Murder in Real Time by Julie Anne Lindsey – Guest Post and Review

FTC Disclosure: I received an advanced e-copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.

It is my pleasure to welcome Julie Anne Lindsey to the blog today. It was great fun getting to know more about her and her heroines.

 

Food, Fashion & Fun in Mystery – Julie Anne Lindsey

My heroines are a lot like me. They have their own sets of my strengths and weaknesses, but essentially they’re multiple versions of myself. What does that say about me? I’m not sure, but Freud would probably have a field day. I think the main reason I use personal traits to create my heroines is because I understand them right away. The other characters take time to evolve and get to know, so it’s nice to have someone to connect with from the start. Plus, I live vicariously through these women. Their lives are so much fun.

I toss in other details from my reality, too. For example: My heroines all love food, fashion and fun. Most, like me, aren’t great at cooking or making outfits worthy of a runway, but they all enjoy the art and entertainment of both.

In my Patience Price Mysteries series, my heroine sports a girl next door wardrobe. She lives on an island, so there’s little use for some of the things she loves, like high heels, but it’s a worthy trade-off. The island is beautiful, quaint and also her childhood home. I still get to talk about clothes, though. Her best friend works at the FBI and frequently arrives in stunning style.

Honestly, Patience’s old wardrobe would be a tight fit today, even if she did have the opportunity to wear more snazzy pieces. Why? Two words: Island. Food. When I visited Chincoteague, Virginia in 2008, I was enamored by the scenery, culture and food. That hasn’t changed. I couldn’t write about the island without including details on the amazing fresh seafood, vintage ice cream parlor or local cafes. Food is a consistent part of the stories. It had to be because like me, Patience has a tough time resisting.

The Island Creamery is a real island staple. In my books, I call it the Tasty Cream. Patience eats there often. Hey, cooking for one is hard. Plus, she mostly keeps health food in her fridge due to wishful thinking and keeping dreams alive, but the Tasty Cream is right across the street. The scents of fresh grilled burgers and seasoned fries call to her like Fred Flintstone on a whiff of brontosaurus stew. What can she do? She’s only human.

Patience – who, by the way, has never earned her namesake, is a high strung, type-A personality and food is just one of the many things that test her daily. So, in Murder in Real Time, I increased the temptation a few notches. (Intentional goading is funny when it isn’t happening to me). Following the murders of two D-list reality show “celebrities,” her town is overrun with gawkers, reporters and food trucks.

To be fair, there is a salad truck, Fork in the Road, but let’s be honest, she doesn’t want a salad. There are gourmet-ice-cream-sirens calling her and a pancake truck called Baby Cakes with tall stacks of fluffy hotcakes and a buttery cloud of heaven confounding her brain.

Wow. When I started writing this blog post, I thought I’d head off on a fashion tangent. I’m typing and smiling in Ohio because I want to write more about the food. I can practically smell the charcoal grills, taste the scallops and feel the texture of a Tasty Cream malt on my tongue. *deep contented sigh* Island food, followed closely by food truck food make me incredibly happy. No wonder this installment of the Patience Price Mysteries was my favorite.

I hated to see the series wind down, but I gave it lots of delicious food, silly shenanigans and intrigue to keep readers guessing what really went down that night, I hope. With any luck, readers will be glad they stopped by Chincoteague with me. I hope you’ll visit soon.

Murder in Real Time

With the chaos of summer tourists and fall birders out of town, counselor Patience Price is looking forward to the quiet life she remembers. She longs for some peace. And an apple fritter. But the calm is cut short when a reality show sets up camp to film a special about ghosts on her little island. Now fans, reporters and crew have flocked to sleepy Chincoteague. Who knew ghost hunters had an entourage?

When two cast members are killed in a room at the local B&B—a room usually occupied by Patience’s FBI agent boyfriend, Sebastian—she finds herself on the case. Sebastian doesn’t want Patience ruffling any feathers but, as always, she can’t help herself.

Patience promises to let Sebastian handle the investigation—he is FBI, after all—but after a drive-by shooting, her wicked curiosity gets the best of her. And with the TV show forging ahead with filming, the list of suspects (and the line of food trucks) only grows. But has the shooter already flown the coop? And how do you find a killer when you don’t know who the target is?

Amazon       Barnes&Noble       Carina Press

 

About Julie:

Julie Anne Lindsey is a multi-genre author who writes the stories that keep her up at night. She’s a self-proclaimed nerd with a penchant for words and proclivity for fun. Julie lives in rural Ohio with her husband and three small children. Today, she hopes to make someone smile. One day she plans to change the world.

Murder in Real Time is the conclusion to The Patience Price Mysteries series, from Carina Press.

Learn About Julie at:

Julieannelindsey.com

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My Thoughts on Murder in Real Time.

One of the things I enjoy about being a part of the Great Escape Virtual Book Tours is that I frequently discover new to me authors and series. The Patience Price Mysteries are one that I am definitely adding to my must read list of cozy mysteries.  Murder in Real Time is book number three in the series.  Even though I have not yet read the other two in the series, I was still able to easily follow the story.  However, after meeting Patience and Claire, I certainly want to read the first two books.

Patience lives in a small tourist community.  Ms. Lindsey has painted such a wonderful picture of Chincoteague that I have a strong desire to run away to a small island for an extended stay.  Despite all the chaos that is going with the invasion of The Watchers reality show and it’s fans there is an underlying peacefulness to the community that I found truly appealing.  I also really like Patience. She’s a no nonsense heroine. She’s more grounded than some of those surrounding and I like that in my heroines.  She’s a counselor and I know it’s part of her job, but I really liked how people seemed to just rely on her advice and direction.

As for the mystery, it’s an engaging one that will keep the reader hooked all the way to the end. I’m not going to go into great detail here. Ms. Lindsey provided a great summary in her guest post. So as I tell my students – if you want to know what happens you HAVE to read the book. Seriously, I highly recommend you read the book.  My to be read list is out of control and there’s not much room to add more, so when I say that I’m adding a series to my must read list (you know the list of authors/series that you always buy?) then you know the book is a must read.

If you’d like a chance to win a set of Patience Price e-books  visit Escape With Dollycas to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway.