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.
Shaken Not Stirred!
Danger Cove, Washington, is a great destination populated with all sorts of characters along with restaurants, shops, a B&B, a farmers’ market, and a great watering hole. Lilly Raine Waters started out as the bartender, then promoted to assistant manager, and now manager and part owner of Smugglers’ Tavern. Locals pop in for a bit of comfort food, sample the day’s drink specialty, and take advantage of Lilly’s barstool therapy. Her support system includes BFF/partner-in-crime Mandi, surrogate grandfather Abe, busboy/tech wiz Freddie, sympathetic Officer Faria, and her now publicly-recognized boyfriend/former security guard Tanner, but Detective “Pizza Guy” would prefer she keep her nose out of any ongoing investigation...yeah, right!
➡ switch to KingsRiverLife.com for more articles ⬅
![]() |
Image Source Gemma Halliday Publishing |
Bree Milford, manager of the Ocean View Bed & Breakfast, is furious. She’s learned the abandoned, reportedly haunted, old motel, Shady Pines, is set to be auctioned off to developers. Whether they raze the property to the ground and rebuild from scratch or try to transform with a major renovation, their plans could threaten her B&B’s future. Jack Condor is not one of Danger Cove’s beloved citizens, so it’s easy to dislike him and his plans should he get the property, but vying to be more disliked than Jack is Camilla Cartwright, snarky fashionista, whose purpose in life is to ruin his. Bree decides to go check out the creepy property to see for herself what “all the fuss was about” and cons Lilly into joining her with the old “you owe me” line. Arriving at the old motel the suppose-to-be-locked door isn’t. “Looks like someone else is here already.” Sure is, the abandoned building was perfect for squatters, but it’s the dead body they truly didn’t expected. “Camilla Cartwright is dead.” The mysterious squatter? Competing developers? Jack? Bree?? The suspects are many with varied motives that make Lilly’s investigation a challenge, but life-threatening, too?
Cheer! Nicole Leiren has “stirred” up an entertaining cozy delight. The murder victim, of course, was karma’s first choice as well as mine, and the mystery behind it was very clever with ups and downs, twists and turns, and suspicion enough for a plethora of suspects. Her writing style is filled with descriptive language creating a clear picture of the setting and characters, and the expressive dialogue further illustrates the drama’s tone and personalities. I was greatly entertained with Lilly whose strength is tempered with cleverness. She doesn’t officially collaborate with law enforcement because of the difficulty dealing with the town’s detective. Come on, I know it’s a cozy mystery, but I don’t like the obvious by-passing of the law. Here there is an understanding of its importance and contacting the more congenial Officer Faria when clues are uncovered or back-up is needed is more realistic than going it alone. Well, she does that, too. Of course, along with the drama of a murder investigation, conflicts with the police, and some personal peril, the ins and out of managing a tavern, hiring a new head of security, navigating a long-distance romance, dealing with new “fur” friend Watson, and relationships with lots of friends always adds to the realism I enjoy.
No bonuses, sad to say, not even an official recipe for the Dark and Stormy she created for the tavern. I guess I’ll need to experiment with amounts of ginger beer and dark rum and lime or bitters. Ok, that’ll be fun!
Be a Big Nicole Leiren Fan!
“Romancing Real World Heroines...One Mystery at a Time!” USA Today bestselling author Nicole Leiren is part of the multi-author twenty-four book Danger Cove Mystery series from Gemma Halliday Publishing. Each author partners with fictional Danger Cove resident Elizabeth Ashby who helps to spin tales of murder and mayhem.
Danger Cove Cocktails Mystery
Heroes and Hurricanes (2017)
Deadly Dirty Martinis (2017)
Tequila Trouble (2018)
Dark Rum Revenge (2020)
Facebook—Nicole Leiren Author
Website—Nicole Leiren Subscribe to my mailing list.
Gemma Halliday Publishing—Nicole Leiren
To enter to win an ebook copy of Dark Rum Revenge, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line "rum" or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen March 7, 2020. U.S. residents only and you must be 18 or older to enter. You can read our privacy statement here if you like. We delete all emails after the contest is over.
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:
'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.
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.
Sounds interesting! Count me in!
ReplyDeleteI’d love to read this! Legallyblonde1961@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fun book. Thanks for the chance.
ReplyDeletediannekc8(at)gmail(dot)com
Sounds like a great book.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the chance.
We have a winner!
ReplyDelete