Dark and Stormy Book Club

As we wrap another Malice Domestic under our belts, we announce the winners of this year;s Agatha Awards:
Best Contemporary Novel
A World of Curiosities, Louise Penny (Minotaur)
Best Historical Novel
Because I Could Not Stop for Death, Amanda Flower (Berkley)
Best First Novel
Cheddar Off Dead, Korina Moss (St. Martin’s)
Best Short Story
"Beauty and the Beyotch," Barb Goffman (Sherlock Holmes Magazine, Feb. 2022)
Best Non-Fiction
Promophobia: Taking the Mystery Out of Promoting Crime Fiction, Diane Vallere
Ed. (Sisters in Crime)
Best Children/Young Adult Novel
Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade, Nancy Springer (Wednesday Books)
We sincerely congratulate each of the winners and also the nominees. We look forward to next year's Malice
We talked with Verena Rose, Chair of the Board of Directors of Malice Domestic. She is a fount of knowledge
about the history of Malice.
Verena is a short story writer, an editor and co-publisher at Level Best Books. She has been the chair of the
Board of Directors of Malice for 17 years.
TRIVIA
Last week's question was:
Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil spent how many weeks on the NY Times Best Seller list?
a. 52
b. 100
c. 150
d. 216
The answer is d. 216 weeks. John Berendt published Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in 1994 and it
became an overnight success; The book spent a record-breaking 216 weeks on the New York
Times bestseller list[2] — still, to this day, the longest standing best seller of the Times.
This week's question is:
Jeffrey Deaver was ahead of his time in 2001 when he?
a. He had characters in space
b. He had characters use social media
c. He had characters use small sized cell phones
d. He had characters cured of cancer
Tune in next week for the answer and to hear from some of the authors who attended Malice this year.

On this episode, we talked with our longest patron, Cynthia Surrisi. She has two books that
have just come out. She is a very successful middle school novel author.
The Bones of Birka: Unraveling the Mystery of A Female Viking Warrior.(Chicago Review
Press). When archaeologist Dr. Charlotte Hedenstierna-Jonson discovers that the bones
contained in the most significant Viking warrior grave ever opened are, in fact, female, she and
her team upend centuries of historically accepted conclusions and ignite a furious debate
around the reality of female Viking warriors and the role of gender in both ancient and modern
times.
In The Bones of Birka, author C. M. Surrisi introduces young readers to the events that led up to
this discovery and the impact it has had on scientists’ and historians’ views of gender roles in
ancient societies and today. This is the inside account of the Birka warrior grave Bj 581
archaeological endeavor, including all of the dreams, setbacks, frustrations, excitement, politics,
and personalities that went into this history-changing discovery.
Her other book is The Unofficial Lola Bay Fan Club (G.P. Putnam's Sons Publishers). Pop star
Lola Bay is everything to Iris and her best friend, Leeza. Her songs speak right to
their souls and they can’t wait to start a Lola Bay fan club when middle school starts. But then
mean girls take over the fan club and Leeza seems to be interested in other things.
Enter Dana. She’s bold and cool and not afraid to stand up for herself. Plus, she’s a massive
Lola Bay fan and knows how to get free merch online. She even has big ideas for getting them
to a concert.
When some of Dana’s ideas make Iris a little nervous, she pushes the feelings down—Dana
seems to know what she’s doing. Only as Dana’s plans get bigger and bigger, Iris feels worse
and worse. And then Dana crosses a line that causes trouble for Iris’s whole family.
How could someone who is supposed to be a friend do that? And, Iris wonders, how did I let
things go this far?
TRIVIA
Last week's question was:
What is author Laura Lippmans familyh connection to “The Wire?”
a. her brother
b. Her sister
c. Her cousin
d. Her husband
The answer is D. Her husband. Lippman is married to David Simon, another former Baltimore
Sun reporter, and creator and an executive producer of the HBO series The Wire.The character
Bunk is shown to be reading one of her books, In a Strange City, in episode eight of the first
season of The Wire. Lippman appeared in a scene in the first episode of the last season of The
Wire as a reporter working in the Baltimore Sun newsroom
This week's question is:
Midnight In The Garden of Good and Evil spent how many weeks on the NY Times Best Seller
list?
a. 52
b. 100
c. 150
d. 216

PART 2 WWAR
:
Tracey reported on “Operation Blackbird: A Cold War Spy Novel” by Ellen Butler. Ellen appeared on
episode 19 in August of 2018 on her book “Isabella's Painting.”
October, 1952. The war is over, but for CIA officer Miriam Becker, memories of the horrors she witnessed
remain jagged in her mind. While vacationing in Argentina, recovering from a mission that nearly killed her,
she’s seeing more ghosts from the past than the sights.
When a longtime family friend and fellow operative, Jake Devlin, tracks her down, Miriam is forced to push
everything to the back of her mind for the next mission: help a highly prized and heavily guarded rocket
scientist defect from Soviet-controlled East Berlin—right out from under the KGB’s nose.
Well aware that one wrong move could spark World War III, Miriam, Jake, and the team plan their strategy to
the last detail. But when a betrayal brings everything crashing down, Jake’s quick thinking creates the
diversion to get Miriam out alive—but leaves him trapped behind the Iron Curtain.
Unsure of whom she can trust, Miriam must complete the mission by relying on contacts outside of the
agency, even though her heart longs to return to East Berlin to rescue the man who is the last link to her
troubled past ... before the KGB gets to him first.
Last but not least, Misty reported on Cathy Ace, one of our favorite authros, whose first appearance on the
podcast was on episode 27 for her book “The Corpse With The Silver Tongue.” She has appeared several
times since then.
Misty reported on “The Case of The Cursed Cottage: A WISE Enquiries Agent Mystery.” Henry
Twyst, eighteenth Duke of Chellingworth, is convinced his mother is losing her marbles. The dowager claims
to have seen a corpse on the dining-room floor, but all she has to prove it is a bloodied bobble hat.
A BODY IN THE DINING ROOM. A BEAUTIFUL OLD MANSION. FOUR LADIES WHO WILL SOLVE THE
MYSTERY.
Henry hires the women of the WISE Enquiries Agency. The duke wants the strange matter explained.
But the truth of what happened at the Chellingworth Estate, set in the rolling Welsh countryside near the
quaint village of Anwen by Wye, is more complex, dangerous, and deadly, than anyone could have foreseen .
. .
THE DETECTIVES
The WISE Enquiries Agency consists of Mavis, Annie, Carol and Christine. One is Welsh, one Irish, one
Scottish and one English, hence the name. Drawn together by chance – and a killer – the women of the WISE
Enquiries Agency turned their backs on their previous careers to work together to help others. Combining their
unique skills, and reveling in their differences, they’re doing their best to make the business succeed. But
being private investigators isn’t a bed of roses – there are bills to pay, clients to be managed, and dangers to
be faced. Can they manage to do it all, and survive?
We thank our listeners and especially our patrons who support what we do and look forward to five more
years of fun.
TRIVIA
Last week's question was:
P.D. James began her writing career while she worked where?
a. A school
b. a Law firm
c. a factory
d. a hospital
The answer is d. A hospital. She married Ernest Connor Bantry White (called "Connor"), an army doctor,
on 8 August 1941. They had two daughters, Clare and Jane. White returned from the Second World War
mentally ill and was institutionalised. With her daughters being mostly cared for by Connor's parents,James
studied hospital administration, and from 1949 to 1968 worked for a hospital board in London. She began
writing in the mid-1950s, using her maiden name ("My genes are James genes")
This week's question is:
What is author Laura Lippmans family connection to “The Wire?”
a. her brother
b. Her sister
c. Her cousin
Tune in next week for the answer.

5
th
Podiversary and
WWAR For April
Show Notes
We are celebrating our 5th
“Podiversary” this month and, as a subject, we have decided to return to year
one and revisit some of the authors from our very first year.
Kathy reported on Jana DeLeon who was featured on episode 8 for her book “Louisiana Longshot.”
Kathy found that she has 24 books in the series now and reported on “Flame and Fortune” the 22nd
book
in the series.
It’s New Year’s in Sinful, and the competition for the New Year’s Queen is heating up as the warring churches
go head-to-head. Fortune Redding is not the sequined dress kind of woman, but reluctantly agrees to partake
in the debacle so that Ida Belle and Gertie can best their nemesis, Celia, who’s put up former Sinful mean girl
RJ Rogers.
RJ and her friend Brock Benoit left plenty of devastation in their wake when they fled Sinful after high school.
So when they return and Brock is found dead, there’s no shortage of suspects. Fortune, Ida Belle, and Gertie
know all too well what it’s like to live under suspicion of a crime with no resolution. When good people become
the targets of gossip, they know they have to rush to unravel the tangled lives of RJ and Brock and expose a
killer before the wrong person’s reputation is ruined. Or worse—they’re arrested for a crime they didn’t
commit.
Ann then reported on “A White Hot Plan” by Michael H. Rubin. Mike appeared as our second author
we actually interviewed on episode 9 for his book “The Cottoncrest Curse.” Michael writes his books in
collaboration with his wife Ayan Rubin.
A group of alt-right terrorists decides that now is the time―and New Orleans is the place―to make an
explosive statement that will force the world to acknowledge the superiority of the white supremacist
movement. Disgraced former New Orleans homicide detective Starner Gautreaux is now a poorly paid
sheriff’s deputy relegated to writing his weekly quota of speeding tickets in a sleepy south Louisiana parish.
His mundane life is all-too-predictable until several unusual events cause him to suspect something is
seriously amiss. While the local coroner classifies the resulting deaths as accidental, Starner’s prior
experience leads him to believe that not only are they homicides, but also that they signal something far more
sinister. Taut action bubbles up from the swamps of Louisiana to the hidden haunts of underworld bosses,
from small-town life to urban grit, and from a high-speed highway shootout to a terrifying confrontation in the
heart of the French Quarter. White supremacists seek to impose their will on a city swamped with carefree
tourists, but Starner Gautreaux is determined not to let that happen.
We broke the episode into two parts due to the length and will broadcast part 2 tomorrow.

Jennifer Chow, Rob Osler and Harini Nagendra
Show Notes
On this episode we finish our interviews with nominees for the Agatha Awards which will be
given at Malice Domestic this year.
We first talked with Jennifer Chow who is nominated for her book “Death By Bubble Tea”
(Berkley) for Best Contemporary Novel.
When Yale Yee discovers her cousin Celine is visiting from Hong Kong, she is obliged to play
tour guide to a relative she hasn't seen in twenty years. Not only that, but her father thinks it's a
wonderful idea for them to bond by running a food stall together at the Eastwood Village Night
Market. Yale hasn't cooked in years, and she hardly considers Celine's career as a social media
influencer as adequate experience, but because she's just lost her job at her local bookstore,
she feels she has no choice.
Yale and Celine serve small dishes and refreshing drinks, and while business is slow, it
eventually picks up thanks to Celine's surprisingly useful marketing ideas. They're quite shocked
that their bubble tea, in particular, is a hit--literally--when one of their customers turns up dead.
Yale and Celine are prime suspects due to the gold flakes that Celine added to the sweet drink
as a garnish. Though the two cousins are polar opposites in every way, they must work together
to find out what really happened to the victim or the only thing they'll be serving is time.
We talked then with Rob Osler who is nominated for a Best First Novel for his book “Devil's
Chew Toy” (Level Best).
Seattle teacher and part-time blogger Hayden McCall wakes sporting one hell of a shiner, with
the police knocking at his door. It seems that his new crush, dancer Camilo Rodriguez, has
gone missing and they suspect foul play. What happened the night before? And where is
Camilo?
Determined to find answers, pint-sized, good-hearted Hayden seeks out two of Camilo’s friends
—Hollister and Burley—both lesbians and both fiercely devoted to their friend. From them,
Hayden learns that Camilo is a “Dreamer” whose parents had been deported years earlier, and
whose sister, Daniela, is presumed to have returned to Venezuela with them. Convinced that the
cops won’t take a brown boy’s disappearance seriously, the girls join Hayden’s hunt for Camilo.
The first clues turn up at Barkingham Palace, a pet store where Camilo had taken a part-time
job. The store’s owner, Della Rupert, claims ignorance, but Hayden knows something is up. And
then there’s Camilo’s ex-boyfriend, Ryan, who’s suddenly grown inexplicably wealthy. When
Hayden and Hollister follow Ryan to a secure airport warehouse, they make a shocking
connection between him and Della—and uncover the twisted scheme that’s made both of them
rich.
The trail of clues leads them to the grounds of a magnificent estate on an island in Puget
Sound, where they’ll finally learn the truth about Camilo’s disappearance—and the fate of his
family.
And Finally, we talked with Harini Nagendra who is nominated for a Best First Novel for her book
:The Bangladore Detective's Club” (Constable)
Solving crimes isn't easy.
Add a jealous mother-in-law and having to wear a flowing sari into the mix, and you've got a
problem.
When clever, headstrong Kaveri moves to Bangalore to marry doctor Ramu, she's resigned
herself to a quiet life.
But that all changes the night of the party at the Century Club, where she escapes to the garden
for some peace - and instead spots an uninvited guest in the shadows. Half an hour later, the
party turns into a murder scene.
When a vulnerable woman is connected to the crime, Kaveri becomes determined to save her
and launches a private investigation to find the killer, tracing his steps from an illustrious brothel
to an Englishman's mansion. She soon finds that sleuthing in a sari isn't as hard as it seems
when you have a talent for maths, a head for logic and a doctor for a husband.
And she's going to need them all as the case leads her deeper into a hotbed of danger, sedition
and intrigue in Bangalore's darkest alleyways . . .
We congratulate each and every nominee and wish them all the best of luck with their writing
and in life.
TRIVIA
Last week's question was:
Which author used the following pseudonyms in their career. Deanna Dwyer, K. R. Dwyer,
Aaron Wolfe, David Axton, Brian Coffey, John Hill, Leigh Nichols, Owen West, Richard Paige,
and Anthony North?
a. Dean Koontz
b. James Patterson
c. John LeCarre
d. Michael Connelly
The answer is a. Dean Koontz. Known pseudonyms used by Koontz during his career include
Deanna Dwyer, K. R. Dwyer, Aaron Wolfe, David Axton, Brian Coffey, John Hill, Leigh Nichols,
Owen West, Richard Paige, and Anthony North. As Brian Coffey, he wrote the "Mike Tucker"
trilogy (Blood Risk, Surrounded, Wall of Masks) in acknowledged tribute to the Parker novels of
Richard Stark (Donald E. Westlake). Many of Koontz's pseudonymous novels are now available
under his real name. Many others remain suppressed by Koontz, who bought back the rights to
ensure they could not be republished; he has, on occasion, said that he might revise some for
republication, but only three have appeared — Demon Seed and Invasion were both heavily
rewritten before they were republished, and Prison of Ice had certain sections bowdlerised.
This week's question is:
P.D. James began her writing career while she worked where?
a. A school
b. a Law firm
c. a factory
d. a hospital
Tune in next week for the answer.

Nina Wachsman and Martin Edwards
Show Notes
We talked to two more of the Agatha Nominees for this episode.
First, we talked with Nina Wachsmann who is nominated for a Best First Novel for her book
The Gallery of Beauties (Level Best Books) In the city that invented the concept of the ‘Ghetto,’
it is surprising to learn that the Jews lived separately but not isolated from the culture around
them in the seventeenth century. Rabbis were not only leaders in the Jewish community, but
scholars, mathematicians, statesmen and playwrights who were well known and respected in
Venetian society and throughout Europe. The music, art and innovative foods which filled the
city, filtered into the Ghetto, finding its way into synagogues and homes.
In a salon-like discussion with trustee David Sable, Nina Wachsman will bring to life this unusual
city and its unusually modern Jews, from her research for her novel of historical suspense, The
Gallery of Beauties.
We then talked with Martin Edwards who is nominated for Best Non-Fiction for his book
The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators (Harper Collins)
In the first major history of crime fiction in 50 years, The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of
Mysteries and Their Creators traces the evolution of the genre from the 18th century to the
present, offering brand-new perspective on the world’s most popular form of fiction.
Author Martin Edwards is a multi-award-winning crime novelist, the president of the Detection
Club, archivist of the Crime Writers’ Association and series consultant to the British Library’s
highly successful series of crime classics, and therefore uniquely qualified to write this book. He
has been a widely respected genre commentator for more than 30 years, winning the CWA
Diamond Dagger for making a significant contribution to crime writing in 2020, when he also
compiled and published Howdunit: A Masterclass in Crime Writing by Members of the Detection
Club and the novel Mortmain Hall. His critically acclaimed The Golden Age of Murder (Collins
Crime Club, 2015) was a landmark study of detective fiction between the wars.
The Life of Crime is the result of a lifetime of reading and enjoying all types of crime fiction, old
and new, from around the world. In what will surely be regarded as his magnum opus, Martin
Edwards has thrown himself undaunted into the breadth and complexity of the genre to write an
authoritative—and enjoyable—study of its development and evolution. With crime fiction being
read more widely than ever around the world, and with individual authors increasingly the
subject of extensive academic study, his expert distillation of more than two centuries of
extraordinary books and authors—from the tales of E.T.A. Hoffmann to the novels of Patricia
Cornwell—into one coherent history is an extraordinary feat and makes for a compelling listen.
TRIVIA
Last week's question was:
Author Harlan Coben made a deal with whom in 2016 to adapt 14 of his novels into film?
a. Fox Entertainment
b. Paramout
c. Blue Sky Productions
d. Netflix
The answer is d. Netflix. In August 2018, Coben signed a multi-million-dollar five-year deal with
American company Netflix. Under the deal, 14 of Coben's novels would be developed into
original Netflix series or films, with him serving as executive producer on all projects.[30] The
first title released under the deal was The Stranger, based on his novel of the same name,
which premiered in January 2020.[31] In October 2022, it was announced that Netflix had re-
upped the deal for another four years, with the Myron Bolitar series now also available for
adaptation
This week's question is:
Which author used the following pseudonyms in their career. Deanna Dwyer, K. R. Dwyer,
Aaron Wolfe, David Axton, Brian Coffey, John Hill, Leigh Nichols, Owen West, Richard Paige,
and Anthony North?
a. Dean Koontz
b. James Patterson
c. John LeCarre
d. Michael Connelly
Tune in next week for the answer.

Korina Moss and Fleur Bradley
Show Notes
The first thing we did on this episode is to announce that we have a new patron in Jan H. from
Illinois and we are thrilled. We also had a donation made to our tip jar on our website from Joan
Long. We are very appreciative of both.
Korina Moss is nominated for an Agatha Award for Best First Novel for her book “Cheddar Off
Dead.”
Cheesemonger Willa Bauer is proving that sweet dreams are made of cheese. She’s opened
her very own French-inspired cheese shop, Curds & Whey, in the heart of the Sonoma Valley.
The small town of Yarrow Glen is Willa's fresh start, and she's determined to make it a success
– starting with a visit from the local food critic. What Willa didn’t know is that this guy never gives
a good review, and when he shows up nothing goes according to plan. She doesn’t think the
night can get any worse... until she finds the critic’s dead body, stabbed with one of her shop’s
cheese knives. Now a prime suspect, Willa has always believed life’s problems can be solved
with cheese, but she’s never tried to apply it to murder...
We then talked with Fleur Bradley who is nominated for An Agatha Award for Best Children or
Young Adult Novel for her book “Daybreak on Raven Island.”
Tori, Marvin, and Noah would rather be anywhere else than on the seventh grade class field trip
to Raven Island prison. Tori would rather be on the soccer field, but her bad grades have
benched her until further notice; Marvin would rather be at the first day of a film festival with his
best friend, Kevin; and Noah isn't looking forward to having to make small talk with his
classmates at this new school.
But when the three of them stumble upon a dead body in the woods, miss the last ferry back
home, and then have to spend the night on Raven Island, they find that they need each other
now more than ever. They must work together to uncover a killer, outrun a motley ghost-hunting
crew, and expose the age-old secrets of the island all before daybreak.
We thank both of these ladies and wish them good luck.
TRIVIA
Last Week's question was:
“High Tower Court” building had what influence on author Michael Connelly?
a. He thought it was haunted
b. He featured it in his book
c. He wanted to live there
d. He wanted it renamed
The answer is c. He wanted to live there.
After moving to Los Angeles, Connelly went to see High Tower Court where Raymond
Chandler's character Philip Marlowe had lived (in his 1942 novel The High Window), and Robert
Altman had used for his film The Long Goodbye(1973). Connelly got the manager of the
building to promise to phone him if the apartment ever became available. Ten years later, the
manager tracked Connelly down, and Connelly decided to rent the place. This apartment served
as a place to write for several years
This week's question is:
Author Harlan Coben made a deal with whom in 2016 to adapt 14 of his novels into film?
a. Fox Entertainment
b. Paramout
c. Blue Sky Productions
d. Netflix

Joan Long/M.A. Monin
Show notes
Our first episode dedicated to the nominees for Agatha Awards begins today. Our first nominee
is Joan Long who is nominated for Best First Novel for her book “The Finalist”
The Finalist (Level Best Books) Five authors, each with their own secrets, are chosen to
complete a deceased novelist's unfinished manuscript. For single mom Risa Marr, the
competition is the opportunity of a lifetime. At stake is a million dollars and a contract to continue
the famous novelist's bestselling thriller series.
Transported to the tropical paradise of Key Island, the finalists are cut off from the world and
given seven days to draft their best ending for the book. But when one of them turns up dead,
theories and accusations abound. Accident? Suicide? Or Murder? To what lengths will
competitors go to win? And who, if anyone, will leave the island alive?
We then chatted with M.A. (Mary) Monin who is nominated for Best First Novel for her book
“Death In The Aegean”
Death in the Aegean (An Intrepid Traveler Mystery) Level Best Books. When private banker
Stefanie Adams takes a much-needed vacation to the Greek isles, vowing to embrace
opportunities as they come, instead of finding romance and adventure she is suspected of
murdering a bride who accused her deceased father of artifact theft. Unfortunately, the
newlywed's accusation also ties Stefanie, a former archaeology student, to the robbery of a
newly discovered Minoan statue, the golden Akrotiri Snake Goddess.
With two high-profile crimes to solve, Greek police are under pressure, and both crimes lead
straight to Stefanie. To avoid Greek prison and maintain her career, Stefanie must identify which
of her fellow travelers is the real killer.
Between the light-fingered backpacker with an eye on the bride's jewelry, the travel blogger
whose career the dead woman ruined, a flirtatious German tourist who is after more than
romance, and the long-suffering bridegroom, Stefanie's task won't be easy. Everyone, it seems,
had a motive for wanting to see the last of Emma Keller.
We wish both of these lovely ladies good luck. We will have two more nominees on our podcast
next week so be sure and join us.
TRIVIA
Last week's question was:
Which author worked at a job and had to dress up as a tuxedo wearing yogurt?
a. Elly Griffiths
b. Sue Grafton
c. Louise Penny
d. Gillian Flynn
The answer is d. Gillian Flynn. Flynn attended Bishop Miege High School and graduated in
1989.. As a young woman, she worked odd jobs which required her to do things such as dress
up as a giant "yogurt cone who wore a tuxedo
This week's question is:
“High Tower Court” building had what influence on author Michael Connelly?
a. He thought it was haunted
b. He featured it in his book
c. He wanted to live there
d. He wanted it renamed
Tune in next week for the answer.

WWAR for March 2023
Show Notes
Part 1
The Agatha Awards are coming up at end end of April and our next few episodes will be interviews with
several of the nominees for this year's awards. Therfore, we decided to devote our March WWAR episodes to
books that have been nominated for awards this year.
Joan Long is nominated for an Agatha for Best First Novel for “The Finalist” (Level Best Books)
Five authors, each with their own secrets, are chosen to complete a deceased novelist's unfinished
manuscript. For single mom Risa Marr, the competition is the opportunity of a lifetime. At stake is a million
dollars and a contract to continue the famous novelist's bestselling thriller series.
Transported to the tropical paradise of Key Island, the finalists are cut off from the world and given seven days
to draft their best ending for the book. But when one of them turns up dead, theories and accusations abound.
Accident? Suicide? Or Murder? To what lengths will competitors go to win? And who, if anyone, will leave the
island alive?
Dr. Lucy Worsley is nominated for an Agatha for Best Non-Fiction for her book “Agatha Christie: An
Elusive Woman” (Pegasus Crime)
"Nobody in the world was more inadequate to act the heroine than I was."
Why did Agatha Christie spend her career pretending that she was "just" an ordinary housewife, when clearly
she wasn't? Her life is fascinating for its mysteries and its passions and, as Lucy Worsley says, "She was
thrillingly, scintillatingly modern." She went surfing in Hawaii, she loved fast cars, and she was intrigued by the
new science of psychology, which helped her through devastating mental illness.
So why—despite all the evidence to the contrary—did Agatha present herself as a retiring Edwardian lady of
leisure?
She was born in 1890 into a world that had its own rules about what women could and couldn't do. Lucy
Worsley's biography is not just of a massively, internationally successful writer. It's also the story of a person
who, despite the obstacles of class and gender, became an astonishingly successful working woman.
With access to personal letters and papers that have rarely been seen, Lucy Worsley's biography is both
authoritative and entertaining and makes us realize what an extraordinary pioneer Agatha Christie was—truly
a woman who wrote the twentieth century.
Part 2
Rob Osler is nominated for a Best First Novel for his book “The Devil's Chew Toy” (Crooked Lane Books)
Seattle teacher and part-time blogger Hayden McCall wakes sporting one hell of a shiner, with the police
knocking at his door. It seems that his new crush, dancer Camilo Rodriguez, has gone missing and they
suspect foul play. What happened the night before? And where is Camilo?
Determined to find answers, pint-sized, good-hearted Hayden seeks out two of Camilo’s friends—Hollister
and Burley—both lesbians and both fiercely devoted to their friend. From them, Hayden learns that Camilo is
a “Dreamer” whose parents had been deported years earlier, and whose sister, Daniela, is presumed to have
returned to Venezuela with them. Convinced that the cops won’t take a brown boy’s disappearance seriously,
the girls join Hayden’s hunt for Camilo.
The first clues turn up at Barkingham Palace, a pet store where Camilo had taken a part-time job. The store’s
owner, Della Rupert, claims ignorance, but Hayden knows something is up. And then there’s Camilo’s ex-
boyfriend, Ryan, who’s suddenly grown inexplicably wealthy. When Hayden and Hollister follow Ryan to a
secure airport warehouse, they make a shocking connection between him and Della—and uncover the twisted
scheme that’s made both of them rich.
The trail of clues leads them to the grounds of a magnificent estate on an island in Puget Sound, where they’ll
finally learn the truth about Camilo’s disappearance—and the fate of his family.
Karen Odden is nominated for Best Historical Novel for “Under A Veiled Moon” (Crooked Lane Books)
September 1878. One night, as the pleasure boat The Princess Alice makes her daily trip up the Thames, she
collides with the Bywell Castle, a huge iron-hulled collier. The Princess Alice shears apart, throwing all 600
passengers into the river; only 130 survive. It is the worst maritime disaster London has ever seen, and early
clues point to sabotage by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who believe violence is the path to restoring Irish
Home Rule.
For Scotland Yard Inspector Michael Corravan, born in Ireland and adopted by the Irish Doyle family, the case
presents a challenge. Accused by the Home Office of willfully disregarding the obvious conclusion, and
berated by his Irish friends for bowing to prejudice, Corravan doggedly pursues the truth, knowing that if the
Princess Alice disaster is pinned on the IRB, hopes for Home Rule could be dashed forever.
Corrovan’s dilemma is compounded by Colin, the youngest Doyle, who has joined James McCabe’s Irish
gang. As violence in Whitechapel rises, Corravan strikes a deal with McCabe to get Colin out of harm’s way.
But unbeknownst to Corravan, Colin bears longstanding resentments against his adopted brother and scorns
his help.
As the newspapers link the IRB to further accidents, London threatens to devolve into terror and chaos. With
the help of his young colleague, the loyal Mr. Stiles, and his friend Belinda Gale, Corravan uncovers the
harrowing truth—one that will shake his faith in his countrymen, the law, and himself.
TRIVIA
C.J. Box won what award for his first novel “Open Season?”
a. Anthony
b. Macavity
c. Gumshoe
d. Barry
The answer is All of them For Open Season, Box won the Anthony Award, the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe
Award, and the Barry Award, all in the Best First Novel category.
This week's question is:
Which author worked at a job and had to dress up as a tuxedo wearing yogurt?
a. Elly Griffiths
b. Sue Grafton
c. Louise Penny
d. Gillian Flynn
Tune in next week for the answer

WWAR for March 2023
Show Notes
Part 1
The Agatha Awards are coming up at end end of April and our next few episodes will be interviews with
several of the nominees for this year's awards. Therfore, we decided to devote our March WWAR episodes to
books that have been nominated for awards this year.
Joan Long is nominated for an Agatha for Best First Novel for “The Finalist” (Level Best Books)
Five authors, each with their own secrets, are chosen to complete a deceased novelist's unfinished
manuscript. For single mom Risa Marr, the competition is the opportunity of a lifetime. At stake is a million
dollars and a contract to continue the famous novelist's bestselling thriller series.
Transported to the tropical paradise of Key Island, the finalists are cut off from the world and given seven days
to draft their best ending for the book. But when one of them turns up dead, theories and accusations abound.
Accident? Suicide? Or Murder? To what lengths will competitors go to win? And who, if anyone, will leave the
island alive?
Dr. Lucy Worsley is nominated for an Agatha for Best Non-Fiction for her book “Agatha Christie: An
Elusive Woman” (Pegasus Crime)
"Nobody in the world was more inadequate to act the heroine than I was."
Why did Agatha Christie spend her career pretending that she was "just" an ordinary housewife, when clearly
she wasn't? Her life is fascinating for its mysteries and its passions and, as Lucy Worsley says, "She was
thrillingly, scintillatingly modern." She went surfing in Hawaii, she loved fast cars, and she was intrigued by the
new science of psychology, which helped her through devastating mental illness.
So why—despite all the evidence to the contrary—did Agatha present herself as a retiring Edwardian lady of
leisure?
She was born in 1890 into a world that had its own rules about what women could and couldn't do. Lucy
Worsley's biography is not just of a massively, internationally successful writer. It's also the story of a person
who, despite the obstacles of class and gender, became an astonishingly successful working woman.
With access to personal letters and papers that have rarely been seen, Lucy Worsley's biography is both
authoritative and entertaining and makes us realize what an extraordinary pioneer Agatha Christie was—truly
a woman who wrote the twentieth century.
Part 2
Rob Osler is nominated for a Best First Novel for his book “The Devil's Chew Toy” (Crooked Lane Books)
Seattle teacher and part-time blogger Hayden McCall wakes sporting one hell of a shiner, with the police
knocking at his door. It seems that his new crush, dancer Camilo Rodriguez, has gone missing and they
suspect foul play. What happened the night before? And where is Camilo?
Determined to find answers, pint-sized, good-hearted Hayden seeks out two of Camilo’s friends—Hollister
and Burley—both lesbians and both fiercely devoted to their friend. From them, Hayden learns that Camilo is
a “Dreamer” whose parents had been deported years earlier, and whose sister, Daniela, is presumed to have
returned to Venezuela with them. Convinced that the cops won’t take a brown boy’s disappearance seriously,
the girls join Hayden’s hunt for Camilo.
The first clues turn up at Barkingham Palace, a pet store where Camilo had taken a part-time job. The store’s
owner, Della Rupert, claims ignorance, but Hayden knows something is up. And then there’s Camilo’s ex-
boyfriend, Ryan, who’s suddenly grown inexplicably wealthy. When Hayden and Hollister follow Ryan to a
secure airport warehouse, they make a shocking connection between him and Della—and uncover the twisted
scheme that’s made both of them rich.
The trail of clues leads them to the grounds of a magnificent estate on an island in Puget Sound, where they’ll
finally learn the truth about Camilo’s disappearance—and the fate of his family.
Karen Odden is nominated for Best Historical Novel for “Under A Veiled Moon” (Crooked Lane Books)
September 1878. One night, as the pleasure boat The Princess Alice makes her daily trip up the Thames, she
collides with the Bywell Castle, a huge iron-hulled collier. The Princess Alice shears apart, throwing all 600
passengers into the river; only 130 survive. It is the worst maritime disaster London has ever seen, and early
clues point to sabotage by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who believe violence is the path to restoring Irish
Home Rule.
For Scotland Yard Inspector Michael Corravan, born in Ireland and adopted by the Irish Doyle family, the case
presents a challenge. Accused by the Home Office of willfully disregarding the obvious conclusion, and
berated by his Irish friends for bowing to prejudice, Corravan doggedly pursues the truth, knowing that if the
Princess Alice disaster is pinned on the IRB, hopes for Home Rule could be dashed forever.
Corrovan’s dilemma is compounded by Colin, the youngest Doyle, who has joined James McCabe’s Irish
gang. As violence in Whitechapel rises, Corravan strikes a deal with McCabe to get Colin out of harm’s way.
But unbeknownst to Corravan, Colin bears longstanding resentments against his adopted brother and scorns
his help.
As the newspapers link the IRB to further accidents, London threatens to devolve into terror and chaos. With
the help of his young colleague, the loyal Mr. Stiles, and his friend Belinda Gale, Corravan uncovers the
harrowing truth—one that will shake his faith in his countrymen, the law, and himself.
TRIVIA
C.J. Box won what award for his first novel “Open Season?”
a. Anthony
b. Macavity
c. Gumshoe
d. Barry
The answer is All of them For Open Season, Box won the Anthony Award, the Macavity Award, the Gumshoe
Award, and the Barry Award, all in the Best First Novel category.
This week's question is:
Which author worked at a job and had to dress up as a tuxedo wearing yogurt?
a. Elly Griffiths
b. Sue Grafton
c. Louise Penny
d. Gillian Flynn
Tune in next week for the answer

Mystery at Windswept Farm
by Wendy Sand Eckel
Show Notes
We visited with Wendy Sand Eckel about her book Mystery at Windswept Farm (Level
Best Books).
This is the third book in theRosalie Hart Mystery Series,
Rosalie's hard-earned organic farm certification is threatened by a toxic neighbor who is
about to crop dust his winter wheat. When their impulsive farm hand decides to confront
him, she finds his lifeless body inside the door of his home on Windswept Farm.
In the midst of the mayhem, Rosalie's beloved Day Lily Café hosts a 5-day cooking
school. Marco Giovanelli, a celebrated Italian chef, arrives in Cardigan and a sumptuous
situation ensues. When one of the students falls ill with the same poison that killed the
farmer, Rosalie and her best friend and head waiter, Glenn, take matters, and
homemade pasta dough, into their own hands.
With Mystery at Windswept Farm, Eckel once again brings the fictional town of Cardigan
to life and delights with suspense, humor, and mouth-watering menus.
Degrees in criminology and social work, followed by years of clinical practice, helped
WENDY SAND ECKEL explore her fascination with how relationships impact motivation,
desire, and inhibition. Combined with her passion for words and meaning, writing
mystery is a dream realized.
She is the award-winning author of the Rosalie Hart Mystery Series. Murder at Barclay
Meadow and Death at the Day Lily Café were published by Minotaur Books in 2015 and
2016. Death at the Day Lily Café was selected “Best Cozy of 2016” by Suspense
Magazine. She is an active member of the Mystery Writers of America and the
International Association of Crime Writers.
Eckel lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland in her dream house where she alternately
gazes out her windows at the Chester River and hovers over the stove, creating
succulent, sometimes experimental, meals for family and friends. She lives with the love
of her life and two rescued orange tabbies, Frodo and Sam. Her website is
https://wendysandeckelauthor.com
The episode ran a bit long so Trivia will return next week.

Jennifer Herrera
Show Notes
The Hunter by Jennifer Herrera published by G. P Putnam Sons 1/12/23
After reckless behavior costs NYPD detective Leigh O’Donnell her job and her marriage, she returns with her
four-year-old daughter to her beautiful hometown of Copper Falls, Ohio. Leigh had stayed away for more than
a decade—even though her brother and a trio of loving uncles still call it home—because, while the town may
seem idyllic, something rotten lies at its core. Three men in town have drowned in what Leigh suspects to be
a triple homicide. She hopes that by finding out who killed them, she just might get her life back on course.
Headstrong and intuitive, Leigh isn’t afraid to face a killer, but she has to do more than that to discover the
truth about what happened to those men. She must unravel a web of secrets going back generations, and, in
doing so, plumb the darkness within herself.
Jennifer Herrera is a former philosophy grad student turned literary agent, who is fascinated by the
stories we tell ourselves to live and the lies we cling to that sabotage our chances at a good life. She
has lived in six states and five countries (so far) and now resides in Philadelphia with her husband,
daughter, and cat.
TRIVIA
Last Week's question was:
Which author created the charity “Save the Libraries?”
a. Karin Slaughter
b. Jane Winspear
c. Martha Grimes
d. Robert Ludlum
The answer is a. Karin Slaughter. Slaughter is a library advocate and founded Save the Libraries, a non-profit
organization that campaigns to support US public libraries. The Save the Libraries fund has provided more
than $300,000 to the DeKalb County Public Library in Atlanta, Georgia
This week's question is:
C.J. Box won what award for his first novel “Open Season?”
a. Anthony
b. Macavity
c. Gumshoe
d. Barry
Tune in next week for the answer. Good luck!

Gary Edgington
Show Notes
On today's episode we had a delightful conversation with Gary Edgington, the author of
“Outside The Wire” (not the science fiction film of the same name). It was publsihed by Koehler
Press and was released in August of 2022.
A retired LA counterterrorism cop and a fearless Army doctor risk everything, including their
burgeoning romance, as they battle clandestine Iranian operatives bent on the slaughter of
thousands of innocents and ultimately the destruction of America.
After a yearlong lull, local Iraqi insurgents launch a deadly mortar barrage at the sprawling
Camp Victory Base in Baghdad, Iraq. Rick Sutherland, a retired LAPD lieutenant working as an
embedded counterterrorism advisor, is wounded in the attack, and a local interpreter is killed.
Along with Major Nancy Weaver, his former doctor and now partner, Rick embarks on an off-the-
books investigation that quickly morphs into a race to stop murderous Iranian operatives from
exploding multiple dirty bombs during a critical meeting of US and foreign heads of state.
Working together, Nancy and Rick make a formidable team-but will it be enough?
Gary Edgington is a 30-year law enforcement veteran. Gary is also the son of a law
enforcement officer who was tragically murdered in the line of duty in 1979. This event occurred
while Gary was in the third week of L.A. Sheriff’s Academy training. Gary graduated with his
class and began his career with the Manhattan Beach Police Department. Gary later transferred
to the Beverly Hills Police Department, then the LA Co DA’s office, before being appointed a
Special Agent with the California DOJ-Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement in 1994.
Throughout his career, Gary has held assignments in major narcotics, internal affairs,
intelligence, government corruption, counter-terrorism, and as a firearms and tactics instructor.
As a Ca. DOJ Special Agent, Gary served from 1999 to 2008 as a member of the Los Angeles
FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. After 9/11, Gary was promoted to Task Force Commander and
took command of a multi-agency counter-terrorism task force based in Los Angeles. Gary has
also served in an assignment at the National Counter Terrorism Center in Va. Additionally, he
has received counter-terrorism training from agencies such as the FBI, CIA, US Army, and DIA.
He is currently working on volume two in this series.
His website is https://garyedgingtonauthor.com
TRIVIA:
Last week's question was:
Author Elly Griffiths received inspiration for Her Ruth Galloway serief from?
a. Relatives
b. Neighbors
c. Street names
d. Friends from school
This answer is a. Relatives. The character of Ruth Galloway was inspired by Griffiths' husband,
who gave up a city job to train as an archaeologist. The location is credited to her aunt, "who
lives on the Norfolk coast and filled her niece's head with the myths and legends of that area
This week's question is:
Which author created the charity “Save the Libraries?”
a. Karin Slaughter
b. Jane Winspear
c. Martha Grimes
Tune in next week for the answer. Good luck!

On today's episode, we interviewed author Ann Claire about her book Dead and Gondola
(Bantam Books 11/22). It is the first in her Christie Bookshop Mystery series.
.
Ellie Christie is thrilled to begin a new chapter. She’s recently returned to her tiny Colorado
hometown to run her family’s historic bookshop with her elder sister, Meg, and their beloved cat,
Agatha. Perched in a Swiss-style hamlet accessible by ski gondola and a twisty mountain road,
the Book Chalet is a famed bibliophile destination known for its maze of shelves and relaxing
reading lounge. At least, until trouble blows in with a wintry whiteout. A man is found dead on
the gondola, and a rockslide throws the town into lockdown—no one in, no one out.
The victim was a mysterious stranger who’d visited the bookshop. At the time, his only blunders
had been disrupting a book club and leaving behind a first-edition Agatha Christie novel, written
under a pseudonym. However, once revealed, the man’s identity shocks the town. Motives and
secrets swirl like the snow, but when the police narrow in on the sisters’ close friends, the
Christies have to act.
Although the only Agatha in their family tree is their cat, Ellie and Meg know a lot about
mysteries and realize they must summon their inner Miss Marple to trek through a blizzard of
clues before the killer turns the page to their final chapter.
Ann Claire earned degrees in geography, which took her across the world. Now Claire lives with
her geographer husband in Colorado, where the mountains beckon from their kitchen windows.
When she’s not writing, you can find her hiking, gardening, herding housecats, and enjoying a
good mystery, especially one by Agatha Christie. She is on Instagram @annclaireauthor or on
the Penguin Random House author page. Https://penguinrandomhouse.com/annclaire
TRIVIA:
Last week's question was:
Gregg Hurwitz received the Harvard Undergraduate-Scholar Award for what?
a. Chess
b. Boxing
c. Pole vault
d. Croquet
The answer is c. Pole Vault. He was the undergraduate scholar-athlete of the year at Harvard
for pole vaulting and played college soccer in England, where he was a Knox Fellow.[4]
This week's question is:
Author Elly Griffiths received inspiration for Her Ruth Galloway serief from?
a. Relatives
b. Neighbors
c. Street names
d. Friends from school
Good luck!

On this episode, we had a lively interview with Gregg Hurwitz, the author of The Last Orphan,
#8 in the Orphan X series by Gregg Hurwitz (Minotaur Books 2/14.23
Evan Smoak returns in The Last Orphan, the latest New York Times bestselling Orphan X
thriller--when everything changes and everything is at risk.
As a child, Evan Smoak was plucked out of a group home, raised and trained as an off-the-
books assassin for the government as part of the Orphan program. When he broke with the
program and went deep underground, he left with a lot of secrets in his head that the
government would do anything to make sure never got out.
When he remade himself as The Nowhere Man, dedicated to helping the most desperate in
their times of trouble, Evan found himself slowly back on the government's radar. Having
eliminated most of the Orphans in the program, the government will stop at nothing to eliminate
the threat they see in Evan. But Orphan X has always been several steps ahead of his
pursuers.
Until he makes one little mistake...
Now the President has him in her control and offers Evan a deal - eliminate a rich, powerful man
she says is too dangerous to live and, in turn, she'll let Evan survive. But when Evan left the
Program he swore to only use his skills against those who really deserve it. Now he has to
decide what's more important - his principles or his life.
TRIVIA
Last Week's Question Was:
Where did Dorothy L. Sayers get the names for her characters in “The Nine Tailors”
a. graves in the cemetery
b. the neighbors
c. school friends
d. the baptism role in church
She grew up in the tiny village of Bluntisham in Huntingdonshire after her father was given the
living there as rector of Bluntisham-cum-Earith. The church graveyard next to the elegant
Regency-style rectory features the surnames of several characters from her mystery The Nine
Tailors.
This week's question is:
Gregg Hurwitz received the Harvard Undergraduate-Scholar Award for what?
a. Chess
b. Boxing
c. Pole vault
d. Croquet

Desmond Ryan
Show Notes
For almost thirty years, Desmond P. Ryan began every day of his working life with either a victim
waiting in a hospital emergency room, or a call to a street corner or a blood-soaked room where
someone had been left for dead. Murder, assaults on a level that defied humanity, sexual
violations intended to demean, shame, and haunt the individuals who were no more than
objects to the offenders: all in a day's work.
It was exhilarating, exhausting, and often heartbreaking.
As a Detective with the Toronto Police Service, Desmond P. Ryan wrote thousands of reports
detailing the people, places, and events that led up to the moment he came along. He
investigated the crimes and wrote synopses for guilty pleas detailing the circumstances that
brought the accused individuals before the Courts. He also wrote a number of files to have
individuals deemed either Not Criminally Responsible due to mental incapacity, or Dangerous
Offenders to be held in custody indefinitely.
Now, as a retired investigator with three decades of research opportunities under his belt,
Desmond P. Ryan writes crime fiction.
Real Detective. Real Crime. Fiction.
One of the reader favorite in the Mike O'Shea series was his mother, Mary Margaret O'Shea.
She is a very tiny Irish woman with a BIG presence. Now Desmond has given Mary Margaret
her very own series in the Mary Margaret O'Shea Cozy Series which will debut later this year.
Desmond contacted us back in our first year and quickly became a favorite. We are very happy
to catch up with him again.
His website is https://realdesmondryan.com
TRIVIA
Last week's question was:
What did Anthony Horowitz receive from his mother for his 13th
birthday?
a. a card
b. a skull
c. a car
d. a telephone call
Horowitz's mother introduced him to Frankenstein and Dracula. She also gave him a human
skull for his 13th birthday. Horowitz said in an interview that it reminds him to get to the end of
each story since he will soon look like the skull.
This week's question is:
Where did Dorothy L. Sayers get the names for her characters in “The Nine Tailors”
a. Graves in the cemetery
b. The neighbors
c. School friends
d. From the church baptism roles
Tune in next week for the answer.

WWAR February
Show Notes
Part 1
In honor of Black History Month, we are featuring four books by Black authors.
Tracey reported on Blacktop Wasteland by SA Crosby (Flatiron Books) A husband, a father, a
son, a business owner...And the best getaway driver east of the Mississippi.
Beauregard “Bug” Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband, and a hard-working dad.
Bug knows there’s no future in the man he used to be: known from the hills of North Carolina to
the beaches of Florida as the best wheelman on the East Coast.
He thought he'd left all that behind him, but as his carefully built new life begins to crumble, he
finds himself drawn inexorably back into a world of blood and bullets. When a smooth-talking
former associate comes calling with a can't-miss jewelry store heist, Bug feels he has no choice
but to get back in the driver's seat. And Bug is at his best where the scent of gasoline mixes with
the smell of fear.
Haunted by the ghost of who he used to be and the father who disappeared when he needed
him most, Bug must find a way to navigate this blacktop wasteland...or die trying.
S. A. Cosby (Shawn Cosby) is a "Southern noir" crime fiction writer. He resides in Gloucester,
Virginia, on the Chesapeake Bay. Cosby has published three crime novels: A fourth novel, All
the Sinners Bleed, is expected to release in June 2023, in hardback form, and published, like its
two successors, by Flatiron Books, an imprint of Macmillan
He is on Twitter as @blacklionking73
Kathy reported on A Killer Sundae by Abby Collette (Berkeley Books 1/22) This is #3 in the Ice
Cream Parlor Mysteries. Ice cream shop owner Bronwyn Crewse is in for two scoops of murder
in this charming mystery from Abby Collette.
Chagrin Falls, Ohio, is gorgeous in the fall, and Bronwyn Crewse, owner of Crewse Creamery,
knows just how to welcome the new season. At the annual Harvest Time Festival, residents will
get a chance to enjoy hot-air balloons and hayrides, crown a new Harvest Time Festival Queen,
and eat delicious frozen treats sold at Win’s freshly purchased ice cream truck. But she gets into
a sprinkle of trouble when a festivalgoer is poisoned and Win is implicated.
Although the victim was a former Harvest Time Festival Queen, her once-sunny disposition had
dimmed into bitterness, leaving no shortage of suspects at the festival. To clear her name before
the chill of winter sets in, Win will have to investigate and hope that her detective skills won’t
“dessert” her.
bestselling author Abby Collette loves a good mystery. She was born and raised in Cleveland,
and it’s a mystery even to her why she hasn’t yet moved to a warmer place. As Abby Collette,
she is the author of the Ice Cream Parlor mystery series, about a millennial MBA-holding
granddaughter running a family-owned ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and the
upcoming Books & Biscuits mystery series, starring a set of fraternal twins who reunite and
open a bookstore and soul food café. Writing as Abby L. Vandiver, she is the author of the
Logan Dickerson Mysteries, featuring a second-generation archaeologist and a nonagenarian,
as well as the Romaine Wilder Mysteries, pairing an East Texas medical examiner and her
feisty, funeral-home-owning auntie as sleuths. Abby spends her time writing, facilitating writing
workshops at local libraries and hanging out with her grandchildren, each of whom are her
favorite. Her website is https://abbycollette.com
Tune in tomorrow for part 2 where we discuss “One Part Sugar, One Part Mueder” by Valerie
Burns and “A Killing Rain” by Faye Snowden.
Part 2
Misty reported on Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns (Kensington 6/22) In a
brand-new culinary cozy series with a fresh edge and a delightful small-town setting, the
acclaimed author introduces Maddy Montgomery, a social media expert who’s #StartingOver in
small town Michigan after inheriting her great-aunt’s bakery...and a 200-pound English Mastiff
named Baby.
When Maddy Montgomery’s groom is a no-show to their livestream wedding, it’s a disaster that
no amount of filtering can fix. But a surprise inheritance offers a chance to regroup and rebrand
—as long as Maddy is willing to live in her late, great-aunt Octavia’s house in New Bison,
Michigan, for a year, running her bakery and caring for a 250-pound English mastiff named
Baby.
Maddy doesn’t bake, and her Louboutins aren’t made for walking giant dogs around Lake
Michigan, but the locals are friendly and the scenery is beautiful. With help from her aunt’s loyal
friends, aka the Baker Street Irregulars, Maddy feels ready to tackle any challenge, including
Octavia’s award-winning cake recipes. That is, until New Bison’s mayor is fatally stabbed, and
Maddy’s fingerprints are found on the knife . . .
Something strange is going on in New Bison. It seems Aunt Octavia had her suspicions, too.
But Maddy’s going to need a whole lot more than a trending hashtag to save her reputation—
and her life.
Valerie (V. M.) Burns was born and raised in the Midwestern United States. She currently
resides in the warmer region of the country with her two poodles, Kenzie and Chloe. Valerie is a
member of Mystery Writers of America, Dog Writers of America, Crime Writers of Color,
International Thriller Writers, and Sisters in Crime. Valerie is also a mentor in the Writing
Popular Fiction MFA program at Seton Hill University. As V.M. Burns, she writes the Next
Generation Indie Finalist, RJ Franklin Mysteries, Dog Club Mysteries, and Agatha award-
nominated, Mystery Bookshop Mysteries. She is also an Edgar award-nominated short story
author.
Finally, Ann reported on A Killing Rain by Faye Snowdon (Flame Tree Press 2/22) Dark,
Southern gothic tale of homicide detective Raven Burns, with a complicated past and a
desperate case to solve. Black Girls Lit recommends the first book, A Killing Fire "to crime fiction
and mystery lovers and fans of Ruth Ware and Gillian Flynn.”
After former homicide Raven Burns returns to Byrd’s Landing, Louisiana to begin a new life, she
soon finds herself trapped by the old one when her nephew is kidnapped by a ruthless serial
killer, and her foster brother becomes the main suspect. To make matters worse, she is being
pursued by two men— one who wants to redeem her soul for the murder Raven felt she had no
choice but to commit, and another who wants to lock her away forever.
Faye Snowden is the author of three published mysteries with Kensington— Spiral of Guilt
(1999), The Savior (2003, 2004) and Fatal Justice (2005, 2006). She has published short stories
and poems in various literary journals and small presses including The African American
Review, Calliope, Red Ochre Lit, Bay Area Poets Coalition and Occam’s Razor.
Although born in San Fernando, California, she was uprooted while young to a place where
supposedly people had swamps in their backyards and alligators for pets. She didn’t have any
pet alligators in Shreveport, Louisiana, but an amazing, resourceful single mother raised the
family of six in a shotgun house. And she had a cat named Blue.

WWAR February
Show Notes
Part 1
In honor of Black History Month, we are featuring four books by Black authors.
Tracey reported on Blacktop Wasteland by SA Crosby (Flatiron Books) A husband, a father, a
son, a business owner...And the best getaway driver east of the Mississippi.
Beauregard “Bug” Montage is an honest mechanic, a loving husband, and a hard-working dad.
Bug knows there’s no future in the man he used to be: known from the hills of North Carolina to
the beaches of Florida as the best wheelman on the East Coast.
He thought he'd left all that behind him, but as his carefully built new life begins to crumble, he
finds himself drawn inexorably back into a world of blood and bullets. When a smooth-talking
former associate comes calling with a can't-miss jewelry store heist, Bug feels he has no choice
but to get back in the driver's seat. And Bug is at his best where the scent of gasoline mixes with
the smell of fear.
Haunted by the ghost of who he used to be and the father who disappeared when he needed
him most, Bug must find a way to navigate this blacktop wasteland...or die trying.
S. A. Cosby (Shawn Cosby) is a "Southern noir" crime fiction writer. He resides in Gloucester,
Virginia, on the Chesapeake Bay. Cosby has published three crime novels: A fourth novel, All
the Sinners Bleed, is expected to release in June 2023, in hardback form, and published, like its
two successors, by Flatiron Books, an imprint of Macmillan
He is on Twitter as @blacklionking73
Kathy reported on A Killer Sundae by Abby Collette (Berkeley Books 1/22) This is #3 in the Ice
Cream Parlor Mysteries. Ice cream shop owner Bronwyn Crewse is in for two scoops of murder
in this charming mystery from Abby Collette.
Chagrin Falls, Ohio, is gorgeous in the fall, and Bronwyn Crewse, owner of Crewse Creamery,
knows just how to welcome the new season. At the annual Harvest Time Festival, residents will
get a chance to enjoy hot-air balloons and hayrides, crown a new Harvest Time Festival Queen,
and eat delicious frozen treats sold at Win’s freshly purchased ice cream truck. But she gets into
a sprinkle of trouble when a festivalgoer is poisoned and Win is implicated.
Although the victim was a former Harvest Time Festival Queen, her once-sunny disposition had
dimmed into bitterness, leaving no shortage of suspects at the festival. To clear her name before
the chill of winter sets in, Win will have to investigate and hope that her detective skills won’t
“dessert” her.
bestselling author Abby Collette loves a good mystery. She was born and raised in Cleveland,
and it’s a mystery even to her why she hasn’t yet moved to a warmer place. As Abby Collette,
she is the author of the Ice Cream Parlor mystery series, about a millennial MBA-holding
granddaughter running a family-owned ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and the
upcoming Books & Biscuits mystery series, starring a set of fraternal twins who reunite and
open a bookstore and soul food café. Writing as Abby L. Vandiver, she is the author of the
Logan Dickerson Mysteries, featuring a second-generation archaeologist and a nonagenarian,
as well as the Romaine Wilder Mysteries, pairing an East Texas medical examiner and her
feisty, funeral-home-owning auntie as sleuths. Abby spends her time writing, facilitating writing
workshops at local libraries and hanging out with her grandchildren, each of whom are her
favorite. Her website is https://abbycollette.com
Tune in tomorrow for part 2 where we discuss “One Part Sugar, One Part Mueder” by Valerie
Burns and “A Killing Rain” by Faye Snowden.
Part 2
Misty reported on Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns (Kensington 6/22) In a
brand-new culinary cozy series with a fresh edge and a delightful small-town setting, the
acclaimed author introduces Maddy Montgomery, a social media expert who’s #StartingOver in
small town Michigan after inheriting her great-aunt’s bakery...and a 200-pound English Mastiff
named Baby.
When Maddy Montgomery’s groom is a no-show to their livestream wedding, it’s a disaster that
no amount of filtering can fix. But a surprise inheritance offers a chance to regroup and rebrand
—as long as Maddy is willing to live in her late, great-aunt Octavia’s house in New Bison,
Michigan, for a year, running her bakery and caring for a 250-pound English mastiff named
Baby.
Maddy doesn’t bake, and her Louboutins aren’t made for walking giant dogs around Lake
Michigan, but the locals are friendly and the scenery is beautiful. With help from her aunt’s loyal
friends, aka the Baker Street Irregulars, Maddy feels ready to tackle any challenge, including
Octavia’s award-winning cake recipes. That is, until New Bison’s mayor is fatally stabbed, and
Maddy’s fingerprints are found on the knife . . .
Something strange is going on in New Bison. It seems Aunt Octavia had her suspicions, too.
But Maddy’s going to need a whole lot more than a trending hashtag to save her reputation—
and her life.
Valerie (V. M.) Burns was born and raised in the Midwestern United States. She currently
resides in the warmer region of the country with her two poodles, Kenzie and Chloe. Valerie is a
member of Mystery Writers of America, Dog Writers of America, Crime Writers of Color,
International Thriller Writers, and Sisters in Crime. Valerie is also a mentor in the Writing
Popular Fiction MFA program at Seton Hill University. As V.M. Burns, she writes the Next
Generation Indie Finalist, RJ Franklin Mysteries, Dog Club Mysteries, and Agatha award-
nominated, Mystery Bookshop Mysteries. She is also an Edgar award-nominated short story
author.
Finally, Ann reported on A Killing Rain by Faye Snowdon (Flame Tree Press 2/22) Dark,
Southern gothic tale of homicide detective Raven Burns, with a complicated past and a
desperate case to solve. Black Girls Lit recommends the first book, A Killing Fire "to crime fiction
and mystery lovers and fans of Ruth Ware and Gillian Flynn.”
After former homicide Raven Burns returns to Byrd’s Landing, Louisiana to begin a new life, she
soon finds herself trapped by the old one when her nephew is kidnapped by a ruthless serial
killer, and her foster brother becomes the main suspect. To make matters worse, she is being
pursued by two men— one who wants to redeem her soul for the murder Raven felt she had no
choice but to commit, and another who wants to lock her away forever.
Faye Snowden is the author of three published mysteries with Kensington— Spiral of Guilt
(1999), The Savior (2003, 2004) and Fatal Justice (2005, 2006). She has published short stories
and poems in various literary journals and small presses including The African American
Review, Calliope, Red Ochre Lit, Bay Area Poets Coalition and Occam’s Razor.
Although born in San Fernando, California, she was uprooted while young to a place where
supposedly people had swamps in their backyards and alligators for pets. She didn’t have any
pet alligators in Shreveport, Louisiana, but an amazing, resourceful single mother raised the
family of six in a shotgun house. And she had a cat named Blue. Her website is
https://fayesnowden.com

Dark and Stormy Takes On The Movies
Show Notes
On this episode of Dark and Stormy Book Club, we talked about a few of the new movies that
we have enjoyed over the past few weeks. Each of these movies is currently available on
Netflix.
Misty reported on The Glass Onion, A Knives Out Mystery by Rian Johnson starring Daniel
Craig, Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, and a host of quirky characters. Benoit Blanc returns to
peel back the layers in a new Rian Johnson whodunit. This fresh adventure finds the intrepid
detective at a lavish private estate on a Greek island, but how and why he comes to be there is
only the first of many puzzles. Blanc soon meets a distinctly disparate group of friends gathering
at the invitation of billionaire Miles Bron for their yearly reunion. Among those on the guest list
are Miles' former business partner Andi Brand, current Connecticut governor Claire Debella,
cutting-edge scientist Lionel Toussaint, fashion designer and former model Birdie Jay and her
conscientious assistant Peg, and influencer Duke Cody and his sidekick girlfriend Whiskey. As
in all the best murder mysteries, each character harbors their own secrets, lies and motivations.
When someone turns up dead, everyone is a suspect.
Tracey reported on A Pale Blue Eye by Scott Cooper starring Christian Bale, Henry Melling,
Gillian Anderson, Lucy Boynton, Robert Duvall. West Point, 1830. In the early hours of a gray
winter morning, a cadet is found dead. But after the body arrives at the morgue, tragedy
becomes savagery when it's discovered that the young man's heart has been skillfully removed.
Fearing irreparable damage to the fledgling military academy, its leaders turn to a local
detective, Augustus Landor (Christian Bale), to solve the murder. Stymied by the cadets' code of
silence, Landor enlists the help of one of their own to pursue the case, an eccentric cadet with a
disdain for the rigors of the military and a penchant for poetry -- a young man named Edgar
Allan Poe (Harry Melling). This book is taken from the book of the same name written by Louis
Bayard.
Finally, Ann reported on Enola Holmes II By Harry Bradbeer starring Millie Bobbie Brown,
Helena Bonham Carter, and Henry Cavill. Fresh off the triumph of solving her first case, Enola
Holmes (Millie Bobby Brown) follows in the footsteps of her famous brother, Sherlock (Henry
Cavill), and opens her own agency -- only to find that life as a female detective-for-hire isn't as
easy as it seems. Resigned to accepting the cold realities of adulthood, she is about to close
shop when a penniless matchstick girl offers Enola her first official job: to find her missing sister.
But this case proves to be far more puzzling than expected, as Enola is thrown into a dangerous
new world -- from London's sinister factories and colorful music halls, to the highest echelons of
society and 221B Baker Street itself. As the sparks of a deadly conspiracy ignite, Enola must
call upon the help of friends -- and Sherlock himself -- to unravel her mystery. The game, it
seems, has found its feet again! Be sure and check out the Enola Holmes book series by Nancy
Springer.
TRIVIA
Last week's question was:
How long did it take Mickey Spillane to write his first mystery novel?
a. 3 years
b. a month
c. 9 day
d. 3 weeks
Mickey and his wife wanted to buy a country house in the town of Newburgh, New York, 60
miles north of New York City, so Spillane decided to boost his bank account by writing a novel.
He wrote I, the Jury in just 9 days.
This week's question is:
In the Sue Grafton Kinsey Milhone mystery series, what California town is the town of Santa
Teresa based on?
a. Santa Rosa
b. Malibu
c. San Diego
d. Santa Barbara

Claire Douglas
Show Notes
On today's episode we visit with Claire Douglas, the author of The Girls Who Disappeared
Harper Collins (1/2023)
A car accident.
Three missing girls.
A twenty-year mystery.
A woman on the verge of discovering the truth . . .
In a rural Wilshire town lies the Devil’s Corridor—a haunted road which has witnessed eerie
happenings, from unexplained deaths to the sounds of a child crying in the night.
In this bucolic stretch of Southwest England famous for its otherworldly sites, nothing is more
puzzling than the Olivia Rutherford case. Four girls were driving home. After their car crashed
only one—Olivia—was found.
What happened to the girls who disappeared? On the twentieth anniversary of the tragedy,
journalist Jenna Halliday has arrived in Wiltshire to cover the case. The locals aren’t happy with
this outsider determined to dig into the past. Least of all Olivia.
Soon, Jenna starts receiving menacing notes. The locals have made it clear she’s not welcome.
But someone is going to make her leave one way or another. Jenna’s been warned: she must
get out of this town before she suffers a dark fate . . . and becomes another mystery attached to
this place.
Claire Douglas has worked as a journalist for fifteen years writing features for women's
magazines and national newspapers, but she's dreamed of being a novelist since the age of
seven. She finally got her wish after winning the Marie Claire Debut Novel Award, with her first
novel, THE SISTERS. She lives in Bath with her husband and two children. You can find Claire
on the Harper Collins author's page.
TRIVIA
Last week's question was:
Which mystery author is famously quoted as saying :If it sounds like writing, then I rewrite it.”
a. Elmore Leonard
b. Dan Brown
c. Clive Cussler
d. F. Scott Fitzgerald
The answer is a. Elmore Leonard. Commended by critics for his gritty realism and strong
dialogue, Leonard sometimes took liberties with grammar in the interest of speeding the story
along. In his essay "Elmore Leonard's Ten Rules of Writing" he said: "My most important rule is
one that sums up the 10: If it sounds like writing, I rewrite it." He also hinted: "I try to leave out
the parts that readers tend to skip
This week's question is:
How long did it take Mickey Spillane to write his first mystery novel?
a. 3 years
b. a month
c. 9 days
d. 3 weeks