Books to the Ceiling

Round Up the Unusual Suspects

A Babs Norman Hollywood Mystery   Against the backdrop of WWII, no one expected to find a murdered stagehand on a Warner Brothers sound stage. With so much at stake, Jack L. Warner hires Babs Norman and Guy Brandt, the two young private eyes who recently resolved his high-profile Maltese Falcon/Blackbird Killer Case. Social justice crusader Leon Lewis suspects local Nazi sympathizers are responsible. Lewis assigns a German stuntman, a veteran of the decadent subculture of Weimar Berlin nightlife and one of his newest operatives, to join forces with the private detectives. According to Warner, the show must go on, but everything from bomb scares to the Japanese internment, to unruly parrots, forbidden love, and family crises conspires against solving the crime. “As Time Goes By,” actors Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and the rest of the Casablanca ensemble join the professional private eyes to round up the unusual suspects and capture the killer. Love 1940s classic movies? Treat yourself to the award-winning Hounds of the Hollywood Baskervilles (Book 1) and Bye, Bye Blackbird (Book 2) of Elizabeth Crowens’ Babs Norman’s Golden Age of Hollywood mystery series by Level Best Books. Book Links: Amazon [https://pictbooks.tours/GGYaOx4O] | Kindle [https://pictbooks.tours/T1oTv9im] | Barnes & Noble [https://pictbooks.tours/KWObu69q] | BookShop.org [https://pictbooks.tours/pEYajlNi] | Goodreads [https://pictbooks.tours/JPcRW5V3] | BookBub [https://pictbooks.tours/gylj4oPi] Music Credits Happy Swingy Chef https://uppbeat.io/t/giulio-fazio/happy-swingy-chef License code: 0GXPZEL35M7PEV3L The Usual Suspects https://uppbeat.io/t/theo-gerard/the-usual-suspects [https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftrack.pstmrk.it%2F3s%2Fuppbeat.io%252Ft%252Ftheo-gerard%252Fthe-usual-suspects%2FvZub%2FU4HFAQ%2FAQ%2F0ea9e053-9c1c-4289-9558-d18a34dbfab8%2F4%2FsBpW9ezDlP&data=05%7C02%7C%7Cedecd54944d345043e6808deb7355d4d%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639149636976574019%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=rCO9jmozID630PGsR6oU%2FlnIKTlGnCTpubHiybs3rx0%3D&reserved=0] License code: JCGDDNZJ1LK1BCFZ Anxiety https://uppbeat.io/t/dada/anxiety [https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ftrack.pstmrk.it%2F3s%2Fuppbeat.io%252Ft%252Fdada%252Fanxiety%2FvZub%2FQoHFAQ%2FAQ%2F6c2d5cf2-e224-4032-93c7-edb86588f2c0%2F4%2F5IHJ5xrAzi&data=05%7C02%7C%7Cfcf69d147d254443a18008deb732dd6c%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639149626250124026%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=a6bUOztk2p0%2B1B%2BumgPHE3d%2BFcgOmRofddaLMvkk48o%3D&reserved=0] License code: QMYKEEZCD1EGSIYM   Books to the Ceiling is a part of Teresa Trent's Author Blog at https://teresatrent.blog [https://teresatrent.blog]

Murder She Wrote: Murder Most Trivial

This week we are joining Jessica Fletcher out in Hollywood to compete in a game show and she brings along the town doctor, the sheriff and his wife. This is a fun one, and a Murder She Wrote you won't want to miss! The newest delightful entry in the USA Today bestselling Murder, She Wrote series, featuring mystery novelist Jessica Fletcher. Jessica Fletcher and friends Seth Hazlitt and Maureen and Mort Metzger team up for pub trivia and crush the competition, then are stunned to learn that the prize is a chance to appear in a five-day trivia tournament filming in LA. No one expects life-or-death stakes! But on day one of the tournament, a crew member is murdered. Who would benefit from derailing the show? Jessica has to come up with the ultimate answer. In a metafictional twist, the investigation takes Jessica and the gang to the filming locations of their favorite mystery shows, where they discuss how Columbo, Monk, or Jim Rockford might go about solving the case. Purchase Links Amazon [https://amzn.to/4t7YPja] - B&N [https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/murder-she-wrote-jessica-fletcher/1148039684?ean=9780593952900] - Kobo [https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/murder-she-wrote-murder-most-trivial?sId=831c36e8-bc9d-4908-a44e-c8661a51a334&ssId=Dt0Ls5eezYc8I7zFTEa0w&cPos=6] - Bookshop.org [https://bookshop.org/a/91071/9780593952900] - Penguin Random House [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/776349/murder-she-wrote-murder-most-trivial-by-jessica-fletcher-and-barbara-early/]   Music Credits Spring March https://uppbeat.io/t/jacob-taylor-armerding/spring-march License code: EPMPNFNTOW0LRFDV Achaidh-Cheide https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/achaidh-cheide License code: KO3SCYXQTBENIAWN   Visit Teresa's blog: Books to the Ceiling to find an archive of all the podcasts and to check out the giveaway page for your chance at ebooks and gift cards. [https://teresatrent.blog]

The Ghost and the Key

In the rush to subscribe to true-crime podcasts these days, we think it's something new, but what if I told you about The Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club who has been digging around in old cases for over two hundred years? Today we are looking at this group of nosy, yet terribly smart, old ladies and three mysteries they solve. Our excerpt will be from the first book in the series, The Ghost and the Key, where they go after a murderer from 192 years ago. THE GHOST AND THE KEY With a pitchfork through the man's groin and another through his chest, it is clear that someone had murdered Chester H. Cranberry. It's not something that could have happened accidentally. But that was 192 years ago. As Mildred Cranberry, the current family matriarch, puts it, "We have two women, two keys, two pitchforks, and one dead two-timing man." Who in their right mind would want to dig up that cold case and try to solve it? It's not like the murderer could be prosecuted in 2024, right? But what if a key piece of evidence can be dug up (literally)? And what if a descendant of Chester's illegitimate child can get her hands on it? Mildred will need more than the Old Cranberry Ladies Garden Club members to solve this bizarre case. The spiritual support she needs may not be what she expects when the ghost of Elcira Cranberry, the widow murderess herself, arrives to do what? Tell the truth or protect her reputation? The Ladies Garden Club of Old Cranberry, Connecticut, has a 200-year history that has remained shrouded in secrecy for so long, it has been lost to history, until now. Elcira Cranberry and freedwoman Deborah Townsend knew the men of the town would have no interest in a garden club, so it was the perfect cover for their secret organization. Now, nearly two centuries later, the current members have no idea what those ladies were up to in the early 1800s, right here in Connecticut. But the secret will soon be out. Links: Amazon [https://pictbooks.tours/644cs5Tz] | Kindle [https://pictbooks.tours/mxVInns6] | Barnes & Noble [https://pictbooks.tours/9eL7p6gA] | BookShop.org [https://pictbooks.tours/AXj2u4zy] | Goodreads [https://pictbooks.tours/tjKkj2VZ] | BookBub [https://pictbooks.tours/fOLRsvm9]   Music Credits: Life https://uppbeat.io/t/christopher-galovan/life License code: 7HRZUO7SKSKFG1JX Quiet Versus Silence https://uppbeat.io/t/daniel-diaz/quiet-versus-silent License code: 1XXZQET8VSWB0BOP   Books to the Ceiling is a part of Teresa Trent's Blog. [https://teresatrent.blog]

Lafitte Lives

This week we're headed to New Orleans, 1831 to the St. Louis Cemetery #2. It's hot and smelly and we are with the character of Tobias Whitney who works there. Get ready for a creepy cemetery vibe, as Tobias discovers the secrets hidden among the dead. Secrets can’t stay buried forever—but maybe some should. In bustling, multicultural 1831 New Orleans, Tobias Whitney, the sexton of St. Louis Cemetery No. 2, uncovers a journal sealed inside the tomb of Dominique You—war hero of the Battle of New Orleans, privateer, and half-brother of the notorious pirate Jean Lafitte. Convinced that the journal holds the key to Lafitte’s lost treasure, Tobias turns to his sharp-witted and outspoken wife, Mary Catherine, to translate its cryptic French passages. Tobias and Mary Catherine discover secrets they could not have imagined—secrets that could change their lives forever. But is it really the truth? As the journal warns, Never trust a pirate! Lafitte Lives blends meticulous historical research with a page-turning mystery, bringing the legend of Jean Lafitte to life while telling the redemptive story of Tobias's grief and Mary Catherine's quest to help him overcome it. Book Links: Amazon [https://pictbooks.tours/51OsIl4U] | Kindle [https://pictbooks.tours/3IUHOBqA] | Barnes & Noble [https://pictbooks.tours/3fge0fzj] | BookShop.org [https://pictbooks.tours/D70JaKPg] | Goodreads [https://pictbooks.tours/yTxqKOSe]   Music Credits: Mysteries https://uppbeat.io/t/all-ambient/mysteries License code: OATMAP4J25TCDQRP Cold Prito https://uppbeat.io/t/struktura/coldprito License code: PWDKNYVXNPN4FZ9H

Crying in the Chapel

This week we travel back in time to go to a wedding, in 1965. Dot Morgan is getting married to the love of her life. Wedding preparations include cakes, flowers, music and murder. This is my fifth installment in the Swinging Sixties Series, but if you haven't read the first four, don't worry. Crying in the Chapel can be read as a standalone. So, grab your go-go boots and let's get that church. It's August 1965, and Dot Morgan is finally getting married to the dashing reporter Ben Dalton. Her wedding day, August 14th, promises to be perfect—if only it didn't follow Friday the 13th. What could go wrong? Planning a wedding with the members of the Camden Chapel, Dot thinks she’s overwhelmed, but then it gets worse when a body is found on the church lawn. Dot decides to focus on her wedding to Ben, but when police reveal the victim didn't jump from the belfry he was pushed—she can no longer look away. Book Links: Amazon [https://pictbooks.tours/hMsvo1kU] | Kindle [https://pictbooks.tours/eCaNYt7i] | Barnes & Noble [https://pictbooks.tours/7msr0Iej] | BookShop.org [https://pictbooks.tours/a6LgtgaH] | Goodreads [https://pictbooks.tours/D5IrO1z2] Music Credit In Bloom https://uppbeat.io/t/justin-lee/in-bloom License code: KA73KM3FBUJ07XVN