GUEST POST and GIVEAWAY
Watching the Detectives
(The Country Club Murders Book 5)
(The Country Club Murders Book 5)
by Julie Mulhern
Watching the Detectives is the fifth book in Julie Mulhern's Country Club Murders series set in the 1970s. Also available: The Deep End (read my blog post), Guaranteed to Bleed, Clouds in My Coffee, and Send in the Clowns.
Watching the Detectives is currently on tour with Great Escapes Book Tours. The tour stops here today for a guest post by the author, an excerpt, and a giveaway. Please be sure to visit the other tour stops as well.
Description
Ellison Russell wanted a decorator, not a corpse. Too bad she finds Mrs. White in the study killed with a revolver. Things go from bad to worse when she finds Mr. White in the dining room killed with a candlestick. With so many bodies, is it any wonder Detective Anarchy Jones’ new partner considers Ellison a suspect?
With the country club gossips talking a mile a minute, an unexpected cocktail party, a visit from Aunt Sis, and a romantic decision, Ellison hardly has time to think about murder. Unfortunately, the killer has plenty of time to think about her.
Excerpt
Click below to read an excerpt.
Praise for the Book
"The story is well-paced and the characters keep it moving." ~ Christa Reads and Writes
"Pretty much every new Country Club Murder mystery I read I proclaim my new favorite and Watching the Detectives is no different! Right from the beginning I was completely sucked in." ~ I Wish I Lived In a Library
"Watching the Detectives is a must read for anyone who loves a little 'meat' to their cozy mystery and a good dose of humor and wit to boot." ~ A Cozy Experience
"Good mystery and well written. Enjoyable read! Great book for fans of fun cozy mysteries!" ~ MysteriesEtc
Guest Post by the Author
Why I Set The Country Club Murders in the 70s
I’m often asked, "You could have set The Country Club Murders in almost any era, why the 70s?"
Here’s my answer ...
When I was a little girl, my parents offered me and my sister a choice. They could join a country club or buy a place in the country. The country came with ponies.
We picked ponies.
The place they bought was probably no more than an hour away from Kansas City, but to a girl in the backseat of an Olds station wagon, it seemed much farther. There was a pond, a river, woods, a pony named Pistol, a horse named King, more fireflies than a city girl had ever seen, and an enormous vegetable garden.
There was also one radio station, no television, and no access to other kids.
Those summers, I learned to entertain myself.
I read. Everything I brought with me - Nancy Drews, The Phantom Tollbooth, Watership Down, and countless Agatha Christies. And when I ran out of kids’ books, I read my parents’ books. Pearl S. Buck’s novel about the Empress Cixi [Imperial Woman], Michener, and Ludlum.
We swam in the pond, went fishing, took long horseback rides, and gazed at the stars.
I brought watercolor paper and paints and painted.
Sitting on the screen porch with the view of the pasture, I "helped" my father finish crossword puzzles.
Idyllic.
When I turned twelve, my parents added the country club.
Sunburned noses, tennis in the heat of the day, junior golf, lounging in the snack bar with a Tab and lime, dinners on the terrace, and being the kid with the worst tan because laying out was boring.
Summers in the city, I played kick-the-can with neighborhood friends till our mothers called us in for the night. I thought I was incredibly grown up when I walked to Brookside, bought penny candy at the Dime Store, and an ice cream cone (daiquiri ice in a sugar cone) at Topsy’s.
1976. The parades. The national pride. The fire hydrants painted to look like founding fathers.
Winters ... colder and darker, but the snow lingered and we went sledding at Suicide Hill every chance we got.
When it comes to the 1970s, my memories are gilded and my glasses are rose-colored. Which is why, when it came to picking a time period for The Country Club Murders, the decision was easy.
About the Author
Julie Mulhern is the USA Today bestselling author of The Country Club Murders. She is a Kansas City native who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie. She spends her spare time whipping up gourmet meals for her family, working out at the gym and finding new ways to keep her house spotlessly clean - and she's got an active imagination. Truth is - she's an expert at calling for take-out, she grumbles about walking the dog, and the dust bunnies under the bed have grown into dust lions.
Giveaway
Enter the giveaway for a chance to win one of five ebook copies of Watching the Detectives by Julie Mulhern (US only).
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