Thursday, January 29, 2015

Virtual Book Tour & #Giveaway for Murder, Mayhem & Bliss


Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Book Tour, Presented by Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours, for Murder, Mayhem & Bliss by LouLou Harrington.  Please leave a comment or question for LouLou to let her know you stopped by.  You can enter her tour wide giveaway by filling out the Rafflecopter form below.  You can also follow the rest of LouLou’s tour by clicking on the tour banner above.

Murder, Mayhem & Bliss
By LouLou Harrington
Myrtle Grove Garden Club Mystery Book 1

Publisher: Deadly Niche Press
Release Date:  November 26, 2014
Genre:  Cozy Mystery
Length:  240 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1620161418
E-Book File Size: 461 KB
ASIN: B00PFAP65E

Buy Links: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

About the book:

Nothing much happens in Myrtle Grove, Oklahoma. So when prominent businessman Harry Kerr is discovered face down in his pool shortly after dawn, the breakfast crowd in Jesse Camden’s tea room is buzzing. Recognizing the name, Jesse hurries to her friend Vivian Windsor, Myrtle Grove’s resident oil heiress and great-aunt to Bliss Kerr, widow of the deceased and soon-to-be prime suspect in his suspicious death.

Clearing Bliss and finding the real murderer isn’t what Jesse meant when she offered her assistance. And wrangling an eager band of helpers while chasing a tangle of leads across the countryside, tripping over deputies and evidence along the way, isn’t her first choice for her weekend. But here she is, and here she will be, hearing secrets no one should know, and discovering betrayals no one could live with, until Jesse finds her way through the maze of deceit to uncover the real killer.



About LouLou Harrington: 


A lifelong fan of mysteries and the cozy genre, in particular, Loulou Harrington began her published career in romances and is now happy to be writing what she has always loved to read—a good, old-fashioned mystery. Even better, she has the chance to incorporate her personal love of gardening, cooking, exploring quaint villages and wandering through the great outdoors in her new Myrtle Grove Garden Club mystery series. She sincerely hopes you will enjoy sharing this special world with her.


Author Links




A quiet small town, a marriage with issues and a garden club determined to discover the truth take center stage in LouLou Harrington’s debut mystery, Murder, Mayhem & Bliss.  Colorful characters, good dialogue and a solid mystery kept me turning the pages to uncover who committed the crime.  The first book in a new series, Murder, Mayhem & Bliss is a solid start to the Myrtle Grove Garden Mystery series. 

When car dealer Harry Kerry is discovered dead floating in his pool, and his wife, Bliss appears to have no real alibi, the police jump to the natural conclusion that “the wife did it”.  Determined to prove her niece innocent, oil heiress and the town’s wealthiest widow, Vivian Windsor asks friend, and local tea room owner, Jesse Camden to uncover the truth behind Harry’s death.  While Jesse had offered to help, she never thought she’d be conducting a clandestine investigation behind the sheriff’s back, or that she’d be “helped” by the members of “The Garden Club”.  Determined to prove Bliss is innocent, Jesse finds herself uncovering secrets, betrayals and deceit she never would have imagined in her home town.

Ms. Harrington does a good job developing the characters in her story; I really enjoyed getting to know Jesse, Vivian and the members of the garden club.  I also enjoyed the friendship between Jesse and Vivian, what brought them together and keeps their friendship thick as thieves.  While it’s clear from the start that Harry was not a nice man and that he and Bliss had an estranged marriage, everyone in the garden club agrees that Bliss didn’t do it.   Though Jesse, Vivian and quite a few other people think that Harry being dead is no great loss. 

The mystery is well written and takes plenty of twists and turns.  While conducting her own investigation, Jesse runs into and gets in the way of the police investigation a few times and it’s clear the sheriff is not thrilled with her “meddling”.  Especially since she’s good at uncovering clues.

Will Jesse discover who killed Harry and left him floating in the pool? Will the garden club be better at solving a crime than the local police? You’ll have to read Murder, Mayhem & Bliss to find out.  I enjoyed this cozy mystery with light humor and look forward to reading the next book when it comes out.

My Rating:  4 out of 5 Crowns





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9 comments:

  1. Maple Grove sounds like my hometown~usually quiet and not much going on. A great way to live! Thank you for the generous contest!

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  2. Thank you for your comments, Betty. I live in the country and love it. But it's just outside a big city, so I get to have it all. Good luck with the contest.

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  3. Would love to live in a small town seems it would cozier and a lot friendlier.

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  4. The nice thing about cozy mysteries is the cozy atmosphere of the smaller town settings. I'm lucky to be setting my series in Oklahoma where people genuinely are some of the friendliest in the country. But there are a lot of benefits to larger towns, too, and I think anywhere is pretty terrific if you're lucky enough to have friends and family around you. Of course, I personally have always lived in the country, and I love it.

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  5. Hey Loulou! I've been following you on the tour and it's been so nice to read the reviews. I so would like to move to a little "Mayberry" type town...love the idea of the laziness of it all!

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  6. Thank you, keepmelaffn--there are more reviews coming, I believe. It might not be as lazy as it seems, but it's certainly slower paced and way less time spent waiting in traffic. And it's fun to write about. Thank you for leaving a note, and keep reading.

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  7. This sounds like a great book. I can't wait to read it. Thank you

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    1. Thank you, Candace. I hope you enjoy it. The second book in the series, Murder Most Thorny, should be out this spring. Thank you for commenting.

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  8. Thank you so much for having me here today. And thank you for the lovely review. It was a wonderful experience and I truly enjoyed myself.

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