A Classic Case of Murder (A Literary Dining Mystery) by Daryl Wood Gerber

Christy Maurer

5 hours ago

Categories: BooksCozy MysteryCurrent Giveaways

A Classic Case of Murder (A Literary Dining Mystery) by Daryl Wood Gerber | Author Guest Post with Giveaway: (1) Winner – Choice of either of the 2 books in the series & $15 GC to Bookshop.org 11/9

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Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for A Classic Case of Murder (A Literary Dining Mystery) by Daryl Wood Gerber. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!

A Classic Case of Murder (A Literary Dining Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – North Carolina
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kensington Cozies
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 24, 2026
Print length ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
Hardcover

The DIGITAL version of the book is available NOW; however, the hardcover edition will not be available until November 24.

Personal chef and caterer Allie Catt combines her love of fiction with her love of food in the scenic North Carolina mountains—but amid her latest themed event, based on Dickens’s beloved classic, A Christmas Carol, a rare-book expert’s goose is cooked…

In the charming town of Bramblewood, not far from Asheville, Allie’s preparing for a special seasonal soiree: a literary-themed dinner party that’s a tribute to Charles Dickens’s A Christmas Carol. It’ll take place at the Amber Lantern, the quaint inn recently opened by her best friend’s mother, Noeline—and the holiday spirit has even led a Scroogelike local businessman to lend his prized first edition of the nineteenth-century novella for the event.

With the voices of carolers ringing in the air and the community theater staging a special performance, it looks like it will be a happy Christmas—until the priceless book disappears and someone murders the expert who authenticated it. And if the police have their way, Allie’s lawyer friend Freddy will be dragged away in chains like Marley’s ghost…

The crime has also cast a shadow over Noeline’s fledgling business, so Allie feels doubly obliged to find the real killer among the gathered guests and local visitors—and put an end to this nightmare. It’s time to investigate them all, every one . . .

WRITING IS DIFFICULT By Daryl Wood Gerber

Let me say with all humility that I’m not a natural writer. It does not come easily to me. I work hard. I know some people can simply crank out a good book in no time flat (with no errors!) but I stress over every sentence, every plot point, every word choice, and sadly, when I turn in a manuscript, I still wonder if it’s good enough.

All my young life I wrote stories, fantasies, and plays that I could put on if I rented a barn. My mother kept a few of my short stories in my baby book. But it was never easy for me. How I wish my mother had given me her talent to write with ease. She didn’t become a writer or a journalist, as she’d hoped, but she had a gift. She never doubted herself. I wish I had that gift. I do have her love of language.

So why do I doubt myself? There’s a reason. Read on.

In 7th grade, we were assigned a creative writing project. I wrote “The Girl with the Pearl Necklace.” I loved what I had written. I presented it proudly to the teacher . . . who said if I was considering becoming a writer, I should give up.

Say what? Who would do that to a kid? But his critique hit home and I was sunk. I had no confidence going forward.

Luckily, I also enjoyed acting and I put all my efforts into it. I made a living as an actress. But I was told that if I wanted to get ahead in the acting world, I needed to write a screenplay I could star in. Bravely, I wrote one and I attended a workshop where we critiqued one another’s screenplays. The one I wrote won an award, but it didn’t open doors for me.

When my husband and I moved across the country for his career, I gave up screenwriting, but by then I realized I loved writing, and I still wanted to do so. So I turned to writing novels. I took classes. I read books. I joined an online Sisters in Crime group called Guppies, and I joined a critique group. And finally I wrote an entire book and submitted it to agents.

Oh, how much rejection I faced! And, oh how often the voice of my 7th grade teacher came back to haunt me! Give up, give up, give up!

But I was older. More mature. I was determined to prove him wrong. And I did.

So why after I’ve published over thirty books does little voice creep in? Gack! Because I’m human. Can I do it? Will I fail?

TIP: Here’s how I combat it. I persevere. I am my own one-person cheerleading team. Sometimes, I yell out loud and order the stupid negative voices in my head to take a flying leap. And then, as an old song says, I pick myself up, dust myself off, and start all over again.

What was the worst thing a teacher, mentor, parent said to you? And do you still believe it?

About Daryl Wood Gerber

Daryl Wood Gerber is the Agatha Award-winning, nationally bestselling author of the Literary Dining Mysteries, the Fairy Garden Mysteries, the French Bistro Mysteries, and the Cookbook Nook Mysteries, as well as the Cheese Shop Mysteries written under the name Avery Aames. She also writes standalone suspense novels and the Aspen Adams Novels of Suspense. Prior to her career as a novelist, she was an actress with roles in television shows including “Murder, She Wrote,” and she wrote for the popular TV sitcom “Out of this World.” Originally from the Bay Area, she now lives in Southern California where she likes to cook, garden and spend time with her frisky Goldendoodle named Sparky. Visit her online at DarylWoodGerber.com.