NEW RELEASE - Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles - Book 11 - Available Now!

Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles continues to build steam! - Author Cindy Davis has just released book 11 in the crime series and it’s a wild ride!

Last year, in the book, The Great Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Davis introduced us to Bliss Jagar, a young woman who is a free-spirited drifter who finds herself in Magnolia Buff helping the ghost of a murder victim unearth his killer. It was a fun cozy full of murder, mystery, a touch of the paranormal, and a wonderful cast of characters, highlighted by everybody’s favorite fruit-eating bird, Diablo. A Toucan whose mysterious ability to communicate with Bliss can only be described as extraordinary.

In this year’s offering, When Bad Things Happen To Good Mice, Bliss is accused of killing her ex-boyfriend. The only problem is that she wasn't even in Magnolia Bluff at the time of the alleged murder. But that's not stopping the Chief of Police from arresting her for the crime anyway. He's feeling the heat to quickly have a suspect in custody and happens to  have a witness who saw her in town around the time of the murder. It's up to Bliss to somehow prove her innocence and find the actual killer. With the help of her trusted Toucan, Diablo, a few friends--new and old, and the lyrics from Tom Chapin's songs popping into her head to warn her of impending danger, Bliss pulls out all the stops to discover the real murderer while trying to keep herself out of jail.    

Here is the blurb for this entertaining romp through the Texas Hill Country:

Can lyrics from Tom Chapin’s songs help Bliss solve the murder of her ex boyfriend, found in the debris of the Celtic Faire’s opening-night bonfire?

Bliss is hauled back to Magnolia Bluff, Texas in a police car. Her boyfriend, with whom she broke up with three months ago, has been found dead in the ashes of the Annual Celtic Faire bonfire. She was miles away when he died, but a witness, someone she considered a friend, said she was in town. And no one can prove otherwise.

Chief Jager is being pressured from all sides to not only solve the murder, but also the rash of petty thefts that have hit the small town. Could they somehow be related? Bliss thinks so, but the chief can’t let go of the idea she’s the killer.

When the body is identified as one of the contestants in the competition, and not Bliss’ ex, things take on an entirely new perspective.

To purchase, click here: When Bad Things Happen to Good Mice

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The Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles is a unique multi-author crime fiction series that began in 2022. The 9 books released during the first year were so well received that the authors decided to continue the series into 2023 and beyond. 

The award-winning writers who pen the stories for this little town in the Texas Hill Country are as diverse as the books they've contributed to this superb series. But all have one thing in common. Our love for a good mystery. 

The authors responsible for last year's books turned out 9 page turning mysteries that were full of murder and mayhem. Some were cozies and some a little grittier. All taking place is the same small town, centered around some of the same people and businesses, yet all uniquely different stories.

If you missed any of the books published last year, now's a great time to catch up as we roll full steam ahead into 2023. But that doesn't mean you can't start with Cindy Davis' new and wonderful cozy mystery, When Bad Things Happen to Good Mice. Wherever you begin, just be prepared for a fun ride into a town whose population continues to shrink due to its murder rate.

Catch up on the series by clicking here: First 10 MBCC Books

Video Trailer: MBCC YouTube Video

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I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. And of course, your thoughts and comments are always welcome. 😊

Meanwhile, you can find my books here: The Razzman Mystery Crime Files

Until next time...😎

Genre be damned... Just as long as it's a good story!

I love crime fiction. Especially if it involves a good mystery. It was the first category of novels and short stories I ever read. It goes all the way back to my childhood when I was first introduced to the Hardy Boys Mysteries. The series began way back in 1927. I discovered them in the late 60's, early 70s. Of course, they had been heavily revised by that time to remove stereotype references and to simplify the writing so it would appeal to younger readers. I loved those books.

A friend from school gave me a copy of The Melted Coins. It was the first Hardy Boys book I ever read. I was hooked. The idea that teenagers could outwit the adults when it came to solving mysteries was fascinating. From there I moved on to hardboiled mysteries with richly developed antagonists like Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, Mike Hammer, Easy Rawlins, and Spenser, just to name a few. They were smart, tough, somewhat snarky private investigators who lived by their own code of honor and always solved the crime... usually before the police were able to do so. I devoured these stories written by some of the best crime fiction mystery writers out there. I even modeled my own Tony Razzolito, PI mystery series after some of these hardboiled detectives... just a bit more contemporary for today's world.

Over the years I pretty much pigeonholed myself when it came to what I would read. If it wasn't in the crime fiction category or any of its many sub-genres, I passed it by without a second thought. And I was happy to do so as I believed that I couldn't possibly enjoy reading a book that was NOT a part of the crime fiction family. But I've changed my view on that and feel like I've been evolving over the last few years.

What changed?

A few years ago, I joined Twitter and got involved with the writing community. Since then, I've met many authors I've come to respect, and began reading their work. And something happened that I didn't expect--most of what I was reading was not crime fiction, and I was enjoying it! Many of these 

authors are writing in genres that I never gave any thought to before meeting and interacting with them on the Twitter platform. Now don't get me wrong, mysteries are still my overall favorite stories to read. But besides finding some great Indie mystery/thriller/suspense authors on Twitter, I've also crossed paths with some talented authors writing westerns, western-romance, romance, fantasy, historical, tropical-adventure, paranormal ghost stories and shapeshifters, horror, Sci-Fi, post-apocalyptic, and literary fiction. And I am so grateful to all these authors for the superb work they've produced. They have helped me broaden my horizons, not to mention, showing me through their writing how I can improve my own writing. Wonderful lessons found within the pages of their books--everything from seeing how they transition between scenes, layer the main plot with subplots, sentence structure, pacing, character development, and choosing the right voice and POV. Things we all focus on when writing regardless of genre.

Nowadays, pretty much all of the fiction books I read are written by Indie and self-published authors. And a lot of them are outside the crime fiction category. I do this to support my writing community peers. But mostly I do it because these authors are writing great stories filled with interesting characters with solid plots that keep me engaged in the book from beginning to end. It's just good storytelling, plain and simple. And what's been extremely satisfying is that the genre doesn't matter to me. Not anymore. These authors have taught me an invaluable lesson--there is more to the world of fiction than crime fiction. I just had to take my head out of the sand and look around a bit more to actually see it. 

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I appreciate you taking the time to read my blog. And of course, your thoughts and comments are always welcome. 😊

Meanwhile, you can find my books here: The Razzman Mystery Crime Files

Until next time...😎