Category: Review

I am delighted to have Bart Gilbertson here today to talk about his new mystery, Deathbed & Breakfast. This one takes place in Oregon and is a very fun read.

SSR – Sustained Silent Reading

When I was in the 4th Grade, our teacher, Mrs. Parks, would read to the entire class from a book for about 30 minutes or so every day after our lunch break.  Some of us would put our heads down on the desk, others would just lean back in their chairs, and still others would get out a piece of paper and draw doodles while she would read to us.  We learned how to eat a fried worm, solve mysteries (thanks to Encyclopedia Brown), and how to herd cattle and horses according to a ranch boy called “Little Britches.” It was in this way that I really found a love for books.  I especially loved it when she read “Where The Red Fern Grows” by Wilson Rawls.  That was the one book that lit a fire inside of me and made me want to become a writer myself someday.

Towards the end of that school year, my parents relocated us to a neighboring town about 11 miles away and I had to finish 4th Grade with a new teacher, Mrs. Beasley.  What I really liked about Mrs. Beasley’s class, was that she had rotating book shelves filled with paperback books about all sorts of things.  It was in this class that two new traditions started for me.

The first tradition took place every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  It was something we did for about 45 minutes every afternoon that Mrs. Beasley called “SSR.”  It stood for “Sustained Silent Reading.”  All of us kids would go over and pick out a book off the rotating racks, or get out something we’d brought from home.  Then, we’d just read to ourselves…silently.  I know most of the kids really looked forward to these days.  I was one of them.  I loved SSR time.  So much so, that I still have SSR time.  It isn’t quite as often as it used to be with the added responsibilities of adulthood, but it is still important.

The second tradition was that, everywhere I went, I carried a book with me.  I don’t mean required reading or school text books.  Some sort of fiction.  In between the lectures and school work, I could always be found reading a book.  This is something that has also followed me down through the years.  I knew early on in life, that I wanted my own books out there for others to carry with them and read when they could.

I believe we all need some SSR time.  Television, movies, music, even video games…they all have a place in our lives.  So does reading – sustained silent reading.  With no music playing, no television going off in the background; just you, your book, and your imagination.

It thrilled me to watch my daughter as she grew up and see how much she loved to read books as well.  Her bookshelves are full of books, and she’s read them all.  She was happier receiving a book as a gift than a movie or a video game.  There is nothing quite like the twinkle in a young person’s eyes as they delve into a captivating story on the high seas, or a mystery.

My book, “Deathbed & Breakfast,” tries to capture that same magical feeling of a good mystery.  A fun and humorous read, it will keep you guessing as you move forward to the killer’s identity at the end.  Put aside some time for it as you enjoy a little SSR!

About the Author:

Bart J. Gilbertson is the author of the Pookotz Sisters Mystery Series. Although he was born in Wisconsin, he spent most of his youth and later years in the rocky mountain state of Idaho. He has been all over the northwest and it is his love for the lush green state of Oregon that inspired the setting for Pleasant Lake and its inhabitants. He attended ITT Technical Institute in Boise, ID and received an Associate in Applied Science Degree for Computer Networking Systems and graduated with honors. Bart has worn many hats over his lifetime career, but the one he is most proud of is that of being a writer. He currently resides in O’Neill, NE. He has two children.

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Richard Forester, a retired CEO for a major software company, and his granddaughter Penny show up at the Pookotz Bed & Breakfast one evening and find themselves in some rather unpleasant company. All the guests somehow seem to be connected to Richard’s past and when he is found dead the next morning, everyone is suspect. However, there are a few wrinkles that the inn’s owners Edna and Mildred Pookotz need to iron out as the investigation unfolds. Not only was Richard deathly ill, but he was also accused of embezzling $750,000 which is still unaccounted for. The local Sheriff suspects that this victim’s death is not a natural one, so he–and the sisters–set forth to discover who the murderer is.

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Jennifer’s Review of Deathbed & Breakfast

Review (4.0 Stars): I am always looking for new authors and I really enjoyed Mr. Gilbertson’s new book, Deathbed & Breakfast.  I loved the fact that the Pookotz Bed & Breakfast was set in Oregon which added to the charm of this delightful mystery.  The mystery was well-written and fast-paced which caused me to spend half the night reading it just to try to figure out who the killer was.  I loved the Pookotz sisters because they were such interesting characters and I loved their old-fashioned ways.

The supporting characters in this mystery are what really make this book fun.  Felix, the elderly chef who can’t hear and can barely see had some hilarious scenes in this book as well as the other quirky guests that were staying at the bed & breakfast.  This was an enjoyable mystery with a lovely cast of characters that I can’t wait to visit again.

I am very excited to have M. Louisa Locke here today doing a guest post about romance in her mystery series and discuss her new book, Bloody Lessons.

What’s love got to do with it?  What’s love but a second-hand emotion?

Okay, the title for this post dates me.  Who quotes Tina Turner anymore?  But that song is what went through my mind as I thought about the role of romance in my Victorian San Francisco mysteries.  I write historical mysteries, in the cozy vein, and romance is a definitely a part of my stories.  But love has to compete with both the historical setting and the mystery plot and I know that, for some readers, romance (or love) might seem out of place.

But for me, the romance is as important as the history or the mystery, and it isn’t second hand or second best.

Regency romances by Geogette Heyer are what inspired me to be a writer, and my hope is that readers get the same enjoyment from following the romantic arc of my two main protagonists, Annie Fuller and Nate Dawson, as I get from following the romance in a Heyer novel.  When the series opens with Maids of Misfortune, Annie is a widow who has had a very unhappy first marriage (her husband lost her fortune and then took his own life), and after five miserable years living at the beck and call of in-laws who blamed her for their son’s death, she has finally gained some economic independence.  As a result, she is very wary of any relationship with a man.  Nate Dawson is a fairly conventional young man and a lawyer who is frustrated by the minor role he has as the junior member of his uncle’s law firm.  He finds Annie’s independent streak frustrating but strangely attractive.  Needless to say, the romance between these two people does not progress smoothly.

Unlike a traditional romance, which usually depends on the happily-ever-after occurring by the end of the book, a mystery novel must resolve the mystery, not the romance.  As Conan Doyle discovered with Sherlock and Watson, mysteries work well when you can have two people detecting.  They can bounce ideas off of each other, split the work in interviewing witnesses, and it increases the sense of tension when one of them gets in danger.  For me, all of this works even better when the two sleuths are of the opposite sex and romantically attracted to each other.

One of the first mystery authors to blend mystery and romance this way was Dorothy Sayers with her Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane series. When I discovered her work forty years ago, I learned that I liked being able to savor the development of a romance over several books and, ever since then, I have found that I enjoy mysteries with a romantic element more than I do straight mysteries.  I get to try to solve the puzzle at the core of the mystery, while enjoying the romantic tension between the couples along the way.

The fourth book in the Wimsey-Vane books, Busman’s Honeymoon, carried the couple past the happily-ever-after moment and other mystery series with a romantic element often do that same – continuing to develop a couple’s relationship once love had been declared or a proposal accepted.  Deborah Crombie’s contemporary mystery series with detectives Kincaide and James is an excellent example of this.  As with life, it is often what happens after a couple gets together that is the real challenge and it is one I look forward to exploring with Annie Fuller and Nate Dawson.

Finally, there is the historical aspect of my mysteries.  It has always been the emotional rather than the physical side of romance that intrigues me, which is one of the reasons my mysteries are in the cozy style.  Since my series is set in late 19th century San Francisco, its historical setting actually helps rather than detracts from the romantic arc.  The social norms that constrain Annie and Nate from acting on their physical desires just add to the romantic tension within the stories.  For example, Annie is so busy trying to maintain her independence that she keeps getting in trouble and needing to be rescued — the last thing she wants.  Nate, on the other hand, is so busy doing the honorable thing that he is in danger of losing everything.  In a contemporary novel, the behavior of both Annie and Nate might be seen as hopelessly old-fashioned and unrealistic.  But in a Victorian historical mystery, they actually appear incredibly modern!

At the same time, the fact that these two persons are engaged in solving crimes means that it is easy to spice up the romance with danger.  Romantic suspense is fun to do when women have long skirts and corsets to contend with while fighting off the bad guys and men are trying to act like gentlemen while having revolvers at their hips.

In short, I happen to believe that romance is the perfect complement to an historical mystery, and I plan to never stop blending the three.  In Bloody Lessons, my newest book in the series, I even get to lay the ground-work for a new romantic couple, just as Annie and Nate’s relationship hits a turning point.  Because, what love has to do with it is everything!

About the Author:

M. Louisa Locke is a retired professor of U.S. and Women’s History, who has embarked on a second career as an historical fiction writer. The published books in her series of historical mysteries set in Victorian San Francisco, Maids of Misfortune, Uneasy Spirits, and Bloody Lessons, feature Annie Fuller, a boardinghouse owner and reluctant clairvoyant, and Nate Dawson, a San Francisco lawyer, who together investigate murders and other crimes, while her short stories, Dandy Detects and The Miss Moffets Mend a Marriage, give secondary characters from this series a chance to get involved in their own minor mysteries. Locke is an active member in the Alliance of Independent Authors, and a Director of the Historical Fiction Authors Cooperative.

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In Bloody Lessons, it’s the winter of 1880, and the teachers of San Francisco are under attack: their salaries slashed and their competency and morals questioned in a series of poison pen letters.

Annie Fuller, the reluctant clairvoyant, has been called into investigate by Nate Dawson, her lawyer beau, and the case becomes personal when they discover that Laura, Nate’s sister, may be one of the teachers targeted for attack.

In this installment in the Victorian San Francisco Mystery series, readers will find the same blend of a cozy mystery with romantic suspense, played out against the historical backdrop of late 19th century San Francisco, that they found in Maids of Misfortune and Uneasy Spirits.

If you are new to this series, you will still enjoy spending time with the lively residents of Annie Fuller’s boarding house and visiting San Francisco when Golden Gate Park was filled with horse-drawn carriages, saloon-keepers controlled politics, and kisses were stolen under gaslight.

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My Review (4 Stars): Bloody Lessons is the third book in the Victorian San Francisco mystery series and I really liked the story in this one.  I loved the first book, Maids of Misfortune and it was a treat to see how Annie and Nate’s relationship have developed over the books.  In this book, Nate’s sister, Laura, is living in Annie’s boarding house and working as a teacher in a nearby school.  She is attacked in the very beginning of the book which leads to mysterious events that make her wonder if she being followed by a person from her past.  I loved the historical aspect of these books and I think that Annie is a great character that I always like learning more about.  Bloody Lessons was a delightful mystery that I thoroughly enjoyed and am looking forward to reading more in the series.