I think there’s something wrong with me. I have a proven track record according to the residents of Tranquil Harbor, New Jersey. It’s common knowledge that everything I touch turns to – well, let’s just say I don’t have the Midas touch. Take the Golden Anniversary celebration for the Town Crier, the newspaper where I’m employed as a crime reporter. The Friday night gala at a trendy eatery down by the ocean was anything but celebratory. I should have known something would go wrong, regardless of how carefully and deliberately I dressed to entice my hunky boss, Ken Rhodes.
My mother said the outfit made me look like a hooker. Okay, maybe just a little. But I liked the effect and planned to get a lot of action out of that low-cut, blinding red dress. After all, the kids were spending the weekend with their father – the entire weekend. I had major plans for later in the evening, hopefully with no dress involved. So when my boss keeled over after one bite of his trout almondine at the party, those romantic hopes were dashed.
Ken offered me a taste of his dinner, but I shook my head no and toyed with my unappetizing broiled chicken instead. Being half Italian, good food is life and I tend to take really huge bites. I’d have been a goner for sure if I sampled Ken’s meal. As it was, I spent the rest of that night in the emergency room, dressed like a street-walker, praying my gorgeous man wouldn’t die.
Coincidentally, Ken’s wife had been poisoned several years ago and he was the primary suspect. The grand jury failed to indict him, but that didn’t quell suspicion.
Normally when I put two and two together it comes out five, but what are the odds of a husband and wife both being poisoned by two entirely different toxins three years apart? Slim to none, I would imagine – which is why I decided to poke into Nadine Rhodes’s untimely demise and clear Ken’s name in the process.
Who wanted the power couple dead? Why? Was it someone they both knew well, like Evan Rhodes, Ken’s charming, ne’er-do-well, black sheep brother? Or might the poisoner be a friend or acquaintance from Ken and Nadine’s past, despite the fact that the people they ran with, both literally and figuratively, were influential and highly-respected? Not one of them appeared to be the killer type – yet it seemed possible someone from their fashionable circle possessed a homicidal heart. I knew I’d have to dig deep through their lucrative, opulent muck to figure it all out.
As I said, I’m a crime reporter. And I don’t mind getting my hands mucky one bit.
You can read more about Colleen and Ken in Another Man’s Poison, the third book in the “Jersey Girl” Cozy Mystery series, released August 10, 2017.
Crime reporter Colleen Caruso’s appetite for romance with her hunky boss falls flatter than a ruined soufflé when he keels over after one bite of his trout almondine. With his food editor wife mysteriously poisoned three years before, Ken was and still remains the prime suspect. Clearly someone wanted both Ken and Nadine Rhodes dead, and Colleen finds herself hot on the case of the poisoned plate. She whisks her way into the scrumptious world of the culinary arts, hoping her investigation isn’t a recipe for disaster. Colleen is determined to give those responsible their just desserts, but has the reporter bitten off more than she can chew?
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Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win a print copy of Another Man’s Poison. U.S. entries only, please. The giveaway ends August 24, 2017. Good luck everyone!
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About the author
Jo-Ann Lamon Reccoppa lives in New Jersey and draws on her experience as a freelance correspondent to create oddball characters and unusual scenarios. In addition to hundreds of published articles, her short fiction has appeared in various magazines and anthologies. She is a member of both Sisters in Crime national and Sisters in Crime – Central Jersey, and a past treasurer of the Garden State Horror Writers. New Math is Murder is her first full-length novel and the first in the Jersey Girl Cozy Mystery series. The second book in the series, Hide nor Hair was released in April, 2015. Another Man’s Poison is the third installment in the series.
Connect with Jo-Ann at joannlamonreccoppa.com.
All comments are welcomed.
Really love this kind of book! Please enter me! Linda Herold lindaherold999@gmail.com
Good morning and good luck with the giveaway, Linda!
New series for me…how did I miss this one? Thanks for bringing it to my attention, Dru Ann! It sounds terrific. Thank you Jo-Ann for the opportunity to win a copy. 😀
Thank you Barbara for your interest in Another Man’s Poison. Best of luck with the giveaway.
Sounds very exciting! Much success on your new book!!
Thanks so much, Linda. I recognize that name. You’re quite a writer! Best of luck with the giveaway.
A new author and read. So exciting. Thank you for the intro. Really looking forward to this
Best of luck with the giveaway? Fingers and toes are crossed for you!
Another new-t_me series. It sounds like one I would like!
Hope you love it, Christi. Best of luck!
I always enjoy books with spunky crime reporters! Thanks for a chance to win!
Best of luck with the giveaway, Donna! Nothing like a spunky crime reporter!
How did I not know about this series?? It sounds great! I’m going to have to find the 1st 2 books in the series and read asap.
I know you’ll love Colleen and the gang, Shelly. Good luck winning the third book.
Good morning – even if I don’t win – I’ll buy the book! Your my favorite writer!
What a woman! Thanks so much, Georgia! Good luck with the giveaway.
This is a new to me series and I love the plot scenario. Can’t wait to read. dbahn(at)iw(dot)net
If you enjoy nutty characters, you’ll like the series, Dianne! Good luck with the giveaway.
Oh Jo-Ann, I can’t wait to read it! I would love to win a signed copy of your book for my favorite author collection! This series is great and I am excited for this new book to come out. Merry
Thanks so much, Merry! Colleen and the gang loves you too! Good luck with the giveaway.
This book sounds amazing! Thank you so much for the chance to win!
What a great name – Abby! The book is lots of fun, and I’m so glad Dru gave me this chance to reach out to all you wonderful cozy lovers! Fingers crossed for you.
I’d love to be the winner. You know what a foodie I am and I’m curious how the poison got into the fish without anyone in the kitchen seeing it happen. The only people who touch it are the chefs and the waiter who delivers it to the table.
Isn’t food the best, Nora? And I like lots and lots of it! Hope you win a copy and solve the mystery!
Food. Mystery. Poison. I want it!
Hope you win it, Amy! Go eat something. Skip the poison!
One bite! Wow! Who would be so evil that they would ruin trout amandine?
I ruined it Pat! Good luck with the giveaway!
Food and cozies? even if it is poison, sounds good to me.
As long as there’s food involved, it’s all good, Gram. Fingers are crossed for you for the giveaway.
Another reason I don’t like fish. But I love cozies!
Ha ha! There are lots of dishes that can be poisoned. Glad you love cozies. Good luck with the giveaway, CJ!
I have been waiting so long for this book. Loved the first 2. SO glad that this is finally a reality. I can’t wait to read it.
Thanks so much, Yifat! It feels like it took forever and ever to get this out. Best of luck with the giveaway.
I enjoyed Colleen’s first two adventures. I’m so excited Book 3 is coming out. Really looking forward to reading it. Thanks for the chance to win a print copy for my keeper shelf!
Glad you enjoyed the first two, Linda. I think you’ll like Number 3. Fingers are crossed for you for the giveaway!
A new author to me. I really enjoyed the description of the book and I would like to read “Another Man’s Poison”. Sounds like a page turner!
Colleen’s kind of nutty, Dianne! I think you’ll get a kick out of her. Good luck with the giveaway.
I love food and murder.
I love them both, too, Karen! I just can’t decide which I like better (unfortunately, I think food is winning out). Thanks for commenting and good luck with the giveaway.
Wow that’s quite a night for Colleen. I’d like to read more.
And that’s only the first night, Jana. Thanks for commenting and good luck with the giveaway.
Sounds like a fun read. Thanks for sharing a new series & author to me.
Isn’t Dru great for sharing all this, Doward? Fingers crossed for you for the giveaway!
Thanks Jo-Ann.
I often enjoy food related mysteries. I just wondered; are there recipes included in the book?
Oh Pauline! The book is recipe-free. You wouldn’t want to make anything I cook! Best of luck with the giveaway.
Thanks Jo-Ann for interacting with my readers. I’m looking forward to reading this book.
And thanks to you, Dru. What a great opportunity you give to writers who love to connect with die-hard cozy fans!
Colleen has an interesting life – looking forward to reading the series.
Thanks Mary. I hope you love Colleen as much as I do! Good luck with the giveaway. What a sweet-looking puppy pic!
I’ll be snoring away when this giveaway ends in the wee hours, so I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks right now to Dru Ann Love and the amazing job she does bringing readers and writers together. Dru, you’re the absolute best!
I so rarely see my name used in print that I need to read to find out her characterization.
Nadine is a beautiful name, which is why is chose it. Unfortunately, she’s already dead in the beginning of the book! But I do go into her background . . . have a wonderful day, Nadine!
New Author to me but between the streetwalker outfit and poison she grabbed my attention.
Marilyn ewatvess@yahoo.com
Thanks so much for your interest in Another Man’s Poison, Marilyn! Bright red dresses beg for attention, don’t they?
**** WINNER ****
Another Man’s Poison is Barbara Hackel
Congratulations!