Dispatches from Bouchercon from Cathy Ace

Jim Napier, Officer Julie Meeks, Rick Blechta and Cathy Ace 

Author Cathy Ace has a great Bouchercon round up for us today. Bouchercon is the world's largest mystery convention and this year it was hosted in Toronto, Canada. 

This year was a very different Bouchercon for me in many ways, but exactly the same as others in one key respect…I came home from it with the second horrible head-cold I’d had in three weeks, so had to allow myself to collapse and get better for a while – hence the slight delay in writing this post. 

Bouchercon is the biggest, truly international crime reader and writer convention held each year; with it being held in Toronto, Canada this year I, as the current Board Chair of Crime Writers of Canada (CWC), have been working with the volunteer committee since 2015 to try to ensure the best possible experience for every attendee. Helen Nelson and Janet Costello were the co-chairs of this year’s Bouchercon, and more than 1700 conventioneers benefitted from their efforts, and those of the 30+ people who planned and worked hard to make it all happen.

Lisa de Nikolits with just some of the book bags! 

The Opening Ceremonies were extremely well-attended, and allowed me the chance to welcome around 1000 people to Canada on behalf of CWC, and to introduce Peter Robinson to speak. 

On Friday evening I hosted the International Reception, where a veritable “Mount Rushmore” of past CWC presidents welcomed authors from the UK, Iceland, Thailand, Guatemala, Finland, France, Australia and Singapore, to name but a few of the countries represented. 

CWC Past Presidents -  L to R: Cathy Ace (Chair), Mike Martin (Vice Chair), Rick Blechta, Barbara Fradkin, RJ (Robin) Harlick, Mary Jane Maffini, Peter Robinson, Howard Engel, Maureen Jennings, Cathy Astolfo.

That evening a pub-style trivia quiz I’d organized on behalf of CWC was attended by over 150 people, who were led in teams by CWC members like Maureen Jennings, David Morrell and Linwood Barclay. 

Linwood Barclay

The winning team received a super bag of goodies, including books, and even Three Pines pins and mugs donated by another of CWC’s members, Louise Penny, who was Canadian Guest of Honour at the convention. 

CWC's pub quiz winners

Canadian Guest of Honor, Louise Penny

Panels and interviews were well attended – though the perennial problem of “I wish I could be in three places at once” persisted this year. 

Cathy Ace is the Bony Blithe Award-winning author of The Cait Morgan Mysteries and The WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries.  She has an anthology of short stories – MURDER KEEPS NO CALENDAR – featuring those where Cait Morgan and the WISE Women first appeared, in December 2017. You can find out more about Cathy, her work and her characters at her website, where you can also sign up for her newsletter with news, updates and special offers: http://cathyace.com/ 

PHOTOS: Cathy Ace books

Tipples with the Women of WISE Enquiries

Cathy Ace is back with a new book, and new "tipples" as she calls them. It's time to meet the women of the WISE Enquiries Agency...

Today, let’s raise several glasses, because we’re meeting four new private investigators – of the soft-boiled variety. In THE CASE OF THE DOTTY DOWAGER Cathy Ace introduces us to the women of the WISE Enquiries Agency, who are called in by Henry Twyst, eighteenth duke of Chellingworth, to try to explain away his mother’s claim that she discovered a dead body in the dining room at her Dower house. The corpse has disappeared, and all she has to back up her claim is a bloodied bobble hat.  

For this case, Carol Hill - a happily married, pregnant Welsh woman in her thirties, stays at her home base to provide background information for the team, which she gleans with her excellent computing skills. Going undercover to Chellingworth Hall, set in the rolling Welsh countryside, to help out the worried duke are Christine Wilson-Smythe – the beautiful and brainy daughter of an Irish viscount, Mavis MacDonald – a widowed and retired army nurse, with grown sons and an aged, ailing mother all still living in her native Scotland, and Annie Parker – born of St Lucian parents within the sound of Bow Bells, so a true English cockney, with a knack for getting people to tell her almost anything. They are a force to be reckoned with, representing as they do the four Home Nations of Britain – Wales, Ireland, Scotland and England (hence the acronym) and being able to call upon an excellent set of complementary skills.

Here, set out on the author’s grandmother’s Welsh plaid wool blanket, are what the women would like to sip, and even nibble as they do so. Carol’s pregnant, so she’s choosing a cool glass of milk (though she’d prefer a pint of dark mild ale); for Christine, it’s champagne tastes on (thanks to her stellar career in the City of London) champagne money; Mavis enjoys a not-so- wee dram of the good stuff when she has a chance to relax, which isn’t often; for Annie it’s always a G&T, and her preference is for Beefeater Dry London Gin – of course! So, Iechyd da! Sláinte! Sláinte! and Cheers! from the women of the WISE Enquiries Agency. 

THE CASE OF THE DOTTY DOWAGER will be released on July 1^st, but is pre-ordering at all bookstores and online now. And asking your local librarian to order it is always an option.  

Born and raised in Swansea, South Wales, Cathy Ace is the author of the Cait Morgan Mysteries. Her new series is The WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries – featuring four female professional investigators, one of whom is Welsh, one Irish, one Scottish and one English (hence the acronym). They tackle quirky British cases from their base at a Welsh stately home – the ancient seat of the Twyst family, the Dukes of Chellingworth, which is set in the rolling countryside of the Wye Valley in Powys, Wales, near the picturesque village of Anwen-by-Wye. Cathy lives in Beautiful British Columbia, where her ever-supportive husband, and two chocolate Labradors, make sure she’s able to work full-time as an author, and enjoy her other passion – gardening.

Website: www.cathyace.com

Facebook: Cathy Ace – Author

Twitter: @AceCathy

You can see Cathy Ace's other Drinks with Reads posts here, here and here. 

G&T with The Corpse with the Sapphire Eyes

Today Cathy Ace is matching her new book, The Corpse with the Sapphire Eyes, with the perfect drink. This is Cathy's third Drinks with Reads. The first was for The Corpse with the Platinum Hair, and the second, The Corpse with the Emerald Thumb. And now for The Corpse with the Sapphire Eyes.

“Generally speaking, I believe that when life gives you lemons you should make yourself a large gin and tonic….” These are the opening words of THE CORPSE WITH THE SAPPHIRE EYES, the fifth Cait Morgan Mystery by Cathy Ace, in which Cait Morgan and Bud Anderson arrive from Canada at the quirky Welsh castle that’s the venue for their wedding. But things don’t go quite as planned: the weather does its best to drench and freeze them; the wind carries noises and voices through the drafty corridors in a most alarming manner; then there’s the dead body of the choirmaster at the foot of the stairs to contend with.

Opinions as to what makes the perfect gin and tonic vary widely. Because gin is such a complex spirit, many utilizing dozens of herbs and flavours in their make-up, some drinkers will claim one is too perfumed, while another is bland. Then there’s the tonic, where the same arguments play out. Too sweet? Too much bitter quinine taste? Finally, there’s the right ratio – for you. It’s tough to find the gin and tonic that’s right for you, but it’s worth it. Trial and error will pay off.

For Cait Morgan, hers is a Bombay Sapphire gin with Canada Dry tonic. How appropriate that a Welsh Canadian professor of criminal psychology who specialises in victim profiling should be drinking Canada Dry (yes, groan-worthy pun intended) in Wales, when a sapphire-eyed corpse threatens to ruin what should be the best weekend of her life. Why not settle down with YOUR favourite G&T? Cheers, and happy reading.

THE CORPSE WITH THE SAPPHIRE EYES is the fifth Cait Morgan Mystery from bestselling, and now Bony Blithe shortlisted, author Cathy Ace. You can find out more about Cathy, and Cait Morgan, at www.cathyace.com

Facebook: Cathy Ace – Author

Twitter: @AceCathy

Crimefest UK 2016 - A Newbie's View

Crimefest is a crime fiction fan convention held in Bristol, UK every year and author extraordinaire, Cathy Ace has just returned home. But before she unpacked, she sent us this report. You won't want to miss her Crimefest tales -- including a special encounter with Poirot's favorite sidekick. You may remember seeing one of Cathy's fabulous Drinks with Reads posts. Before we get started, I'd like to thank Cathy, Ali Karim, Severn House Publishers and Detectives Beyond Borders for the use of the photos.  

I’ve attended Bouchercon, Left Coast Crime, and Malice Domestic before now, but this year was my first chance to attend the UK’s CrimeFest  – and it was quite an experience. Held at the Bristol Royal Marriott Hotel, the comfy lounges, grand marbled bar and delightful Palm Court made for a delightful setting for this event which takes place each May. The first event was held in 2006 as a Left Coast Crime convention, which was then taken to the heart of the British crime-writing fraternity and has run each year since 2008. It’s an informal way for authors, readers, reviewers, publishers and agents to get together and discuss their favourite topic – CRIME!

Even before I arrived in Bristol I enjoyed a super evening at Morgan’s Hotel in Swansea where I was the honoured guest of a wonderful tour of 23 visitors from the US who’d been on a week-long tour of my homeland, Wales, visiting sites of interest to all, and especially those who like places connected with crime fiction. I was able to talk to them about how Dylan Thomas (from Swansea, like me) inspired me to write and was delighted to see so many familiar faces, including Bill and Toby Gottfried as well as Caroline Todd, in the group. 

Photo by Cathy Ace

CrimeFest itself was Busy (yes, with a capital B!) I was fortunate to appear on one panel where my moderator was James Runcie (who writes the Sidney Chambers books upon which the TV series Grantchester is based) and another where I shared the panel with the hilarious Ragnar Jonasson (he writes dark, Icelandic closed circle mysteries) and Dick Francis’ son Felix, who carries his father’s writing torch with great aplomb. 

My UK publisher, Severn House Publishers, hosted a dinner for almost a dozen of their authors, and I really enjoyed getting to know Delores Gordon-Smith, who writes super Golden Age mysteries.

Photo courtesy of Severn House Publishers

The table taking sign-ups for Bouchercon 2017, which will be held in Toronto (come on…you know you want to attend!) was delightfully busy. Thanks to Helen Nelson, Janet Costello and Chris Aldridge for their hours of sitting and telling folks all about the great time we’ll be having in Canada next year (here with Ali Karim). 

Photo courtesy of Ali Karim

Peter Davison (who not only played Doctor Who and Tristan Farnon in All Creatures Great and Small, but also Marjorie Allingham’s Albert Campion in the TV series based upon her work) presented the Marjory Allingham short story award to Peter Guttridge in the stunning Palm Court room.  

Photo courtesy of Ali Karim

Ian Rankin gave an excellent interview: he finds characters names the same way I do…find a surname and first name that work well for the character, then check it out on google in case anyone with that name pops up as being well-known or powerful enough to bother with a lawsuit, and, if there isn’t anyone, go for it! 

Photo courtesy of Peter Rozovsky of Detectives Beyond Borders

The final banquet on Saturday night was hosted by actor Hugh Fraser, known to most of us as Captain Hastings from the wonderful series of Poirot adaptations. Unable to find anywhere to store his belongings when he arrived I came to the rescue and offered my room – so, yes, Captain Hastings has been in my hotel room – twice! Beat that for a conference tidbit! 

Hugh Fraser (Captain Hastings on Poirot) with Cathy Ace, photo: Miranda Burfield

Cathy Ace is the author of The Cait Morgan Mysteries (TouchWood Editions) and The WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries (Severn House Publishers). You can find Cathy on 

Facebook and Twitter: @AceCathy.

Dispatches from Crime Fest UK with Cathy Ace

Cathy Ace & Ann Cleeves

Cathy Ace, author of the Cait Morgan and WISE Enquiries Agency mysteries, joins us today from Bristol, UK where she's been at Crimefest. She's published eleven mysteries between the two series. Cathy was a finalist for not one, but two prestigious awards this year. Her novel, The Corpse with the Garnet Face (Cait Morgan Mystery #7) was a finalist for the 2017 Bony Blithe Award for Best Canadian Light Mystery. And her short story, Steve’s Story, which appears in The Whole She Bang 3, published by Sisters in Crime Toronto, has been shortlisted for Best Short Story in the 2017 Arthur Ellis Awards for Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing. Cathy is one of our favorites here at Mystery Playground, check out her Drinks with Reads posts. 

CrimeFest UK is a fan and author convention which celebrates crime writing. Fiction and non-fiction authors abound, and it’s a relatively small convention where the informal rubbing of shoulders is encouraged. Friendly authors and keen readers huddle in the rightly-famous bar until the wee hours, sharing their love of all things criminal (in a good way, you understand). 2017 is the ninth year the convention’s been held; it grew out of an association with Left Coast Crime and has taken on a vigorous life of its own.

Pub Quiz Teams in Action

This was my second year to attend CrimeFest UK, and I enjoyed it even more than last year. This might have been because I better understood what to expect, or maybe because I just felt more “at home” with the people who are, it turns out, habitual attendees. The Pub Quiz was great fun again – this time held in the magnificent Palm Court at the convention hotel (The Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel) and, once again, I was lucky enough to be on the winning team (it must be admitted that any team with Martin Edwards on it is likely to win!).

 Panel discussing sub-genres – L to R – Parker Bilal, Felix Francis, Cathy Ace, Christopher Fowler, Barbara Nadel.

I also sat on a fun panel about what “cozy” means (it seems most conventions have such a panel, probably because it’s such a knotty topic) and was honored to be chosen to moderate a panel this year too. A first for me at CrimeFest UK, it meant I discovered two new-to-me authors, and had an excuse to read books by two other authors whose work I enjoy. We all write across various sub-genres, and we had a terrific conversation about what constitutes a “sub-genre”. We all agreed that, whilst we might not care for being labelled, we see the market necessity for such shorthand terms. (NB: no blood was spilled during either panel.)

I was delighted to meet Peter Lovesey, whose work I have always admired and enjoyed. I was able to meet him and chat, as well as take the chance to get him to sign a copy of a book I’ve had since it was published in 1990. Why present him with such a relic? Well, it was an anthology for which he wrote the introduction and within which he had two short stories, and it was also the book in which the first short story I ever wrote was re-anthologized (it having been published a year earlier for the first time). The slim volume entitled “Thrillers” was published specifically for the UK’s GCSE English language syllabus (the exams all 16 year-olds take in the UK) and I was utterly thrilled (yes, sorry, pun intended) when my work was selected to sit alongside stories by Ruth Rendell, Dick Francis, Elizabeth Ferrars and Peter, amongst others. It was a special moment for me to meet Peter, and one I shall always cherish, because that was the short story that got me started: it was found on a bookshelf by BBC producers and broadcast on BBC Radio 4 in 2007…and that’s what made me want to write more, and believe I could give it a try!

I also enjoyed the company of Ann Cleeves, whose wonderful Vera Stanhope and Shetland books both inspire me, and sometimes make me wonder why I ever bother to write another sentence, they are so stunningly well- written.

All in all, it was a fun convention for me – and I thoroughly enjoyed the banquet for which we all got gussied up. One of my panel members, Felix Francis (yes, son of the aforementioned Dick – both excellent writers – if you liked his father’s work you’ll also like his) escorted me along the red carpet.

Until next year (yes, I have already booked!).

You can find Cathy on Facebook and Twitter: @AceCathy

She also has great book club guides for her series. 

THE CORPSE WITH THE GOLDEN NOSE AND THE HOLIDAY CHAMPAGNE COCKTAIL

Cathy Ace, author of the Cait Morgan and WISE Enquiries Agency mysteries, joins us today on Drinks with Reads to celebrate The Corpse with the Golden Nose .  Cathy is one of our favorites here at Mystery Playground, check out her other Drinks with Reads posts.

“There needs to be a new vocabulary invented for all those of us over forty-five—or, in Bud’s case, over fifty—who are beginning new relationships. It’s not as though there aren’t a lot of us, after all, and it can’t be just me who feels uncomfortable about it. Right?”

Cait Morgan, in The Corpse with the Golden Nose by Cathy Ace

(Cait Morgan Mysteries #2)

In The Corpse with the Golden Nose Welsh Canadian professor of criminal psychology, Cait Morgan finds herself in a difficult position: she’s agreed to help her new “beau/boyfriend/manfriend” Bud Anderson look into the suicide of his grief-buddy, but Cait doesn’t believe it was a suicide at all. Nevertheless, she travels with him to the picturesque heart of British Columbia’s wine country where she meets a group of vintners and restaurateurs who are – to say the least – “quirky”.

Bud believes he’s trying to help a friend come to terms with her understandable grief; Cait believes she’s on the hunt for a murderer. Soon there’s another tragedy, and she’s finally able to convince Bud she might have been right to believe they’ve been mixing with a group of people amongst whom a killer is hiding.

Each chapter of this book, described by The Globe and Mail as having “…touches of Christie or Marsh but with a bouquet of Kinsey Millhone”, is titled for what Cait drinks within it – so you can drink along with the book! crimefictionlover.com called it ““Agatha Christie set in the modern world, with great wallops of lovingly described food and drink” and there’s certainly no shortage of meals served as Cait and Bud try to solve the case – so you won’t have to drink on an empty stomach!

Maybe you’d like to try this Holiday Champagne Cocktail as a suitable accompaniment to your reading? The book is set over the Easter period, but if your nights are drawing in, and you fancy snuggling in front of a roaring fire with a cozy throw – and read – try this recipe.

Squash a few fresh cranberries between your thumb and forefinger and drop them into a champagne glass of your choosing

Add a measure of Chambord (a sweet, raspberry liqueur - add more if you like a sweeter drink)

Top up with chilled sparkling wine/champagne

The tartness of the cranberries works well with the sweetness of the raspberries – and it’s a true flavour of the Holiday Season. Cheers!

If you’d like to find out more about Cathy Ace and her Cait Morgan Mysteries, you can do so here:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cathy-Ace-Author-318388861616661/

Twitter: @AceCathy

The Wise Women, A Welsh Wedding and the Dewi Sant

One of our favorite and most prolific Drinks with Reads authors, Cathy Ace, is back today pairing her new book, The Case of the Missing Morris Dancer with the perfect drink. This novel is the second of the WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries and will be released on February 1st 2016. You can see all of Cathy Ace's other Drinks with Reads posts here.


In THE CASE OF THE MISSING MORRIS DANCER, the four women of the WISE Enquiries Agency try to work out why Aubrey Morris, a key player in the Morris Dancing troupe that’s supposed to lead the soon-to-be-married Duke of Chellingworth and his new Duchess from the church to their country seat, has disappeared. The clock is ticking, as, without the Morris dancers, local tradition states the fertility of the marriage will not fare well – and Henry, eighteenth Duke of Chellingworth, needs an heir. 

Carol Hill – a happily pregnant Welsh computer whizz, Christine Wilson-Smythe – the young and beautiful daughter of an Irish viscount, Mavis MacDonald – a retired Scottish army nurse who doesn’t suffer fools at all, and Annie Parker – a true Cockney born of St. Lucian parents with a mouth as wide the Thames, plus their honorary additional member Althea Twyst – the dowager duchess whose presumed dottiness brought them to the Welsh countryside where they have made their home, work together as an effective team of softly-boiled PIs intent upon saving the day.

When asked what the Welsh drink, the usual answer is “anything”. As a Welsh woman, I can attest to this being the truth! Unlike the Irish, the Scots, or the English, it’s true that the Welsh don’t produce, and aren’t known for favoring, one particular type of alcoholic beverage other than a range of beers, from pale to stout, with dark mild being almost unique to Wales. 

For those with a desire to taste a drink that might well be served at the wedding of a Welsh Duke being held on Saint David’s Day (March 1st) I therefore offer the Dewi Sant (that’s Saint David, in Welsh) which is one of three cocktails created by Armand Wysocki, Bar Manager at Donovan Bar, Browns Hotel in London as part of the St David's Day celebratory menu there, using Penderyn Sherrywood single malt whisky from Wales’s only distillery. If you can’t get Penderyn whisky then you have no choice but to “go international” and either use a Scottish or English single malt whisky, or an Irish single malt whiskey…note that the Irish have an extra “e”. Whichever of the four Home Nations you select as your source, try to choose a single malt that’s been kissed by a sherry cask. 

A drink fit for a duke, a duchess, a dowager and the WISE Women. Iechyd da! (Cheers, in Welsh, pronounced yeah-key dah.)

DEWI SANT
50ml Penderyn Sherrywood single malt whisky
25ml Sweet Vermouth
Orange bitters
Dash of sugars/simple syrup 

The Method: Put all ingredients into a martini mixing-glass with ice and stir well.  Strain into a glass. Add garnish of an orange slice or lemon slice (I prefer orange). 

(To make your own sugars/simple syrup: use two parts water to one part sugar. Bring the water to a boil. Dissolve the sugar into the boiling water, stirring constantly. Once the sugar is dissolved completely, remove the pan from the heat. Note: Do not allow the syrup to boil for too long or the syrup will be too thick once it cools. Allow to cool completely and thicken, then bottle.)

BIO NOTES: 

Born and raised in Swansea, South Wales, Cathy Ace is the author of the Bony Blithe Award-winning Cait Morgan Mysteries. Her new series is The WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries – featuring four female professional investigators, one of whom is Welsh, one Irish, one Scottish and one English (hence the acronym). They tackle quirky British cases from their base at a Welsh stately home – the ancient seat of the Twyst family, the Dukes of Chellingworth, set in the rolling countryside of the Wye Valley in Powys, Wales, near the picturesque village of Anwen-by-Wye. Cathy lives in beautiful British Columbia, where her ever-supportive husband, and two chocolate Labradors, make sure she’s able to work full-time as an author and enjoy her other passion – gardening.

Website: http://cathyace.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cathy-Ace-Author-318388861616661/
Twitter: @AceCathy

The Case of the Unsuitable Suitor and PIMMS No. 1 Cup

Cathy Ace, author of the WISE Enqueries Agency Mysteries and the Cait Morgan Mysteries, is back with us with another wonderful novel and beverage. Cathy’s short stories have appeared in multiple anthologies. Two of her works, “Dear George” and “Domestic Violence”, have also been produced by Jarvis & Ayres Productions as “Afternoon Reading” broadcasts for BBC Radio 4.

Cathy won the 2015 Bony Blithe Award for Best Canadian Light Mystery (for THE CORPSE WITH THE PLATINUM HAIR) and was shortlisted again in 2017 (for THE CORPSE WITH THE GARNET FACE). “Steve’s Story”, which appears in The Whole She Bang 3, published by Sisters in Crime Toronto, was shortlisted for Best Short Story in the 2017 Arthur Ellis Awards for Excellence in Canadian Crime Writing.

Cathy is proud to be Chair of Crime Writers of Canada,  a member of Sisters in Crime, the Crime Writers Association, and Mystery Writers of America.

You can see Cathy's other Mystery Playground posts here and catch her on Twitter @AceCathy and Facebook. 

Now let's get to that book and drink...


In THE CASE OF THE UNSUITABLE SUITOR, readers are transported to the idyllic Welsh village of Anwen-by-Wye, where Henry Devereaux Twyst is terribly worried about the impact that an outbreak of mole activity will have on the annual croquet tournament that’s due to take place between the Chellingworth Champs (a team comprising those who live and work at stately Chellingworth Hall) and the Anwen Allcomers (those who live and work in the village).

It’s the height of the summer in Wales, and the croquet match is on everyone’s mind – though pub landlord Tudor Evans seems rather more worried about the village’s prodigal, Huw Hughes, who’s returned and set his cap at Annie Parker. Tudor approaches Carol Hill and Mavis MacDonald at the WISE Enquiries Agency, begging them to investigate exactly why the interloper Huw has been widowed three times, because he believes Annie’s life might be in danger. They agree, and – with the help of doughty dowager duchess Althea Twyst – they aim to unearth the truth. They also become embroiled in investigating a worrying case of vandalism, a bout of sickness which blights the village, and the death of the local doctor.

While the WISE women tackle their cases without her, Christine Wilson-Smythe is visiting her family’s estate in rural Ireland, hoping for a quiet break with her beau, the darkly handsome – if dangerous – Alexander Bright…but the pair is dragged into a dangerous situation involving illegal potcheen and some definitely unsavory types.

It’s clear that rural life isn’t the idyll it’s often cracked up to be in this, the fourth outing for Cathy Ace’s popular WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries.

When it comes to a drink to accompany this book, it’s August in Anwen, so a refreshing, gluggable drink is needed. Some think of Pimms as quintessentially English, and this book is set in Wales (and Ireland), but it’s drunk everywhere these days. 

PIMMS No.1 CUP
(NB: there other Pimms numbered cups, and specially flavoured cups – you can check them out online.)

Pimms is an odd drink, and as British as the women of the WISE Enquiries Agency. Synonymous with languid British summer days it’s the perfect refresher when the temperature soars. Pimms No. 1 is a fruit cup – created by infusing gin with lots of botanicals. It was invented in 1840 by a man named Pimm who spotted that people stayed longer at his hostlery when they sipped, instead of downing, their gin. It can be drunk just mixed with lemonade (it really should be the clear, sweet, British-style of lemonade, not the cloudy, sharper, North American style of lemonade), or can be made with gin, which is where its base flavor comes from. For glugging on a hot afternoon, try it just with lemonade. The addition of strawberries and/or mint in the jug, and glass, is preferable, but Cathy Ace says the addition of cucumber is absolutely ESSENTIAL to give the classic Pimms taste.

RECIPE:
Pimms No. 1 cup   - one bottle
Lemonade – 2 bottles
One cucumber
Strawberries (optional)
Mint sprigs (optional)
Ice

In a large jug, place a lot of ice, about one quarter of a cucumber, sliced thinly, and several strawberries, also sliced thinly.
Pour half a bottle of Pimms No. 1 cup into the jug
Pour an entire bottle of lemonade into the jug
Stir slowly and allow to chill
Pour over ice and top the glass with a wedge of cucumber, a strawberry, and a sprig of mint (if desired)
Repeat with another jug!!!
Cheers, folks!

Murder Keeps No Calendar and The Negroni with Cathy Ace

One of our favorite authors, Welsh-born, now Canadian Cathy Ace, has launched a new collection of novellas and short stories based on the calendar. Cathy Ace is the author of the Cait Morgan Mysteries and the WISE Enquiries Agency Mysteries. Winner of the 2015 Bony Blithe Award for Best Canadian Light Mystery, she was a finalist again in 2017, the same year she was a finalist for the Arthur Ellis Award for Best Short Story. Her new collection is just in time for the new year.  

December 18^th sees the launch of a collection of novella and short stories that allow Cathy Ace to do something her readers have been asking her to do for some time – she gets the chance to share how Cait Morgan met Bud Anderson, and how the women of the WISE Enquiries Agency decided to set up in business together. Not only that, but she also gets the chance to introduce readers to a new character she hopes they’ll warm to – Detective Inspector Evan Glover of the Glamorgan Police Service, and his wife Betty…whose insights are not something he exactly relies upon, but he’s absolutely prepared to admit they help him out sometimes. 

Beyond these murderously good tales, she also brings standalone shorts and novellas, a total of eight novellas and four short stories, each connected with one month of the year, and all with something in common – MURDER! 

One of the novellas takes readers on a journey to Florence, with Doug Rossi, a chip shop owner from south west Scotland who’s won the lottery, and decides it’s time to find out what his grandfather left behind when he migrated decades earlier. Unfortunately he gets a bit more experience of Italy – and the Italian reality of vendetta – than he’d bargained for. Here’s a brief introduction to Doug:

“Doug Rossi considered himself a lucky man: he’d been born to a loving couple; raised in a small but caring community on the west coast of Scotland; married his childhood sweetheart, and ran a well-established family business – Rossi’s Fish and Chips – with a prime location on the seafront.

Most other people in the village considered Doug cursed: he was the only child of five siblings to survive infancy; his fisherman father had been lost at sea when Doug was very young, leaving his mother to run a foundering chip shop alone, then she had died just weeks after his eighteenth birthday; his wife of seventeen years had recently been killed when her car hit a stray cow and – to top it all – the local council was insisting Doug make thousands of pounds’ worth of alterations to his ramshackle chip shop, or be closed down.

As Doug always said: it was how you looked at a thing that made it what it was, and if you just took the bitter with the sweet, it would usually all work out for the best. In the end.”

Whilst chatting with a mysterious woman at his Florentine hotel, Doug is encouraged to try a Negroni. She suggests he takes it lengthened with soda, to allow it to be more suitable as an afternoon quencher, rather than the aperitif it usually is. So what’s it like? Let Doug tell you:

“He sipped the reddish liquid with care, unsure what to expect. His taste buds felt as though they were about to burst; the drink was fragrant and, at first, sweet at the front of his tongue, and on his lips. Then, as he swallowed, a wave of intense bitterness hit him; his mouth felt cleansed. The singed orange peel balanced on the edge of the glass gave the experience an extra dimension, the pungent oils settling in his nose and making the flavor of the drink even more complex.

‘It’s like a wee work of art in a glass,’ he said quietly, addressing the drink itself, more than the woman opposite. 

She sat back and looked at Doug through narrowed eyes. ‘You understand what is difficult. Complicated. This is good. So, why you come here, in Firenze?’”

So, if you fancy an anthology that’s going to give you some wonderful background insights into characters you might already know, as well as introducing you to characters who will be around more in the future, this is a great one for you. Two of the stories in it have already been produced for BBC Radio 4…and there are settings to please everyone, too; come to Canada to be with Cait when she meets Bud, to Wales to meet Evan and Betty Glover, to London where the four women meet who will set up the WISE Enquiries Agency, to Shanghai in the 1930s, a tea shop in an Oxfordshire village, meet a fledgling PI in the Kentish city of Dover, or enjoy Florence with Doug and the mysterious woman he meets over a Negroni. And try a Negroni yourself – it’s an unusual, fabulous taste, as Cathy can attest – but be aware it’s very much a “love it or hate it” sort of drink.

The Negroni

This drink was invented at Casoni Bar in Florence in the 1920s, and recipes don’t vary too much. This one is tried, tested, and loved. You can add as much soda as you like to lengthen the drink, but if you add more soda water than the total quantity of the alcohol, the flavor changes a great deal. You have been warned!

One part Bombay Sapphire gin (or your favorite gin)

One part Cinzano Rosso (or any sweet vermouth)

One part Campari (no substitutes for this one!)

Shake with ice, strain over ice in a tumbler, or stir over ice in a stirring jar

Either place a slice of orange in the drink, or, if you have the time, take the rind from a slice of orange and singe it with a lighter, placing it on the edge of the glass, not in the drink.

You may add soda water if you wish.

As the Italians would say, “Cin, cin!”

You can find Cathy on Facebook and Twitter @AceCathy. The book is on Kindle and print. 

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The New York Champagne Cocktail and THE CORPSE WITH THE RUBY LIPS

Cathy Ace is here to match her latest book - The Corpse with the Ruby Lips - to the perfect drink. Cathy has the distinction of being our most frequent Drinks with Reads contributor. You can find links to all of her posts at the bottom of the blog. 

First, a bit about the book: in THE CORPSE WITH THE RUBY LIPS, Cait Morgan is teaching a semester of courses in criminal psychology at the Hungarian University of Budapest. Without her beloved husband, Bud, at her side (he’s in Canada helping his mom recuperate from hip surgery) she finds herself feeling isolated and lonely. Bud discovers he’s ill-suited to nursing duties, and is bored to tears. 

Thus, with the aim of giving her husband something to keep his mind occupied, Cait takes up the challenge presented to her by a Hungarian student, Zsófia Takacs, to look into a cold case from the 1970s.  Zsófia’s grandmother was murdered on Cait’s own campus back in Canada but no one was ever arrested, and Cait is intrigued. Bud’s onboard in a heartbeat, and enjoys discussing the case with old colleagues from his time with the RCMP, but he’s warned off by some well-connected folks who “work for the Canadian government”.

As Cait becomes tangled in the web of denial, deceit and distrust being spun by Zsófia’s bizarre family, she wonders if she’s becoming paranoid…or is she really being followed as she visits some of Budapest’s iconic landmarks? Maybe it’s too much rich food. Maybe it’s the unwanted attention of a colleague at the university who smiles just a little too much. Or is it just the atmosphere created by zither music and gypsy violins? Whatever is causing her unease, Cait tries to ignore the signs she’s in more danger than ever before, until...

And now the drink: to pair with this tale of a cold case possibly linked to the Cold War set in a fascinating city with a troubled past, try the signature cocktail from one of the places Cait dines in Budapest, and where  Zsófia invites her to look into her grandmother’s death – the world-renowned New York Café. Built at the height of the Austro-Hungarian Empire it’s an awe-inspiring building where the chefs now lead the way in modern interpretations of traditional Hungarian cuisine. 

The mango syrup in this cocktail offsets the sour Campari, giving the drink a unique, complex flavor. An intriguing cocktail from a complicated city – totally delicious, and absolutely suited to this book. 

The New York Champagne Cocktail 

Ingredients: 

Campari, mangó szirup, pezsgő 

Campari, mango syrup (not mango puree), champagne

Add 1oz of chilled Campari, ½ ounce of chilled mango syrup to a chilled champagne glass, top up with chilled champagne. Works well as an aperitif, or with fruit (especially strawberries). 

Egészségedre! 

(That’s Cheers! in Hungarian, and is pronounced “eggy sheggy drey”.)

THE CORPSE WITH THE RUBY LIPS is the eighth Cait Morgan Mystery by Cathy Ace. You can connect with Cathy in the following ways:

Web: http://cathyace.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cathy-Ace-Author-318388861616661/

Twitter: @AceCathy

Here are links to all of Cathy's Drinks with Reads posts:

The Corpse with the Emerald Thumb and Lime Margaritas

The Corpse with the Diamond Hand and Mai Tais

The Corpse with the Garnet Face and The Holland Gin Cocktail 

The Corpse with the Sapphire Eyes and the Gin and Tonic

The Corpse with the Platinum Hair and the Tsar!Tini

The Case of the Missing Morris Dancer and the Dewi Sant

The Case of the Dotty Dowager and "Tipples"