I have sooooo many books! I have a ton of print books and probably even more e-books. The Book Spotlight feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to clear my shelves and to share some of the books I have. There are a lot of different reasons that I might be letting some of my books go, the biggest one is that when we moved I discovered just how many books I really do have. This feature is a way for my to cull my collection and to give someone else the opportunity to enjoy them.
My daughter recently moved and wants to clear out her bookshelves. Like mother, like daughter, right? So this week's book is one from her. I have not read this author but I do love mysteries. This is #7 in the series so the author must be doing something right. Have you read this series by Maddy Hunter?
Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!
Dutch Me Deadly
Series: Passport to Peril #7
Paperback, 280 pages
Published 2012 by Midnight Ink, Llewellyn Worldwide
As a travel escort for seniors, Emily Andrew-Miceli has led her feisty Iowa clan all over the world. This time, they're off to see historic windmills, classic Rembrandts, and picturesque canals in Holland - if they can ever unplug from their smartphones, that is. Joining them is the high school class from Bangor, Maine, whose 50th reunion celebration goes south faster than a fallen Brussel sprout soufflé as old rivalries start heating up.
Worse, Emily's hopes for a 100% survival rate on this trip are dashed when an important member of the tour suffers a tragic (and highly suspicious) accident. Then the saucy seniors' wild night of drug-laced desserts and risqué shows in Amsterdam's infamous Red Light District gets even more mysterious when one unpopular reunioner goes missing…
About the author
I began my writing career in the "Kathleen Woodiwiss" era, when women with good paying jobs gave up those jobs to write steamy costume dramas about pirates, highwaymen, and Vikings with hearts of gold. I broke into print with a story about a sea captain and his reluctant bride (THE WIND-ROSE), followed by the adventures of a Maine lumberjack (THE IRISH BRIDE), an English thief-taker (THE WHITE RAVEN), and a New England lighthouse keeper, his mail-order bride, and a legendary white-faced seal (SAVAGE TIDES).
As I struggled to come up with an appropriate hero for my next novel, my publisher cancelled its romance imprint, so I spent the next several years battling writer's block, penning a really long historical drama that turned out to be unmarketable, and entertaining doubts that I'd ever be published again.
Everything changed in October, 1999. A friend invited me to accompany her on a seniors' tour of Switzerland, sponsored by her bank for its travel club members. So off we flew to Lucerne, where the weather was miserable, the food was inedible, and a story started to take root.
Traveling with a group of seniors from Iowa was a genuine treat. They were inordinately punctual, exceedingly polite, and welcomed me into their group with open arms. I played poker with "the guys" in the lobby of our hotel, bought drinks for my newfound friends in Lucerne's Hotel Chateau Gutsch, then had to take out a second mortgage on my house to pay for them. Our group included a ninety-three year-old woman who was sharp as a tack, a couple of practical jokers, and a whole slew of people who were thoughtful, sincere, and quietly competent, like my one-legged character, George Farkas.
And so Emily Andrew was born. (Emily, named for my next door neighbor, and Andrew, which is the maiden name of another friend.) I envisioned my heroine chaperoning these Iowa seniors on trips around the world and running across dead bodies at every turn. Emily would be a reluctant sleuth -- always being in the wrong place at the wrong time and getting dragged into situations she'd rather avoid. I figured a different international locale for each book might keep the stories fresh by providing new cultural conflicts, not to mention new characters to knock off.
I also needed to provide a foil for Emily, so I created Nana, who, with her eighth grade education, is the smartest person Emily knows.
I grew up in the same house with my own grandmother, so it was important for me to show that a person's life experience, coupled with good cable TV, can be every bit as valuable as a cartload of university degrees. Like Emily's fictional grandmother, my own Nana belonged to the Legion of Mary in St. John's Parish in Bangor, Maine, made weekly visits to the hospital to visit the sick, and set up housekeeping in the funeral home when someone died, whether she knew them or not. She never had a driver's license, lived in a time when women wore girdles and bloomers, and permed her frizzy mass of blue-tinted hair in tight finger waves. Her favorite social drink was a Tom Collins and she'd rather have played poker than breathe. When I write about Emily's Nana, it's as if I'm sipping tea again with my own.
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I have not read any books in this series yet.
ReplyDeleteI have not read this series. Thanks for this lovely feature and giveaway. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any books in this series, but they look fun. Thanks for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteI have not read any of the books in this series.
ReplyDeleteI have not read any books in this series
ReplyDeleteI haven't read any books in this series yet, but I'm looking forward to it.
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