Waiting for Dead Men's Shoes by Lauren Baratz-Logsted Review/Interview

Blurb: Underachiever Minette "Mini" Monroe has long dreamt of how much better life would be if only she were in charge of the world, said world being the independent bookstore in Westport, CT, where she's worked for the past half dozen years. After her beloved boss Colin Quimby is murdered, Mini gets her wish and also gets a chance to solve the case, aided by hot young Officer Michael "Mickey" Maus. Despite his unfortunate nickname - would any woman really voluntarily become part of Mini and Mickey Maus? - Mini takes a shine to him, but there's no real time for romance, not when Mini has her hands full dealing with Colin's viper's nest full of ex-wives, offspring, former business partners and current business rivals, all of whom had good reason to want to see Colin dead. Who will turn out to be the guilty party? The only way to find out is to read WAITING FOR DEAD MEN'S SHOES, a madcap comedic novel that proves that the Shakespeare Unabridged Globe and the Oxford English Dictionary are still a girl's best weapons.

My Review: Mini is a young woman with a powerhouse personality in a small body. An employee at Read, Drink and Be Merry: A Fine Book Salon and Coffee Emporium, she seems to be the only one who cares when her boss is brutally murdered on Black Friday. The suspect list is endless as the victim seemed to have had an argument with everyone that day. Mini's comfortable little world starts looking a bit iffy depending on who in Colin's inner circle takes over ownership of the store, and who his killer is! Many times this little lady had me laughing out loud with her inner thoughts, and I really hope Mini's adventures will continue in her very own series! 

Author Interview:

Tell us about Waiting for Dead Men's Shoes. What inspired Mini Monroe?I spent 11 years, from 1983-1994, working at an independent bookseller in Westport, CT. So naturally, when I set my hand to writing my first novel, like many before me, I wrote a wish-fulfillment story: in this case, about a wisecracking bookstore clerk who thinks the store and the whole world would be a better place if only she were in charge of everything; she gets her chance to run everything - and solve the crime! - when her beloved boss is murdered. Let me say here, for the record, that I never wished for the demise of my own boss. The name Minette "Mini" Monroe comes from: Minette, for Minette Walters, a mystery writer whose first name I've always liked; Mini as a nickname, because she's so short; Monroe for the town in CT where I grew up.

Is this going to be a series?It could be! I always dreamed of writing more Mini Monroe books, but only time will tell. In other words, if enough people like the first and want more, I'll write more! I'm very easy that way.

Who are the kitties on the cover?Skook is the white one, Milo is the black one. I once had cats with those names who looked like that and Mini does too.

What do you have for pets?A tiger cat named Yoyo. He's very smart.

I understand you used to be a bookseller. What are some of you favorite books/authors?Favorite adult novel from a dead author: The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Favorite adult novel from a live author: Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Favorite recent YA novel: Fault in Our Stars, by John Green. Favorite series mystery author: Martha Grimes. Favorite children's author: Roald Dahl.

How many books are in your TBR pile?Like grains of sand on the beach, too many to count. OK, maybe not that many, but it is a lot - a real teetering menace!

What is your favorite spot to read?Anywhere. I am an indiscriminate reader, when it comes to location. I've been known to whip out a book while waiting in a long line.

Finish the sentence - one book I wish I had written is...The Great Gatsby - it really is the perfect novel. And, since I couldn't do that, I did the next best thing: I wrote a contemporary re-visioning of it called Z: A NOVEL about a writer who returns home to Danbury where she meets and falls in love with a window washer who just might be Zorro. The biggest differences between my version and Fitzgerald's: there's comedy as well as drama in mine and no one dies in the swimming pool. Well, and his version is great while mine has, you know, Zorro.

Thanks so much for having me!