Friday, April 9, 2021

Dear Abby - Videos Abby Likes: A Funny Prank


Dear Friends,

Thanks for stopping by today.  A special thanks to friends who leave comments - they make me so happy and I appreciate them!

Today I have a short and fun video shared by my friend Michelle. Michelle loves animals and especially beautiful poodles. This video was put together by the South Australian police as an April Fools Day joke.  The narrator talks about how the police force is moving away from German Shepherd dogs for police work and towards using dachshunds because they are little and easy to lift and can climb under things to investigate. It is all very silly and made me laugh!

Here's the video - hope it gives you a chuckle too:

On the run today ... with a head's up that I am taking next week off from blogging. My Momma doesn't have a book review next week so we are both going to take a week off from blogging.

Have a wonderful day!

Love,

Abby xoxoxo



Book Review and Giveaway - The Corpse Who Knew Too Much (Food Blogger Mysteries #4) by Debra Sennefelder



My Review

The Corpse Who Knew Too Much is a cozy mystery featuring food blogger Hope Early. Hope finds herself playing detective to help solve the case of a missing person. Her high school friend Devon's mother disappeared twenty years ago. Devon has started a true crime podcast and asks Hope to help solve the mystery.  As Hope investigates, more murders occur and she finds herself in danger.

I wanted to read this novel because I love "foodie" books, was intrigued by the blogging theme, and find missing person cold cases fascinating.

This is the fourth book in the Food Blogger Mysteries series. I have not read the earlier books and had a hard time keeping up with all the characters in this novel. A cast of characters page would be tremendously helpful. I suspect this is a novel best read in order with the series, not as a standalone.

The book is well written, with strong descriptions.  Hope's food blogging was very interesting, and there is even a section with delicious sounding recipes, including Three-Cheese Lasagna, Rustic Apple Pie, and Sugar Cookies.

There were a number of possible suspects and the mystery kept me guessing! Hope discovered the murderer's identity before I did.

I always love cozy mysteries that feature pets, and enjoyed Bigelow, the rescue dog, and Princess, the cat.

I think that cozy mystery readers who also have an interest in cooking or blogging will be especially interested in The Corpse Who Knew Too Much

Book Synopsis

Food blogger Hope Early takes on a cold case that’s heating up fast . . . Building on her recipe for success with her food blog, Hope at Home, Hope is teaching her first blogging class at the local library in Jefferson, Connecticut. She’s also learning about podcasts, including a true-crime one called Search for the Missing, hosted by Hope’s childhood friend, Devon Markham. Twenty years ago on Valentine’s Day, right here in Jefferson, Devon’s mom disappeared and was never found. Finally Devon has returned to solve the mystery of what happened to her mother—and she asks Hope to help. The next day Hope discovers Devon’s apartment has been ransacked. Her laptop with the research on her mother’s cold case is missing, and Devon is nowhere to be found. When her friend’s body is later discovered in a car wreck, Hope is convinced it’s no accident. Clearly, Devon was too close to the truth, and the cold-blooded killer is still at large in Jefferson. Now it’s up to Hope to find the guilty party—before the food blogger herself becomes the next subject of another true-crime podcast . . . Includes Recipes from Hope’s Kitchen!


Author Bio

Debra Sennefelder is an avid reader who reads across a range of genres, but mystery fiction is her obsession. Her interest in people and relationships is channeled into her novels against a backdrop of crime and mystery. 

Her first novel, THE UNINVITED CORPSE (A Food Blogger mystery) was published in 2018. When she’s not reading, she enjoys cooking and baking and as a former food blogger, she is constantly taking photographs of her food. Yeah, she’s that person

Born and raised in New York City, where she majored in her hobby of fashion buying, she now lives and writes in Connecticut with her family. She’s worked in retail and publishing before becoming a full-time author. Her writing companion is her adorable and slightly spoiled Shih Tzu, Connie.

Author Links – Website & Blog Facebook Instagram

WEBSITE: http://bit.ly/2lQwSNi

NEWSLETTER: http://bit.ly/2jBx9oV

FACEBOOK AUTHOR PAGE: http://bit.ly/2qjwHyT

INSTAGRAM: http://bit.ly/2EQh6da

Purchase Links

Amazon – Barnes & Noble –  KensingtonKoboGoogle Play

Giveaway

One lucky reader will win the book The Corpse Who Knew Too Much (print book). This contest is open to readers in the USA and Canada. Giveaway ends at midnight 4/15/21. Winner will be notified by email and needs to reply within 48 hours or another name will be drawn. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway   


 

Book Spotlight and Giveaway - The Test of Gold by Renee Yancy


Book Synopsis

Heiress Evangeline “Lindy” Lindenmayer has been groomed since childhood to marry into the British aristocracy as her mother’s ultimate ambition is a royal title for the family name. But literature fascinates Lindy far more than ballgowns, and she spends all her free time in the library, the only room in the Fifth Avenue mansion where she can safely indulge her passion for reading and find refuge from the prying eyes of her mother.

Jack Winthrop is studying for the ministry at Union Theological Seminary and has been invited to use the Lindemayer’s library for his studies. His sole experience of upper-class young women has occurred at his uncle’s church, where he has found these young debutantes universally featherbrained. When he meets Lindy, he is pleasantly surprised to discover she has wide-ranging interests and is highly intelligent. Although cautioned by his uncle to stay away from her, he finds Lindy a kindred spirit and over animated discussions of books and life, they fall in love.

But to reach happily ever after, Lindy will need to challenge her mother’s long-laid plans, and weathering the approaching storm will take more backbone than she even knew she had.

Amazon (Kindle) | Amazon (Paperback) | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound


Author Bio

Renee Yancy is a long time history and archaeology nut who has been living vicariously through historical fiction since she was a young girl. Now she writes the kind of books she loves to read—stories filled with historical and archaeological detail on every aspect of living in a different time period, interwoven with strong characters and a tale full of pathos and conflict. She wants to take you on a journey into the past so fascinating that you can’t put the story down.

When she’s not writing, Renee Facetimes with her twin grandbabies, and lives in Kentucky with her husband and two mutts. She enjoys reading, antiquing, and collecting pottery.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway

Enter to win an eBook of The Test of Gold by Renee Yancy! Two eBooks are up for grabs!

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends on April 14th. You must be 18 or older to enter.

The Test of Gold