Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Rivers and Creaks: A Redwoods Country Mystery by Marc Jedel. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Rivers and Creaks: A Redwoods Country Mystery by Marc Jedel
Rivers and Creaks: A Redwoods Country Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – California
BGM Press (November 30, 2023)
Print length : 227 pages
A grumpy innkeeper. A dead guest. Can he solve the locked-room mystery before his business crumbles into chaos?
In the heart of Redwoods Country, where even the towering trees whisper secrets, there’s an innkeeper who’s anything but welcoming. Meet Andy Shirley—a man who’s made grumpiness an art form, detesting both guests and life’s little inconveniences. Now a dead guest and a killer on the loose threaten not only Andy’s solitude but his livelihood.
His cherished wife’s memory keeps him tethered to the small-town bed and breakfast they dreamt of running together. When a guest is found dead in a locked room, can this retired copy editor use his meticulous attention to detail to uncover the truth and save his business?
Fearing this shocking event will deter future guests and buyers, Andy’s frustration intensifies as the sheriff shifts his focus to a higher profile case. Yet, amidst this turmoil, Andy’s even more shocked when the most unexpected event happens as he hunts for clues . . . he strikes up an unlikely friendship.
Rivers and Creaks launches the humorous Redwoods Country cozy mystery series. If you like cranky but lovable characters, classic closed-door conundrums, and light-hearted fun, then you’ll love Marc Jedel’s laugh-out-loud tale. Imagine “Grumpy Old Men” merged with “Schitt’s Creek.”
My review of Rivers and Creaks
Rivers and Creaks by Marc Jedel is the first book in the Redwoods Country Mystery series. I’ve read almost all of the author’s cozy mystery books, and I can honestly say that this is my favorite! I’ve really enjoyed all of his books I’ve read, but there’s just something about this main character that makes it my favorite.
If you were staying at an inn, you probably wouldn’t want Andy Shirley as your innkeeper unless you’re one of the types of people who go to restaurants where the employees are intentionally rude (but that’s a different story). One year ago, Andy and his wife purchased a bed and breakfast in a small town in Northern California. Sadly, Andy’s wife died a month later. Now, he’s moving in, sight unseen. He trusted his wife’s judgment. She was going to run the place, and he’d putter around finding stuff to fix. Now, everything is Andy’s responsibility, and the day he arrives, he finds out what he’s in for!
Rivers and Creaks is hilarious! I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book. There was even a time when I had sad tears in my eyes because of a touching moment. Other than Andy, there are at least 3 (probably more if I include some characters I can’t talk about, or I’d spoil it for you!) characters that I’m sure will be regulars, and I just love these characters to bits! Jedel just writes such great, quirky characters and dialogue. The characters that you wouldn’t characterize as quirky are still so humorously written that you crack up at their dry wit (and more spoilers that I won’t share). And Andy’s dog…well, you just have to read it to get it!
One of the first things that happens when Andy takes over is that he finds out that a bridesmaid, from the wedding party staying there, is dead. The local police arrive first, but being a small town, the county gets involved. However, when the “in charge” police get called away to another case, Andy figures he’s going to have to find out what happened by himself. And tons of funny stuff happens while he investigates and when he finds out whodunit.
If you are someone who enjoys their cozies with lots of hilarity, you will love Rivers and Creaks! I highly recommend it for its totally entertaining cast of characters and for the crazy, zigzagging way that Andy solves the case.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
Character Guest Post by Andy Shirley, main character in Rivers and Creaks by Marc Jedel
I’m really not comfortable with the idea of writing something about myself. It’s not that writing itself scares me. As a longtime copy editor, I spent years behind a keyboard editing all sorts of novels, from fiction to nonfiction, and from terrible to inspiring works. But those were always other peoples’ words and stories.
Frankly, most days I’d prefer not even talking to other people. I can now understand the appeal in becoming a hermit. Actually, I think “recluse” sounds a little less like a crazy person, so let’s make that minor edit if you would.
Yet Marc Jedel asked me for a favor of writing a brief post about what happened to me soon after I moved up to Redwoods Country—more precisely the town of Monte Rio in Sonoma County, California. Marc describes the novel he wrote about me as a bit like Grumpy Old Men meets Schitt’s Creek. As the so-called grumpy old man in that description, I’m not a fan of this synopsis. Although it is true that I’ve been grumpy—downright miserable—since my wife Catherine died nearly a year ago.
His glib characterization sounds too much like some movie pitch than the actual story of what happened when I moved up here recently. Who needs more reminders that I had to move up here by myself to take over the bed and breakfast that had been our shared dream retirement? Actually it was more Catherine’s dream than mine. My plan had been to go fishing and fix things around the place. To top it off, someone was killed on my first day. The sheriff was busy with a higher visibility case and thought the death in my inn was a tragic accident. I had to solve the case or I’d have lost my entire investment with all my future guests cancelling since no one wants to stay in a place where people die. And then where would I live?
Apparently Marc plans to write more novels in what he calls a humorous murder mystery series, but I’m not keen on finding out who gets murdered next. Can Marc even be considered the author if all he did was get in touch with me after the fact, ask me a bunch of questions about what happened, and then wrote down my responses? After viewing some early drafts, it’s clear his copy editor did all the important polishing. As a former copy editor myself, I understand the incredible value these professionals add. Without them, novels would be mere collections of random author drivel. So as far as I’m concerned, it’s my story and Marc is just the typist. Lazy bum.
Monte Rio is not as terrible a place as I expected. It’s a small town of nearly a thousand people located ninety minutes north of San Francisco. The place is quite beautiful and some of the people are nice. Some. Beyond that, I’m taking it a day at a time. About the only firm decision I’ve set into concrete is to never accept a wedding party as guests again.
Marc’s novel, Rivers and Creaks, is on sale for only $0.99 during this tour. It’s available at: https://mybook.to/RiversandCreaks. You can find all his cozy mysteries at: https://www.amazon.com/Marc-Jedel/e/B07H7MVKJL. All of his novels are free for Kindle Unlimited members. The first three books in the Silicon Valley Mystery series are out on audiobook from Tantor Audio, available everywhere audiobooks are sold.
Marc loves hearing from readers as that motivates him to keep going on the next blank page.
Website: www.marcjedel.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/MarcJedel.Author
BookBub: http://www.bookbub.com/profile/marc-jedel
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Marc-Jedel/e/B07H7MVKJL
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18403497.Marc_Jedel
About Marc Jedel
Marc Jedel writes humorous murder mysteries. He credits his years of marketing leadership positions in Silicon Valley for honing his writing skills and sense of humor. While his high-tech marketing roles involved crafting plenty of fiction, these were just called emails, ads, and marketing collateral.
For most of Marc’s life, he’s been inventing stories. It’s a skill that’s served him well as both an author and marketer. The publication of Marc’s first novel, Uncle and Ants, gave him permission to claim “author” as his job. This leads to much more interesting conversations with people than answering, “marketing.”
Like his character, Andy, from the Redwoods Country Mystery series, Marc continues to grow older and would prefer not to run a bed-and-breakfast inn when he retires. Like his character, Marty from the Silicon Valley Mystery series, Marc now lives in Silicon Valley, works in high-tech, and enjoys bad puns. Like his characters Jonas and Elizabeth from the Ozarks Lake Mystery series, he grew up in the South and spent plenty of time in and around Arkansas. Like all his protagonists, Marc too has a dog, although his is neurotic, sweet, and small, with little appreciation for Marc’s humor.
Author Links
- Website and mailing list: www.marcjedel.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/MarcJedel.Author
- BookBub: www.bookbub.com/profile/marc-jedel?follow=true
- Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/18403497.Marc_Jedel
- LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mjedel/
Purchase Links – Amazon
Enter the Giveaway
Rivers and Creaks Tour Participants
January 5 – Literary Gold – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
January 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST
January 6 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
January 6 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
January 7 – The Mystery Section – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
January 7 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
January 8 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
January 9 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
January 10 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
January 10 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW, CHARACTER GUEST POST
January 11 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
January 11 – Cassidy’s Bookshelves – CHARACTER GUEST POST
January 12 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
January 13 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST
January 14 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW
January 15 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
January 16 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
January 17 – Lady Hawkeye – SPOTLIGHT
January 18 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
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Thanks for such a great review! Please send me an email with the names of the characters you’re hoping to see as regulars and the smaller ones that you liked so much so I can make sure Andy runs into them in future novels in this series. I hope others will enjoy Rivers and Creaks as much as you did. It’s on sale for only $0.99 just during this blog tour at: https://mybook.to/RiversandCreaks. All my novels, including the Ozarks Lake Mystery series (http://getbook.at/OzarksLake) and Silicon Valley Mystery series (http://getbook.at/SiliconValley) are available free for Kindle Unlimited members.
I will do that! That’s a great deal for the book!!