Today at Celtic Connexions, I’m reviewing Murder at the Folly by Jane Adams.

Blurb

A crumbling old manor house with its own sinister folly.

A cast full of suspects with secrets to hide. And a killer waiting in the wings . . .

Retirement suits actress Rina Martin just fine. Until she’s tempted back for one last hurrah, reprising her role as sharp-witted TV sleuth Lydia Marchant.

But Rina’s return to the spotlight soon turns deadly!

Rina’s seen plenty of drama over the years. But nothing like the chaos she finds on location at Septon Hall. Her costar, the decidedly sour Grace Sweeting, gets a poison pen letter — in what looks like a tasteless prank. Until . . .

Phil Perry, the show’s charming leading man, is found dead! Plunged in his neck is a glinting brooch, last seen on Grace’s stylish coat.

Suddenly, everyone’s ready to point the finger at Grace. Only Rina has her doubts.

Just because Grace is playing a murderess on TV that doesn’t make her one in real life. But if Grace didn’t do it, then who?

It’s up to Rina to pin down the truth, before the devious killer strikes again!

If you love Agatha Christie, Jeanne M. Dams, Glenda Young, Stella Cameron, M.C. Beaton and Frances Evesham, prepare to be hooked by this enchanting, character-driven mystery!

Book Links

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/243581145-murder-at-the-folly

Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/murderfolly-zbt

My Review

This is the first book in the Rina Martin series of cozy mysteries.

Rina is an amateur sleuth and a retired actress from TV’s Lydia Marchant series.

Much like Miss Marple and other amateur sleuths, trouble seems to find Rina. Or she attracts it.

When the author of the Lydia Marchant novels is found dead on the ground below the folly, Rina takes it in stride and vows to catch the miscreant behind the heinous crime.

It was fast-paced with lots of lovable characters. Even though it’s not the first book in the series, there’s enough information that you’re not lost trying to figure out who’s who.

I’ll definitely look for more books by this author.

About the Author

Jane Adams is the author of more than thirty published crime novels. The first, The Greenway, was nominated for both the Authors’ Club award and the CWA John Creasey for best debut novel.

Jane is constantly amazed at where life has taken her. Writing had never been on her ‘possible careers’ list, but she says once stories take root in your brain, they just have to be told – and she feels very fortunate that people want to read them.

In addition to writing, Jane teaches creative writing, read and mentor for The Literary Consultancy, and is a Royal Literary Fund Fellow and FRSA.

Facebook	https://www.facebook.com/janeadamsauthor/
Website	https://janeadamsauthor.com/

Today on Celtic Connexions, I’m sharing two excerpts from Miriam Drori’s collection of short stories, Re-Connections.

Blurb

Why are we attracted to certain individuals and repelled by others? Why do we fall out of contact with former friends, or fall out with them altogether? Why do we crave friendship?

The answers to these questions are many and varied, and some of them reveal themselves in the stories of this collection. Not all these connections desire to lead to friendship; some are business-related. Yet, even those connections work better with friendly comments and gestures. What happens to people who struggle with such social norms? Are they destined to remain friendless?

Without realising it, Miriam Drori has been interested in this topic for many years. That’s evident in the fact that these tales were written throughout her writing career. Some of them are completely or partly autobiographical, while others are purely fictional. Which ones are which is a question she declines to answer.

Buy Link

AMAZON –https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0FN7MJHRN

Excerpts

This excerpt, from the story called “One Thing Leads to Another”, shows how the narrator’s troubles began.

It was great to be able to escape the nest for a while and go off to uni. I had a whale of a time from morning to night – well, mostly night and hardly any mornings. I missed most of my lectures and flunked my exams. They made me take the first year again. I fully intended to tell Mum and Dad about that. It was just that I wanted to do it in my own time and not when they came to take me home for the vacs, and in front of my mates – even though my mates knew.

“How did your exams go?” Mum asked as I heaved my case into the car boot.

“I passed with flying colours,” I said, laughing.

The mates who’d gathered round laughed, too. Heartily. I thought even Mum would understand the joke.

When we arrived home, I took the case upstairs and unpacked. And I decided I’d better let her know the worst. As I came downstairs, I realised I was too late. Mum was on the phone. I heard her say, “Oh yes. He passed with flying colours. He told me so today.”

This excerpt is from the story called “Who I Am”. A strange woman is standing on the narrator’s doorstep.

“Are you Sarah Levy?” she asked in English, pronouncing Sarah the British way to rhyme with airer.

“Yes…”

The woman smiled. “I’m Dina, your sister.” She spread out her arms as if she expected me to release the chain and hug her. A long-forgotten letter came to mind. At the time, I’d torn it up, never expecting the writer to turn up in person.

“I’m sorry, but you’ve made a mistake. I don’t have a sister.” I expected her to look despondent, especially after having dragged that body up four floors. There are advantages and disadvantages to having a common name. It’s easy to hide behind it. Mistaken identity is one of the disadvantages.

The woman didn’t look despondent. Her frown and partly open mouth reflected shock. “You mean they didn’t tell you?”

About Miriam

Miriam Drori, author, editor and social anxiety warrior, worked as a computer programmer and a technical writer before turning her attention to full-time writing. Her novels and short stories cover several genres, including crime, romance and uplit. She has also written a non-fiction book about social anxiety. Her short stories have appeared in various anthologies and several now form a new collection, called Re-Connections.

Born and raised in London, Miriam now lives in Tel Aviv having moved from Jerusalem, where the cosy crime mysteries are set. She has travelled widely, putting her discoveries to good use as settings in her writing. Her characters are not based on real people, but rather are formed from an amalgam of the many and varied individuals who have embellished her life.

When not writing, Miriam enjoys reading, hiking, biking, dancing and touring.

Author Links

Website/Blog – https://miriamdrori.com

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMiriamDrori

Youtube – https://www.youtube.com/@miriamdrori

X – https://x.com/MiriamDrori

Good Reads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/4829682.Miriam_Drori

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/miriam.drori/

Bookbub – https://www.bookbub.com/authors/miriam-drori

Wattpad – https://www.wattpad.com/user/MiriamDrori

Bluesky – https://bsky.app/profile/miriamdrori.bsky.social

Amazon Author Page –  https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Miriam-Drori/author/B00L11J6D4

 

 

My Review

I read this book in one afternoon. It had me hooked from the beginning, and I loved the characters, especially Tegan.

After a breakup, Tegan returns to her hometown to begin a new job at the hospital there. Her roommates and circle of friends are fun.

But not everything is fun and games for these folks. There is someone who wants to destroy everything.

It’s well worth an afternoon of relaxation! I’ll be looking for more books by this author. I hope this story turns into a series.

 

 

My Review

This is the first book by Rachel Amphlett I’ve read. It’s the first in her Melody Harper series.

I’m not normally a huge fan of books written in the first person, because it’s hard to get the other characters’ POV. However, this didn’t cause any issues for me.

Melody is a private detective who specializes in investigating the prospective spouse(s) hired by the parents. In this one, she ends up in the Lake District at a camp, undercover as a trail guide. Trouble is, she hasn’t got a clue.

I found I was almost halfway through the book before I realized how much of it I read.

I’ve visited the Lake District once. And as we drove by Lake Windermere, the military flew one of the fighter jets low over the water. Scared me to death.

Back to the book. This is a series I’ll definitely follow since I enjoyed this one so much.

Kudos to Rachel.

Let’s check out the cover and blurb for Rachel Amphlett’s latest novel, Murder in the Lakes.

Blurb

A wedding, a missing fiancée, and a murder – Melody Harper is about to discover just how dangerous “I do” can be…

Fledgling private detective Melody Harper is down on her luck and nursing a black eye when she’s approached by a new client who believes her daughter is in danger.

There’s a wedding next weekend, and the client’s daughter is the bride. Except Melody’s client hasn’t told her the whole truth – the groom’s last fiancée seems to have disappeared, and nobody has any answers.

Now tasked with going undercover to protect the bride-to-be, Melody finds herself out of her comfort zone and on an outdoor adventure weekend in the Lake District with the hen party.

After narrowly escaping death in a climbing accident, Melody’s detective skills are tested to the limit when one of the bridesmaids is murdered – and time is running out.

This is her biggest investigation to date, but will Melody even survive long enough to unmask the killer and protect the bride?

Murder in the Lakes is a page-turning murder mystery from USA Today bestselling author Rachel Amphlett and perfect for readers who love amateur sleuths and deadly crimes.

Book links

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/228706809-murder-in-the-lakes

Purchase Link: https://mybook.to/murderlakes-zbt

Excerpt

Murder in the Lakes

(Melody Harper detective mysteries)

by Rachel Amphlett

Chapter One

It’s never a good start to the day when the daughter of one of your clients leans across your desk and slaps you in the face.

She had a mean left hook on her too, helped somewhat by the platinum engagement ring that she’d only thought to remove after she’d hit me, before throwing it onto the carpet on her way out.

It helped – a little – that my client managed to hold back her smug look of satisfaction until after her daughter had stormed out of the office, slamming the door in her wake.

‘I knew he was trouble, Melody,’ she said. ‘I told you.’

I stumbled around my desk, bent down to pick up the ring and handed it to Heather McAdams. ‘Perhaps hang on to this,’ I suggested. ‘I’m presuming he’ll want it back. Or you can sell it.’

I moved to the mini refrigerator under the window, cracked open the door and pulled out an ice pack.

I guess it shows how often this happens to me that I have one prepared.

I held the door to stop it swinging open. I didn’t need my client to see the case of beer that Charlie had left in there on his last visit.

I held the ice pack to my cheek as I made my way back to my chair and somehow managed to sit down and look my client in the eye without losing my composure. My eyes stung, and I was going to have a bruise, that much was for sure.

Mrs McAdams only realised now how hard her daughter had slugged me, and that maybe I wasn’t happy about it.

‘Are you all right?’ she said.

I glared at her. I had a sneaking suspicion her question was brought on by a sudden thought that her daughter might get sued for assault, rather than any concern for my welfare, and whether she should make a speedy phone call to the family solicitor.

‘I’m fine,’ I replied. ‘I’ll print out my invoice for you. I accept payment by card only.’

She looked taken aback for a moment, seemed to debate whether to ask if she could pay on account, and then thought better of it.

I ignored her and turned my attention to the computer screen instead. The system allowed me to automatically check off each service provided. I spitefully added an extra thirty pounds miscellaneous line item for the ice pack, hit the “print” button and then slid the still-warm invoice across the desk to Mrs McAdams.

‘Oh, my,’ she said, as she ran her manicured fingernail down the page. ‘This is rather more than I expected.’

‘A copy of my expenses is on the second page,’ I said, jutting out my chin. ‘I’m sure you’ll find everything is in order. You’ll appreciate that I do provide a rather exclusive service.’

She looked flustered. ‘I wasn’t implying—’

I raised an eyebrow.

She lowered her gaze in response and flicked over the page instead.

I drummed my fingers on the desk while she read through the numbers. Such a sign of impatience always annoyed the hell out of me when people did that anywhere within a mile radius of me, so I was banking on it getting on her nerves and that she’d hurry up and pay, then leave me in peace.

Sure enough, she flicked the page over with an exasperated sigh, then handed over her credit card.

It was from one of the larger banks, the word “platinum” embossed across the front of it with a sparkly finish that glinted in the sunlight streaming through the window.

A car horn honked somewhere beyond the double-glazed panes, followed in quick succession by a higher pitched beep and a stream of colourful swearing.

I swiped Heather McAdams’s credit card across the handheld reader and handed it back to her, then used a large rubber stamp to punch the word “Paid” across the top of the invoice.

And yes, I pretended I was stamping her daughter’s face with it before I released the spring mechanism.

‘Thank you,’ I said, and stood to show her the way out, dumping the ice pack on the desk. ‘If you know of anyone else that would be in need of my services, please give them this.’

I handed over a business card.

Heather McAdams took it between her forefinger and thumb as if it was infected with weaponised smallpox and wrinkled her nose. ‘I’d best go and find out where Charlotte is,’ she sniffed.

To buy the book

https://www.rachelamphlett.com/books/single-title-thrillers/murder-in-the-lakes/

For an exclusive extract

https://www.rachelamphlett.com/books/single-title-thrillers/murder-in-the-lakes/extract/

A note from Rachel – if readers buy direct from my website shop they’ll receive their eBook 2 days earlier than the retail publication date. That means they’ll get it on 7 June – the retail / real publication date will be 9 June.

About the Author

Rachel’s Bio

Before turning to writing, USA Today bestselling crime author Rachel Amphlett played guitar in bands, worked as a TV and film extra, dabbled in radio, and worked in publishing as an editorial assistant.

She now wields a pen instead of a plectrum and writes crime fiction with over 30 crime novels and short stories featuring spies, detectives, vigilantes, and assassins.

A keen traveller and accidental private investigator, Rachel has both Australian and British citizenship.

You can find out more about Rachel and her books at www.rachelamphlett.com.

You can follow Rachel at these links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rachelamphlett.author

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachelamphlett/

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/rachelamphlett.bsky.social

Website: https://www.rachelamphlett.com/

What better to whet your appetite for the festive season, than a seasonal read. In this case, it’s a collection of short stories all with the same theme – crime! Kick back and grab a cuppa and we’ll get down to business with A Right Cozy Christmas Crime.

Wendy J. Jones was the brainchild, and through her company, Scott and Lawson have gathered a diverse group of crime writers to put this first in a series of cozy crimes together.

Blurb

Step into a world where twinkling lights and holiday cheer are accompanied by Christmas puddings and a dash of intrigue. A Right Cozy Christmas Crime brings together thirteen festive mysteries where annual traditions are intertwined with shadowy secrets. From a historic Scottish Castle hiding a chilling truth, to the bustling streets of Lagos filled with more than just Christmas shoppers, each tale sparkles with holiday warmth while unravelling a deliciously puzzling mystery. It’s time to put your feet up, sip hot cocoa and join our detectives as they ensure justice is served. Perfect for lovers of cozy mysteries with a holiday twist.

My Review

I loved this collection of short stories. I could dip in and out as time permitted. The stories were interesting, and there was quite a collection of characters involved. Past and present timelines and a range of locations made for a fun read in the lead-up to the festive season.

Oh, and at the end? A recipe!

Buy Link

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DKG4TP9Q

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY 

Scott and Lawson Publishing, situated in the heart of Dundee, Scotland, is a beacon for literary enthusiasts. The company publishes captivating cosy mystery anthologies, transporting readers to quaint locales filled with intrigue and charm. In addition they specialise in non-fiction books tailored for writers seeking to hone their craft, the company offers invaluable insights and guidance fiction aficionados are also catered to with thrilling narratives that keep them on the edge of their seats. With a commitment to quality and a passion for storytelling, Scott and Lawson Publishing is a cornerstone of the Scottish literary landscape.

A Right Cozy Christmas Crime Features 13 Short Stories written by

Wendy H. Jones
Linda Mather
Sue Cook
Melicity Pope
Marti M. Mcnair
Sheena MacLeod
Pauline Tait
Gulia Fancelli Clifford
Dianne Ascroft
Gillian DuffStella Oni
Alex Greyson
Sophy Smythe

WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS

 

https://www.wendyhjones.com

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Wendy-H.-Jones/author/B00OABSKH0

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Dianne-Ascroft/author/B002BOCBKA

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/LINDA-MATHER/author/B095CQWLDY

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Pauline-Tait/author/B01MU5U020

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Sheena-Macleod/author/B01N32QPOJ

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Stella-Oni/author/B08MV9TP6P

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Alex-Greyson/author/B0DKJXNW16

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Sue-Cook/author/B0BG8X6L37

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Gillian-Duff/author/B06XBTXG14

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Marti-M.-McNair/author/B0CK8JM7FQ

https://www.amazon.co.uk/stores/Sophy-Smythe/author/B08YNV7ZTF

 

I’m pleased to be able to host Marsali Taylor once again. This time, it’s about her latest Shetland offering, Death at a Shetland Festival.

Blurb

Crowds are gathered for a concert at Shetland’s renowned folk music festival when there’s a shocking discovery – international folk legend Fintan Foley has been stabbed backstage. Sailing sleuth Cass Lynch and her partner DI Gavin Macrae are in the audience and must untangle a complicated case where nothing is quite what it seems. Cass soon discovers that Foley’s smiling stage persona concealed links with Shetland. He’d worked here in the 80s, the days when oil brought wealth to the islands. Has a long-buried secret risen to the surface – and will it make Cass a target for a cold-blooded killer?

My Review

This is the second Shetland book by Marsali Taylor I’ve read. It certainly didn’t disappoint.

The title tells you exactly what happened, but the whodunnit is the best part of the book. I loved the dual timeline aspect, with the segment from 1981 coming from a diary from back in the day.

Cass and her partner, Gavin, a policeman, are at the festival where the murder takes place. She fancies herself a modern Miss Marple, and that’s when the fun begins.

Every time I thought I had it figured out, another twist came and sent me backtracking yet again.

I hope this author continues with the series because it’s a cracking good one.

HOW TO BUY

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Shetland-Festival-Marsali-Taylor/dp/1035400650/

About Marsali Taylor

Marsali Taylor grew up near Edinburgh, and came to Shetland as a newly-qualified teacher. She is currently a part-time teacher on Shetland’s scenic west side, living with her husband and two Shetland ponies. Marsali is a qualified STGA tourist-guide who is fascinated by history, and has published plays in Shetland’s distinctive dialect, as well as a history of women’s suffrage in Shetland. She’s also a keen sailor who enjoys exploring in her own 8m yacht, and an active member of her local drama group.

Social Media Links

Author Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/MarsaliTaylorAuthor/

Website – https://www.marsalitaylor.co.uk

Amazon Author Page – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marsali-Taylor/e/B0034PACI8/

It’s publication day for WHISPERS THROUGH TIME! Yay!

Here’s a look at the cover.

Blurb

A historic Canadian property becomes the canvas for a tale that spans generations. In 1914, a tragedy unfolded, leaving scars that linger far beyond the passage of time.

In 1947, a visionary purchases the haunted remnants, seeking a new beginning for his family, but his young daughter senses a ghost from the far past.

In the present, urban explorers unlock the secrets of the past while running a web design company. Photographs and sketches capture the essence of the property, documenting the whispers of spirits from another era.

As the explorers navigate the abandoned corridors and forgotten chambers, the photographs unveil subtle anomalies until supernatural phenomena manifest that defy explanation.

Amidst the subtle changes in decor and the flickering candle flames frozen in time, the explorers find themselves entangled in a mystery transcending the boundaries of the living and the dead, forcing the urban explorers to confront the unresolved secrets that echo through the corridors of time.

Is a structure just that, or can it house remnants of horror, pain and sin? The urban explorers find they must confront the unresolved secrets that echo through the corridors of time.

Buy Link

You can buy WHISPERS THROUGH TIME from your favourite online bookstore at this link:  Books2Read.