Happy Holidays 2021/2022

 

While I take a short blogging break 

to celebrate the holidays . . .

  

 

here's hoping the remaining days of 2021 bring you some joy, cheer, 

hope, and happiness . . .

 

and that better things will come to us all in 2022, 

including good health, enjoyable books, and brighter days. 

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 and Book Beginnings

 

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an eBook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Today I'm featuring my current read, Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena. The excerpts shared are from an eBook version borrowed from the library.

Beginning:  Prologue

There are many expensive houses here in Brecken Hill, an enclave on the edge of Aylesford, in the Hudson Valley. Situated on the east side of the Hudson River, about a hundred miles north of New York City, it's like the Hamptons, but slightly less pretentious. There's old money here, and new.

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Page 56:  He's furious at his sisters; he's convinced himself that they have betrayed him, simply by thinking the worst of him. She hadn't liked it either, and she can understand his feelings of hurt and betrayal.

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My thoughts:  Money, power, family secrets and dysfunction, murder: this novel has it all. With its page-turning plot, Not a Happy Family is a compelling read.

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From GoodReads:  In this family, everyone is keeping secrets--especially the dead. Brecken Hill in upstate New York is an expensive place to live. You have to be rich to have a house there. And they don't come much richer than Fred and Sheila Merton. But even all their money can't protect them when a killer comes to call. The Mertons are brutally murdered the night after an Easter Dinner with their three adult kids. Who, of course, are devastated.

Or are they? They each stand to inherit millions. They were never a happy family, thanks to their capricious father and neglectful mother, but perhaps one of them is more disturbed than anyone knew. Did one of them snap after that dreadful evening? Or was it someone else that night who crept in with the worst of intentions? It must be. After all, if one of your siblings was a psychopath, you'd know.

Wouldn't you?

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This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. 

© 2021 Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post has been stolen and was used without permission.

Great Escapes Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway: How to Book a Murder by Cynthia Kuhn

  

Today I'm participating in the How to Book a Murder Great Escapes Blog Tour. In this post you'll find information about the book and author along with my review. And be sure to enter the giveaway contest via the link further below for a chance to win a digital copy of the book and a $20 gift card.

About the book . . .

How to Book a Murder (A Starlit Bookshop Mystery)

Cozy Mystery

1st in Series

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crooked Lane Books (December 7, 2021)

Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages

ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1643858599

ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1643858593

Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08QVJFZZK

 

 

Synopsis . . . Perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Kate Carlisle, in award-winning author Cynthia Kuhn’s series debut, small-town bookseller and literary event planner Emma Starrs is out to close the book on a killer intent on crashing the party.

To help save her family’s floundering Colorado bookstore, Starlit Bookshop, newly minted Ph.D. Emma Starrs agrees to plan a mystery-themed dinner party for her wealthy, well-connected high school classmate, Tabitha Baxter. It’s a delightful evening of cocktails and conjecture until Tabitha’s husband, Tip—hosting the affair in the guise of Edgar Allan Poe’s detective C. Auguste Dupin—winds up murdered.

In a heartbeat, Emma and her aunt Nora, a famous mystery writer, become suspects. Emma is sure the party’s over for Starlit events, until celebrated author Calliope Nightfall, whose gothic sensibilities are intrigued by the circumstances, implores the bookseller to create a Poe-themed launch event for her latest tome. Throwing a bash to die for while searching for additional clues is already enough to drive Emma stark raven mad, but another shocking crime soon reveals that Silvercrest has not yet reached the final chapter of the puzzling case.

Someone in this charming artistic community has murder on the mind, and if Emma cannot outwit the killer, she and her beloved aunt will land behind bars, to walk free nevermore.

 

My review . . . When Emma Starr returns to her hometown of Silvercrest, Colorado after earning a PhD, she has no idea how busy and interesting her life is about to become. Helping her sister Lucy manage the family's bookstore and restore its profitability--and revising her own novel for publication--are enough to fill more hours than there are in a day. But spontaneously volunteering at the last minute to coordinate a Poe-themed mystery dinner party for the Baxters is not only a schedule-breaking decision, it's also a deadly one. There's a lot riding on the success of the dinner party both personally and business-wise given the fact that Tabitha is Emma's former high school nemesis and Tip is Emma's Aunt Nora's boss at Silvercrest College. 

Shockingly, Tip is murdered during the dinner, and Emma and Aunt Nora are considered prime suspects. Emma's overflowing to-do list now includes defending herself and her aunt  from murder charges and finding a killer--all while organizing a Halloween book launch for Aunt Nora's eccentric faculty colleague Calliope Nightfall, who insists on another Poe-themed event. 

Who killed Tip Baxter? As Emma discovers, there are many persons of interest among the Silvercrest faculty and his country club friends. And when the killer strikes again, it's a race against the clock to prove Emma and Nora's innocence and bring a murderer to justice.

How to Book a Murder introduces readers to Emma Starr, a relatable protagonist, and a well-defined cast of calculating faculty members, scheming self-promoters, artistic types, and everyday people. The novel's plot provides lots of action and red herrings, which are conveyed in timely, satisfying fashion. The  cozy bookshop setting and book-related activities contribute additional charm to this new series. Readers will find themselves rallying behind Emma as she returns to her childhood home, where she must reconcile with the mean girls of her high school years, while helping her family and planning her own future. This first book in the Starlit Bookshop mystery series is a delightful read. It nicely plants the seeds for future developments between characters and reader interest in upcoming installments. The next book can't come soon enough.

 

About the author . . . Cynthia Kuhn is an English professor and author of the Starlit Bookshop Mysteries and the Lila Maclean Academic Mysteries. Her work has also appeared in Mystery Most Edible, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, Copper Nickel, Prick of the Spindle, Mama PhD, and other publications. Honors include an Agatha Award, a William F. Deeck-Malice Domestic Grant, and Lefty Award nominations. 

 

 

 

Originally from upstate New York, she lives in Colorado with her family.

 

 

Author links . . .

Website: cynthiakuhn.net

Twitter: @cynthiakuhn

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cynthiakuhnwriter

Bookbub: www.bookbub.com/authors/cynthia-kuhn

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/39587.Cynthia_Kuhn

Blog: chicksonthecase.com

Newsletter: https://bit.ly/2MPiEMh

 

Purchase links . . .

 

            Amazon – B&N – Kobo – Google Play – IndieBound – Bookshop 

 

 

Giveaway . . . Enter for a chance to win a digital copy of How to Book a Murder and a $20 Bookshop gift card by clicking this link. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tour Participants . . .

December 6 – The Book Diva’s Reads – SPOTLIGHT

December 6 – The Book’s the Thing – REVIEW

December 7 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – CHARACTER GUEST POST

December 7 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW

December 8 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

December 9 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 10 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW

December 10 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW

December 11 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

December 11 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW

December 12 – Laura’s Interests – SPOTLIGHT

December 13 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

December 13 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – REVIEW

December 14 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

December 14 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW

December 15 – Reading, Writing & Stitch-Metic – SPOTLIGHT

December 15 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

December 16 – Mysteries with Character – GUEST POST

December 16 – Moonlight Rendezvous – REVIEW  

December 17 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

December 17 – Diane Reviews Books – GUEST POST

December 18 – Author Elena Taylor’s Blog – REVIEW

December 19 – BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT  

Note . . . I received a complimentary copy of How to Book a Murder from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

 

 

 

This Blog Tour post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog.  It cannot be republished without attribution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . .

. . . First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros . . . now hosted by Yvonne at Socrates' Book Reviews, where bloggers share excerpts from a book they have read, are currently reading, or are planning to read.

 

Today I'm featuring a recent blog tour read, How to Book a Murder by Cynthia Kuhn. The excerpt shared is from an advance eBook provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

First Chapter:  "To be surrounded by books is an exceptional joy," Lucy said.

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

I couldn't agree more with the opening paragraph of this first book in the new Starlit Bookshop mystery series, set in a small-town bookstore. This series is definitely off to a good start!

 

This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog. © 2021, Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post is being used without permission.

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . . 

. . . First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros . . . now hosted by Yvonne at Socrates' Book Reviews, where bloggers share excerpts from a book they have read, are currently reading, or are planning to read.

 

Today I'm featuring a recent read, A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline. The excerpt shared is from a eBook version of the novel borrowed from the library.

 

First Chapter:  1939

I'm working of a quilt patch in the kitchen on a brilliant July afternoon, small squares of fabric and a pincushion and scissors on the table beside me, when I hear the hum of a car engine. Looking out the window toward the cove, I see a station wagon turn into the field about a hundred yards away. The engine cuts off and the passenger door swings open and Betsy James gets out, laughing and exclaiming. I haven't seen her since last summer. She's wearing a white halter top and denim shorts, a red bandanna tied around her neck. As I watch her coming toward the house, I am struck by how different she looks. Her sweet round face has thinned and lengthened; her chestnut hair is long and thick around her shoulders, her eyes dark and shining. A red slash of lipstick. I think of her at nine years old, when she first came to visit, her small, nimble fingers braiding my hair as she sat behind me on the stoop. And here she is, seventeen and suddenly a woman.

 

What do you think?  Would you continue reading? 

This historical novel centers on the life of Christina Olson, the muse for Andrew Wyeth's iconic painting, Christina's World. Set in the coastal town of Cushing, Maine, the story portrays the isolation and stark reality of farm life in the 1930's-1950's, as well as the limitations imposed on Christina due to personal health challenges.

Determined to live a normal life despite the debilitating effects of a neurological condition and a controlling family, Christina's world is ultimately confined to the farm and its surrounding locale. Her friendship with Wyeth and others, however, broadens her perspective and experience, offering her pieces of the world she might otherwise have missed.

 

This First Chapter~First Paragraph post was originally composed and/or compiled by Catherine for the Book Club Librarian blog. © 2021, Book Club Librarian All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Book Club Librarian without attribution, know that this post is being used without permission.