Today I have Teresa Trent here to talk about her new mystery, Burnout. These books are fun and entertaining mysteries that have great small-town characters.
The Romance of Mystery
by Teresa Trent
I love a mystery, but the best mysteries are also romances. I can remember as a young woman reading all of the Phyllis Whitney books with the wispy maiden drawn on the cover turning her back as she ran away from the dark and brooding mansion house behind her. There was something about that cover that drew me into the story. Maybe I was imagining myself as the young slender woman with beautiful straight hair and the well – fitting evening gown. Yes, there was a mystery, and yes, she was in danger, but she was young and beautiful so that meant there was probably also a young and handsome man somewhere in the story. I was sold. I have never been one to enjoy high body counts and page after page of terrible things one character has done to another. That is probably why I write cozy mysteries instead of thrillers. In a cozy mystery much of the violence is offstage. If there is a report from the coroner it’s usually something the characters read and not something a character finds out from lifting a sheet on a dead body.
There is nothing that kills that romantic feeling faster than an in-depth discussion of the decomposition of a body. No, mysteries need to be interwoven with romance. The main character is stepping out taking chances both in tracking down a killer and allowing their own vulnerability with another character. Will the love interest turn out to be bad or good? Read on and find out.
Even Miss Marple had an element of romance in every story. Miss Marple rarely takes part in a romantic entanglement, but Agatha Christie always made sure that there were younger characters and some elements of romance. In my Pecan Bayou Mystery Series, I have one romantic relationship that is interwoven throughout all five books. I try to capture the relationship from the first kiss between my two characters Betsy and Leo all the way to the love that they share in the fifth book as a married couple. Of course they are not alone. They are surrounded by all of the quirky characters of small-town Texas and quite a few murderers. Leo asks Betsy in one book if there was some sort of bizarre crop dusting with mood-enhancing chemicals that produced so many killer psychos in one tiny town. Still though, no matter how many bodies Betsy finds, Leo keeps coming back to her, sometimes to rescue her and sometimes to get rescued by her.
Isn’t that what love is all about, anyway?
About the Author:
Teresa Trent writes her Pecan Bayou Mystery Series from Houston, Texas. With a father in the army, her family moved often finally settling in Colorado. Living in Texas for the last 18 years she loves the people and even the weather. Teresa includes Danny, a character with Down Syndrome in her Pecan Bayou family and in real life is the mother of an adult son with Down Syndrome/PDD. Creating the character of Danny and all of the other inhabitants of Pecan Bayou has been a joy for her. Even though she lives in the big city, her writing is influenced by all of the interesting people she finds in small towns and the sense of family that seems to be woven through them all.
It’s November in Pecan Bayou, Texas and while the town is getting ready for the Thanksgiving holiday a deadly fire breaks out at the newspaper office. When Rocky, the editor is nowhere to be found, Betsy refuses to believe he has perished in the fire. The entire town is coming down with the stomach flu and Betsy must deal with her husband’s new found celebrity as an on-air weatherman filling in for and under-the-weather Hurricane Hal . Leo loves all the attention he’s getting, especially from the sexy administrative assistant who works at the station. Is their new marriage in trouble already? Find out in the fifth book of the Pecan Bayou Mystery Series. All the characters you’ve come to know and love are back and you’ll find plenty of the Happy Hinter’s recipes and tips included at the end of the book.
(This book is currently FREE during the dates of the tour!)
Jennifer’s Review of Burnout
Review (4 Stars): This was a quick and very entertaining mystery that kept me up most of the night. Everyone is pretty much sick with the flu in Pecan Bayou and Betsy is trying desperately to stay well before the holidays. In the middle of all this, there is a terrible fire at the newspaper and Rocky is missing and they aren’t sure if he perished in the fire. Betsy hopes for the best but as the evidence mounts, she may have to face the fact that her longtime editor may have been killed and someone purposely set the fire. Was it an accident or was someone trying to silence Rocky before he exposed the truth on a story that someone didn’t want to come to light?
I like the Pecan Bayou series because these mysteries are always fun and will keep you guessing to the very end. Betsy has overcome so much over the course of this series and I enjoyed the fact that everything was going so well for her in the beginning of this story. She does have quite a few challenges in this story due to some new family dynamics but considering everything she has been through, I know everything will work out for her. Ms. Trent is always able to write intriguing mysteries with great small-town characters and I can’t wait to see what is in store next for Pecan Bayou.
I love the sound of these true to life characters in this great mystery series. I have downloaded it on amazon and can’t wait to get started. Thanks for a great giveaway.
Thanks for being a part of blog tour. After looking at all of the bookcovers on your site I think I need some better looking people in Pecan Bayou! I really appreciate you review:)
I too like to have a little romance with my mystery or thriller – but I don’t mind reading a little bit about gore if it helps move the story along. I really like the sound of the Pecan Bayou setting and the review definitely makes me want to read it just to read the character development (a huge issue for me). Thanks for the giveaway
This series looks like so much fun.
This sounds good.
I’m new to this series but it sounds good.
Nice review about the characters