Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for fISh OUt of WaTER An Ozarks Lake Mystery by Marc Jedel. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
A small-town homicide. A community swamped in secrets. Can married amateur sleuths bait and capture the killer before the truth slips away?
fISh OUt of WaTER An Ozarks Lake Mystery
by Marc Jedel
I received this book free; however, all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive compensation at no cost to you.
fISh OUt of WaTER – An Ozarks Lake Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: BGM Press
Number of Pages: 275
Elizabeth Trout had escaped her rural Arkansas hometown. Compelled to sort through her deceased grandmother’s belongings, she and her new husband Jonas make an unexpected trip to the family ranch. But when the property manager turns up dead, Elizabeth is rocked when her ex-boyfriend-turned-deputy arrests her for the murder.
With incriminating evidence and the sheriff convinced he’s got the right suspect, Elizabeth and Jonas must fish for clues on their own. But with a multitude of potential culprits and her husband’s contrasting personality, Elizabeth fears she may be left dangling on the hook for a crime she didn’t commit.
Can these newlyweds net the real killer before Elizabeth is jailed for murder?
Fish Out of Water is the charming first book in the Ozarks Lake Mystery series. If you like quirky characters, clever twists and turns, and puzzling whodunits, then you’ll love Marc Jedel’s humorous tale.
Buy Fish Out of Water to reel in a slippery catch today!
Fish Out of Water Book Review
Marc Jedel writes such fun cozy mystery books! I was really looking forward to reading Fish Out of Water since I read one of his Silicon Valley books last year. His books are laugh out loud funny, and this one had me cracking up several times. Yes, the premise is sad since Elizabeth is back home in Jenkins because her grandmother died and left her home to Elizabeth. However, it’s been a little while, and the time has come to clean out the house and put it up for sale. If you’ve ever gone through your loved ones belongings after they’ve past, you know it’s bittersweet.
Elizabeth is barely home when she’s arrested for murder…by her ex-boyfriend from high school! Nope. Not kidding! Of course, she’s got no clue why she’d be arrested. Thank goodness her mom is the town doctor and stubborn and out-spoken, otherwise Elizabeth may have been stuck in jail for a bit.
I loved this book mainly because of the characters. Jedel writes such diverse characters. You’ve got larger than life characters along with quiet reserved ones. It’s the perfect blend. This mystery is very puzzling, and I’ll bet you won’t be able to figure out whodunit until the very end. I love the twists that the book takes…many of them are quite comical! If you like your cozies with plenty of quirky characters and lots of humor, Fish Out of Water is for you!
Character Guest Post
Guest Post from Mayor Dale Cooper, mayor of Jenkins and side character in Fish Out Of Water: An Ozarks Lake Mystery (#1)
Howdy from Beautiful Jenkins, Arkansas!
As Mayor of Jenkins, let me say to all y’all wonderful folks out there who don’t yet know about our fine town, come on over for a visit! I’m pleased to be the first to invite you here for a visit.
I like to call my hometown, Jenkins: the Joyful Jewel of the Ozarks! I’ll be working on turning that into our official tourist slogan. Well that is, whenever we have enough money in the town budget to actually run a tourism advertising campaign. Y’all should come down on a vacation like Jonas and Elizabeth Trout did.
You’ll love it here. We’ve got the river and lake right here, smack in the middle of town. Stop in at my place, the Bait, Boat, and Float. (Stay tuned for more exciting retail news soon!) Tell them I sent you and we’ll make sure to fix you up right with a rental boat or float trip down the river. Mention the “Mayor Dale special discount” for a nice surprise just for reading this.
By summer, we’re sure to have even more incredible things to visit and do in the Jenkins area by this summer. Of course, that’s not entirely up to me. I can’t make any real commitments or share any details yet, but trust me, it’ll be awesome! Just think of us as Lake of the Ozarks, Hot Springs, or Branson but without all those bothersome crowds. Well, if not more things to do than those more well-known spots, we’ll definitely have fewer people so you’ll have fun without fighting for a parking spot!
Jenkins is a right friendly town. So friendly I had thought about using the slogan of “Jenkins: Just a Smile Away” as that properly reflects the welcoming, down-home Southern charm you’ll find here. But then I found a dentist way over in Little Rock that used that line in their newspaper ad. I wouldn’t want anyone to confuse our lovely Jenkins with the possibility of suffering from a root canal. So that slogan’s out with the bathwater.
The state of Arkansas uses the tourist slogan: The Natural State. That’s alright I suppose, but if you were to ramble around Jenkins in your natural state, I expect Sheriff Tucker will arrest you for indecent exposure. So avoid a fine and prison, and Visit Jenkins: Too much *FUN* for just one day! (I’ll keep working on the slogans and mebbe you can give me your inputs in person.)
FISH OUT OF WATER is the first book in Marc Jedel’s new Ozarks Lake Mystery series. It’s really all about beautiful Jenkins and the people here. You can just skip over all the parts about a murder, town secrets, and the sleuthing. Especially the secrets. Skip those. Marc’s planned more books in this series, with the second one titled SWIMMING WITH THE FISHES. Plus, he’s still writing more books in his Silicon Valley Mystery series (https://amzn.to/39cO88w). I haven’t read those either but I hear they’re very funny. That doesn’t surprise me any as them Californians are strange folk, and none stranger than that Marty fellow in Marc’s books.
About Marc Jedel
For most of my life, I’ve been inventing stories. Living in many places around the United States, including a lot of time in the South, has given me a particularly keen appreciation for those who feel like a “fish out of water” sometimes.
My writing skills were honed in years of marketing leadership positions in Silicon Valley. While my high tech marketing roles involved crafting plenty of fiction, we called these marketing collateral, emails and ads.
The publication of my first novel, Uncle and Ants in the Silicon Valley Mystery series, gave me permission to claim “author” as my job. And achieving Amazon Best Seller status gave me even better adjectives to use in front of “author.” This has led to way more interesting discussions than answering “marketing.”
Telling the stories in the Ozarks Lake Mystery series has given me an enjoyable opportunity to spend time with characters that somewhat resemble people I’ve known. Writing alternating chapters from the perspective of each spouse of the newlywed Trout couple allowed me to experience multiple personalities without getting a visit from mental health professionals.
Author Links
Website: www.marcjedel.com
BookBub: www.bookbub.com/profile/marc-jedel
FaceBook: www.facebook.com/MarcJedel.Author
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mjedel/
GoodReads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/18403497.Marc_Jedel
Purchase Links: Amazon
Enter the giveaway Ended
Tour Participants
February 1
Diane Reviews Books – REVIEW, CHARACTER INTERVIEW
My Journey Back – CHARACTER GUEST POST
February 2
I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
February 3
Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
FUONLYKNEW – REVIEW
February 4
Literary Gold – CHARACTER GUEST POST
Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
February 5
Elizabeth McKenna – Author Blog – SPOTLIGHT
Here’s How It Happened – SPOTLIGHT
February 6
I Read What You Write – GUEST POST
February 7
Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
February 8
My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
Adventures Of A Travelers Wife – GUEST POST
February 9
Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
February 10
Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
February 11
MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
February 12
Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW, GUEST POST
February 13
Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
February 14
Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST
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Thanks for such a great review! I’m very glad you enjoyed this new series too. Fish Out of Water is only $0.99 during this Great Escapes tour so it’s a perfect chance for readers to try out this new series. I’m hard at work on book 2.
Good deal! You’re welcome & thanks for stopping! I’m looking forward to book 2.