Murder. Magic. Mischief.
It’s summer in Harvest Falls: tourists flock to the trails and pack Charlie Goode’s local board game shop. But the town’s dark past is always cultivating difficulties… When a man is found dead at the Summer Solstice Festival, everyone starts jumping at shadows. And with and a web of lies spiraling out of control, things are about to get dicey.
Delighted and thrilled to have Publishers Weekly review A Dagger Among Friends! Just found out about it, but apparently it went live back in January. (Section breaks are mine.)
“Comer (Barrow Witch) effortlessly pivots from fantasy to crime fiction with this delightful series launch set in small-town Oregon.
When 40-something Charlie Goode moved back to Harvest Falls—a “tourist way-stop nestled in the Coast Range” where her father is chief of police—her only plan for the future was to reapply to medical school. She’d intended to become a doctor decades earlier, before a relationship with a deadbeat boyfriend sent her in a different direction. That relationship is recently terminated, but when her medical school application is denied, she winds up at loose ends, with no love life to speak of and no career prospects on the horizon. That changes when Charlie’s former best friend, Addie Newsome, is found stabbed to death in her car.
Though the two had hardly spoken since high school, Charlie decides to investigate after rumors circulate that Addie’s murder could be linked to her father’s long-ago death under similar circumstances—and that Charlie’s father might have had a hand in covering up those and other crimes.
Comer nails the small-town atmosphere, and shrewdly uses Charlie’s lifelong fascination with board games to make her a convincing amateur sleuth. This will hook fans of Joan Hess’s fizzy regional whodunits.”
– Publishers Weekly
Happy to share this amazing review for A DAGGER AMONG FRIENDS, from BookLife!
Newly single Charlie Goode returns to her small Oregon hometown, where her father is the police chief, to start off Comer’s Harvest Falls mystery series. Her old friend Addie has been found murdered, and the ensuing investigation upends the tourist town, bringing rivalries and jealousies to the surface. Charlie sets herself up as an amateur sleuth, despite some hesitations—“as if I knew anything more than Vera Stanhope or Stephanie Plum had taught me,” she muses, relatably. Still, she soon comes across all kinds of surprise connections, such as a long-ago suicide and local economic problems. The possibility of a new romance threatens to sidetrack Charlie, but at the end, with the assistance of her cousin Case, she cuts through all the small town rumors to find a killer—and learn some lessons.
Comer has a wonderful sense of small town rhythms and how the insular world breeds both deep connection but also deep resentments. He shows, through Charlie’s eyes, how the same inter-family problems play across the generations and how deeply petty class differences can matter. Comer populates the town with a large, colorful cast, built to anchor a series, including an overeager baker and a delightfully loopy mayor, though at times it takes some work to keep track of all the interactions and connections. However, Charlie moves through the story at a nice clip, and readers will be pulling for her to reach the finish line.
In fact, aside from the story, readers will find themselves charmed by Charlie and her self-deprecating narration. One of the great pleasures of the book is seeing how Charlie grows emotionally: she’s forced to take a fresh look at her hometown’s past and discovers things were not always as she had thought, a truth that possibly extends to a budding relationship, too. Also coming across as real is Charlie’s connection with her father, as she helps and defends him, and their bonding at the end is moving. Readers will look forward to Charlie’s next case.
Takeaway: Promising start to a small-town mystery series, in the classic mode.
Comparable Titles: Caroline Graham, Kate Atkinson.
The A DAGGER AMONG FRIENDS eBook is now available for pre-order on Amazon! Click here to have a copy delivered to your reading device August 8th.
For fans of Hallmark Mysteries, Agatha Raisin, and Stephanie Plum, A DAGGER AMONG FRIENDS is an amateur sleuth mystery novel where the entire town concocts wild theories and tramples the evidence all to find out Whodunit.
The plot is a humorous and loving take on mystery tropes:
“I solved it!” They beamed, gasping and thrusting out their chest.
“Running blindly into the killer’s grasp is called being a victim.”
The main character, Charlie Goode, is in her 40s and has recently split from her long-time boyfriend. Starting over in her small hometown of Harvest Falls, she spends time playing board games with her cousin Case, and working for her father, the chief of police.
Board games and 80s movie references are littered throughout the book. After all, every sleuth needs a hobby!
“You need a hobby.” He beamed. “That’s an actual thing. All sleuths have hobbies—baking, quilting, cat herding. It helps with the process.”
I thought for a moment before perking up. “I play board games,” I said. “But I’m not sure how that helps.” I lofted my whiskey, stared at my playing cards: a cattle ranch and the cooperage I’d built beside it. “Seems like a distraction.”
Like cozies, board games, and 80s movies? Check out the book and leave a review!
Looking for more fey-based (or fae or fairy) books? The Portalist has you covered with its newly released list of 10 fantasy series featuring lovable (and often times irascible) fey… and not only did they include THE LAIRD OF DUNCAIRN on the list, but they used its cover as the banner image! All credit to City Owl Press for its great series artwork!
Click here to read the list and discover more books.
What do you think of the list? Any favorites missing?
Here are a couple more reviews posted around the inter-web in the past week:
Suspenseful, intriguing and captivating plot with a great prose and a knack for engaging the reader. The book was a one sit read for me. I loved it and would recommend it to everyone. The characters were well developed and deep with an original story.
I really enjoyed this book! Great plot, exciting suspense, and the danger of getting caught around every corner! Definitely recommend to anyone considering this book, or any fans of the genre!
Also, here’s a link to an interview I did with The Qwillery. In it, I talk about plotting, pantsing, and my writing influences.
From the review of THE LAIRD OF DUNCAIRN by I Heart Reading:
I really enjoyed this book. It’s unique. The setting is historical, but it’s also an alternate world, where we have both humans and fey. Despite that, it reads a lot like an epic fantasy novel, but with some steampunk elements added in that I really enjoy. I also liked the explenation of the fey lore, and how it was all tied up with the steampunk side of the story and fantasy side.
The writing was excellent, and the details the author added in didn’t just make the time period, but the whole world come to life.
Effie is an amazing character. I loved following her journey and seeing her change and grow. The book also has a lot of side characters which is pretty common for fantasy books, but here they all had distinct personalities, and I liked that. They didn’t feel like cardboard figures, but felt like actual people with feelings and emotions.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy novels, especially if you like reading about the fey and fey lore.
Well, okay… One review. From a reader with an advanced copy given out by my publisher. I mean, the book’s not even out yet. But hey, it’s my first for THE LAIRD OF DUNCAIRN, and I couldn’t be more thrilled!
“i love it & can’t wait to read more,”
says Barb Miller on Amazon (5-star review)
Intrigued…? Pre-order your copy today on print or eBook! Or, if you’re savvy, add it to your Goodreads “Want To Read” list.