Crowning the Slug Queen

Callie Stone Mystery #1

by L.M. Fortin

Callie Stone is having a tough week. Fired from her job as an event planner in New York, she returns to her hometown of Skinner, Oregon for a much needed vacation. However, this time off is anything but restful when Callie assists an old friend by taking over a beauty pageant in which the contenders are trying to out diva each other for the title of Skinner Slug Queen. When one of the participants is found dead backstage, Callie is tossed between her mother’s vegetarian stews, her best friend’s attractive ex-husband and a pageant full of cross-dressing contestants. Was the death just an accident or is there something more sinister going on? Crowning the Slug Queen is the first book in a new cozy mystery series set in quirky Skinner, Oregon, a town in the Pacific Northwest where it’s almost impossible to keep a count of the number of rain storms, coffee shops or Birkenstocks.

Genres: Mystery

236 pages, Paperback

First published November 19, 2014

About the author

Writer, runner, reader, reviewer...and alliterative! I am a master of works in progress. I have recently published my 3rd book in the Callie Stone Mystery Series, The Past Never Dies. That and the first two books in the series are all available at Amazon.com. I enjoy reading and reviewing mystery, romance, sci-fi, and fantasy books. I am now working on the fourth Callie Stone mystery, which has yet to be titled.

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun, quick read. Callie returns to her hometown for a "vacation" and winds up volunteering to coordinate the Slug Queen pageant where she gets involved in a murder. I liked Callie and the other characters and want to see what happens to them in the future, I see some potential there. The story itself was good and the mystery was done well too. The one problem I had was the lack of some editing, there were several sentences that needed some fixing. Overall a cute story and nice start to the series.

I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a first-reads win. This was a quick read. This was the first book in a mystery series set in Oregon. It kind of reminds you of a Nancy Drew mystery. I like the setting and the pace. I am looking forward to the next book, which will be Pint of No Return. What new adventures will Callie Stone run into in her hometown? What will happen between the detective and her?

[Dawn Halverson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who wouldn’t be just a tiny bit intrigued to read a book about crowning a Slug Queen, and who knew that there really is such a thing? In the first entry of the Callie Stone Mystery series, Crowning the Slug Queen, L. M. Fortin introduces us to Callie Stone and the residents of her hometown of Skinner, Oregon. Callie came home to Skinner for a vacation after losing her job as an event planner and breaking up with her boyfriend. Instead of enjoying her time off with her mom and grandmother, Callie finds herself in charge of the local beauty pageant and then, after finding of the slug contestants dead, tries to track down the murderer.

I enjoyed this book, thought it was a quick read, and do look forward to the next entry in this series. I did, however, feel the storyline moved a bit slowly, and the first half of the book felt like it was devoted to introducing us to Callie, her family, her hometown, and the other characters in the story. Granted, developing the characters so that readers can like and relate to them is an important part of any story, but I felt like the author spent too much time with this especially since the murder did not occur until halfway through the book. In addition, it did not make a lot of sense to me that Callie would be so invested in finding the murderer. She had no previous relationship with the victim, had just came back to town, and had just become involved with the beauty pageant so it was somewhat difficult to understand why Callie felt so compelled to solve the murder. Once the murder did happen though, the story seemed to take off again and became even more interesting. Overall, I really did enjoy meeting Callie and will definitely pick up the next book in this series.

I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Debbie Erickson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Callie Stone was an event planner in New York until an unfortunate incident results in her being fired. To top off the day, Callie returns home to find her boyfriend moving out. Finding herself at loose ends, Callie returns to her hometown of Skinner, Oregon to clear her head and visit with her mom and grandmother. It isn't long before Callie is talked into taking over coordinating the town's annual crowing of the Slug Queen event. Callie is pulled into a crime investigation when she finds the body of one of the contestants. The cast of characters are a quirky bunch. Callie's mother is a confirmed hippie and immerses herself in growing fruits and vegetables. The detective handling the murder just happens to be the ex husband of Callie's high school best friend. This is a light, fast-paced read. I look forward to reading other installments of this series.

[Katreader · Rating 3 out of 5]

CROWNING THE SLUG QUEEN by L.M. Fortin
The First Callie Stone Mystery

After a disastrous mishap at the end of an otherwise perfect conference event coordinator Callie Stone gets fired only to come home to her boyfriend leaving her. Looking for a respite, Callie leaves NYC on an open ended vacation to spend some time with her mother and grandma in Skinner, Oregon.

Vacation turns into work however as Callie not only does chores on her mother's farm but also becomes the newest coordinator for the Skinner Days Slug Queen Contest. After the first rehearsal Callie finds the body of the most talented contestant. Was it an accident? Murder? Callie's event planning, problem solving mind goes to work, trying to find answers while an old high school friend officially investigates.

CROWNING THE SLUG QUEEN is not only about coming home, but discovering who you really are and what you want out of life.

I loved the opening of CROWNING THE SLUG QUEEN and commiserated with Callie even as I laughed. Soon, however, I found the writing to be a bit stilted. The book also needs some additional editing and/or proofing as I found typos among other issues. Towards the end of the book, the author seemed to bounce back to a more natural writing style. The book shows a lot of promise. Skinner, Oregon is a quirky town that embraces its oddness, making it a great setting. I enjoyed the characters, especially Callie's Grandma, and hope they will be developed further in future books.

FTC Disclosure – The publisher sent me a copy of this book in the hopes I would review it.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crowning the Slug Queen by L.M. Fortin is the first book in the Callie Stone Mystery series. After being fired from her job as an event planner Callie Stone returns to Skinner, Oregon to spend time with her mother and grandmother. While at loose ends Callie ends up taking over the beauty pageant where the contestants may or may not be women and are definitely divas. As Callie works to keeps things going after one of the contestants is found murdered evidence and clues fall into her path.

I genuinely enjoyed reading this book and had trouble putting this book down. This is a sweet and intriguing story which kept me on my toes until I reached the end. I highly recommend this book to other readers.

[Emily C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an avid cozy mystery reader, I was intrigued by the story line of this book. While, the story was fun to read, this book was missing some important elements for me. The first half of the book was used to talk about Callie Stone and going back home. I understand that character development is important, I felt that the mystery was rushed. The murder did not happen until half way through the story. I kept waiting for something to happen. I also didn't feel like enough emphasis was given on why Callie was trying to solve the mystery. However, once there was a murder the story did get better and I did enjoy it more. Overall, not a terrible story and I loved the idea of Callie going home and being with her family. I just wish there would have been more mystery around the murder and Callie trying to solve it.

[JoAn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Crowning the Slug Queen by L. M. Fortin was a cute first book in the Callie Stone series set in Skinner, OR.

I enjoyed meeting Callie who has come home to Skinner after being fired from her job as an event planner in New York City. I found Callie to be likable and relatable as I too have needed to step back and rethink life choices. Callie's mother, Coral and her grandmother were quirky but down-to-earth characters that helped to give more depth to Callie. The pageant was a lot of fun to read about. I didn't know that being a Slug Queen was actually a "real thing" until I looked it up. The contestants were definitely over the top in their costumes and choices of their talent portion of the pageant. Ms. Fortin's descriptive writing helped me to feel like I was walking with Callie around her home town. The story was quickly paced and there were enough twists to keep me turning the pages. This was a quick read but enjoyable for an afternoon.

[LittleRead · Rating 4 out of 5]

Who says you can't go home?

Callie Stone spent her youth working hard to get out of Skinner, Oregon and made her way to the Big Apple after college. Working as event planner, Callie overlooked one single item at an event and loses her job while the snafu ended up being recorded and going viral on the Internet. Losing her job, she gets home early to find her boy friend moving out as the icing on the cake.

Getting away from it all, Callie decides to head home to Skinner for a vacation and time to think through her next step. Normally she would dread spending time with her vegetarian, earth dog Mother but for some reason, it just feels right.

Not long after landing Callie agrees to take on a beauty pageant like no other. After a contestant ends up dead things aren't quite what they seem to be and Callie finds herself using her intuition and problem solving skills to help find out who the murderer is.

I was lucky to be able to read an ARC of this first installment in a new Cozy series with great promise. I found the pace moved quickly after the first few chapter that set the background and the story was a quick read. Looking forward to the next visit to Skinner.

[Bertha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Crowning The Slug Queen is the first book in the Callie Stone Mystery Series and as such the author spends the first half acquainting the reader with all the characters and places depicted in the book. It's not until the second half that the actual murder takes place.
I would call this book a "lite" cozy mystery. For me there wasn't enough of the mystery to keep me interested. I found the story predictable. I would have loved a little more"meat" to the mystery and less description about the people and places.
For readers who like a very lite mystery and who love to know every detail about the people and places, then I would recommend this book.

[Judy Davey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun new cozy series. I especially enjoyed it, because Skinner, Oregon is undoubtedly based on Eugene, Oregon. Eugene was named for an early settler, Eugene Skinner.
Having lived in the Eugene/Springfield area from 1995 until 2010, I felt like I had made a trip back there. Such fun for me!
Anyone would enjoy the series though, even if they aren't familiar with Eugene.

[bex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too slow for genre

The pacing is messed up for a cozy mystery. There isn't any suspense at all until 40 percent in and the end of chapter 9. Even after that the mystery feels like it takes a back seat to her personal life. It could have potential if reworked accordingly.

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Callie Stone is having a tough week. Fired from her job as an event planner in New York, she returns to her hometown of Skinner, Oregon for a much needed vacation. However, this time off is anything but restful when Callie assists an old friend by taking over a beauty pageant in which the contenders are trying to out diva each other for the title of Skinner Slug Queen. When one of the participants is found dead backstage, Callie is tossed between her mother’s vegetarian stews, her best friend’s attractive ex-husband and a pageant full of cross-dressing contestants. Was the death just an accident or is there something more sinister going on? Crowning the Slug Queen is the first book in a new cozy mystery series set in quirky Skinner, Oregon, a town in the Pacific Northwest where it’s almost impossible to keep a count of the number of rain storms, coffee shops or Birkenstocks.”

I gave this a 3 star rating because it was a cute, quick read. The title is so just blah I can’t imagine anyone picking up because they’re interested in the book --- then the cover itself is just ugly --- I like colorful, bright character covers! Once you read the story you could understand the colors of the cover and the title. The characters were sort of cute with not enough depth to any of them, really nice having a rather short read – the killer wasn’t any big surprise!

[Brandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this book in one of goodreads giveaways! It's a mystery with a main character the reader will be cheering for from the beginning. Who hasn't had one of those weeks? Callie stone has lost her job and her boyfriend all in one day. She decides to leave new York for her small Oregon hometown to get away but the drama follows her in a big way. Cross dressing pageants, drugs, organic farms and old friends make for a story that I couldn't put it down. I recommend this for a light easy read that will keep u on guessing until the end. I did find a few grammatical errors and mistakes but the fun story and fast pace kept me moving through to the end. A great rainy day or beach read!

[Claire Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book to read on holiday, Good pace to it,but its not gonna win any prizes. Would of like to seen more depth to the whole thing

[Regina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book for a plane ride. It made the time fly too.