P.D. Workman's Blog, page 57
January 5, 2021
A Cold Case in The Night Fire
Well, Christmas has come and gone and we have landed safely in 2021. In some ways it felt like we would be stuck in 2020 forever. The tolling of the bell doesn’t change anything, of course, but with the dawn of 2021 and covid vaccines on their way, we have hope for the future! Still need to escape? Start a new series with these great deals!
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.
I have previously posted about the first two books in the Renee Ballard series by Michael Connelly (The Late Show and Dark Sacred Night). So, it should come as no surprise that I picked up the third when I saw it was available.
Ballard and Bosch are getting to know each other a bit better in this episode, but they are also working cases separately from each other as well. You never know how all of the cases are going to connect up, or if they will. But if you are familiar Connelly, you know it will all come together somehow in the end.
Ballard always remembered the words of a late-show patrol poet. He called them human tumbleweeds moving with the winds of fate
Michael Connelly, The Night Fire
Back when Harry Bosch was just a rookie homicide detective, he had an inspiring mentor who taught him to take the work personally and light the fire of relentlessness for every case. Now that mentor, John Jack Thompson, is dead, and his widow gives Bosch a murder book, one that Thompson took with him when he left the LAPD twenty years before — the unsolved killing of a troubled young man.
Bosch takes the murder book to Detective Renée Ballard and asks her to help him discover what about this crime lit Thompson’s fire all those years ago. As she begins her inquiries — while still working her own cases on the midnight shift — Ballad finds aspects of the initial investigation that just don’t add up.
The bond between Bosch and Ballard tightens as they become a formidable investigation team. And they soon arrive at a disturbing question: Did Thompson steal the murder book to work the case in retirement, or to make sure it never got solved?
December 31, 2020
Start the New Year with a new series!
A lot of years, my New Year’s blog has been a focus on self-improvement or goals. Not this year. After 2020, people are ready for a new beginning. They are ready to leave the stresses of this crazy year behind and start something new.
And while you may still be on lockdown, what could be more important than a mental vacation?
So why not start a new series?
I won’t list all of my series here, but here are three free first in series books to get you going!
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-9266625 .ugb-img{width:669px;height:auto !important}}Gluten-Free Murder
Erin Price moves to Bald Eagle Falls, a place where everyone knows everyone as well as everyone else’s business, taking over the store left to her by her aunt to start up a gluten-free bakery. The grand opening is marred by just one thing, the death of her business rival, Angela Plaint. It appears that Angela was poisoned by one of Erin’s cupcakes, making her a prime suspect.
Equipped with cupcakes, her desire for the truth, and new bakery assistant Vicky’s help, Erin goes head-to-head against Detective Terry Piper to solve the murder. Rumors of treasure hunting, drug dealing, and a missing boy swirl around Bald Eagle Falls as Erin tries to sort the clues from the red herrings and find the killer before the killer can take care of her.
AUTHOR DIRECT BUY NOW SAMPLE BOOKBUB GOODREADS
eBook Price: Free
Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to purchase directly from the author using your PayPal account (blue button) or a credit card (grey button)
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-2a1ec0e .ugb-img{width:640px;height:auto !important}}What the Cat Knew
Reg Rawlins, professional con, has really gotten herself into a bind this time.
The fortune teller gig started as a scam, but she suddenly finds herself tangled up in the case of Warren Blake, a man who she thought was dead. It turns out he may still be alive, but in mortal peril.
Reg has always taken the quick exit, the easy way out, but running out on this racket might mean someone else’s death.
Staying in it might mean hers.
AUTHOR DIRECT BUY NOW SAMPLE BOOKBUB GOODREADS
eBook Price: free
Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to purchase directly from the author using your PayPal account (blue button) or a credit card (grey button)
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-5110e11 .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}She Wore Mourning
A dead child.
A mother deep in mourning.
Private Investigator Zachary Goldman’s life isn’t all roses, but he tries to put his own shattered life behind him to investigate the death of five-year-old Declan Bond.
Declan’s death has been ruled an accident, but his grandmother thinks there is more to it. She fears Declan’s mother will not be able to find peace until Zachary can give them an answer once and for all.
But as Zachary digs into the circumstances surrounding Declan’s death, he finds that all is not as it seems, and somebody doesn’t want him to find the truth.
AUTHOR DIRECT BUY NOW SAMPLE BOOKBUB GOODREADS
eBook Price: Free
Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to download directly from the author
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
And more series starters!
Would I leave you with just three options? Some other free or $0.99 first in series books from my fellow authors:
.ugb-74e496e .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-74e496e .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-74e496e .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-74e496e .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-74e496e .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}A House of Mirrors
‘What is your profession, Mr Holmes?’
When Nell Villiers’ policeman husband vanishes on a routine case, her life is wrecked. Placed under protection by Inspector Lestrade, Nell is ripped from her old life and her own secret police work. Instead she must live as a widow, Mrs Hudson, in a safe house: 221B Baker Street.
Two years on, with the case still unsolved, Nell vows to defy Lestrade and use her skills to discover what happened. She takes a lodger to cover her tracks; a young man called Sherlock Holmes. Before long, he is working on her case – and Nell is assisting him.
But as Nell delves into her past she raises ghosts whom one person would rather keep buried. Will she face danger, and risk her new life in the process?
‘It’s always been fun before – but now the police are the enemy…’
.ugb-abb1c29 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-abb1c29 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-abb1c29 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-abb1c29 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-abb1c29 .ugb-img{width:338px;height:auto !important}}Death by Association
In Death by Association, DIY Diva Laurel McMillan learns that the high walls and guarded gates of Hawkeye Haven can’t protect her community. When Laurel takes her pampered chocolate Labrador retriever, Bear, for an early morning walk, she finds her friend, security guard Bessie, bleeding and unconscious at her guardhouse post.
If the attack on Bessie isn’t enough to set the residents’ nerves on edge, the murder of Victor Eberhart, the unpopular president of the powerful homeowners’ association, certainly does the trick.
Despite teaching DIY classes and writing project instructions for her latest book, DIY for Dog Lovers, Laurel manages to squeeze in time for some DIY detective work. But as she gets closer to the truth, Victor’s killer would like nothing better than for the DIY Diva to take a dive.
Includes recipes for dog treats and project instructions for a reversible, two-tone, fringed dog scarf and a no-sew foam bed for pampered pooches.
.ugb-01f6290 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-01f6290 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-01f6290 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-01f6290 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-01f6290 .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}All at Sea
They say that travel broadens the mind…
When socialite Maisie Frobisher heads off on a cruise to India in search of adventure, little does she know what form it will take.
First some jewellery, then an important document goes missing from an ambassador’s cabin. If that document gets into the wrong hands there will be trouble. And it’s definitely in the wrong hands…
Maisie already has her suspicions of a fellow-guest at the captain’s table.
However, when he turns out to be a police inspector travelling incognito and takes over the investigation, Maisie’s nose is put firmly out of joint. Then a crime of an entirely different kind rears its head, and Maisie finds that the past she is trying to escape from just won’t let her go…
.ugb-e8086b4 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-e8086b4 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-e8086b4 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-e8086b4 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-e8086b4 .ugb-img{width:322px;height:auto !important}}A Witchy Mistake
A high school nemesis. A misuse of powers. An Unexpected Consequence.
Sixteen-year-old Charley Cooper is furious when her cousin Danu uses her powers to get back at a high school nemesis without considering the consequences.
When someone attacks the other girl and she ends up in a coma, Danu becomes the prime suspect. As annoyed as she is at her cousin, Charley doesn’t want her to go down for something she didn’t do.
Even though Charley has never had magical abilities of her own, when she has what she believes is a vision about an attack on Danu, she’s forced to investigate.
Can she find the guilty party before her cousin pays – one way or another?
.ugb-a2efd58 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-a2efd58 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-a2efd58 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-a2efd58 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-a2efd58 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Iced Resort to Murder #1
Julienne’s ideal resort management career may come to an abrupt end when a celebrity pastor dies at the buffet table.
Julienne has her ideal job as an event planner at a prestigious resort. During a luncheon event she coordinated, a renowned celebrity pastor is killed next to the buffet. All eyes turn to her as the suspect. If she wants to stay out of jail or even keep her job, Julienne needs all the help she can get to solve the crime.
She has her work cut out for her with a vengeful high school rival now reporter, the public demanding she be fired, plus family who knows what’s best for her, and a boyfriend who doesn’t understand her. She turns to friends and a new ally to uncover who wanted to put the pastor on ice.
Julienne goes undercover and investigates a local swingers group as she follows the trail of clues before they go cold.
.ugb-ce25e70 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-ce25e70 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-ce25e70 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-ce25e70 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-ce25e70 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Chasing Can Be Murder
Professional greyhound trainer, Kat McKinley, is a soft touch. When she’s talked into having sex with a guy who’s just not her type, a romp so pathetic it registers minus ten on a sex-to-die-for scale, she decides to end the relationship. When Kat wakes the next morning to find Mr Wham-Bam sprawled beside her, a knife embedded in his left nipple, she wishes she’d ended the relationship sooner.
After that wake-up call, Kat figures life can’t nose-dive any lower. But with a killer out to get her, the police suspecting her of murder, a misbehaving greyhound, a complicated love triangle and a vicious kidnapper who threatens to cut out a child’s tongue if her dog, Big Mistake wins his next race, maybe it can…
.ugb-7dd7c31 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-7dd7c31 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-7dd7c31 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-7dd7c31 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-7dd7c31 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}The Society
At the center of a small-town unsolved disappearance lies a terrible secret with consequences that will shake the halls of power in Washington.
When Elizabeth Grant returns to rural Mississippi as a family favor, the nightmares about her missing childhood friend Loralie return. This time, her reluctance to accept what her instincts have told her for years–that she has some kind of psychic ability, and Loralie is dead are combined with dire warnings and indications of foul play.
But Elizabeth’s quest for answers uncovers greater evil at work that reaches to the highest levels of the government.
.ugb-de8a8c9 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-de8a8c9 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-de8a8c9 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-de8a8c9 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-de8a8c9 .ugb-img{width:332px;height:auto !important}}Rise & Fall of the Obsidian Grotto
Elves. Dwarves. Blood Oaths & Dragons.
There are far worse things crawling upon Esfah than goblins…
…some, even swords and sorcery cannot defeat.
A devious elder monster allies with the lava elves of the Obsidian Grotto. She promises to provide an elven general with arcane weapons to throw down their dwarven enemies, and also the support of a black magic wielding cult hidden within the Nhur-Gale Forest. General Shedakor assumes that any bargain with such a dark creature would extract a high cost… but can he afford to pay it?
Meanwhile, on the far side of Esfah. An elven hero from the northern coasts embarks on a mission to protect his home from the goblins of Brackishomme swamp. But Davian Whisperwynd is prone to rash vows and the gods will not release the adventurer from a promise to lay down his sword: an oath that complicates things when he promises a beautiful enchanter that he will retrieve an item from the lair of the Death god himself.
Neither knows it, but the gods of fate have interlinked their destinies.
.ugb-45f531a .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-45f531a .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-45f531a .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-45f531a .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-45f531a .ugb-img{width:327px;height:auto !important}}Mystic Pieces
Aly doesn’t believe in psychics. Too bad she just had a vision.
Aly’s got enough on her plate, with finishing her degree and taking care of her nephew and starting her new job at the antique store while drooling over the owner’s gorgeous son. No time for visions.
Alas, the universe doesn’t care what Aly believes. When she turns 21, she starts to feel psychic impressions left on objects. A disorienting power for someone surrounded by antiques. Then cranky customer Earl is killed, and Aly’s new boss Olive is the prime suspect—not to mention the only person who understands Aly’s gifts. Who hated Earl enough to kill? Police would rather make a quick arrest than investigate, so it’s up to Aly to clear Olive’s name.
Shady Grove is reeling from the first murder in decades. If Aly can get her hands on the right object, she’ll know what happened. Can she learn to control her visions before the killer sets their sights on her?
.ugb-21d1308 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-21d1308 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-21d1308 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-21d1308 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-21d1308 .ugb-img{width:230px;height:auto !important}}The Tapestry Bag
A hit and run accident results in a death and turns a quiet seaside town into a place of fear and suspicion.
On the first year anniversary of Joel’s death, his girlfriend, Zara, goes missing. Is Zara in danger? Is she still alive? What really happened to Joel and who is to blame?
In the quiet seaside town of Tamarisk Bay, the police appear to be doing little to find Zara. Her friend Janie decides to make it her mission to track her down. It’s the ‘swinging sixties’ and Janie fears that Zara may be mixed up with drugs, alcohol, or worse. As Janie explores the strange circumstances of Zara’s disappearance, she starts to question the truth about Joel’s death.
Janie runs the mobile library and has a passion for crime fiction, especially Agatha Christie. Can Poirot help Janie solve the mystery of Zara’s disappearance? As she looks for clues Janie comes across some unsavoury characters who each have a reason for wanting Joel dead. Can she untangle the web of lies and find out the truth?
.ugb-281bb55 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-281bb55 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-281bb55 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-281bb55 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-281bb55 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Dekker’s Dozen
Dekker Knight has a secret past.
Vivian “Vesuvius” Briggs has a sword and a chip on her shoulder.
Together they run a crew of sanctioned space mercenaries: the Dozen.
During an operation gone wrong, an alien spy steals a seemingly insignificant item: a benign seed found on Ganymede. A secret cult believes it has immense power, perhaps coming from the Garden of Eden itself. If it falls into enemy hands, it could wreak unspeakable evil across the galaxy.
The Dozen fight to keep their debts settled, fuel in their ship, and some equilibrance to their moral ledger. They are more than mercenaries: they are part of a family they’ve chosen—and this seed threatens to tear it apart.
Between a corrupt government, and forces in league with the notorious villain, Prognon Austicon, threats squeeze them from every side. Dekker and Austicon have a vendetta. Vivian’s family and Austicon have a history. Austicon has powerful friends and a superweapon. With the fate of the universe hanging in the balance, can the Dozen swing the pendulum back?
December 29, 2020
Auntie Clem’s Bakery 10-12
Bundle/Collection!
Series: Auntie Clem's Bakery
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Author DirectBuy NowSampleBookbub Goodreads
eBook Price: $9.99 Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to purchase directly from the author using your PayPal account (blue button) or a credit card (grey button)
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
Made me want to read all the books. An easy fast paced read!
Crafty Lady, Amazon reader
+ About Auntie Clem's Bakery 10-12
Erin Price is a baker, not a sleuth. It’s really not her fault that mysteries keep landing in her lap while she’s trying to run Auntie Clem’s Bakery and make a living from baking gluten-free and specialty goods.
In these volumes, Erin races against the clock to seek out the truth about crimes in Bald Eagle Falls before her family and friends can go down for them.
This set includes:
10 Muffins Masks Murder
This time, Erin is not the suspect in a murder investigation, her sweetheart Officer Terry Piper is. Could he have been pushed too far by drug runner Bo Biggles? Did he cross the line? Or is it someone else in the community, someone who might be close to Erin?
11 Tai Chi and Chai Tea
Mary Lou is delighted to have Campbell home for Thanksgiving dinner, but less than thrilled with his companion. Before they can get to the bakery-fresh desserts, they are joined by an uninvited guest, the kind that comes with a warrant.
12 Santa Shortbread
Somebody is stealing Christmas gifts from the Bald Eagle Falls children. At the rate that presents are disappearing, there soon won’t be a gift left in Whoville. Err, Bald Eagle Falls.
Reviews from Goodreads.com
+ Praise for the Series
—This lady knows how to write!! I read this during hurricane Irma on my Kindle so I didn’t care the power was out!
—It was very good! But made me hungry!
—Oh my goodness I loved it! The murder mystery was so awesome… I couldn’t put this book down. Props to you again for another amazing read!
—I really enjoyed this book … Would make a great Hallmark movie.
—This very enjoyable story with uncomplicated characters and a sweet and easy storyline was well done.
+ Book Club Resources
Gluten-Free Pinterest Board
Disease and Disorder Pinterest Board
Food families reference
+ Praise for P.D. Workman
“Every single one of [P.D. Workman’s] books has spoken to me in ways no one or almost anything else has. And I have found strength in the books I’ve read.”
“The way that P.D. Workman writes just flows amazingly and allows the reader to get really invested in a book.”
“This is one author I certainly will be looking out for, I can’t recommend her enough.”
“I’ll read anything by P. D. Workman that I can get my hands on.”
“Every book by PD Workman that I’ve read has been a gripping one, however different the genres are, going from lighter mysteries to really dark ones… this is one of my favourite, most dependable authors.”
“P.D. Workman is an incredibly versatile writer. No matter which of her books I read I am drawn into a great story and honestly, I don’t think I’ve followed another author that could go from cozy mystery to YA to a PI series dealing with mental health issues. Really enjoy her books!”
+ Gluten-Free Murder on my Blog
Read about life as a child soldier in A Long Way Gone
I hope that you had a great Christmas/holiday break and picked up a lot of new books to read! If you’re looking for some more ideas, check out my blog post A Sack of Christmas Books. And if you’re looking for a real treat, I have covertly released Recipes from Auntie Clem’s Bakery, a slim volume with a handful of gluten-free recipes that includes a few Christmas-appropriate desserts.
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.
I have recently finished reading A Long Way Gone, by Ishmael Beah. It is a sad reality that around the world children are recruited to fight in wars or serve the soldiers who are fighting. Children as young as nine may be trained to kill.
A Long Way Gone is Beah’s autobiography. He was recruited to fight in Sierra Leone when he was 13, and was later rescued and repatriated and became a UN Goodwill Ambassador.
Honest, straightforward, and heartbreaking. It’s a tough read, but we need to be aware of what is going on in these countries and to support the UN, UNICEF, and others in their mission to help the children who have been brought into this life.
“I couldn’t bring myself to be completely happy. It was much easier to be sad than to go back and forth between emotions … I was never disappointed, since I always expected the worst to happen.”
Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone
This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s. Children have become soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them.
What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives. But until now, there has not been a first-person account from someone who came through this hell and survived.
In A Long Way Gone, Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts.
December 26, 2020
Skunk Man Swamp
Work in Progress!
Series: Reg Rawlins Psychic Investigator #10
Genres: Cozy Mystery
eBook Price: $4.99 Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to purchase directly from the author using your PayPal account (blue button) or a credit card (grey button)
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
Coming June 2021
+ About Skunk Man Swamp
With the Magical Spring Games approaching, Damon hires Reg to help him to track down a missing contestant deep in the Everglades. If Reg thought this was going to be a walk in the (national) park, she’s got another thing coming.
Covering 1.5 million acres and home to both magical and non-magical predators, including those of the two-legged variety, Reg isn’t sure she is up to the challenge. Could anyone be?
Reg had better hold onto that airboat, it’s going to be a wild ride.
+ Praise for Reg Rawlins Psychic Detective Series
—Another great work of art by Ms. Workman. I am amazed at the diversity of her writing and how much I really enjoy them all. She can write cozy mystery, YA books that should be read by all, medical thrillers, Zach Goldman series and now a paranormal series. I am so glad to have found this author. I am honored that I get to read them early also.
—This book has all my favourite things: heart, great writing, nearly-flawless editing, something unusual in the air, and a cat. I needed a light read, and this fit the bill perfectly. Recommended.
—This book actually surprised me. I knew that a psychic cat would be entertaining. I just didn’t expect it to be this good. You really do get wrapped up in the people and story. It sounds like a fairly gentle story, but there is a lot of suspense involved. Add a bunch of humor to the mix and you are in for a treat. I love the characters. Wish I had some friends like them. And the cat is so very well done. Acts like a typical cat, but a lot smarter than his human. This is a story that you don’t want to put down.
—Extremely well written as are all of P.D. Workman’s books, the characters well developed. I’m a character reader, I get into the characters. Who and what they are. Why they do the things they do. The things that make a reader get invested into the characters and thereby the book. I look forward to P.D. Workman’s next book.
—P D Workman has done it again; created a cast of characters and a storyline that are captivating and enthralling. Once I started this cozy I didn’t want to put it down (which can be a bad thing when you have a family to take care of…lol). I can’t wait for the other books in this series. I think Reg is going to turn out to be one of my favorite new characters. Pick up your copy as soon as possible.
+ Author's Note
Author’s notes may contain spoilers!
Coming soon…
+ Book Club Resources
Pinterest Board on foster care
More to come!
+ Praise for P.D. Workman
“Every single one of [P.D. Workman’s] books has spoken to me in ways no one or almost anything else has. And I have found strength in the books I’ve read.”
“The way that P.D. Workman writes just flows amazingly and allows the reader to get really invested in a book.”
“This is one author I certainly will be looking out for, I can’t recommend her enough.”
“I’ll read anything by P. D. Workman that I can get my hands on.”
“Every book by PD Workman that I’ve read has been a gripping one, however different the genres are, going from lighter mysteries to really dark ones… this is one of my favourite, most dependable authors.”
“P.D. Workman is an incredibly versatile writer. No matter which of her books I read I am drawn into a great story and honestly, I don’t think I’ve followed another author that could go from cozy mystery to YA to a PI series dealing with mental health issues. Really enjoy her books!”
+ Skunk Man Swamp on my Blog
Excerpt from A Dog’s Purpose and a Free Gift
Crazy Canuck Blog Hop!
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About P. D. Workman
P.D. (Pamela) Workman writes riveting mystery/suspense and young adult books dealing with mental illness, addiction, abuse, and other real-life issues. For as long as she can remember, the blank page has held an incredible allure and from a very young age she was trying to write her own books.
Workman wrote her first complete novel at the age of twelve and continued to write as a hobby for many years. She started publishing in 2013. She has won several literary awards from Library Services for Youth in Custody for her young adult fiction. She made the USA Today Bestseller list in 2019. She currently has over 50 published titles and can be found at pdworkman.com.
Born and raised in Alberta, Workman has been married for over 25 years and has one son.
December 24, 2020
A sack of books for Christmas!
Looking for some more holiday-themed and mystery books to read over your Christmas break? Take a look at these!
.ugb-4d184b0 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-4d184b0 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-4d184b0 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-4d184b0 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-4d184b0 .ugb-img{width:672px;height:auto !important}}Dog-Free Dinner
This holiday short is only available through my website or by picking up Auntie Clem’s Bakery 1-12
Vic is looking forward to Christmas with her new Bald Eagles Falls family. Erin—not so much. But she wants to make it a special day for Vic.
An unexpected turn in events changes all of their carefully-laid plans.
This Christmas short, part of the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series, is only available through my website. The series—and your holiday—won’t be complete without it.
eBook Price: $0.99
Author Direct button allows you to purchase directly from the author using your PayPal account (blue button) or a credit card (grey button)
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-6c4d5d0 .ugb-img{width:640px;height:auto !important}}Santa Shortbread
Somebody is stealing Christmas gifts from the Bald Eagle Falls children. At the rate that presents are disappearing, there soon won’t be a gift left in Whoville. Err, Bald Eagle Falls.
Gluten-free baker Erin Price and her friends are on the case to try to unmask the Grinch and bring him to justice, and toys to the children. But time is not on their side. Soon it will be Christmas Eve—will the winner be the Grinch or Santa?
AUTHOR DIRECT BUY NOW SAMPLE BOOKBUB GOODREADS
eBook Price: $4.99
Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to purchase directly from the author using your PayPal account (blue button) or a credit card (grey button)
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-69b9331 .ugb-img{width:640px;height:auto !important}}Delusions of the Past
What kind of a monster poisons a psychic’s cat?
When Starlight first fell ill, Reg thought that she was the cause of it. She should have been watching him more carefully. She should have found out about household plants and chemicals that could hurt her familiar. She was clearly a negligent owner.
But it soon becomes clear that there is some darker force at work, and Reg is going to need all of her resources to find the culprit before it is too late if she is to have any chance of saving her furry companion’s life.
AUTHOR DIRECT BUY NOW SAMPLE BOOKBUB GOODREADS
eBook Price: $4.99
Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to purchase directly from the author using your PayPal account (blue button) or a credit card (grey button)
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
.ugb-767331d hr.ugb-divider__hr{margin-left:auto !important;margin-right:auto !important}
If you are looking for something grittier that is set around Christmas, though not Christmas themed, have a look at these:
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-5110e11 .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}She Wore Mourning
A dead child.
A mother deep in mourning.
Private Investigator Zachary Goldman’s life isn’t all roses, but he tries to put his own shattered life behind him to investigate the death of five-year-old Declan Bond.
Declan’s death has been ruled an accident, but his grandmother thinks there is more to it. She fears Declan’s mother will not be able to find peace until Zachary can give them an answer once and for all.
But as Zachary digs into the circumstances surrounding Declan’s death, he finds that all is not as it seems, and somebody doesn’t want him to find the truth.
AUTHOR DIRECT BUY NOW SAMPLE BOOKBUB GOODREADS
eBook Price: Free
Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to download directly from the author
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-9e30716 .ugb-img{width:640px;height:auto !important}}He Was Walking Alone
He met with tragedy.
Richard Harding was walking alone when he was struck by a vehicle and died.
A tragic accident that was no one’s fault.
But if that was so, then why was his girlfriend so sure that it was intentional homicide?
AUTHOR DIRECT BUY NOW SAMPLE BOOKBUB GOODREADS
eBook Price: $4.99
Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to purchase directly from the author using your PayPal account (blue button) or a credit card (grey button)
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
And more
Here are some other authors whose books you might enjoy!
.ugb-fe8f618 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-fe8f618 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-fe8f618 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-fe8f618 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-fe8f618 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}The Secret Santa Mystery
A Secret Santa–with a secret!
Security expert for a British bank by day, horse trainer at night, Izzy Paterson is a multi-tasking, dressage-riding computer whiz with an addiction to strong coffee and a penchant for CSI on Netflix. So when the Secret Santa at her office Christmas party hands her a perplexing riddle, she just can’t ignore the mystery.
Penned by a modern-day Robin Hood, the anonymous rhyme hints at financial misconduct that could put the future of everyone at her work in danger.
Despite herself, Izzy is drawn into solving the puzzle, delving into the furthest reaches of the internet in her quest to track down the mysterious wrongdoer. Can she solve the mystery before the company implodes, or before her adversary takes things from the virtual to the physical–and still get home to Scotland in time for Christmas?
.ugb-16751ce .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-16751ce .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-16751ce .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-16751ce .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-16751ce .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}The Case of the Black Tulips
There’s a new detective duo in Victorian London…
When Katherine Demeray opens an unsigned letter addressed to her missing father, she is drawn into a quest to find the terrified letter-writer and learn the secret of the black tulips.
Struggling to support herself after her father’s disappearance, Katherine has neither time nor money to solve the mystery alone. She has no choice but to seek help from a woman she has only just met; awkward socialite Connie Swift.
As the letters become increasingly frantic, this unlikely team of amateur detectives must learn to work together, while struggling to navigate the rigid rules of Victorian propriety, their families’ expectations, and the complicating interference of men.
Confronting danger as they venture into new and frightening territory, Katherine and Connie risk arrest, exposure, and even their reputations to solve the Case of the Black Tulips.
.ugb-dc3ce4f .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-dc3ce4f .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-dc3ce4f .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-dc3ce4f .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-dc3ce4f .ugb-img{width:324px;height:auto !important}}Sweets and Santa
Christmas mystery, magic, and matchmaking.
It’s Joanie’s first Christmas as a bakery owner, and although her recipes are perfect, her holiday window decorating skills leave something to be desired.
As items around town disappear, the spirit of the season gets overshadowed. Rumors swirl as residents speculate whodunnit. And when one of the missing pieces is an engagement ring last seen in her shop, Joanie’s reputation as a baker and matchmaker is put in jeopardy.
Joanie thought her new town was safe, but is it? Is it all a prank, or tied to the Christmas gnomes that get moved each night, or is something more sinister going on?
.ugb-74b67a2 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-74b67a2 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-74b67a2 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-74b67a2 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-74b67a2 .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}The Case of the Snow White Lady
There is no such thing as a vampire … or is there?
Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are summoned to Dartmoor by an old schoolfriend of Watson’s, Bill Holcombe. His sixteen year old daughter Amelia, who died a month previously, has been seen wandering the village at night. Witnesses swear that she catches animals and sucks their blood. The whole neighbourhood fears the ‘Snow-White Lady’, and Holcombe is desperate to prove she is not a vampire.
The great detective’s famous scepticism is put to the test in a mystery where boundaries blur between the living and the dead…
.ugb-9273c22 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-9273c22 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-9273c22 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-9273c22 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-9273c22 .ugb-img{width:320px;height:auto !important}}Seaglass Christmas
Long before Elm Sunday became a powerful sea priestess, she was the world’s greatest kid detective.
Eight-year-old Mercy-Faith “Elm” Sunday loves mysteries and now she has one. But if Santa and her parents didn’t send her the rare seaglass, who did?
Welcome to Little Blessing, the charming seaside town in New England where preparations are underway for the annual holiday events. Despite a year of behaving badly, Elm has visions of sugarplums and a truckload of presents under the tree. The Brownie scout is also determined to earn her “Philanthropist” badge and solve the “mystery of the seaglass” before Christmas.
Accompanied by her nemesis Snow Whitedove Smith, Elm learns about a mythical shipwrecked treasure. If she finds it, she will be richly rewarded, earning the admiration of everyone in town. Unfortunately, Elm’s not the only one looking for it—and the investigation is getting dangerous!
.ugb-9742860 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-9742860 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-9742860 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-9742860 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-9742860 .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}Murder at the Playgroup
Pippa Parker never wanted to move to the chocolate-box village of Much Gadding in the first place. When she meets the locals, she’s absolutely sure. There’s just one problem; she’s 8 months pregnant.
The village is turned upside down when Barbara Hamilton, pillar of the community, is found dead at Gadding Goslings playgroup. No one could have murdered her except the people who were there. The police suspect all of them, including Pippa herself…
With a baby due any minute, and hampered by her toddler son, can Pippa unmask the murderer? Will Much Gadding return to normal? And does anyone in Much Gadding even know what normal is?
.ugb-7da0b2e .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-7da0b2e .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-7da0b2e .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-7da0b2e .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-7da0b2e .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Santa Got Run Over by a Vampire
Father Christmas has just been damned to darkness.
Jane Devereux is adjusting to her new life as a nocturne fabulously. She runs the most popular nightclub in the French Quarter and is married to the hottest vampire in New Orleans.
When she accidentally runs over Santa Claus and has to turn him into a vampire to save him, her perfect undead life begins to crumble like a week-old sugar cookie.
Whoops.
Jane has three days to teach Santa the ways of the vampire and get him back to the North Pole in time for Christmas Eve.
Oh, and if that’s not stressful enough, her dad is coming for Christmas.
And he doesn’t know she’s a vampire.
Or that she’s married.
Double whoops.
A sack of Christmas books!
Looking for some more holiday-themed books to read over your Christmas break? Take a look at these!
.ugb-4d184b0 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-4d184b0 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-4d184b0 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-4d184b0 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-4d184b0 .ugb-img{width:672px;height:auto !important}}Dog-Free Dinner
This holiday short is only available through my website or by picking up Auntie Clem’s Bakery 1-12
Vic is looking forward to Christmas with her new Bald Eagles Falls family. Erin—not so much. But she wants to make it a special day for Vic.
An unexpected turn in events changes all of their carefully-laid plans.
This Christmas short, part of the Auntie Clem’s Bakery series, is only available through my website. The series—and your holiday—won’t be complete without it.
eBook Price: $0.99
Author Direct button allows you to purchase directly from the author using your PayPal account (blue button) or a credit card (grey button)
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-6c4d5d0 .ugb-img{width:640px;height:auto !important}}Santa Shortbread
Somebody is stealing Christmas gifts from the Bald Eagle Falls children. At the rate that presents are disappearing, there soon won’t be a gift left in Whoville. Err, Bald Eagle Falls.
Gluten-free baker Erin Price and her friends are on the case to try to unmask the Grinch and bring him to justice, and toys to the children. But time is not on their side. Soon it will be Christmas Eve—will the winner be the Grinch or Santa?
AUTHOR DIRECT BUY NOW SAMPLE BOOKBUB GOODREADS
eBook Price: $4.99
Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to purchase directly from the author using your PayPal account (blue button) or a credit card (grey button)
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-69b9331 .ugb-img{width:640px;height:auto !important}}Delusions of the Past
What kind of a monster poisons a psychic’s cat?
When Starlight first fell ill, Reg thought that she was the cause of it. She should have been watching him more carefully. She should have found out about household plants and chemicals that could hurt her familiar. She was clearly a negligent owner.
But it soon becomes clear that there is some darker force at work, and Reg is going to need all of her resources to find the culprit before it is too late if she is to have any chance of saving her furry companion’s life.
AUTHOR DIRECT BUY NOW SAMPLE BOOKBUB GOODREADS
eBook Price: $4.99
Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to purchase directly from the author using your PayPal account (blue button) or a credit card (grey button)
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
.ugb-3ac2a53 hr.ugb-divider__hr{margin-left:auto !important;margin-right:auto !important}
If you are looking for something grittier that is set around Christmas, though not Christmas themed, have a look at these:
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-5110e11 .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}She Wore Mourning
A dead child.
A mother deep in mourning.
Private Investigator Zachary Goldman’s life isn’t all roses, but he tries to put his own shattered life behind him to investigate the death of five-year-old Declan Bond.
Declan’s death has been ruled an accident, but his grandmother thinks there is more to it. She fears Declan’s mother will not be able to find peace until Zachary can give them an answer once and for all.
But as Zachary digs into the circumstances surrounding Declan’s death, he finds that all is not as it seems, and somebody doesn’t want him to find the truth.
AUTHOR DIRECT BUY NOW SAMPLE BOOKBUB GOODREADS
eBook Price: Free
Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to download directly from the author
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-9e30716 .ugb-img{width:640px;height:auto !important}}He Was Walking Alone
He met with tragedy.
Richard Harding was walking alone when he was struck by a vehicle and died.
A tragic accident that was no one’s fault.
But if that was so, then why was his girlfriend so sure that it was intentional homicide?
AUTHOR DIRECT BUY NOW SAMPLE BOOKBUB GOODREADS
eBook Price: $4.99
Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to purchase directly from the author using your PayPal account (blue button) or a credit card (grey button)
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
And more
Here are some other authors whose books you might enjoy!
.ugb-8ec2b5d .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-8ec2b5d .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-8ec2b5d .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-8ec2b5d .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-8ec2b5d .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}The Secret Santa Mystery
A Secret Santa–with a secret!
Security expert for a British bank by day, horse trainer at night, Izzy Paterson is a multi-tasking, dressage-riding computer whiz with an addiction to strong coffee and a penchant for CSI on Netflix. So when the Secret Santa at her office Christmas party hands her a perplexing riddle, she just can’t ignore the mystery.
Penned by a modern-day Robin Hood, the anonymous rhyme hints at financial misconduct that could put the future of everyone at her work in danger.
Despite herself, Izzy is drawn into solving the puzzle, delving into the furthest reaches of the internet in her quest to track down the mysterious wrongdoer. Can she solve the mystery before the company implodes, or before her adversary takes things from the virtual to the physical–and still get home to Scotland in time for Christmas?
.ugb-149d755 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-149d755 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-149d755 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-149d755 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-149d755 .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}The Case of the Black Tulips
There’s a new detective duo in Victorian London…
When Katherine Demeray opens an unsigned letter addressed to her missing father, she is drawn into a quest to find the terrified letter-writer and learn the secret of the black tulips.
Struggling to support herself after her father’s disappearance, Katherine has neither time nor money to solve the mystery alone. She has no choice but to seek help from a woman she has only just met; awkward socialite Connie Swift.
As the letters become increasingly frantic, this unlikely team of amateur detectives must learn to work together, while struggling to navigate the rigid rules of Victorian propriety, their families’ expectations, and the complicating interference of men.
Confronting danger as they venture into new and frightening territory, Katherine and Connie risk arrest, exposure, and even their reputations to solve the Case of the Black Tulips.
.ugb-0598d7a .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-0598d7a .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-0598d7a .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-0598d7a .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-0598d7a .ugb-img{width:324px;height:auto !important}}Sweets and Santa
Christmas mystery, magic, and matchmaking.
It’s Joanie’s first Christmas as a bakery owner, and although her recipes are perfect, her holiday window decorating skills leave something to be desired.
As items around town disappear, the spirit of the season gets overshadowed. Rumors swirl as residents speculate whodunnit. And when one of the missing pieces is an engagement ring last seen in her shop, Joanie’s reputation as a baker and matchmaker is put in jeopardy.
Joanie thought her new town was safe, but is it? Is it all a prank, or tied to the Christmas gnomes that get moved each night, or is something more sinister going on?
.ugb-cce8ac0 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-cce8ac0 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-cce8ac0 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-cce8ac0 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-cce8ac0 .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}The Case of the Snow White Lady
There is no such thing as a vampire … or is there?
Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are summoned to Dartmoor by an old schoolfriend of Watson’s, Bill Holcombe. His sixteen year old daughter Amelia, who died a month previously, has been seen wandering the village at night. Witnesses swear that she catches animals and sucks their blood. The whole neighbourhood fears the ‘Snow-White Lady’, and Holcombe is desperate to prove she is not a vampire.
The great detective’s famous scepticism is put to the test in a mystery where boundaries blur between the living and the dead…
.ugb-298ab8c .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-298ab8c .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-298ab8c .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-298ab8c .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-298ab8c .ugb-img{width:320px;height:auto !important}}Seaglass Christmas
Long before Elm Sunday became a powerful sea priestess, she was the world’s greatest kid detective.
Eight-year-old Mercy-Faith “Elm” Sunday loves mysteries and now she has one. But if Santa and her parents didn’t send her the rare seaglass, who did?
Welcome to Little Blessing, the charming seaside town in New England where preparations are underway for the annual holiday events. Despite a year of behaving badly, Elm has visions of sugarplums and a truckload of presents under the tree. The Brownie scout is also determined to earn her “Philanthropist” badge and solve the “mystery of the seaglass” before Christmas.
Accompanied by her nemesis Snow Whitedove Smith, Elm learns about a mythical shipwrecked treasure. If she finds it, she will be richly rewarded, earning the admiration of everyone in town. Unfortunately, Elm’s not the only one looking for it—and the investigation is getting dangerous!
.ugb-df3e501 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-df3e501 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-df3e501 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-df3e501 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-df3e501 .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}Murder at the Playgroup
Pippa Parker never wanted to move to the chocolate-box village of Much Gadding in the first place. When she meets the locals, she’s absolutely sure. There’s just one problem; she’s 8 months pregnant.
The village is turned upside down when Barbara Hamilton, pillar of the community, is found dead at Gadding Goslings playgroup. No one could have murdered her except the people who were there. The police suspect all of them, including Pippa herself…
With a baby due any minute, and hampered by her toddler son, can Pippa unmask the murderer? Will Much Gadding return to normal? And does anyone in Much Gadding even know what normal is?
.ugb-b8318fe .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-b8318fe .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-b8318fe .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-b8318fe .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-b8318fe .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Santa Got Run Over by a Vampire
Father Christmas has just been damned to darkness.
Jane Devereux is adjusting to her new life as a nocturne fabulously. She runs the most popular nightclub in the French Quarter and is married to the hottest vampire in New Orleans.
When she accidentally runs over Santa Claus and has to turn him into a vampire to save him, her perfect undead life begins to crumble like a week-old sugar cookie.
Whoops.
Jane has three days to teach Santa the ways of the vampire and get him back to the North Pole in time for Christmas Eve.
Oh, and if that’s not stressful enough, her dad is coming for Christmas.
And he doesn’t know she’s a vampire.
Or that she’s married.
Double whoops.
December 23, 2020
Recipes from Auntie Clem’s Bakery
Exclusive Content!
Series: Auntie Clem's Bakery
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Author Direct
eBook Price: free Clicking the Author Direct button allows you to purchase directly from the author using your PayPal account (blue button) or a credit card (grey button)
Download format options are Kindle or ePub (iBooks, Nook, etc.) format
Drop into my kitchen!
+ About Recipes from Auntie Clem's Bakery
You’ve begged for recipes from Auntie Clem’s Bakery, so I have finally pulled together a handful of my basic recipes for you.
I am, unfortunately, not a baker like Erin Price! My time is spent writing, not baking. I have collected thousands of recipes and not even tried 10% of them. I don’t generally bake loaves of bread, I keep tortillas and pancakes in my freezer and on special occasions make sandwich rolls.
I will plan to add to this recipe in coming months/years as I have more time to bake and write down the ingredients. For now, I am starting small! (Very small!)
I hope you find these recipes useful.
* As well as Kindle and epub format, I am also offering this in pdf format intended to be printed and stapled/hole punched for use in your kitchen.
+ Praise for P.D. Workman
“Every single one of [P.D. Workman’s] books has spoken to me in ways no one or almost anything else has. And I have found strength in the books I’ve read.”
“The way that P.D. Workman writes just flows amazingly and allows the reader to get really invested in a book.”
“This is one author I certainly will be looking out for, I can’t recommend her enough.”
“I’ll read anything by P. D. Workman that I can get my hands on.”
“Every book by PD Workman that I’ve read has been a gripping one, however different the genres are, going from lighter mysteries to really dark ones… this is one of my favourite, most dependable authors.”
“P.D. Workman is an incredibly versatile writer. No matter which of her books I read I am drawn into a great story and honestly, I don’t think I’ve followed another author that could go from cozy mystery to YA to a PI series dealing with mental health issues. Really enjoy her books!”
December 22, 2020
Rick Riordan has Another Hit with Magnus Chase
Hope you had a chance to pick up my latest release in my Zachary Goldman Mysteries series, She Told a Lie. If you haven’t yet, head on over and pick it up.
And later this week, look forward to a blog post on Christmas-themed books. (Of course. What did you expect?)
Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme. Read the rules and more teasers at The Purple Booker. Anyone can play along.
I have just started Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard Book 1 the Sword of Summer. I am a little behind in getting in on the Magnus Chase series by Rick Riordan, seeing as there are already three books out in the series. But this is the first time it has shown up on my suggested reading list.
If you like the Percy Jackson series, I don’t think you will be disappointed by Magnus Chase. A sympathetic hero, plenty of teenage sarcasm, and Norse gods. What’s not to like?
Magnus dies early in the action (not a spoiler, considering chapter 1 is called “Good morning! You’re going to die” and the first paragraph includes “You guys are going to read about how I died in agony”); but that’s not a problem, as there is plenty going on in the Halls of Valhalla. I don’t know whether there will be any return from the afterlife, as there was in a couple of books in the other series, but since there are already three books out, I don’t think you need to worry about it.
His brow furrowed. His nose wrinkled as if he detected a mildly unpleasant odor. “You’re sixteen today, aren’t you? They’ll be coming to kill you.”
Rick Riordan, Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book 1: The Sword of Summer
Magnus Chase has always been a troubled kid. Since his mother’s mysterious death, he’s lived alone on the streets of Boston, surviving by his wits, keeping one step ahead of the police and the truant officers.
One day, he’s tracked down by an uncle he barely knows—a man his mother claimed was dangerous. Uncle Randolph tells him an impossible secret: Magnus is the son of a Norse god.
The Viking myths are true. The gods of Asgard are preparing for war. Trolls, giants and worse monsters are stirring for doomsday. To prevent Ragnarok, Magnus must search the Nine Worlds for a weapon that has been lost for thousands of years.
When an attack by fire giants forces him to choose between his own safety and the lives of hundreds of innocents, Magnus makes a fatal decision.
Sometimes, the only way to start a new life is to die . . .
December 17, 2020
She Told a Lie and More New Releases
It is time for a round-up of new releases! Today, She Told a Lie, book #8 in the Zachary Goldman Mysteries series is out. I have hunted around for some other great releases for you as well.
@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-2147f99 .ugb-img{width:640px;height:auto !important}}She Told a Lie
A missing girl.
Her confused family and friends don’t know what to think about her disappearance.
The police will only put so many resources into the search for a missing teen. They don’t have time and money to spend on runaways and voluntaries. But that doesn’t mean no one cares.
Zachary Goldman is on the case, and he is determined to find out what happened to Madison Miller and to bring her home safely.
If she’s still alive, he’s going to find her.
No matter what danger he might face personally.
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She Wore Mourning, the first book in the Zachary Goldman Mysteries series can be downloaded for free
More New Releases
.ugb-a8ad8c3 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-a8ad8c3 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-a8ad8c3 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-a8ad8c3 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-a8ad8c3 .ugb-img{width:325px;height:auto !important}}Dark Highway
LA-based artist Laurie Simmonds disappeared two months ago, her campervan abandoned on the isolated Twentynine Palms Highway, miles from anything—or anyone. With the police investigation stalled, her parents put all their faith in private investigator Jessica Shaw to find out the truth of what happened.
Jessica and her partner Matt Connor discover that two other women are missing, their disappearances connected to the same highway. When a link emerges between these women and a group of former college friends, Jessica feels certain they’re closing in on their target.
But no sooner do they follow this up than Laurie’s parents get spooked and drop the case. Jessica is blindsided but determined not to give up: three women are missing, and many more may be at risk. She can’t turn her back on them. But the more she pulls at the threads of the truth, the closer she comes to danger.
.ugb-a070342 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-a070342 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-a070342 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-a070342 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-a070342 .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}The Secret Santa Mystery
A Secret Santa–with a secret!
Security expert for a British bank by day, horse trainer at night, Izzy Paterson is a multi-tasking, dressage-riding computer whiz with an addiction to strong coffee and a penchant for CSI on Netflix. So when the Secret Santa at her office Christmas party hands her a perplexing riddle, she just can’t ignore the mystery.
Penned by a modern-day Robin Hood, the anonymous rhyme hints at financial misconduct that could put the future of everyone at her work in danger.
Despite herself, Izzy is drawn into solving the puzzle, delving into the furthest reaches of the internet in her quest to track down the mysterious wrongdoer.
.ugb-7b8ec0c .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-7b8ec0c .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-7b8ec0c .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-7b8ec0c .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-7b8ec0c .ugb-img{width:331px;height:auto !important}}Win
Over twenty years ago, the heiress Patricia Lockwood was abducted during a robbery of her family’s estate, then locked inside an isolated cabin for months. Patricia escaped, but so did her captors — and the items stolen from her family were never recovered.
Until now. On the Upper West Side, a recluse is found murdered in his penthouse apartment, alongside two objects of note: a stolen Vermeer painting and a leather suitcase bearing the initials WHL3. For the first time in years, the authorities have a lead — not only on Patricia’s kidnapping, but also on another FBI cold case — with the suitcase and painting both pointing them toward one man.
Windsor Horne Lockwood III — or Win, as his few friends call him — doesn’t know how his suitcase and his family’s stolen painting ended up with a dead man. But his interest is piqued, especially when the FBI tells him that the man who kidnapped his cousin was also behind an act of domestic terrorism — and that the conspirators may still be at large. The two cases have baffled the FBI for decades, but Win has three things the FBI doesn’t: a personal connection to the case; an ungodly fortune; and his own unique brand of justice.
.ugb-8a8125f .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-8a8125f .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-8a8125f .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-8a8125f .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-8a8125f .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}Where are They
Luca had seen it before…
…the spouses left behind never believed.
Had John really abandoned his drop-dead gorgeous wife?
All Luca knew was the 53-year old engineer was gone. She described him in a way that was kind, but sounded like she meant boring, still, there wasn’t any reason he should have vanished. It was hard to imagine John had a reason to leave the woman standing before him.
Something didn’t add up.
Why hadn’t John gotten on his flight?
In cases like this, Luca never trusted the client. And he could tell this one had skeletons. She wouldn’t like it, but his job was to dig. The first thing he discovered shouldn’t have shocked him, but it did.
Luca didn’t judge.
The things this couple did behind closed doors may not have been his cup of tea, but it made him consider the possibility that John wasn’t missing.
When sex enters any equation, it changes the math.
.ugb-d2fd056 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-d2fd056 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-d2fd056 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-d2fd056 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-d2fd056 .ugb-img{width:331px;height:auto !important}}Someone to Watch Over Me
Ten years ago, Spenser helped a teenage girl named Mattie Sullivan find her mother’s killer and take down an infamous Southie crime boss. Now Mattie–a college student with a side job working for the tough but tender private eye–dreams of being an investigator herself. Her first big case involves a fifteen-year-old girl assaulted by a much older man at one of Boston’s most prestigious private clubs. The girl, Chloe Turner, only wants the safe return of her laptop and backpack. But like her mentor and boss, Mattie has a knack for asking the right questions of the wrong people.
Soon Spenser and Mattie find ties between the exploitation of dozens of other girls from working class families to an eccentric billionaire and his sadistic henchwoman with a mansion on Commonwealth Avenue. The mystery man’s wealth, power and connections extend well beyond Massachusetts – maybe even beyond the United States. Spenser and trusted ally Hawk must again watch out for Mattie as she unravels a massive sex-trafficking ring that will take them from Boston to Boca Raton to the Bahamas, crossing paths with local toughs, a highly-trained security company, and an old enemy of Spenser’s–the Gray Man–for a final epic showdown.
.ugb-a8ce94d .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-a8ce94d .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-a8ce94d .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-a8ce94d .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-a8ce94d .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}Cruelty has a Human Heart
When a three-year-old girl goes missing in the sprawling Birkenhead Park, Blake has a puzzle on his hands. The child seemed to vanish into thin air and nobody saw anything, not even her nanny. A known paedophile is spotted in the area and the clock begins ticking as Blake tries to find the lost girl.
The team uncover secret after secret as they investigate but Blake has got problems closer to home as his girlfriend’s past comes back to haunt her in a brutal and devastating way. When a key witness dies, Blake realises that a killer is on the loose.
.ugb-f2b6acb .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-f2b6acb .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-f2b6acb .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-f2b6acb .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-f2b6acb .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}The Case of the Peculiar Pantomime
Now you see it, now you don’t!
When Katherine and Connie, proprietors of the Caster & Fleet Detective Agency, hear from an old music-hall acquaintance just before Christmas, they expect nothing more than a good night out. However, the eerie noises and mysterious figures at the Merrymakers Music Hall are causing consternation among audience and actors alike.
Meanwhile, Katherine and Connie have their own domestic mysteries to solve. Why is Katherine’s father leaving his belongings all over London? And why has Connie’s daughter gone silent? Add the difficulties of present-buying, and the detective duo are distinctly ruffled.
.ugb-67ac69b .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-67ac69b .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-67ac69b .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-67ac69b .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-67ac69b .ugb-img{width:313px;height:auto !important}}The Outlaw
A traumatized ex-cop. A ruthless ex-con. A deadly game of cat and mouse…
Rich Farris is on the brink of suicide. Suffering from PTSD and on a downward spiral since retiring from L.A. Sheriff’s Homicide, he’s just about to end it all when a phone call spurs him to action. The daughter of a distant family member has gone missing. Farris shifts into rescue mode and races to Louisiana, only to learn the girl’s been found dead… in Boise, Idaho.
Joined—whether he wants to be or not—by the victim’s bright young friend, Farris heads to the Gem State determined to bring the murderer to justice. But the trail of bodies quickly extends from Idaho into Nevada and California, and he fears he’ll never capture his deadly quarry.
.ugb-4fa11de .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-4fa11de .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-4fa11de .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-4fa11de .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-4fa11de .ugb-img{width:333px;height:auto !important}}Focus on Fraud
Will a resort complex in the hills above the Village of Harmony continue construction or will everything be derailed by the death of the construction foreman?
Jackie Parker, a not-ready-to-retire baby boomer, is settling into the apartment above her family’s business. She’s looking to slow down the fast-paced life she’s had as a globe-trotting photographer, by taking over Parker Photography on Main Street in Harmony.
When a body is found on the future site of The Hills Resort, rumors begin swirling about fraudulent financial dealings, underhanded protestors, and a love triangle gone wrong. Jackie is thrust into the middle of things to lend support to Kim Walters, a local realtor who discovered the body.
Things escalate when another body is found on the site of the resort’s golf course. Is this a sign that the construction site is jinxed? Jackie’s curiosity kicks into high gear with her discovery of a missing piece for the investigation. She calls on her amateur sleuthing abilities, and help from new friends, to solve the mystery.
.ugb-377d68f .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-377d68f .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-377d68f .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-377d68f .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-377d68f .ugb-img{width:324px;height:auto !important}}Stolen
Stolen is the true story of one survivor who escaped–more than once. First recruited while staying with her family at a hotel in Miami Beach, Katariina Rosenblatt was already a lonely and abused young girl who was yearning to be loved. She fell into the hands of a confident young woman who pretended friendship but slowly lured her into a child prostitution ring. For years afterward, a cycle of false friendship, threats, drugs, and violence kept her trapped.
As Kat shares her harrowing experiences, readers will quickly realize the frightening truth that these terrible things could have happened to any child–a neighbor, a niece, a friend, a sister, a daughter. But beyond that, they will see that there is real hope for the victims of sex trafficking. Stolen is more than a warning. It is a celebration of survival that will inspire.
.ugb-ca4a1a7 .ugb-button{background-color:#BE1E2D;border-radius:25px !important}.ugb-ca4a1a7 .ugb-button .ugb-button--inner,.ugb-ca4a1a7 .ugb-button svg:not(.ugb-custom-icon){color:#ffffff !important}.ugb-ca4a1a7 .ugb-button:before{border-radius:25px !important}@media screen and (min-width:768px){.ugb-ca4a1a7 .ugb-img{width:275px;height:auto !important}}The Highway
When two sisters set out across a remote stretch of Montana road to visit their friend, little do they know it will be the last time anyone might ever hear from them again. The girls—and their car—simply vanish. Former police investigator Cody Hoyt has just lost his job and has fallen off the wagon after a long stretch of sobriety. Convinced by his son and his former rookie partner, Cassie Dewell, he begins the drive south to the girls’ last known location.
As Cody makes his way to the lonely stretch of Montana highway where they went missing, Cassie discovers that Gracie and Danielle Sullivan aren’t the first girls who have disappeared in this area. This majestic landscape is the hunting ground for a killer whose viciousness is outmatched only by his intelligence. And he might not be working alone. Time is running out for Gracie and Danielle…
