23 October 2023

Sieve and Let Die: A Vintage Kitchen Mystery by Victoria Hamilton Book Tour!

 

 

About Sieve and Let Die

 

Sieve and Let Die: A Vintage Kitchen Mystery

Cozy Mystery 11th in Series 

Beyond the Page (October 17, 2023)

Print length ‏ : ‎ 279 pages 

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CHWKY49V

In the new Vintage Kitchen Mystery from the author of A Calculated Whisk, Jaymie’s not sure who to believe when every suspect’s alibi has as many holes as a sieve . . .

Vintage cookware collector Jaymie Müller is stunned when an irate woman accuses her pharmacist friend Val of tampering with her prescription. When more unfounded accusations follow, it seems clear the woman has a personal grudge against Val. But before they can figure out why, Jaymie and Val stumble upon the woman’s dead body on the steps of Val’s pharmacy. Given her altercations with the woman and the location of the body, the police naturally suspect Val.

Jaymie has heard rumors that the victim had become forgetful and erratic, but could that explain her death? And why was Val being framed as her murderer? Determined to find the clues that connect the woman’s strange behavior to her death, Jaymie begins questioning the people in her life—and soon suspects that the culprit is among them. But she’ll have to be careful about who she confronts, because while solving murders is hard work, there’s a killer on the loose who finds committing them all too easy . . .

Includes a vintage recipe!

 6 Week Bran Muffins

By: Victoria Hamilton


When I was in high school I worked a part time job at Kresge’s. Every Saturday after the store closed at five thirty I would run – and I do mean run… the bus left at five forty five - to the Greyhound station and catch the bus to go to my parent’s trailer at the lake. After an hour and a quarter ride, I would be dropped off on the highway near the trailer park slightly motion-sick from driving into the sunset, which inevitably made me queasy! My mom would have a fresh batch of her refrigerator bran muffins waiting. The whole trailer would smell of the bran date goodness.

I would have one or two as dinner, and all would be right with the world.

Mom and Dad both really liked bran muffins, so she made a big batch of batter that would last for weeks in the fridge, so she could scoop out some for fresh baked goodness any time. Here is an approximation of the recipe, and if you make it you, too, will have fresh muffins every day, or several dozen to give away! 


6-Week Bran Muffin Recipe


Note that this makes up a LOT of batter! When I say to use big bowls, I MEAN big bowls… I used the two largest bowls of the Pyrex Primary Colors set, and they were barely big enough. But the batter is so easy to make, and it means that if you have twenty minutes in the morning you can have fresh, hot-out-of-the-oven muffins any morning!


Cooking Time: 20 min

Makes: Hope You Like Bran Muffins Because It Makes A Lot! 


Ingredients 


15 ounces raisin bran cereal

3 Cups All Purpose Flour

2 Cups Whole Wheat flour

2 Cups White sugar

1 Cup Golden Brown sugar

5 tsp. baking soda 

1 tsp. salt 

4 eggs, beaten 

1 cup oil 

4 cups buttermilk

Optional:

¾ lb. pitted dates, (plus 1 tsp. baking soda and boiling water just to cover) 


Instructions 

1. If you are using dates… chop dates, then put in smallish bowl, sprinkle baking soda over them and cover with boiling water just to cover. The baking soda is necessary to break down and soften the skins. You can mash the dates some as they soften.

2. Mix wet ingredients together in the biggest bowl, then add raisin bran cereal and let sit for at least twenty minutes while you do the rest. If the dates are softened, you can add them to the wet ingredients at this point, with the liquid.

3. Mix dry ingredients thoroughly in another large bowl. 

4. Mix dry blend into wet ingredients, mixing well, but not beating. 

5. Refrigerate batter at least 6 hours before baking. 

6. Fill muffin tins or papers 2/3 full and bake at 400 degrees F for 20 min. 

Note: The original recipe (I’ve made quite a few alterations to the original) claims that batter will keep in fridge for up to 6 weeks, so that you can bake a few at a time. I know my mom’s recipe did. The batter will get very thick and light colored, with a fluffy texture. Put it in a container with a tight lid.

~::~

Sieve and Let Die – Vintage Kitchen Mysteries #11

In the new Vintage Kitchen Mystery from the author of A Calculated Whisk, Jaymie’s not sure who to believe when every suspect’s alibi has as many holes as a sieve . . .

 Vintage cookware collector Jaymie Müller is stunned when an irate woman accuses her pharmacist friend Val of tampering with her prescription. When more unfounded accusations follow, it seems clear the woman has a personal grudge against Val. But before they can figure out why, Jaymie and Val stumble upon the woman’s dead body on the steps of Val’s pharmacy. Given her altercations with the woman and the location of the body, the police naturally suspect Val. 

Jaymie has heard rumors that the victim had become forgetful and erratic, but could that explain her death? And why was Val being framed as her murderer? Determined to find the clues that connect the woman’s strange behavior to her death, Jaymie begins questioning the people in her life and soon suspects that the culprit is among them. But she’ll have to be careful about who she confronts because while solving murders is hard work, there’s a killer on the loose who finds committing them all too easy.

About Victoria Hamilton


Victoria Hamilton is the pseudonym of nationally bestselling romance author Donna Lea Simpson. Victoria is the bestselling author of four mystery series: the Lady Anne Addison Mysteries, the Vintage Kitchen Mysteries, the Merry Muffin Mysteries, and A Gentlewoman’s Guide to Murder Mysteries. Visit her website at victoriahamiltonmysteries.com. 

Website: http://www.victoriahamiltonmysteries.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VictoriaHamiltonMysteryAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MysteryVictoria

Purchase Links Digital -

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The Curse of Moonseed Manor by D. Lieber Book Tour and Review

 The Curse of Moonseed Manor by D. Lieber

Genre: NA / Adult Gothic Romance, Paranormal Mystery

Tour Dates: 17th - 23rd October 2023

Publication Date: 17th October 2023

Formats available: Epub and PDF

Standalone Novel

Estimated Page Count -305



A haunted hotel. A skeptical photographer. A deadly curse that could cost her everything.

 

Wren Mabry’s life is a disaster. Her last few years have been rife with tragedy and hardship. So when she’s offered a job at Moonseed Manor, a Gothic revival mansion that’s never welcomed visitors, it seems suspicious. Even so, this is her chance to finally turn her life around.

 

The gloom that hangs over Moonseed Manor is enhanced by its cold yet alluring owner, Mr. William Courtland Bennings. And the spooky tales of the flirtatious and sexy caretaker, Watt, play up that feeling.

 

Even though Wren doesn’t believe in ghosts or curses, she’s always had a flair for the darker side. And when she finds a handwritten book of poetry filled with longing, terror, and ghostly revenge, it reawakens her very soul—or rather the unknown poet does.

 

Love, death, secrets, and lies await in this gothic romance.


D. Lieber has a wanderlust that would make a butterfly envious. When she isn’t planning her next physical adventure, she’s recklessly jumping from one fictional world to another. Her love of reading led her to earn a Bachelor’s in English from Wright State University.

Beyond her skeptic and slightly pessimistic mind, Lieber wants to believe. She has been many places—from Canada to England, France to Italy, Germany to Russia—believing that a better world comes from putting a face onother. ”She is a romantic idealist at heart, always fighting to keep her feet on the ground and her head in the clouds.

Lieber lives in Wisconsin with her husband (John) and cats (Yin and Nox).

My Thoughts


Moonseed Manor definitely has a gothic ghost story feel to it. The manor is supposedly haunted. Down on her luck, Wren Mabry needs to find a job that is better than what she is currently doing, so when the opportunity arises for a job as a photographer at Moonseed Manor. Her photography skills are a bit rusty but she figures, why not?


This story definitely has the feel of a gothic novel in the vein of Daphne du Maurier or the Brontes but a bit racier with romance and secrets at the root of the story.

We have the brooding owner of the Gothic revival manor, William Cortland Bennings, Wren, and caretaker Watt, and the rest of the staff hired to turn this manor into a luxury hotel.


What are the secrets that reside within these walls and who is the good guy or bad guy? Meaning that not all s above board within the walls of this spooky mansion. What is the curse that exists? Does Wren want to stay at her new job and find out the secrets of William and Moonseed Manor?


Wren does not believe in ghosts but she finds a little book handwritten book with poems that has Wren eagerly delving into it to find the ghost/s!


As you read further into the story it all comes together to tell a suspenseful ghost story! I often enjoy these gothic stories, which often give the reader a glimpse into the past and its secrets. I especially love the cover of this book, creepy and romantic all at once.


I give the book 5 stars!


I received a copy of the book from Rachels Random Resources for my honest opinion and was not given money for said review.











Murder by the Seashore (A California Bookshop Mystery) by Samara Yew Book Tour!


About Murder by the Seashore

Murder by the Seashore (A California Bookshop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – California
Crooked Lane Books (October 17, 2023)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639104933
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639104932
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BSKSHZF5

Perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Ellery Adams, Scarlett Gardner’s dream was to open a bookshop in Southern California, but it soon becomes a nightmare when she finds the dead body of a customer—and becomes the prime suspect.

Southern California is where dreams come true—or so Scarlett Gardner thought. When she moved there and opened the Palm Trees and Page Turners bookshop, she thought her boyfriend and business partner would be part of the story. When he leaves her for a better job, Scarlett finds herself struggling to keep her new business afloat. That’s not the only thing she has to worry about—she discovers something underneath the pier by her bookshop that she didn’t outline for her life’s story: the dead body of a book-buying customer.

After Scarlett gives a statement to the police, she thinks her life can go back to business as usual. But when a lawyer, representing someone named Lorelai Knight, tells Scarlett that she now stands to inherit a small fortune, she’s left with more questions than answers. Before she can make sense of any of it, the police bring her in for questioning; the body she found was Lorelai Knight. And the evidence they have against Scarlett doesn’t look good. Business is booming as Scarlett returns to Palm Trees and Page Turners, but for all the wrong reasons – curious tourists don’t want books, they want a glimpse of the Bookshop Killer.

Who could really be behind all of this? And why frame Scarlett? To clear her name, she’s going to have get creative—and hope she can remain one page ahead of the killer.

The motel was a few miles up the coast in an area with beachy-themed fast-food restaurants and an actual surf shop right beside the Surf Side Inn. When we first met, Connor had totally been the type to spend his vacation or free time surfing. Now he seemed so business focused. I was surprised he’d chosen the Surf Side Inn to stay at and not a more upscale hotel closer to downtown. The cracked pink stucco and mint-green railings around the building definitely gave the place a dated look—a far cry from the elegance of the Five Palms Resort. Maybe he really was desperate for cash.

“Which room number is he in again?” I pulled into the parking lot and parked behind a large red pickup truck, hoping it would hide us from view in case Connor was still around.

Evelyn pulled the piece of notebook paper I’d found yesterday out of her purse. “Two-eleven.”

Twilight was setting in, and I squinted at the room numbers on the second floor, trying to find which direction 211 might be.

“There.” I pointed to the last room on the left, the one beside a vending machine. “The lights are off, so I doubt he’s in.”

Evelyn unbuckled her seat belt. “All right. Let’s go.”

My pulse picked up as we headed toward the small check-in lobby. Hopefully, this would go well.

Inside, I rang the silver call bell, and a moment later a young woman stepped out from the back and nodded at us in acknowledgment.

“Are you here to check in?” she asked.

I shook my head, wishing Evelyn and I had come up with some sort of cover story that afternoon during work, but there hadn’t been time with the busy crowd. “I’m here to see my friend, Connor Walker. He’s staying in room two-eleven, but he doesn’t seem to be answering his cell phone. Do you mind calling his room?”

“Sure.”

I tried to keep my cool as I waited for the front-desk clerk to call Connor’s room. The gentle nudge from Evelyn to stop my foot tapping told me I wasn’t being successful. Maybe I wasn’t as good of an actor as I liked to think I was, but I was getting more and more nervous the longer we were here. What if Connor walked in right now? I quietly let out a breath and looked up to meet the clerk’s hazel eyes as she hung up the phone.

“Sorry, there was no answer in Mr. Walker’s room.”

“Do you happen to know where he went?”

“No, I have no idea.” The clerk sounded a little annoyed now. Obviously, it wasn’t her job to know exactly where all the guests were at every moment. I needed to switch tactics.

“Connor has something of mine, something important. Would you be able to let us into his room for a moment so I can quickly get it?” I opened my eyes as wide as possible, going for an innocent expression. “We’ll be fast. I promise.”

The front-desk clerk gave me a You’ve got to be kidding me look. “No, miss. That’s against our policy. Only the occupant with a form of ID is allowed in their room.”

“Yes, we understand. Sorry about that.” Evelyn flashed me a warning smile.

I knew what she meant. Abort! Abort!

The clerk made an annoyed hum sound and then asked, “Would you like to leave a message for Mr. Walker?”

“Oh, no,” I said, way too loudly. “I mean, I’ll send another text. Thank you.”

Before the clerk became any more suspicious of us than she already was, I hurried out of the lobby with Evelyn quick on my heels.

“Well, that was a disaster,” Evelyn said.

“Argh!” I slapped a palm to my forehead. “I totally froze up in there and had no idea what to ask.”

Evelyn chuckled. “I could tell.”

“There’s no way we can try to sneak into his room now without raising any more alarms. She’s already onto us.”

“We could look around the outside of his room. Maybe he dropped something outside the door.”

“It couldn’t hurt, I guess. As long as we’re quick.”

I followed Evelyn up the stairs to the second floor. It was completely dark by now, and I felt very stealthy sneaking around in the shadows. Very Mission: Impossible, as Lucia would say. We walked the route we figured Connor would have taken from his room to the stairs, but there was nothing on the ground.

“The curtains are open slightly.” I peered in through the window but didn’t see much in the dark room. An outline of the unmade bed and the glow from the alarm clock was about it.

“Well, I’m still sure he’s the killer. Even without any proof,” Evelyn said. “But don’t worry. We’ll keep looking.”

I opened my mouth to agree but quickly closed it when I heard a voice from the parking lot, followed by two car door slams.

“Thanks for helping me with this, Jake. That money is rightfully mine. I deserve it.”

“That’s Connor.” I chanced a quick look over the railing and saw Connor and his buddy Jake chatting in the parking lot directly below. Their conversation floated up to us.

“No problem. I’ll do whatever I can,” Jake said.

“I need that money, and I’ll fight to get it.” Connor let out a breath like he was stressed out. “Anyway, thanks again for picking up the tab. I’ll need to remember my wallet next time.”

Footsteps started heading toward the stairs we’d walked up.

“We gotta get out of here!”

“Hurry. Let’s take the elevator down instead.” Evelyn led the way toward the elevator, which was four rooms down from Connor’s.

We both slammed the button at the same time.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry,” I pleaded with the elevator. There was a creaky rumble, and the doors opened. We stumbled into our shelter.

“Do you think he saw us?” Evelyn asked as we slowly descended to the first floor in the old elevator.

“I sure hope not.”

When the doors opened, I half expected Connor to be waiting outside with his arms crossed like he’d caught us, but there was no one. Thankfully, the pickup truck hadn’t moved, so we were able to slip into my car and drive away without being noticed.

All we’d learned was how desperate Connor was to get a hold of my money.


 About Samara Yew

Samara Yew is a cozy mystery author who writes about adorable bookshops and dead bodies. A full-time mom, full-time dog servant, and part-time writer, Samara lives in British Columbia, Canada, where she can often be found watching Psych reruns. Samara loves to travel, especially visiting her husband’s home country of Singapore or donning Mickey ears in Disneyland. She’s a member of Sisters in Crime and International Thriller Writers.

Author Links
Website https://samarayew.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/samara.yew.books

Twitter (X) https://twitter.com/samarayewauthor

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/samara.yew.author

GoodReads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/24259604.Samara_Yew

Purchase Links – Amazon – PenguinRandomHouse – B&N – Chapters Indigo

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