Death in D Minor Book Blog Tour, Review, and Giveaway #LoneStarLit

Posted October 28, 2017 by Lynn in Blog Tours, Giveaways, Reviews / 1 Comment

DEATH IN D MINOR

by
ALEXIA GORDON
  Genre: Paranormal Mystery / African American Sleuth
Publisher: Henery Press
Date of Publication: July 11, 2017
Number of Pages: 236
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Gethsemane Brown, African-American musician and expatriate to an Irish village, solved a string of murders and got used to living with a snarky ghost. She can rest easy now. Right? Wrong. The ghost has disappeared, her landlord’s about to sell to a developer, and her brother-in-law’s come to visit. She scrambles to call her spectral roomie back from beyond and find a way to save the cottage from destruction. But real estate takes a backseat when her brother-in-law is accused of stealing a valuable antique. Gethsemane strikes a deal with an investigator to go undercover at a charity ball and snoop for evidence of a forgery/theft ring in exchange for the woman’s help clearing him. At the party, she accidentally conjures the ghost of an eighteenth-century sea captain, then ends up the prime suspect in the party host’s murder. She races to untangle a web of phony art and stolen antiques to exonerate herself, then the killer targets her. Will she bring a murderer to justice, or will her encore investigation become her swan song?


PRAISE FOR DEATH IN D MINOR:
Gethsemane Brown is everything an amateur sleuth should be: smart, sassy, talented, and witty even when her back is against the wall. In her latest adventure, she’s surrounded by a delightful cast, some of whom readers will remember from Gordon’s award-winning debut and all of whom they won’t forget. Gordon writes characters we want resurrected.
n  Cate Holahan, author of The Widower’s
Wife and Lies She Told
Erstwhile ghost conjurer and gifted concert violinist Gethsemane Brown returns in this thoroughly enjoyable follow-up to last year’s Murder in G Major. Facing eviction from the historic seaside cottage she calls home, Gethsemane must clear her brother-in-law’s name – as well as her own – when a priceless artifact goes missing and the wealthy dowager to whom it belonged is “helped” over a high balcony railing.  With the help of a spectral sea captain she accidentally summoned, Gethsemane tries to unravel the mystery as the murderer places her squarely in the crosshairs.
n  Daniel J. Hale, Agatha Award-winning author

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Gethsemane Brown is an amateur sleuth / musician / ghost whisperer. She’s out solving crimes, sometimes getting into hot water, and doing her best to rescue herself. She is a heroine without any romantic entanglements, which I seriously appreciated. I’m ok with some romance as a secondary plot in my mystery books, but I am more interested in the mystery. I’m happy to report that Ms. Gordon’s characters focus on solving the crimes.

One aspect of Gethsemane that I find very interesting is the fact that music is tied to so many aspects of her life. She hears Tchaikovsky when she’s in danger and conjures a ghost by playing a sea shanty. I’m now regretting all the time I spent in school not practicing my clarinet. Death in D Major is full of fun and well-developed secondary characters as well. I especially enjoyed the local pastor with the occult book collection and Gethsemane’s co-worker, math teacher Frankie.

I am impressed with Ms. Gordon’s writing style and world building. I learned that ghosts, at least in Ms. Gordon’s universe, are associated with certain smells. (I find this a very nifty character trait; it’s clearly my allergies preventing me from smelling any paranormal beings in my world!) The quaint small Irish setting is excellent, though, initially I was confused about the time period in which the book is set — classical music, modern setting, but seemed historical?  But then, the mention of cars and a lost cell phone set me straight.

I must admit to struggling with this book at the beginning. D Major is the second in the series and I haven’t read the first (shame on me!). I read the first paragraph a number of times, as it’s full of Irish town names that meant absolutely nothing to me. The central mystery also wasn’t apparent at first. Is this an art forgery/theft mystery? Murder mystery? What do ghosts have to do with anything? But after the first third of the book, all the aspects began to fit together, and I really began to enjoy reading D Major. As such, ideally, I recommend reading the first book before starting this one, but it does stand alone.

The plot is fast-paced and kept me interested and guessing throughout the book; it’s a solid mystery with a side of paranormal. Overall, I enjoyed Death in D Major and main character Gethsemane in particular. I’m excited to read more of this series!

 

I’d like to thank Lone Star Book Blog tours and the author for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

 

 

A writer since childhood, I put literary endeavors on hold to finish medical school and Family Medicine residency training. Medical career established, I returned to writing fiction. I completed SMU’s Writer’s Path program in Dallas, Texas. Henery Press published my first novel, Murder in G Major, book one of the Gethsemane Brown mysteries, in September 2016. Book two, Death in D Minor, releases July 11, 2017.
 
Murder in G Major won the Lefty Award for Best Debut Novel, was nominated for an Agatha Award for Best New Novel, and was selected one of Suspense Magazine’s Best Debuts. I listen to classical music, drink whiskey, and blog at www.missdemeanors.com, voted one of Writers’ Digest magazine’s 101 best websites for writers, and featured on Femmes Fatales.            
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GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!
GRAND PRIZE: Signed Copy of Death in D Minor + Whisky Field Guide, Sea Salt & Bay Rum soy candle, Notepad, $20 Starbucks Gift Card

2ND PRIZE: Signed Copy of Death in D Minor, Ceramic Skull Coffee Mug, $20 Amazon Gift Card

October 25-November 3, 2017
(U.S. Only)

CHECK OUT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:

25-Oct
Review
25-Oct
Notable Quotable
26-Oct
Top 5 List
27-Oct
Review
27-Oct
Playlist 1
28-Oct
Review
29-Oct
Excerpt
30-Oct
Author Interview
30-Oct
Review
31-Oct
Playlist 2
1-Nov
Review
1-Nov
Top 5 List
2-Nov
Notable Quotable
2-Nov
Notable Quotable
3-Nov
Review


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Posted October 28, 2017 by Lynn in Blog Tours, Giveaways, Reviews / 1 Comment

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