Friday, October 24, 2014

Drinks With Reads: THE CORPSE WITH THE PLATINUM HAIR by Cathy Ace



Author Cathy Ace joins us today from Vegas for Friday Drinks with Reads matching her latest book, The Corpse with the Platinum Hair with a drink she just made up - The Tsar!Tini. 



With birthday celebrations in the cards, Cait Morgan and her significant other, retired cop Bud Anderson, travel to Las Vegas. As they are about to finish dinner in the casino owners’ exclusive private dining room, Miss Shirley, a woman acknowledged as Queen of The Strip, is murdered. Security locks down the room. Cait, Bud, a corpse, and ten possible murderers are trapped in the luxurious restaurant for twelve deadly hours. The bodies pile up, the tension mounts, the list of suspects dwindles—and Cait knows she has to work out who the killer is because there’s no telling who might be next to die.

The fourth book in the beloved Cait Morgan series, The Corpse with the Platinum Hair travels to Sin City, where Welsh Canadian foodie and criminologist Cait Morgan comes up against her toughest mystery yet.

“I've always loved closed room mysteries and this is a terrific one. A cast of characters (each of them with something to hide) marooned on the top floor of a swank Las Vegas casino with a corpse. A fun and suspenseful mystery.” Rhys Bowen. New York Times bestselling author of the Molly Murphy and Royal Spyness mysteries.

For THE CORPSE WITH THE PLATINUM HAIR I had the delightful task of inventing a fictitious casino and hotel on the Las Vegas Strip. The Tsar! is inspired by Tsarist and Russian architecture and entertainment themes, and it’s décor is as over-the-top as you might imagine. In Vegas each casino is stuffed with many bars and restaurants, and the Tsar! is no exception. From the Babushka Bar to the Romanoff Room Restaurant, it is opulent and allows for overindulgence. The titular corpse, Miss Shirley, is one of the owners of the Tsar!—she’s a woman of very definite tastes, and this martini is the one she chose as the signature drink for her “empire”. 

The Tsar!Tini is very strong, and quite sweet, rather like the woman for whom it was invented. It shows off the signature colors of the casino—red and gold—and it is definitely something you’d sip, rather than glug. You have been warned! Here, for the first time anywhere, is the recipe for the just-developed Tsar!Tini. 



Tsar!Tini

3 parts vodka
2 parts Lillet
1 part Raspberry Sourpuss
3 parts champagne
3 golden raisins, soaked overnight in Lillet, for garnish

Directions: 
Soak golden raisins in enough Lillet to cover overnight in the fridge (it’s worth it, but, if you’re pressed for time, just use golden raisins as they come).  

Put the vodka, Lillet and raspberry sourpuss in a cocktail shaker, over ice, and shake vigorously for at least a minute. Strain into a chilled martini glass. The mixture should fill only about half the glass.

Top up to the rim with champagne.

Pop three golden raisins onto a pick, and place across the edges of the glass. 


SIP!! Cheers, folks! 

4 comments:

  1. Thank you for a great post Cathy! I've already read the book and loved it and I can wait to try this drink. The golden raisins are genius.

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    1. Hi Deborah - I am delighted that you enjoyed the book - and the drink is yummy too! Cheers, my dear ;-)

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  2. I love the retro cover, and how great that you made up a drink!

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    1. Hi Kerry - so glad you like the cover, because I think it matches the tone of the book really well. And as for inventing a drink - trust me, the research was onerous, but I did it anyway ;-)

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