Book Review: Read to Death by Terrie Farley Moran

With their book club season wrapping up with The Florida Life of Thomas Edison, Sassy and Bridgy decide to take their group on a day trip to the beautiful Edison and Ford Winter Estates. Hiring driver Oscar Frieland, who’s known for his colorful stories and love of the café’s Robert Frost fruit tartlets, the bibliophiles set off for a day of sunshine and history.

After a lovely excursion, the club returns to the café for lunch and a book discussion, but the group falls silent after Oscar is found dead in his van. The sheriff’s deputies have some questions of their own for the group, and if the ladies don’t find some answers soon, the next book they read might be from a prison library.[summary via Amazon]

Read to Death is the third book in the Read 'Em and Eat Mysteries. Sassy Cabot and Bridgy Mayfield are on a field trip to visit the Edison and Ford Winter Estates. All is going well until their driver is found dead, after they arrive back at the cafe. With Bridgy discovering the body, the police instantly suspect her. It's up to Sassy to try to clear her best friends name.

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series, and the third (and final) book is no exception. It was a charming and fun mystery, surrounding the book club's read of The Florida Life of Thomas Edison. 

I read a lot of mysteries and I love picking up clues early on. When the victim teases about knowing "all the girls way back when", I knew that was the line that had sealed his doom. Of course, I was right! It was interesting to try to figure out which book club member was keeping a secret and who the murderer was.

Beyond the mystery and the wonderful characters, I love all the "book title" dropping that this series provides. The various book clubs that meet at the Read 'Em and Eat Cafe are always interesting. Quite often, after reading the mystery I want to head to the library to check out the other books mentioned in the book. This time, it was Julie and Julia, and other Julia Childs cookbooks. The bookclub made the books sound so interesting, so I will definitely be having some cookbook reading in my future.

Read to Death is the last book in this series, and I hope some time in the future it might be picked up for more stories. I really enjoyed visiting with Sassy and Bridgy (and their moms in this book) and I hope there are more adventures in the future.

If you love books about books about books, then definitely pick up the Read 'Em and Eat Mysteries. They are well worth a read. And, there are delicious recipes too!

Interview with Terrie Moran + Giveaway

Today we have Terrie Moran, author of the Read 'Em and Eat Cafe Mysteries, with us to chat about her books!

We love the idea of a Read 'Em and Eat Cafe, where did the inspiration for a bookstore and cafe all rolled into one come from?

Actually, the idea for a combination café and bookstore resulted from a number of conversations I had with my agent, the fabulous Kim Lionetti of Bookends Literary. I liked the idea of a breakfast/lunch café because the characters could naturally sit and talk and since they don’t serve dinner the owners would have the late afternoon and evenings free to solve crimes. I freely admit I am far from an expert in the kitchen, so the shop needed something more, an area where I would always be comfortable. The bookshop side of the Read ‘Em and Eat suits me to a T.

The Read 'Em and Eat Mysteries are set in the gulf of Florida, in such a picturesque setting. What was your inspiration for setting the books there?

Years ago a friend recommended a novel called Shadow Country written by naturalist and novelist Peter Matthiessen. It is a fictionalized version of the settling of the Ten Thousand Islands along the Gulf coast near the Florida Everglades more than a hundred years ago. After reading the book, I was enchanted and decided to write about the area. At first I intended to write a short story set in the Ten Thousand Islands in the early 1900s but the more I read about the people and the place (which is now part of State and Federal protected lands) I decided to use it as backstory for a subplot in a contemporary cozy. You will recognize it in Delia’s life story in Well Read, Then Dead. I decided to use Fort Myers Beach as a setting because it physically (if you take away the roads and buildings) reminds me of the Ten Thousand Islands, and is about an hour north of the northernmost protected island.

There are so many "big" personalities in Well Read, Then Dead, like Aunt Opie, and Augusta. Do you draw inspiration for your characters from any of your family and friends?

I do not. I am certain that path leads to relationship ruin. In fact I have had folks tell me they recognize themselves in my work but that is entirely in their imagination. I never “borrow” the personality traits of anyone I know for my books or stories. I did participate in an auction last year to raise money for the public library in Wetumpka, Alabama. The winner has a character named after her in Read to Death. Once I picked the character I wanted her to be, I emailed all the pertinent data to her in order to be sure that the character’s life did not resemble her life in any way. I also named the veterinarian Cynthia Mays after my best friend. With her permission I used her maiden name, and the only thing that the real Cynthia and Doctor Mays have in common is that they both love animals and are attractive African-American women. So where do the “big” personalities come from? They rattle around in my brain and argue with me until I write them as they wish to be written.

What is your favourite thing about writing the Read 'Em and Eat Mysteries?

As a writer I love the freshness of a new story in a familiar setting with familiar characters. I really enjoy the book club meetings that bring so many books, both fiction and non-fiction, to our attention. And of course I have to read the books so that I can write about the book club meetings. Bonus!

I love Terrie Moran's stories and love finding out more behind the words!!

Visit Terrie on the web: website | Facebook

Check out the Read 'Em and Eat Mysteries on Amazon.

Terrie has donated a fantastic prize for us to give away today.

GIVEAWAY

We have a Read to Death t-shirt to giveaway to one lucky winner.

1. Leave a comment with your email address. 

2. Giveaway ends on July 14, 2016 and the winners will be contacted by email. 

3. Giveaway is open USA.

Book Review: Well Read, Then Dead by Terrie Moran

In Terrie Moran's debut mystery series she creates murder and mayhem with a unique setting in Well Read, Then Dead. Mary "Sassy" Cabot and Bridget Mayfield are best friends and together run the Read 'Em and Eat Bookstore Cafe. Life is pretty tranquil in their sunny town of Fort Meyers Beach. It seems the most rowdy it gets is at the heated discussions of the book club, especially when fellow book club member Rowena Gustavson starts debating each book. However life in the small town is about to become very interesting when the the quietest member of the book club, Delia Batson, is found dead. Delia's cousin, Augusta, is absolutely distraught by her death, and asks Sassy for help on finding her killer!!

I want to pack myself on a one-way trip to the Read 'Em and Eat Bookstore Cafe. The second I walked through those doors in the first chapter of Well Read, Then Dead I was absolutely smitten. Everything from the delicious food and drinks to the tables that each sport on articles, photos and excerpts of all my favorite mystery authors! I was in book lover heaven. I knew any mystery that started with this setting had to be a good one and I was right!!

Sassy takes us into her life as owner of Read 'Em and Eat Bookstore Cafe and the lives of her friends and residents of Fort Meyers Beach. They're an eclectic bunch and it was a delight to meet them and try to solve a mystery.

Apart from the delectable treats and the cozy atmosphere of the bookstore cafe, what I loved the most were the surprises! Delia was the last person I expected to be the victim! When a story starts with a boisterous personality like Rowena, I for sure had her pegged as the victim. I couldn't fathom why anyone would want to kill Delia, and I knew both Sassy (and me!) had our work cut out for us trying to find the killer!!

I'm about 8 months behind everyone else that has been raving about this series. With so many cozies on my shelf I hadn't gotten to this one before now, and I really wish I had squeezed the time in to read it when it was released, last August. Terrie Moran delighted me to little itty bitty pieces with this mystery full of southern charm and friendship. I felt the anguish that Augusta felt at the loss of her cousin and the triumph that Sassy feels when she finally solves the case!

If you haven't picked up Well Read, Then Dead pick it up today. You will be delighted by the charm of the Read 'Em and Eat Bookstore Cafe and all the residents of Fort Meyers Beach.