Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies: A Romaine Wilder Mystery
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.abbyvandiver.com/index.html
CITY: Cleveland
STATE: OH
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
selfpublished titles:
Incarnate (2014)
Logan Dickerson Cozy Mystery
Tiny House Cozy Mystery
PERSONAL
Born in Cleveland, OH.
EDUCATION:Attended Shaw High School. Ohio Northern University, B.A., M.A., J.D.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author. Worked previously as a college professor and lawyer. Library writer-in-residence.
AVOCATIONS:Her grandchildren, writing, movies, books, traveling.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Prior to launching her career as a writer, Abby L. Vandiver worked in the higher education and law fields. She now fully devotes her time to writing, having taken up work as a library writer-in-residence. She has published several novels: A Merry Branson Murder, Incarnate, A Tiny Collierville Murder, Bed & Breakfast Bedlam, South Seas Shenanigans, and Coastal Cottage Calamity, among others. Her genre of choice is mystery.
In Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies: A Romaine Wilder Mystery, protagonist Romaine Wilder is in the midst of what initially seems to be a homecoming. Her life is in a complete state of upheaval following the end of an illicit tryst (where she was the “other woman”), as well as the sudden loss of her career. Romaine has made the decision to move away from Chicago, the state where she has made her home. Just before she leaves, she throws a party for the sake of meeting up with her friends one last time. Also in attendance is her aunt, Suzanne, otherwise known as “Auntie Zanne,” who makes her presence known. Zanne has invited Romaine to live with her back in Robel, a tiny Texas town, with open arms. It is there that Auntie Zanne also makes her living as a funeral home director—a job she carries out from the confines of her own home.
Yet Romaine’s arrival in Robel isn’t a peaceful one. There she and Auntie Zanne find death awaiting them, but not in the usual ways they have come to expect. Rather, a murder has been carried out within the town, and the body itself was found stowed among the various other bodies Auntie Zanne had in storage until their funeral dates. What gave the murdered corpse away was that it was never scheduled to arrive at Auntie Zanne’s funeral home—a fact that stuck out like a sore thumb to Josephine, a close friend of Auntie Zanne who is well aware of the goings-on at the funeral home. So far, no one can parse out who the victim actually is.
In charge of investigating the mystery is Pogue Folsom, a cousin of Romaine’s and also the town’s sheriff. Pogue suspects Josephine is the one behind the murder. However, he lacks the tools necessary to prove anyone is the culprit, much less Josephine. Auntie Zanne and Romaine take it upon themselves to assist Pogue in getting to the bottom of the case. Auntie Zanne joins in because her funeral home is at the center of the case, while Romaine tags along due to her desire to help out a family member in need. The three all embark upon a mission to sleuth out the identity of the murderer as well as their motives, as well as learn who the victim actually is. However, much more is in store for the three at the root of the case. Romaine especially manages to find more than she bargained for—including a captivating new love interest. “Vandiver’s debut, which launches a character-driven series, has plenty of local color and interesting tidbits on Creole history though not much of a mystery,” remarked one Kirkus Reviews contributor. Other reviewers expressed widespread praise for the novel. “Cozy fans will look forward to Romaine’s future exploits,” said a Publishers Weekly reviewer. On the Criminal Element blog, Terrie Farley Moran remarked that she “can’t wait for the next book in the Romaine Wilder series.” Randee Green, a writer on the self-titled Randee Green blog, said: “Romaine is an equally interesting character, and she perfectly balances out her aunt as the two work together.” She added: “The author also brings small town Texas to life.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 2018, review of Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies: A Romaine Wilder Mystery.
Publishers Weekly, April 30, 2018, review of Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies, p. 42.
ONLINE
Criminal Element, https://www.criminalelement.com/ (June 11, 2018), Terrie Farley Moran, review of Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies.
HBS Author’s Spotlight, http://hbsauthorspotlight.blogspot.com/ (April 4, 2017), James Moushon, “Abby L. Vandiver – An Author Interview at the HBS Author’s Spotlight,” author interview.
Henery Press website, https://www.henerypress.com/ (September 4, 2018), author profile.
Randee Green, https://www.randeegreen.com/ (June 3, 2018), Randee Green, review of Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies.
Writers Who Kill, https://writerswhokill.blogspot.com/ (June 27, 2018), E. B. Davis, “An Interview with Author Abby L. Vandiver by E. B. Davis,” author interview.
About Author Abby L Vandiver
Work
Author
Writer
Education
Ohio Northern University
Law · Ada, Ohio
Shaw High School
East Cleveland, Ohio
Current City and Hometown
Cleveland, Ohio
Current city
East Cleveland, Ohio
Hometown
Favorites
Music
[Deb]
Deb
Books
[Dead Medium]
Dead Medium
Other
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Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author, Abby L. Vandiver loves a good mystery. Born and raised in Cleveland, it’s even a mystery to her why she has yet to move to a warmer place. Abby loves to travel, and curl up with a good book or movie. A former lawyer and college professor, she has a bachelor's degree in Economics, a master's in Public Administration, and a Juris Doctor. Writer-in-Residence at her local library, Abby spends all of her time writing and enjoying her grandchildren.
Tuesday, April 4, 2017
Abby L. Vandiver - An Author Interview at the HBS Author's Spotlight
Today our blog puts the Spotlight on Amazon Bestsellers author Abby L. Vandiver. She is the author of Logan Dickerson Cozy Mystery Series and the Mars Origin "I" Series. Abby writes Cozy Mystery novels.
Author: Abby L. Vandiver
Author Genre: Mystery
Website: Abby Vandiver
Author's Blog: INK AND QUILL
Twitter: @AbbyVandiver
E-Mail: abbylvandiver@aol.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Amazon Author Profile
Author Description:
Through her various occupations, Abby discovered her love of writing. She'd always been told she had a gift for telling stories, combining the two, she became an author.
Her debut novel, the mystery/sci-fi, In the Beginning, Book I in the Mars Origin "I" Series was an Amazon #1 bestseller. It was written on a whim, packed away, and rediscovered some twelve years later. After publishing it in 2013, Abby decided to make writing a full-time endeavor. She's penned a slew of novels since then and has even more in her head. Although she writes mostly mystery, she's written a historical/women's fiction novel. It was co-written with author and friend, Kathryn Dionne under the pen name Kathryn Longino.
Currently she is working on her first cozy mystery series. There will be at least five in the series, three, Bed & Breakfast Bedlam, Coastal Cottage Calamity, and Maya Mound Mayhem have already been published and are Amazon international bestsellers.
Abby, a former lawyer and college professor, has a bachelor's degree in Economics, a master's in Public Administration, and a Juris Doctor. A lifetime resident of Cleveland, Ohio, Abby spends all of her time writing and enjoying her wonderful grandchildren.
SPOTLIGHT Questions and Answers with the Author
Congratulations on your book: Garden Gazebo Gallivant. Rumor has it that you have another book on the horizon called South Seas Shenanigans. Can you tell us the timeline for its release and give us a little tease?
Thank you, and yes, it's true! South Seas Shenanigans will be out April 1. If you've kept up with the series, you'll remember there was a wedding in Garden Gazebo Gallivant. And you guessed it, the South Seas is where the honeymoon takes place. But of course, wherever you find Logan and Miss Vivee, you'll find murder. Check it out, like the others in the series, it's a whole lot of fun!
You have a good following on twitter. How important have your social media relationships been? How did you build your following in your niche? Do you see a carry over to your writing success?
I worked very hard to get Twitter followers. My daughter teased me that I must have "bought" followers. I didn't, and the main reason is because I think it is important to build a following. Growing Twitter followers is a good way to learn to network. At my age, social media and all the new technology can sometimes be daunting. But I keep at it because it is important on getting your book into the hands of readers. And it does carry over into writing. When I see my followers are happy with my books, it makes me want to give them more.
Do you do any book signings, interviews, speaking and personal appearances? If so, when and where is the next place where your readers can see you? Where can they keep up with your personal contacts online?
I have done all of those things. From brick and mortar appearances to Internet radio and virtual release parties. I'm currently doing a book tour that I set up. Keep up with my goings on by following me on social media and on my website www.abbyvandiver.com.
You have great covers. They carry a theme and your brand with them. How does your book cover creation process work? Do you hand over the basic theme or do you have more of a hands-on approach? Do you get your readers involved in its development?
I do my own covers. I bought Adobe CS.5 a few years back when I was working on an online magazine. When I first started writing, I found that I couldn't afford the covers graphic artists were offering, so I did my own. My covers are so important to the story, in fact, I do the covers before I even start typing.
I like the idea of bundling a series of novels. You have put together a set of your Logan Dickerson Cozy Mystery novels. What was the impact on your other sales? What was your main objective in bundling your novels?
One of my objectives in bundling novels is to impact sales. I read a marketing article once that said one way to increase sales is to have more books. But really impacted my reason to bundle is because readers asked for more. When my first novel, In the Beginning, came out readers asked when was the next installment set to be released. Next installment? I thought. There isn't any more! That made me want to write more.
What has been your experience in giving your books away free? Have you been involved in any other type of giveaways and how did that work out? What was your main goal in doing this? Did you run into any obstacles?
At first I thought, I'll never give my books away for free, but then I found that it is a very useful marketing tool. I want, most of all, to give enjoyment to my readers, so it's not necessary I make a boatload of money (but wouldn't that be nice). I found I sold more books when I gave some away free. I haven't done a giveaway on my own yet, but I'm thinking about doing it. Additionally, I'd like to do a perma-free book to go with my cozy mystery series.
Do you maintain a reader list? What are the methods you use to find your readers and create the list and the relationship? Do you use social media, forums, newsletters and/or support groups to build your list?
I am just starting to promote through a reader's list and still working on the ins and outs of it. Check back with me in a few weeks, and I'll share what I've learned.
You have a great blog. You do a great job keeping readers informed, marketing your books and providing useful information to other writers. What is your primary goal? And where in the world do you find the time to create great novels, take care of the social media and maintain your blog?
I am bad at time management, and truly doing all those things take up most of my day. I decided to blog once a week, the weeks I don't have the time to write, I do a guest post. My novels don't come as quickly as I'd like them to, but I'm learning to do better planning for them, too.
What is your method of getting reviews for your novels? Do you seek professional reviews, use social media or do you rely on your reading audience to supply them?
I've never sought paid reviews, and I used to do book swaps to get reviews. But I did find that sometimes people don't give honest reviews - they'll give a five star if you will - I didn't like that at all. Now I only ask for reviews at the end of my books.
You co-wrote At the End of the Line with author and friend, Kathryn Dionne under the pen name Kathryn Longino. How did that process work? Do you plan on writing more with Kathryn?
I love Kathryn, she is such an awesome writer, and yes, I would love to write more books with her. We were talking on the phone one day, and she said, "What about if we wrote a book together about two friends that have never met?" I thought she was kidding - we'd never met and considered ourselves friends, so I responded, "Yeah, and we can call it "At the End of the Line." and it's just what we did! We had to make it an historical fiction because today everyone can come face-to-face, even if it's only in a virtual world.
Author's Book List
Garden Gazebo Gallivant - A Logan Dickerson Cozy Book 5
There's going to be a wedding! But three days before the nuptials, Logan finds a dead body at the gazebo. And as usual there are suspects galore. But not to worry, Miss Vivee is on it.
Justin, Logan's Biblical archaeologist mother, is on the scene to help, and so is her brother, Micah. They try to piece the clues together, and solve the whodunit before the "I do's."
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Food Fair Frenzy - A Logan Dickerson Cozy Book 4
Archaeologist Logan Dickerson, and Voodoo herbalist Vivienne Pennywell (aka Miss Vivee) are back to solving murder in Yasamee, Georgia (not a real place).
It's the 105th Freemont County Possum Pickin' Food Fair, and everyone is getting sick from the food. Blue faces, fainting, chest pains, it doesn't look good. Then Jack Wagner is found dead. Miss Vivee is called in because with his death came a clue. A note that listed nine deadly flowers. Is that what killed pie-tasting-judge Jack? Only Miss Vivee and her cohorts in crime (solving) can figure this one out!
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Maya Mound Mayhem - A Logan Dickerson Cozy Book 3
The two murders in Yasamee weren’t the first ones Logan had seen . . .
Old enemies come back to haunt Logan as she finally gets to excavate the site in Georgia that she thinks will prove her theory that the Maya migrated to the United States. Miss Vivee and Mac, her partners in crime (solving) come to her rescue when she’s caught red-handed with the bones of the murder victim and she turns out to be the prime suspect.
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Coastal Cottage Calamity - A Logan Dickerson Cozy Book 2
Everyone seems to want Oliver dead.
Local playboy, Oliver Gibbons, turns up dead. And it seems most everyone has a motive for wanting him out of the picture. From the three blondes he promised to marry, to his partner in an illegal fishery, to his long lost cousins, Oliver's death seems like a satisfying option. But when Miss Vivee, the five-foot-nothing, ninety-something, Voodoo herbalist realizes one of the possible suspects is her daughter, she recruits Logan, the resident archaeology to help her find out the truth.
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Bed & Breakfast Bedlam - A Logan Dickerson Cozy Book 1
Logan Dickerson is an archaeologist who feels she'll always live in the shadow of her famous mother. To prove her worth, she jumps the fence at a federally protected archaeological site. Not such a good idea. Now she's on the run from the FBI. Ending up in a small, coastal town in Georgia she discovers that one resident, Gemma Burke, has been found dead, keeled over in her bowl of bouillabaisse. Logan gets all tangled up in a big mystery, (and a little bit of romance), but the fun begins once she falls in cahoots with Miss Vivee, a ninety-something, five-foot-nothing Voodoo herbalist, and owner of a wheaten Scottish terrier named Cat. Of course the elderly sleuth, with Logan’s help, thinks she can solve the murder before the local sheriff can.
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Incarnate - Mars Origin "I" Series Book 3
Justin Dickerson, Biblical archaeologist, has grown weary of the burden she's carried since finding those pesky 2,000 year old manuscripts in the caves at Qumran. She's decided to give the U.S. government all she knows about man's true origin and the proof she's obtained. On a dig in Belize with her daughter, Logan, Justin believes she has found a Maya connection to her origin theory. What she uncovers is too devastating to trust to anyone. But that decision may just cost Justin her life.
The Maya calendar didn't foretell of the end of the world. What it does predict takes Justin and her family on a worldwide adventure through the jungles of Central America, across the Giza Plateau in Egypt, along the waterways of Panama, ending in a train ride from Paris to Istanbul aboard the famed Orient Express.
Order the Book From:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Irrefutable Proof - Mars Origin "I" Series Book 2
A 600 year old mysterious codex, written in an unknown language.
Millennia old secret society dedicated to guarding the secrets of man’s true origins.
Ancient biblical text corroborating an alternative history of mankind.
For thousands of years, people have been trying to hide a secret. A secret so obscure that even the markings left around the world as clues have yet to be understood. First held at Göbekli Tepe, a 10,000 year old temple in the Anatolia region of Turkey, stored later in the Library at Alexandria, and found at a Jesuit Catholic church in Italy is a codex, written in an undecipherable language, that may be not only the key to the cure for cancer, but hold the knowledge to traverse the stars.
Justin Dickerson, Biblical archaeologist, pieced together secrets of mankind’s origin that had stayed buried for more than two thousand years. She’s discovered where Atlantis was located and why there were great civilizations in the New World long before European explorers ever thought to embark upon its shores. But to get anyone to believe what she’s discovered, she’ll need to find irrefutable proof of her claims. Trying to get it though, might be the last thing she ever does.
The Bilderberg Group, a clandestine faction comprised of the most powerful and politically connected people in the world. A Professor Emeritus of Semitic at a world class university. A Society of Jesus priest who might not be all he seems. All want to get to Justin and find out what she knows. By any means necessary.
Order the Book From:
Amazon
In the Beginning - Mars Origin "I" Series Book 1
A fifty year old journal.
2,000 year old manuscripts hidden with the Dead Sea Scrolls . . .
The answer to Earth's ancient mysteries revealed.
In 1949, Dr. Amos Sabir is assigned to translate four manuscripts that were found in Cave #4 at Qumran. Dr. Samuel Yeoman, Editor-in-Chief is tasked with presenting the information contained in the Dead Sea Scrolls to the world. Neither is prepared to share what they find. Even if it means they have to lie or kill to keep it secret.
History repeats itself. Unfortunately for mankind, arrogance and greed are a part of human nature. And that same human nature that almost drove mankind to extinction thousands of years ago, is rearing its ugly head - again.
In 1997 Justin Dickerson, Biblical Archaeologist, and self-proclaimed re-creator of history, is finding little purpose to her existence as of late. She jumps at the invitation to attend the 50th Jubilee of the finding of the Dead Sea Scrolls to help with the remaining needed translations. Instead, a chance discovery of a journal of one of the original translators of the famed manuscripts sets her off on a path that will unravel the foundation of mankind’s belief of his origins forever. Obsessed with the possibility that history has purposely been destroyed, she is soon faced with the shocking discovery of what really happened In the Beginning . . .
Wednesday, June 27, 2018
An Interview with Author Abby L. Vandiver by E. B. Davis
Now I was starting to feel bad. Giving my auntie such a hard time. I probably
could have been more supportive of her breaking the law and snooping around.
Wait…that didn’t sound right.
Abby L. Vandiver, Secrets, Lies & Crawfish Pies, Kindle Loc. 1830
Romaine Wilder, big-city medical examiner with a small-town past, has been downsized and evicted. With few other options, she’s forced to return to her hometown of Roble in East Texas, leaving behind the man she’s dating and the life she’s worked hard to build.
Suzanne Babet Derbinay, Romaine’s Auntie Zanne and proprietor of the Ball Funeral Home, has long since traded her French Creole upbringing for Big Texas attitude. She’s a member in a number of ladies’ auxiliaries and clubs, including being in charge of the Tri-County Annual Crawfish Boil and Music Festival.
Hanging on to the magic of her Louisiana roots, she’s cooked up a love potion or two—if she could only get Romaine to drink it. But her plans are derailed when the Ball Funeral Home, bursting at the seams with dead bodies, has a squatter stiff.
Dead Guy is a problem.
Auntie Zanne can’t abide by a murderer using her funeral home as the dumping grounds for their crimes, and Romaine doesn’t want her newly elected cousin, Sheriff Pogue Folsom, to fail on his first murder case. Together, Romaine and Auntie Zanne set off to solve it.
With a dash of humor, a dollop of Southern charm, and a peek at current social issues in the mix, it’s a fun romp around East Texas to solve a murder mystery of the cozy kind.
Amazon.com
Henery Press released Abby L. Vandiver’s first book in the Romaine Wilder Mystery series, Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies on June 12. But this release isn’t Abby’s debut. She has self-published three other series, one of which is written with a friend and is paranormal. (It’s on Kindle Unlimited—I just downloaded it!)
The characters are what make Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies special. Raised by her powerhouse of an aunt, Romaine Wilder is caught in her small hometown until she can find another Medical Examiner job in Chicago, where she’d rather be. Aunt Zanne keeps Romaine busy delegating tasks that entail everything from making Crawfish pie to solving the murder. She gets things done all the while denying reality or adding one plus one and getting five, driving Romaine crazy.
Please welcome Abby L. Vandiver to WWK. E. B. Davis
______________________________________________________________________________
Roble, Texas is a real town, but you’ve changed it some, haven’t you? My little town in Secrets, Lies & Crawfish Pies is called “Roble.” It is made up and means “oak” in Spanish.
Auntie Zanne’s real name is Suzanne Arelia Sophie Babet St. Romain. Does everyone in that region have long names? lol. I don’t know. I did that because my characters were christened in the Holy Roman Church. I hope that won’t get me in trouble, but I thought it would be apropos.
Although your story is light-hearted, part of the family’s story is based on racism. Due to the horrible story of Naomi Drake, the New Orleans City Registrar for the Bureau of Vital Statistics, who wasn’t alone in her race categorization as the State of Virginia had its own eugenics-based racists, was there a mass exodus from Louisiana to Texas in the late 40s? Yes, there was. Mixed-race French Creoles, as I explain in my book, didn’t like being categorized according to other people’s mandates. Many moved to the Golden Triangle – Orange, Port Arthur, and Beaumont Texas, and some even as far as Houston. They were able to resume their community and way of life there.
Auntie Zanne runs a funeral home, serves as president of the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA), is a member of the Tri-County Chamber of Commerce, heading up the 25th Annual Sabine County Crawfish Boil and Music Festival, and a Red Hat Society lady, among her other activities. How does an eighty-year-old have the energy? I think it’s because of her brews! She’s a Voodoo herbalist, don’t forget. I was inspired to write about it when I read about a 95-year-old park ranger and discovered many of our older citizens are still vibrant and active members of our society. I did, however, make the character of Aunt Julep, who is close to Auntie Zanne’s age, a little slower.
Rhett Remmiere seems a bit mysterious. Auntie Zanne says she grooming him to take over the funeral home along with her friend, Josephine Gail Cox. Doesn’t he have to be licensed? Who is he really, an FBI agent? Rhett Remmiere really is an FBI agent. We’ll learn his story in Book III, Potions, Tells and Deadly Spells. Right now, however, Rhett isn’t taking on any actual mortician duties, he’s just an employee. But that is a good idea. She does need another mortician in training!
Did Romaine become a Medical Examiner due to her family’s owning a funeral home? Was she used to dead bodies already? Romaine admits that her legacy is death. She’d been around the funeral home most of her life. So, yes, I think that her upbringing, once she decided to be a doctor, was very instrumental in choosing her specialty.
What’s the difference between a coroner and a ME? Many people use the terms interchangeably. However, by definition, a medical examiner is a licensed medical doctor who is trained as a forensic pathologist. A coroner does not have to be a doctor.
Romaine’s cousin Sheriff Pogue Folsom is inexperienced. Why does he give up the investigation to Romaine when she doesn’t have any experience either? He didn’t give up the investigation. While he did ask Romaine for any help she could offer due to her experience working as a medical examiner, he specifically tells her not to interfere in the investigation, and she promises she won’t. But like any other amateur sleuth, she can’t help but ask questions.
With all the potions Auntie Zanne makes, her being a voodoo herbalist, can’t she concoct something to help her friend Josephine Gail Cox’s depression? There are many medical and holistic means of treating depression; however, there is no cure. Auntie Zanne does give Josephine Gail some of her brew. But in the end, being accused of murder, as Josephine Gail had been, can make anyone get into a rut.
Do they still administer electro shock therapy? Yes, they do. My mother had it in the sixties. I wasn’t sure because it seems so barbaric, but I spoke to a psychologist and she assured me that it is still a mode of therapy used for certain mental illnesses.
Auntie Zanne forms a negative opinion of Pogue based on his awkward adolescent years. Is her opinion based on her rivalry with Romaine’s other aunt, Aunt Julep? No, Auntie Zanne loves Romaine’s Aunt Julep. They’ve been friends for decades. Auntie Zanne’s impression stems from her desire to protect Josephine Gail.
What do they now use to embalm bodies? Not formaldehyde? They use embalming fluid, as they always have. Now however, there is a formaldehyde free option. It is safer for the environment.
Why does Romaine feel that in Roble she loses her identity? Does she associate it with being young or is Auntie Zanne too overpowering? Romaine doesn’t want to be a small town girl. She likes things that small, rural towns, such as Roble, can’t offer. Because of that, she forged out a life that included culture and a life conducive to a place like Chicago.
Catfish, who is sweet on Romaine, brings her three tubs of crawfish (filled ¾ with water) because, much to Romaine’s surprise, Auntie Zanne has promised that Romaine will make Crawfish Pies for the festival. Does that mean Romaine will have to cook and shell all those crawfish? How long will the crawfish stay fresh? Romaine will use mostly the tail meat for her dishes, so she will have to shell them all. In the book, however, Rhett and Auntie Zanne give her a hand. Crawfish are freshwater crustaceans and can live in a tub filed with water for about five days. Romaine didn’t wait more than two days to use them.
What is the Code of Ethical Conduct for the Care of the Decedent? It is the code of ethics (standards) for funeral home owners. It sets out the standard for the care of the decedent as well as for grieving families.
Why is Death Romaine’s legacy? She was raised in a funeral home. And as she states in the book, her name, Romaine Gabriela Sadie Heloise Wilder, were the names of her dead relatives. She quips that translated her name is: “Dead Family Name – Dead Aunt – Dead Grandma – Dead Grandma – Wilder.”
When Romaine fixes her childhood room to suit her adult tastes—does that mean she’s staying in Roble? No! Far from it. She only updates her room so she can stay there until she can find a job back in Chicago. She definitely has no plans to stay. Her Auntie Zanne on the other hand . . .
What’s next for Romaine and Auntie Zanne? A wedding and the 100th Boule of the Distinguished Ladies’ Society of Voodoo Herbalist. And, of course, murder!
Posted by E. B. Davis at 12:00 AM
Vandiver, Abby L.: SECRETS, LIES, & CRAWFISH PIES
Kirkus Reviews. (June 1, 2018):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Vandiver, Abby L. SECRETS, LIES, & CRAWFISH PIES Henery Press (Adult Fiction) $31.95 6, 12 ISBN: 978-1-63511-349-5
A small-town girl returning to her roots becomes a reluctant sleuth.
Romaine Wilder, who's lost her job as a Chicago medical examiner and ended her affair with a married man, returns to East Texas to live with the aunt who raised her. Auntie Zanne is French Creole; the owner of a successful funeral home, she's a small-town busybody whose plans for Romie don't include a return to Chicago. They return to her childhood home at the funeral parlor to find Zanne's dearest friend, Josephine Gail Cox, extremely upset and almost nonresponsive, standing in the pouring rain as Romie's cousin, Sheriff Pogue Folsom, arrives to investigate a possible murder. Josephine may be depressed, but she knows which dead bodies belong in funeral homes and which ones don't, and the one she found in the basement, cause of death unknown, ready to be cremated does not belong. With Pogue, who suspects Josephine of the killing, set to leave for training and the local medical examiner sick, Romie and Zanne take over the investigation. While she tries to keep Zanne's worst impulses in check, Romie gets reacquainted with old friends and meets some new ones. She's pressed into helping Zanne with a local festival and making crawfish pies for the band Zanne's sponsoring. The identification of the dead man by his fingerprints gives the odd couple a sharper focus in their quest for clues. Uncovering the secrets everyone wants to remain hidden is just what Romie and Zanne need to do to solve the crime.
Vandiver's debut, which launches a character-driven series, has plenty of local color and interesting tidbits on Creole history though not much of a mystery.
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Vandiver, Abby L.: SECRETS, LIES, & CRAWFISH PIES." Kirkus Reviews, 1 June 2018. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A540723453/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=15793a9f. Accessed 12 Aug. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A540723453
Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies: A Romaine Wilder Mystery
Publishers Weekly. 265.18 (Apr. 30, 2018): p42.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies: A Romaine Wilder Mystery
Abby L. Vandiver. Henery, $15.95 trade paper
(260p) ISBN 978-1-63511-346-4
At the start of this snappy series launch from Vandiver (A Tiny Collierville Murder), 40-ish medical examiner Romaine Wilder is hosting a farewell party for herself at her Chicago apartment. Romaine has lost her job due to downsizing, and her Auntie Zanne, who raised Romaine, has come to drag her errant ward back to the tiny East Texas town of Roble. As soon as they pull into the driveway of the Ball Funeral Home & Crematorium, the family business and Romaine's childhood home, they are confronted with a murder: the body of a man has been left in a casket in the crematorium. Romaine's cousin Pogue Folsom, Roble's inexperienced sheriff, is going to need some help in the investigation, and Auntie Zanne decides that she and Romaine are just the ones to lend a hand. The amusing narrative zips along, providing a multilayered plot with loads of plausible suspects and possible motives. Cozy fans will look forward to Romaine's future exploits. (June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies: A Romaine Wilder Mystery." Publishers Weekly, 30 Apr. 2018, p. 42. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A537852252/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=26ae62e8. Accessed 12 Aug. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A537852252
Review: Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies by Abby L. Vandiver
By Terrie Farley Moran
June 11, 2018
Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies
Abby L. Vandiver
Romaine Wilder Mystery Series
June 12, 2018
Secrets, Lies, & Crawfish Pies by Abby L. Vandiver is the first book in the Romaine Wilder Mystery series.
When I was a teenager, there was a radio DJ named Bruce Morrow who called himself “Cousin Brucie” because, as he explained, “You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your relatives.” But if I could choose my relatives, I would certainly choose 82-year-old Auntie Zanne, aka Suzanne Babet Derbinay, who owns the Ball Funeral Home in Roble, Texas. But alas, Auntie Zanne—who has a delightful way of driving everyone slightly crazy—is already taken by Romaine Wilder, a former Medical Examiner in Chicago who may have to slink back home to East Texas after losing her job.
When the story begins, Romaine is having a small gathering of Chicago friends and colleagues at her “Here’s-To-The-Next-Chapter-in-My-Life” party. And of course, Auntie Zanne has come all the way from Roble to celebrate. When Zanne draws a little too much attention from the crowd of sophisticates, it makes Romaine nervous. She pulls Zanne aside:
“You know I have a different kind of life up here,” I said, my eyes darting around the room to make sure no one was listening. “I’ll never get the job I want in this city if one word gets out about you!”
“You won’t have to worry about that,” she said matter-of-factly. “You won’t be around them–or here–much longer. Mark my words.”
Mark my words.
I flinched as that phrase leapt from her frosted, rose-colored lips. I didn’t know why she thought I wasn’t going to be around much longer, but I did know whenever she made such a pronouncement, somehow, whatever she was referring to eerily came true.
“I just bet,” I said, nervously shaking off her warning.
I licked my lips and tried to muster back up a little bluster. “I saw you talking to the Chief-of-Staff over there-”
She cut me off. “Is that his name?” Nose scrunched, she acted as if she smelled something bad. “Chief-of-Staff?”
“No.” My words came out in a puff. “You know it isn’t.”
“How am I supposed to know that?” she said. “That’s all you call him every time you talk about him.”
I blew out a breath. “Dr. Hale,” I said. She rolled her eyes. “Okay. Alexander Hale.” Her eyebrow arched higher. “Alex,” I surrendered, lowering my voice. “I need a recommendation from him–from Alex, if I want to get a prominent position in another hospital. He has connections. I hope you haven’t ruined that for me.”
At forty-ish, I didn’t want to start all over in my career.
“I don’t think I have,” she said measuredly. “I think you’ll be fine.” She patted me on my arm and turned to step away.
I pulled her back. “What did you say to him?”
She turned her head up to me, pulled me in close like she had a juicy secret, and nodded knowingly as she spoke. “I prepared a truth serum.”
Now you get it—why I want an Auntie Zanne for my very own. If she can prepare a truth serum, imagine what else she could do to make life easier for her favorite niece—me. Oh, but that’s right, she belongs to Romaine. So I guess I should tell you that Romaine is not nearly as happy as I would be at the idea of the truth serum and is totally flustered by what Auntie Zanne tells her next. Even I couldn’t believe how clever Auntie Zanne is!
Needless to say, Romaine doesn’t find the job she longs for in the Windy City, so it is back to Roble with Auntie Zanne. But their homecoming is not quite what they expected. After a long train ride from Chicago to East Texas, the last thing Romaine expected to see was a Sheriff’s car with lights flashing in front of Auntie Zanne’s funeral parlor. Since Romaine’s cousin Pogue was the sheriff, Romaine kind of hoped that he was just part of a welcoming committee of some sort. But Auntie Zanne got right to the point.
“What’s going on?” Auntie Zanne asked Pogue, raising her voice over the wind and rain. “What are you doing here?”
“There’s a dead body in there,” Pogue said, pointing through the double glass doors. He pulled off his hat and brushed beads of water off it.
“Of course there is,” Auntie Zanne said, sucking her tongue and rolling her eyes. “It’s a funeral parlor. I’ve got lots of dead bodies in there.”
“Only this one…” Pogue said, his voice getting louder over the bash of thunder and a crackle of lightning, popping as it smacked the ground, “…was murdered.”
Although Pogue is family, and Romaine is very loyal to family, she knows that he won’t be up to solving a murder. And she also knows that nothing will stop Auntie Zanne from finding out who the murder victim is and how his body wound up in her funeral parlor.
So follow along with Romaine and her family and friends as they struggle to identify the victim, find the killer, and restore order to their tiny Texas town. Oh, and I am not quite sure, but there may be a bit of romance in the air. Can’t wait for the next book in the Romaine Wilder series.
June 3, 2018
A Review of SECRETS, LIES & CRAWFISH PIES by Abby L. Vandiver
Reviews
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Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
SECRETS, LIES, & CRAWFISH PIES by Abby L. Vandiver (published June 12, 2018 by Henery Press) is the first novel in the Romaine Wilder Mystery series. Romaine Wilder has recently lost her job as a medical examiner in Chicago. She returns to her small hometown in East Texas, and almost immediately stumbles upon a dead body in her aunt’s funeral home. Now, finding a dead body in a funeral home shouldn’t be that big of a surprise – except this body shouldn’t be there. It turns out that this person was murdered, and then his body was dumped at the funeral home to dispose of it. Romaine reluctantly teams up with her overzealous, nosy Auntie Zanne to figure out how and why the corpse wound up in her funeral home, and find the killer.
I found SECRETS, LIES, & CRAWFISH PIES to be a very fun novel. There are many times where I laughed out loud. And Auntie Zanne is one of my new favorite amateur sleuths. She’s eccentric, she’s determined, and she’s not going to let anyone come between her and her many missions. She also steals the show from her niece! Romaine is an equally interesting character, and she perfectly balances out her aunt as the two work together. The author also brings small town Texas to life. The descriptions made me feel like I was right there in Robel, Texas. The mystery aspect also kept me guessing throughout the novel – there were numerous suspects and motives. The secondary plot lines were also intriguing and helped move the story along.