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Thursday, December 5, 2019

Book Review and Giveaway - Death on the Danube: A New Year’s Murder in Budapest (Travel Can Be Murder #1) by Jennifer S. Alderson

Book Synopsis
Who knew a New Year’s trip to Budapest could be so deadly? The tour must go on – even with a killer in their midst…

Recent divorcee Lana Hansen needs a break. Her luck has run sour for going on a decade, ever since she got fired from her favorite job as an investigative reporter. When her fresh start in Seattle doesn’t work out as planned, Lana ends up unemployed and penniless on Christmas Eve.

Dotty Thompson, her landlord and the owner of Wanderlust Tours, is also in a tight spot after one of her tour guides ends up in the hospital, leaving her a guide short on Christmas Day.

When Dotty offers her a job leading the tour group through Budapest, Hungary, Lana jumps at the chance. It’s the perfect way to ring in the new year and pay her rent!
What starts off as the adventure of a lifetime quickly turns into a nightmare when Carl, her fellow tour guide, is found floating in the Danube River. Was it murder or accidental death? Suspects abound when Lana discovers almost everyone on the tour had a bone to pick with Carl.

But Dotty insists the tour must go on, so Lana finds herself trapped with nine murder suspects. When another guest turns up dead, Lana has to figure out who the killer is before she too ends up floating in the Danube…

Introducing Lana Hansen, tour guide, reluctant amateur sleuth, and star of the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series. Join Lana as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that, unfortunately for Lana, often turn deadly.

Feel-good stories about friendship, travel, and celebrating new experiences. Coming soon: Books 2 and 3 in the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series!

My Review
Lana Hansen is recently divorced, living in Seattle, and trying to decide what she wants next in life.  Her friend and landlady, Dotty, owns a travel agency and is suddenly short a tour guide for a New Year's trip to Budapest.  Lana reluctantly agrees to go on the trip.  After two murders occur on the excursion, she starts spending time sleuthing as well as guiding the tour.

I wanted to read Death on the Danube because I enjoy playing armchair traveler (as well as armchair detective!).  Lana's work as a tour guide sounded interesting too.

This was a fun cozy mystery, and a great debut to the new series Travel Can Be Murder.  I loved the travel descriptions, especially the Christmas market and the very atmospheric labyrinth.  I could really picture the places the tour visited from the descriptions;  they were very vivid.

Lana makes a good amateur detective.  She depends on research and doesn't take silly, dangerous chances.  The mystery aspect of the story was well written.  I figured the killer about the same time that Lana did.

I especially enjoyed the fast pacing of this novel, with short chapters and dialogue that moved the story along at a crisp pace.

I would recommend Death on the Danube for cozy mystery fans, and especially for anyone who enjoys travel related mysteries.  I look forward to reading future books in this series!

Author Bio
Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she moved to Darwin, Australia, before settling in the Netherlands. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip. Jennifer’s love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning mystery series—the Zelda Richardson Mysteries and Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries—and standalone stories.

Author Links
Website: http://www.jennifersalderson.com
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/JennifeSAlderson
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/jenniferSAldersonauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JSAauthor
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/JenniferSAlderson
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jennifer-s-alderson

Purchase Links
Amazon COM
Amazon Worldwide
Amazon Author Page

Giveaway
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4 comments:

  1. Thank you for your review on "Death on the Danube" by Jennifer S. Alderson and for being part of the book tour.

    Sounds like a great book and one that I would enjoy having the opportunity to read.
    2clowns at arkansas dot net

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a wonderful review! Thank you for your interest in reading my cozy and for sharing it with your readers! Happy holidays!
    (My apologies for the lare response; December 5 was Christmas in the Netherlands 😄 )

    ReplyDelete
  3. The crisp pace sounds good! I'm glad our heroine doesn't make foolish choices! This sounds like a worthwhile mystery!

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