Red Flags—Updated!

That's right, we zazzed up the back-of-the-book copy a little bit (what? it's a word). Still the same great cover and release date (coming next April)!

And look, major links are up: Poisoned Pen Press, IndieBound, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.
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When Kate Reilly arrives in Long Beach, California, a week ahead of the Grand Prix, she’s immediately plunged into a new social scene—as well as a murder investigation. Her cousin Billy is found dead, with Kate’s card in his pocket. The cops want to know why, and sponsors and race organizers—anxious to keep racing’s image clean—want Kate to investigate. Doubting she can solve another murder, especially that of a relative she despised, Kate reluctantly agrees.

At the same time, coaching a gorgeous and talented actress for a celebrity race brings Kate into the orbit of Hollywood’s hottest bachelor. And then a local FBI agent takes notice of more than her driving and sleuthing skills. She goes from Sony Studios to Venice Beach and from Rodeo Drive to the Hollywood Hills, attending parties, power-shopping, and dodging unwelcome paparazzi. Kate’s ballooning media exposure generates national commentary, testing her composure and forcing her to get ahead of the stories—whether critical or flattering.

Kate’s professional dreams are also coming true. The upcoming Grand Prix is her first race with a new sponsor that’s also funding an IndyCar test drive and a ride in next year’s Indy 500—along with future possibilities in NASCAR. The downside? New sponsor Frame Savings is owned by her family, and its management, outside of her long-estranged father, is unfriendly to her…even rivalrous.

Kate must stay on her toes as the Long Beach race weekend begins. She’s negotiating the next steps in her career, driving two racecars and coaching a third, discovering more about the disreputable members of her father’s family than she wanted to know, and juggling questions and suspects. On track, red flags fly to warn her of danger. Off track, Kate struggles to interpret warning signs and stay out of a killer’s grasp.

March Releases from Poisoned Pen Press!

Congratulations to my fellow Poisoned Pen Press authors with releases this month! I can recommend them both!

Kittens Can Kill, Clea Simon (find out more)

Partial description: The dead don’t keep pets. So when animal behaviorist expert Pru Marlowe gets a call about a kitten, she doesn’t expect to find the cuddly creature playing beside the cooling body of prominent Beauville lawyer David Canaday. Heart attack? His three adult daughters angrily blame drug interactions, feline allergies—and each other. And begin to feud over their father, his considerable estate, and that cute ball of fluff. 

This was the first of Clea's series that I read, and you can believe I'll go back to read the earlier titles in the series. A good story and a fun twist on animal mysteries.

Sherlock Holmes, The Missing Years: Japan, Vasudev Murthy (find out more)

Partial description: In a seriocomic novel that radically ups the ante, Sherlock Holmes and Watson find their match in more than one man (or indeed, woman) as a clock inexorably ticks. History, mystery, romance, conspiracies, knife-edge tension; a train in Russia, roadside crime in Alexandria, an upset stomach in Bombay, careening through Cambodia, nasty people in China, monks in Japan–here’s a thrilling global chase that will leave you breathless (occasionally with laughter) as the Sherlock Holmes: The Missing Years series begins.

I'm looking forward to the next books in the series, because this one was a lot of fun and very cleverly done. Good job, Vasudev!

And if you're a reader of Mystery Readers Journal, look for Barbara Leavy's article in the March issue, titled "Some Thoughts About Depressed Northern Detectives."

Poisoned Pen Press February Releases!

Congratulations to my fellow Poisoned Pen Press-ers on their releases this month! The 

Chaos Theory is the first of The Kami Files, a new YA series from the Poisoned Pencil imprint. I just started reading it, and it's good! I predict more good stuff from M Evonne (Meg) Dobson. More info and links to buy on the PPP site.

The Magician's Daughter, by Judith Janeway, is another first in a new series, this one the Valentine Hill Mysteries, about a young woman who's a magician on a quest to find her con-artist mother. I'll be looking forward to the next in the series. More info and links to buy at PPP.

Satan's Lullaby is the 11th in Priscilla Royal's award-winning Medieval Mystery Series. It takes us back to the autumn of 1278 and to some dark doings at Tyndal Priory (of course!). It wins best title of the month. More info and links to buy.

And Jane Tesh offers up the fourth entry in her Grace Street Mysteries, Just You Wait. I haven't read this series yet, but it's going on my list, because this one sounds good. More info and links to buy.