Murder Circle

Do you want to learn how to buy cheese? Go to the website of Avery Aames, author of THE LONG QUICHE GOODBYE. She has tips and recipes (including gluten-free scones) at http://www.averyaames.com/  And be on the look-out for the next Charlotte Bessette Cheese Shop Mystery, LOST AND FONDUE.

Aging is international as Gladdy Gold shows us in her 6th outing, GETTING OLD IS TRES DANGEREUX. When a French redhead goes for Gladdy’s main squeeze, the young woman’s life is in jeopardy–and not from Gladdy’s wrath. Check out author Rita Lakin’s Hollywood credits, http://www.ritalakin.com You’ll recognize many of the shows.  

We all have bad days, but Stella Hardesty seems to have more than most. When a tornado uncovers a mummified female and the sheriff’s ex comes to town, it’s certain to be A BAD DAY FOR PRETTY. Sophie Littlefield continues her series following her debut with A BAD DAY FOR SORRY.

Actor, author and Jeopardy champion Boyd Morrison defied the odds and took his Kindle novel, THE ARK, to bestseller status. Be on the lookout this November for ROGUE WAVE, a tsunami set to    destroy Honolulu in one hour.

There are lots of  BROKEN PLACES in the 3rd Rachel Goddard mystery. This time author Sandra Parshall gives us blackmail, arson and several murders for the veternarian/sleuth to solve. When a newspaper publisher tries to save a dying paper, he’s the one who winds up dead.

NEWS FLASH! Murder Circle Favorite Sue Ann Jaffarian has just announced that her latest, MURDER IN VEIN, is to be the first hardcover published by Midnight Ink! The book launch is set for Sept. 18 at The Mystery Book Store in Westwood (Los Angeles).  For those of you who can’t attend, be sure and give the lady a high-five when you see her at Bouchercon in October!

Marilyn Meredith is going down an INVISIBLE PATH in the 10th Tempe Crabtree Native American mystery. Suspect Jesus Running Bear leaves Tempe with no “reservations” of finding the killer before the victim’s friends and a milita group take matters into their own hands.  

Will Jeri Westerson sport her T-shirt with the slogan “Chaucer Is My Homeboy” at Bouchercon next month? Keep an eye out. And look for the 3rd in the Crispin Guest Medieval Noir series, THE DEMON’S PARCHMENT.

Did you miss the recent book launch for the 5th Billy Boyle WWII Mystery, RAG AND BONE? The retro covers of James R. Benn’s novels take us back to  a time when we liked Ike, a relative of Boyles through marriage. This is a smartly-written book about wartime intelligence!

When she’s not doing standup comedy (?), L.J. Sellers writes the Det. Jackson mysteries. Right now she’s THRILLED TO DEATH about the freshly released third in the series. Murder brings out dirty secrets of a socialite and a suspect who hasn’t left his house in a year. Now, that’s nothing to laugh about!

ANNOUNCEMENT: I’ve been hard at work pulling together the Mystery Cruise to the Mexican Riviera in Nov.  We have 40 bookbags to fill. Many terrific authors have sent me promo items, but if you’ve got something to contribute, contact me for a snail mail address.

As if the Death on Demand and Henry O series weren’t enough, Carolyn Hart is adding a new series starring ghostly busybody Bailey Ruth Raeburn. A member of Heaven’s Dept. of Good Intentions, she is obliged to help any Earth-bound person who needs her. When the pastor’s wife finds a corpse on the porch, Bailey Ruth grabs her sidekick Wiggins and becomes a GHOST AT WORK.

Speaking of BEST INTENTIONS, even the elite of New York City have to downsize their privileged lifestyle. Lisa Barkley is willing to give up those jaunts to Europe, but she draws the line at giving up her husband to another woman. The price is too high in Emily Listfield’s novel. 

Things are also on the downhill slope for Claire Hanover in the second Gift Bag Mystery, TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET. A ski trip turns chilly when a young woman gets killed. Beth Groundwater keeps it slippery! 

The Murder Circle found out that Jeri Westerson turned more than a few heads at the LA Times Festival of Books with her T-shirt that announced “Chaucer Is My Homeboy.” Westerson is up for a Macavity for VEIL OF LIES. In September, the Murder Circle will tout her latest, SERPENT IN THE THORNS.  

Is motherhood the best training for a Private Eye? The writing team of Evelyn David makes the case on a blog titled “Gumshoe Moms” over at http://meanderingsandmuses.blogspot.com  And MURDER TAKES THE CAKE is their latest Sullivan Investigation Mystery. 

Another confession a la blog comes from Jane Cleland. Over at www.thedebutantball.com  the author says her mom omitted details on her recipe cards so nobody could replicate her cooking. Is that “just desserts?” Cleland’s latest Josie Prescott Antique Mystery KILLER KEEPSAKES is on the shelves.

I had my own fun ride over at http://booklandheights.blogspot.com earlier this month. I have no filters and let my sassy mouth run the show. Good friend Marilyn Meredith is over there right now. Ask her a question about her latest, NO SANCTUARY.

Fellow Oak Tree Press author Dennis Griffin paid a visit to my hometown with mobster Henry Hill in tow. Henry is portrayed by Ray Liotta in the movie ”Goodfellows.” Griffin, who knows all about the Vegas mob scene, has just released his novel VEGAS VIXEN.

The three of us are part of the Public Safety Writers Association. We’re very proud of members Sarah Cortez and Liz Martinez, editors fo the 1st ever anthology of short crime fiction penned by Latino writers. HIT LIST: THE BEST OF LATINO MYSTERY takes readers on a trip through the barrios and imaginations of such writers as Mario Acevedo, Carolina Garcia-Aguilera and Steven Torres. Published by Arte Publico Press, this is a ground-breaking collection.

Congrats to Agatha winners and Murder Circle favorites G.M. Malliet, Louise Penny, Kathy Lynn Emerson andChris Grabenstein. Enjoy those teapots! For more on their award-winning books, scroll down to the previous MC.

The Murder Circle is operational again and there’s lots of news worth telling!

Two Murder Circle favorites were on Publishers Weekly’s Best Books of 2008: Carolyn Hart for GHOST AT WORK, and Margaret Maron for DEATH’S HALF ACRE. Both books are on my growing Christmas list.

Betty Webb announces: “Surprise! My new mystery is not a Lena Jones book, but the start of a humorous new series, beginning with THE ANTEATER OF DEATH, where a zoo’s innocent Giant Anteater gets framed for murder. California zookeeper Theodora  ‘Teddy’ Bentley must find the real murderer before her furry friend is shipped off to another zoo in disgrace.” Sounds “wild” to me!

She wasn’t a witch, so the DEATH OF A BAWDY BELLE in 1692 Salem gets Hetty Henry and her sidekick, minister “Creasy” Cotton investigating. This is a long-anticipated release from author M.E. Kemp. Keep ‘em coming!   

One lump or two? G.M. Malliet is promoting DEATH OF A COZY WRITER with a spot of tea to keep warm while reading her British mystery. The novel was one of this year’s pick for bestseller by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.

Sean Chercover provides a soundtrack to accompany TRIGGER CITY and BIG CITY BAD BLOOD. The music PI Ray Dudgeon listens to can be downloaded from iTunes.

It’s a CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE confronting journalist Clare Prentice in the latest from Martha Powers. Her assignment is to interview a reclusive novelist, but she’s also on the beat to uncover the murder of her birth mother. 

Run, don’t walk, to your nearest library and ask that they order EDEN PALMS MURDER. This is the request of author Dorothy Francis in support of her publisher, Five Star. Her latest Key West whodunit will make winter feel like a summer vacation.

For those of you who write about law enforcement or any other public safety characters in your novels, check out http://www.policewriter.com/  PSWA (Public Safety Writers Association) is the organization connecting writers with law enforcement sources. The three-day June conference is in Las Vegas, with a group signing at Cheesecake and Crime afterward. I’ll be seeing Betty Webb and Marilyn Meredith there, as well as my publisher, Billie Johnson of Oak Tree Press. Read the newsletter and learn about us!

And yes, the second of my Christy Bristol Astrology Novels, WHERE ANGELS FEAR, will be out in time for the Left Coast Crime convention on the Big Island, Hawaii.  I’m going to wear a lei, drink Mai Tais and hang out with Victoria Heckman, Simon Wood, Tim Wohlforth and Deni Dietz. Hope to see some of you there!