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French Cruises Can Kill You Blitz

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French Cruises Can Kill You

The Hassle High Mystery Series, Book 3

 

Cozy Mystery

Date Published: 11-14-2020

 

 

Cozy Mystery with Death Romance and twists on a French Cruise with the
Hassle High group. Complete with occult, kidnapping and French
Recipes.

 

About the Author

Constance Meccarello-Gerson

Constance Meccarello-Gerson was born in Poughkeepsie N.Y.  She is a
graduate of Florida Southern College with a BA in Acting. She also attended
the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. HB Studio, Actors Studio, in
NYC.  She is a member of SAG, Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Si Omega. Her
MFA in Acting is from Brooklyn College.  She has appeared on TV, film,
and on stage in NYC. For 20 years she taught as a mentor and teacher of
English and Theatre arts for the New York City Department of Education and
for the University at Santa Cruz. She also taught for ten years as a Speech
Coordinator at Touro College. She was an executive at Bloomingdales. Her
writing as appeared in Musings, also in the Best American Poets
series.  Murder at Hassle High is her first  cozy mystery.
Summertime Murder at Hassle High is her second and  French Cruises Can
Kill You  is the third.  She wrote Armera a sci fi mystery and her
Snowball the Sherlock Rabbit series, a group of children books.
Currently she lives in NYC with her husband Alain, a parrot named Benji, and
lots of fish. She is currently writing Death In a Dorm, another cozy in the
Hassle High series.

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The Hassle High Mystery Series, Book 3

 

Cozy Mystery

Date Published: 11-14-2020

 

 

Cozy Mystery with Death Romance and twists on a French Cruise with the
Hassle High group. Complete with occult, kidnapping and French
Recipes.

 

Excerpt

Chapter One Lyon

          Frankly, I couldn’t
believe we were on our way to the ship in Lyon  for the Tomato River
Cruise. I ‘m Maria Bruno Cohen, Principal at Hassle High  School
in Queens New York. My students, the Nut Squad, had won a cruise for their
presentation of the Hamlet the Musical at the school. They have been invited
on a free cruise through France in exchange for their performances on board
the ship. The owner of Tomato Cruises also gave a free trip to me and my
husband Al. The plane trip had been exciting as I tried to keep a lot of
liquor out of the Nut Squad’s hands , not an easy thing to do, since
quite a few of them were legal age in France.

     “No drinking of liquor on this plane. No
student drinking. “ I announced clearly as we boarded.  The Nut
Squad groaned.

     They were  called the Nut Squad because they
were artistic and did crazy things. But a principal can do nothing but try
to keep them away from the booze! We  all got to Paris tired and sober.
At least Al and I were  tired and sober.

     We piled into the cars sent for us by Tomato
Cruise lines and arrived at our hotel near the Opera House.   The
drive into Paris from the airport was wonderful. One could see the Eiffel
Tower and the skyline of Paris in the distance as one got closer and closer.

          All the students,
fourteen of them,  had teachers’ rooms near their rooms, to keep
an eye on them. Though personally I wasn’t so sure about the teachers!
Maybe a few of them needed looking after too. From the faculty was
Fred Kelley tall, thin, dark,  a professed warlock, with an edge of
something slightly evil about him,  with his basic black outfits and
maybe some witchcraft items in his suitcases. He had been raised in a coven.
He also had no taste in women. His last fiancée turned out to be a
murderer.  I knew him from summer school. I was keeping an eye on him.
I didn’t trust Kelley. Mr. Kane, the superintendent insisted I take
Kelley on this trip, “to help him get over his bad experience with his
ex-fiancé and summer school.”  Kane really liked Kelley. I
think it was because Kelley had been a media attraction with his weird
warlock ideas.

          Megan Murphy,
short, cubby grey hair cut short, Megan, was the Math Assistant Principal,
not brilliant but sweet I knew from experience the students could run rings
around her. Then we had three new teachers sent by the superintendent to
join my school when we got back in September.  Superintendent
Kane insisted I take them with me to France. This was because new teachers
were cheaper than older ones.

          “Great experience
for the new faculty. Gives them a chance to meet you and the students in a
natural setting.” He rasped this at me on the phone as I was
packing.

     “Yes sir!” I replied.

          What was I supposed to
do, he’s my Boss!  So, I had Ms. Vanna Hayes,  science
teacher, a slim, twentyish something black teacher who really looked like
Nefertiti.  This was her first teaching job.  She was lovely to
look at, all the Nut Squad boys were staring at her  all the time. I
hoped that is all they did to her on this trip.

          Then I had Mr. Ben
Franklin, yeah, that’s really his name. He was, of all things, from
Japan. He was an exchange teacher. The superintendent had promised me he was
an excellent math teacher. Megan had promised me to check that out. Though
Megan as a math chair was not really noted for her math skills. We would
just have to wait and see. He was very quiet and very short. I hoped he
liked kids.

          Next was Ms. Desiree
Cavalier , she was the new French teacher. About twenty-five , with a nice
figure and long blonde hair. She was born in Normandy. Her French was very
good.

          Jeff on the Nut Squad
told me. “Hey, Teach, I mean Princey, our French is like okay
too!” I nodded. I couldn’t wait to hear it. The thought of
hearing it kept me up nights. Anyway, I was glad to have Ms.
Desiree.  There was one  more  teacher the superintendent had
included for me.

          Mr. Tim Leary, yeah, I
know, but it is his real name, I checked his passport even. He was
thirty  with long hair pulled back in a ponytail, and six foot four at
least. He was as tall as Kelley.  He was going to be my new social
studies chairperson.

     “He has been teaching five years at Townsend
Harris High School and is a wonderful teacher. He just got an Assistant
Principal  License.  He’ll be great at Hassle High.”
The superintendent announced in an email to me on my last day at home.

          Well, here we all
were.  We’d spent one night in Paris. Al  my husband, and I
had gone to bed early. We had a short dinner with his French  cousins
in a nice restaurant. Al was born in France.  I gave instructions to
the teachers to keep track of the kids.  And I wasn’t woken up
except for breakfast! A miracle! And as we ate the continental breakfast in
the hotel, no problems were mentioned from the night before in Paris.
I didn’t ask for any either.  We piled into the cars out front
and left our hotel in Paris for the TGV train to Lyon.

          The French countryside
was beautiful, lots of farmland and trees, it was very green. I loved the
white cows. So different from our black or brown cows.  There were
fields of corn which Al explained was used to the feed the cattle. The
French didn’t eat corn like we did.

          Suddenly Al and I had
company in our seats.  Jeff  tall blonde and very thin ,and Martha
long dark hair and big brown eyes, came and sat next to us.

     “ Hey, this is great !” said Martha.
“It is really pretty. Princey, do you know where the teens hang in
Lyon?”

     “Yeah, we would like to meet some French
teens you know.  Especially the girls?” Jeff winked at Al.
Oh boy, I thought.

          Al frowned a little at
Jeff and the wink. “ No,” he answered.   “ And I
don’t have any relatives in Lyon to ask about that.”

          Well, that was handled
with tack I thought. Jeff frowned at Al. “Could you phone a relative
and see if they know? Otherwise, we can look it up on social media. Yeah, on
second thought that’s what we’ll do!” Jeff stood and
smiled at me. Martha stood and followed him to the back of the train car
where the teens were sitting together. “Hey! Like who has a working
cellphone?” Jeff yelled at them.

          When Jeff yelled, a
couple dressed in the same style of  black clothing, black shirts and
shorts, sitting across from Al and me turned to us. Who wore black in
ninety-degree heat?  I guess they thought I should do something about
Jeff. I shrugged back at them. Did they think I could control this group?
They were in for a surprise. It would be along train ride if they thought I
could do that.  Hopefully, they wouldn’t be joining us on the
boat.

          With no more teenager
confabs we arrived in Lyon.  I was pleased when Mr. Leary got all the
students together with their luggage. We stepped off with our luggage, which
was rapidly taken by porters. Mr. Leary was explaining, “Lyon is an
UNESCO site. It was once the capitol of Gaul.  We will be touring the
city quickly on our way to the boat by bus. Please follow your
teachers.  I will describe what we drive past. The bus is over
there.” He pointed to the bus. He headed for the bus. Eleven of the
students kind of slowly followed him. They were carrying their luggage to be
handed to the porters waiting to load the luggage on the bus.

          The second he turned his
head, Jeff, Martha and Tim, who was  six-foot three , thin and with
black hair and tan olive skin, started to walk off in the other direction. I
went after them.
“Get on that
bus. I won’t spend the time searching all of Lyon for you today. If
you guys wander off, I will not be happy!”

          Martha and Tim looked
slightly guilty at getting caught. Jeff didn’t. He smiled at me.
“Okay Princey, we’ll do it.  We just wanted to look around
ya know?”

          I nodded my head. I knew
alright!  Al had come back. He was trying to get me to head for the bus
too, I guess. Or maybe he thought I needed help with crowd control. Al had
taught for many years too. We all walked together to the bus and boarded it.
One emergency search for missing students averted.  Leary started the
tour on the bus.  He knew his material but had a speaking voice that
could make you nod off to dreamland. At least there were no further
incidents  and we got to the boat. As we were leaving the bus for the
boat, I made an announcement.

          “Remember
students you are going to a formal dinner tonight at seven to meet all the
other passengers. You are to dress up for dinner. Good behavior is
expected.” I concluded. The students all clapped my little speech.
Jeff spoke up.

          “Yeah, everybody
look cool for tonight like Mrs. Bruno says okay?” He turned and looked
at me. “Don’t you worry, we got it.”

     Why didn’t I believe it?

     Anyway, the boat was straight ahead and so was a
cat. It was a yellow striped tabby cat, and very big, sitting on the
gangplank.  The kids all petted it as they went by. We got on board. I
had put Ben Franklin in charge of giving out cabin assignments for the kids.
The rest of the teachers and Al and I walked up to the reception desk on
board. Franklin went first and he started  to hand out keys and assign
rooms. I observed for a minute, but all looked well. Al was talking to the
desk clerk, who gave him a key.

          “Mr. Cohen,”
he said, “your luggage is in your room.” He smiled.

     “Thank you,” replied Al.

          The service was
wonderful. I turned to the teachers, “see you at seven.”
Al  and I started walking to our cabin to see what it was like. As I
passed Ben Franklin I said, “please give me a copy of the cabin
assignments when you are through.”

     “Yes, Mrs. Bruno,” he answered softly.
I waved at the students who were standing around and walked after Al to our
cabin in the middle of the ship.

     Al opened the door. There was a nice bowl of fruit
and two bottles of wine from Captain Brin on our desk. The cabin was small,
especially with all my luggage, but okay. I always over pack. Al used to
hate that fact that I overpacked, now he just shakes his head. That’s
what over thirty years of marriage does to you. There was a balcony with two
chairs on it. A queen size bed,  a television on the wall, a safe in a
cabinet that had a few dresser drawers in it and a small refrigerator.
Everything was compact but very nice and clean.  The empty luggage
could go under the bed and in the closet. I had a feeling everything would
be fine. Al was smiling.

          “Nice,” he
said, “ and we are alone for a while till dinner.”  I
smiled at him.

          We were trying to work on
our rocky marriage this trip. Thirty years ago, I had been engaged to Joe
Viola, a NYC detective. We had met again. Hassle High had had a few murders
take place and Detective Joe Viola was assigned to the cases.  Joe
wanted me to divorce Al and marry him, even though, thirty years ago, he had
dumped me at the altar. I was thinking about it.

     “I plan to unpack a bit. Why don’t you
open the wine and pour us a drink? Do you think the cat is on the
ship?” I asked. I opened one of my three suitcases. Al had packed only
one. I pulled out dresses and hung them on the closet. Just as Al handed me
a glass of wine there was  a knock at the cabin door. Al opened
it.

          Ben Franklin was there.
He had a list of cabins with assigned students in them. I thanked him and Al
softly closed the door.  We both kicked off our sneakers and sat on
chairs on the balcony. We looked over the river at Lyon before us. It was a
pretty site.  The Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourviere was in the
distance. The sun was setting. Suddenly the boat started to move. We were on
our way. I glanced at the clock on the wall of our cabin. At least an hour
before I had to dress for dinner. This was great! I sipped the wine which
was quite good. Al and I just sat there and watched as the boat moved off
from Lyon. It was a nice calm moment.  Little did I know, it
wouldn’t last. We finished the wine and got showered and dressed for
dinner. Al looked great in his jacket and tie. I looked pretty good since I
had lost twenty pounds and could finally get into a petite size eighteen
gown.  We both walked hand and hand to the front of the boat where the
restaurant was located. We were both eager to see what the students were
wearing and meet the other guests.

About the Author

Constance Meccarello-Gerson

Constance Meccarello-Gerson was born in Poughkeepsie N.Y.  She is a
graduate of Florida Southern College with a BA in Acting. She also attended
the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. HB Studio, Actors Studio, in
NYC.  She is a member of SAG, Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Si Omega. Her
MFA in Acting is from Brooklyn College.  She has appeared on TV, film,
and on stage in NYC. For 20 years she taught as a mentor and teacher of
English and Theatre arts for the New York City Department of Education and
for the University at Santa Cruz. She also taught for ten years as a Speech
Coordinator at Touro College. She was an executive at Bloomingdales. Her
writing as appeared in Musings, also in the Best American Poets
series.  Murder at Hassle High is her first  cozy mystery.
Summertime Murder at Hassle High is her second and  French Cruises Can
Kill You  is the third.  She wrote Armera a sci fi mystery and her
Snowball the Sherlock Rabbit series, a group of children books.
Currently she lives in NYC with her husband Alain, a parrot named Benji, and
lots of fish. She is currently writing Death In a Dorm, another cozy in the
Hassle High series.

Contact Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads

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Essentials of Murder Blitz

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Cozy Mystery

Date Published: 09/24/2024

Publisher: Harbor Lane Books, LLC.

 

After a scandalous arrest in San Francisco, Carissa Carmichael has moved
back to her small Southern California hometown to start over as she opens
her Aromatherapy Apothecary shop and reflexology services. A tourist
destination, Oak Creek Valley, seems the perfect place to put the past
behind her, but it seems no one will let her forget. When she finds the man
who threatened to drive her out of business murdered in her shop, Carissa
becomes the primary suspect, especially when her fingerprints are found on
the murder weapon. Despite her father’s position as Oak Creek
Valley’s chief of police, most townspeople assume she’s
guilty.

Refusing to run again, Carissa knows she must prove her innocence to save
her shop and save her father’s career when the investigating detective
turns his focus on her. With suspects acting as slippery as the essential
oils she distills, it’s up to Carissa to apply pressure and sniff out
the truth before it’s too late.

 

Includes essential oil and reflexology tips.

 

About the Author

Kim Davis writes the Aromatherapy Apothecary cozy mystery series, the
award-winning Cupcake Catering cozy mystery series, and the middle grade
fantasy adventure The Board Game Chronicles series. She has also written
several children’s nature articles published in a variety of
magazines.

Kim Davis is a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and
Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

She lives in Southern California with her husband and rambunctious mini
Goldendoodle, Missy, who has become an inspiration for several plotlines.
When she’s not spending time with her granddaughters or chasing Missy
around, she can be found either writing on her next book, working on her
blog, Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder, or in the kitchen baking
up yummy treats to share. To learn more, please visit
http://kimdavisauthor.com/

 

Follow the Publisher on Social Media – @HarborLaneBooks

 

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Cayman Conundrum Virtual Book Tour

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Liz Adams Mystery Series, Book 4

Cozy Mystery

Date Published: 06-28-2024

Publisher: Wild Hawk Press

 

 

Sun-kissed sands and sinister secrets. A honeymoon in paradise turns
perilous in this riveting seaside mystery.

A tropical vacation transforms into a web of danger and deception when an
author and his manuscript vanish. Is his thriller about money laundering in
the Caribbean too close to the truth?

With the stakes high and time ticking, Private Investigator Liz Adams and
her new husband, Brad, along with their truth-sniffing Labrador, Duke,
partner with the local authorities to unravel a multitude of crimes. As they
search for clues, the newlyweds explore the delights of the island,
including a hunt for buried treasure.

Will they unearth the clues in time, or will the honeymoon end in
heartbreak? Set against the backdrop of the stunning island of Grand Cayman,
this cozy mystery will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very
end.

Cayman Conundrum tablet

EXCERPT

Secrets Are Hell

 

While Tim cocooned his body in the blue leather chair behind his desk, his fingers flew over the keyboard. The words flowed from his fingertips onto the computer screen. After he completed the final chapter of his novel, Secrets Are Hell, he leaned back in the seat that was positioned to optimize the view of the Caribbean. As he rubbed his newly acquired goatee, he watched the turquoise waves lap against the pearly sand.

When Tim and his former partner, Brad, sold their company, Multipoint Protection Services, Tim moved to Grand Cayman to pursue his dream of becoming an author. He grinned. His vision was about to come true.

After the identity thefts from his former company, Tim lasered in on the connection between the stolen information used to purchase prescription drugs and the subsequent laundering of the black market proceeds. The thriller was a product of his experiences, research, and imagination. 

He recalled the conversation with his informant at the bar. Once the man he only knew as Jax consumed three shots of tequila, he’d spilled secrets about the money laundering business on the island. The man dripped sweat as he spoke, and he warned Tim to be careful with the revelations. Although Tim had fictionalized the facts gathered during his research, he prayed that he’d sufficiently disguised the characters involved in the illicit events.

Satisfied that the first draft was complete, he saved the document onto the flash drive and locked the device in the desk drawer. He stood and stretched his arms overhead before hiding the key underneath a leather-bound edition of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, one of many in his collection of books in the wall-to-wall bookcase behind him.

Tim raised his eyes toward the planked pine ceiling and contemplated his next steps. When he returned from Brad’s upcoming wedding, he would consult with developmental editors. In the meantime, he’d let the story marinate. His phone pinged, and he turned back to the desk to find a text from his girlfriend, Becky.

Why haven’t you called or messaged me?

His six-month-old puppy, Snooper, barked. He stepped away from his cellphone to let the dog inside. A salty breeze drifted through the opening. As he inhaled the scent, he wondered why he’d ever gotten involved with the former beauty pageant queen. He met her a few months ago when he’d volunteered at the rescue organization where he had adopted Snooper. While he massaged the black and white cocker spaniel mix’s ears, he reflected on that day they’d both tended to the homeless pets.

As Tim handed Becky a bag of cat food, a jolt of adrenaline pulsed through his body. Becky measured the servings and filled the bowls they’d deliver to the felines. While she poured, he admired her flowing raven hair that framed a heart-shaped face. Her almond shaped hazel-colored eyes shimmered with intrigue. After he heard Becky’s deep-throated laugh, he invited her to join him for a cup of coffee after their shift.

A month into the relationship, she began texting him incessantly. If he didn’t reply within an hour, she’d get agitated. He regretted inviting her as his plus one to Brad and Liz’s wedding in Charleston, South Carolina. A sigh escaped his lips. He longed for a soulmate like his friend had discovered in Liz. 

Tim was delighted that the couple had chosen Grand Cayman as their honeymoon destination. He smiled in anticipation of the treasure hunt he’d planned as their wedding gift. Snooper wiggled away and bounded toward Tim’s cat, Irish. The feline hissed and halted the puppy in his tracks. Tim chuckled, picked up his phone, and fingered a response.

Been working on the book. Meet up for drinks at five at The Deck? We can talk about travel plans.

Without waiting for a reply, he placed the device down and strode toward the kitchen to feed his pets.

Who knew that today would be the last time he would touch the manuscript?

About the Author

Stacy Wilder

Stacy Wilder writes mysteries, children’s stories, short stories, and
poetry. Her mission is to deliver a delightful story to readers of all ages
while benefiting a larger community. She donates a portion of the proceeds
from the sales of her books to causes that help the homeless, both people
and pets.

Beyond writing, Stacy is deeply devoted to her faith, family, and her
beloved Labradors. She is also enthusiastic about the causes she supports,
the beauty of art, the serenity of the beach, and the joy of reading.

She and her husband live in Houston, TX with a totally spoiled Labrador
named Eve. www.storystacy.com

 

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Murderous CONsequences Blitz

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Cozy Mystery

Date Published: 07/03/2024

Publisher: Harbor Lane Books, LLC.

 

 

Sadie Sabatini thinks of herself as a modern-day Robin Hood who uses her
gift as a skilled con artist to help those who have nowhere else to turn.
Leading this life is rewarding, but the number of enemies are piling up.
Sadie decides to lay low and start over with a new (and legitimate business)
in the small town of Wilson, Texas, situated on a small peninsula in
beautiful Lake Amore.

Trouble is never far behind though and her past catches up to her in a big
way when a friend of a former mark threatens blackmail for his silence. When
he turns up dead and Sadie is the prime suspect, she realizes this time she
must protect herself. Her skills prove helpful as she digs deeper into the
web of revenge, blackmail, and secrets to discover she’s not the only
one with a past to hide.

As the threats mount, Sadie knows she’s closing in on the truth. She
now worries that the few new friends she’s made in town are in danger
because of her. With time running out, can she protect those around her and
find the real killer before this new chapter in her life is conned out of a
happy ending?

 

About the Author

USA Today Best-Selling author Nicole Leiren likes to have fun — in life,
with her characters and, of course, family and friends. A Midwesterner at
heart, she now proudly calls South Texas her home and lives with her husband
on a beautiful peninsula in Lake Conroe.

Nicole enjoys sharing the laughter, mystery, and occasionally a little
mayhem she forces her characters to endure all for the reader’s
pleasure! Her stories allow you to take a break and immerse yourself in a
page turning story until you reach the whodunit or happily ever after
(usually both!)

Follow the Publisher on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook – @harborlanebooks 

 

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