Cooking Up a Mystery
Gail Pallotta
Christian Romantic Mystery, 270 pp
released April 24, 2020
Pelican Book Group, LLC
$5.99 Ebook
Print – coming soon
Buy on
About the Book
Laney Eskridge worked to put her husband through dental
school. Then he left with another woman. She's on edge from the emotional scars
and her parents' deaths. Then she hears unexplained noises in her new tea
house, and her anxiety is tripled. Add a budding romance with Eric—a guy with a
fear of commitment—and it's all too much to handle. She cuts ties with Eric and
plunges into making her business pay off.
When Eric discovers that Laney's in danger, he vows to protect her. But can he
make a lasting promise? Will she trust him? . . .and when they overhear a
threat that could cause national turmoil, will anyone believe them? There's
more brewing than herbal tea in Cooking up a Mystery.
The Giveaway? Gail will give a Kindle copy of her suspense Stopped Cold to the third person who comments on this blog. Comment by noon CST on April 30 to be eligible.
The Giveaway? Gail will give a Kindle copy of her suspense Stopped Cold to the third person who comments on this blog. Comment by noon CST on April 30 to be eligible.
A Brief Interview with Gail
Gail, what do you love about this
new story?
Most importantly, I love the way the main character, Laney Eskridge,
puts her faith in God to pull herself from the jaws of poverty. Her parents
died and her husband left her for another woman. That was after she sent him
through dental school instead of going to college herself. She’s struggling to
make ends meet at Laney’s Delectable Delights, the new tea house her parents bequeathed
to her. Forgiveness is the last thing on her mind right behind romance, which
she wants no part of. However, when she comes face to face with Reverend
Henshaw, who tells her she must forgive her ex, and move forward, she listens.
She’s just not sure she can do it.
I also love the people who come in Laney’s Delectable Delights. She has
some fun customers.
Introduce us to the romantic
couple and tell us what makes their relationship work.
These two are highly unlikely to ever make a relationship work. Laney’s
so angry at her ex, she’s determined to keep her distance from any man and
succeed on her own. And that vow includes Eric Crider. He has a history of
breaking off relationships when they grow too serious. His father hurt him and
his mother deeply when he abandoned them, and everyone tells Eric he’s like his
father. He would never want to inflict that type of pain on anyone, and he’s
convinced the inability to commit to one person long term is in his DNA.
There’s only one thing that can make their relationship work—their love for
each other.
What do you hope readers will
tell others about your book?
First, I hope they say it was fun to read. If they also find an
inspirational message that touches them, that would be wonderful. It would be
great too if they find some recipes they like in the back of the book. Those
are from Mission Love Seeds, an organization helping children in the
Philippines and answering local crises. All of them were taken from a cookbook,
Heavenly Delights, authored as a
fundraiser by my friend, Pam Nichols Griffin, in Destin, Florida.
What are you reading now?
Currently, I’m reading several books in the Ponder This series put out by Pelican Book Group.
What’s next for you?
I’m editing a couple of romantic suspense novels and hoping one of them
will appear on the horizon soon.
My Review
A wounded but determined chef and a commitment-phobic university
professor fight their attraction. When they decide to take on an overheard
terrorist plot, they must decide what’s more important—their personal hangups
or the fate of the nation.
Laney finally landed on both feet and set off running. She’s
got a great business, an assistant whose loyal and trustworthy, and a
burgeoning catering clientele. She’s done the marriage thing and it didn’t work
for her. That’s okay. Laney’s got enough on her plate and counting on only
herself is a refreshing change, even though the weird noises coming from the
other side of the wall creep her out. Then she meets Eric and his avant-garde
taste in art.
Bachelor Eric’s broken-footed
helplessness tugs at Laney’s heartstrings. He only needs dinner for a few
weeks, thank you. Or does he? Na… Maybe… Could he? Could they? Every
relationship has a few hiccups, and when these two souls accidentally overhear
some truly frightening threats, they realize life is bigger than their issues.
Besides, they make a pretty good team investigating things that go bump in the
night. What happens after they save the world…well, you’ll just have to read
the book.
Told from both sides of the oven,
Laney and Eric’s humorous and poignant story of modern-day romance among the
faith-filled set will leave Christian romantic mystery lovers smiling.
About the Author
And visit Mission Love Sees at http://www.missionloveseeds.org/blog/
and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/120924667405/
Social Media links:
Blog - https://gailpallotta.blogspot.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/AuthorsandMore
Twitter - Gail Pallotta
@Hopefulwords
Loved Gail's new mystery--recipes are fun too.
ReplyDeleteAny story that includes food, quirky clientele and a hero in need of heart mending is a winner! Looks like a fun, romantic read, Gail.
ReplyDelete