Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Gambling with Murder: A Southern California Mystery by Lida Sideris. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Gambling with Murder: A Southern California Mystery
by Lida Sideris
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Gambling with Murder: A Southern California Mystery
Mystery
5th in Series
Setting – California
Level Best Books (March 29, 2022)
Paperback, 260 pages
A late-night call is all it takes for rookie lawyer Corrie Locke to kiss her day job at the movie studio goodbye, and do what she does best: flex her sweet P.I. skills and go undercover to find a senior who’s missing from a posh retirement community. One small stumbling block: skirting past security to gain inside access to the exclusive Villa Sunset.
Time to call in the heavy artillery. Besides former security guard turned legal assistant—now wannabe P.I.—Veera, Corrie relies on a secret weapon: her mother, a surprisingly eager addition to Corrie’s team. Armed with enough pepper spray to take down a band of Navy Seals, Mom impersonates a senior to infiltrate the Villa, Corrie and Veera in tow. Turns out the job’s not as easy as they’d thought. These seniors have tricks tucked up their sleeves and aren’t afraid of using them.
The action gets dicey when the missing senior case turns into attempted murder by a criminal mind who’s always one step ahead. Corrie’s hot on the trail, but finds more than she bargained for…when her mother becomes a target.
Character Guest Post: Just a Day in the Life of Corrie Locke
By Lida Sideris
Every time I’m sitting in my office at the movie studio, I keep one shoe dangling out the door. That’s because my office life in the legal department is so humdrum. Writing contracts and more contracts and sending them off…and starting over again. But what happens outside of my lawyering job is action-packed. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. The good, tingly kind of excitement-filled bumps.
Take last week, for instance. Veera and I worked a little side job. Veera’s my legal assistant at the studio…when she’s not moonlighting as my associate private investigator. We’re not officially licensed investigators, but we’re getting closer. I’ve got loads of experience thanks to my P.I. dad. So, when I got a call about investigating a missing senior at a post retirement community, Veera and I dove into my car and motored nearly two hours northward, to Santa Barbara, California.
It was nearly ten pm when we arrived at Villa Sunset. The compound was surrounded by a show-stopping display of perfectly maintained bushes and trees. But we had it on good authority that the shrubs on the north side were spindly, meaning we could get inside that way. That’s what I’d read on Yelp, anyway. Veera made a few calls to figure out the timing of security patrol at the Villa. Being a former security guard herself, she had plenty of connections.
We slipped inside and met up with a tall chain link fence. Not a problem. I’d climb up and over and take a quick look around to get the lay of the land, while Veera kept watch outside. I’d report back in a jiffy. But Veera grabbed my arm and pointed to a sign on top of the fence.
“Caution, electric fence,” I read out loud.
A thin wire stretched along the top. But I wasn’t worried. Most high voltage signs were bogus. And even if this was the real deal, I’d get a small jolt, at most. While Veera and I argued about the voltage, we got interrupted. Big time. By a big, burly security guard. Bummer. Now we’d have to find another way of getting in.
About Lisa Sideris
Lida Sideris’ first stint after law school was a newbie lawyer’s dream: working as an entertainment attorney for a movie studio…kind of like her heroine, Corrie Locke, except without the homicides. Lida was one of two national winners of the Helen McCloy Mystery Writers of America Scholarship Award and a Silver Falchion Award Finalist. She lives in the northern tip of Southern California with her family, rescue dogs and a flock of uppity chickens. To learn more, please visit: www.LidaSideris.com
Author Links
Website www.lidasideris.com
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/lidasideris
Twitter: @lidasideris
Instagram: @lida_sideris
BookBub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/lida-sideris
Purchase Links – Amazon
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Gambling with Murder TOUR PARTICIPANTS
March 29 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 29 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – GUEST POST
March 30 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT
March 30 – Books Blog – SPOTLIGHT
March 31 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
March 31 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST
April 1 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
April 1 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
April 2 – StoreyBook Reviews – GUEST POST
April 2 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
April 3 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT WITH RECIPE
April 3 – Books a Plenty Book Reviews – REVIEW
April 4 – I Read What You Write – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
April 5 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
April 5 – Christa Reads and Writes – REVIEW
April 6 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST
April 7 – Mysteries with Character – REVIEW
April 7 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
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Looks like a fun book.
Thanks for the contest.
Thank you, Sarah, for stopping by and for your lovely comment!
Thank you very much, Christy, for hosting my heroine today! I appreciate it!
You’re welcome! Thanks for stopping by!