Hey, y’all, I thought I’d drop by today and introduce myself since I am one of the main characters in Lizbeth Lipperman’s new mystery series titled “A Dead Sister Talking” debuting the first part of May from Midnight Ink.
My name is Tessa Moretti, and I own half of one of the biggest vineyards and wineries in Vineyard, Texas. Well, I did own it, but now that I’m dead I willed it to my sister Lainey to oversee until my daughter is old enough to take over.
Yep, you heard me right. I’m deader than a doornail to everyone but Lainey who hasn’t talked to me in over nine years. At the funeral home, I showed up and scared the crap out of her. Of all my siblings, Lord only knows why she’s the one who can see and hear me. The other three sisters thought she was batty until I revealed secrets about each one. Freaked them all out.
They wanted to know why I hadn’t gone to the great vineyard beyond, and my answer was pretty simple. I wanted them to find my killer. Now that’s a crazy idea to begin with since one sister answers the phone at the police station, one is the activities director at a nursing home, one’s an obstetrical resident, and Lainey is a TV morning talk show host in Savannah. Not great resumes for solving a murder, but hey, I was desperate.
Coming up with a list of possible suspects was the first order of business, complicated by the fact that there were a lot of people in town who weren’t exactly tearful over my death. Seems I have a penchant for making people mad. They say I’m a smart ass, but I look at it as calling it like it is.
At the top of the list of people who wanted me dead was my second husband Jerry, who is now married to an ex-porn star. Think that wasn’t dicey when he brought her back to Vineyard which is situated smack in the center of the Bible Belt? Then there’s the Houston oilman who, I swear, couldn’t score in a monkey whorehouse with a bagful of bananas.
There are just too many people out there who celebrated when I was murdered. I needed my sisters to find out which one of them actually did the deed.
I’d tell you, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy. However, you can check it out when HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE debuts this month.
Lizbeth is giving away one (1) copy of HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE. Leave a comment to be included in the giveaway. Contest ends May 10 and US entries only.
You can read more about Tessa in Heard It Through The Grapevine, the first book in the new “Dead Sister Talking” mystery series.
Meet the author
Liz Lipperman started writing many years ago, even before she retired from the medical profession. Wasting many years thinking she was a romance writer but always having to deal with the pesky villains who kept popping up in all her stories, she finally gave up and decided since she read mysteries and obviously wrote them, why fight it? She now calls what she writes Romantic Mystery (RM) since there is always a little romance involved. Two years ago, she signed her first contract with Berkley to write a cozy series called “The Clueless Cook Mysteries.”
Having lived in Taiwan and Saudi Arabia, she and her HS sweetheart hubby now reside north of Dallas. When she’s not writing, she spends her time doting on her four wonderful grandchildren. She writes the Clueless Cook Mystery Series for Berkley Prime Crime, the Dead Sister Talking Mysteries for Midnight Ink and her romantic suspense/mysteries are available on Amazon.
Visit Lizbeth at www.lizlipperman.com, Twitter or on Facebook.
Books are available at retail and online booksellers.
Love, love, love witty new cozy series and this one is a must read!
Sounds like fun….count me in! I will look for this one.
you got me at ‘grapevine’!!! LOL!!!
thank you for the giveaway!!!!
Loved the intro to Tessa! I am a fan of the Clueless Cook mysteries to, so count me in! Would love to win the new read!
This book sounds awesome! Would love to win a copy!
How much fun is this book!!! Would love to win.
I think I’m going to have to check this one out! Thanks, Dru Ann! 😀
ladychrisa (at) hotmail (dot) com
Good morning, Dru Ann and all you wonderful people.
@Jan – yes, I would love for you to read it.
@Deanna – I had so much fun writing it and hope you smile when you read it, too.
@cyn – Love that. Originally , it was titled TALK DEAD TO ME but they changed it because they wanted to ll it A Dead Sister Talking Mystery.
@Kathy – fingers crossed.
@ladychrista – Let me know what you think. This one has bad words and sex scenes. If you can get past that, it’s a fun mystery.
What a fun premise. I really don’t need another series to start, but this looks too good to pass up.
would love to win!
Liz is one of my favorite authors. How could I not want to win the first book in her new series… I love feisty ghosts.. they make the best pains in the ass an amateur detective could wish for.
NoraAdrienne(at)gmail(dot)com
@holdenj – thanks for those kind words. I love Jordan in the Clueless Cook series, too. Fingers crossed you win. If now, Amazon has it on sale for 40% off.
@Nancy – good to see you here. Fingers crossed for you, too.
@Mare – ah, Mare, what’s another book on your TBR pile? If yours looks anything like mine, between the two of us, we could start our own library.
@ Sarah – Fingers crossed.
@Nora – love your comment, especially about me being one of your favs. And Tessa is definitely a PITA.
Awesome giveaway! I LOVE Liz and everything that she writes.This new series sounds like it is going to be a blast. Looking forward to reading this one. Thanks for the giveaway. Fingers crossed! Keep the stories coming Liz. 🙂
I’m just discovering wines. An acquaintance has a vineyard in the Algarve, Portugal and I’ve acquainted myself with his wines over the last few years. Sounds like you have quite a few loyal readers supporting your books and I’d like to join them. Thanks for the contest. judydee22002@yahoo dot com
I really like cozies and would love to be included in this giveaway.
6186pep(at)msn(dot)com
What a shame. She can’t drink her wine anymore!
What a delightful character. I’m hooked. (smile)
Been waiting on the smart ass ghost mystery, Liz! Yay!
@Stacie – you really know how to bring a smile to a girl’s face!! Thanks.
@Judy – The funny thing is when I occasionally order a glass of wine, I ask for the pink stuff. I learned a lot doing the research for this book and even brought home a bottle Viognier from the northern California vineyard I toured. When this book sold, we popped the cork and indulged. It was yummy even though I am a margarita girl. And I’d love to have you as a reader.
@Darlene – see my earlier comment about how this is really not a cozy. It does have bad words and a few sex scenes. If you are looking for something a little more G rated, check out my Clueless Cook series. Go to Amazon and download the free look inside, and you can read the first 60 pages free and then decide.
@Elizabeth – you get the prize for being the only one empathetic to Tessa. Although she’s really not a nice person, by the end of the book, I hope I have made her a little more sympathetic. And the Viognier is her baby and she really doesn’t get to enjoy it.
@Maryann – Tessa really is a fun character to write. I just finished book 2 in this series. It’s Maddy’s story (oldest sister) and will release next May. I love that I hooked you.
I hear great music when I read the title. Now I can hardly wait to read the book.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com
Sue, originally the Texas town was Grapevine, which is a real city north of DFW airport, but I decided to change it to a fictional town so that I could have creative license with it. The title stuck since it is about a vineyard. And yes, Marvin Gaye was the bomb.
I loved reading the intro to Tessa’s…um…afterlife. I think it’s refreshing that she tells it like it is. I don’t know what made me laugh more, the part about the second husband marrying the ex-porn-star while living in the middle of the Bible-belt, or the part about the oilman who couldn’t score in a monkey whorehouse with a bag full of bananas.
Thanks Liz for introducing Tessa to us.
Liz, this sounds like the beginning of a great new series!
A cozy mystery that my daughter would love to have, thanks for the chance to win it for her.
wfnren(at)aol(dot)com
Sounds like a great story, and I think we’d both enjoy it very much. Please enter my name in the draw. carlscott(at)prodigy(dot)net(dot)mx
This looks awesome. Would love to win the new book.
I’m sitting here watching my book list grow. But this sounds too good not to include it on my list. And I can’t resist a book that takes place at a Texas vineyard!
Looks so interesting! Please enter my name in the giveaway. THANKS
Contest is closed, but comments are always welcome