I’m so excited today! I’ve been waiting for this post for a while. Hank Edwards and Deanna Wadsworth are here to give everyone a little taste of Murder Most Lovely, their new release with Dreamspinner Press. I’m a cat person…like seriously a cat person (I have 5) and so having Mr. Pickles Furryton the Third hosted on here was even more of a pleasure. He’s a sassy little (well, not little, he’s fat) cat who gets himself catnapped by some dangerous peeps. But all in all I couldn’t have enjoyed this stop more, so check out the excerpt, the giveaway, and my gushing review. 🙂
A killer at a small-town literary festival. Bumbling drug dealers. A kidnapped cat. Starting a romance among all this chaos might be the death of them.
Michael Fleishman is excited to meet his favorite mystery writer, Russell Withingham, at Lacetown’s Literary Fest. He is not expecting to cross paths with sexy hairdresser Jasper “Jazz” Dilworth—or become embroiled in a real-life mystery. As Lacetown’s only mortician and the county coroner, Michael is called to his first murder scene and is shocked to recognize the victim—Russell’s young lover.
Jazz only wanted to confront his ex, Russell, over his cheating. Instead, he meets the adorably awkward Michael and becomes a murder suspect. Soon Jazz is teaming up with Michael to clear his name. Along the way, they are helped and hindered by Michael’s sassy assistant, Kitty, the grumpy Sheriff Musgrave, Russell’s creepy PR rep, Norbert, and Michael’s lothario grandfather, who likes his manhattans strong and his women saucy. And of course, Mr. Pickles Furryton the Third….
Title: Murder Most Lovely
Series: Lacetown Murder Mysteries: Case One
Authors: Hank Edwards and Deanna Wadsworth
Release Date: April 30, 2019
Category: Mystery, Suspense
Pages: 239
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Meet Mr. Pickles Furryton III
If you haven’t heard yet, Hank Edwards and Deanna Wadsworth wrote a book together. It’s a laugh out loud romantic mystery set in a fictional Lake Michigan town named Lacetown.
A killer at a small-town literary festival. Bumbling drug dealers. A kidnapped cat. Starting a romance among all this chaos might be the death of them.
The MCs are sharp witted and sarcastic Jasper “Jazz” Dilworth and the outwardly shy but dirty-minded mortician Michael Fleishman. But the real scene stealer of Murder Most Lovely—Lacetown Mysteries Case One is Mr. Pickles Furryton III, Michael’s fat black-and-white kitty.
Michael carries Mr. Pickles back and forth between his house and the funeral home. Mr. Pickles has the run of the funeral home (not the basement, however, where the embalming takes place), and sometimes acts as a therapy cat for people who are grieving.
Mr. Pickles had a lot of personality, and he plays a large part in the story. At one point, the poor kitty is cat-napped and held for ransom, a twist that leaves Michael in deep anguish.
But don’t worry! No cats were harmed in the making of Murder Most Lovely!
Enjoy a special excerpt for TCO readers where Jazz meet’s Mr. Pickles for the first time when he picks Michael up for their first date. Michael is unfortunately still working on the autopsy of the gruesome murder victim discovered in Lacetown, so Jazz goes next door to the funeral parlor where Michael works to wait for him, hoping Michael hasn’t forgotten about their date.
EXCERPT:
“You can wait in this display room,” the buxom blonde told Jazz. She’d said her name was Kitty.
When Michael had texted seven was still a good time, Jazz hadn’t expected Michael to still be working next door at the funeral parlor. But he supposed the death business didn’t run on a schedule. He could understand that.
Being a hairdresser, Jazz might be scheduled to work until five but end up being at the salon until seven. Russell had always acted like Jazz was lying, probably cheating because of his unpredictable hours.
Pot calling the kettle black.
“He’s just finishing up,” Kitty went on. “You don’t mind sitting in here, do you? The offices are private.”
Jazz looked around the large room. Where some funeral homes went overboard with floral wallpapers, antique furniture in the vein of “look but don’t touch,” and watercolor landscapes, Jazz was happy to see that was not the case at Fleishman Funeral Home. Soft pastel wallpaper, tasteful comfortable furniture, and a few plants made the room feel welcoming. “It’s just a room.”
“Where the deceased are displayed,” she countered, gesturing to the front of the room where heavy drapes and two pedestals framed a space for caskets. “Makes some people uncomfortable and—” Her words were cut off by a meow.
They both looked down when a fat black-and-white cat joined them and began caressing itself on her leg.
“This is Mr. Pickles Furryton the Third,” she said. “I suppose he can keep you company while you wait. That should make it less creepy.”
Jazz tried not to frown. It was almost like she was trying to weird him out. Maybe it was a test of some sort. To see if Jazz was worthy of Michael.
If that was the case, Jazz was going to like this lady. Anyone that protective of her friends was a good person.
“Mr. Pickles Furryton the Third,” Jazz said, smiling at the cat. He knelt and held out a hand, knowing better than to pet a cat without its express permission.
“Yes, he’s Mr. Fleishman’s cat. Comes to work with him every day,” Kitty explained.
Oh my God, Michael just got more adorable every second.
A grown man who named his cat Mr. Pickles Furryton the Third was a man after Jazz’s own heart.
“I’ll leave you two to get acquainted,” she told him. “I’m headed out for the evening. Enjoy your important meeting with Mr. Fleishman.” With a flirtatious wink that surely made all the straight boys drool, Kitty sauntered off.
And yes, those curvy hips definitely knew how to saunter.
Once alone with the cat, Jazz sat down. Mr. Pickles jumped lightly to the padded arm of the chair and paraded back and forth as Jazz stroked his soft fur. He must have been doing things correctly, because Mr. Pickles was purring like a small lawn mower. But just as that thought entered Jazz’s head, Mr. Pickles tensed, looked around, then leaped from the chair and took off.
Jazz chuckled as his fluffy white tail disappeared around the corner.
Typical cat.
Looking around the room, Jazz put his hands on his knees. There was an accordian style floor to ceiling divider tucked behind a brocade curtain, doubtless used to shrink the big room for small services, which struck Jazz as sad. Or was it sadder to leave behind so many mourners that a funeral was standing room only? As he pondered that, he wondered how long Michael would be and hoped he wasn’t so engrossed in his work that he forgot about their date.
Voices in the hallway outside the display room door caught his attention.
“…very disturbing indeed.”
That was Michael’s voice.
Jazz stood up and moved toward the main hallway, not wanting to interrupt Michael with a client or appear to be lurking. The plush carpet absorbed the sound of his footsteps.
“Who in their right mind shoves rubbers full of heroin up their poop chute?”
Flinching, Jazz was startled to hear Sheriff Musgrave .
“That, I’m afraid, is a question for you,” Michael said, his voice closer now. “I simply provide you with the evidence.”
A split-second before Jazz was about to announce his presence, Michael walked past the open doors and glanced in, doing a double take.
“Jazz!” Michael cried. “What are you doing here?”
Okay, I loved this book, so let’s just start with that. Lately, I have been enjoying more mystery/suspense books, and when I saw this, I knew it was right up my alley…then they went and added a sassy cat, and there was no way I wasn’t reading this! Mr. Pickles Furryton the Third just made me happy, made me giggle, and made some bad people mad…all the things to love about a cat! Meanwhile, I loved the MC’s, too!
Michael, a shy, somewhat insecure, but very DIRTY, mortician/county coroner was fantastic. He had the most inappropriate thoughts at the most inappropriate times, and really…who doesn’t? This time we just got to read them. 🙂 But he was also sweet, and adored Jazz from minute one, despite Jazz having a little paunch, being (cough cough) slightly older, and at first glance, very different. He loved his cat very much, and wasn’t afraid to show tears when he couldn’t find him. And even was sweet to his grandpa.
Jazz, meanwhile, had a few hang-ups going in, but never lost sight of wanting Michael. He was definitely the more outgoing of the two (being a hairdresser in town) but always made sure that Michael wasn’t excluded. He took care of Michael when he needed the extra comfort, and made sure Michael knew that he was a priority.
The story itself…the authors created a mystery here that surprised me. (The one where the murderer is caught was VERY surprising…in several ways!). It wasn’t an easy who-dun-it, and that’s always fun. But honestly, even if I had known who the murderer was…I would still have read through. It was funny, engaging, had side characters that were just as enjoyable as the MC’s, and brought some serious heat in, as well. On top of all that, one thing that you rarely see in romance novels is multiple POV’s, behind the MC’s, but we got to see multiple POV’s, which created even more richness to the story, and the mystery. It isn’t confusing at all, because those POV’s come at an appropriate time in the book.
Just a fun, wonderful story, that I would read again…or even better…I want more!!! Give me 5 more of these books!!!! PLEASE!!!!!
4.5 pieces of eye candy
Deanna Wadsworth might be a bestselling erotica author, but she leads a pretty vanilla life in Ohio with her wonderful husband and adorable cocker spaniels. She has been penning stories since childhood, and her first erotic novella was published in 2010 and served multiple as President of the Rainbow Romance Writers in 2017. When she isn’t writing books or brainstorming with friends, you can find her making people gorgeous in a beauty salon. An avid reader, she also loves gardening, cooking, music, and dancing. Often she can be seen hanging out on the sandbar in the muddy Maumee River or chilling with her hubby and a cocktail in their basement bar. In between all that fun, Deanna cherishes the quiet times when she can let her wildly active imagination have the full run of her mind. Her fascination with people and the interworkings of their relationships have always inspired her to write romance with spice and love without boundaries.
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Hank Edwards has been writing gay fiction for more than twenty years. He has published over thirty novels and dozens of short stories. His writing crosses many sub-genres, including romance, rom-com, contemporary, paranormal, suspense, mystery, and wacky comedy. He has written a number of series such as the suspenseful Up to Trouble, funny and spooky Critter Catchers, Old West historical horror of Venom Valley, and erotic and funny Fluffers, Inc. No matter what genre he writes, Hank likes to keep things steamy and heartfelt. He was born and still lives in a northwest suburb of the Motor City, Detroit, Michigan, where he shares a home with his partner of over 20 years and their two cats.
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