Book Review: Date with Death by Julia Chapman

Date with Death
by
Julia Chapman

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

If you’re looking for a cozy mystery to read during the holidays, take a look at Date with Death by Julia Chapman. Set in England in the Yorkshire Dales, it’s the first in the Dales Detective series in which the author introduces Samson O’Brien, Delilah Metcalf and a host of characters who live in the small town/village of Bruncliffe. Bruncliffe is the type of place where everyone knows everyone’s business, and has strong opinions about all things, giving the setting a colorful backdrop.

The story opens with Richard Hargreaves’ murder on the tracks of the local train station as well as Samson’s return to Bruncliffe after a fourteen-year absence. There’s a lot of beef between Samson and the people in town as well as a mystery behind why he’s back from a top detective position in London. Samson’s boss has advised him to lie low until gross misconduct charges against him have been settled.

Romantic tension develops right away between Samson and Delilah when Samson sets up the Dales Detective Agency downstairs from Delilah’s business, the struggling Dales Dating Agency. Richard’s mother soon hires Samson to investigate her son’s murder, whose death has been declared a suicide. She’s certain Richard didn’t kill himself, that he was on the upswing after a tough divorce and happy over a love prospect he connected with through Delilah’s dating agency.

To Delilah’s horror, more of her clients meet mysterious deaths and it’s a race against time to clear the connection and keep others safe. Not surprisingly, Delilah helps Samson with his investigation.

Readers meet many of the town’s residents, including Delilah’s family and get to know their back stories and quirky characteristics. Some act suspiciously, suggesting a possible connection to the murders and the mystery of who is the killer takes many twists before the finish.

Many relationship questions remain at the end, including the simmering interest between Samson and Delilah and readers will need to dig into the next ones to see where they lead.

I enjoyed this story, though cozy mysteries are not my favorite genre. My mystery group thought it was great, however, so take that as a recommendation too. Although close to 400 pages, it was a fast read and entertaining to read during the hectic holiday times.

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Book Club Mom’s Author Update – Carrie Rubin

Author name: Carrie Rubin

Genre: Medical Thrillers

Book: The Bone Hunger

During these pandemic times, I’ve remained focused on my writing (or at least I’ve tried to…) and have some book updates to share. Thank you so much, Barbara, for the opportunity.

Last month, Book 2 in my Benjamin Oris series about a man of science who faces otherworldly situations was released. In The Bone Hunger, a standalone thriller, Ben is now a second-year orthopedic surgery resident. When the severed limbs of his former patients start turning up in Philadelphia parks, he must once again bury his skepticism and risk his career to uncover the monstrous force behind the murders before someone close to him becomes the next victim. Publishers Weekly notes: “This is just the ticket for Robin Cook fans.”

And because I don’t always walk on the dark side, in June, my lighthearted cozy mystery, The Cruise Ship Lost My Daughter, was published under the pen name Morgan Mayer. Inspired by a cruise I accompanied my mother and stepfather on, it’s about a spry and tenacious octogenarian couple who go searching for their daughter on the same British Isles cruise she went missing from six weeks before.

Meanwhile, my agent has my newest manuscript on submission, and I’m working on another one I hope to submit to her by the end of November.

Thank you again, Barbara. Always a pleasure to visit Book Club Mom!

Website: www.carrierubin.com

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Open to all authors – self-published, indie, big-time and anything in between. Author submissions are limited to one per author in a six-month period.

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Who’s That Indie Author? HL Carpenter

Author name:  HL Carpenter

Genre: We’re multi-genre authors. We write mysteries for adults, young adult and middle grade fantasy, coming of age, and mystery novels and novellas, space operas, and short stories. All of our books are family-friendly, with minimal offensive language and sweet romance.

Books:
Murder by the Books, mystery
Taxing Pecksniffery, space opera
The Ghost in The Gardens, middle grade mystery
“The Demise of Fyne Literature,” allegorical short story
Walled In, middle grade/young adult
A Cause for Murder, cozy mystery
Pirate Summer, middle grade/young adult fantasy
The SkyHorse, middle grade/young adult fantasy
Jack and The Fountain of Youth, middle grade/young adult fantasy
Dream Stealer, a middle grade/young adult fantasy

When did you begin your writing career? Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Or maybe just yesterday. We lose track of time when writing and each story is a fresh beginning.

What’s your approach to writing? Are you a “pantser” or a planner? As you can probably tell by the varied list of genres above, we resist being boxed in. We like the freedom provided by structure, and we also like freedom from structure. This is one of the true benefits of writing with a partner—we balance each other.

What’s your working style—morning or late-night writer? This depends on the flow of the story. When the words of the first draft are tumbling over each other, the writing session that begins in early morning can last until late night.

Do you work at a computer or write long-hand? The computer for intense sessions; long-hand for those times when random ideas strike.

What gets those words flowing, coffee or tea? Water, please, either plain or with a twist of lemon. And hot chocolate on cold days. With whipped cream. Lots of whipped cream! 🙂

Favorite book: [Loud discussion arises] We have to pick just one? [Hems and haws around for a few minutes] Okay, this question should not be so difficult. Let’s just tell the truth here—our favorite book is the one we are currently reading.

Favorite movie: The last movie we watched in the theatre was Mission Impossible #4,569. Probably not a fave, though we do like Tom Cruise’s acting. We did get a good chuckle out of the longest motorcycle chase in the history of movies.

Favorite musician: This can vary depending on the book. Handel’s Water Music plays a role in our cozy mystery, and we enjoyed listening to it while writing.

Links:
Website: hlcarpenter.com
Twitter: @hl_carpenter
Pinterest: HL Carpenter, Author

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Who’s That Indie Author? N.A. Granger

Author name:  N.A. Granger (Noelle)

Genre:  Cozy Mystery

Books:  The Rhe Brewster Mystery Series: Death in a Mudflat; Death by Pumpkin; Death in a Dacron Sail; Death in a Red Canvas Chair

         

Bio:  N.A. GRANGER is a Professor Emerita at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. After forty years of research and teaching undergraduates and medical students, plus earning her EMT license, she decided to use her knowledge of human anatomy and emergency medicine in mystery writing. In addition to the Rhe Brewster Mystery Series, she has written for Coastal Living and Sea Level magazines and several times for the Bella Online Literary Review. Her latest mystery, Death in a Mudflat, was released in June of this year. You can find more of her writing and musings on her website: saylingaway.wordpress.com. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with her husband and a Maine coon cat who blogs, and she spends a portion of every summer in Maine, researching for her books and selling them, too.

Favorite thing about being a writer:  Using my little gray cells! I’m a pantser – I just sit down and write – and one of the best parts of the day is going back and reading, sometimes with a “where-the-heck-did-that-come-from?” – what I’ve written that day.  A close second is having someone tell me they love my books!

Biggest challenge as an indie author:  Marketing and publicity. I’ve done all the suggested tried and true things and also used publicity firms. I’m not sure they were worth the cost for the outcome. I think I’ll just pound the pavements, going to Indie bookstores and seeking readings on my own, and push the email, twitter and blogging. What’s unfortunate is that M&P are no fun!

Favorite books:  This is challenging. A sampling: books by P.D. James (one of my favorite mystery authors), Ken Follet’s Pillars of the Earth, Tolkien’s The Ring Trilogy, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird, Sarah Orne Jewell’s Country of the Pointed Firs.

Contact Information: Email: sailingawayng@gmail.com
Blog: saylingaway.wordpress.com
Twitter: @rhebrewster
Facebook: Noelle A. Granger
Amazon: N.A. Granger

Awards/special recognition:  Mmm. I won second place in the Bloggers Bash writing contest in 2017 – my first time winning anything…

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Are you an indie author?  Do you want to build your indie author network? Get your name out on Who’s That Indie Author!

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