Dying to Knowis a paranormal mystery. Police detective Oliver “Tuck” Tucker is dead, killed in his own home. While his body is gone, his spirit remains, but to do what? Solve his murder? Protect his wife? Figure out why his best friend and partner is hiding evidence? So much to do, so little idea how to do it.
Bottom line: Dying to Know is for you if you like mysteries told in a new and unexpected way.
Listen to chapters 1 and 2 here or wherever you find Mysteries to Die For Podcast
Subscribe to our NEW podcast website! Check out m2d4podcast.com for all the season’s episodes, the toe tags, and our amazing array of authors.
About Tj O’Connor
Tj O’Connor is an award-winning author of mysteries and thrillers. He’s an international security consultant specializing in anti-terrorism, investigations, and threat analysis—life experiences that drive his novels. As a government agent and years as a consultant, he has lived and worked throughout many countries in the European Union and the Americas. In his spare time, he’s a Harley Davidson pilot, a man-about-dogs (and now cats), and a lover of adventure, cooking, and good spirits (both kinds).
Partners In Crime Tours represents a network of 300+ bloggers offering tailor-made virtual book tours and marketing options for crime, mystery and thriller writers from around the world. Founded in 2011, PICT offers services for well-established and best-selling authors, as well as those just starting out with their careers. PICT prides itself on its tailored packages for authors, with a personal touch from the tour coordinators. For more information, check out their website www.partnersincrimetours.com
Early Termination is a suspense crime novel. Parole Officer Casey Carson has her hands full with a stacked case load and a rookie to train. Her workload takes a twist when one of her clients is found dead with her business card stuff in his mouth. Now the cops want her, members of the Diablo gang want her, her ex-husband and her new maybe plaything, they both want her, too.
Bottom line: Early Termination is for you if you like fast-paced crime stories woven with suspense, thrills, and humor.
Listen to chapters one and two here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcast
About Cindy Goyette
Cindy Goyette is a former probation officer who had a front row seat to the criminal justice system. She kept her sanity by finding humor in most situations. A mix of these things helped her create The Probation Case Files Mystery Series. After spending over twenty years in Arizona, Cindy lives in Washington state with her husband and two Cocker Spaniels. Visit her at CCGoyette.com
Partners In Crime Tours represents a network of 300+ bloggers offering tailor-made virtual book tours and marketing options for crime, mystery and thriller writers from around the world. Founded in 2011, PICT offers virtual book tour services for well-established and best-selling authors, as well as those just starting out with their careers. PICT prides itself on its tailored packages for authors, with a personal touch from the tour coordinators. For more information, check out their website partnersincrimetours.com
The Chemical Detectiveis a thriller. Dr. Jaqueline Silver, who answers to Jaq, is a chemical engineer putting her considerable talents to work keeping the alpine slopes avalanche free by detonating controlled explosions. When she notices an anomaly in the explosives delivery, she pulls unwittingly on a house of cards and brings down a whole lot more than snow.
Bottom line: The Chemical Detective is for you if you like heroes chill and your thrills explosive
Listen to the first sections and the full review here, on our new website m2d4podcast.com, or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcast
The Chemical Detective was released in the UK in 2019 and released here in the States in August 2024, is promoted by Partners In Crime Tours and is available from AMAZON.
Fiona Erskine is a professional engineer. Based in the north of England and working internationally, she has often been the lone representative of her gender in board meetings, cargo ships and night-time factories. Her fiction offers a fascinating insight into the traditionally male world of heavy industry. Fiona’s stand-alone portrait of a Scottish factory, Phosphate Rocks: A Death In Ten Objects, made the UK Literary Review’s top ten crime novels of 2021. Her latest series introduces DI Cadell in a cyber thriller – Losing Control: Terror in Teesside. Fiona is passionate about music and outdoor swimming, though not generally at the same time.
There will be a ONE WEEK US Kindle Countdown deal on Phosphate Rocks (my best book!). It’ll be $0.99 from Sunday, February 2 to Sunday, February 9th, 2025.
About Partners In Crime Tours
PICT represents a network of 300+ bloggers offering tailor-made virtual book tours and marketing options for crime, mystery and thriller writers from around the world. Founded in 2011, PICT offers virtual book tour services for well-established and best-selling authors, as well as those just starting out with their careers. PICT prides itself on its tailored packages for authors, with a personal touch from the tour coordinators. For more information, check out their website partnersincrimetours.com
Elephant Safariis a political thriller. Documentary film maker Pero Baltazar and elite guide Mbuno are on a walking safari when they come across a herd of elephants being terrorized by poachers. After intervening, they take on the responsibility of protecting the herd and ending the poaching, which draws them into an international conspiracy they could not imagine
Bottom line: Elephant Safari is for you if you like dramatically intense political thrillers and the exotic environs of East Africa.
Listen to an excerpt here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For
Peter Riva has traveled extensively throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe, spending many months spanning thirty years with legendary guides for East African adventurers. He created the Wild Things television series in 1995 and has worked for more than forty years as a literary agent. Riva writes science fiction and African adventure books, including the Mbuno & Pero thrillers. He lives in Gila, New Mexico.
The Light Beside the Seais a cozy mystery. Julia Bonatti is an astrologer who gives guidance to others to allay fears of change and the future. Yet, she is stuck in her own past, one that won’t lie quiet. A few, short years ago, her fiancé Michael was killed in a hit-and-run as he returned from an archeological expedition. Now it comes to light that he wasn’t the only grad student related to the project or the professor who has died. The latest was just days ago. Now Julia is asking questions. By solving one death, she just may be able to provide closure on them all.
Bottom line: The Light Beside the Sea is for you if you like cozy mysteries and a touch of the unexpected.
Listen to the prologue and first chapter here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcast
TG Wolff Review
Julia is our narrator and the detective in this story. One of the first challenges of the amateur sleuth mystery is how to inject the detective. In this case, Julia was invited in through multiple doors including other grieving wives/girlfriends and the bad guy. Julia isn’t a pushy / nosey as many cozy sleuths. She more finds doors that are open and goes through them rather than forcing her way through. She is easy to respect and like. With this is Julia’s fifth story, so she is a well developed character.
The main story is a mix of a mystery and a conspiracy. The older deaths were officially closed as accidents, not homicides. The newest death is undeniably murder. Through stories told by loved ones of the deceased, her fiancé Michael’s notebook, and a few experts in their fields, Julia pieces together the events and motivations until she unearths some shady characters.
Julia is consistent and true to herself in her actions. The logic of a story is more often tied to the actions of the Bad Guy. Looking from the end back to the beginning, I am left with a few questions.
The subplots have the zany element readers look forward to in a cozy. Julia’s grandmother’s next door neighbor had disappeared just as her daughter was forcing her from her home into a faraway elder care facility. Then there is the drama with the staff of The Mystic Eye book store with Rupert and the woman he cares for.
The pacing in the book is fairly fast with Julia hopping between the main and side story lines. Individually, the stories unfold at a stepwise pace. The astrology cozy element is fresh and, at times, highly technical. I won’t claim to have understood all of the explanations Julia gave to her clients, but they were interesting. There is an element of mysticism above and beyond Julia’s chosen path that adds a sense of wonder and suspense.
Overall, this was an entertaining read. Fans of the cozy genre who are looking for a fresh take should check on the Julia Bonatti and the Zodiac Mystery series.
Meet Connie Di Marco
Connie di Marco is the author of the Zodiac Mysteries featuring San Francisco astrologer Julia Bonatti, a woman who never thought murder would be part of her practice. The Light Beside the Sea is the fifth novel in the series. Writing as Connie Archer, she is also the author of the national bestselling Soup Lover’s Mysteries from Penguin Random House. You can find her excerpts and recipes in The Cozy Cookbook and The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook. Connie is a member of the Mystery Writers of America, International Thriller Writers, Crime Writers Association (UK) and Sisters in Crime.
Partners In Crime Tours represents a network of 300+ bloggers offering tailor-made virtual book tours and marketing options for crime, mystery and thriller writers from around the world. Founded in 2011, PICT offers virtual book tour services for well-established and best-selling authors, as well as those just starting out with their careers. PICT prides itself on its tailored packages for authors, with a personal touch from the tour coordinators. For more information, check out their website partnersincrimetours.com
On the Horns of Deathis historical mystery. Sixteen-year-old Martis volunteers as a bull dancer in Knossos on the isle of Crete. An ordinary day of practice turns dark when she discovers the body of another dancer inside a bullpen. But why would he climb into the pen? Answer: murder.
Bottom line: On the Horns of Death is for you if you like amateur sleuths and the rich sights, scents, and sounds of Ancient Greece.
Listen to the first chapter and full review here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcasts
The On the Horns of Death was released from Severn House and is promoted by Partners In Crime Tours and is available from AMAZON and other book retailers.
Eleanor Kuhns is a previous winner of the Minotaur Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel competition for A Simple Murder. The author of eleven Will Rees mysteries, she is now a full-time writer after a successful career as the Assistant Director at the Goshen Public Library in Orange County, New York.
Partners In Crime Tours represents a network of 300+ bloggers offering tailor-made virtual book tours and marketing options for crime, mystery and thriller writers from around the world. Founded in 2011, PICT offers services for well-established and best-selling authors, as well as those just starting out with their careers. PICT prides itself on its tailored packages for authors, with a personal touch from the tour coordinators. For more information, check out their website partnersincrimetours.com
Rogues & Patriotsis an PI thriller. Los Angeles PI Nick Crane does a friend a favor by taking on the two-headed case of investigating the murder of a Confidential Informant and saving his young daughters from the horrors of the juvenile immigration. But his time isn’t his own as an underground group of vigilantes are after him and something they think he possesses.
Bottom line: Rogues & Patriots is for you if you like ballsy private investigators, conspiracy thrillers, and blurred lines between the good guys and the bad.
Listen to Chapters 1 & 2 with our full review here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For Podcast
About Patrick H. Moore
Patrick H. Moore is a Los Angeles based investigator, sentencing mitigation specialist, and crime writer. In the field since 2003, he has worked in virtually all areas including drug trafficking, sex crimes, crimes of violence, and white-collar fraud. Mastering this job, which combines art, science, and intuition, has given Patrick the tools to write realistic crime fiction that depicts the unpredictable and violent world of cops, convicts, prosecutors and defense attorneys. Rogues & Patriots was the second in a three-part series in which veteran Los Angeles private investigator Nick Crane battles a group of aristocratic domestic terrorists known as the “principals.”
The Guest Houseis psychological thriller. Allie Dawson is on the ride of a lifetime. Her brainchild for a voice-to-caption product has received preliminary funding. But moving from Milwaukee to Silicon Valley has brought more than the expected challenges of getting a new product to market. She’s moved into a guest house where the rent was too good to be true. That should have been the first clue.
Bottom line: The Guest House is for you if you like female-centric stories where thrill and mystery are mechanisms for character growth.
Listen to the first chapter and the review here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcasts
About Bonnie Traymore
Bonnie Traymore is the award-winning, Amazon bestselling author of page-turner mystery/thrillers that hit close to home. Her books feature strong but relatable female protagonists. The plots explore difficult topics such as jealousy, infidelity, murder, and the impact of psychological disorders, but she also includes bits of romance and humor to lighten the mood from time to time. She has active status member of International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America.
The Stuff of Murder is an amateur sleuth cozy mystery. Dr. Christian Shaw is a mother, a widow, and the director of the historical society. She is responsible for the 17th century bible and pewter tankard used by the lead actor in a movie very loosely based on The Scarlet Letter. Then the actor dies, dramatically. Christian’s old stuff is at the heart of the investigation and where they go, she goes.
Bottom line: The Stuff of Murder is for you if you like cozy mysteries, charming characters, and everyday old stuff.
Listen here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcasts
The Stuff of Murder was released from Level Best and is available from AMAZON and other book retailers. Book 2, The Stuff of Mayhem is coming in November 2024.
Kathleen Marple Kalb describes herself as an Author/Anchor/Mom…not in that order. An award-winning weekend anchor at New York’s 1010 WINS Radio, she writes short stories and novels including the Ella Shane and Old Stuff mysteries, both from Level Best Books. As Nikki Knight, she writes the Grace the Hit Mom and Vermont Radio mysteries. Her stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Black Cat Weekly, online, and in anthologies, and been short-listed for Derringer and Black Orchid Novella Awards. She, her husband, and son live in a Connecticut house owned by their cat
It’s 1976 and Sheriff Ty Dawson has his hands full with Meridian County’s newest resident. Music producer Len Kaanan brought in rock star Ian Swann and with him came a troubled brother, an ornery producer, shady stagehands, property damage, assault, and someone with a more deadly intent. Plus, Ty’s daughter is sweet on the music man.
Bottom line: Knife River is for you if you like stories where you know something bad is going to happen but have no idea which direction it’s coming from.
Listen to the prologue and first chapter here or wherever you get Mysteries to Die For podcasts
TG Wolff Review
This review is careful not to reveal details of Knife River that will take away from the reader’s own discovery and enjoyment.
There are so many strengths of this story that it is hard to know where to start. The one that sticks out most to me is the storytelling style. This one unfolds thoughtfully, deliberately, and with such terrifying elegance that I was tempted to read through my fingers. Chapter by chapter, the feeling grows that something very bad has happened, was going to happen but where it would come from and who would be the target wasn’t clear.
The language used elevates Knife River to the top of mystery literature. Consider from chapter twenty, “By the time morning arrived, it came so softly that it felt like a eulogy, the underlayment of the clouds glowing like coal embers for only the briefest of moments, soon swallowed by a still and steely sky that stole all but the ambient glow of sunrise.”
Sheriff Ty Dawson is an engaging hero who is easy to root for. A lawman, cattle rancher, and Korean vet, he is a complicated and damaged man who takes life one day at a time. He is grounded by his wife, Jesse, his college age daughter, Cricket, as well as his foreman and the deputies. The cast is close knit, a group who are positive and supportive of each other.
The 1970s and rural Oregon setting of the Ty Dawson Mysteries makes it stand out from the pack. Birtcher displays his prowess by writing with historical accuracy while making it feel as though we were reading a modern telling. In his hands, we are eternally far away from reading a textbook description of the life and times in post-Vietnam. He similarly brings us into the world of cattle ranges and cowboys by taking us along, at the crack of dawn, to ride down strays.
The plot of this story is wonderfully winding when read from the start, as noted. Standing at the end and looking back to page one, it is both twisted and straightforward. Thinking about the story in the days since I finished it, each detail checks back to earlier chapters, making the logic sound.
When considering whether Sheriff Ty Dawson drives the story, the book divides into two parts: pre-murder and post-murder. Prior to the murder, the action of the main plot is driven by the rock star and music producer. Ty inserts himself into those plans to set up a prevent defense ahead of the invasion of ten thousand fans, but he is in a reactive position. After the murder, he shifts to a proactive role, driving the investigation. His tenacity on details is the reason why this murder is solved.
As to where this story fell short of ideal, there isn’t much to pick on. The logic, the pacing, the storytelling are topnotch.
Knife River is the fourth book in the Ty Dawson Mystery series. I read the third, but not the first two. Knife River can be read as a stand alone. The mystery is independent from prior books. Readers who can’t start a series anywhere but at book 1, definitely start there and stay with Ty through Knife River.
About Baron Birtcher
Baron Birtcher is the LA TIMES and IMBA BESTSELLING author of the award-winning Ty Dawson series, the hardboiled Mike Travis series, as well as the stand-alone, RAIN DOGS. He is a winner of the Silver Falchion Award, Killer Nashville Readers Choice Award, and Best Book of the Year Award. Baron’s writing has been hailed as “The real deal” by Publishers Weekly; “Fast Paced and Engaging” by Booklist; and “Solid, Fluent and Thrilling” by Kirkus. Before becoming a full-time writer, Baron Birtcher spent a number of years as a professional musician and founded an independent record label and management company.
TG Wolff 