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WORK TITLE: Death and a Pot of Chowder: A Maine Murder Mystery
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S): Wait, Lea
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://www.leawait.com/
CITY:
STATE: ME
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
ADDRESS
CAREER
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly Apr. 23, 2018, review of Death and a Pot of Chowder: A Maine Murder Mystery. p. 65.
ONLINE
Lesa’s Book Critiques , https://lesasbookcritiques.blogspot.com (June 11, 2018), review of Death and a Pot of Chowder
Carries Book Reviews , https://carriesbookreviews.com (May 22, 2018 ), review of Death and a Pot of Chowder
Revised Origins, http://www.revisedorigins.me (July 10, 2018), review of Death and a Pot of Chowder
Who is Cornelia Kidd, and why is she writing Lea Wait’s Books?
Posted on June 12, 2018 by Lea Wait
Lea Wait, here. And it’s June 12 — launch day for Death and a Pot of Chowder, the first in my Maine Murder Mystery series. And, yes, it’s written by Cornelia Kidd.
There are many reasons an author writes under more than one name. That’s really the subject of another blog. (Hint: it’s usually the publisher’s decision.) But in this case, a special story goes along with my change of name.
Because Cornelia Kidd was my father’s mother.
Born in 1876, in Montgomery, New York, a farming community in Orange County, north of New York City along the Hudson River, in 1897 Cornelia married George Wait, a well-to-do local farmer. She was twenty-one and he was forty-three. They lived on his farm on the Walden Road, and by 1911 she had given birth to three children. Her second child, Thomas, had died.
Cornelia Kidd
On the evening of August 18, 1911, Cornelia and her husband and their two remaining children, Helen, aged thirteen, and George, who was three, got in their automobile to drive to Walden to hear the band concert.
According to The New York Times, “their automobile was struck by a train on the Wallkill Valley Railroad … about two miles from Montgomery, where there is a sharp curve. It was dark when the machine approached the crossing. Mr. Wait was driving about fifteen miles an hour up the slight incline to the track, and apparently did not hear the train approaching. The automobile was squarely upon the tracks when it was hit.”
Both children were thrown about twenty feet from the track, and sustained numerous cuts and bruises, but survived. Cornelia was thrown in front of the train, which ran over her. Her husband’s body was found under the wrecked automobile.
In 1911 automobiles were relatively new, and no signals marked where roads crossed railroad tracks. (During the following four years three other people died in similar accidents in the same location.) The Times also reported that during the three previous months several serious auto accidents had taken place at other crossings near New York City.
If such an accident happened today the area would quickly be swarming with police, ambulances and tow trucks, along with investigators. What happened in 1911?
According, again, to the Times, “The train was quickly stopped and the crew and passengers ran back. As they approached the crossing they heard the crying of children and found them at the side of the track. Not far away was the mangled body of Mrs. Wait. At the side of the crossing was the smashed automobile and underneath it the body of Mr. Wait. The train was run to Walden with the bodies and the children.”
Cornelia’s three-year old son, George, was my father. His sister, Helen, was taken in by their Uncle Charles, but no one in the family wanted George, so another uncle rented the family’s farm to an assortment of different people during the next fifteen years, on the condition that they also take care of George. That, too, is another story.
But when I was asked by my new publisher, Crooked Lane, to choose a pseudonym, I decided to honor the grandmother I had never met, and use her name for The Maine Murder Series. I know more about how Cornelia died than about how she lived, but these books are a tribute to her.
If you’d like to find out more about Death and a Pot of Chowder, I’ll also be launching Cornelia’s first book with three other Crooked Lane authors — Eva Gates, J.G. Hetherton and R.J. Koreto — on a special Facebook page (CLB June 12 Launch) today. I’ll be there from 2 until 3 p.m. and from 6 until 7 p.m. Giveaways, sneak peaks, quizzes — and I’d be happy to answer any questions. See you there!
Maine author Cornelia Kidd, who also writes under the name Lea Wait, spent a wonderful summer on a Maine island when she was ten. Now she lives in a historic home on the banks of the Sheepscot River with her husband, artist Bob Thomas, where she cooks seafood, reads, writes, speaks to groups of all ages about writing, and, whenever possible, drinks champagne. This is her first Maine Murder mystery.
Death and a Pot of Chowder: A Maine Murder Mystery
Publishers Weekly. 265.17 (Apr. 23, 2018): p65.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Death and a Pot of Chowder: A Maine Murder Mystery
Cornelia Kidd. Crooked Lane, $26.99 (336p)
ISBN 978-1-68331-583-4
At the start of this entertaining series launch from the pseudonymous Kidd (who also writes as Lea Wait), Quarry Island, Maine, native Anna Winslow learns that she has a half-sister, Izzie Jordan, a recent culinary school graduate. Anna and Izzie meet in Portland, where they hit it off almost at once. Anna's joy at finding an unknown relative is soon tempered by the news of the drowning of her brother-in-law, Carl. When Carl's death is deemed a homicide and her lobsterman husband, Burt, becomes the prime suspect, Anna enlists Izzie's help in clearing Burt's name. Izzie--who also scopes out real estate for a new restaurant on the island--proves her worth, both as a sister and as a fellow sleuth, as the pair uncover hidden secrets in the small, close-knit working-class community. Kidd clearly knows coastal Maine and the details that make the inhabitants and the landscape unique. Though the reader might wish that Anna participated in more of the action, she and Izzie prove to be a formidable force, one that will easily sustain a series. Agent: John Talbott, Talbot Fortune Agency. June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Death and a Pot of Chowder: A Maine Murder Mystery." Publishers Weekly, 23 Apr. 2018, p. 65. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A536532884/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=bd524484. Accessed 25 July 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A536532884
Monday, June 11, 2018
Death and a Pot of Chowder by Cornelia Kidd
Under the pseudonym Cornelia Kidd, author Lea Wait launches another mystery series set in Maine. If the first in the series is an example, we're in for a delightful time. The first Maine Murder mystery is Death and a Pot of Chowder. Kidd is another author of a cozy mystery who manages to avoid the typical tropes of the first in a cozy series. Thank heavens.
At thirty-two, Anna Winslow has spent her entire life on Quarry Island. She has no regrets. She married her childhood sweetheart, Burt, who is a lobsterman. She's a stay-at-home wife and mother to their fourteen-year-old son, Jake. As she tells the story, she even reveals that when she and Burt lived on the other side of the small island for a short time, she was homesick for the side where she grew up with her mother, stepfather and grandmother. This small town woman is in for a rude awakening. She learns of a half-sister she never knew she had. And, there are shocking secrets on the island, a place where she thought she knew everyone and everything.
Anna never even knew her father's name until she receives a letter from Izzie Jordan saying she was Peter Jordan's other daughter. He had deserted her and her mother, and they were quickly divorced at a young age. Now, she'll never meet him, but now that he's dead, Izzie would like to meet Anna. Anna, who seldom even drives off island, heads to Portland to meet her. She learns Izzie has just graduated from the Culinary Institute of America, and is eager to find a small place to become a chef. That's about all she learns before Anna is called home. Burt's brother, Carl, went out in his boat, and is missing. When a lobsterman's boat is found, with him not on it, it's usually not a good sign. Izzie insists on returning to Quarry Island to help however she can.
The discovery of Carl's body leads to a shakeup in the small island community. Carl was murdered, and Burt was the last one heard to have a loud argument with his brother. Burt's under suspicion. Jake is acting odd. Anna is relieved that Izzie is willing to step up, help at the house with the cooking, and, most of all, act as support while offering an outsider's viewpoint as to who might have wanted to kill Carl. It seems there are a few reasons to want him dead, but Burt really does have the most reasons.
Death and a Pot of Chowder is a well-developed, character-driven story. It's obvious the author is experienced. She introduces sympathetic, unpretentious characters in a homespun story. Quarry Island and the small community come to life in the book. And, the two likable sisters, complementary characters, are a promising duo for future mysteries. There's an engaging setting, wonderful characters, and, hopefully, a long future for this new series.
Lea Wait's website is www.leawait.com
By Carrie on May 22, 2018 • ( 2 Comments )
Death and a Pot of Chowder by Cornelia Kidd #bookreview #mystery
Title: Death and a Pot of Chowder
Author: Cornelia Kidd
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books
Publication Date: June 12, 2018
Page Count: 336
My rating: 4 stars
About the book:
Maine’s Quarry Island has a tight-knit community that’s built on a rock-solid foundation of family, tradition and hard work. But even on this small island, where everyone knows their neighbors, there are secrets that no one would dare to whisper.
Anna Winslow, her husband Burt and their teenage son have deep roots on Quarry Island. Burt and his brother, Carl, are lobstermen, just like their father and grandfather before them. And while some things on the island never seem to change, Anna’s life is about to take some drastically unexpected turns. First, Anna discovers that she has a younger sister, Izzie Jordan. Then, on the day she drives to Portland to meet Izzie for the first time, Carl’s lobster boat is found abandoned and adrift. Later that evening, his corpse is discovered—but he didn’t drown.
Whether it was an accident or murder, Carl’s sudden death has plunged Anna’s existence into deadly waters. Despite barely knowing one another and coming from very different backgrounds, Anna and Izzie unite to find the killer. With their family in crisis, the sisters strive to uncover the secrets hidden in Quarry Island—and, perhaps, the ones buried within their own hearts.
Sure to be an intoxicating read for fans of Sarah Graves and Leslie Meier, Death and a Pot of Chowder is the first Maine Murder mystery by Cornelia Kidd.
Death and a Pot of Chowder by Cornelia Kidd is the first book in the cozy A Maine Murder Mystery series. Anna Winslow grew up on Quarry Island off the coast of Maine where she now lives with her husband and son. The community is a close knit one in which everyone knows everyone on the tiny island.
Anna grew up knowing that her biological father had left her mother before she was even born but she never expected a letter to arrive informing her of his passing from a sister that she didn’t know existed. Anna being excited to learn a little something about that side of her heritage invites her half sister to come to the island to visit.
Just as Anna is picking up Izzie though she gets a call from her husband letting her know his brother is missing. When Carl’s body is found it becomes apparent that his death was no accident and with the police looking at Anna’s husband Burt for the murder Anna and Izzie decide to team up and find the real killer.
Death and a Pot of Chowder really isn’t the normal cozy that I fall in love with as it lacked the humor and quirkiness that I usually enjoy however this one had a small town charm that drew me into the story. Each chapter began with an excerpt from various women’s publications from the 1800’s and one would wonder why until you get the feel of the town and see that the antiquated ideas of that era still seem to hold true on the island so they actually fit rather well.
With the characters and setting being very well done I settled in to the mystery side of the book and liked that while the main character and her sister did their bit of asking around there was also a retired detective to help move the investigation along. When all was said and done with this first installment of the new series I found that I had enjoyed it quite a bit and will look forward to more to come.
I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.
Find this book online:
Goodreads / Amazon
About the author:
Maine author Cornelia Kidd, who also writes under the name Lea Wait, spent a wonderful summer on a Maine island when she was ten. Now she lives in a historic home on the banks of the Sheepscot River with her husband, artist Bob Thomas, where she cooks seafood, reads, writes, speaks to groups of all ages about writing, and, whenever possible, drinks champagne. This is her first Maine Murder mystery.
Book Review: Death and a Pot of Chowder by Cornelia Kidd
Posted on July 10, 2018 by Cassie
Death and a Pot of Chowder
by
Cornelia Kidd
Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Half Price Books / Book Depository
Cozy Mystery
Free Book
Review Book
Murder Mystery
I received this book for free from the facebook copy “Cozy Mystery Review Crew” in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own and reflect my honest feelings about this book!
(From Goodreads)
Maine’s Quarry Island has a tight-knit community that’s built on a rock-solid foundation of family, tradition and hard work. But even on this small island, where everyone knows their neighbors, there are secrets that no one would dare to whisper.
Anna Winslow, her husband Burt and their teenage son have deep roots on Quarry Island. Burt and his brother, Carl, are lobstermen, just like their father and grandfather before them. And while some things on the island never seem to change, Anna’s life is about to take some drastically unexpected turns. First, Anna discovers that she has a younger sister, Izzie Jordan. Then, on the day she drives to Portland to meet Izzie for the first time, Carl’s lobster boat is found abandoned and adrift. Later that evening, his corpse is discovered—but he didn’t drown.
Whether it was an accident or murder, Carl’s sudden death has plunged Anna’s existence into deadly waters. Despite barely knowing one another and coming from very different backgrounds, Anna and Izzie unite to find the killer. With their family in crisis, the sisters strive to uncover the secrets hidden in Quarry Island—and, perhaps, the ones buried within their own hearts.
Sure to be an intoxicating read for fans of Sarah Graves and Leslie Meier, Death and a Pot of Chowder is the first Maine Murder mystery by Cornelia Kidd.
Whenever I get a book for review (read “for free”) I always want to enjoy it so much. I want to be able to glowingly say I loved it and only write positive things about it. I want to build it up so much. Sometimes that isn’t plausible or realistic though. Some books are just not a book for you. This was one of those books. I will, however, say that I was able to get through the entire book because of it being a mystery. There is a part of my brain that will forever want to know “whodunit” and that part of my brain pushed me forward even though I wasn’t engaged as much as I would have liked with the story.
I want to state first that I am fairly new to the world of cozy mystery books, I grew up on television shows like “Murder, She Wrote” that are obviously similar. Recently, I finished a buddy read that made me recognize that I had a deep appreciation for the mystery genre and especially the cozy mystery format. Cozy mysteries with their small town relationships, their wholesomeness (even with murder being involved), and just that weird warmth that you get from such a book. I love seeing a world that I once was a part of when I lived in a smaller town. I understand those close knit communities and honestly love seeing them in print. The issue here though is a cozy mystery book has two words within its genre title. Cozy and mystery. These elements should be balanced. In this book, however, it feels that for far too many pages we were stuck in the cozy and not enough of the mystery. It felt that the characters that were supposed to be investigating the death in the book were more invested in other matters or simply acquiring knowledge through people literally coming to their door. The fun of a cozy mystery and other mystery novels, to me, is when the character goes sleuthing to discover clues. To gather information and often times this means the main character snooping in areas that maybe they shouldn’t be. Putting their life in a little bit of danger during the process. In cozies, the danger tends to be a little more mundane, but it is still there at times. This seemed to be lacking in that element until the “reveal” part of the book. Up to that moment it was like everyone was just talking and not really trying to figure out the murder. This book was definitely more cozy than mystery and that was my chief complaint with it.
Another issue that I had with this book was that characters, especially Anna, didn’t seem to respond in ways that I would think most people would in the situations that they were placed in. No one just tells people everything and that felt like what these characters did throughout the book. Anna didn’t seem to understand that she was the mother of Jake, her son, and that she was allowed to discipline him and say you are not going to respond to me in certain ways. No, I am not a parent, but let me say that if I was I would never respond the way that Anna does in this book. It was frustrating to read. I even tried to analyze it as that I was never a parent, but seriously there are moments where I couldn’t move past it. Many times I felt that I wanted Izzie, her new sister, to say something to her. Having a moment where the kid is mad and screaming he doesn’t want to talk to her would have felt a bit more organic than what happens within this book. It felt like she was treating her child like a roommate! Yes, this upset me greatly.
Now, I did enjoy the character of Izzie and her overall storyline. It is weird to say, but I think I would have enjoyed the story if it had been from her viewpoint. Maybe my issue is that Anna wasn’t the narrator I wanted in this tale. I wanted the perspective of Izzie, especially because there are several moments that Izzie’s perspective would have been interesting to see. Also the narrator seemed to use her a couple of times to “time warp” the plot basically. The character would go off and solve something for the case, hear something, find something, or etc, but always off the page basically. This got frustrating after the 3 time it occurred. I want some of those things on the page in scenes. Izzie, even though she is used in this manner, is still by far the best character to me. She has dreams, hopes, aspirations, and so much more. I loved that she was able to give some of that to the main character as well. I feel that in another book in the series that we would learn so much more about Izzie. There seems to be elements about her and her life that are still a mystery. I fear, however, that there will not be more books to this particular series. The writer has announced that they have been diagnosed with cancer. Finding this out made it slightly hard to review the book, since I had not had such a pleasant experience with it. I realized, however, that I was supposed to give an honest review. This is my honest feelings about the book, but I should leave it with this. I would read another book, if there was one. I would want to find out what happens to Izzie and that makes me realize that there was some positive to this book. I believe that other cozy mystery readers, that have been around the cozy block more than me, would enjoy this book. They would enjoy the focus on the cozy elements. This book does have an audience. I just wasn’t the intended audience for this one.
Cornelia Kidd is a pseudonym for the author, Lea wait. The above books are some of the books that she has published under her other name.