Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Bran New Death by Victoria Hamilton: Tuesday Intro


"As a metaphor for my life, the crossroads rocked. I sat in my rented Chevy, glaring at the GPS screen, then got out of the vehicle and looked around. On one side of me was an evergreen forest, into which one road descended, and on the other was a rocky prominence, the highway cutting through it like a kebab skewer through shish."

Bran New Death by Victoria Hamilton 

This first "Merry Muffin Mystery" had me hooked enough to share on First Chapter, First Paragraph hosted every Tuesday by Diane at Bibliophile By The Sea.

I liked that the protagonist was at a crossroads in her life, felt lost in many ways, but kept her humor. I'm currently on page 70 and hope to finish within the week. This cozy has an authentic feel. The village could have been romanticized but is not; similar to the Lois Meade mysteries by Ann Pursur.

I made a batch of pumpkin muffins over the weekend after being inspired by this mystery. To cut fat, I replaced butter with starfruit and they turned out great. Maybe I'll share later. Starfruit grows plentiful here in Hawaii and is often at our local farmer's markets.

If you have a blog, take the banner below and follow along! How's your reading this week?

8 comments:

  1. Sounds great! I hope you enjoy it!

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    1. Mahalo, Pat! So far so good. I better read fast. A box of new cozy mysteries just arrived today from Amazon.

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  2. That's a great opening, no wonder you wanted to share it this week! The muffins sound good, too. Didn't know you could bake with starfruit, but I'm all for cutting down fat.

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    1. Hi JoAnn - Thanks for the welcome back today on your blog post!

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  3. Hi Rob, thanks for joining in this week. I like the intro -- enjoy and thanks again for stopping by.

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    1. Aloha Diane, My pleasure and I'll be back again.

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  4. I like the opening. I love cozies, especially the ones featuring food. I'm interested in your muffins and starfish. I usually substitute apple sauce for the fat. Now you have me curious about the starfish.

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    1. Aloha Margot - I just added your blog to my list. We use applesauce too in place of butter. Jeff read about someone replacing it with starfruit. We grated a cup to add and it worked great. I'll post the recipe soon. Aloha, Rob

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Ho'ola'i na manu i ke aheahe

"The birds poise quietly in the gentle breeze."
Said of those who are at peace with the world, undisturbed and contented.