Today we're delighted to welcome back guest blogger Vicki Delany, author of the popular new Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery, the most recent being Body on Baker Street. She's giving away a hardcover copy so be sure to enter the draw! Here's a teaser of what's happening in this book:
Gemma
Doyle and Jayne Wilson are busy managing the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and
Emporium on Baker Street and adjoining Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room in anticipation of
the store’s upcoming book signing with the illustrious Renalta Van Markoff,
author of the controversial Hudson and Holmes mystery series. But during the
author Q&A session, dedicated Sherlockian Donald Morris verbally attacks
Renalta and her series for disgracing Sherlock’s legacy, only to be publicly
humiliated when the author triumphantly lashes back and gains the upper hand.
That is until Renalta collapses on the table—dead.
Donald insists he didn’t do it and pleads to his
friends to clear his name. Fortunately, Gemma and Jayne have no shortage of
suspects between author’s bullied personal assistant, her frustrated publicist,
the hapless publisher, a handsome rare book dealer, an obsessively rabid fan,
and a world of other Sherlock enthusiasts with strong objections to Renalta’s
depiction of the Great Detective. It’s up to the shrewd sleuthing duo to
eliminate the impossible and deduce the truth before the West London police
arrest an innocent man in Body on Baker Street, the second Sherlock Homes
Bookshop mystery perfect for fans of Miranda James and Kate
Carlisle.
Renalta Van Markoff, author of the hugely popular, and
highly controversial, Hudson and Holmes mystery series, is about to pay a visit
to the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, located at 222 Baker Street, West
London, Massachusetts.
Almost everyone
is thrilled, including shop owner Gemma Doyle and head baker Jayne Wilson.
They’re hoping book lovers will engage in a frenzy of shopping after the author
talk, and then pop into Mrs. Hudson’s Tea Room next door at number 220 for
afternoon tea.
After all, as the author explains:
“I try to
have at least one scene involving afternoon tea in each of my books. It gives
Desdemona and Sherlock a chance to get together and talk over what they’ve
learned.”
I refrained from mentioning that I couldn’t imagine
Sherlock Holmes, man of action, pipe tobacco, and lover of a seven percent
solution, enjoying a cream tea.
Body
on Baker Street by Vicki Delany
Who isn’t thrilled about the author’s visit? Prominent and
dedicated Sherlockian Donald Morris who insists that Van Markoff’s books are an
insult to Sir Arthur Conon Doyle and his greatest creation. Will Donald create
a scene at the book signing? Will
afternoon tea be cancelled? Will Jayne’s strawberry cake go to waste?
Will Gemma once again have to eliminate
the impossible and deduce the truth before the West London police arrest an
innocent man?
This strawberry cake will be perfect for serving at your
next afternoon tea get together. Or even just dessert with your family.
·
6 tablespoons
unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pie plate
·
1 1/2 cups
all-purpose flour
·
1 1/2 teaspoons
baking powder
·
1/2 teaspoon salt
·
1 cup plus 2
tablespoons sugar
·
1 large egg
·
1/2 cup milk
·
1 teaspoon pure
vanilla extract
·
1 pound
strawberries, hulled and halved
1.
Preheat oven to
350 degrees. Butter a 10-inch pie plate.
S- Sift flour, baking powder, and salt
together into a medium bowl.
2. Put butter and 1
cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on medium-high speed until pale
and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low; mix in egg, milk, and
vanilla.
3.
Reduce speed to
low; gradually mix in flour mixture.
4.
Transfer batter
to buttered pie plate. Arrange strawberries on top of batter, cut sides down
and as close together as possible. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over
berries.
5. Bake cake 10
minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Bake until cake is golden
brown and firm to the touch, about 50 minutes. Let cool in pie plate on a wire
rack. Cut into wedges.
Cake can be served with ice
cream or whipped cream and fresh strawberries on the side.
You could win a hardcover copy of Body on Baker
Street. Just leave a comment and be sure to include your email address. A random draw will be made for the winner after tomorrow at 5 PM EDT. US and Canada entries, please.
Vicki
Delany
is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers and a national
bestseller in the U.S. She has written more than twenty-five books: clever cozies to Gothic thrillers to gritty
police procedurals, to historical fiction and novellas for adult literacy. Under
the name of Eva Gates, she writes
the Lighthouse Library cozy series for Penguin Random House. Her newest novel
is Body
on Baker Street, the second in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series from
Crooked Lane.
Vicki is the past president of
the Crime Writers of Canada. Her work
has been nominated for the Derringer, the Bony Blithe, the Ontario Library
Association Golden Oak, and the Arthur Ellis Awards.
