Eau de Death - A Cozy Mystery: Doused to Death Cozy Mystery Book 4

I admit it - I have been on a mystery binge lately. Besides finishing off the last of the Agatha Christie books that I have not yet read, I have also found several other series and authors that I have not tried. The Doused with Death series is one of those; they are contemporary cozy mysteries that feature perfumer Nati Butler. It seems that along with being a perfume "nose," Nati also has a nose for mystery.

This time she has travelled to Paris along with her boyfriend Owen and her bulldog Sal. Readers will feel that they are also in the City of Love with iconic sights like the Eiffel Tower, the scent and taste of fresh pain au chocolat, and all the other details that make up the sense of location. Besides attending a perfumery convention and catching up with friends from the Grasse Institute, Nati is also celebrating her fortieth birthday with a dinner cruise along the Seine. It sounds like a wonderful romantic getaway combined with the chance to make more connections in the perfume world.

Mystery intrudes on this working vacation when a guest on the cruise winds up dead in the river. Nati plunges into investigative mode, chatting with her friends and new acquaintances to try and unravel the circumstances of the suspicious death. There are so many different motives possible it seems Nati and the Surete may never be able to narrow down whether Jean Marc was killed because of romantic jealousy, professional competition, or some other motive.

Pages will be turning quickly as readers try to puzzle out whodunit, as well as worrying about Nati's safety during her sleuthing, whether Owen will pop the question while they are in Paris, and whether faithful Sal will find his doggie crush on French bulldog Boo requited. (Awww, puppy dog romance in Paris!) Although this book is part of a series, it can be read alone - although the rest of the series will be probably be added to the TBR pile as soon as this story ends.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Kindness Machine Virtual Book Tour

GIVEAWAY

Enter for a chance to win a classroom set of The Kindness Machine or one of five individual copies!

One (1) winner receives:

A classroom set (30 copies) of The Kindness Machine will be sent directly to the winners' school of choice, along with autographed bookplates personalized for each student and the teacher.

Five (5) winners receive:

A copy of The Kindness Machine, with bookplates autographed by author Christina Dankert

ABOUT THE BOOK

The Kindness Machine

Written by Christina Dankert

Illustrated by Chad Dankert

Ages 4+ | 32 Pages

Publisher: Purple Butterfly Press | ISBN-13: 9781955119085

Publisher’s Synopsis: Creative and artistic 2nd-grade teacher, Mr. Wilson, wants to teach his students about kindness. Mr. Wilson creates The Kindness Machine, a special machine that shows the students exactly what they can do to bring kindness to their classroom and into their hearts! Instead of telling his students to “be kind,” which is something children hear from a very early age, they learn exactly what they can do in their own lives by pressing the special buttons. In the end, Mr. Wilson teaches his students that they each have their own Kindness Machine within them to help make kind decisions for others and themselves.

This creative, innovative, and fun teaching method will direct kids to be kind to one another in their classroom and beyond. The book includes discussion questions to help the reader consider not only kindness towards others but also kindness towards themselves, a lesson that is not always taught.

The Kindness Machine is a practical and innovative tool for teaching emotional literacy, kindness, and acceptance of self and others.

Available in hardcover, paperback, and as an ebook.

MY REVIEW

Parents and teachers of young children are aware that guiding them to better social skills and empathy with others can be a difficult process. Some children are slower to mature in those areas of development; others mean well, but are unsure how to support their peers or make a friendly gesture. Christina Dankert, author of The Kindness Machine, has taken her own experience as a second-grade teacher and created a story to help present those concepts in a kid-friendly way.

Mr. Wilson, the teacher in the story,  brings in an invention to share with his class. The machine he has built is covered in buttons of all shapes, sizes, and colors. A message appears on the screen when a student pushes a button. Mr. Wilson talks over each of the suggestions and the class tries them out. The students practice smiling at each other, giving compliments, and similar skills. The last message is to be a chef and mix all those ingredients together. As Mr. Wilson explains, “Each kindness action is great on its own, but the real magic happens when you combine them.”

This book is good for parents to read with their own children and discuss how to be kind to others, or for classroom or guidance lessons on how to get along together at school. Whatever our age, we can all use a few reminders on how to make the world a friendlier place.

PURCHASE LINK

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3COBXwa

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/2078/9781955119085

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Christina Dankert is a second-grade teacher. She has a passion for literacy and believes that we can change the world by reading to the children in our lives. This is her debut picture book. She lives in Sylvania, Ohio, with her husband, Chad, and their two children. She has dreamed of collaborating with her husband to merge their two professions of educator and artist into one meaningful product. The Kindness Machine allowed that dream to come true.

Learn more about Christina at www.christinadankert.com.

TOUR SCHEDULE

Tuesday, March 22, 2022 The Children’s Book Review A book review of The Kindness Machine

Wednesday, March 23, 2022 The Fairview Review A book review of The Kindness Machine

Thursday, March 24, 2022 Books Are Magic, Too A book review of The Kindness Machine

Friday, March 25, 2022 Me Two Books A book activity to pair with The Kindness Machine

Monday, March 28, 2022 The Momma Spot A book review of The Kindness Machine

Tuesday, March 29, 2022 icefairy’s Treasure Chest A book review of The Kindness Machine

Wednesday, March 30, 2022 Life Is What It’s Called An interview with Author Christina Dankert

Thursday, March 31, 2022 Book Bug CA A book review of The Kindness Machine

Friday, April 1, 2022 Barbara Ann Mojica A book review of The Kindness Machine

Monday, April 4, 2022 Lisa’s Reading A book review of The Kindness Machine

Tuesday, April 5, 2022 Younger Family Fun A book review of The Kindness Machine

Wednesday, April 6, 2022 Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers A guest article by Author Christina Dankert

Thursday, April 7, 2022 Crafty Moms Share A book review of The Kindness Machine

The Fairview Review is participating in the virtual tour in partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Purple Butterfly Press.

Winter Reading 2022 The Bucharest Dossier

 

Set in 1989 during the revolution against the Communist leadership in Romania, this story follows a CIA analyst as he visits Bucharest and tries to make contact with a Russian agent who has been sending him information. Bill Hefflin majored in economics and was recruited into the agency from college, but he has been singled out as the contact for a KGB mole code-named Boris. At the insistence of Boris, Hefflin returns to the city of his childhood and is caught up in the growing unrest and rioting. The story alternates between the events in 1989, his memories of growing up in Bucharest, and his college years and recruitment in the U.S. 

The description of conditions in Romania bring the recent past back to life - corruption, food shortages, informers, and the game of spycraft played out with life or death consequences. Hefflin's grooming and recruitment make readers wonder - is that really how it was done? Is it still done that way today? How much oversight of agents and their activities is there? Can all these groups (CIA, KGB, Romanian Securitate) actually manipulate events for their own purposes as pervasively as happens in the book?

In the author's note Maz states that he himself was born in Bucharest and came to the U.S. as a young boy. "Even thirty years after the Romanian revolution of 1989, the questions of how it started and why it became so violent have never been adequately answered. This novel provides a plausible scenario based on the facts as I know them." he writes. This is a work of historical fiction, an espoinage thriller, and a love story all wrapped up in one bundle. 

Viewers who enjoyed the movie "Atomic Blonde" may get the same feeling from this book of the various world powers working behind the scenes and the residents of the affected cities dealing with the aftermath of the power plays. 

I read an advance copy provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Winter Reading 2022 The Paradox Hotel

 

If movies and shows that deal with wibbly wobbly timey wimey are your cup of tea, then you should try The Paradox Hotel. Time travel has been invented and the rich and famous spend large amounts of money to vist Ancient Egypt, see dinosaurs, or watch showdowns in the Wild West. Agents are trained to supervise these excursions and prevent anyone from trying to make changes to the timeline. There is a slight problem with some personnel coming "Unstuck" as they are exposed to the radiation needed to make time travel possible. They being to experience scenes that have already happened or even previews of things to come. Eventually their minds become completely unanchored and they are reduced to lying in a bed hooked up to life support, unable to distinguish the present reality from those other times. 

January Cole was once such an agent, but she has taken the job of house detective at the hotel that serves the visitors before and after their excursions. As the hotel prepares to host a conference of several trillionaires who are interested in purchasing the time travel facility from the government, January's fitness for duty is questioned as she begins to see things that no one else notices. Is she slipping into the advanced stages of being Unstuck, or is there really something sinister happening in the hotel? It doesn't help that the rich guys, their various entourages, and the U.S. senator who is overseeing the sale all have overinflated egos, fluctuations in the equipment cause the cancellation of several planned excursions, and a blizzard dumps several feet of snow on the hotel and facility.

The science fiction elements are intriguing. Could time travel tourism actually be possible and sustainable? Would it be profitable or a money pit? Would radiation from the process cause neurological changes in the staff that were frequently exposed? How much change could the time stream accommodate without negative repercussions in the present? 

To add even more layers to the book, the relationships and personalities of the staff in the hotel are interwoven with past experiences and the interdependence of a large and boisterous family. January's  personal reasons for staying in the job and the causes for the distance she imposes between herself and others become more clear as the story unfolds. With the increasingly bizarre behavior of time within the hotel and January's perceptions of it, she makes a captivating but possibly unreliable narrator. That is one of the mysteries that readers must solve - can January and what she sees be trusted? 

I read an advance copy supplied by the publisher for review purposes.

Winter Reading 2022 The Grayson Sherbrooke Otherwordly Adventures

 I must confess, I have only read Coulter's FBI thrillers before now. But I came across this collection of novellas and I was intrigued. A mix of historical fiction (set in the mid nineteenth century), mystery, and fantasy elements, the stories follow Grayson Sherbrooke and his growing "family" as they investigate unusual occurrences. Sherbrooke has his son Pip (a precocious almost five-year-old), and they become close friends with their neighbors - a beautiful widow named Miranda, her daughter P.C. (a very self-possessed eight-year-old), and their stable boy Barnaby. Sherbrooke comes from a well-known family, but is not in line to inherit a title. He writes gothic adventure stories featuring a character named Thomas Straithmore who has generally "smashed the evil hard" by the end of each book. When it seems that some sort of ghost or poltergeist has begun causing trouble at the home of her great grandfather, P.C. has Barnaby help her reach out to Sherbrooke for help.

The novellas each feature a different supernatural foe in a different location. It may be at a neighbor's home, the ancestral seat of the Sherbrooke family where his aunt and uncle live, or even the manor house of an old schoolmate. There are ghosts, witches, kelpies, and plenty of curses and enchantments to overcome. Although his earlier novels were purely fiction, Sherbrooke begins to incorporate some of the real-life action into his books as he continues to be pulled into these mysteries. At least he can keep his editor and fans happy with tales of bewitched parties, visits to the past to see Camelot, and spirits that try to control the living. 

The ensemble cast really makes the stories entertaining. Pip is so convinced that his father can accomplish anything and has an amazing vocabulary for his age (but his father is a writer after all). P.C. will not allow anyone to know her real name and only plans to "speak it aloud and horrify [her] great-great-grandchildren because they'll doubtless deserve it." She is also determined that she will marry Barnaby when they are old enough and works hard to correct his speech and manners. Miranda is a spirited woman who has been left a widow with this energetic daughter to raise. Together they create a found family that readers can admire and cheer on through their escapades.

Fans of Randall Garrett's stories about Lord Darcy and his magical investigations may find another hero to admire in the Grayson Sherbrooke stories. I read an advance copy provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Elijah Goes to Cleveland Virtual Book Tour

 

Elijah Goes to Cleveland: Book Giveaway

GIVEAWAY

Enter for a chance to win one of ten autographed copies of Elijah Goes to Cleveland—5 books will have a gift card to one of the following places: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Museum of Art, West Side Market, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Karamu House!

Five (5) winners receive:

A signed copy of Elijah Goes to Cleveland

A gift card to one of the following places: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Cleveland Museum of Art, West Side Market, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, or Karamu House!

Five (5) winners receive:

A signed copy of Elijah Goes to Cleveland

ABOUT THE BOOK

Elijah Goes to Cleveland

Written by Mark Darden

Illustrated by Anh Bui

Ages 4+ | 32 Pages

Publisher: Buckeye Muscle Media | 9871736703007

Publisher’s Synopsis: Elijah is in Cleveland visiting his grandparents when he finds out that his favorite music band will be performing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The tickets are free, but there is a catch: You have to do a scavenger hunt to find band members at various landmarks throughout Cleveland. With the help of his grandparents, will Elijah be able to secure tickets to see his favorite band perform? Pick up a copy of Elijah Goes to Cleveland to find out.

PURCHASE LINK

https://buckeyemuscle.com/shop/elijah-goes-to-cleveland

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Mark Darden is an author, sports travel blogger, and Chief Content Creator for Buckeye Muscle Media, LLC. Since 2017, Mark has documented his sports travel adventures on his blog, buckeyemuscle.com. Originally from Cleveland, Mark’s first book is IT’S GAME TIME FOLKS!: Quest for 30, a travelogue of his journey visiting all 30 MLB ballparks during the 2017 season. He is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) and the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA).

For more information, visit https://buckeyemuscle.com.

MY REVIEW

While visiting with his grandparents in Cleveland, Elijah learns that his favorite band is giving away free tickets to their concert at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His family helps him decipher the clues and visit each of the locations that the band posts in their scavenger hunt, but they always seem to arrive just a little too late. Will his perseverance pay off? Stories that show intergenerational affection within families are always fun to share. I appreciate the supportive relationship between Elijah and his grandparents. They take a day out of their visit to drive him around town searching for the band and helping him decipher the clues. They demonstrate pride in their city and what it has to offer, but they are also patient with Elijah's determination to win the concert tickets. Elijah's adventure with his grandparents gives him the chance to enjoy a concert by his favorite band and also introduces him to some of the famous sites within the city of Cleveland. Readers will learn along with Elijah as his grandparents share facts about the sites they visit. Details of Cleveland's history from its founding in 1796 to the opening of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 are written into the story. More information about each location is included in the back matter along with URLs to visit their websites and the site for the city itself. Our school district participates in a yearly One Book Blitz in which each student in grades K-5 reads the same book. One of the activities planned around the Blitz is a scavenger hunt around town; small businesses have a plush character from the book hidden on their premises and families visit to find it and get their scavenger cards punched. As much fun as the kids have looking for Wilbur or Stuart Little, I can imagine they would also enjoy visiting historic buildings and learning a bit of local history the way Elijah does. Perhaps older students could create the hunt as part of a social studies project and share it with the lower grades. It could even be done as an online hunt or a digital escape room. Reading about Elijah could inspire a lot of history hunters.

TOUR SCHEDULE

Monday, March 7, 2022 The Children’s Book Review Tour Kick-Off

Tuesday, February 15, 2022 The Fairview Review A book review of Elijah Goes to Cleveland

Tuesday, March 9, 2022 The Momma Spot A book review of Elijah Goes to Cleveland

Wednesday, March 10, 2022 Life Is What It’s Called An interview with Author Mark Darden

Tuesday, March 15, 2022 icefairy’s Treasure Chest A book review of Elijah Goes to Cleveland

Wednesday, March 16, 2022 Barbara Ann Mojica A book review of Elijah Goes to Cleveland

Thursday, March 17, 2022 Because I Said So A book review of Elijah Goes to Cleveland

Friday, March 18, 2022 Crafty Moms Share A book review of Elijah Goes to Cleveland

Wednesday, March 23, 2022 Tales of a Wannabe Superhero Mom A beyond the book activity for Elijah Goes to Cleveland

Thursday, March 24, 2022 Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers A guest article by Author Mark Darden

Friday, March 25, 2022 Lisa’s Reading A book review of Elijah Goes to Cleveland

The Fairview Review is participating in the blog tour in partnership with The Children’s Book Review and Mark Darden.

Winter Reading 2022 How Do I Un-Remember This? Unfortunately True Stories

 

I must admit, I had not heard of Danny Pellegrino before seeing this book. But I spent a lot of time laughing over his stories. Danny tells about instances from his childhood up to the present day and manages to find the humor in even the most embarrassing things that have happened. There was the time the high school cheer team made up a spontaneous chant to tease him after his mother called for him on the loudspeaker (as if your mother calling for you by public broadcast wasn't humiliating enough). Or the time he tweeted about another member of a friend's wedding party and was then chastised by the woman's boyfriend for commenting on her behavior. 

Danny shares stories of growing up in small-town Ohio as a closeted gay kid struggling to understand his own identity and also of his early adult years trying to succeed on his own in California. The tales are spiced with references to Kelly Clarkson, Brandy, and iconic movie scenes. Everything from the time his father bought a car that would not fit in the family garage, to a weekend with a friend in Las Vegas, and even episodes of dealing with depression are threaded together with the same warmth and humor for even the dark days. 

For those like me who aren't familiar with Danny's work, he is the creator and host of Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino, a comedic pop culture podcast. If you were already a fan, then you will enjoy the book since it takes his love of pop culture and mixes it with his own life stories. The book goes on sale March 8, 2022. I read an advance copy provided by the publisher for review purposes.