I’m Lindy Blanchard and to tell the truth I can’t say there’s ever an ordinary day here in Riverville, Texas. Especially not on our pecan ranch, Rancho en el Colorado, where the pecan trees are big and old, the Colorado River sets the back curve of our fifty acres, and the days can be long and hot. More than once I’ve been working out in my greenhouse and thinking of a tall cool mint julep and the old days when ladies sat on front verandas and rocked and fanned and talked about cotillions. You see, our part of Texas is just as southern as all the rest of the Deep South. That means traditions of helping others, having fun, working hard, and once in a while, doing each other in.
The cotillion days are long gone around here but one thing’s sure, even on my very worst days I don’t usually stumble over dead people like my Uncle Amos. Especially I don’t come across dead relatives who caused our family heaps of trouble over the years. It was the causing trouble part that made us Blanchards look guilty of something or other, maybe even murder.
The good thing about days when I’m not falling over bodies is that I’m alone in my green house, working hard to find a new strain of pecan tree. What I’m trying to do is help all of us ranchers here in Riverville. I want none of us facing disaster every time some awful disease grabs ahold of the trees, or a drought comes and puts people straight out of business, ranchers losing their spreads, the family huddling inside their well loved ranch houses while people on the front porch are bidding and then the hammer comes down and everything they worked so hard for is gone. Some day I hope to put a stop to all of that. That’s why I studied botany at Texas A&M and came back to the ranch. Thought I was here to help, not find dead people.
Every day since I found Uncle Amos, dead as a doornail, with one of my green plant stakes sticking out of him and many of my young trees destroyed, nothing’s been the same around here. Not at the ranch or at the family store, The Nut House, that my grandma runs for the family. Poor meemaw, Miss Amelia, had to put up with all the questions and prying of Rivervillians about Uncle Amos getting himself murdered like that. Bad enough for meemaw, but add to that others, like her best (and worst) friend, Ethelred Tomroy, doing a little gloating that the Blanchards were maybe knocked down a peg or two now that we, maybe, harbored a killer in our midst.
That’s when me and my grandma, Miss Amelia, teamed up. My boyfriend, Deputy Hunter Austen, of the Riverville Police Department, along with all the other people working the case, couldn’t get things done fast enough for us. Miss Amelia, who is seventy-seven and smart as a whip, decided that a Blanchard was better able to search out old Blanchard secrets than outsiders, and we did, the two of us, sometimes having to dance a line dance at out local saloon to get information; sometimes having to do some underhanded finagling, trick a few people, take special care of others, deal with Houston doctors and Columbus detectives, hide just a little information until we could act on it, then join with Hunter to bring that murdering creep to justice.
When that was over I thought to myself: now I’m going to get back to normal, spend my days in the greenhouse, date Hunter from time to time, listen to Emma, my mama, going on and on about the price of pecans at supper; my brother, Justin, talk about the wild hogs coming up into the groves from the Colorado; my sister, Bethany, ruminating about white doves and folding centerpieces for all the big weddings she’s going to produce out at our new wedding tent, set up under some of the oldest pecan trees on the ranch; and meemaw, maybe back to tussling with Ethelred over who’s got the best pecan pie recipe in town.
But things don’t always turn out like you expect.
Now we got us a poisoner here in Riverville and me and meemaw are right back in the soup again. We seem to have a knack for investigating things. Gets my mind off pecan disasters. Gets her mind of Ethelred’s needling. And the two of us maybe make Riverville a little better place to live.
You can read more about Lindy in A Tough Nut To Kill, the first book in the “Nut House” mystery series, published by Berkley Prime Crime. Books are available at retail and online booksellers.
GIVEAWAY: Comment on this post by noon EST on February 6, and you will be entered for a chance to win a copy of A Tough Nut To Kill. One winner will be chosen at random. Unless specified, U.S. entries only.
Meet the author
Elizabeth Lee is the pseudonym of Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli who has previously published several novels including the Emily Kincaid series. A Tough Nut to Kill is the first in a new series from Berkeley/NAL.
Elizabeth lives back in the woods between Mancelona and Kalkaska, Michigan. She lives on a small lake, much like the protagonist of her Emily Kincaid mystery series. In fact, they inhabit the same house and writing studio.
Elizabeth is a book reviewer with the Northern Express newspaper and teaches creative writing at Northwestern Michigan College, in Traverse City.
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This sounds great!
I would love a copy. Sounds like an interesting series opener.
Yay, a new series! I can’t wait to “crack” open this book!
You are so correct, things don’t always turn out as you expect…..life gives you nuts…..write a book! I love mysteries with good storylines, and this book is being put on my TBR list. Love the title and would love to own the series.
woohoo!!
another new cozy series!!
thank you for the giveaway!!!
Another fun series for my t-b-r list…Thanks.
I love trying new cozy series – thanks for the giveaway opportunity!
Sounds great! Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
This sounds good! Thank you for the giveaway!
This sounds really good.
Another new series, yeah! Thanks for the giveaway !
Pre-Ordered this, and now just waiting for the USPS to get my copy here from Amazon 🙂
I’m in. Pecan-growing is a big deal in southern New Mexico. I’m interested to see if there’s much science in this as well as to meet some new characters.
Pecans make wonderful pralines and turtles.
Miss Amelia sounds like quite a character. I would like to know more about Her.
Sounds great, I’d love to read this
Can’t wait to read it 🙂
Thank you for the chance to win. This sounds like a good book
I love Elizabeth’s books and I’m very much looking forward to reading this new one.
I love Elizabeth’s work. I’m looking forward to this next read.
A mystery set in Texas – how wonderful!
Sounds like another fun read – thanks for the give-away.
Thank you for a chance to read this book. It sounds like the type of cozy I like.
What a terrific new series this promises to be!
This sounds like a great series!
Sounds like a good series, thanks for the chance to win a copy!
Wow!! I definitely want to read and review this book!! Sounds like my best friends family, with developing new strains of plants. Though she’s never found a body at her place, unless you count the mice that the cat’s bring to her.
I like the idea of learning about pecan trees this sounds very interesting, and throw a dead body in there too, I’m adding this to my tbr list. Thank you for the chance to win.
This sounds great! I’d love to win 🙂
Looks like a good book and something nutty that won’t cause allergic reaction for my daughter. 😀
My mom often used the expression “He’s one tough nut to crack” so this book really caught my eye.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
Sounds like an awesome book. I can’t wait to read it! I love pecans! 🙂
I lived in Austin, TX for a while, years ago, and I remember taking a drive to the east and visiting a pecan orchard!
cozyupwithkathy @ gmail dot com
Sounds like a lot of fun. 🙂
Interesting blog post today with a book that sounds rather different than most. I am interested in finding out more about this author as I don’t believe that I have ever read anything she wrote under her other alias either. And a unique title of a book doesn’t hurt to garner attention either, so I am interested in the first book of this series.
Thank you for the posting today Dru.
Cynthia
I love to find new authors and your book sounds like a great one!
Looking forward to it!
Sounds like a fun read
Can’t wait to read this book 🙂
This sounds like a fun series.
kaye.killgore@comcast.net
Pecans! My uncle & aunt had pecan trees in their back yard & some of the best times as child on vacation was helping “harvest” the pecans. And, eating the fresh pecan pie my aunt made later. This sounds like a great start o a new series. Thanks for the review and giveaway!
This sounds great. Thanks for the chance to win.
This looks like a great one.
Will be a fun read, I am sure!
Being “southern” from both sides aof my family (Atlamta, Georgia), I really get this.
Now, do they pronounce it “PEE-can” or “peh-CAWN”?
contest is closed.