One of the great thing about cozy mysteries are the recipes! Everyone loves to delve into the scrumptious foods authors describe in their books, and Rebecca Adler has some of the best Tex-Mex recipes out there. After reading her latest book <CINCO DE MURDER, I had to ask her for a taste of Texas. To my delight, and soon to be yours too, Rebecca didn’t just give me one recipe, she covered us for a whole meal! Check out her recipes for salsa, chicken quesadillas and pecan pralines-yum! Don’t forget to pick up a copy of CINCO DE MURDER, A Taste of Texas Mystery by Rebecca Adler on Tuesday 4/3/2018! CINCO DE MURDER by Rebecca Adler Taste of Texas #3 Tex-Mex waitress and part-time reporter Josie Callahan serves up more Lone Star justice in this spicy mystery from the author of The Good, the Bad, and the Guacamole. It’s fiesta time in Broken Boot, Texas, and tourists are pouring into town faster than free beer at a bull roping for the mouthwatering Cinco de Mayo festivities. Tex-Mex waitress Josie Callahan, her feisty abuela, and even her spunky Chihuahua Lenny are polishing their folklórico dances for Saturday’s big parade, while Uncle…

A Review of S.T.A.G.S. by M.A. Bennett S.T.A.G.S. by M.A. Bennett, is a fast-paced mystery that kept me on the edge of my seat wanting to know more. The story starts off with the main character, Greer MacDonald, coming to a private school named S.T.A.G.S. She finds herself alone, with no friends in a school that is much fancier than her last, but she’s managing fairly well during the first part of the school year. Then during Justitium, the school’s mid-term break, Greer gets a letter slipped under her door from one of the Medievals, the most popular group in the school, inviting her to spend Justitium at Longcross Hall—the home of the most popular Medieval, Henry Warlencourt. Is this invitation like any old invitation to a birthday party or special event, or is there a hidden story behind the listed events of “Huntin’ Shootin’ and Fishin’“? M.A. Bennett knows how to organize and compose a novel to make the reader feel like she is truly a part of the story. From the first word of page one, I knew this was going to be a book that kept me up at night secretly reading. I could never stop reading….

This week I’m featuring four new mysteries you can’t pass up. These four authors have supplied a variety of different types of mysteries to choose from—like the delicious cooking whodunit’s of Joanne Fluke, or the sweet teas twisters of Laura Childs. Perhaps you’re in the mood for Anna Lee Huber’s historical cliffhangers, or the sassy sleuths of Erin Huss. You really cant go wrong with these mysteries; there’s one to fit every mood and personality of mystery lovers. BANANA CREAM PIE MURDER by Joanne Fluke A Hannah Swensen Mystery #21 A romantic seven-day cruise is the perfect start to bakery owner Hannah Swensen’s marriage. However, with a murder mystery heating up in Lake Eden, Minnesota, it seems the newlywed’s homecoming won’t be as sweet as anticipated… After an extravagant honeymoon, Hannah’s eager to settle down in Lake Eden and turn domestic daydreams into reality. But when her mother’s neighbor is discovered murdered in the condo downstairs, reality becomes a nightmarish investigation. Victoria Bascomb, once a renowned stage actress, was active in the theater community during her brief appearance in town…and made throngs of enemies along the way. Did a random intruder murder the woman as police claim, or was a…

Here’s a Q&A with Xavier Stirling, the (fictional) hero in the steamy romantic suspense book written by Miranda P. Charles called XAVIER: THE CONTRACT (Indie Rebels, Book 1). Interviewer: Hello, Xavier. Glad to have you at MPC Character Interviews. Xavier: Thank you. Happy to be here. Interviewer: So, author Miranda P. Charles wrote a book about you and your romance with Eve Marrin. I have to say, you and Eve have been through some very tough times. Xavier: Well, Miranda P. Charles did base the love story on me and Eve. But she wrote the other bits for pure entertainment. Interviewer: What do you mean? Are you saying some of details in the book aren’t true? Xavier: Yes. For example, in the book, I’m a crime-fighting Indie Rebel. I’m not an Indie Rebel. I’ve never even met an Indie Rebel in my life. Interviewer: I see. Well, according to the book, being an Indie Rebel has to be a well-kept secret because you guys are on the hit list of several criminal syndicates. I can understand why you’re trying to deny being an Indie Rebel. (Winks.) Xavier: (Smiles patiently.) I’m really not an Indie Rebel. Interviewer: Sure, Xavier. I understand….

A Review by Kym and Gidget Today’s blog was a special treat for me. I read the book along with a young reader, and then we sat down and wrote our reviews. This was her very first review, and I have to say, I think Gidget has a knack for the craft. Much more so than I do. A well-written review has insight into the reader’s mind—its audience. The review should capture the attention while bringing out positive and negative details the reader might find helpful in making a decision about the book. The review does not stay in the character’s mind where I tend to dwell. Yet as an author, I have to wonder if that isn’t where my insight should begin. Like most authors, I have stories busting at the seams to get out. This week’s blog as taught me that maybe, just maybe, I should learn something from young Gidget about engaging the reader’s imagination first, to get my stories heard. I hope you enjoy our reviews of FRAGMENTS OF THE LOST by Megan Miranda. FRAGMENTS OF THE LOST by Megan Miranda Jessa Whitworth knew she didn’t belong in her ex-boyfriend Caleb’s room. But she couldn’t deny…

The first week of February is always cold. Even in Texas, we’re in the thirties and I have to say, the temperature is the one number I want to see move upward this month. Not the ugly bathroom scale number. Not the ridiculous prices at the grocery store. And certainly not the eye-popping numbers on my eye glass prescription. Those are bad numbers, but I do have a good number for you to consider—the four books I’m featuring this week! MURDER ON THE ROCKS by Shawn Reilly Simmons Red Carpet Catering #5 After surviving a brazen attack at one of her favorite local cafes, Penelope Sutherland is ready to escape the big city and head to her next film set. She and her Red Carpet Catering crew set up their kitchen on location in the tranquil mountains of Vermont. But peace and quiet aren’t on the menu. It starts to get hot when a series of accidents befall the celebrity tennis pro consulting on the film. Then mix in an uptight director, an isolated location, and a quirky bunch of locals with secrets of their own and that’s a recipe for disaster. Penelope soon suspects a connection between the cafe…

Monique Daoust: It is my pleasure to welcome Lynne Connolly to Fresh Fiction! Congratulations on your new book SINLESS, which I loved! Lynne Connolly: Thank you so much. It’s wonderful to be here. Monique Daoust: Lynne, you have just started your new series, The Shaws, and the second book, a novella, features an m/m romance, your first, I believe. What prompted you to do an m/m romance in the middle of the series? Lynne Connolly: It was all because of the hero, Darius. He is the twin of Valentinian, the hero of an Emperors of London book, and he’s a notorious dandy and man-about-town. Val had tired of his outrageous behaviour some time ago, but he kept it up for his brother because Darius was gay in an age when it was illegal. You could be hanged for it. So Val acted as cover for an increasingly irritated Darius. So many people asked me to write Darius’s book that I had to do it. Monique Daoust: SINLESS and The Shaws are set in the Georgian era; would you tell us more about the research you had to do regarding homosexuality? What surprised you the most? How was homosexuality perceived at…

A MERCIFUL SECRET is the third book in my Mercy Kilpatrick series about an FBI agent who was raised in rural Oregon by survivalists. In SECRET, Mercy is caught up in two related murder investigations hundreds of miles apart. Here’s an interview with my heroine: How would you describe yourself? Mercy Kilpatrick: I’m independent and strive to be prepared for everything. Rational. Reliable. You were raised ‘off the grid’ with your family. How did this influence the person you have become? Mercy: Being raised off the grid, taught me that I am the only person I can rely on. People forget that grocery stores can run out of food, power can be permanently cut off, and that when desperate, your most trusted neighbor will turn their back on you. I never forget. You left home in order to become an FBI agent. This had to be a pretty big change for you. What made you want to join the government? Mercy: I saw it as a challenge. I’d been raised to believe that government constantly oversteps its bounds and that our population should never trust it. I was taught that the world was black and white. When I left home,…

The new year is always filled with fresh prospects, new beginnings and hope for a better tomorrow. Yet sometimes, you just want to hang onto what made you comfortable last year. The time-tested and proven. As a mystery reader, its no different. Your favorite sleuths hold a special place in your heart you aren’t about to give up. And why should you? Yet you still can’t resist the shiny and new cozy that holds so much intrigue—so don’t! This week I have some great return heroines, one that’s new to me, but she’s been around for three previous books (which gave me a backlist to check out) and a bonus mystery of a brand new series that will have you looking ahead for more! If you know these authors, check out their latest mystery and return to what you love. If they’re new to you, celebrate the beginning of a new relationship with a tried and true series. And don’t forget to check out an up and coming series you’re sure add to your list of favorites. CRUST NO ONE by Winnie Archer A Bread Shop Mystery #2 Business is booming at Yeast of Eden. But with a deadly mystery…

It’s hard to pick the best mysteries of the past year, especially when I’m limited on space. I don’t feature a book I don’t love, so if you’ve seen it on the Cozy Corner, you know I adored it. Yet each year I torture myself by trying to list the best mysteries, and considering I never come close to reading all of the books in my to-be-read file, it’s an impossible task. What if the best is still at the bottom of that pile?! This year the challenge seemed even more difficult and my pile even bigger, which led me to choose books that resonated with me, for one reason or another, throughout the past twelve months. I hope you enjoy my picks for 2017’s best mysteries. ON HER MAJESTY’S FRIGHTFULLY SECRET SERVICE ON HER MAJESTY’S FRIGHTFULLY SECRET SERVICE by Rhys Bowen Royal Spyness Mystery #11 In the new Royal Spyness Mystery from the New York Times bestselling author of Crowned and Dangerous, Lady Georgiana Rannoch juggles secret missions from the Queen, Darcy, and her mother. But it’s all in a day’s work when you’re thirty-fifth in line to the British Crown. When Darcy runs off on another secret assignment,…