The Body in the Beaver Pond: A Keri Isles Event Planner Mystery by Cathy Perkins

Thanks for sharing!

Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for The Body in the Beaver Pond: A Keri Isles Event Planner Mystery by Cathy Perkins. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!

Even an event planner doesn’t plan on murder . . .

The Body in the Beaver Pond: A Keri Isles Event Planner Mystery

by Cathy Perkins

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive compensation at no cost to you.

The Body in the Beaver Pond: A Keri Isles Event Planner Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Publisher: Red Mountain Publishing (May 15, 2021)
Number of Pages: 325

Keri Isles desperately needs to sell the Christmas Tree farm her cheating, rotten ex convinced his buddy, the judge, to saddle her with in the divorce settlement. Stuck in the Cascade Mountains, she’s lost her Seattle-based job and local job prospects are as scarce as internet service. When she finds the arrogant professor in charge of the local archeology dig floating face down in her beaver pond, however, unloading the property becomes secondary to staying out of prison.

A savvy—and scheming—attorney may be able to keep her head above water, but the personal price of his retainer may be too high. It’s up to Keri to use her mad networking skills and deploy a team of archaeology students, a bad boy photographer, and assorted eccentric neighbors to find the killer and clear her name.

Guest Post: Writing the Amateur Sleuth: Keep It Believable

I like to call amateur sleuth books the “nosy person’s subgenre.” These are books for the constantly curious among us, those who love gossiping, digging below the surface, and finding out information that really is none of our business. It’s the genre for those of us who won’t take no for an answer, who become only more tenacious in our investigations when we think people are withholding information from us. We lovers of amateur sleuths have strong egos–we think of ourselves as being more intelligent than the criminal, and having more savoir faire than the police.

This admittedly broad profile of the reader of amateur sleuth books does create its challenges for those who choose to write the books. More than in any of the other subgenres, readers are looking for a protagonist who can be their alter ego. We want the protag to be likable but not a pushover; adventurous but not stupid; wise-cracking but not sarcastic; intelligent but down to earth. Because as readers, we so willingly make ourselves the main character, we can become sensitive to matters that create cognitive dissonance. How dare she take her two-timing boyfriend back? We would never do that! How could she go into that deserted crack house by herself? We never would do such a thing—we’re much too intelligent for that. Readers have no patience with actions they consider “stupid.” Certainly, on an amateur’s first outing as a “detective,” we can expect him or her to make mistakes based more on naivete, or lack of experience, than on a lack of intelligence.

Keri’s naivete and lack of experience in both sleuthing and farming are front and center in The Body in the Beaver Pond, but she’s quick to figure out ways to tackle a problem. Her networking and event planner skills translate well to figuring out who-dun-it, and equally important, why-dun-it, keep the story moving. I hope you enjoy this first adventure for Keri!

About Cathy Perkins

Cathy Perkins’s suspense writing lurks behind a financial day-job, where she learned firsthand the camouflage, hide-in-plain-sight skills employed by her villains. A member of Sisters in Crime and International Thriller Writers, she has coordinated conferences, contests and debut author programs, and is a contributing editor for The Big Thrill.

When not writing, she can be found doing battle with the beavers over the pond height or setting off on another travel adventure. Born and raised in South Carolina, she now lives in Washington with her husband, children, several dogs and the resident deer herd.

Author Links

Social Media

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CathyPerkinsAuthor

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCathyPerkins

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cperkinswrites

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/cathy-perkins

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cathyperkinswrites/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5367341.Cathy_Perkins

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Cathy-Perkins/e/B006K0IKUQ

Website: https://cperkinswrites.com

Purchase Links

Amazon Nook Kobo