Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Murder in the Family (An Eve Appel Mystery) by Lesley A Diehl. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
The past comes back seeking vengeance. To save her family and friends, Novice PI Eve Appel, pregnant with her second child, must outwit the bad guys in a final act of desperation, risking her life and that of the man she’s asked to help her, her mob boss friend, Nappi.
Murder in the Family (An Eve Appel Mystery)
by Lesley A Diehl
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Murder in the Family (An Eve Appel Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
8th in Series
Publisher: Camel Press (April 14, 2021)
Paperback: 214 pages
Someone is targeting the friends and family of Eve Appel Egret, owner of a rural Florida high-end consignment shop and part-time private investigator. The intimidation includes stealing the horse of one of Eve’s rancher friends, forcing her car off the road, attempting to kidnap her daughter and leaving messages on her phone threatening more dreadful acts to come.
Eve almost succumbs to gas inhalation when someone enters the consignment shop and cuts the gas line while she is in the shop. And just when Eve could use the help of her mob boss friend, Nappi, with his far-reaching resources, she discovers he has gone into hiding, himself a target. By the time she finds him, he has lost all his financial assets and his influence, but not his determination to help Eve.
It’s clear to Eve that someone from the past has returned to seek vengeance on her and those she loves. Her hunches lead her to believe she can bring the person responsible for the threats into the open by setting a clever and desperate trap. She knows the bad guy will come with reinforcements, but she never counted on who they would be.
Author Interview
Hi, Lesley, Thanks for taking the time to share a bit about yourself with my readers and me!
Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a farm girl and still prefer the country to living in a city or suburban area. As a child, I spent much of my time in the dairy barn with my father or, in the summer, roaming the fields and woods on our farm. Writing cozy mysteries with protagonists who are also country gals reveals the impact of my childhood days on the farm.
How long have you been writing?
Like many authors, I dabbled in writing stories and poems in childhood, and a teacher in high school and another in college encouraged my creative writing. Since I chose psychology as my career, I left creative writing to write scientific papers. It wasn’t until I took an early retirement that I returned to writing fiction.
Did you always want to be an author? What made you choose the cozy mystery genre?
I always loved writing, but never thought of it as a career choice. I began reading mysteries with Nancy Drew, then graduated to Agatha Christie. When I crafted my first novel length mystery, I had no idea it was a cozy (the word wasn’t as popular then as it is now), but I knew I had to write a story set in a small town. It was what I knew, and being trained as a psychologist, I was more interested in the development of character than I was in police procedures or in detailing a murder scene, focusing on forensic work or laying out a court case. I liked puzzles and I loved being able to examine a character in depth. It seemed my only choice was a cozy mystery.
Do you prefer to read cozy mystery books, or do you have another favorite genre? What are you reading now?
I love to read cozy mysteries especially those that include humor. I prefer series cozies so I can fall in love with a character and follow her for several books.
I just finished reading all of Lori King’s books with Sherlock Homes and his wife Mary Russel.
Do you have a favorite place to write?
I prefer writing at my desk in my office. I sit by a window that overlooks the side of the house next to a lilac bush, a heavenly smell in the spring. This year a robin built her next on a wall near our storage shed, only feet from my window. I was privileged to watch her lay her eggs, see them hatch into four tiny, hungry birds, and yesterday, all four birds flew out of the nest together. What a sight!
What’s on your desk (if you write at one!)?
Oh, how embarrassing. My desk holds my laptop, separate keyboard, printer, phone and papers with notes on them, bills, checkbooks, my book with passwords, and a lot of stuff that I’ve been meaning to organize for the past year but haven’t. What I don’t ever have on my desk is a pen or paper I can jot down notes on. In fact, pens seem to migrate from my desk to play hide and seek with me someplace else in the house. They are like the socks lost in the washer or dryer.
What is the first book you remember reading as a child? What was one of your favorite books you read as a child?
I read all of the Nancy Drew books, but I think, because they were usually checked out of the library, I read them the Dana girls and Cherry Ames, student nurse. And then, oddly, I read some of my grandfather’s books like Origin of Species.
Do you like audiobooks, physical books, or e-books better? Why?
I’ve come to prefer e-books over physical books because I can change the font, buy a book in the middle of the night almost anywhere, and the lighting on the e-reader lets me read in dim light or the dark.
If you had the opportunity to live anywhere in the world for a year while writing a book that took place in that same setting, where would you choose?
The Florida Keys. I love the color of the water there and the funkiness of some of their bars. It’s a place that shouts fun! For me it would be difficult to write anything set there other than a humorous cozy.
What or who has influenced you the most as a writer?
I respect and admire Lori King’s careful research of place and history, admired Elizabeth George’s psychological analysis of her characters and her use of class relations and Janet Evanovich’s hilarious characters and humorous scenes.
Do you have any author friends who support you while you’re writing? Do you belong to any writing groups?
I have belonged to several writing groups. A writer friend and I founded a writers’ group in Okeechobee, Florida which, I understand, is still meeting.
Finally, what are you working on now? Can you tell us a bit about it?
I just finished the first in what I hope will be a series featuring three unusual protagonists. They are based upon members of my own family, my favorite aunt and my two grandmothers. Here’s a brief description of the first book: when Darcie’s colleague is murdered by being smooshed under Aunt Nozzie’s motorhome, it’s clear the killer is sending a warning, but to whom? Darcie or Aunt Nozzie. As usual Aunt Nozzie and the grandmothers think they can solve this one without benefit of the police. Their sleuthing leads them on a hilarious trip around campgrounds in Aunt Nozzie’s motorhome.
The manuscript is being considered by a small publisher. I’ve also been spending time writing short stories. One, to be published in an anthology soon, features a pot-bellied pig who helps humans track down a gang of thieves.
Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions! I really enjoyed reading your answers!
About Lesley A. Diehl
Cows, Lesley learned growing up on a farm, have a twisted sense of humor. They chased her when she went to the field to herd them in for milking, and one ate the lovely red mitten her grandmother knitted for her. Determining that agriculture wasn’t a good career choice, instead she uses her country roots and her training as a psychologist to concoct stories designed to make people laugh in the face of murder. “A good chuckle,” says Lesley,” keeps us emotionally well-oiled long into our old age.” She is the author of several cozy mystery series and numerous short stories.
Author Links
Website www.lesleyadiehl.com
Blog www.lesleyadiehl.com/blog
Facebook www.facebook.com/lesley.diehl.1
GoodReads www.goodreads.com/3414925.Lesley_A_Diehl
Amazon www.amazon.com/author/lesleydiehl
Purchase Links – Amazon Kindle – Amazon Paperback – B&N Nook – B&N Paperback
Enter the giveaway
Murder in the Family TOUR PARTICIPANTS
June 1
I’m All About Books – SPOTLIGHT
June 2
Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
June 3
Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
Lisa Ks Book Reviews – CHARACTER GUEST POST
June 4
MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
June 5
I Read What You Write – GUEST POST
June 6
Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
June 7
Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
June 8
Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
June 9
Laura’s Interests – SPOTLIGHT
My Journey Back the Journey Back – CHARACTER GUEST POST
June 10
Mysteries with Character – REVIEW
June 11
Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
Sapphyria’s Book Reviews -SPOTLIGHT
June 12
My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
June 13
Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
June 14
BookishKelly2020 – SPOTLIGHT
Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW
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Lesley A. Diehl says
Thanks for interviewing me for this blog tour. I found your questions enticing and a way to help my readers know more about me.
Christy Maurer says
You’re welcome! I enjoyed reading your answers!
Leela says
It looks like a good read.
Debbi Wellenstein says
This looks like a fun book. Thank you for the giveaway!
Susan Smith says
Sounds like a great book. I like reading mysteries.