Mayhem in Circulation: A Larkspur Library Mystery by Leah Dobrinska Book Tour!

Mayhem in Circulation: A Larkspur Library Mystery
Cozy Mystery

2nd in Series

Setting - Wisconsin

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Level Best Books (December 5, 2023)

Paperback ‏ : ‎ 262 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1685124550

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1685124557

Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CFWCJ92S

Librarian Greta Plank is hard at work planning and preparing for Larkspur’s Fall Festival and regional tourism showcase which, if successful, will be a boon to the local economy. But disaster strikes and chances of a positive review look slimmer than a periodical’s spine when a series of pranks escalates and one of Larkspur’s own is found dead the same day the reporter is set to arrive.

Desperate to defend her town’s character and get to the bottom of the circulating mayhem, Greta begins indexing suspects. Could the crimes be an outside job, undertaken by someone intent on harming the town’s reputation? Or is someone closer to home trying to ruin Larkspur from the inside?

With destruction of property, sabotage, and strange animal mishaps piling up on top of murder, Greta wouldn’t recommend this ‘choose your own (disastrous) adventure’ to anyone. In the end, she must decide who she can trust so she can close the book on these crimes before the shadowy vandal authors another kill.

About Leah Dobrinska

Leah Dobrinska is the author of the Fall In Love romcom series, the Larkspur Library Mysteries, a cozy mystery series set in the Wisconsin Northwoods, and the Mapleton novels, a series of award-winning standalone small town romances. She earned her degree in English Literature from UW-Madison where she was awarded the Dean’s Prize and served as a Writing Fellow. She has since worked as a freelance writer, editor, and content marketer. As a kid, she hoped to grow up to be either Nancy Drew or Elizabeth Bennet. Now, she fulfills that dream by writing mysteries and love stories.

A sucker for a good sentence, a happy ending, and the smell of books—both old and new—Leah lives out her very own happily ever after in a small Wisconsin town with her husband and their gaggle of kids. When she's not writing, handing out snacks, or visiting the local library, Leah enjoys reading and running.

Find out more about Leah, join her newsletter community, and connect with her through her website, leahdobrinska.com.

Website: https://leahdobrinska.com/

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“Alright. Let’s see what we’ve got here.” Greta pulled up the security camera program the library used, and, with a couple of clicks, she was looking at the film from the previous night. The library’s cameras captured the municipal center parking lot and a small stretch of Larkspur Lane, just before it met with Main Street. The outdoor seating area of Mugs & Hugs was barely visible in the far corner of the screen.

Greta inserted a flash drive so she could make a copy of the material. “We don’t have much of a timeline to go on yet, so I’m guessing we should share everything from the time we locked up last night until you and Iris arrived this morning. I’m sure the police will narrow down the time of death soon.” Greta increased the speed of the playback to try to cover more ground.

In silence, they watched the minutes fly by on the screen. Josie groaned when they made it to the two a.m. mark and still hadn’t seen anything of value. “I feel like the angle of our camera is all wrong. We don’t have a view of the building where the spray paint message was left. And Mayor Collins always parks in the alleyway behind town hall, so I doubt we’ll see when she arrived or what she was doing here. I don’t know how helpful this is going to be for the police.”

“They’ll want to see it nonetheless.”

A couple more hours of video ticked by as Greta and Josie stared at the screen. The little white numbers showing the time in the bottom corner read 4:30 am when a car came into the frame, driving slowly down Larkspur Lane north toward the library.

“Pause it!” Josie leaned forward. “That car would have had to pass the scene in order to come into the periphery of our camera.”

“You’re right.” Greta clicked the zoom button.

“Maybe you can get a license plate number.” Josie squinted at the screen before leaning back in her chair and stretching her arms over her head.

Greta used the mouse to manipulate the image in front of her. “I don’t think I need to see the plates.”

“What? Why?”

Greta let the screen rest on a pixeled image of the face behind the steering wheel. “Because I know who’s driving. That’s Stewart Diddle.”

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

March 20 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

March 20 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

March 20 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER GUEST POST

March 21 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT

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March 21 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

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March 22 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

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March 23 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

March 23 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT

March 23 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

March 24 – Sarah Can't Stop Reading – REVIEW

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March 25 – Storybook Lady – REVIEW

March 25 – Boys' Mom Reads! – REVIEW

March 26 – Cozy Up WIth Kathy – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

March 26 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

March 26 – Cassidy's Bookshelves – SPOTLIGHT

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One signed copy of both Mayhem In Circulation and Death Checked Out (the first book in the series) as well as a Larkspur Library canvas tote bag. This giveaway would be U.S. only.

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Battered and Buried (An All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery) by Lena Gregory Book Tour!

Battered and Buried (An All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery)

Cozy Mystery
7th in Series

Setting - Florida

Publisher ‏

‎ Beyond the Page (March 19, 2024)

Paperback ‏ 188 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ ‎ 1960511580

ISBN-13 978-1960511

Digital ASIN ‏ B0CW18PPSQ

The best-laid plans may go awry, but the best-laid clues could frame a man for murder . . .

Never one to let a day off work go to waste, café owner Gia Morelli and a friend head out for a blissful kayaking trip through the local national forest. But the peacefulness of the day is soon shattered when they come across Cole, her head cook, standing over a dead body. Worse still, the victim was a lifelong enemy of Cole’s, and clues found on the body point to the cook as the culprit. When the police take Cole in and subject him to an intense grilling, Gia vows to do everything she can to prove his innocence.

As even more incriminating evidence surfaces—including when the murder weapon itself is found hidden at the café—Gia knows she’s up against someone brutal enough to kill and devious enough to frame Cole for the deed. With the police ready to make an official arrest and wrap up what they consider an open-and-shut case, Gia turns for help to an old friend who’s not above breaking the law himself. Because if she can’t find the killer, Cole may go from serving up hot dishes to serving a life sentence . . .

Lena grew up in a small town on the south shore of eastern Long Island, but she recently traded in cold, damp, gray winters for the warmth and sunshine of central Florida, where she now lives with her husband, three kids, son-in-law, and four dogs. Her hobbies include spending time with family, reading, and walking. Her love for writing developed when her youngest son was born and didn’t sleep through the night. She works full-time as a writer and a freelance editor and is a member of Sisters in Crime.

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

March 19 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT

March 19 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT

March 20 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW

March 20 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

March 21 – Christy's Cozy Corners - REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

March 21 – MJB Reviewers – REVIEW

March 22 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT

March 22 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic - AUTHOR GUEST POST, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

March 23 – Jane Reads – CHARACTER GUEST POST  

March 24 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

March 25 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

March 26 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

March 26 – Sarah Can't Stop Reading – REVIEW  

March 27 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY

March 27 – Angel's Book Nook – SPOTLIGHT

March 28 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews – REVIEW

March 29 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW

March 29 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST

March 30 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT

March 31 - FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

March 31 - Teatime and Books – SPOTLIGHT

April 1 – Maureen's Musings – SPOTLIGHT

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Current of Darkness by Robert Brighton Book Tour! #XpressoTours #robertbrightonauthor @avengingangeldetectiveagency #currentofdarkness

 

Current of Darkness
Robert Brighton

Publication date: March 19th 2024
Genres: Adult, Historical, Mystery

“Unforgettable female leads power this stellar historical mystery” (BookLife Reviews) by Robert Brighton, told with “writing that is on par with the cunning of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle” (Manhattan Book Review).

A swirling tale of industrial espionage, love, and betrayal, Current of Darkness follows aspiring sleuth Sarah Payne behind the sleek, honeymoon façade of Gilded Age Niagara Falls and into a shadowy demimonde of ruthless union bosses, saboteurs, and tycoons-including the powerful, handsome, and mysterious Charles Kendall, whose intentions toward Sarah are unclear.

Meanwhile, sultry widow Alicia Miller is set on taking charge of her murdered husband’s company-only to find herself pitted against the new majority owner, who has his own ideas about women in the world of men. But cunning and captivating Alicia has ideas, too-and will stop at nothing to come out on top.

Both women will have to find the courage and resourcefulness-and set aside their own simmering feud-to survive in this “winning story of action, sabotage, cutthroat business dealings, and women daring to be something new at the dawn of the American century” (BookLife Reviews).

A captivating, page-turning, and immersive tale of industrial espionage, love, and betrayal – set against the backdrop of the glittering Gilded Age. Current of Darkness will draw readers in, and hold them under, until its final, explosive pages.

Read the Avenging Angel Detective Agency Mysteries in any order.

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ALICIA MAKES AN OMELET

Excerpted from Current of Darkness: Desire & Deceit in the Gilded Age

A Novel by Robert Brighton
© 2024 Copper Nickel, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

When Alicia got back to the front door of Miller Envelope Company, damned if the thing wasn’t unlocked. She jerked the door open and saw none other than her Majority Owner, Howie Gaines, crossing the lobby, his foot almost to the first tread of the staircase.

“Howie!” she called, and he turned.

“Mrs. Miller,” he said. “I hope you weren’t waiting. I usually get here early.”

“We’ll talk about that in a minute,” she said. “But you need to come with me first.”

He returned to the front door. “What’s wrong?” he said.

“Follow me,” she said, crooking a finger. Together they walked along the Division Street side of the building and back to the loading dock area. The cigarette smoker was sitting on the loading dock again, smoking another cigarette. When he spied Gaines, he stubbed out his smoke and jumped down. “Mr. Gaines,” he said. “Good morning.”

“Shevlin,” Gaines said. “Good morning to you.”

“Go get those other two men who were with you just now,” Allie said to Shevlin, waving the back of her hand in his direction. He eyed her and then glanced at Gaines, who nodded. Shevlin hopped up on the loading dock, still trailing smoke, and went into the depths of the factory, and reemerged with the lanky man and the other one in tow.

“What is this all about?” Gaines asked Alicia.

“Teaching a lesson,” she said as the two men shuffled onto the dock with Shevlin. Allie looked up at them. “Who are these men?” she said to Howie, who stood by looking puzzled.

“Utz, on the left, and Kiesler. They’re two of our best delivery men.”

“Mr. Shevlin, Mr. Utz, Mr. Kiesler,” Alicia said. “We weren’t properly introduced earlier. I’m Alicia Hall Miller. Miller as in Miller Envelope. You must know it—it’s your employer.”

The three men could almost be heard to swallow audibly. The lanky man, Kiesler, who seemed to occupy a leadership role, cleared his throat. “We’re sorry, ma’am, about . . . earlier. Didn’t know who you were.”

“I see,” Alicia said. “You’re sorry, then.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Kiesler said.

“And you two? Are you sorry, as well?”

Utz and Shevlin nodded, somewhat sheepishly, mumbling assent.

“Well, good. Thank you for that,” she said. “Now, guess what else you are? In addition to ‘sorry’?”

The men looked back at her blankly.

“You’re fired,” she said. “All three of you. Right now. Go collect whatever shit you have in your lockers and get out.” She looked at her watch. “You have precisely two minutes to leave my property. If you don’t, you’ll wish you had. The chief of police owes me at least one favor.”

Gaines touched her arm. “Mrs. Miller,” he said under his breath, “a word?”

“What do you want?” she said, jerking her arm away. “These men were insufferably rude to me just a few minutes ago.”

“You can’t hire and fire people,” Howie said quietly, his face quite crimson. “You’re a minority owner. You don’t have the authority to—”

“I won’t make a habit of it, Gaines,” she said, “but I just did fire them, and fired they will remain. Now do not challenge me on this, or we’re going to have a very bad first day together.”

The three men were looking at Gaines and Alicia’s little sidebar conference. Gaines turned back to them. “You heard her,” he said. “You’re dismissed.”

The men muttered a few choice words and disappeared into the building to collect their belongings. Allie and Gaines trudged back to the front entrance.

“Those are—were—three of our best workers, you know,” he said to her as they mounted the staircase inside. “Do you know how difficult it is to replace good laborers?”

“You can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs,” she said. “And do you know how difficult it is to replace customers? I don’t want anyone who represents our company to treat anyone in the way I was treated. It’s simply not acceptable. They merely picked on the wrong person today, but my guess is that they’re rude to everyone. And they’re the ones driving around delivering our product? Gaines, we need pleasant, polite people meeting our customers, not surly bastards like those three. And they’re lazy. Smokers are all lazy. Every last goddamn one of them.”

“Fine, fine,” Howie said, as they stood on the upper landing, outside their office. “I don’t disagree with you, but—”

“Then don’t,” Alicia said. “Don’t say, ‘I don’t disagree with you,’ and then begin disagreeing with me. I absolutely loathethat sort of thing. It reminds me of visitors who drop by and, after a few minutes, consult their watches and say, ‘Well, I’d better let you get back to your more pressing matters,’ or some such horseshit. They’re the ones with pressing matters, and they want to blame me for it. If I have pressing matters, I say so.”

Howie seemed perplexed.

“Do you understand, Gaines? It’s a simile. I’m drawing a comparison, so that you can understand what your new business partner hates.” One corner of her mouth rippled up.

“Yes, yes, I understand.”

“Then you know what I would like to do? When you introduce me to the company today—the whole staff—I am going to emphasize that every person who works here is going to treat everyone as though he were a customer. Or she. Or they’ll be hitting the bricks, just like Shevlin and company.”

“People aren’t going to like that,” he said, working the lock of their office door and putting his hand on the doorknob.

“Isn’t that their hard luck. Oh, and by the way”—she put her hand over his on the knob—“these offices open at 7:30, sharp. Not 7:45, not between 7:35 and 7:30. We can’t expect anyone else to be punctual and attentive to their jobs if we’re not. People look at us and decide what they can get away with. We have excellent streetcars here in Buffalo, and broad sidewalks, and so there’s no cause to be late. None. Understand?”

Howie smirked at her. “You will understand, Mrs. Miller, I don’t plan to be lectured by a minority owner—”

“It’s Alicia,” she said. “Or just Miller. Like any other business partner. Not Mrs. Miller. I’m not calling you Mr. Gaines, you can depend on that.”

“As you wish, Miller,” he said. “Now may I please go into my office?”

“It’s our office, and yes, you may.”

Award-winning author Robert Brighton is an authority on the Gilded Age, and a great believer that the Victorian era was anything but stuffy. In his Avenging Angel Detective Agency Mysteries, Brighton exposes the turbulence of the era - its passions, dreams, and disasters - against a backdrop of careful research on the places, sights, sounds, and smells of the time.

When he is not walking the streets in the footsteps of the Avenging Angels, sniffing out unsolved mysteries, Brighton is an adventurer. He has traveled in more than 50 countries around the world, personally throwing himself into every situation his characters will face - from underground ruins to opium dens - and (so far) living to tell about it.

A graduate of the Sorbonne, Paris, Brighton is an avid student of early 20th Century history and literature, an ardent and relentless investigator, and an admirer of Emily Dickinson and Jim Morrison. He lives in Virginia with his wife and their two cats.

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