Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for The Corpse by the Creek: A Succulent Sleuth Cozy Mystery by Iris March. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
The Corpse by the Creek: A Succulent Sleuth Cozy Mystery by Iris March
The Corpse by the Creek: A Succulent Sleuth Cozy Mystery
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series (plus 2 short stories)
Setting – Ohio
Publisher : Wandering Gingko Press
Publication date : June 2, 2026
Number of Pages ~200 pages
Digital
Volunteer water sampling. Development deals. A dead businessman in the woods.
While volunteering with a local stream restoration group, Molly and her husband, Scott, expect to end the day with nothing more to show for it than muddy hiking shoes and water samples. Instead, they stumble upon a dead body left in the woods behind the Buckeye Trail. The victim turns out to be Upton North—an unpopular developer with business ties to half the town and enemies to match.
As Molly starts asking questions, she uncovers a web of grudges involving tenants, activists, and business owners. She’ll have to follow clues from forest trails to forgotten basements—and confront just how far greed and intimidation pushed the wrong person too far.
With a busy garden center to manage, and a beloved black and white cat occasionally underfoot, Molly digs into another Succulent Sleuth case where the roots of the crime run deep.
Interview with Iris March
Thanks for taking the time to share a bit about yourself with my readers and me!
Tell us a little about yourself.
My real name is Maureen Wise. I love being on a trail or on a lake. I work in the sustainability field and have a wonderful husband, an amazing son, and three cats. I also do not have a green thumb, but I pretend I do in the Succulent Sleuth Series.
How long have you been writing?
I was an English and Biology double major, so I’ve been writing forever. I’ve always been the writer on the teams I’ve worked with, writing grants, blogs, annual reports, newsletters, etc. I started writing my first book in 2019 on Valentine’s Day. I have a strong memory of being struck with an idea for some characters and a first scene, and they just wouldn’t let me go.
Did you always want to be an author? What made you choose the cozy mystery genre?
As I was graduating from college with that English degree, I assumed I’d write a book one day, but I didn’t think it would take me almost twenty years to start. My first book was a women’s fiction book about my sister’s journey to beat cancer while pregnant with twins, and my second is a yet to be published book on faith and the environment. My third book is where I found the cozy mysteries. I wasn’t sure I could figure out how to come up with all the suspects and hide the killer throughout the book, but I did it. That third book, The Broken Bridge, I figured out the mysteries. They’ve been getting better ever since!
Do you prefer to read cozy mystery books, or do you have another favorite genre? What are you reading now?
Cozy mysteries are my very favorite. I certainly stray away from them with some women’s fiction, a traditional mystery, some sci-fi (mostly my husband’s recommendations), or a thriller, but I always come back to the cozies.
Do you have a favorite place to write?
I very much prefer writing at my desk in my office. I like the big screen and the sunshine. Sometimes distractions fall away when I find myself at my laptop at a coffee shop or a writing workshop, but I am most comfortable at my desk.
What’s on your desk (if you write at one!)?
I have a collection of Lego typewriters on my desk. They’ve all been gifts and are so cool!
What is the first book you remember reading as a child? What was one of your favorite books you read as a child?
We read a lot of picture books as kids. I loved the Berenstain Bears and Dr. Seuss. I remember reading a lot of Encyclopedia Brown and Babysitter’s Club when I was older. I don’t have a specific favorite children’s book, but I know that my childhood was filled with library trips and reading on my mom’s lap.
Do you like audiobooks, physical books, or e-books better? Why?
I love e-books. I enjoy the built-in dictionary function, and that it’s okay to highlight an e-book. I’d never highlight a real book!
If you could live anywhere in the world for a year while writing a book that took place in that same setting, where would you choose?
I always say that the next place we’re going on vacation is Paris, and it has yet to happen. I’d love to spend a year in Paris and set a mystery there! Or London or Reykjavik. We’ve been to both of those places and I’d love to go back and spend more time. I often tell my husband, “I want to summer in England.” Unfortunately, he’s never taken me seriously.
What or who has influenced you the most as a writer?
I think what has influenced me the most as a writer are the books I’ve hated, or at least been frustrated with. I hate when a lady needs to be saved by a dude. My main character will never be physically carried out of danger by someone else. However, I love it when a group of loved ones comes together to help someone.I also get so frustrated at the end of a cozy mystery when there’s not a big show down scene with the killer.
Do you have any author friends who support you while you’re writing? Do you belong to any writing groups?
I have a super helpful critique partner, Kara Lacy. We’ve been together for years. I am also a member of the Northeast Ohio Sisters in Crime and love my friends there. I also sometimes join a morning writing sprint group that is ridiculously welcoming, even though I am there so rarely.
Finally, what are you working on now? Can you tell us a bit about it?
I’m working on a first in series cozy mystery with a lady forester that finds a dead body in the woods with some clients. It’s longer, and I need to work on more motivation for everyone – the sleuth, the killer, the suspects. I finished the first draft, but have a long way to go before it’s done.
Thank you again for taking the time to answer my questions!
About Iris March
Iris March has a reputation for killing house plants, and now she’s killing people off in books? Coincidence? Perhaps not. Iris has spent two decades working in the sustainability field and is usually either reading a book or on a trail. She lives in Ohio with her husband, son, and three cats.
Author Links
Blue Sky https://bsky.app/profile/irismarchbooks.bsky.social
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/irismarchbooks/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/irismarchbooks/
Website www.irismarchbooks.com
Purchase Links- Amazon – Books 2 Read
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The Corpse by the Creek TOUR PARTICIPANTS
May 25 – Books1987 – SPOTLIGHT
May 25 – Sarandipity’s – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
May 26 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
May 26 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews– SPOTLIGHT
May 27 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
May 27 – Salty Inspirations – AUTHOR GUEST POST
May 28 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
May 28 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
May 29 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER GUEST POST
May 29 – Twirling Book Princess – SPOTLIGHT
May 29 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT
May 30 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
May 30 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
May 30 – fundinmental – SPOTLIGHT
May 31 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – REVIEW
May 31 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
June 1 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
June 1 – deal sharing aunt – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
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