GREAT ESCAPES BLOG
TOUR – A CURIO KILLING
CHARACTER GUEST POST
Mary Ellen Hughes
Hi,
I’m Callie Reed, and I own House of
Melody, the collectible music box shop I inherited from my Aunt Melody. The
inheritance was a total shock, partly because my aunt shouldn’t have died so
soon. She was murdered. This happened about a year ago and is a whole other
story, but that’s what brought me to Keepsake Cove, a small town on Maryland’s
Eastern Shore. Keepsake Cove is filled with all kinds of collectible shops—vintage
jewelry, collectible Christmas ornaments, glass figurines, and so much more.
Inheriting
House of Melody and the fairy-tale
cottage that sits behind it, besides being an unexpected windfall (under sad
circumstances), gave me a nudge to finally break up with my long-time
boyfriend, Hank. Hank was a struggling country music musician, and while our
relationship was great when I was young and starry-eyed, time cleared my vision,
and I was more than ready to move on.
Things
were going great for me in Keepsake Cove, and I’d started dating Brian, who
runs the Keepsake Café across the street. We were taking things slowly, but I
could definitely see possibilities for us. Then the Keepsake Cove Spring
Festival came up. I was excited for the fun weekend it was going to offer as
well as the crowds of shoppers it would bring to the shops. That is, until Hank
walked into my shop!
Hank
had joined a new band, which was booked to play at the Spring Festival.
“Sorry,
Babe,” he said, “I meant to let you know.” That was an all-too-familiar
refrain: “I meant to do something,” and one of the reasons
our relationship went sour. Hank thought his time at the festival meant
spending time with me, but I quickly set him straight. I was happy he was in a
new band—with a record contract in the works!—but I would be spending time with
Brian, not him.
His
new band manager, Bobby Linville, seemed an oily kind of person when I met him,
but Hank was thrilled with all the things Bobby claimed he was setting up for
the band. Unfortunately, they turned out to be false promises. That was a
crushing blow for Hank, and I was truly sorry for him. My sympathy turned into
worry when Bobby was found dead on the festival grounds, killed with the small
but heavy music box Hank had bought the day before from my shop!
The
bad blood between them, plus the fact that Hank had no alibi, meant he ended up
in jail as a suspect with a flight risk. There was no one but me in the area to
help him. So what could I do?
Brian,
thankfully, is pretty understanding. I could see it was hard for him, but he
helped me as much as he could to uncover the real murderer. I think his
attitude was the sooner Hank was proven innocent, the sooner he’d be on his
way, which was fine with me, too. I just couldn’t let a man who I knew didn’t have
a violent bone in his body be convicted of something he didn’t do.
The
downside of searching for the facts is attracting the attention of a very dangerous
person who doesn’t want the truth to come to light. But if it’s important
enough, that’s the chance you have to take. And I took it.
About A Curio Killing
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting - Maryland
Midnight Ink (September 8, 2019)
Paperback: 264 pages
ISBN-10: 0738752266
ISBN-13: 978-0738752266
Digital ASIN: B07KMX5QY4
Callie finds treble in Keepsake Cove when her ex-boyfriend is framed for murder . . .Callie Reed is looking forward to her first Keepsake Cove spring festival. But her excitement dims considerably when she learns that her ex-boyfriend, Hank, will be performing with one of the hired country-western bands. Callie vows to keep her distance, but that changes when the band's manager, Bobby Linville, is found dead, killed with the music box Hank bought at Callie's shop.Hank is soon singing a sad tune in a detention center with Callie his only lifeline. Though thoroughly aware of his many faults, she knows violence and murder aren't in his blood. But that means one of her fellow Keepsake Cove residents must be hiding a dark secret—something Callie desperately needs to uncover.
REVIEW
*I received a free copy of this book which I voluntarily chose to write an honest review for.
I swear each book in this series is better then the last! Callie is all set for the Spring Festival and excited to just be there to enjoy instead of working this time. At least until her ex shows up out of the blue saying his band is headlining. Things get awkward fast it when his manager ends up murdered it really gets bad. She feels compelled to help him even if everyone else does not agree or how weird it makes things for her. The mix of murder, characters and shop details is fantastic hitting the perfect mix to really make the reader enjoy the story. The music boxes have to be my favorite and I just love the details that go I to the story about them. A wonderful read that cozy fans will highly enjoy. I totally loved it so I give it 5/5 stars.
I swear each book in this series is better then the last! Callie is all set for the Spring Festival and excited to just be there to enjoy instead of working this time. At least until her ex shows up out of the blue saying his band is headlining. Things get awkward fast it when his manager ends up murdered it really gets bad. She feels compelled to help him even if everyone else does not agree or how weird it makes things for her. The mix of murder, characters and shop details is fantastic hitting the perfect mix to really make the reader enjoy the story. The music boxes have to be my favorite and I just love the details that go I to the story about them. A wonderful read that cozy fans will highly enjoy. I totally loved it so I give it 5/5 stars.
About Mary Ellen Hughes
Mary Ellen Hughes is the bestselling author of the Pickled and Preserved Mysteries, the Craft Corner Mysteries, and the Maggie Olenski Mysteries, along with several short stories. The Keepsake Cove series begins with A Fatal Collection and continues with A VINTAGE DEATH and A CURIO KILLING.
Author Links
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MaryEllenHughesauthor
Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/mehughes13/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/mehughesauthor
GoodReads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/402922.Mary_Ellen_Hughes
Purchase Links –
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
September 6 – Laura's Interests – REVIEW
September 6 – I'm All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
September 7 – The Avid Reader – REVIEW
September 7 – Elizabeth McKenna - Author – SPOTLIGHT
September 7 – The Power of Words – REVIEW
September 8 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
September 8 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews - REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST September 9 – Baroness' Book Trove – REVIEW
September 9 – A Wytch's Book Review Blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 10 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
September 10 – Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 11 – The Book's the Thing – REVIEW, GUEST POST
September 11 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 12 – I Read What You Write – SPOTLIGHT
September 12 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
September 13 – Brianne's Book Reviews – REVIEW
September 13 – eBook Addicts – REVIEW, RECIPE
September 14 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 15 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
September 16 – Brooke Blogs – REVIEW, GUEST POST
September 17 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW
September 17 – Celticlady's Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 18 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
September 19 – View from the Birdhouse - REVIEW
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Thank you for your review on "A CURIO KILLING" by Mary Ellen Hughes and for being part of the book tour.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed reading Callie's post and would love to read more about her through the opportunity to read this great sounding book.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
Thank you for hosting me, Books a Plenty, and for the amazing review!
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