Cozy Mystery Review & Author Interview: Murder of Pearl

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Murder of Pearl: A Silverman Sisters Cozy Mystery
(Pearl Party Cozy Mysteries)
by Nellie H. Steele

 

About Murder of Pearl

Murder of Pearl: A Silverman Sisters Cozy Mystery (Pearl Party Cozy Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Fictional estate of Willow Lake Estate
A Novel Idea Publishing, LLC (October 21, 2022)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 182 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1951582780
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1951582784
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 202 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1951582675
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1951582678
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0B5Y497HD

The world’s her oyster…until someone is stabbed with her shucking knife.

 

With a struggling pearl party business, sisters Kelly and Jodi Silverman are thrilled to land a weekend long jewelry party at a large estate. But the gothic house, complete with its weeping woman fountain, gives Kelly a bad vibe.

 

A nasty storm strands them at the spooky mansion. And when the birthday gal is found with Kelly’s shucking knife poking from her chest, they’re not only stuck in the creepy house with a murderer roaming the halls but Kelly’s accused of the crime.

 

Can Kelly and Jodi piece together the limited clues, prove their innocence and stay alive? Or will this pearl party be their last?

If you love comedy mystery a la Clue, you’ll love Murder of Pearl, Book 1 in the Pearl Party Cozy Mystery series!

 

My Review:
Murder of Pearl is a quick, fun read. The gothic mansion setting is milked for all the fun with stereotypes the author can get out of it--with that hint of tongue in cheek that tells you those hints at the clichés of the genre are no accident.

I did find that I had to engage in some suspension of disbelief--in particular, a failure of our main characters to use their cell phones where it would do the most good. But the author in general has done a nice job of setting up a closed community and letting our pair of hapless heroines suss out just enough clues to eventually stumble on the killer loose in the maze of rooms. 

An indoor carousel, secret passages, and endless rain complete the scene for this romp.

My Recommendation:
A good rainy-day read, demanding little of the reader.  

About Nellie H. Steele

Award-winning author Nellie H. Steele writes in as many genres as she reads.

Addicted to books since she could read, Nellie escaped to fictional worlds like the ones created by Carolyn Keene or Victoria Holt long before she decided to put pen to paper and create her own realities.

When she’s not spinning a cozy mystery tale, building a new realm in a contemporary fantasy, or writing another action-adventure car chase, you can find her shuffling through her Noah’s Ark of rescue animals or enjoying a hot cuppa (that’s tea for most Americans.)

Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Goodreads, Bookbub, Pinterest and Tiktok.

 

And now: An interview with Nellie H. Steele

We are delighted to welcome the author to our blog for an interview about her life and writing.

 

When did you start writing? Did you always know you wanted to be a writer, or did you stumble into it later in life?

I wrote short stories throughout my youth and even started a novel once somewhere in my middle school years, but I didn’t seriously begin writing to publish until later in life.  I had successfully built a career and wanted a new challenge.  I expected to write one book.  But I found I loved writing so much that it blossomed into two, then five, then ten and so on.

 

 

What is the strangest job you’ve ever held?

 

I have a degree in accounting and as part of my degree work, I interned for a small accounting firm that did work for a variety of businesses.  One of them was an exotic pet store.  We did in-office work on their books a few times per month, and they kept poisonous snakes in the office.  In addition, they’d often lose track of small rodents used to feed the snakes, so you couldn’t leave your bag on the floor or else you may get a surprise the next time you dug into it for your lip gloss.

 

 

If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?

 

Maine.  I really love the natural beauty there and the small towns.  I’m not certain I’d love the winters, but I probably could deal with them for all the perks.

 I'm a fan of Maine myself, and try to spend a little time there every fall. I'm not sure about the winters, either--it gets seriously cold!

 

 

Do you draft your books longhand or compose at the keyboard?

 

Keyboard.  As someone with lots of computer science training, I’m a quick touch-typist, so typing is far faster for me than writing.  I can’t get the hang of dictation yet for books, typing still seems the fastest way for me, much to the chagrin of my wrists and hands.

 I hear you!


 

What’s the weirdest thing you’ve had to research for one of your books?

In Death of a Duchess, Lenora’s orphan friend runs away from the orphanage and ends up working at a brothel.  The research for Victorian era brothels is the oddest thing I’ve researched, I think. 

 

 

Do you use a detailed outline before you start writing, or... ?

I am a total pantser.  Outlines are very loose, if made at all and sometimes my characters don’t follow them.  I’ve got a husband in one series who was supposed to die early in Book 1 and has made to Book 3 with no signs of dropping over dead at any point, a housekeeper-in-training who was only supposed to be a side character for a few chapters in a first book, and an ex-boyfriend who won’t stop coming back. 

 

 
Thanks to Nellie for stopping by! I'm really impressed by anyone who can pants a mystery--when I tried that, I sure got a mess. Well done, and best of luck with the new series.


Check out all Nellie’s offers at www.anovelideapublishing.com/novels or at her blog, Nellie’s Book Nook, available at www.nelliesbooknook.com!

Author Links

Webpage: http://www.anovelideapublishing.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NellieHSteele/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/NellieHSteele
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19769743.Nellie_H_Steele
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nelliehsteele/

TOUR PARTICIPANTS

January 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy – CHARACTER GUEST POST

January 16 – Lady Hawkeye – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

January 16 – Mythical Books – REVIEW

January 17 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

January 17 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

January 17 – Jane Reads – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

January 18 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

January 18 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog – SPOTLIGHT

January 18 – Paranormal and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

January 19 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

January 19 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR GUEST POST

January 19 – Novels Alive – REVIEW – SPOTLIGHT

January 19 – Baroness Book Trove – CHARACTER INTERVIEW

January 20 – Rebecca M. Douglass, Author – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

January 20 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST

January 20 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

January 21 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

January 21 – I’m Into Books – SPOTLIGHT

January 21 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT

January 22 – The Mystery of Writing – AUTHOR GUEST POST

January 22 – Diana’s Book Journal – SPOTLIGHT

 

This tour includes a give-away. Enter here to win a signed copy of Murder of Pearl.


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