Tag: Cozy mystery

Cozy mystery

Fall is the Season to Fall for a Good Book

Jackie Layton

The days are cooler and shorter. What’s cozier than curling up with a good book?

If you haven’t read all my books yet, this is a good season to catch up.

In a few months, Killer Secrets, the third book in An Organized Crime Cozy Mystery Series will release. Stay tuned for a cover reveal and more information on the release.

Clutter Free is the first book in An Organized Crime Cozy Mystery Series.

Returning to Fox Island where she grew up, Kate Sloan begins her career as a professional organizer. When a woman accuses Kate’s police chief brother of having an affair, Kate’s priority shifts from organizing to proving her brother’s innocence. Kate visits the woman, hoping for a confession. The woman won’t admit she lied, and to make the situation worse, the accuser is found dead the next day by Kate and her business partner.

Kate has an eye for seeing what’s out of place, and she knows how to fix problems. Can she utilize her organizational skills to toss red herrings and focus on legitimate clues? Emma’s business is at risk as well as her brother’s career. The clock is ticking, and this could be the deadliest deadline of Kate’s life. She must discover the truth behind the victim’s vicious lies, but most of all, she needs to solve the murder before she becomes the next victim.

What are you looking forward to reading this fall?

holiday

Happy 4th of July

Jackie Layton

I hope you have fun plans for the holiday, and I hope you find time to read a good book.

We’re celebrating my sister-in-law’s birthday this week by hiking, playing games, and laughing a lot.

Happy birthday, Carol!

In book news, I’d like to introduce you to Annie McEwen’s book, Dead, White, and Blue.

It’s the 4th of July in the Wisconsin Northwoods, and no one is more excited than Emmy Cooper. She’s happy to be back in her hometown, settling once again into small-town living and helping her family run Cooper’s Cove, their lake cottage resort. Emmy and her teen crush, police officer Dean Erickson, are enjoying getting reacquainted, while she and bestie Whitney are closer than ever. 

Lake Covington and its quaint namesake town are bustling with visitors celebrating during the annual three-day Independence Day Freedom Fest. Everything is Yankee Doodle Dandy until a local man with a reputation for trouble starts fireworks of his own. And the explosions just keep on coming when Emmy stumbles over a dead body at the celebrations! 

The dead man is Jordan James, and as Emmy soon finds out, there’s no shortage of people who might want him dead. From a jealous jerk to a conniving cousin and even a former friend from his past, suspects are more plentiful than ants at a July picnic! Despite promises to stay out of the investigation, Emmy finds herself smack in the middle of it. Can she and Whitney figure out the truth and find liberty and justice for all?

Another cozy mystery that you’re probably familiar with, Bleeding Heart Librarian, begins on the 4th of July.

Emma Justice is friends with the local librarian and brings her extra flowers once a week. On a hot July morning, when people are gathered outside the closed library past opening time, Emma calls the police. The librarian’s body is found in the building and beside the body is a pink and white bleeding heart plant.

Tess Carranza was a lovely person dedicated to children and patrons of the library in Lutz, Texas. Tess recently confided to Emma about her fear someone was using the library to gather information to commit crimes. Emma didn’t get the entire story from Tess before her death, but now she’s determined to stop the crime and catch Tess’s killer.

Stay cozy and enjoy a cozy mystery!

Cozy mystery

A Day in the Life of Emma Justice

Jackie Layton

Who’s Emma Justice? She’s the main character in A Texas Flower Farmer Cozy Mystery Series. She’s the amateur sleuth in Weeding Out Lies, Clover Covered Corpse, and Bleeding Heart Librarian (Soon to be released.).

I’d love for you to visit Dru’s Book Musings and get to know Emma better by spending the day with her.

Here’s the link: https://drusbookmusing.com/emma-justice/

Thanks! See you there!

Cozy mystery

Bleeding Heart Librarian

Jackie Layton

The third book in A Texas Flower Farmer Cozy Mystery Series will release on April 29, 2025. I’m so excited and I want to share a little about this story.

Emma Justice is friends with the local librarian and brings her extra flowers once a week. On a hot July morning, when people are gathered outside the closed library past opening time, Emma calls the police. The librarian’s body is found in the building and beside the body is a pink and white bleeding heart plant.

Tess Carranza was a lovely person dedicated to children and patrons of the library in Lutz, Texas. Tess recently confided to Emma about her fear someone was using the library to gather information to commit crimes. Emma didn’t get the entire story from Tess before her death, but now she’s determined to stop the crime and catch Tess’s killer.

And, for the cover reveal. I am so thankful to Shawn Reilly Simmons and Level Best Books for this beautiful book cover! Thank you!

Stay tuned for more exciting details in the days ahead.

Cozy mystery

The Writing Process

Jackie Layton

I have a deadline coming up next week. It’s for the third book in An Organized Crime Cozy Mystery Series, Killer Secrets.

One thing I have struggled with in the past is timelines. So, I check and double-check to make sure the timing is right.

I have an editor at Level Best Books who goes through my story for developmental edits and redline edits. Still, when I turn it in, I want it to be as polished as possible.

Getting a book cover is one of the fun things. I’ve been blessed with great book covers, and it’s always exciting to see what the publisher has created.

After a cover is chosen, you get Advanced Readers Copies. Then, you get your author copies near the release date.

Do you have questions about the writing process? Feel free to ask in the comments or via social media.

Cozy mystery

I Love My Readers

Jackie Layton

Because I love my readers, I’m participating in We Love Our Readers Giveaway.

The giveaway runs February 10-16.

I’ve included a copy of The Con, Book Two of An Organized Crime Cozy Mystery Series.

Professional organizer Kate Sloan is hired by Ben Houser to organize his office at Seaside Hideaway Resort on Fox Island. Ben tells everybody he’s planning to revamp the resort. Ben throws money around and convinces people to invest with him. The first problem is, Ben’s a con man. The second problem is, Kate finds his dead body.

The killer believes Kate has incriminating evidence, and she must solve the mystery before she’s next on the hitman’s list.

If you want to enter the giveaway, here’s the link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf5492/?

If you win, you’ll get twenty-five ebooks and a $50.00 Amazon gift card.

Good luck, if you enter.

If you haven’t read The Con yet, and don’t want to wait, here are some links to order it.

Amazon ebook: https://amzn.to/3AzR6nO

Amazon paperback: https://amzn.to/4fYAhmR

Kobo: https://binged.it/3Z1bB73

Kobo Canada: https://binged.it/3XhE8Ee

B&N ebook: https://bit.ly/3MiI41g

B&N paperback: https://bit.ly/3Mjsfr2

Bookshop.org https://bit.ly/3ZnGqTh

I do love my readers. Thanks for your support!

Uncategorized

Axe Me No Questions

Jackie Layton

I’m excited to share a little about Axe Me No Questions by Paula Charles. I asked Paula to tell us a little about her latest book. (Release date 1/28/25–preorder available now.)

Axe Me No Questions is the second book in the Hometown Hardware Mystery series. Dawna Carpenter was originally based on my grandmother who owned and operated the hardware store in the small town where I grew up. Friends and family have told me they hear and see me in Dawna, so I guess we’re more alike than I knew!

The town of Pine Bluff is fictionalized, but when I thought about what Dawna might be getting mixed up in during the fall, I thought of the Timber Festival my hometown used to host when I was young, and decided it was the perfect event to showcase the area and get Dawna tangled up in another murder mystery.

During the Timber Festival in Pine Bluff, the main even is a lumberjack and jill contest. While I’ve attended these type of events, I’ve only ever been an onlooker, never scrambled up a pole or attempted to roll logs in the water with my fast feet. Though I’m no award-winning axe thrower, I can wield an axe with the best of them to chop firewood!

Here’s the back cover info for Axe Me No Questions.

Heads are on the chopping block as hardware store owner Dawna Carpenter finds herself on the cutting edge of a murder investigation.

In the quaint mountain town of Pine Bluff, Oregon, fall has arrived and it’s time for the annual Timber Festival, complete with Lumberjack and Lumberjill contests, and booths serving spicy chili and creamy pumpkin pies. Dawna and her daughter April have plans to watch the logging contest together. She’s looking forward to soaking in all her favorite things about the season, which includes having a conversation with her deceased husband, who she is certain is still hanging around the house.

But when Dawna falls over the body of one of the lumberjacks, with his own throwing axe imbedded in his chest, her focus turns to murder. With the town in turmoil, Dawna takes Chief Dallas’s request to keep her ears open as a full license to snoop. Who had an axe to grind with the charismatic lumberjack? Dawna had better stay sharp, or she might be the next one to get the axe.  

Thanks, Paula.

Friends, I don’t know about you, but I’m excited about the second book in the Hometown Hardware Mystery series.

Here’s a link to preorder on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Axe-Me-Questions-Paula-Charles-ebook/dp/B0DF6Q2PF8?ref_=ast_author_mpb

Cozy mystery

Axe Me No Questions

Jackie Layton

Dawna’s back with friends and family in Axe Me No Questions. It’s a delightful follow-up to Hammers and Homicides in A Hometown Hardware Mystery series.

I was able to read and ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) of Axe Me No Questions, and I was riveted. I love the characters, the small-town vibe, and trying to solve the mystery with the twists and turns Paula Charles throws at the reader.

When a dead body is found, Dawna is back to sleuthing. What an adventure it is.

The eBook will be released on January 28, and here’s a link to preorder it. https://www.amazon.com/Axe-Me-Questions-Paula-Charles-ebook/dp/B0DF6Q2PF8?ref_=ast_author_mpb

In case you’re wondering, I’ll give this 5 stars on Goodreads.

Cozy mystery

Why Read Cozy Mysteries?

Jackie Layton

I recently talked to a group and not everyone was familiar with cozy mysteries.

I explained some of the fun aspects of cozies.

Small communities make good settings for cozy mysteries. They can be real or fictional. I created Heyward Beach for A Low Country Dog Walker series, Lutz, Texas for a Texas Flower Farmer series, and Fox Island for An Organized Crime series. In these tight-knit communities, my amateur sleuths feel comfortable asking people questions about the crime.

Most cozy mysteries include pets. I have dogs in all my books because I love dogs. (I’m allergic to cats, but they make appearances.)

Earlier this year, I was on a panel and our theme was Romcozies. Romantic cozy mysteries. The books have a romantic thread, but it’s only a thread. The main goal of the cozy mystery is to solve the murder.

There’s one more thing I want to include. Cozy mysteries are clean. There’s no blood and gore, no sex, and no foul language. One reader told me these some of the reasons she reads cozy mysteries.

I’d love the know why you enjoy cozy mysteries.