Great Escapes Book Tour: A Dickens of a Murder by Joyce and Jim Lavene

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 373 KB
• Print Length: 201 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: J. Lavene (Nov. 3 2015)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B015269QSI

Tour Participants

November 3 – Lisa Ks Book Reviews – Review
November 3 – The Mysterious Ink Spot – Guest Post
November 4 – Mallory Heart Reviews – Review
November 4 – Frankie Bow  Interview
November 5 – MysteriesEtc – Review
November 5 – Mythical Books – Guest Post
November 6 – Moonlight Rendezvous – Review
November 6 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Review, Interview
November 7 – Shelley’s Book Case – Review
November 7 – Booklady’s Booknotes – Guest Post
November 8 – LibriAmoriMiei – Review
November 8 – Tea and A Book – Review
November 9 – StoreyBook Reviews – Review
November 9 – readalot – Review
November 10 – fuonlyknew – Review
November 10 – Socrates’ Book Reviews – Review
November 11 – Book Splurge – Review
November 11 – Christa Reads and Writes – Review
November 12 – Mochas, Mysteries and Meows – Review, Interview
November 12 – THE SELF-TAUGHT COOK – Review
November 13 – Back Porchervations – Review
November 13 – Melina’s Book Blog – Review
November 14 – Community Bookstop – Review
November 15 – Brooke Blogs – Review
November 16 – View from the Birdhouse – Review
November 16 – Student of Opinions – Review


Giveaway


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Book Description

Lisa Wellman and Simon Canterville are surprised to find a dead man on their roof in the midst of rushing to open the Canterville Book Shop in time for the holidays. And not just any dead man – Ebenezer Hart – the man who opposed the book shop opening in Olde Town, Portsmouth, Virginia.
What might be more surprising is when Daniel Fairhaven – Lisa’s ex – turns up at the door of the three-story Victorian house to head the police investigation. She hasn’t seen him in years but the sparks start to fly as soon as they are in the same room together.

Simon and Lisa are obviously the best suspects for the murder. Each of them had something to gain by Hart’s death. Then an attempt on Simon’s life throws that theory into a tailspin.  But the biggest surprise yet comes when the ghost of Charles Dickens turns up to help Lisa with the murder investigation – and writing the mystery novel she has been working on for years.  Without a doubt, Daniel and Dickens in Lisa’s life means trouble. And there’s still the matter of trying to get the book shop open with a killer on their heels.

About the Author

 Joyce and Jim Lavene write award-winning, bestselling mystery fiction as themselves, J.J. Cook, and Ellie Grant. They have written and published more than 70 novels for Harlequin, Berkley, Amazon, and Gallery Books along with hundreds of non-fiction articles for national and regional publications. They live in rural North Carolina with their family.

www.joyceandjimlavene.com 
www.facebook.com/joyceandjimlavene 
http://amazon.com/author/jlavene 
https://twitter.com/AuthorJLavene


My Review

A Dickens of a Murder is the first book in the new series, the Canterville Book Shop Mysteries.  It written by prolific authors Jim and Joyce Lavene. Joyce passed away unexpectedly shortly before the publication of this book. Her passing is a huge loss to the cozy mystery genre. Their daughter Jeni Chappelle has stepped up to the plate to help with this family enterprise. I hope there are further books in this series.


A Dickens of a Murder is set in the Olde Town section of Portsmouth, Virginia. I haven't been there before and it is now on my list of places to visit. I enjoyed the setting of an old period home and the idea of setting up a book shop.


Lisa Wellman is a thirty-something former librarian setting up a book shop with senior Simon Canterville. The novel opens with a body being found on the roof of the Canterville house. Simon and Lisa are both suspects. The story is complicated by the involvement of the deputy police chief who happens to be Lisa's ex-husband. Then of course there is the ghost of Charles Dickens...


Interesting cozy mystery with a paranormal element. Well written with a good story. I'm looking forward to more in this series!