Friday, January 15, 2016

The Grateful Dead & Mind Over Murder






The mystery writing duo of Marian Borden and Rhonda Dossett who publish under the name of Evelyn David are today to match their latest book, Mind Over Matter with the perfect drink. They've also given us an excerpt of the book. Don't forget to comment below to enter to win a copy of Mind Over Murder.

First a little about the book...

Nothing bad ever happens in Seamont, New York, a quiet village 20 miles outside The Big Apple. Nothing, except for the brutal murders five years earlier of Lee and Vera Chang. But the local police made a quick arrest and life returned to suburban normal in Seamont. Except Valentine Zalmanzig Cohen knows differently. She knows, without a shadow of doubt, that Alex Fletcher, the man sentenced to life in prison, didn't kill the Changs. Val is a psychic. But the local cops don't want anything to mess up their slam-dunk case.

Five years later, when the Bermans, a middle-aged couple who had just bought the Chang house are also brutally murdered, the police come knocking at Val's door. Is it a copycat killer? Has Fletcher hired a hit man to mimic the crime so he can appeal his own conviction? Or is there a serial murderer loose in quiet Seamont? 

Val doesn't want to relive the gruesome murder scenes that cloud her mind, but she wants to stop this killer once and for all. Things go from bad to worse after a brutal attempt on her life results in the loss of her psychic abilities. Val discovers that when all is said and done, she has to rely on her wits to save herself before the killer strikes again. 



Evelyn David and Valentine Zalmanzig Cohen invite you to find out "whodunnit" and why in this spine-tingling, roller coaster of a ride, mystery. Be sure to sip your "Grateful Dead" cocktail slowly, you'll need to keep your wits about you in order to solve the mystery.

Evelyn David is the pseudonym for a pair of mystery writers, Marian Borden and Rhonda Dossett. Marian lives in New York and is the author of ten nonfiction books on a wide variety of topics ranging from veterans benefits to playgroups for toddlers. Rhonda lives in Oklahoma, is the director of the coal program for the state. Marian and Rhonda write their mystery series via the internet. While many fans who attend mystery conventions have now chatted with both halves of Evelyn David, Marian and Rhonda have yet to meet in person.  

Together they've written 13 Brianna Sullivan Mysteries to date as Evelyn David, The Sullivan Investigations Mystery series (3 novels plus two short stories) and the stand-alone mysteries, Zoned for Murder and Mind Over Murder

Please check out Evelyn's website or find her on Facebook.



Excerpt from Mind Over Murder by Evelyn David

The doorbell chimed drawing my attention away from the computer screen and the bid I was about to place for Jake on a 1939 New York World's Fair medallion pin. Jake and his nemesis Newton548 were in a bidding war for the item. Five minutes were left in the on–line auction and Jake was losing.
I looked up at the couple entering the shop. The woman was in her early forties, short blonde hair, no-nonsense manner. The guy was slightly younger or maybe his attitude was younger. His hair was brushing his shoulders and his beard was in the awkward stage. They picked their way through the stacked wooden crates that Jake hadn't gotten around to unpacking; the spoils of our recent trip to the antique mecca of New Hope, Pennsylvania. The man turned sideways in order to slide between the boxes. His suit jacket flipped open as it snagged on a crate and I caught a glimpse of his shoulder holster. Cops or rather detectives. Wonderful. Newton548 was going to chalk up another win. Jake would just have to deal with it.

"Can I help you?"

"Are you Valerie Zalmanzig?" the man asked.

I shook my head. "Nope." Everyone always tried to twist my first name into something they recognized, something more common. And while Zalmanzig was the name I was born with, when I married Jake almost five years ago, I acquired a white elephant of a house, a disapproving mother-in-law, and since there is always a bright side to most things–a surname with no z's.

"If you're not Zalmanzig, who are you?" The female detective's eyes flashed. 

It didn't take any special abilities to see that she didn't believe me. Probably had a photograph of me in a file on her desk. I could see her ticking off the details: thirty-two year old Caucasian female; five-foot-five inches tall; long red hair; and hostile, brown eyes (a by-product of my dealings with law enforcement). After my last dance with the local police department, I'd told the Chief in no uncertain terms that I wouldn't be available for consultations in the future. Obviously, the Chief had conveniently forgotten.

I sighed. In the shower this morning Jake had warned me that he had a bad feeling about today. I thought he was just annoyed that he had to use my lavender scented bath gel. 
The male cop shifted and almost knocked a 1950s floor lamp into an opened crate of Japanese porcelain. He caught the lamp but I didn't see him do it. Instead I saw a shattered teacup lying in a pool of red on a polished wooden floor. 

Not my cup. Not my floor. 

"Your name, please."

The female cop's words drew me back. Someone was dead.

I blinked once, then cleared my throat. "Who wants to know?" 

They both pulled out gold shields and waved them in front of me. I snagged the woman's before she stuck it back in her blazer pocket. Glancing from the shield to the ID card, I read her name aloud, 

"Detective Diane Ellison."

Detective Ellison nodded. "And my partner is–"

"Mike Hardesty," I mumbled, his name popping into my mind before she could say the words.

Whoops. 

I glanced up.

They smiled.

Damn. Me and my big mouth.

I handed the badge back. I shouldn't have touched it.

Don't forget to enter to win an e-book of Mind Over Murder.

10 comments:

  1. I would love to have a e-book of Mind Over Murder. Thanks for the opportunity to enter to win one. robeader53@yahoo.com

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  2. Mind over Murder sounds like an intriguing book-I love mysteries! Thank you so much for the chance to win a copy!

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  3. This cocktail sounds delicious. The name alone makes it worth trying.

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  4. Thanks so much for the interest in Mind Over Murder! We're always hoping to find new readers! The drink is really good, a little sweet, a little sour, and stronger than it looks - much like our heroine, Valentine!

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  5. Sounds like a terrific book and I didn't know there's such a thing as raspberry cordial. Yum. Terrie Moran

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  6. That drink sounds delicious! I love fruity drinks. :) And the book sounds fantastic!

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  7. Book sounds great and so does the drink. Sign me up!

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  8. You got my attention with this book description!!! I'd love to win it!! For now, since you are a new to me author/s, I'm off to check out your Facebook page and your website!!!
    mtrver@gmail.com

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  9. Sounds like my kind of book. Would enjoy reading.
    diannekc8@gmail.com

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  10. Sounds like my kind of book. Would enjoy reading.
    diannekc8@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete