"Mother's Day Mayhem" By Lynn Cahoon: Review/Giveaway/Mother's Day Post

by Kathleen Costa

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win an ebook copy of this book, and a link to purchase it from Amazon.

Jill Gardner was a big-city lawyer, but circumstances and the untimely death of her friend has brought her to South Cove, California, and ownership of Coffee, Books and More. Here she has built a successful business, a place where people can gather for a cup of coffee, read a book, or join a book club. Aunt Jackie is helping with the shop while Jill has gained delightful friends, entangled herself in a nice romance, and...happened upon mayhem and more than one suspicious death.

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Mother's Day Mayhem earns 4/5 Greeting Cards...Clever and Engaging!

Mother's Day is usually met with loving anticipation, but Jill has nothing but trepidation since she's been invited to meet her boyfriend Greg's mother. Jill didn't have success winning over his brother, so the idea his mother may not warm to her is a source of concern. But, it's Kyle, the young man who works at the antique shop, who is struggling the most with the upcoming holiday. He had been sent to live with his grandmother when he was five-years-old frequently receiving postcards from his mother saying she would return. Sadly he would learn she'd really been in jail for robbery. But now, she is out of jail and living relatively close. They plan to meet, but he worries she may break her promise. Jill can't stand to see her young friend treated in such a manner and, with help, sets out to find out what's going on.
mystery
Lyrical Press

This novella is short and easily read in an hour or two with interesting angst and dynamics between mothers and daughters and mothers and sons. It's "mayhem" not murder that is the focus, so the inquiries are less checking off suspects, validating motives, and avoiding personal peril, and more discussion, background checks, and happening upon details. The story also includes Jill and Greg's relationship and a quiet weekend away that also mixes "business" and pleasure. I enjoyed the first-person narrative sharing Jill's anxious manner to uncover the story of Kyle's mother since her mother is no longer around, but it's her worry about meeting Greg's mother with which I can identify. I remember meeting my now mother-in-law for the first time running through my head the desire to stand out, be liked, and accepted by the family.

Fans will also enjoy "one of Greg's favorite meals at Diamond Lille's." Said to "fit the bill" for those on a low carb/low sugar diet, we can enjoy Tiny's Provolone-Stuffed Meatloaf. Ok, there is ketchup and brown sugar, but I won't tell!

Be a Big Fan!
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Lynn Cahoon penned the ten-book Tourist Trap Mystery series. Within this popular series, she has six novellas that highlight a particularly fun holiday or season.
Tourist Trap Novellas and Order...
Rockets' Dead Glare (4.25) June, 2018
A Deadly Brew (5.25) September, 2018
Santa Puppy (5.5) November, 2018
Corned Beef and Casualties (6.25) February, 2019
Mother's Day Mayhem (6.5) April, 2019
A Very Mummy Holiday (7.25) October, 2019

Along with the Tourist Trap Mystery, Lynn Cahoon writes two other cozy mystery series. The five-book Cat Latimer series set in small town Aspen Hills, Colorado, and the three-book Farm-to-Fork series set in River Vista, Idaho. Both have an entertaining writing style and delightful set of characters.

Facebook www.facebook.com/LynnCahoonAuthor
Website www.lynncahoon.com Be sure to sign up for her newsletter.


Kathleen Costa is a long-time resident of the Central Valley, and although born in Idaho, she considers herself a “California Girl.” Graduating from CSU-Sacramento, she is a 35+ year veteran teacher having taught in grades 1-8 in schools from Sacramento to Los Angeles to Stockton to Lodi. Currently Kathleen is enjoying her retirement revitalizing hobbies along with exploring writing, reading for pleasure, and spending 24/7 with her husband.

Mother’s Day – A Time to Reflect
By Lynn Cahoon

When I signed on to write the Tourist Trap holiday novellas, my editor suggested that one of the novellas be a Mother’s Day story. I lost my mother in 2015, and I thought I was over the pain. Jill, my main character, lost her mother (not exactly sure how, yet) sometime in high school. That’s when she moved in with her Aunt Jackie. I realized I wasn’t ready to tell Jill’s mother's story. At least not yet. But there were a lot of people around who needed a Happy Mother’s Day story.
mystery author
Lynn Cahoon

That’s why I pulled Kyle out of the minor secondary character pool and tried to figure out what this mild mannered kid with all the tattoos had hiding in his life. Not only did Jill find one mother for Kyle, but a second and a third. Of course, there is always one true mom.

I’ve been lucky to have the blessing of one son. I helped raise my sister’s girls for a few months when they were in elementary school. So I’ve had the fun of having both girls and boys in my house. I’m a routine-based mother. Okay, you can say it – I have Mom Rules.

You go to school, do the homework, then they could play outside or on the computer. My son was in high school before he got his first gaming system. Before he could get a driver’s license, he had to get his Eagle Scout badge. He had to take an instrument when he hit high school.

He paid me back for that rule. I told him any instrument so he chose electric guitar. I had to buy the guitar AND pay for two years of private lessons. But it was good for him, if not my pocketbook.

With my varied experiences with motherhood, I wasn’t surprised when Mother's Day Mayhem released and I got tons of varied comments during the Facebook party. A lot of people didn’t celebrate the holiday. At all. Many talked about losing their own mother and the pain involved. And several talked about people in their lives that served as a mother figure to them while they were growing up.

No matter where you fall in that spectrum, I want to wish you a Happy Mother’s Day. You might not have children or your babies might be covered with fur like my current "children" are. You may have your mother still in your life, or you may be grieving a recent or not so recent loss. Mother’s Day is for all of us that care for others – no matter if they’re blood relatives or not.

As many of my characters say, your family is the one you build, not the one you were born into.

How are you celebrating Mother’s Day this year? Maybe you’d like to read about Jill and Kyle finding who he needs to send his Mother’s Day card to this year?

To enter to win an ebook copy of Mother's Day Mayhem, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "mayhem,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen May 18, 2019. If entering via comment please include your email address. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section in Kings River Life and in our mystery category here on KRL News & Reviews. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. And check out our new mystery podcast which features mystery short stories and first chapters read by local actors! A new episode went up this week.

You can use this link to purchase the book. If you have adblocker on you may not be able to see the Amazon link:


Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.

Comments

  1. I don't really need a low carb diet, but I think I'd still like to read this.

    glen(dot)hurlbut95993(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  2. I really enjoyed the description of the book. Sounds like a great read.
    diannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  3. My mother passed 5 years ago, so Mother’s Day is hard for me. Today a friend (her mother passed a couple of months ago) and I are going to an arts festival. cking78503(at)aol(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  4. I loved how you handled Mother's Day. The plot was awesome and they day was great. My mother is gone and we never had children but we worked with so many over the years and have a nephew who considers us his parents, not to mention 6 dogs so I am lucky!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sounds really good. Thanks for the chance! JL_Minter (at) hotmail (dot) com

    ReplyDelete

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