Rebecca M. Douglass, Author

  Title: Mistletoe and Murder (Murder Most Unladylike #5) Author: Robin Stevens Publication Info: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2018 (US Edition). 352 pages (Kindle Edition). Source: Library Publisher's Blurb: Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong are spending the Christmas holidays in snowy Cambridge. Hazel is looking forward to a calm vacation among the beautiful spires, cozy libraries, and inviting tea-rooms. But there is danger lurking in the dark stairwells of ancient Maudlin College and two days before Christmas, there is a terrible accident. At least, it appears to be an accident—until the Detective Society looks a little closer, and realizes a murder has taken place. Faced with several irritating grown-ups and fierce competition from a rival agency, they must use all their cunning and courage if they’re going to find the killer before Christmas dinner. My Review: This 5th novel in the Wells & Wong/Murder Most Unladylike series is a strong mystery at a fa...

  Title: Dead in the Dinghy (Mollie McGhee Sailing Mystery #4) Author: Ellen Jacobson Publication Info: Dec. 13, 2019 Source: ARC from the author Publisher's Blurb: What would you do if your husband became obsessed with turning your cat into an internet sensation? Mollie McGhie is excited about the Coconut Cove regatta. She’s looking forward to sailing to Destiny Key, enjoying the Fourth of July festivities, and dressing her cat, Mrs. Moto, up in adorable costumes for her hubby’s crazy new YouTube channel. Instead, they lose the race, get caught in a dangerous storm, and find a dead body in their dinghy. The local chief of police claims that it was an accidental death, but Mollie is convinced that a murder took place. During her investigation, Mollie gets drawn into the local art community, worries that her cat is going to turn into a diva, learns more about the mysterious Destiny Key, and even does a waitressing gig in exchange for bacon. Can Mollie prove that someone ...

   This one isn't a full tour, but it's a release-day review through Great Escapes!  I read and enjoyed (and reviewed ) Death in Advertising , so I was excited to be able to do the second book in the series. Thanks to Lori at Great Escapes Free Tours for this opportunity. Title: 30 Second Death Author: Laura Bradford Publisher: Lyrical Underground, July 2017. 212 pages. Source: Electronic ARC from the publisher Publisher's Summary: To help an old friend, Tobi Tobias gets a third-rate thespian a part in a commercial, and learns that in the advertising business, bad acting can lead to murder . . . When Tobi Tobias opened her own advertising agency, Carter McDade was there for her every step of the way. A brilliant hairdresser, Carter has just landed his dream project: doing hair and makeup for a theatrical production of Rapunzel. But the dream turns into a nightmare when he runs into Fiona Renoir, a cruel, talentless starlet who won’t let Carter touch a hair on her...

  Title: A Pinch of Poison (A Lady & Lady's Maid Mystery, #2) Author: Alyssa Maxwell Publisher: Kensington, expected release Jan. 2017. 304 pages Source: Electronic ARC from publisher in exchange for my honest review   Publisher's Blurb: In post–World War I England, Lady Phoebe Renshaw and her lady’s maid, Eva Huntford, encounter an uncharitable killer at a charity luncheon sponsored by a posh school for girls . . . Good deeds build good character, and good character is what the Haverleigh School for Young Ladies is all about. Lady Phoebe—with the tireless assistance of Eva—has organized a luncheon at the school to benefit wounded veterans of the Great War, encouraging the students to participate in the cooking and the baking. But too many cooks do more than spoil the broth—they add up to a recipe for disaster when the school’s headmistress, Miss Finch, is poisoned. The girls at Haverleigh all come from highly respected families, none of whom will countenance ...

Title: A Duty to the Dead (Bess Crawford Mysteries #1) Author: Charles Todd. Read by Rosalyn Landor Publisher: BBC Audiobooks America, 2009. Original publisher, William Morrow, 2009. 336 pages. Source: Library digital collection. Publisher's Summary: Charles Todd, author of the resoundingly acclaimed Ian Rutledge crime novels (“One of the best historical series being written today” — Washington Post Book World ) debuts an exceptional new protagonist, World War I nurse Bess Crawford, in A Duty to the Dead. A gripping tale of perilous obligations and dark family secrets in the shadows of a nightmarish time of global conflict, A Duty to the Dead is rich in suspense, surprise, and the impeccable period atmosphere that has become a Charles Todd trademark.   My Review: Note: I recently reviewed The Shattered Tree , the 8th book in the series. In that case, I was given an ARC in order to write my review. I enjoyed it enough to go back and start the series at the beginning, and found ...

Today we are participating in another Great Escapes Free Book Tour, and we have the honor of having author Cathy Ace here with a guest post. But first, let's get the business out of the way: Title: The Case of the Missing Morris Dancer Author: Cathy Ace Publisher: Severn House (November 1, 2016) Paperback: 224 pages Source: digital ARC provided by the publisher for the purposes of this free tour. ISBN-13: 978-1847516633 E-Book ASIN: B01AADQSF2 Publisher's Summary: The Women of the WISE Enquiries Agency are back in a witty and intriguing new mystery . The Anwen Morris Dancers are to play a pivotal role in the imminent nuptials of Henry, eighteenth Duke of Chellingworth. But it looks as though the wedding plans might go awry unless Mavis, Annie, Carol and Christine can help Althea, the Dowager Duchess, by finding a missing Morris man and a set of ancient and valuable artefacts in time for her son’s wedding. Anwen-by-Wye might look like an idyllic Welsh village where family ...

Title: Body on the Bayou Author: Ellen Byron Publisher: Crooked Lane Books, 2016. 320 pages Source: Electronic ARC as part of the Great Escapes Tour ISBN-13: 978-1629537689 E-Book –  ASIN: B01H082DY Publisher's Summary: The Crozats feared that past murders at Crozat Plantation B&B might spell the death of their beloved estate, but they’ve managed to survive the scandal. Now there’s a très bigger story in Pelican, Louisiana: the upcoming nuptials between Maggie Crozat’s nemesis, Police Chief Rufus Durand, and her co-worker, Vanessa Fleer. When everyone else refuses the job of being Vanessa’s Maid of Honor, Maggie reluctantly takes up the title and finds herself tasked with a long list of duties–the most important of which is entertaining Vanessa’s cousin, Ginger Fleer-Starke. But just days before the wedding, Ginger’s lifeless body is found on the bayou and the Pelican PD, as well as the Crozats, have another murder mystery on their hands. There’s a gumbo-potful of su...

  Title: Death Before Wicket Author: Kerry Greenwood   Publisher: Allen & Unwin, 1999. My (US) edition: Poison Pen Press, 2008. 232 pages. Source: Library Summary:  Phryne has responded to a call for help from a pair of young university students, and plans to enjoy a bit of a holiday in Sydney at the same time. She's watching some cricket, storming the Arts Ball in a rather daring costume, locating her maid's sister, solving a crime or two, and of course enjoying the company of a lover. All that despite a climate that she finds melting. My Review: I always enjoy Phryne Fisher's outings, but found this one perhaps a bit less to my taste than most. Part of that might have been the cricket, a game which makes even less sense to me than baseball. That makes it hard (read: impossible) to follow whole paragraphs describing the game (even the title I'm pretty sure has more depth than my vague awareness of a play on some kind of cardinal cricket-sin called "leg befor...