Blog Tour & Giveaway: Snoop to Nuts by Elizabeth Lee

Guest Post

by Elizabeth Lee

You know how you’ve been around a guy forever and then one day you get mad at him and your whole world seems to blow up?  That’s what happens to Lindy Blanchard when even Deputy Hunter Austin, her sometimes lover and sometimes adversary, and sometimes plain pain-in-the-neck, comes to suspect that her meemaw, Miss Amelia, who runs The Nut House in Riverville, Texas, could’ve been the one who poisoned Pastor Jenkins at the Riverville Agricultural Fair.

Suspect her Meemaw?  The love of her life?  The woman who sets standards for everyone in the Blanchard family?  The greatest cook in all of Riverville, who just happened to lose an important blue ribbon because of a contrary vote from the pastor?

So what if it was Miss Amelia’s Heavenly Pecan Texas Caviar that killed the man?  (In the recipes at the end of the book Miss Amelia renames this famous dish Socrates Favorite Texas Caviar in a kind of ghoulish attempt to make people forget that poison killed the good pastor.)
Anybody could have slipped the poison into Meemaw’s dish, especially since a hog got loose from one of the barns right about then and Hunter, police presence at the fair, was out trying to rope the scared animal, then was dragged through the red Texas dirt for his trouble.  And nobody was watching the entries in the food tent.

It doesn’t help the two of them, trying to make up later, when, on a trip to Tupelo to interview a possible suspect, Meemaw keeps calling to make sure they have separate rooms when they stop for the night in New Orleans.  She may be the number one suspect in a murder, but Miss Amelia will be damned if her dear granddaughter will be called a “loose woman” by town gossips like her friend, Ethelred Tomroy.

Once in Tupelo, they are all business, interviewing this ex-husband who got religion since he hurt his first wife so bad and swears he didn’t have anything to do with hurting the pastor.  They’d been hoping this was the murderer, but they both know the man is telling the truth—and has an alibi from his current wife—they were in church all that day.

Even a stop at Elvis’ original home in Tupelo and a tour of the grounds doesn’t lift the depression they’re sharing:

“Poor Meemaw.  What do we do next?  You have any ideas?”Lindy asked.

He shook his head, glanced down at the speedometer and slowed.  “One thing’s     still bothering me though.  I hate to bring it up.  Probably it doesn’t have anything     to do with anything, but it’s about why Miss Amelia dished up more of her Texas     caviar for the parson?  It’s the only solid thing I know of that doesn’t fit anywhere     and it’s driving me crazy.”

I thought a minute.  “I asked her.”

“What’d she say?”

“Something about wanting him to taste the real thing.”

That answer doesn’t cure a thing between them.  Things go from bad to worse (you could say) when Treenie, Meemaw’s helper at The Nut house sticks her finger in a jar at the store, puts in her mouth and lands in the hospital—poisoned by the same poison that killed the pastor.

There’s this thing about Texas women, they may be sweet as molasses but they can also be as tough at rattlers.  When the women of Riverville muster around Miss Amelia—knowing a killer from a sweetheart—Deputy Hunter either gets with the program or is out of Lindy’s life forever.

Doesn’t matter how much a woman likes or loves a man, when it comes to allegiance to him or her meemaw, there’s no contest.

Thank goodness for Hunter Austen (and me, the writer) things look like they’ll work out all right.  They still have to find the real murderer to get Meemaw off the hook, then find the poison—which comes from a surprising place—and they still have to face down a couple of serious threats from the people behind it all.  The wonderful part of all of this is that when a relationship is tested in this way, there’s not much more that can ever tear it apart again.  Well, that is until I get the two of them tied up in another murder and their stubborn natures come out again.  I love writing books about people I like as much as I like Hunter Austen and Lindy Blanchard, and all the other folks in Riverville—good, bad, mean, testy, or angelic.

Everybody’s got a story for me.  Makes my work so easy.

About the Author:

Elizabeth moved to the shores of a little lake in northwest northern Michigan and never looked back. She lives, sometimes uncomfortably, with the crows and bears and turtles and finds her material in the villages and forests that surround her. With degrees from Macomb County Community College, Oakland University, and the University of Michigan, she now teaches creative writing at Northwestern Michigan College and at writers’ conferences around the country.

Her novels include: Gift of Evil (Bantam), Dead Dancing Women, Dead Floating Lovers, Dead Sleeping Shaman, and Dead Dogs and Englishmen (Midnight Ink).

Elizabeth is also fascinated with the craft of the short story and hers have appeared in The Creative Woman, The Driftwood Review, Passages North, The MacGuffin, Quality Women’s Fiction (Great Britain), and elsewhere. With a grant from the State of Michigan she also created short stories that have been produced onstage as well as being read on NPR.

Her essays have appeared in magazines and books and newspapers, and she writes book reviews for The Northern Express, an alternative newspaper in Traverse City, Michigan.

For many years she taught in the International Women’s Guild summer program at Skidmore College and appeared as a moderator and panelist at writing conferences. Her fascination with all things murderous began with a love for puzzles of all sorts, which was handed down to her by a mother who devoured mysteries. Sometimes playful, sometimes deadly serious, her books reflect a wide interest in women’s lives and futures.

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Lindy Blanchard’s family pecan farm is known county-wide, but it’s the goodies her grandmother sells at their store, the Nut House, that really bring in the crowds—until someone turns one of her tasty treats deadly……

The “Most Original Pecan Treat” contest at the Ag Fair is the talk of Riverville, Texas, especially when it’s clear that Miss Amelia Blanchard’s Heavenly Texas Pecan Caviar will take home a blue ribbon. Which is why everyone is amazed when her dish doesn’t even place—and even more shocked when one of the judges, Pastor Jenkins, keels over dead, right after taking a second taste of Miss Amelia’s food.

No one in town truly believes that Amelia would even hurt a fly, but all the evidence points to poor Pastor Jenkins’ death being caused by poison in the caviar. Now, unless Lindy figures out who wanted to frame Amelia for murder, her meemaw may have baked her last famous pecan pie….

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Jennifer’s Review of Snoop to Nuts

Review (4.75 Stars): Snoop to Nuts is definitely a mystery that you can sink your teeth into. I love Lindy and her sassy grandmother, Amelia, as well as the eccentric cast of characters in this delightful series. In this mystery, Amelia is accused of murder when a judge dies after eating her Pecan Caviar at the Ag Fair.  I couldn’t imagine anyone thinking that Amelia would hurt anyone but there was so much competition for the coveted blue ribbon that I’m not surprised that someone tried to sabotage her yummy food and blame her for a murder she didn’t commit.  Every time I read a Nut House mystery, it reminds me of being a young child watching my grandmother cooking her delicious pies and treats and I want to go to visit the Nut House just so I can try a piece of Amelia’s pecan pie.

Snoop to Nuts is a fabulously delicious mystery that will keep readers hungry for me.  Ms. Lee does a great job bringing these characters and this town to life that you can’t stop yourself from smiling during certain scenes of this book.  The mystery was well-written and engaging that is sure to keep readers entertained until the last page.  Looking forward to more wonderful recipes and a charming new mystery in the next installment of this series.

Giveaway

I’m excited to give away a copy of Snoop to Nuts. This giveaway is for US Residents only.  To be entered in the drawing by January 17th, please leave me a comment below: