Title: Too Many Women in the Room
Author: Joanne Guidoccio
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Blurb:
When Gilda Greco invites her closest friends to a VIP dinner, she plans to share David Korba’s signature dishes and launch their joint venture— Xenia, an innovative Greek restaurant near Sudbury, Ontario. Unknown to Gilda, David has also invited Michael Taylor, a lecherous photographer who has throughout the past three decades managed to annoy all the women in the room. One woman follows Michael to a deserted field for his midnight run and stabs him in the jugular.
Gilda’s life is awash with complications as she wrestles with a certain detective’s commitment issues and growing doubts about her risky investment in Xenia. Frustrated, Gilda launches her own investigation and uncovers decades-old secrets and resentments that have festered until they explode into untimely death. Can Gilda outwit a killer bent on killing again?
Excerpt:
“Thanks for coming,” Luke said and turned toward the female officer. “Detective Irina Banicki will be sitting in.”
Irina Banicki. I racked my brain but couldn’t recall the name. Was she new to the department? I hadn’t seen her at the Christmas party. I would have remembered the tall, willowy brunette with razor-sharp cheekbones. Late thirties. Maybe early forties. Young and on the upward spiral.
She inclined her head. I nodded but said nothing. There was no need to engage in conversation and allow myself to be distracted. Instead, I turned and focused on Luke.
Frowning, he rustled through the loose pages filled with scattered handwriting. After locating the right page, he cleared his throat and made eye contact. “Sounds like quite a shindig last night. Do you want to tell me about it?”
Tell him how we planned it or how everything went south? The question was too open-ended. Was that part of his plan? Get me to tell everything and later sift through for any incriminating nuggets. “It was our rehearsal dinner for the opening of—”
“Rehearsal dinner? You mean like for a wedding?” Luke asked innocently enough, but I could hear the amusement in his tone.
A giggle escaped from Irina.
I forced myself to smile and make eye contact with Luke. “Not quite. David and Susan had planned to test-drive some of Xenia’s signature dishes and reveal our new venture to everyone.”
“So, you were a silent partner in this venture.” Luke alternated between raising and dropping his
Magnum eyebrows while still maintaining eye contact. A talent he must have perfected in his younger days. “You were until Michael Taylor spilled the beans. That must have upset your plans…made you angry…”
Angry enough to kill? I’ve been told I wear my emotions and would make a terrible poker player. With my feelings about Michael, I must have shown thunderous anger and disapproval all evening. Intuitive Jean would have been able to read my face and then share her observations with Carlo. “I felt a surge of anger at both David and Michael, but it passed. We were there to celebrate the opening, not spar over pettiness.”
Luke’s eyes widened in surprise. “I think it was more than—”
My nostrils picked up a musky smell. Not too unpleasant but a bit overpowering. A woman’s scent, one I steered away from at the cosmetics counter. I turned and looked up into intense green eyes.
Irina had decided to become an active participant in the interrogation. “Why did you keep your
involvement a secret? Were you afraid or embarrassed to tell your friends?”
Book Trailer:
Buy Links:
Amazon (US): https://is.gd/NRjAXT
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The Wild Rose Press: https://is.gd/1mns8Q
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Author Biography:
In 2008, Joanne took advantage of early retirement and decided to launch a second career that would tap into her creative side and utilize her well-honed organizational skills. Slowly, a writing practice emerged. Her articles and book reviews were published in newspapers, magazines, and online. When she tried her hand at fiction, she made reinvention a recurring theme in her novels and short stories. A member of Crime Writers of Canada, Sisters in Crime, and Romance Writers of America, Joanne writes cozy mysteries, paranormal romance, and inspirational literature from her home base of Guelph, Ontario.
Social Media Links:
Website: http://joanneguidoccio.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/joanneguidoccio
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/jguidoccio/