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Mystery Author Rhys Bowen

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Join Best Selling Author Rhys Bowen on her FaceBook Page where she will be discussing how she approaches writing a Mystery Novel and creating a strong Heroine in a Series. Come and leave your questions on her wall and she will respond live to all questions, or as many as she can.

If you can not make the Chat and Giveaway live make sure to drop in afterward and check out the discussion anytime. One lucky commenter between now and Sunday will win a copy of Royal Blood, A Royal Spyness Mystery. Comment on Fan Rhys's FaceBook Page between now and November 15th and be entered to win the newest book in the Royal Spyness Series, Naughty in Nice.

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Royal Blood By Rhys Bowen
(A Royal Spyness Mystery #4)

Penniless and thirty-fourth in line to the throne, Lady Georgiana Rannoch finds herself in a truly draining state of affairs. To escape her hateful brother, Georgie accepts an invitation from the Queen to represent the royals at a wedding in Transylvania. But at the macabre-looking castle, Georgie finds the bride with blood running down her chin, and a wedding guest is poisoned. Now it’s up to Georgie to save the nuptial festivities before the couple’s vows become “to love and to cherish, till ‘undeath’ do them part...”

Amazon Kindle* Paperback * Audio

Barnes & Noble Hardcover * Paperback * Nookbook

About Rhys Bowen
Rhys Bowen is the Bestselling Author of the Royal Spyness Series, Molly Murphy Mysteries, and Constable Evans. Awarded the Agatha Best Novel Award and nominated for the Edgar Best Novel Rhys’s titles have received rave reviews around the globe.

Rhys Bowen is a transplanted Brit who now divides her time between California and Arizona. She currently writes two mystery series, the Molly Murphy novels, about an Irish immigrant in 1900s New York City and the lighter Royal Spyness mysteries about a penniless minor royal in 1930s Britain. Her books made bestseller lists, garnered many awards, nominations, and starred reviews.

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Welcome Guest Author Rhys Bowen!

Today I'm pleased to welcome the author of The Royal Spyness Cozy Mystery , Rhys Bowen! In honor of her newest release, Rhys thorugh she would share some insight into the wonderful world of French food.

But first, here's a little information about her new book:

Naughty in Nice by Rhys Bowen
Royal Spyness Series #5

Lady Georgiana Rannoch has once again been called into service by Her Majesty the Queen. This time she's sent to Nice on a secret assignment that's nothing to sneeze at-recover the Queen's stolen snuff box.

As much of an honor as it is to be trusted by Her Majesty, an even greater honor awaits Georgie in Nice-as Coco Chanel herself asks Georgie to model her latest fashion. But when a necklace belonging to the Queen is stolen on the catwalk, Georgie has to find two priceless items-and solve a murder. How's a girl to find any time to go to the casino?

In Praise of French Food

One of my favorite things about the French is the food. I have been indulging in flaky pastry stuffed with scallops, great pots of mussels with tiny slim French fries, duck breast in lemon and ginger. We have been buying various pates and cheeses to eat at the apartment with crusty bread. I've been walking to the bakery every morning to get my baguette, and maybe a raisin snail to go with it. And the pastries: strawberry tarts, cream puffs, eclairs, ah, sigh.

Some things are horribly expensive, some strangely cheap. We've bought duck pate for around a dollar, a huge thing of cooked shrimp for four dollars. And yet fish and meat are about the same price as gold. Still, any country where I can buy a perfectly aged camembert cheese for two Euros has to be pretty good.

Even though French food is rich, you don't see many fat people. That's because they walk a lot, they buy their ingredients fresh every day and they eat small portions. You may see them drinking red wine at midday, but only one glass. Everything in moderation. They take hours over a meal. Nobody will bring the check unless you ask for it, even if you sit there all evening. Food and good conversation are to be savored.

I rather suspect this is about to change as the diet is changing with the advent and concept of fast food. Pizza parlors are everywhere, so are hamburger joints. Cheap restaurants are serving up the same huge plates that have made us fat in America. I would hate to see a France in which duck breast of the future comes with "all the fixin's" and an unlimited salad bar.

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Rhys Bowen

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Order Naughty in Nice from - Amazon Hard Cover - Kindle, Barnes and Noble Hard Cover - Nook Book

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3 Heart Book Review: Buffalo West Wing by Julie Hyzy

Buffalo West Wing: A White House Chef Mystery
By Julie Hyzy
Berkley Prime Crime
3 Heart Review


With a new First Family, White House executive chef Olivia Paras can't afford to make any mistakes. But when a box of take-out chicken mysteriously shows up for the First Kids, she soon finds herself in a "no-wing" situation. After Olivia refuses to serve the chicken, the First Lady gives her the cold shoulder. But when it turns out to be poisoned poultry, Olivia realizes the kids are true targets.

First off I must admit I'm jumping into this series mid-steam. This is book four and I could really tell when reading it that I wish I'd was more familiar with the characters and their storyline before picking this up. Even though you can read and enjoy this story all on it's own, I kinda of do feel like the 3 Heart rating might be influenced by my not having read books 1-3.

Having read and enjoyed the 1st book in Julie other mystery series, The Manor House Mysteries, I was excited to read one of her White House Chef Mysteries and was really happy with it. Again, I wish that I'd had more background knowledge - especially when it came to the two men in Olivia's life. Her Ex in this book still works with her and seems to be...well...an ASS. It was so hard to picture Olivia ever having been with him - and that made me question her as a character. If I'd read the prior books maybe it would have made more sense because maybe he was a more likable character in those.

It was nice to find a cozy mystery with a hint of romance, but I did find myself wishing this had more. I really didn't want the book to end where it did because I wanted a little more of the romance - hey sue me I'm a romance chick!

This was a really fun read and I will be checking out the first 3 books - I just wish I didn't already know what was going to happen with the crappy Ex. :)

If you enjoy mysteries, and cozies in particular, you'll really like Julie's writing but it is my recommendation that you start with the 1st book in the series. I would have had so much more fun and felt more connected to the book if I'd read them, and this might have been a 4 Heart Review instead.

Happy Reading!
Sabrina

Book Review: Grace Under Pressure by Julie Hyzy

Book Review: Grace Under Pressure 
By: Julie Hyzy 
Berkely Prime Crime Mystery 
4 Heart Review 


Everyone wants a piece of millionaire Bennett Marshfield. owner of Marshfield Manor, and letters are coming in daily from those claiming to be poor relations.  The elderly, reclusive heir trusts no one but his aged curator, Abe. But when Abe is killed in a case of mistaken identity, the tide changes...


Although shaken by the murder, Grace Wheaton, whose lifelong dream has been to work at the manor, steps up to the challenge of assuming Abe's job. But now some of the letters arriving for Bennett have taken a nasty turn, demanding millions - or else. When an uninvited stalker shows up at the manor and at Grace's home, she and handsome grounds-keeper Jack Embers must protect their dear old Marshfield. But to do this, they'll have to investigate a botched Ponzi scheme, some torrid Wheaton family secrets - and sour grapes out for revenge...

As much as I love my romances, I do have a soft spot for really good Cozy Mysteries. Now, when the two genres mix it up, I'm all over it. When I found out that Grace Under Pressure wasn't only a Cozy, but that it also contained a little romance, I really couldn't wait to read it.

The opening scene really pulled me in and was a great introduction to our main character Grace Wheaton and Marshfield Manor, the grand estate where she works as a curator. The scene was a perfect set-up for showing Grace's character and also a little slice of info on the estate.

Julie did a wonderful job tying what were seemingly random events together to create a tangled web of a mystery for Grace to solve.  I loved how Julie expertly placed small nuggets of information that would pop up again as major clues and also the red herons she throws in along the way keep you guessing.

While there is just a hint of romance in this book, I found the growing relationship between Grace and Jack to be extremely interesting and I really want to read the next book to see how it develops. There is a hint of mystery surronding Jack and it not only intriques Grace, it does me too!

A well-written twist of a mystery, Grace Under Pressure was a satisfying cozy that already has me ready for the next in the series. Cozy fans will find much to love about this book and will appreciate some of the larger plot points that will come as a complete surprise.

Book Review: Mischief in Mudbug By Jana DeLeon

Book Review: Mischief in Mudbug
(A Ghost-In-Law Mystery Romance)
By: Jana DeLeon
Love Spell – Dorchester Publishing
3 Heart Review

Everyone in Mudbug, Louisiana, knows that when Helena Henry shows up, no good will come of it. Especially now that Helena is dead. And more meddlesome than ever.

Sabine LeVeche needs to locate a blood relative fast – her life depends on it. Her only ally is the smart-mouthed ghost of Helena Henry. Until Beau Villeneuve agrees to take the case. The super-sexy PI is a master at finding missing persons – and all the spots that made Sabine weak in the knees. But as they start to uncover the truth about the past, it becomes clear that someone out there wants to bury Sabine along with all her parent's secrets. And she realizes what they say is true: family really can be the death of you.

This is one romantic mystery that really kept me guessing until the end. There were some many twists and reveals that you won't absolutely know the villain until the end. Surprises abound and the book makes for a fun and delightful romp through the bayou!

One thing I really liked was how spunky Sabine was. She was trained in marshal arts even if she isn't some kick-ass assassin or bodyguard. Love that! I also really liked Mildred as the mother figure and of course, the ghost Helena. The history of the characters makes for a charming set-up and all the characters were original and engaging.

A trend I love and that is found in this book is the tweaking of a traditional cozy mystery into something new and sassier. The heroines are more modern and they are sexual! It's great to see a more contemporary feel finally find cozies. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE cozies. But, I love my amateur sleuth and comedic hi-jinks with a little steam and sauciness! I refer to them as modern cozies, but I think the time has come for an official industry name for this new breed.

My only issue with this book was that I did have some trouble with the names. They might be authentic, but not being able to easily read names makes it harder to identify with a character. It kept me from being totally immersed in the story. I felt like I had to stop and try to pronounce the names or to get straight which character it was. Not a good way to keep the reading flowing.

Note to authors: It's okay to use regular names. We don't care if they are common. If your story is good and the name fits the character's personality we won't care that the heroine’s name is Sarah. Not every character in every story has to have a unique name!

If you are better at the names in this book than I was then you won’t have any issues with this book! If you love cozies with sass, this is a story for you. Be sure to check out the first book in the series,Trouble in Mudbug! (Although each book stands perfectly well on its' own, you'll want to follow the antics of these characters!)