SUMMER OF MYSTERY – Midnight Snacks are Murder

AdminAugust 1, 2018Post a Comment

Welcome to the “Summer of Mystery Reads” happening July 9th to August 17, 2018, at THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF!

DISCLAIMER: This content has been provided to THE PULP AND MYSTERY SHELF arranged by Great Escapes Book Tours. No compensation was received. This information required by the Federal Trade Commission.

Midnight Snacks are Murder (A Poppy McAllister Mystery)
by Libby Klein

About the Book

Midnight Snacks are Murder (A Poppy McAllister Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Kensington (July 31, 2018)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1496713056
Digital ASIN: B0776HFC8V

When her sleepwalking aunt is accused of committing murder, Poppy McAllister finds out there’s no rest for the weary . . .
Between trying to get her gluten-free baking business off the ground and helping her aunt remodel her old Victorian into the Butterfly House Bed and Breakfast in Cape May, New Jersey, Poppy is ready to call, “Mayday!” And now Aunt Ginny—who’s a handful wide-awake—is sleepwalking on her new sleeping pill prescription and helping herself to neighbors’ snacks and knickknacks.
Even more alarming, a local humanitarian who worked with troubled teens is found murdered, and the police suspect the “Snack Bandit.” Other than a bad case of midnight munchies and some mild knickknack kleptomania, Aunt Ginny is harmless. Someone’s trying to frame her. Poppy will need to work tirelessly to uncover the killer and put the case to rest—before Aunt Ginny has to trade in her B & B for a bunk bed behind bars . . .
Includes Seven Recipes from Poppy’s Kitchen!

Guest Post by the Author –

“My Love for Cozies”

My parents used my love for books as leverage to keep me from getting out of bed at night. I could stay up as late as I wanted as long as I was in bed reading. They had no idea what they were getting into. I’d be up till two, three in the morning pouring through library books of Fairy Tales, and short stories. One of the first genres I fell in love with were cookbooks. I read and reread and memorized The Old Witch and the Polka Dot Ribbon.

The Old Witch enters a cake baking contest and wins with her recipe for Magic Nut Cake. And the book included the recipe which I still have not made, but I used to dream about making it one day.

Then there was Cranberry Christmas and the mystery over who owns the prized skating pond. Complete with the recipe for Cranberry Cookies on the back.

But my favorite, that I’ve read easily a hundred times, was the Peanuts Lunch Bag Cookbook. I remember making some of these recipes. Like “Schroeder’s Harmonious Ham Sandwiches” and “Determined Deviled Eggs.” Ooooh Fancy. But what I loved most about the Peanuts were the comic strips. The silliness that Snoopy would get into. My little child sense of humor knew that Snoopy was hilarious.

I’ve always loved anything funny. Paddington Bear was especially a favorite. He was so naughty, and sticky and always getting himself into trouble. He’d start the day with marmalade on toast, which sounded very exotic when I was seven, and would somehow end up flooding the house. He was pretty clueless about how it all happened and at that age I felt we were kindred spirits in that regard.

Then I was introduced to that gateway mystery for most cozy readers, Nancy Drew. I became a die-hard mystery lover from the first pages of “The Secret Of The Old Clock.” Nancy was beautiful, smart, popular and very clever. She was like Detective Barbie and she had it going on. I wanted to be Nancy Drew and I used to fall asleep imagining myself solving mysteries with my boyfriend, George.

Much later in life, I discovered romance novels. I’m a sucker for a good meet-cute, be it on a pirate ship, a London debutante ball, or a freaky time travel fountain. I love falling in love, and I’ve cried real tears over saying goodbye when the book is finished. The first time I read Jude Deveraux’s The Duchess, I turned the last page, closed the book, flipped it over, and started it again. I was up all night. See what my parents did to me?

Cozies have all the pieces I love the most about reading. A little romance, a little humor, a clever protagonist solving a mystery, and all with a recipe for cupcakes. I realize now that when I set out to write my first book, I unknowingly combined all my favorite elements from the books I loved growing up.

Poppy is smart, and witty, and clever. Like Nancy, she doesn’t set out looking for mysteries, they find her. She can’t help but get involved because her heart is so big she just wants to help people. Aunt Ginny and Figaro are perpetually naughty. They get themselves into all kinds of trouble with their antics and act very innocent and surprised when they’re caught. Tim and Gia are the sexy leading men who are both trying to win Poppy’s heart. And of course, I had to have recipes. Poppy bakes up delicious gluten free goodies for the local coffee shop and her bed and breakfast.

I guess I owe a debt of gratitude to the thousands of writers who influenced my sense of humor and fostered my love of reading and storytelling. And to my parent’s sneaky scheme for keeping me out of their hair at night. See, you wanted two hours of peace and quiet and now I’m writing about you in a book. Didn’t see that coming, did you?

About the Author

Libby Klein dabbles in the position of Vice President of a technology company which mostly involves bossing other people around, making spreadsheets, and taking out the trash. She writes culinary cozy mysteries from her Northern Virginia office while trying to keep her cat Figaro off her keyboard.

Author Links

Website – https://libbykleinbooks.com/

Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/libbykleinbooks/

Twitter – https://twitter.com/LibbyKleinBooks

Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/libbykleinbooks/

Purchase Links

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TOUR PARTICIPANTS

July 31 – StoreyBook Reviews – REVIEW

July 31 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT

August 1 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – GUEST POST