You Light Up My Death by Mary Jane Maffini

 

First Line: It would have been the honeymoon from hell, if we'd actually had a wedding.

 

Ottawa lawyer and victims' advocate Camilla MacPhee has finally agreed to elope with her long-time partner, Sergeant Ray Deveau. Loaded down with gifts from her bossy sisters to family members in the Cape Breton area as well as a smelly dog and a little calico cat, Camilla should be on her way to Happily Ever After, right?

For some unknown reason during the 1,000-mile journey, Ray's attitude changes, and Camilla finds herself abandoned with a dog and a cat... but without a vehicle, luggage, wallet, or fiancé.

When Ray's brand-new car is found an hour away with the keys still in it, and his phone is found on the street, Camilla bottles up her anger and begins a desperate search along the spectacular Cabot Trail with the help of a collection of eccentric relatives and locals. People are dying, and Camilla is determined that Ray is not going to be one of them.

~

I've been brave in the past few years and have begun jumping midstream into mystery series with generally favorable results, but after reading You Light Up My Death, I would not suggest doing that with this one. With no former knowledge of Camilla MacPhee and her fiancé Ray Deveau, I found myself thoroughly disgusted with Ray's behavior, and not too fond of Camilla either. But I soldiered on because I trust Mary Jane Maffini, and once I was able to overcome my lack of series familiarity, Maffini delivered as I knew she would.

Maffini made me want to travel the Cabot Trail (under better weather conditions), and the helpfulness of the area's residents reminded me of the area where I grew up. Camilla's wacky relatives, Donald Donnie and Auntie Annie chief among them, made me laugh, and the mysteries surrounding Camilla's mother and Ray's disappearance kept my little grey cells busy. If only the book's title didn't constantly remind me of an earworm from decades past! 

Did my rocky beginning with Camilla MacPhee sound a death knell to the entire series? No. Mary Jane Maffini saved the day, as I knew she would, and I have a feeling that Camilla and I will meet again.

You Light Up My Death by Mary Jane Maffini

ISBN: 9781990896019

Ottawa Press & Publishing © 2022

Paperback, 272 pages

 

Amateur Sleuth, #7 Camilla MacPhee mystery

Rating: B+

Source: the author, in exchange for an honest review.

Death Plans a Perfect Trip by Mary Jane Maffini

First Line: "You two are going the wrong way."

 

It's not unusual for bestselling author Esme Adams to dash off on spontaneous trips to Europe, but when she misses two of her scheduled phone calls with her daughter, professional organizer Charlotte Adams, Charlotte knows something is wrong. Esme has never missed a phone call before. Ever. 

 

Other people think Charlotte is worrying over nothing, but she can't get over the feeling that her mother is in danger. When Charlotte's home is ransacked and set ablaze, Charlotte needs a safe place to be, and she knows just what to do: get out of town, away from the people who are after her, and head to Europe to find her mother. 

As Charlotte follows clues in Paris, Lisbon, and Milan, she finds herself a major player in a very dangerous game of cat and mouse. She keeps narrowly missing her mother while simultaneously squeaking past the people who followed her from the U.S. And the more she searches, the more secrets about her mother's past and her own childhood are uncovered.

~

I've been a fan of Mary Jane Maffini's Charlotte Adams cozy series since I picked up the first book, Organize Your Corpses-- and it's not just because I love to organize things, too. I was sad when the series stopped at the fifth book, but I soon got caught up with a series that Maffini co-wrote with her daughter. When that series ended, I was left in limbo. Imagine my delight when I learned of Death Plans a Perfect Trip!

It was great to be reunited with Charlotte and her significant other, Jack, who runs a cycle shop called CYCotics (love that name). I also liked the fact that Maffini's book is edgier than the usual cozy, the danger more palpable and scarier, without actually "crossing the line." Charlotte and her mother's backstory is quite an interesting one, and I enjoyed watching all the bits and pieces Charlotte discovers coming together. The scenes set in places like Lisbon, Portugal made me feel as though I were walking the streets with Charlotte. As always in this series, rescue dachshunds Truffle and Sweet Marie make their adorable appearance, although they did have to be left behind when Charlotte traveled to Europe. 

If you're in need of a new cozy series and haven't made the acquaintance of Mary Jane Maffini's Charlotte Adams, I recommend that you do so. And if you get a chance, the cozy series she co-wrote with her daughter under the name Victoria Abbott is an absolute delight. (The first book in the Book Collector series is The Christie Curse.) You have some good reading ahead of you!

Death Plans a Perfect Trip by Mary Jane Maffini

eISBN: 971954717978

Beyond the Page Publishing © 2022

eBook, 308 pages

Cozy Mystery, #6 Charlotte Adams Professional Organizer mystery

Rating: A-

Source: Purchased from Amazon.

From the Desk of Lily Maffini, R.E.A.D. Pro!

Hello Everyone!

My name is Lily. I am a five year old black and tan miniature dachshund and I can’t wait to go back to school. No, no, not puppy school. Real school. People school. You see, I am a volunteer: a R.E.A.D. dog. R.E.A.D. stands for Reading Education Assistance Dog. Really.

That means I’ll go once a week to a lovely school and meet with some very nice children. Last year, I was new at it. I had my own three boys. I loved to snuggle with them and to hear them read to me, one by one. It was my favorite time of the week, although I do like chasing squirrels when I am not in school. I got better and better at listening and paying attention to books. The boys got better and better at reading. One of them read twenty-six books to me! Mom kept a record. We gave him a copy of his favorite book: Ten Little Hot Dogs. It’s my favorite book too, of course.

Lily's favorite book

But this week, a package came to our house and Mom opened it. Guess what? Ten Little Hot Dogs. Mom got two more copies for this year.

Being a R.E.A.D. dog is an important job. I couldn’t walk into a school on my four paws, just like that, you know. First, I had to have a year’s experience with Ottawa Therapy Dogs.
I did that and now my sister Daisy has taken over my important job with Alzheimer’s patients.

Next I had to pass a test, even though I had already passed a test to become a therapy dog. The new test took more than two hours!  I had to be calm in a school yard situation, not react to bells and loud noises or bouncing balls and be friendly to kids, without jumping up. I had to show how much I liked being with kids and that I was relaxed and not afraid. And I was not allowed to bark. That was pretty hard, but I did it.

Lily practicing with Teagan

We have heard from our school. This year I will be with a second grade class! The new teacher will pick three children to read with me every week, each one on their own.  All the other children will be a bit jealous, so I will visit the class and read a couple of books with Mom. Everyone will know my name. Last year, the school had big signs: Welcome Lily the Reading Dog! I felt ten feet tall, even though in real life, I am not quite one foot tall.

Daisy is jealous and trying to get in on the act.

Mom’s there with me when I go to school, but really, it’s all about me and my boys. Wait, maybe I’ll have a girl this year. I like girls too. Some little girls in our neighborhood practiced reading with me when I was studying for my Big Test. That was fun and a big help.

Lily Maffini, R.E.A.D. Pro!

So soon, I’ll be having a bath (don’t like that much), a manicure (ditto) and an anti-dander treatment (Mom says it’s necessary and stop squirming). Then I’ll put on my lovely red Ottawa Therapy Dog scarf and my beautiful red R.E.A.D, medallion and I’ll get in the car with my special blanket and our bag of books. I can’t wait. I wonder what children I’ll get to love this year.

Love, Lily

Death Loves a Messy Desk by Mary Jane Maffini

Title: Death Loves a Messy Desk
Author: Mary Jane Maffini
ISBN: 9780425228098
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime, 2009
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages
Genre: Cozy, Amateur Sleuth, #3 Charlotte Adams mystery
Rating: B
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: As the flash went off in my face, I yelped and dove for cover.

Despite professional organizer Charlotte Adams' rather high profile in a couple of recent murders, she's got a waiting list of customers who are in desperate need of her expertise. When there's a cancellation, Charlotte agrees to meet a woman who has a problem with a co-worker's extremely messy desk. In no time flat, the cluttered co-worker goes missing, and Charlotte once again is at the mercy of media cameramen as she tries to solve the mystery.

I have to admit that those cameramen are one of the reasons why I enjoy this series. Charlotte and cameras go together as well as pancakes and jalapeños. If there's any way to get an unflattering photo of her to show to all the viewers, those cameramen will, and it's become a running joke throughout the series.

Another reason why I like this series is that Maffini doesn't bury the organizing under the murder. Each chapter begins with an organizing tip, and Charlotte comes up with a brilliant plan to streamline an office and make everyone more productive.

Charlotte does have her faults. One character describes her (to her face) as "a bit bossy, a bit uptight, kind of vain about your appearance. Maybe shallow."  Charlotte is all those things... well, maybe not the shallow part... but she is still a likable character and one worth following through a series. She's so earnest that I just have to root for her through all her pratfalls and triumphs.

Although the behavior of one of the office workers didn't fool me, I still didn't figure out what was going on. I look forward to the next book in the series where I hope I'll get to see Truffle and Sweet Marie train to be therapy dogs.

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Celebrating Mysteries: The Lure of Das Wienerschnitzel

September is Responsible Dog Ownership Month, and this week Celebrating Mysteries continues with a feature on three authors whose main characters all have the same breed of dog-- Dachshunds-- near and dear to their hearts. The name of the breed means "badger dog" which tells you what the dogs were born to do: flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals. Today many of them seem to have burrowed their way into their owners' hearts instead!

Rita Mae Brown

Looking into the life of Rita Mae Brown, I found two quotes that told me a lot about her as a person:

"I can never understand how authors can write books without having animals become important characters. We share the earth with other sentient creatures and they often do a better job of living full lives than we do. One woman’s opinion but I like the chatter of all living creatures."

"You can hurt me. You can hate me, but do it because you know me, not because I’m a member of a group. Anyways, people aren’t grapes --- you can’t weigh them in a bunch, but I guess it’s easier than dealing with people as individuals. There, I’ve solved the riddle of prejudice: it saves time."

Rita Mae has recently begun writing a series about Mags Rogers, a former Wall Street banker moving from New York City with her dachshund Baxter, to her great aunt Jeep Reed's Wings Ranch near Reno, Nevada. The two books published so far are: A Nose for Justice (2010) and Murder Unleashed (due out October, 2011).

Booklist says this about A Nose for Justice:

Mags (for Magdalena) has left New York City, where the financial meltdown caused her to lose her banking job, and has moved to her great-aunt Jeep’s ranch in Nevada, not too far away from Reno. She has brought her wirehaired dachshund Baxter, who has to get along with Jeep’s German shepherd–mix King. The two women and their dogs first get drawn into the conflict between Jeep’s rural neighbors and Silver State Resource Management, a corporation that wants to control all the water rights in the area. They (women and dogs) investigate when SSRM pumps explode in what amounts to domestic terrorism, and then an SSRM executive disappears. This is the first in a new mystery series featuring Baxter and King and their humans; Brown narrates a good portion of the novel from the dogs’ point of view. The crime plot plays out at a leisurely pace, but the conflict over water rights is just as compelling as the mystery, making this a satisfying read not only for genre fans but also for anyone who cares about the environment.

Tom Lowe and friend

Tom Lowe loves history and the sea, and at one time he lived on a boat. He's written a series featuring Sean O'Brien, a recently widowed former Miami homicide detective, who lives with his dachshund Max on the St. John's River in Florida.

There are two books in the series so far: A False Dawn (2009) and The 24th Letter (2010).

Booklist says this about A False Dawn:

Sean O’Brien’s lifestyle seems at first glance to be the envy of us all. Though barely on the shady side of 40, he has a riverfront cabin home on one of Florida’s signature wilderness waterways, the Saint John’s River. He is also proud possessor of a cabin cruiser birthed practically in the shadow of Ponce Inlet lighthouse. And if that isn’t enough, he has chick-magnet charisma, but he prefers as a companion a gator-bait dachshund by the name of Max. O’Brien is not a moneyed ne’er-do-well. He is instead a widower, a “retired” Miami homicide detective, and, according to Volusia County sheriff’s investigator, he’s a good prospect to take the fall for a string of sex murders, a situation that forces him back to crime solving. 

Mary Jane Maffini, Daisy and Lily

If you've been reading my blog for any length of time, you've already made the acquaintance of self-professed "lapsed librarian" Mary Jane Maffini. I've been enjoying her series about professional organizer Charlotte Adams, who's the owner of two rescued dachshunds, Truffle and Sweet Marie (who bear a remarkable resemblance to Mary Jane's own dogs).

There are currently five books in the series, and the first three are: Organize Your Corpses (2007), The Cluttered Corpse (2008) and Death Loves a Messy Desk (2009).

Here's a brief synopsis of Organize Your Corpses:

When Charlotte Adams agrees to help Emmy Lou Rheinbeck organize her stuffed animal collection, she never imagines she'll find herself fending off pranksters whose shenanigans lead to murder.

Look for my review of the third book in this series next week right here on Kittling: Books!





I know these winsome little charmers have probably stolen your hearts, and you're busily gathering up all the books about them, but don't forget that Celebrating Mysteries "With a Bite" continues next weekend. See you then!

Scene of the Crime with Author Mary Jane Maffini

I have a bit of an organizing bug, so it shouldn't come as any surprise that I started to read (and enjoy) Mary Jane Maffini's mystery series starring professional organizing guru, Charlotte Adams.

When the author contacted me about something non-review on my blog, you know I had to ask her if she was willing to be interviewed. She said yes, and here we are!

Mary Jane Maffini

Lapsed librarian and former mystery bookstore co-owner, Mary Jane Maffini is the author of thirteen books in three series: the Charlotte Adams, the Camilla MacPhee and the Fiona Silk mysteries. She will soon launch a new book collector series co-authored with her daughter, writing as Victoria Abbott. MJ’s story “So Much in Common” in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine won the 2010 Agatha award for best short story and is nominated for an Arthur Ellis award and an Anthony.

She lives and plots in Ottawa, Ontario with her long-suffering husband and two princessy dachshunds. She’d love you to visit her at: 

Her Website

Her Facebook page

Her Twitter page

Blogging at Mystery Lovers' Kitchen

Blogging at Killer Characters

Let's get started with that interview!

What was the very first book you remember reading and loving? What makes that book so special?

The first ‘big’ book I remember loving was Anne of Avonlea, by L.M. Montgomery. It was the sequel to Anne of Green Gables and it was such a hefty book and I felt proud and excited to own it and read it.

Outside of your writing and all associated commitments, what do you like to do in your free time?

My little dachshunds and I are involved in Ottawa Therapy Dogs. Daisy visits two dementia units and Lily is a READ dog. We get a lot of joy out of these programs and I hope we give a bit too. For relaxing, I enjoy reading, time with family, cooking, knitting dog sweaters, and fussing with flower boxes, lounging at the cottage or watching crime drama in town.

Daisy and Lily, the Sweater Girls

If I were to visit your hometown, where would you recommend that I go? (I like seeing and doing things that aren't in all the guide books.)

The Cabot Trail

I am originally from Sydney, Nova Scotia, on beautiful Cape Breton Island. If you go, do the Cabot Trail, it is like nothing else in North America. It’s so spectacular! 

If you stop in Sydney, make sure you line up for Fuzzy’s Fries. They are such a taste sensation I put them in Little Boy Blues, my third Camilla MacPhee book.


You have total control over casting a movie based on your life. Which actor would you cast as you? 

Amy Poehler

I think Amy Poehler is hysterical and she has such bright hair. I’d love to see her play my life as a librarian, mom, dog owner, volunteer, writer, and klutz. She’d get the humor of it. My dogs can play Truffle and Sweet Marie. They’re big hams.


Who is your favorite recurring character in crime fiction?

It is whoever I am reading at the moment. I guess I am a reading flirt. I only read books I love and I read a lot of Canadian mysteries. Right now, it’s Inspector Eric Stride of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, in Death of a Lesser Man (set in 1949 Newfoundland).


Your character, Charlotte Adams, is a professional organizer. Does this mean that you, too, have an organizing gene? 

I am a professional disorganizer. I love organizers because they can save your bacon! I have learned a lot from reading and watching Charlotte’s colleagues and from writing as Charlotte!  Thanks, Charlotte!


Before your very first published mystery, what else had you written (short stories, articles, unpublished manuscripts)?

I had some stinky first efforts in the bottom drawer, plus fifty pages of the worst romance ever written, and seven or eight short stories which were published. I love writing short stories and they seemed to work for me. My latest has just won an Agatha award and is nominated for an Arthur Ellis and an Anthony award. Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine has made now it available for reading or downloading from their site.


What did you do the first time you saw one of your books on a shelf in a bookstore? How did you celebrate when you first heard you were to be published?

At the time my first book came out, I was part owner of Prime Crime, the mystery bookstore in Ottawa. My wonderful business partner and friend, Linda Wiken, put my book on the PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT SHELF as well as stacking them on the new book table. I had tears in my eyes. By the way, Linda will have her own series out in 2012, writing as Erika Chase!

I got my first offer (Camilla MacPhee book one: Speak Ill of the Dead)  the same day we sold the house we’d lived in for eighteen years and had two weeks to find a new house and move. When I calmed down I celebrated by shrieking and dancing around. I hope no one saw that! Of course, I always do that when I have some good news. With thirteen books in twelve years, there’s been a certain amount of shrieking and dancing.

[Do Daisy and Lily join in?]


I don't know if you've seen it, but I love Parnell Hall's video about book signings. What is the most unusual experience you've had at a book signing or author event?

I love Parnell’s humor and can really relate to that hilarious video. I’d say the most frustrating was staying in town on the most beautiful Saturday in a dreary summer (at the insistence of a store manager!) to sign my new book. Unfortunately the store had not a single copy of that book (although they did have a stack of my winter one). Didn’t matter because not a single customer came. All to say: I demand my own song!!!  But usually, signings, regardless of numbers, are a great way to meet and talk to readers.


The way some people talk, the only way to read now or in the future is with some sort of electronic device, like my husband's Nook. What is your opinion of eBooks, and how will they affect you as a published author? 

I still love the look, feel and smell of books and don’t have an eReader yet, but I will have to get one, just to understand the trend. I know that eBooks make it easy for people to get our books, make it possible to keep out-of-print books available, help readers in remote areas, folks with disabilities etc. I could go on!  They’ll be good for short story authors too and I have a plan to republish all my shorts. All to say, eBooks are here to stay and in balance, they’re a good thing. I think the big impact will be on our beloved bookstores and they will be working hard to redefine themselves in this rapidly changing market.

The Cluttered Corpse by Mary Jane Maffini

Title: The Cluttered Corpse
Author: Mary Jane Maffini
ISBN: 9780425220924
Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime, 2008
Mass Market Paperback, 288 pages
Genre: Cozy, Amateur Sleuth, #2 in the Charlotte Adams professional organizer series
Rating: B
Source: Paperback Swap

First Line: "You have saved my life."

When professional organizer Charlotte Adams steps into Emmy Lou Rheinbeck's home, the place looks fit to be featured in House Beautiful. Where's the mess that needs to be organized? When Emmy Lou shows Charlotte the second floor, Charlotte understands the reason for the call for help-- she's never seen so many stuffed animals in one place in her life.

Charlotte knows that she can handle this organizational problem, but she's not so sure Emmy Lou can handle her neighbors. Two young men are pulling cruel jokes on the woman until she's a nervous wreck. Emmy Lou insists that the pranksters are harmless, but before Charlotte can even put her plan to paper, she's up to her neck in a murder.

Two books in, and I like this series very much. One note of realism that I particularly appreciate is the fact that, after the first book, Charlotte makes it clear in The Cluttered Corpse that she lost a lot of business when the news media reported her involvement in a murder case. Most other series that feature an independent businessperson like Charlotte would have you think that business blithely goes on as usual, with nary a dip in clientele.

(As a side note, I have a thing for organization and places like The Container Store. I do hope in at least one future book, Charlotte gets to finish the project for which she was hired. I really enjoy that part of the books! I also pay attention to the organizing tips at the beginning of each chapter. My favorite in this book? "Don't bring anything new into your home unless you know you have a place to keep it. Except for books, of course.")

To get back on track... as I read, I first had the idea that Emmy Lou's neighborhood was flat-out weird and perhaps a little over-the-top until I remembered that, at one time, my own street housed six different nationalities, a 90 year age span from oldest to youngest-- and the house on the corner where young thieves would gather to plan their next rash of burglaries.

I deduced quite a bit of what was going on in The Cluttered Corpse, but as is the case with so many cozy mysteries, the whodunit isn't as important as the who. I enjoy hanging out with Charlotte and her crew, and Maffini's sense of humor can have me laughing out loud.

If you'd like to organize a fun and pleasant afternoon, I suggest you give Charlotte Adams a call.

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April 2011 New Mystery Releases!

Spring has well and truly sprung here in the Sonoran Desert. I'm hoping that I'm healed up enough so Denis and I can hop in the Jeep and head off on a trail or two so we can check out the wildflowers.  Until then, I'm cleaning up Casa Kittling a bit at a time-- not just for a highly anticipated house guest, but so I can spend lots of time this summer in the pool.

Before I go off to clean the bathroom floor and then sort through an almost 30-year-old yarn stash, let's see what new books being released in April have me adding to my wish lists.

The titles are grouped by release dates, and I've included the information you'll need to find them at all your favorite book spots.  I hope one or two of these titles have you drooling, too!

 ==April 5==

Title: The Hanging Wood

Author: Martin Edwards

Series: #5 in the Lake District mystery series set in England and featuring DCI Hannah Scarlett of the Cold Case Squad and retired historian Daniel Kind

ISBN: 9781590588529

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, 2011

Hardcover, 278 pages

"Twenty years ago, a teenage boy, Callum Hinds, went missing in England’s Lake District. His uncle was suspected of having done the boy harm and interviewed by the police. When he committed suicide close to his cottage in the Hanging Wood, everyone assumed it was a sign of guilt. But the body of the boy was never found.

Now his sister, Orla Payne,  has returned to the Lakes and takes up a job in an atmospheric residential library, close to her father’s farm, the upmarket caravan park, and the Hanging Wood. She wants to find the truth about Callum’s disappearance, and--at the prompting of Daniel Kind--making a drunken call, tries to interest DCI Hannah Scarlett, head of Cumbria’s Cold Case Review Team, in the case."

Title: The Fifth Witness
Author: Michael Connelly
Series: #4 in the Mickey Haller series set in Los Angeles, California
ISBN: 9780316069359
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company, 2011
Hardcover, 448 pages

"Connelly's compelling fourth legal thriller featuring Mickey Haller finds the maverick L.A. lawyer who uses his Lincoln town car as an office specializing in "foreclosure defense." Haller's first foreclosure client, Lisa Trammel, is fighting hard to keep her home, maybe too hard. The bank has gotten a restraining order to stop Trammel's protests, and she becomes the prime suspect when Mitchell Bondurant, a mortgage banker, is killed with a hammer in his office parking lot. A ton of evidence points to Trammel, but Haller crafts an impressive defense that includes "the fifth witness" of the title. Connelly has a sure command of the legal and procedural details of criminal court, and even manages to make the arcane, shady world of foreclosure interesting. While the prose may lack some of the poetic nuance of his early novels, the plot is worthy of a master storyteller."

Title: The Busy Woman's Guide to Murder

Author: Mary Jane Maffini

Series: #5 in the Charlotte Adams professional organizer series set in upstate New York

ISBN: 9780425240601

Publisher: Berkley Prime Crime, 2011

Paperback, 304 pages

"Mona Pringle, the local 911 operator, is calling Charlotte Adams with her own emergency: Serena Redding, a high school "mean girl" who used to torment Mona, is coming back for a reunion. When Mona talks about how good it would feel to kill Serena, Charlotte doesn't believe she means it. But when a woman who looks like Serena is killed in a hit- and-run, and another former mean girl is also run down, Charlotte realizes she needs to look both ways for the now-missing Mona."

Title: Dogs Don't Lie

Author: Clea Simon
Series: #1 in the Pru Marlowe Pet Noir series set in New York state
ISBN:  9781590588628
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press, 2011
Paperback, 260 pages

"Pru Marlowe isn't your ordinary animal psychic. A tough girl on the  run from her own gift, Pru left the big city to return to her picturesque Berkshires hometown looking for a little peace. Too bad that her training as an animal behaviorist got her mixed up with  Lily, a rescue dog, and Charles, her person. Now Charles is dead, and Lily looks good for it. After all, Lily is a pit bull, a fighting-ring dropout, and way too traumatized to give Pru a clear picture of what she has witnessed. But Pru knows something about bad girls trying to clean up, and, with a sense of justice strong enough to overcome her dislike of human society, she takes the case. Listening to the animals, Pru picks up clues--and learns there are secrets in the pretty little town that make murder look simple. Unable to tell  anybody about her psychic abilities, uncertain at times about her own sanity, Pru comes to realize that if she clears Lily, she’ll likely become the prime suspect--or the next victim. While the only  creature she can totally trust is her crotchety tabby Wallis, Pru’s got to uncover the real killer--and find a way to live with her gift--before the real beasts in the town savage her and those she has come to love."

==April 7==
 

Title: Inspector Singh Investigates: A Deadly Cambodian Crime Spree

Author: Shamini Flint

Series: #4 in the Inspector Singh series based in Singapore

ISBN: 9780749953478

Publisher: Piatkus Paperback, 2011

Paperback, 320 pages

"Inspector Singh is in Cambodia - wishing he wasn't. He's been sent as an observer to the international war crimes tribunal in Phnom Penh, the latest effort by his superiors to ensure that he is anywhere except in Singapore. But for the first time the fat Sikh inspector is on the verge of losing his appetite when a key member of the tribunal is murdered in cold blood. The authorities are determined to write off the incident as a random act of violence, but Singh thinks otherwise. It isn't long before he finds himself caught up in one of the most terrible murder investigations he's witnessed - the roots of which lie in the dark depths of the Cambodian killing fields."

Title: The Devil's Edge
Author: Stephen Booth
Series: #12 in the Ben Cooper and Diane Fry series set in England's Peak District
ISBN: 9781847444790
Publisher: Sphere, 2011
Hardcover, 352 pages

*UK Release*

"The newspapers call them the Savages: a band of home invaders as merciless as they are stealthy. Usually they don't leave a clue. This time, they've left a body. The first victim is found sprawled on her kitchen floor, blood soaking the terracotta tiles. Before long, another corpse is discovered, dead of fright. As the toll rises, it's up to DC Ben Cooper and DS Diane Fry to track down the killers. But the enemy isn't who they think it is. Beneath the sinister shadow of the mountain ridge called the Devil's Edge, a twisted game is in play -  a game more ruthless than the detectives can imagine."

 ==April 11==

 Title: Murder to Music

Author: Lesley Cookman

Series: #6 in the Libby Sarjeant series set in Kent, England

ISBN: 9781907726545

Publisher: Accent Press Ltd., 2011

Paperback, 368 pages

*UK Release*

"Libby Sarjeant and her friend Fran are invited by Fran's creative writing tutor to investigate a house that is reputedly haunted. For once, Libby can be as nosy as she likes without ploughing straight into a murder investigation, for the only deaths here appear to have occurred over a hundred years ago. But perhaps someone alive today doesn't want Libby to continue? And if so, will she be safe?"

==April 20==

Title: Guilt by Association

Author: Marcia Clark

ISBN: 9780316129510

Publisher: Mulholland Books, 2011

Hardcover, 368 pages

*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books*

"L.A. prosecutor Rachel Knight is stunned when her office soul-mate, Jake Pahlmeyer, is found shot to death in a sleazy motel along with a 17-year-old boy, raising ugly suspicions that she doesn't want to acknowledge. Given Jake's top case to work--the rape of the teenage daughter of one of the DA's prominent contributors--Rachel is warned by her boss to leave her colleague's death alone. But with her big heart and hard head, she uses her network of sources and risks career and safety to pursue both cases, teaming up with Detective Bailey Keller and following leads to Hispanic gangs and porno rings in the seamiest parts of the city. Clark offers a real page-turner here, with smart, fast-moving prose; a skillfully constructed plot; and a protagonist well worth knowing. Rachel, whose past is only hinted at, is a well-rounded character who's as tough with suspects as she is sensitive with young victims. A top-notch legal thriller that will leave readers wanting more." 

==April 26==

Title: Death on Tour

Author: Janice Hamrick

Series: #1 in the Jocelyn Shore series based in Austin, Texas

ISBN: 9780312679460

Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2011

Hardcover, 320 pages

"A passport's not needed to enjoy Hamrick's ditzy debut, the first in a new cozy series and the winner of the 2010 Mystery Writers of America/Minotaur Books First Crime Novel Competition. While Austin, Texas, high school teacher Jocelyn Shore and her fashionista cousin and best friend, Kyla Shore, are on an Egyptian tour, one of their group, unpopular 55-year-old Millie Owens, takes a fatal plunge off the great pyramid of Khafre outside Cairo. The police later determine that Millie was murdered, stabbed in the neck. Entries in a journal that Jocelyn finds in Millie's bag suggests someone on the tour might be dangerous. Good-looking Alan Stratton, who's traveling alone and wears no wedding ring, adds romantic interest. Hamrick does a good job capturing life on an exhausting budget tour as her snazzy if snarky amateur sleuth, who tends to be hard on the middle-aged and elderly, investigates some fishy fellow tourists with a hypercritical eye."

Are you eagerly awaiting any of these titles, too? Which ones? Do tell!

New Mystery Releases for July 2010!

As anyone who's visited here a time or two knows, I can and do read other genres, but my primary focus of interest is crime fiction-- what we used to call mysteries in the good old days.

I do like to keep current on what new mysteries are on the horizon. That way I can get them added to my Paperback Swap wish list or plan a trip to The Poisoned Pen.

I know several of my loyal readers (thank you!) enjoy reading mysteries, too, so I thought it wouldn't hurt to let you know monthly the new goodies for which I'm keeping my eyes peeled.

Without further ado, here are ten new mysteries being released in July that I'd love to read-- and I hope you will, too! I've included the information you'll need to find it at your favorite book spot, and if you'd like to know more about the plot, etc., click on the book cover.



===July 1 Release===


Title: Mama Gets HitchedAuthor: Deborah SharpSeries: #3 in the Mace Bauer series set in Florida
ISBN: 9780738719221
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Paperback, 336 pages





===July 6 Release===


Title: Inspector Singh Investigates: A Most Peculiar Malaysian Murder
Author: Shamini Flint
Series: #2 in the Inspector Singh series based in Singapore
ISBN: 9780312596972
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Hardcover, 304 pages






Title: Last Writes
Author: Sheila Lowe
Series: #4 in the Claudia Rose forensic handwriting series set in Los Angeles, California
ISBN: 9780451231109
Publisher: Signet
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages





Title: Closet Confidential
Author: Mary Jane Maffini
Series: #4 in the Charlotte Adams professional organizer series set in upstate New York
ISBN: 9780425235645
Publisher: Berkley
Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages





Title: The Drowning River, A Mystery in Florence
Author: Christobel Kent
Series: #1 in the Sandro Cellini P.I. series set in Florence, Italy
ISBN: 9780312621018
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Hardcover, 320 pages







===July 13 Release===



Title: The Glass Rainbow
Author: James Lee Burke
Series: #18 in the Dave Robicheaux series set in New Iberia, Louisiana
ISBN: 9781439128299
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Hardcover, 448 pages






===July 15 Release===



Title: A Pig of Cold Poison
Author: Pat McIntosh
Series: #7 in the Gil Cunningham series set in 15th century Glasgow, Scotland
ISBN: 9781569476505
Publisher: Soho Constable
Hardcover, 288 pages






Title: The Taken
Author: Inger Ash Wolfe
Series: #2 in the Detective Inspector Hazel Micallef series set in Ontario, Canada
ISBN: 9780151013531
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Hardcover, 432 pages
*Upcoming review on Kittling: Books.





===July 19 Release===


Title: The Messenger of Athens
Author: Anne Zouroudi
Series: #1 in the Greek Detective series set in... wait for it... Greece
ISBN: 9780316075428
Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books
Hardcover, 336 pages






===July 27 Release===



Title: Queen of the Night
Author: J.A. Jance
Series: #4 in the Walker family series set in Tucson, Arizona
ISBN: 9780061239243
Publisher: William Morrow
Hardcover, 368 pages






There you have it: my Top Ten for July! Do any of these titles intrigue you? Which ones?

Organize Your Corpses by Mary Jane Maffini

Title: Organize Your Corpses
Author: Mary Jane Maffini
ISBN: 9780425215807, Berkley Prime Crime, 2007
Genre: Amateur Sleuth, #1 Charlotte Adams mystery
Rating: B

First Line: "Is this some kind of death wish?"

Charlotte Adams has moved back to Woodbridge, New York, and is trying to get her personal organizer business firmly established. That is the sole reason why, against everyone's advice, she accepts the job from "Hellfire" Henley, the school teacher everyone in town loves to hate. Things can't get much worse when Charlotte goes over to have Henley sign a contract and finds the former teacher's body buried under a mountain of clutter. You see...her former best friend is now a police officer and would love nothing better than to pin the crime on Charlotte. Charlotte's got to organize her own investigation to stay out of prison.

Maffini surrounds her main character with a cast of interesting friends and acquaintances, as well as giving readers organizational tips at the beginning of each chapter. Charlotte's landlord is her friend, Jack, who's never met a meal he didn't want to mooch and who constantly tries to get Charlotte to adopt homeless animals. How in the world she could adopt any more when she's already got her hands full with two misbehaving Dachshunds named Truffle and Sweet Marie is beyond me.

This is a traditional cozy mystery in which both the plot and the mystery take a backseat to the characters. Maffini's characterization is skilled, and I grew to like Charlotte, especially when she befriends an elderly shut-in, Rose, who bakes a mean batch of cookies.

Will I continue on with the series? I'm not sure. I used to love cozies, but within the past couple of years, I've found myself moving away from them and steering myself toward darker and heavier fare. Would I recommend this series to readers who love this genre? You bet! With the cast of characters Maffini has created, I can see Charlotte organizing investigations in many a mystery yet to come.