Braking for Bodies {+ Giveaway}

Quiet Mackinac Island is the perfect setting for author Duffy Brown’s Cycle Path Mystery series.

In the latest installment in the series, BRAKING FOR BODIES, the tranquil atmosphere of the island is disturbed when Peephole Perry, the editor of a sleazy L.A. rag, gets off the ferry. Perry is the former boss of Fiona, who’s upset to see him arrive. When Perry is later found dead, Fiona turns to her best friend, Evie Bloomfield, for help.

Evie has her hands full helping with the bike shop, but she’s determined to track down the real killer. She may be speeding into trouble, but she’ll do all she can to help clear her friend.

This is a charming story that moves at a steady pace with twists and turns. The setting is quaint and wholesome, while the characters are contagiously likable and well-developed.

The blend of mystery and mayhem with friendship and a touch of romance makes for a well-balanced tale. The story quickly draws you in and take you on an entertaining mystery ride.

Braking for Bodies by Duffy Brown, A Cycle Path Mystery (Book #2), Berkley Prime Crime, @2016, ISBN: 978-0425268957, Mass Market Paperback, 304 Pages 

FTC Full Disclosure – A copy of this book was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review. The thoughts are completely my own and given honestly and freely.

SPECIAL GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Thanks to the wonderful folks at Penguin/Random House, I have a print copy of BRAKING FOR BODIES by Duffy Brown to giveaway. In addition, the book will come with a tote bag that will contain some goodies inside such as postcard, notepad and brochure about the book. The giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. only and will end at 12 a.m. (EST) on Thursday, April 14.

To enter the giveaway, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load so please be patient. A winner will be selected by the Rafflecopter widget and I’ll send an email with the subject line “Thoughts in Progress Giveaway.” The winner will have 72 hours to reply to the email or another winner will be selected. PLEASE be sure to check your spam folder from time to time after the giveaway ends to make sure the notification email doesn’t end up there. If you win and you’ve already won the book somewhere else or you just decided for whatever reason you don’t want to win (which is fine), once again PLEASE let me know.

Thanks so much for stopping by. I hope I’ve enticed you to check out this delightful cozy mystery. Are you a bike rider? Have you visited an area where cars aren’t allowed?

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Geared for the Grave and The Look! {+ Giveaway}

I’m delighted to welcome author Duffy Brown back to Thoughts in Progress today to talk about her new cozy murder mystery series and ‘The Look.’

GEARED FOR THE GRAVE, the first installment in Duffy’s new Cycle Path Mystery series, has just been released. To celebrate the release and the new series, Duffy has an awesome giveaway to share with us today and the lovely Danielle at Penguin Group is offering a print copy of GEARED FOR THE GRAVE. Read on to learn more.

First, join me in giving Duffy a warm welcome as she explains about ‘The Look.’ Welcome, Duffy.

How did I get into this mess??

             While cowering in the back of a ferryboat, head over railing and losing my lunch in Lake Huron, it occurred to me that no matter how old I am I want to impress my parents. Deep inside I’m just a kid yelling, Mom, look at me! No hands! Granted, this wasn’t exactly a look at me moment but it’s what got me into this mess.

This is the opening for Geared for the Grave and comes straight from the heart considering how many things I’ve done because I was supposed to.

Not that Mom and Dad ever said You got to do this or else but I got The Look. Have you ever gotten The Look?

It’s the reason I went to church on Sunday, cleaned my room every Saturday and helped Sister Helen hand out bingo cards on Thursday night fundraisers.

Sometimes The Look took on the aura of the Evil Eye. Spending too much time on the front porch after a date got me the Eye of What will the neighbors think? If I kissed said date on that porch that got two pairs of Evil Eyes...Mom and Dad.

Evie Bloomfield in Geared for the Grave is in desperate of need of bragging rights for the upcoming Christmas holiday and gathering of over-achieving siblings and parents. She needs a raise and a promotion. In trying to get on her boss’ good side she volunteers to leave Chicagoland to help her boss’ dad who owns a bike shop and has broken his leg. 

This sounds like a great way for Evie to avoid The Look until dad winds up prime suspect in a murder. 

To now try and save her job Evie takes over the failing shop though she’s never ridden a bike, finding a killer though she can’t find her keys in her purse and discovering why someone is out to frame Dad. Can Chicago Evie survive life on Mackinac Island without her Honda, being on an eight-mile chunk of land with horses, carriages, bikes, fudge-eating tourists, the resident sage writing her eulogy and a killer who wants her dead?

Just how far will Evie go to avoid The Look across the Christmas dinner table?
 
How far have you gone to avoid The Look? What have you done to get Mom and Dad’s approval? Did you join the choir thought you hate show tunes? Share your bed with your visiting cousin though he still wets the bed? Dog sit the neighbor’s pooch though he wants nothing more than to have you for dinner?
 
Share your ‘How I avoided The Look experience’ and I’ll give away three totes from the answers.

Happy Holidays...and hope you avoid The Look this year across the dining room table.

Hugs,
Duffy Brown

Duffy, thanks so much for joining us today and sharing this insight into your new series and ‘The Look.’ I’m looking forward to reading what the visitors share on their ways of avoiding ‘The Look.’

First let me share a bit of background on Duffy for those who aren’t familiar with this talented author.

Duffy Brown is also Dianne Castell. As a USA Today bestselling author, she wrote for Kensington and Harlequin, won Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, HOLT-Medallion Award, has been on the cover of Romantic Times Magazine and included in Rhapsody Book Club, Doubleday Book Club and made the Waldenbooks Bestseller list.

Duffy loved anything with a mystery. While others girls dreamed of dating Brad Pitt, she longed to take Sherlock Holmes to the prom. Duffy lives in Cincinnati, has two cats - Spooky and Dr. Watson, her license plate is Sherlok and she now conjures up who-done-it stories of her very own for Berkley Prime Crime. She is a national bestselling author and her Consignment Shop Mystery series is set in Savannah and the Cycle Path Mysteries are set on Mackinac Island.

For more on Duffy and her writing, visit her website and connect with her at Killer Characters and every Wednesday find her at Cozy Chicks.

Here are my thoughts on this fun new series.

Evie Bloomfield never imagined what she was getting herself into when she went to help out her boss’s father on Mackinac Island.
 
Hoping to gain favor with her boss, Evie didn’t think it could be that bad helping Rudy Randolph, owner of Rudy’s Rents, run his bike shop in the small summer resort town. Before she has time to settle in, Evie finds Bunny Harrington dead from an apparent bike accident. Bunny, a wealthy local, is despised by most on the island. Rudy, however, becomes the prime suspect in her death when it’s discovered her bike was tampered with.

Evie takes it upon herself to clear Rudy’s name. Between trying to keep the murder from the tourists and dealing with the eccentric locals, Evie has her hands full. The killer is closer than she realizes and closing in fast.

This new series by author Duffy Brown offers a unique and charming setting. The characters are delightful and entertaining. The secondary characters enhance the story. The combination of suspense and humor comes through with flying colors in this story.

With a mixture of interesting twists and turns, GEARED FOR THE GRAVE will keep you guessing until the end. No matter the season, this enchanting story will have you thinking of bike rides and fun adventures to come.

Brown is on the right path with this enthralling new cozy mystery series.

Geared for the Grave by Duffy Brown, Cycle Path Mystery Book #1, Berkley, @2014, ISBN: 978-0425268940, Paperback, 304 Pages 

FTC Full Disclosure – A copy of this book was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review. The thoughts are completely my own and given honestly and freely.

PRINT GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

This giveaway is for one print copy of GEARED FOR THE GRAVE. The giveaway is open to U.S. residents only and will end at 12 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 13. 

To enter, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and following the instructions. The widget may take a few seconds to load, so please be patient. The winner from this giveaway will have 72 hours to respond after being contacted or another winner will be selected. The email will have ‘Thoughts in Progress Duffy Brown’s Tour’ in the subject line, just so you know what to watch for (in case it goes into your spam folder).

Thanks so much for stopping by today. Have you thought about how you avoided ‘The Look’ experience?

*This post contains affiliate links.
  a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pearls and Poison by Duffy Brown, Plus a Giveaway

It’s my pleasure to be participating in author Duffy Brown’s Great Escape Virtual Blog Tour for her release, PEARLS AND POISON, the latest installment in her Consignment Shop Mystery series.

I’m sharing my thoughts on this fun read and Duffy is offering an awesome giveaway. Please see the end of the post for the giveaway details. 

PEARLS AND POISON by Duffy Brown

A girl has gotta do all she can to help her Mamma, no matter what it necessitates.

It’s election time in Savannah and Reagan Summerside’s mom, Judge Gloria, is running for a city council seat. The front-runner is Kip “Scummy” Seymour and the race is getting dirty. Reagan only wants to run her consignment shop, the Prissy Fox, rather than manning the phone in support of her Mamma’s campaign.

When Reagan and her Auntie Kiki go to confront Kip about his dirty politics, they find him dead and all the evidence is pointing to Gloria as the killer. Reagan knows her Mamma and is determined to find who’s framing her for murder. As she searches for the real killer, Reagan gets deeper into trouble and closer to danger.

Attorney Walker Boone tries to keep an eye on Reagan as she begins snooping, but Reagan’s not too fond of him since he destroyed her during her divorce proceeding. But, despite herself, she begins to find him quite attractive.

Author Duffy Brown write with Southern flare and charm. Her characters are quirky, but so realistic they seem like neighbors you know. The secondary characters add depth and allure to the story. 

With an eye for detail, Brown brings the reader into the story and holds them spellbound. She weaves numerous twists and turns to keep you guessing. The story flows smoothly, at a steady pace with a rich blend of humor and suspense.

PEARLS AND POISON is the third installment in the Consignment Shop Mystery series, but can be read on its own. New readers aren’t left in the dark without having read the prior installments and returning fans will enjoy visiting familiar faces.

The setting and Southern hospitality is brought to life as Brown sets her protagonist on a course for a humorous and suspenseful tale.

Pearls and Poison by Duffy Brown, Consignment Shop Mystery Book #3, Berkley Prime Crime, @2014, ISBN: 978-0425252482, Paperback, 320 Pages 

FTC Full Disclosure - This book was sent to me as part of the author's blog tour in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Duffy Brown loves anything with a mystery. While others girls

dreamed of dating Brad Pitt, Duffy longed to take Sherlock Holmes to the prom. She has two cats, Spooky and Dr. Watson, her license plate is Sherlock and she conjures up who-done-it stories of her very own for Berkley Prime Crime. 

Duffy’s national bestselling Consignment Shop Mystery series is set in Savannah and the Cyclepath Mysteries are set on Mackinac Island. Duffy writes romance as Dianne Castell and is a USA Today bestselling author.

For more on Duffy and her writing, visit her website, and connect with her on Facebook.

TOUR PARTICIPANTS:

Check out the following blogs to follow Duffy on her virtual tour (and for additional chances to win giveaways).
March 4 – A Date with a Book - Review, Guest Post
March 5 – Chloe Gets A Clue - Interview
March 6 – Melina's Book Blog - Review, Interview, Giveaway
March 7 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Review, Guest Post
March 8 – A Year of Jubilee Reviews - Review, Giveaway
March 9 – Psychotic State Book Reviews – Review – Giveaway
March 10 – Book Lady's Booknotes - Review, Guest Post
March 10 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – Guest Post, Giveaway
March 11 – My Recent Favorite books - Review, Giveaway
March 12 – Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf - Interview, Giveaway
March 12— Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book  - Cozy Wednesday (Guest Post)
March 13 – Deal Sharing Aunt - Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
March 14 – Sapphyria's Book Reviews - Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
March 15 – Brooke Blogs - Review, Giveaway

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
 
This giveaway is for not one, but 2 PEARLS AND POISON Tote Bags. The giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. only. 

To enter, just click on the Rafflecopter widget below and follow the instructions. Please be patient, it may take a few seconds for the widget to appear.

Thanks so much for stopping by. What are you reading this week?
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Author Duffy Brown: Are You A Deb Or A Belle?

 
It’s always fun when I find a ‘new-to-me’ author that has a bit of Southern flare to her and author Duffy Brown is just such a lady. 

Duffy’s latest release is ICED CHIFFON, the first installment in her new Consignment Shop Mystery series set in Savannah, GA. Her protagonist is Reagan Summerside, owner and founder of The Prissy Fox consignment shop.

Duffy joins us today to ask a number questions, make some comparisons and giveaway a few prizes. Here’s Duffy.

Southern Belle or Northern Deb? Which are you?

Granola or Grits…Big hair or Flat…Pearls or Beads

One of the reasons I wrote ICED CHIFFON was that I wanted to set a book in the South, the real South as it really is. But the problem is I live in Cincinnati, right on the border of granola and grits. The Ohio River is not very wide, I mean people swim across the thing. Yet on the south side sushi is and always will be bait and granola is squirrel food. I don’t have big hair but I use hairspray, I love sweet tea and pork is the food of the gods but it has to be free-range pork where they treat the piggies nice. 

So, am I North or South? What part goes into ICED CHIFFON and what gets ditched? I made a check list to find out want part of me was Belle and what part was Deb.

So my question today is... Who are you? Are you a Deb or a Belle?

* Do you never wear white after Labor Day or before Easter or do you go by the weather?
* Do you own a strand of real pearls and wear them with pride or are you into beads?
* Do you drink sweet tea and love it when they have it on the menu or do order Coke Zero?
* A part of you truly believes in damn Yankees or are the Yankees the baseball team in NYC?
* Civil War? What Civil War? That there was the Northern Aggression!
* Do you have Lee as part of your name or your children’s name or is it Kaitlin?
* Is GWTW and Steel Magnolias and Fried Green Tomatoes, Something to Talk About your favorite movies and you recognize all the places or are you a Sex and the City girl and watch The Wire?
* Do you have a tiara hidden in your panty drawer and know how to twirl a baton or do you have a hockey stick in the closet beside your down coat?
* Do you have a dad or a daddy?
* Do you have an umbrella that looks a bit like a parasol or a North Face rain jacket?
* Does the term red-eye go with gravy or taking a picture?
* Biscuits from the bakery or from you grandma’s cookbook?
* Prime real estate is NYC or the mall, country club and the beauty salon?
* White gloves or black leather?
* Southern Living or Martha Stewart?
* Shorts or sundresses?
* Pineapple doorknocker or lion’s head?
* Mind your business or mind your manner?
* Follow NFL or NASCR?
* Drives a hard bargain, drives an SUV?

So, how do you measure up? Is a part of you a Southern Belle? Part of you Northern Deb? All of one or the other? Do you know someone who is? 

I am definitely a closet Southern Belle! I do make fried chicken and bathtub gravy. That’s what my kids call my cream gravy because they could eat a bathtub full of it. I do make my own pies, have white gloves, crab at my kids if they don’t mind their manners, buy extra-hold hair spray, subscribe to Southern Living, have a fancy umbrella that I’ve been known to twirl from time to time and I do know how to twirl a baton for real. I even took lessons and still have the baton!

On the Southern Belle scale I’m about a 7. Well, maybe an 8. Guess that’s why I wanted to write ICED CHIFFON and set it in Savannah. What is your Southern Belle Score? Your Deb score? 

I’ll give away three ICED CHIFFON totes from the replies. 

Ya’ll have a good day now, ya’ hear. Hugs, Duffy.

Oh Duffy, thanks so much for visiting today and giving us a look at the difference between a Belle and a Deb. I’m a Belle all the way with a couple of Deb tendencies. Always happy to meet another Belle. 

Just so you know though Duffy also goes by Dianne Castell, where as a USA Today bestselling author, she wrote for Kensington and Harlequin, won Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, HOLT-Medallion Award, been on the cover of Romantic Times Magazine and included in Rhapsody Book Club, Doubleday Book Club and made the Waldenbooks Bestseller list.

For more on Duffy and her writing, check out her website at http://www.duffybrown.com.

ICED CHIFFON is set in Savannah, GA, where the gossip if plentiful and Reagan Summerside finds herself in the middle of. But with the help of her high-spirited Auntie Kiki, she can muddle through it.

Left high and dry after a messy divorce, Reagan decides to put what she has left to use - a Victorian and more designer clothes than one person needs. She turns the first floor of the run-down home into a consignment shop filling it with remnants of her former life.

Then Janelle Claiborne, better known as the blond cupcake, is found dead in the trunk of her ex’s Lexus. While Reagan is still fuming over Hollis Beaumont’s mid-life crisis and their divorce, she knows he’s not the killer. She sets out to prove his innocence and one-up his cunning lawyer, Walker Boone, who does have his own charming ways.

Brown has created a group of characters that are zany, charming and ever-so realistic. They could be neighbors, people you know, family or friends you wish you had, especially if you live in the South. She has given her protagonist strengths, but also flaws that are worrisome to a lot of people. And who wouldn’t want an aunt like Kiki?

The story flows smoothly and at a steady pace. There are twists, turns and red herrings along the way to keep you guessing till the end. Brown sets the stage for a delightful cozy murder mystery by her beautiful descriptions of Savannah and her tantalizing dialog. There is mystery, murder, intrigue, a touch of romance and laughter throughout the story.

ICED CHIFFON is a wonderful introduction to a group of new characters that will be fun to visit again and again. You may never look at a consignment shop quite the same again. I’m looking forward to KILLER IN CRINOLINES, the next installment in the series, coming in May 2013.

Iced Chiffon by Duffy Brown, A Consignment Shop Mystery, Berkley Prime Crime, @2012, ISBN: 978-0425251607, Paperback, 304 Pages 
 
FTC Full Disclosure - This book was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.
 
Thanks so much for stopping by today. Now are you a Belle or a Deb, or maybe a little of both?