A Second Helping of Murder by Christine Wenger: Guest Author/Review/Giveaway

From the office of

TRIXIE MATKOWSKI

Owner

SILVER BULLET DINER &

SANDY HARBOR HOUSEKEEPING COTTAGES

“On the beautiful shore of Lake Ontario in Sandy Harbor, New York”

Greetings from Sandy Harbor, New York!

It’s summer as I write this note to you and the tourist season is in full swing!  I thought that things would calm down after my first several months here, but I’m busier than ever and so is my staff. 

Moving to New York and buying the Silver Bullet Diner (circa 1950, Open 24 hours, Air-conditioned, Breakfast Served All Day) from my Aunt Stella Matkowski , who retired to Boca Raton, was a big change for me.  Things proved even more difficult when the restaurant inspector turned up dead in my kitchen!  My beautiful diner became a ghost town overnight!

With the help of my neighbor, Deputy Sheriff Ty Brisco, a cowboy transplant from Houston, Texas, I  got to the bottom of what had happened to the inspector.  My friend, Christine Wenger, who loves to write and fancies herself the historian of Sandy Harbor, documented that horrible part of my life in DO OR DINER (Obsidian Books, August 2013).  She said that fiction was stranger than the truth, so the story just had to be told.

And Chris just finished recording the details of two more murders which occurred in town about twenty years apart in A SECOND HELPING OF MURDER (Obsidian Books, April 2014).  The scene I discovered in Cottage Number Eight will be forever etched in my mind.  The lovely citizens of Sandy Harbor are starting to wonder about me!

In spite of the bad stuff, I’ve kept busy cooking and playing with recipes at the Silver Bullet, have almost stopped reeling from my divorce (almost!), made life-long friends, never laughed so much, and still find time to polka!  

Life is good at the lake.  Come visit!

                                                                                Trixie

Blurb: Trixie Matkowski is warming up to running her family’s diner in the small town of Sandy Harbor in upstate New York. But the only thing more demanding than serving up piping-hot comfort food twenty-four hours a day is getting to the bottom of a double homicide....

Trixie fondly remembers summers as a child spent visiting the shores of Lake Ontario. Not much has changed—there are still vinyl booths at the Silver Bullet Diner, families eating home-cooked comfort food, and days of swimming in the lake.

But before Trixie can say “Order’s up,” someone’s summer is abruptly cut short. One of the cottage residents is found dead, and Trixie suspects the crime might be linked to an unsolved disappearance in the picturesque town’s past.

As Trixie works with Deputy Ty Brisco to solve both mysteries, their shocking discoveries will shake up the small town. And when word gets out that she’s on the case, Trixie’s in trouble—after all, the murderer won’t spare her life just because she makes a killer corned beef sandwich....

Mochas, Mysteries and Meows Review: Calling this series the Comfort Food Mysteries could not be more appropriate, as this book is as comforting as mac and cheese or pulled pork sammies. Trixie is gearing up for a busy tourist season when the body of a young woman who went missing many years ago is found in a nearby cave. Then her very first guest, a writer who specifically requested the same cabin she disappeared from back then is murdered as well! How are the crimes connected? Who in Sandy Harbor has something to hide worth killing for?

I loved this book because it's not overly taxing with tons of extra characters that are hard to keep track of. One new character, Trixie's new hire, teenager Ray, is a real standout who I look forward to seeing more of. Both the cold case and the new one make for a real page-turner. Add to this mouth-watering descriptions of comfort food and you have one deliciously cozy read! Another helping, please!

GIVEAWAY: What is your favorite comfort food? Tell us by April 4th at noon eastern to be entered for a chance to win A Second Helping of Murder. US entries only.