Tag Archives: tule mystery

Capturing the Uniqueness of Martha’s Vineyard: Release Day for A CHAIN OF PEARLS!

April 9, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Hi friends, my name is Raemi Ray. It’s pronounced like ‘Amy’ but with an ‘R’ or as my dad tells people, ‘Like the Sound of Music: do-RE-MI.’ Before you ask, no it’s not short for anything and has absolutely zero meaning. The parents just liked it, I suppose.

Awkward intros out of the way, hi again. I write murder mystery stories for Tule and I’m thrilled to be here to announce the first book in my brand new Martha’s Vineyard Murders series. A Chain of Pearls will be out April 9.

A little about the book:

The last thing she wants is to dig up the past…

When the body of a celebrated journalist is fished from the Edgartown Harbor, the official report rules his death accidental. But why was he alone on a senator’s yacht during a nor’easter? That’s only the first question London-based lawyer Kyra Gibson has when she arrives on the idyllic island of Martha’s Vineyard to settle her estranged father’s affairs.

She’s not looking for closure. She’s not seen him in decades since he left her with her aunt following her mother’s death. But as Kyra delves deeper into her father’s life, she learns he had many regrets and wasn’t as retired as she believed. The more Kyra discovers, the more questions she has. With the help of world-weary detective, Tarek Collins, they uncover a web of intrigue and corruption involving a powerful senator, a dubious energy company, and brutal murder.

As they chase down clues, Kyra and Tarek flirt with danger and race against time to solve the murders and uncover the dark secrets lurking beneath Martha’s Vineyard’s picturesque façade of old money wealth and privilege.

My books, as the series’ name suggests, are ‘whodunnit’ style murder mysteries set on the Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard. I’ve been visiting the island year-round since college and it holds a special place in my heart. Over the years, I’ve fallen in love with the geography and its unique culture, so inherently New England, but with something else, that’s entirely its own.

It was important to me to capture that uniqueness in my books, and many of places I talk about are either real places, like the towns of Edgartown and Menemsha, or were inspired by the real-life places and businesses that I’ve patroned over the years. Of course, I’ve taken some liberties, so please don’t come for me, when you find out Kyra’s house doesn’t actually exist (but the silkie chickens do, iykyk).

In the first installment, my readers, like my main character Kyra Gibson, an expat visiting the island for the first time, get to explore Martha’s Vineyard through fresh eyes. I hope you enjoy visiting the island as much as I do and if you do, please continue to visit along with Kyra and her friends in books two (The Wraith’s Return) and three (Widow’s Walk) publishing later this year. The books all follow the same characters solving different island mysteries and can be read standalone, but if you read them in order you’ll discover some easter eggs.

Thanks for your time and follow me on my socials for giveaways, updates, and a general look into my travels to and from the island. Thanks again, Cheers!

About the Author.

Raemi Amanda Ray is the author of A Chain of Pearls, her debut and the first book in a Martha’s Vineyard Murders series set on Martha’s Vineyard. Her travels to the island and around the world inspire her stories. She lives in Boston.

Two Truths and a Lie About Tule Author Raemi A. Ray

March 27, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Raemi A. Ray’s Tule debut, A Chain of Pearls, is set to publish on April 9—the origin story for the investigative journey lawyer Kyra Gibson is about to embark on at Martha’s Vineyard to clean up after the death of her estranged father.

So we sat down with Raemi to get her origin story, too. Which of these “facts” isn’t true?

1. Her pen name is actually her pet’s name, too.
2. She finds inspiration for her mysteries by pulling from news headlines and adding in a murder.
3. She has a side gig reviewing book covers on social media.

Raemi set her series in Martha’s Vineyard because she started popping over to the island for summer holidays with friends while she was at university in Boston. Eventually, she started hanging out there for weekends and more throughout the year, too. It became her escape from city life. “It’s such a unique place, being quintessential New England but having its own identity so different from Nantucket and Cape Cod,” she says.

To experience her Martha’s Vineyard, take an umbrella and find a spot on South or State Beach in the summer to enjoy the ocean, or take a drive to Aquinnah or a boat ride around Chappy. If you’re there in August, she recommends the lantern festival and end-of-season fireworks. In the spring and fall, she often explores the trails near Felix Neck or shops and eats her way through OB and Edgartown.

At night? She could be scouring newspapers for interesting news. Or you could find her with her computer, reviewing book covers. A Chain of Pearls, of course, gets a 5-star rating. “Part of the book takes place in the real-life fishing village of Menemsha during a nor’easter. Nor’easters are these New England storms sort of like winter hurricanes with lashing rains and high winds,” she explains. “They often hit the islands. I think the cover embodies the feel of a deserted seaside town during such a storm. It’s foreboding and dark but not unrealistic.”

Home is where her heart is, as her idea of a perfect way to celebrate this debut would be to curl up with a glass of wine, a book, and her house demon, DolphLundgren—her reading buddy-slash-heating blanket. In this respect, she’s very much like her character, Detective Tarek Collins, who is quiet and reserved, more likely to observe the world around them.

“But I’m sure someone will drag me out to celebrate!” she adds. Perhaps that will include her childhood friends, the ones who nicknamed her Raemi Ray.

A Chain of Pearls was a 2022 Killer Nashville Claymore Award finalist. Pre-order your copy today!!

About the Author.

Q&A with Tule Author Candace Havens as She Talks Ainsley McGregor Film News!

March 6, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

We connected with Tule author, Candace Havens, on her recent news that her Ainsley McGregor mystery series will launch with Candace Cameron Bure as our distinguished Ainsley!

Q: Where were you when you found out that A Case for the Winemaker had been optioned for film?

I was at home working on a new mystery series and our wonderful publisher, Jane Porter, texted that she had news. I may have freaked out a little!

Q: What are your watch party plans?

I’ll probably gather family and friends at my house for a sleuth-themed get-together. They won’t forgive me but I might make them come as their favorite sleuths.

Q: How is Ainsley McGregor taking the news differently from Candace Havens?

I think she would have been just as surprised as I was. The news came out of nowhere and is quite flattering to us both. I mean, she’s a fictional character, but she would be overwhelmed with gratitude just like me.

Q: Which actor have you been told you most resemble?

I have no idea. That’s something you all will have to tell me. I can say I’m super excited that Candace Bure is playing Ainsley. She’s the perfect fit!

Be sure to check out the entire Ainsley McGregor series by Candace Havens and mark your calendars for your very own watch party!

About the Author.

Bestselling and award-winning author Candace Havens has had more than thirty novels published. She is one of the nation’s leading entertainment journalists and has interviewed countless celebrities from George Clooney to Chris Pratt. She does film reviews on Hawkeye in the Morning on 96.3 KSCS.

Tule Author Q&A: H L Marsay Talks About Her Tule Mysteries!

March 4, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Tule Mystery author, H L Marsay stopped by to talk about her recent releases, her characters, and when she first discovered her love for mysteries.

Q: What difference between The Lady in Blue and Inspector Shadow series excites you the most as an author?

A: The Chief Inspector Shadow series is set in the present day and in York, my home city, so writing those books feels quite safe and familiar. However, the Lady in Blue Mysteries are set during the First World War and I loved the challenge of writing a historic series. Also, Dorothy and some of the other main characters are based on real people, so there was a huge amount of research for each story. I immersed myself in reading books, watching documentaries, and even listening to music from the period. I also made several trips to London. Although the city has changed a lot in the last hundred years, it was still possible to visit some of the locations I mention in the books, such as the Marlborough Street Magistrate’s Court (now a very swish hotel), Caxton Hall, and Cheyne Row, where Mary and Margaret lived. It was wonderful to feel I was walking in the footsteps of all the amazing women who feature in the Lady in Blue Mysteries.

Q: Share some of your favorite feedback for The Body in Seven Dials. What do you think readers will bond with in A Death in Chelsea?

A: The release of a new series is always a nerve-racking time, but I was thrilled to hear some of my readers describe The Body in Seven Dials as “compelling,” “fascinating,” and “a remarkable story.” In A Death in Chelsea, we see Dorothy and her colleagues investigating the death of an elderly and very wealthy gentleman. Unfortunately, he was also a rather unpleasant man, so there is a long list of possible suspects.

I hope readers will bond with my main character, Dorothy Peto, and the other members of the Women Police Volunteers. They were so brave and so determined to do something to help their country when it was at war, although they weren’t even allowed to vote. One review of the first book said, “It was inspiring to read what ideas they had to try and better themselves.”

Q: You grew up binge-reading detective series. Do you recall who introduced you to your first mystery?

A: My sisters are seven and ten years older than me (I was a surprise/mistake depending on who you ask!) so like any self-respecting little sister, I spent many hours raiding their rooms for cassette tapes, makeup, clothes for dressing up, and, of course, books. It was during one of these raids that I discovered the complete collection of Enid Blyton’s Secret Seven books. I immediately fell in love with these stories of seven children and Scamper, the dog, acting as detectives from their headquarters in a garden shed. Once I had devoured all those books, I progressed to the Famous Five, Blyton’s other series about a group of children who spend their summer holidays solving mysteries. I should also add that I was quite ill as a child, and most photos from when I was seven or eight show me sitting on a sofa with a duvet wrapped around me, a dog at my feet, and my head buried in a book. That still sounds like heaven to me!

Q: What still holds your interest in mysteries, even though as a writer, you now have an insight into how the magic happens at the keyboard?

A: I think the appeal of solving a puzzle is timeless. Whether it’s a classic from the golden age, a fiendish “locked room,” a cozy, or a chilling psychological thriller, I love trying to pick out the real clues from the red herrings and work out “who dunnit” before the detective does. That’s what makes mysteries so popular and so enduring and of course creates the biggest challenge when trying to write one!

About the Author.

H L Marsay grew up binge-reading detective stories and promised herself that some day, she would write one too. A Long Shadow was the first book in her Chief Inspector Shadow series set in York. Luckily, living in a city so full of history, dark corners and hidden snickelways, she is never short of inspiration. She has also written The Secrets of Hartwell Trilogy and The Lady in Blue Mysteries. The Chief Inspector Shadow Mysteries have recently been optioned for television.

When she isn’t coming up with new ways to bump people off, she enjoys drinking red wine, eating dark chocolate and reading Agatha Christie – preferably at the same time!

It’s Tule Mystery Madness and You’re Invited to Join the Challenge for an EPIC Mystery Giveaway!

February 28, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Tule Mystery invites you to join the fun with your hobby: mystery books! Simply guess which one you think readers will vote to advance in the month of March—and win all 16 mystery books if you get the most correct. It’s our version of winner takes all!

Details on the giveaway contest can be found here.

One lucky winner will win 16 TULE MYSTERY EBOOKS!

Play Tule Mystery Madness and Win the Best Prize of All: MYSTERY BOOKS!

February 27, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

In March, Americans’ attention turns toward the excitement of the NCAA basketball tournament and the joy of bracketology—aka guessing who will win games in a winners-take-all scenario.

But why stop the prediction fun there?

Tule Mystery invites you to join the fun with your hobby, too: mystery books! Simply guess which one you think readers will vote to advance in the month of March—and win all 16 mystery books if you get the most correct. It’s our version of winner takes all.

(But we have some cool prizes for runner-up and third place, too!)

It’s a two-step process that begins with some sleuthing of your own.

Step one: click here to fill out your predictions. Want to know more about each book in the competition? See the info button for each title under the Participants tab and choose wisely—once you complete your entry, there’s no going back. You have until midnight on March 10 to complete your guesses. At that time, all entries will be locked in, and voting will start on March 11 between book pairings to see who wins each round. The more accurate your predictions, the better your chance at winning.

Be sure to bookmark the bracket page as well to check your standing in the Predictions Ranking tab.

Step two: Our books can’t actually lace up tennis shoes and dunk on each other on a basketball court. Instead, we’re going to ask mystery readers to vote on which title should advance in each pairing.

Round one: March 11 – 17, 2024

Round two: March 18 – 25, 2024

Round three: March 25 – March 31, 2024

Round four: April 1 – 8, 2024

The winners will be declared on the Tule Mystery Facebook page at 9 p.m. EST on April 8.

Starting March 11, look for Tule Mystery’s voting links through our Tule Mystery Facebook page, our Tule X account, and in our newsletter. Feel free to share the voting links with your fellow mystery readers. Influencing the vote is definitely allowed, but everyone gets just one opportunity to vote in each round.

Questions? Email Julie Sturgeon at tulepublishing@gmail.com and put “Tule Mystery Madness” in the subject line.

Bracket voting starts here: https://widgets.commoninja.com/3369c8dc-ef14-444f-9608-0c584094ed28

Want more Tule Mystery? Check out whodunnit and what’s coming soon at our mystery page here.

Author HL Marsay Drops In to Discuss Dorothy Peto AND Today’s Release of “A DEATH IN CHELSEA”

February 27, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

This week sees the release of A Death in Chelsea, the second book in my Lady in Blue Mysteries series. These stories follow the fictional adventures of Dorothy Peto, who was one of the first women to become a police volunteer during the First World War, so I thought I would share a little more information about her and the other women who helped form the Women Police Volunteers (WPV).

Dorothy Peto

Dorothy Olivia Georgiana Peto was born in Hampshire in 1886. Her family was wealthy and well-connected and her father was a successful landscape artist. She was educated at home and had dreams of becoming a novelist until war broke out in 1914. Deciding to make herself useful, she joined the voluntary police patrols in Bristol and Bath (although in my stories she is based in London). Despite her work training other women volunteers, when the war ended, she struggled to find a position with the regular police. Eventually, she was made director of the ten female police officers in Liverpool.

In 1930, she transferred to the Metropolitan Police and became the first attested female superintendent. She formed her own branch of women police officers and insisted they should interview any woman charged with indecency and take charge of cases covered by the Children and Young Persons Act of 1933, especially those involving child abuse. When she retired in 1946, the number of female police officers at the Met. had grown from fifty-five to two hundred. In her later years, she returned to Hampshire and died in 1974.

Nina Boyle

Constance Antonina Boyle, known as Nina, was born in Kent in 1865. When her two brothers went to fight in the Boer War, she followed them to South Africa and worked first as a nurse and then as a journalist. It was while she was in Johannesburg that she first became interested in women’s rights.

When she returned to England, she joined the Women’s Freedom League and continued working as a journalist. She often wrote about how women were unfairly treated by the courts. Her protests at the Marlborough Street Magistrates Court led to her being arrested several times.

When war broke out, she campaigned for women to be allowed to join the police. Her request was refused, so she joined forces with Margaret Damer Dawson to form the WPV in 1914. However, she left the organization only a year later following disagreements about enforcing curfews on women. She spent the rest of the war working as a nurse in the Balkans.

After the war, she travelled to Russia but what she saw there turned her against communism and to the right politically. When she returned to England, she attempted to stand in the Keighley by-election (the first woman to do so). Although her name didn’t appear on the ballot paper, her efforts meant women were allowed to stand in the General Election in December 1918. She also worked with the Save the Children Fund and began writing mystery and adventure novels featuring strong female characters, with titles such as “Out of the Frying Pan” and “Good Old Potts!”. Nina died in London in 1943. The Nina Boyle Memorial Prize was established in her name and is offered by the Royal Holloway University to either a History or Social Policy Student.

Margaret Damer Dawson

Mary Damer Dawson was born into an affluent Sussex family in 1873. Her father died when she was a young woman, leaving her independently wealthy. She used her money to fund various charities especially those concerned with anti-vivisection and campaigned against animals performing in circuses and being killed for meat. She also created a home for foundlings and was a talented pianist.

In 1914, she founded the WPV with Nina Boyle. It was Margaret’s money that financed the patrols. She had a close personal and professional relationship with Mary Allen. The two women lived together and when Nina left the WPV, Mary became Margaret’s second-in- command. When Margaret died in 1920, aged just forty-seven, Mary was the main beneficiary named in her will. The house Mary and Margaret shared at 10 Cheyne Walk now has a blue plaque to commemorate her and a birdbath dedicated to her memory stands in the garden nearby. It is inscribed with the following quote, “He prayeth best who lovest best all things great and small”.[9]

Mary Allen

Mary Sophia Allen was born into a large and wealthy family in 1878. Although she was close to her sisters, she argued with her father, who was very traditional and against the emancipation of women. Mary left home in 1908 and joined Mrs. Pankhurst’s WSPU. She was imprisoned three times for breaking windows. During her incarceration she went on hunger strike and was force fed twice.

When war broke out in 1914, she joined the WPV and became close to Margaret Damer Dawson. She was seen as slightly eccentric as she preferred to be addressed as Robert or Sir.

Following the end of the war and Margaret’s death, Mary continued to wear her Women’s Police Service uniform. She was increasingly drawn to far-right politics. She met Hitler and Mussolini and joined the British Union of Fascists. The British government became concerned by her activities and when the Second World War broke out, she was banned from travelling more than five miles from her home in Cornwall and was not allowed to use a car, telephone or wireless. After the war, she continued to campaign for animal rights until she died in 1964.

All four of these amazing women were awarded the OBE (Order of the British Empire). None of them ever married or had children.

I hope you enjoy reading “A Death in Chelsea” to learn more about these inspirational women.

About the Author.

When she isn’t coming up with new ways to bump people off, she enjoys drinking red wine, eating dark chocolate and reading Agatha Christie – preferably at the same time!

SOMEONE ROTTEN RIDING THE RAILS: Release Day Blog Post Featuring Author Kris Bock!

January 30, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

The Accidental Detective humorous mystery series: A witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty.

Book 6: Someone Rotten Riding the Rails

Kate’s ready to blow the whistle on these crime families . . .

Former war correspondent Kate Tessler has solved multiple murders since returning to her childhood home in Arizona to heal after a bombing injury. Now Detective Padilla approaches Kate with a proposal: Two Russian mob families have arranged the marriage of their children and hired a scenic railroad for the wedding. The FBI wants eyes and ears on that train, but anyone who infiltrates the wedding must be above suspicion.

An Arizona newspaper will send Kate on assignment to cover the wedding, with Kate’s sister Jen posing as her photographer. Meanwhile, tech genius Mackenzie will oversee the dining car, while the seniors who make up the “Coffee Shop Irregulars” will pose as the passenger services agents who work each car.

Kate and her eccentric sidekicks are only supposed to observe and record anything suspicious, but that plan is quickly derailed. The groom disappears – from the moving train – and a search turns up a dead body but not the missing groom. The mob families aren’t about to call in the police, so it’s up to Kate and friends to uncover the truth before their whole mission goes off the tracks.

This story has roots decades in the past. When I was in my twenties, my parents moved to Saudi Arabia, where my father worked as an economist for an oil company. My brother and I joined my parents in various places for the winter holidays. One year that was Egypt as part of a tour group of Americans living in Saudi Arabia. We took a boat down the Nile for several days, stopping at various places to tour archaeology sites. Many people in the group already knew each other, and we quickly got to know them.

Which of course turned my mind to murder. Okay, that group was a lot of fun, but writers generally have a muse – or maybe it’s a little devil – whispering in their ear, “What if…?”

What if someone was murdered on about traveling down the Nile? No, what if someone disappeared from a boat in the river? How would that happen and why and who would be the suspects?

I never wrote a book set on a Nile river boat, but I did come across my notes while pondering my next Accidental Detective story. Arizona doesn’t have a lot of large bodies of water, of course. The only riverboat tour I know of, the Dolly Steamboat, has lake tours of about three hours, but I wasn’t sure how I’d make that work.

Arizona does have the Grand Canyon Scenic Railway, and wouldn’t that be a fun setting for a mystery?

My editor commented, “What a cool idea paying homage to Murder on the Orient Express and yet in Arizona.” But honestly, that hadn’t occurred to me! And I haven’t ever read Death on the Nile either, so while this might seem like an Agatha Christie homage, it wasn’t intended that way.

In any case, I had a ton of fun researching this story. My husband and I took the train from Williams, Arizona as a daytrip with three hours at the Grand Canyon rim. I grabbed our car’s passenger services agent, Craig, and asked questions such as “What would you do if a group claimed one of their party was missing?” and “Where could someone hide a body on the train?” He was a big help and didn’t even report me to any authorities!

Writing the novel was fun too, and I hope readers will enjoy it just as much.

Learn more or purchase The Accidental Detective humorous mystery series.

About the Author.

Kris Bock writes novels of romance, mystery, and suspense. In the Accidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona and tackles the challenges of turning fifty. This humorous series starts with Something Shady at Sunshine Haven. Find The Accidental Detective Series in ebook or print on Amazon US, Amazon UK, or at Tule Publishing with links to all retailers.

Kris’s Accidental Billionaire Cowboys series follows a Texas ranching family that wins a billion-dollar lottery. Who wouldn’t want to be a billionaire? Turns out winning the lottery causes as many problems as it solves. The Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. Watch as they fall in love with each other and shelter cats. Learn more at www.krisbock.com. Sign up for the Kris Bock newsletter to get a free Accidental Detective mystery story, a free cat café novella, and more.

Kris also writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The Felony Melanie series follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. Sign up for the romantic comedy newsletter to get a short story preview, or find the books at Amazon US or All E-book retailers.

Find Kris: Website

Photo one: The Grand Canyon Scenic Railway at the depot.

Photo two: View from the train window.

Photo three: Kris Bock on the train with her husband.

Photo four: Passenger Services agent Craig and a singing cowboy entertainer.

Photo five: The “Sheriff” after the train is “robbed by bandits.”

KILLER CLOSE TO HOME: Release Day Blog Post Featuring Author Carol Light!

January 11, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Killer Close to Home is the third book in my Cluttered Crime mystery series about Chicago professional organizer, Crystal Ward. Her latest client is her backyard neighbor, Roscoe Tremaine, who’s recovering from a broken hip and preparing to move into assisted living. A widower and something of a curmudgeon, Roscoe’s been a friend to Crys and her husband, Rick, especially when a shooting left Rick paralyzed. Roscoe’s only family—his brother, two nieces, and one great-niece—don’t see him often…by choice. When he summons them to his house, he asks Crys to stay to meet them. To her surprise, he announces he’s changing his will to disinherit his nieces and giving ten thousand dollars each to Crys and his caregiver, Wink Keller.

That night, Roscoe’s house explodes. Although the cause is soon confirmed to be a gas leak, Crys begins to suspect that it may not have been an accident. Wink is fortunate to have survived the blast, but now he’s out of a job. The explosion also has another casualty. Trying to get out of bed to help, Rick falls and dislocates his shoulder, which requires surgery. Crys hires Wink to help her husband during his recovery.

Soon mysterious “gifts” begin appearing on the Wards’ front porch. What at first seem like childish pranks turn into vandalism and worse. Crys must learn more about the dysfunctional Tremaine family, a new neighbor overly anxious to be her friend, and Wink to stop a killer close to home before she becomes the next victim.

I’m often asked where I find my ideas, and the answer is everywhere! News stories are particularly helpful. Years ago I read about a woman who started a business delivering dead flowers and bouquets of black roses. Her clients included soon-to-be divorced spouses, victims of unhappy breakups, or others wanting to express their angry feelings in flowers. That feature story stuck in my memory and gave me an idea for one of the items found on the Wards’ front porch.

Another news story about a house that blew up provided inspiration for a cause of death that could look like an unfortunate accident. One of the worst gas explosions in recent U.S. history was in my former hometown, Indianapolis, in 2012. Much larger in scope than the one in my story, the Richmond Hill explosion killed two people, injured seven, and left twenty-seven homes uninhabitable. The owner of the house where the explosion originated and four others were convicted on multiple charges, including felony murder and deliberately causing the blast to collect insurance money. I couldn’t bear to destroy Crys’s house, not with so much else going on in her life in this book, so I scaled down the blast. Fortunately, my research led me to an article about an explosion similar in size to Roscoe’s that (oddly enough) had also occurred in Indianapolis. Maybe it’s good that I moved to Florida, where we only have to deal with hurricanes, sink holes, alligators, pythons, black bears, and heat stroke. Then again, maybe not!

I hope you’ll enjoy Killer Close to Home. Characters you’ve met in the first two books, Room for Suspicion and Deadlier Than Fiction, return to offer Crys support and comic relief, including Maggie, Mitch, and Connie, although you don’t have to read the previous books in the series to enjoy this one. If you prefer to listen to books, I’m excited to announce that all three Cluttered Crime mysteries will be released in audiobook format in February and March 2024. The fourth book, No Room to Hide, will be published June 6, 2024 and will also be available as an audiobook.

Wishing you all a happy new year and hours of reading pleasure in the coming year!

About the Author.

Carol Light is an avid reader and writer of mysteries. She loves creating amateur sleuths and complicating their normal lives with a crime that they must use their talents and wits to solve. She’s traveled worldwide and lived in Australia for eight years, teaching high school English and learning to speak “Strine.” Florida is now her home. If she’s not at the beach or writing, you can find her tackling quilting in much the same way that she figures out her mysteries—piece by piece, clue by clue.

Start the New Year Off Right! Check out our January 2024 Releases (Plus Giveaway!) Now!

January 1, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Read more about our new releases for January!

GIVEAWAY: We will pick ONE winner to receive a digital book of their choice from the January releases. Comment down below saying which book you’re looking most forward to reading! Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY. The winner will be randomly selected at the end of the month.

A Little Highland Magic
by Gerri Russell (Muse)

Release Date: January 9, 2024
Guardians of the Isles, Book 5

To have a future, she must face her past…

Half human, half fairy, Aria traveled to the human realm seeking safety with her family, the powerful MacLeods, where she is welcomed and accepted as a warrior. But her happiness will be short-lived if they discover her inadvertent role in their beloved mother’s death and the kidnapping of their infant brother, Kieran, by the cruel fairy king. Still, Aria plans to right the wrong by rescuing Kieren, but traveling to the fairy realm is dangerous and potentially a betrayal, for she must use the legendary Fairy Flag and its one last miracle to barter Kieran’s release.

Graeme Duff and his ancestors have served as flag bearer and protectors of Clan MacLeod for centuries. It’s his duty to guard the Fairy Flag, and when the beautiful, fierce, and intriguing Aria proposes using the flag to negotiate Kieran’s freedom, Graeme suspects treachery. He determines to accompany her, vowing to ignore the passion she evokes.

Can two independent warriors learn to trust? Or are they risking the destruction of everything they know and love?

Killer Close to Home
by Carol Light (Tule Mystery)

Release Date: January 11, 2024
Cluttered Crime Mysteries, Book 3

Not all clutter is visible to the human eye…

Professional organizer Crystal Ward’s latest client, her neighbor Roscoe Tremaine, is changing his will, an announcement that sets off an explosive reaction within his family. That same night, a gas leak ignites, destroying his house, killing him, and rocking the Ward family at its foundation.

Her husband, Rick, is injured in the blast, so Crys hires Roscoe’s former caregiver, Wink Keller, to help him recover after surgery. But trouble is just beginning. Both Crys and Wink are beneficiaries in Roscoe’s will, and their alliance sends accusations flying from the Tremaines’ side of the fence.

Crys has her hands full dealing with her client’s not-so-grieving relatives, a teenaged girl stalking Wink, and a suspicious fire inspector. But when threatening “gifts” left on the Wards’ doorstep escalate, Crys is forced to sort through a tangled web of relationships, including her own, to keep her family safe.

Was Roscoe’s death just an accident, or is there a killer close to home?

When the Viscount Wanted Me
by Lydia Lloyd (Muse)

Release Date: January 16, 2024
The Rake Chronicles, Book 2

Her reputation is at risk. He vows to help…but soon finds resisting her the greatest challenge of all.

When Lord Hugh Aldershot, the Viscount of Tremberley, overhears the drunken Earl of Hartley claiming to have bedded Lady Henrietta Breminster, his best friend’s little sister, he is livid. He drags the passed-out earl to Breminster House to face punishment for his blathering, only to find himself face-to-face with Lady Henrietta in a sexy night dress and little else.

When Lady Henrietta Breminster sees the Viscount of Tremberley dragging the unconscious Earl of Hartley to her doorstep, she panics. Not only was she indiscreet with the earl, but she has long nursed a flaming tendre for her brother’s best friend. Now she must ask Tremberley to help her keep her biggest mistake from the gossips of the ton.

Drawn closer by their efforts to subdue the jealous earl, Trem and Henrietta soon discover their own forbidden attraction. But even as Henrietta discovers true passion with Trem, she knows she could never marry for anything less than love.

Lucky Strike
by Janine Amesta (American Heart)

Release Date: January 23, 2024
Love in El Dorado, Book 3

Is finding an unexpected gem a lucky strike?

After getting a late jumpstart in life, Luna Lanza isn’t afraid to get what she wants, including the place of her dreams. When she loses out on the perfect duplex and settles for a standard apartment, she’s disappointed. But Luna remains determined to make it work, even if it sparks a contentious relationship with her new landlord– the same guy she accidentally kissed in an impromptu photo shoot.

Still grieving the sudden death of his brother, reformed bad boy Sam Sunderland feels trapped managing his father’s rundown apartment building. When the spunky beauty, who unexpectedly kissed him, moves in full of ideas, he can’t help being intrigued– that is until she starts changing things behind his back, endangering his position and the relationship with his father.

Sam and Luna wrangle over rules and misunderstandings while fighting against the undeniable attraction between them. It’s a hard lesson to learn that ‘perfect’ can take many different forms. But will the renovations they do together lay a foundation to something more?

A Stolen Shadow
by H L Marsay (Tule Mystery)

Release Date: January 25, 2024
Chief Inspector Shadow, Book 7

This winter, the York pantomime opens as a farce but closes as a murder scene…

Chief Inspector John Shadow returns from a rare holiday to Italy but before he can unpack, he’s investigating the theft of an antique sabre. Everyone involved assumes it’s a prank, however later that evening, a reluctant Shadow attends the local pantomime—his least favorite form of entertainment—with his star struck sergeant. They watch stunned as Prince Charming dies on stage. Shadow suspects poison and launches an investigation. When he discovers the missing sabre backstage, Shadow realises the theft was no joke and the entire cast and crew are murder suspects. Then another body is found….

John Shadow is a man of contradictions. A solitary figure who shuns company but is a keen observer of all he meets. A lover of good food, but whose fridge is almost always empty. He prefers to work alone but is assisted by the eager Sergeant Jimmy Chang. Together, the two men must work through an ever increasing list of jealous husbands, angry fathers and spurned lovers to discover the identity of the killer.

Someone Rotten Riding the Rails
by Kris Bock (Tule Mystery)

Release Date: January 30, 2024
The Accidental Detective, Book 6

Kate Tessler and her crew of misfits set out to blow the whistle on two feuding crime families . . .

Former war correspondent Kate Tessler has solved multiple murders since returning to her Arizona hometown, to the grudging appreciation of the local police. Now Detective Padilla and the FBI approach Kate with a proposal. Two Russian crime families have rented a private historic train to the Grand Canyon for their children’s wedding. The route is scenic and remote. No cell phones. The FBI needs to surveil, but anyone infiltrating the train must be above suspicion.

Kate poses as herself, sent by the newspaper to cover the society wedding, while her sister Jen is the photographer. Their multi-generational and eccentric crew pose as train staff. The goal is to observe, but that quickly derails when the groom disappears, and a search for him turns up a dead body. Everyone’s a suspect and trapped on the train.

The mob families won’t contact the police, so it’s up to Kate and friends to uncover the truth before their whole mission goes off the tracks.