Friday, March 8, 2019

Fatality in F ~ Lone Star Book Blog Tours Review & Giveaway!

FATALITY IN F
A Gethsemane Brown Mystery, Volume 4 
by
Alexia Gordon
Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Publisher: Henery Press
Date of Publication: February 26, 2019
Number of Pages: 234

Scroll down for the giveaway!

Fresh from solving her third mystery—and saving Dunmullach's firstborn males from a vengeful ghost—Gethsemane Brown's ready to relax and enjoy her summer. Her plans include nothing more dangerous than performing in the opening ceremony of the annual rose and garden show and cheering on Frankie Grennan, who's entered his hybrid rose into the competition.

But when a mysterious stalker starts leaving Frankie floral bouquets as coded messages, Gethsemane fears a copy-cat may be planning to recreate the still-unsolved murders of the infamous Flower Shop Killer. Then Frankie's main competitor in the rose show—and the reason his marriage failed—turns up dead in Frankie's rose garden. Frankie takes first prize in the category "prime suspect.”

So much for a relaxing summer. 

As bodies start dropping like rose petals, Gethsemane must judge the other suspects and find the real killer. Or rose bushes won't be the only things dead-headed in Dunmullach.


PRAISE FOR THE GETHSEMANE BROWN MYSTERY SERIES:

Book 1, Murder in G Major
Winner of the 2017 Lefty Award for Best Debut Novel
2016 Agatha Award nominee for Best First Novel
Suspense magazine "Best of 2016" selection in Debut Novel category

Book 2, Death in D Minor
Runner-Up, 2017 Lone Star Bloggers' Choice Awards, Best Mystery

Book 3, Killing in C Sharp
Starred review, Publisher's Weekly, January 29, 2018

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HALL WAYS REVIEW: Audio book review. When Fatality in F first came on the Lone Star Book Blog Tours radar, I knew I would read it. After all, I have been a fan from the beginning of the Gethsemane Brown Mysteries series, and there was no way I’d miss this fourth book.  But as home and work responsibilities stacked up, finding time to read any book didn’t seem promising – until I saw the book was coming on Audible. I bought and downloaded that sucker the minute the notification showed up on pub day – and I listened straight through.

Fatality in F is the first of the four books that I have read with my ears instead of my eyes. Initially, I had to adjust to having a British narrator. Gethsemane, after all, is a southern American woman, and so I expected American narration. Once the surprise passed, it was easy to listen to the delightful Helen Duff switch between characters using a variety of accents to bring author Alexia Gordon’s characters to life.  A second shock was the voicing of Gethsemane herself – southern, yes, but also sensual and sultry! This is not at all how I hear her in my own head. Because of that, Gethsemane’s voice is a tougher adjustment because narrator Duff’s voicing evokes a different impression than what’s made in the written word -- and it is hard to reconcile them. However, I imagine listeners jumping-in and starting the series here won’t bat an eye. The narration is wonderfully done, flows smoothly, and the pacing was on-point. I left the speed at 1.0x and never regretted it.

Speaking of jumping-in to the series with Fatality in F – jump away! This and the other books that I have read in the series stand-alone just fine. I will note that there is mention of some of the reasons that Gethsemane is living in Ireland, and hearing those piqued my interest in going back and reading the first book, Murder in G Major, also available on Audible. Yes!

“Never make light of a man’s loathing.”

There is always a huge cast of characters in the books, but Gordon masterfully introduces them slowly, and each is memorable and seemingly capable of murder. Readers have their work cut out for them in trying to solve the mystery before Gethsemane does.  The setting in Fatality in F centers around a rose and garden show, so FLOWERS! I am all about the flowers!  Would I murder over them? Hmmm. *sips coffee, looks at nineteen flowering house plants, ponders*

“Friends don’t let friends fall prey to womanizers
with more ex-wives than Methuselah had years.”

Everything about the Gethsemane Brown series and Fatality in F is clever: the plot, the premise, and even the perpetrator(s).  The writing is intelligent, with rich word choices and complex sentences. But the author doesn’t let it get too cerebral and includes a smattering of hilarious words to provide levity and make the characters’ personalities pulse to life. (Favorites include “gobshite,” “gobtrotter,” and “wanker.”) And everything is quirky: Gethsemane’s coping mechanism of citing Negro League baseball statistics, the Mad Rabbit pub, and the ghost of Eamon McCarthy are only a few examples. You won’t find a more unique grouping of elements to provide a completely satisfying reading experience.  I highly recommend Fatality in F and the whole series, whether you want to read with your eyes or ears.

I heard of this series from Lone Star Book Blog Tours and am adding my review to the tour, but I bought the audio book on my own, and there were no strings requiring I provide my honest opinion – the only kind I give.


A writer since childhood, Alexia Gordon won her first writing prize in the 6th grade. She continued writing through college but put literary endeavors on hold to finish medical school and Family Medicine residency training. She established her medical career then returned to writing fiction. Raised in the southeast, schooled in the northeast, she relocated to the west where she completed Southern Methodist University’s Writer’s Path program. She admits Texas brisket is as good as Carolina pulled pork. She practices medicine in North Chicago, IL. She enjoys the symphony, art collecting, embroidery, and ghost stories.

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GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!  GIVEAWAY!

One winner receives a signed copy of Fatality in F and 
a $30 Gift Card to David Austin Roses
FEBRUARY 26-MARCH 8, 2019
VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:
2/26/19
Sneak Peek
2/26/19
Playlist
2/27/19
Review
2/28/19
Review
3/1/19
Top 5 List
3/1/19
Author Interview
3/2/19
Review
3/3/19
Review
3/4/19
Top 5 List
3/4/19
Top 5 List
3/5/19
Review
3/6/19
Series Spotlight
3/6/19
Excerpt
3/7/19
Review
3/7/19
Review
3/8/19
BONUS Review

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