Title: WHEN CURTSEY KNIFED SAMMY
Author: Beth Henderson
Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery Comedy Romance
Book Blurb:
DEATH REVISITS KILLAMAN FALLS!
The problem with bringing a swift conclusion to a murder investigation for amateur sleuths Emmalyst Whichur and Connor Wolfe is that they’re expected to do it all over again! Without a breather between cases. When the sheriff’s department gets the call that there is a dead man who apparently served as a pincushion for knife storage at a campsite just down mountain from Killaman Falls, Lyst and Connor are pulled away from their dinner. Considering they only caught the culprit who’d murdered Lyst’s godmother Sally a few hours earlier, there is no rest for these two even if they are weary. But when the old dog at the campsite says the ghost of the dead man, Sammy, told him that Curtsey didn’t kill him, there’s another canine interview to do. Thank goodness, Connor is a werewolf. A very old and gentlemanly werewolf, although he looks to be in his mid-thirties. He can understand canine-ese. Lyst is still unsure that her ability to get people to tell her things they hold back from other interviewers is due to having witch blood in her veins, though the ability has gotten her far as an investigative journalist. While anxious to get off the mountain and back to civilization, solving crime on the mountain is tantalizing. As is Connor Wolfe, unfortunately. Her never-before-met father is not when he shows up. With all the evidence pointing to Curtsey as the killer, our dedicated duo with their uncommon investigation tactics need to dig really deep to prove the ghost and the old dog were telling the truth. WHEN CURTSEY KNIFED SAMMY is the second novel in the Whichur-Wolfe Detection series. The previous book, WHEN HARRY KILLED SALLY, is piling up 5* reviews! A few of them say:
“Definitely sharing with my other paranormal-loving friends.”
“…amusing and a great mystery. The mix of that with paranormal kept me reading and I simply didn't want to put it down.”
“…a quirky paranormal cozy mystery I couldn’t put down…. Brilliantly written with an original concept to the series, WHEN HARRY KILLED SALLY is sure to please both mystery and paranormal readers.”
“Ha, what a fun, cleverly written story. I laughed out loud in several places. The paranormal/mystery aspect was edge of your seat engaging… Wonderful!”
Excerpt:
“I think she did it,” I told Connor close to four hours later when we were both back in his truck, my duties as a makeshift police matron behind me. We still hadn’t managed to eat our meals, but he promised the hotel he’d booked us into had microwaves in the rooms. Since we had no luggage, there would be no time wasted in unpacking. We could go directly to heating them up.
He glanced over at me then back at the traffic light we were stopped beneath. “Is that because of something she said, or you just took an instant dislike to her?”
“What she said was of no use unless you count upping my irritation level as a plus.”
“I know better than to think that. Your irritation level is fairly high on average, I’ve found. Unless it’s just that our acquaintance is of such short duration that I haven’t caught you on a good day yet.”
“Anymore, pal, I don’t think those kind of days have got a snowball’s chance on Venus of showing up.”
“You’re just hungry,” he soothed. “And tired. It’s been a very long and crime filled day. A good night’s rest and you’ll be able to return to the fray.”
“And will this fray include beating the cops at their own game again?”
This time he shrugged. Fortunately, the light turned green, and we moved ever closer to that reheated dinner and a bed.
Which turned my mind to other things. “You did reserve two separate rooms, right?”
“Yes, Ms. Whichur. Despite what might be termed a life changing kiss shared after the FMP festival, I doubted you’d let me in your bed unless the moon guaranteed I would be stuck in wolf form.”
“Damn right, though it wasn’t that great a kiss.”
“Which of us has to improve on delivery procedures before the next one?”
“Don’t,” I pleaded. “I am not up to responding to your flirting tactics. If you can call them that. You did tell me you were Killaman Falls official gigolo my first night in town.”
“Retired gigolo. I distinctively recall telling you that wasn’t my gig any longer.”
As the illuminated sign for the hotel could be seen up ahead, I nearly sighed in relief.
They knew him there. Called him by name before we reached the registration desk. “Welcome back, Mr. Wolfe. We found two rooms with a connecting door for you. The balconies on both supply a showstopping view of the mountains. If you’re up early enough, the sunrise will highlight them beautifully.”
I wondered whether the still fairly full moon would be visible from them. Connor had told me that it had begun waning, but as I didn’t know what the heck waning was, I decided he’d simply implied he wouldn’t suddenly be forced into wolf status. If he did, he’d want to sleep next to me like he’d done the night before. Personally, I could do without good night kisses that resembled getting my face mopped by a canine tongue.
For some reason, he sat the to-go boxes on the long chest of drawers next to the microwave in my room. “Do you want something from the soft drink machine or from the bar downstairs to wash the fried chicken down?” he asked.
“Water’s fine for me if you want to bring ice back,” I said and kicked off the spike heeled shoes I started the day wearing. My feet might have sighed happily, but that could just be fancy raising its head half-heartedly because I was ready to drop.
“Back shortly,” he assured and, grabbing the empty ice bucket, left through his adjacent room.
I popped my dinner in the waiting microwave and while it circled under the radiation, found the convenient pen and notepad the hotel supplied and began creating my tally of things to accomplish. Actually, after jotting down Check with repair place re Sally’s van my mind went blank on what else to add. My godmother had supposedly arranged to have the engine rebuilt before winter hit. A wise decision on her part, though it left me with the rented Jeep, and my bank account found that too expensive to keep considering I might get stuck in Killaman Falls for the winter myself. At least if I knew it was ready, I could drive the rental back on Wednesday and become the new owner of a van kept in far better shape than the one I’d seen at the murderous campsite.
“Not your problem, Emmalyst Daisypoint Whichur,” I growled aloud. Yes, I’ve got a very embarrassing name but as long as I’m the only one using it, and then only when giving myself a lecture, it’s more of a smack on the tush to even hear it spoken. Unfortunately, Connor knows what it is, too.
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What makes your featured book a must-read?
WHEN CURTSEY KNIFED SAMMY is the second tale in the Whichur-Wolfe Detection series, which practically makes it required reading for anyone who fell for gentlemanly werewolf Connor Wolfe and enjoyed rubbing shoulders with investigative reporter Emmalyst Whichur. This dynamic duo continue to interview dogs at crime scenes and take leaps of imaginative crime solving to new heights. Bonus! Though maybe not to Lyst’s thinking, but her never before father surfaces to stir up trouble, too!
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $25 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally. You must have a valid Amazon US or Amazon Canada account to win. Runs December 7 – December 15, 2021. Winner will be drawn on December 16, 2021.
Author Biography:
BETH HENDERSON has written a lot of romantic comedy, romantic suspense, and historical romantic mystery titles, but when the temptation to do a “proper” Rapid Release series, she went for paranormal cozy mystery comedy with a gentlemanly werewolf hero and a feisty investigative journalist who doesn’t believe she’s a witch—even though her mother told her she was one. Fortunately, the reviews have raved about this slight twitch in genre niche. It’s got to be the only cozy mystery series were dogs get interviewed by the amateur sleuths.
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