – While historical romance, these books also have banter that will make you smile and plenty of mystery to keep you turning the page.



Patrick F. McManus’s essay collections, like The Grasshopper Trap, Real Ponies Don’t Go Oink!, etc.– For outdoorsy humor essays, these are my favorite.


Dolled Up for Murder by Deb Baker – cozy mystery.


A Pedigree to Die For by Laurien Berenson – I haven’t read it in years, but the cover (both the original and now the new one) hooked me, and I thought the poodles stole the story.


Although I haven’t gotten to read it yet, you might also want to see this guest post by Stuart R. West about Bad Day in a Banana Hammock: http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...



TV Shows/Movies I Recommend:

Psych, starring James Roday and Dulé Hill – TV show that combines humor, mystery, and a touch of romance.

Fletch and the sequel, Fletch Lives, with Chevy Chase – these definitely share a similar tone to my Cassie Wynn series, as they have plenty of humor and mystery.

Undercover Blues, starring Dennis Quaid and Kathleen Turner – another movie that has that great light feeling with funny one-liners, as well as some suspense.

Death in Paradise has a great blend of mystery and humor and is set in the tropics.

----

Be sure to check out the next posts in this blog series, which look at paranormal romance, sci-fi romance, and fantasy.

Quick Book Browsing: Sci-Fi Romance (or help, I’m being chased by an alien/monster/robot!)

Quick Book Browsing: Werewolf Romance

Quick Book Browsing: Psychics and Sci-Fi Romance

Quick Book Browsing: Fantasy

Quick Book Browsing: Paranormal Romance

After their honeymoon, private investigators Mitch and Cassie take on a new case on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Rudy Cannelli was run over by a boat while diving for a giant lobster, and now he’s convinced someone is trying to kill him. He hires Chase Investigations to track down his would-be killer, but unfortunately, everyone from his ex-wife to his lawn man has a reason to want him dead. Can Cassie and Mitch identify the culprit in time to save their client? Will they get a nice dinner out of the bargain, or is the promise of lobster a trap to get them to take this case? Join Cassie and Mitch as they expand their PI business into new territory and try to find justice for a victim who isn’t dead…yet.

https://author-laurelrichards.blogspo...

Recently, I was talking to a friend, who let me know she had read my Cassie Wynn series. She said she enjoyed the light cozy mysteries and thought they were fun, but she found a few elements strange. When I asked her what she felt was odd, I discovered the aspects that threw her were those inspired by real life. Truth really is stranger than fiction, and she got a kick out of hearing the inspiration behind the books. I thought I’d share with readers the inspiration behind a few of the stranger elements:

1. Throughout the Cassie Wynn series, I have two nearly identical bait-and-tackle shops, owned by former friends on opposite sides of the street: the Hook-’n-Reel Plus and the Hook-’n-Reel Pro.

Back when I was working in website design, I had the owner of an online tackle business hire me to set up his website. Let’s call his business Super Angler Pro. I was at least a month into the approved design when his manager called me and told me he wanted me to copy the format of another website. That other site was owned by a guy he knew, who did business one town over from him. It was called Super Angler Pro Shop. There was only one word difference between the two—shop—both in the company names and in the URLs. Needless to say, I explained that I would not plagiarize another site’s web design, but I did incorporate a few elements that he liked. The Hook-’n-Reels in my humorous mystery series were born. As for the owners of the Hook-’n-Reels, they were inspired by two neighbors who practically lived in each other’s pockets. There was more than a little speculation about the pair of them.

2. In The Clam Festival Murders, I had Cassie describe the following: “Travis had a girlfriend at one time, although he dumped her after she was arrested for burglary. She had been working for the local pharmacy, but they fired her once they found out she was stealing prescriptions. I guess she was pretty steamed about it, because she came back the next night, broke the window with a brick, and tried to help herself to the cash. She might have gotten away with it, too, if she hadn’t tried to make off with the whole register…She electrocuted herself when she cut through the power cord with a pair of scissors.”

Well, news stories make up a lot of my inspiration. In 2005, an ex-employee broke into an appliance store, set off the alarm, cut herself on the broken glass, and then electrocuted herself trying to cut the cash register’s power cord with scissors. This caused her hood to fly back and framed her nicely for the security camera. Oh, and she was later picked up at the hospital when she went in for stitches for her cut.

3. There’s an ongoing feud between two politicians in my series, Bert Sterling and Craig Maxwell: “In July before the election, Bert Sterling called the police alleging that Craig Maxwell had threatened his wife, Brandy, with a nine iron after their Golden Retriever defecated on Maxwell’s lawn. Maxwell denied the charges and said it was a three-wood…Then Maxwell accused Sterling of committing battery…when the man slung a gin and tonic in his face during an altercation at the Yacht Club. This time, they actually went to court, where the judge ruled that this did not constitute battery. Sterling claimed he never did any such thing. It was a Tom Collins.”

These characters were based on two real-life politicians who lived directly behind one another and who made the small-town papers. I’ll call them Peterson and Roberts. In 2004, Roberts claimed Peterson committed battery by spitting wine in his face. Peterson claimed it was water and that he didn’t spit it in the man’s face. In 2006, Peterson called the police alleging Roberts threatened his wife with a broom. Peterson said it was a rake and that he never threatened anyone with it. Roberts claimed Peterson’s bulldog attacked and killed his Chow Chow. Peterson denied it, and no one could find an incident report. 2007 continued in this vein, with false police reports, etc. Politicians are always good sources of drama.

4. In The Fish Fry Fiasco, Cassie shares a fish story about a suspect named Gator Lee Ross: “On one of Gator’s fishing outings…he hauled up a seven-foot tiger shark. Unprepared for such a large catch, which was almost half the size of his boat, he was in serious trouble. The shark was thrashing angrily, threatening to bite Gator, whack him with its tail, or capsize the boat in the commotion. Gator…grabbed his half-empty bottle of Atocha Gold Rum and braved the shark’s gnashing teeth to pour booze down its throat and into its gills. I guess he thought he could stun it or mellow it out by getting it drunk. When that didn’t work, Gator then tried to beat the creature to death with the empty rum bottle, but he couldn’t even knock it unconscious. In the end, he fell back on his alligator wrestling skills. He grabbed the nearest beach towel and covered the shark’s head before wrapping it up and hightailing it back to the dock for reinforcements. With help, he was able to get the animal off his boat and into the water, at which point the shark swam off with nothing more than a slight buzz.”

In real life in 2009, a fisherman landed a six-foot shark, which began thrashing around in the boat. The guy dumped 100-proof Captain Morgan on the shark’s eyes and gills to stun it and then tried to beat the shark to death with the bottle. He finally wrestled a trash bag over its head.

5. Also in The Fish Fry Fiasco, Cassie picks up some security equipment for a good price. She says, the “high-end security store was robbed by a bunch of teenage kids right before I got there. Ironic, isn’t it? In all fairness, his equipment did its job. The thieves were caught on no less than twenty cameras with clear shots of their faces and the license plate of their getaway car.”

In 2007 in Texas, burglars hit a security equipment store and were caught on tape by seventeen cameras, which got good shots of their faces and their getaway car.

6. In The Sand Castle Calamity, Cassie mentions, “Ever since the South Americans pumped steroids into weasels and groomed them to pass as teacup poodles, anything is possible. They can be very convincing, too. One buyer didn’t even know he’d been duped until he took his weasel to the vet.”

In fact, I saw a news report in 2013 about an Argentinian who was breeding ferrets, pumping them with steroids, fluffing them with hair product, and then selling them as toy poodles. True story.

7. Perhaps the oddest element I put into The Sand Castle Calamity was the historical tour Mitch and Cassie take with her parents. In it, they visit a compound that used to belong to Zebediah Cross, a contemporary of Thomas Edison who was likewise fascinated by electricity. “During one of his experiments with high voltage, Zebediah accidentally electrocuted himself. He was knocked unconscious, at which time he was said to have been contacted by a nature spirit that told him he was the new messiah…Guided by divine inspiration, Zebediah Kross founded a new religious order called Krossianity and became a leader to those he later called his Krossbearers. He preached a life of hard work, communism, and celibacy. Zebediah also taught that the world as we know it exists like a pearl inside a giant clam shell—a clam shell that encompasses the entire galaxy…The Krossbearers built homes like this one and formed their community here in the 1890s…Hoping to expand his influence…Zebediah ran for the position of county commissioner…An argument with other officials turned into a terrible fight, and Zebediah was beaten with a gun…He died a few days later from his injuries, though before he passed, he promised his followers he would rise again. The Krossbearers stood vigil for weeks until the health inspector told them they had to bury the body. Then they built a tomb for him on the beach. Unfortunately, a severe storm struck shortly after that, and the tomb was torn open. Zebediah’s body was washed out to sea…They were able to recover the body a week later, and he was relocated to a cemetery farther inland. Zebediah’s son, Ted, was granted leadership, but he chose instead to pursue work as an artist.”

Believe it or not, most of this absurd history resembles the life and death of Cyrus Reed Teed, who was born in 1839. A contemporary of Edison, Cyrus was electrocuted during an experiment, and while unconscious, he claimed to have been visited by a divine spirit who informed him he was the new messiah. He changed his name to Koresh and founded Koreshanity. He believed that we all exist inside a sphere and are held in place by centrifugal force, not gravity. He preached alchemy, celibacy, and communism, among other things. Cyrus established a commune in Estero, Florida, and several members did run for county government positions. During an argument with some locals, Cyrus was pistol whipped and never fully recovered. He died two years later but promised to rise again. His followers kept watch over his body until it decomposed so much the health inspector demanded they bury it. They put the body in a tomb on the beach, and it was washed out to sea during a hurricane. Despite his preaching strict celibacy, he left behind a son, Douglas, who became an American Impressionist painter.

So you see, there is plenty of humor in real life, and some of the oddest parts of my writing are based on truth, not just my weird imagination. If you want to try my Cassie Wynn Mystery series, you can find the books at Kobo, Barnes & Noble, iTunes, Amazon, Books-A-Million, and other stores. They’re available in e-book and trade paperback.

Amz: https://www.amazon.com/Laurel-Richard...

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/search?que...

B&N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/cass...

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/la...

BAM: http://www.booksamillion.com/p/Clam-F...