Fun New Mystery

                              

Model Suspect

TK Sheffield
Cozy Mystery
Making Hay Press, November 2023, 302pp ebbok
$17.95 paper
$ .99 Kindle deal

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About the Book:

A frugal fashion model hangs up her second-hand stilettos and returns to her small town to open a business—but then she's forced into the role of amateur sleuth after becoming a suspect in a murder.

Melanie Tower is done with the drama of New York City and returns to her Wisconsin hometown to open an art mall. At the start of the holiday season—her jewelers', bakers', and crafters' busiest time—a social media influencer is found dead, pinned under a vintage door. Mel immediately becomes a suspect in the holiday mystery because the victim had been recruiting her best artists to open a competing store! Mel embraces her feisty inner Midwesterner to find the "poser" while polka-ing at the Cheese Ball, judging entries in the Devil's vs. Angels Bake-off, and starring in a hilarious readers' theater at Midwinter's Night at the Library.

Model Suspect is The Devil Wears Prada meets a Wisconsin supper club. It's a Midwest whodunnit, a holiday cozy, a humorous small-town mystery served with a brandy old-fashioned sweet and a side of cheese curds.

My Review:

Sheffield’s delightful debut mystery introduces a snarky and witty former model turned accidental sleuth. Filled with every imaginable Wisconsin-ism, this fun read hits all the high points of a perfect cozy.

Small town, check; pet, check; amateur sleuth, check, offstage crime, check. Supper club, bonus, library-double bonus; every type of Wisconsin-themed fun character and lore? Triple bonus! Where else besides Cinnamon, Wisconsin, can you find a yacht club on a small lake? A rescue horse farm, a cousin Lou who supports and pushes you, the local loveable delivery guy with a secret, a construction crew that doesn’t have a three-month wait list, and a fresh twist of revolving victim/suspect keeps the reader in stitches and turning pages into the wee hours.

Nicely done. Readers of witty repartee with a side of murder mystery will love Model Suspect. First in a planned series, but stand alone, leaving you hoping for the next addition.

About the Author:

TK Sheffield writes books for readers who want to laugh and escape. She is a former public relations professional and educator who now writes mysteries, romantic comedies, children's horse stories, and screenplays from her home in rural Wisconsin.

Her debut mystery, Model Suspect, won the Southwest Writer's award for opening chapters and Honorable Mention for Excellence in Mystery in RWA's Daphne du Maurier awards. Her debut screenplay has been nominated for awards in Austin, Houston, Chicago, and Florida film festivals.

TK has degrees from UW-Madison (BA) and Mt. Mary University (MA), and is building audiences on Instagram and TT. She is a contributor to Valerie Biel's popular writing blog and a member of the events committee of Wisconsin Writers Association.

She also is a fierce advocate for older women who have had families and careers--and now seek to write their first novel. On social media, she offers book reviews, writing tips, and encourages aspiring authors.

Cozy mystery Deep Bitter Roots

Deep Bitter Roots, a Deep Lakes Mystery Series, book 2
Joy Ribar
374 pp print
April, 20200
Orange Hat Publishing

ebook $5.99
Print $16.95
Buy the Book
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My Review

Deep Bitter Roots is a quirky cute cozy set in northern Wisconsin. Deviating somewhat from cozy formula in that the mystery, a death, doesn’t happen until chapter 7, nearly a quarter of the way into the book, nevertheless readers who adore small towns with fun people will enjoy the build up.

Entrepreneur and busybody Frankie Champagne, divorced and of a certain age with grown daughters, is in the perfect spot to hear and get involved in all the local gossip of Deep Lakes with her part-time journalist work and bakery/wine bar business. Having a boyfriend who’s also the local coroner is a bonus when Frankie’s latest project, helping an heiress put together a speech rededicating the town park, goes awry.

The granite industry made Deep Lakes a century ago, but until now, its secrets were literally buried under a long-time Ides of March curse. Using all her wiles and delectably filled bakery boxes, Frankie offers to lend an eye to her friends on the police force and those in other official capacities when they must deal with a suspicious death. Most of them gratefully trust her.

Heavily detailed with a large cast, readers can walk into this second Deep Lakes mystery without having read the first book of the series. Readers who love the aroma of baked goods in all their glory and are intrigued by wine-making will get their fill with this sweet mystery. The story is told generally from Frankie’s point of view with the help of two internal sidekick conscious minders and includes many wonderful epigraphs opening the chapters. And recipes!

About the Author

Joy Ann Ribar lives in central Wisconsin where she writes the Deep Lakes Mystery Series, starring baker/vintner Frankie Champagne. Joy’s writing is inspired by Wisconsin’s four distinct seasons and other Wisconsin whimsical quirks, which she hopes to promote for all the world to enjoy.  Joy is a member of Sisters in Crime and Wisconsin Writers Association. Joy and her husband, John, someday plan to sell their house, buy an RV and travel around the U.S. spreading good cheer and hygge! Joy is a little proud that her first mystery, Deep Dark Secrets, is the #1 bestselling fiction with Orange Hat Publishing for 2019.  joyribar.com