1. Have Thriller, Will Knit

A mystery author, a knitting pattern designer, a fiber arts store owner and a custom yarn maker all walk into a bar . . . The result is knitting, crochet and weaving kits inspired by the Galliano Club historical fiction thriller series!

Elizabeth Kay Booth, a knitting pattern designer, is the creative force behind 3 kits based on the Galliano Club books for those who love to knit, crochet or weave. Each kit takes inspiration from a different Galliano Club book, with designs like a delicate cowl scarf and a cloche style hat to evoke the New York setting and 1920’s vibe of the book.

There will be 3 kits released over the next 6 months. Each includes a Galliano Club book, a pattern and custom yarn to complete the project. Each kit also contains a special gift from me. Check out the Pinterest board here.

Anyone who buys a kit is invited to a series of online and in-person meetups starting in October to talk about the books and the knit/crochet/weaving projects. 

Kit #1 is available for preorder now through 20 September from Sunshine Weaving and Fiber Arts.

Kit #1 contains:

• 2 paperback books (prequel ROAD TO THE GALLIANO CLUB, plus MURDER AT THE GALLIANO CLUB, the award-winning first novel in the series)
• The project bag with 2 full-size skeins of custom-dyed yarn of your choice,
• Additional mini-skein,
• Stitch markers,
• Project pattern QR code,
• A surprise gift from the author (me).

Preorders for Kit #1 close 20 September. Given the time needed to stock books and custom dye the yarn, your kit will be shipped 3-4 weeks later, in time for the first meetup on 22 October 6:00-7:30 pm CST.

Here’s the link to order Kit #1 at Sunshine Weaving and Fiber Arts: 

https://sunshineweaving.com/product/stitches-secrets-the-galliano-thriller-book-club/

#noticed

Friends at StoryOrigin have some great fall reads! Click the cover for more.

EXTRACTION by Jodi Burnett

First in the US Marshals thriller series puts Marshal Dirk Sterling on the hunt for an ancient relic being used to fund terrorism.

BURIED PAST by Nora Kane

An early case takes Margot Harris from small town cop to private investigator while outrunning the legacy of a tragic past.

Black Rifle Coffee is a sponsor of this newsletter, which helps me keep it free for you. If you’re a coffee drinker like myself, consider their subscription service which also makes a great gift! 

Visit Black Rifle Coffee. 

#excerpt

The Italian-American community has been very supportive of the Galliano Club books! This is an excerpt from an article I’m writing for the Italian Sons and Daughters of America about my grandfather who was a deputy sheriff during Prohibition:

Besides being a jailer in the county lockup, Joe was also tossed into the melee of Prohibition enforcement. One night, he was assigned to stake out the city cemetery.

A gang of bootleggers had staged an elaborate funeral. Rumor had it that instead of a corpse, the casket was loaded with a fortune in illegal booze bound for New York City. The bootleggers were bound to come back to the cemetery to retrieve it.

Unwilling to go to the cemetery alone, Joe enlisted the help of his best friend, Hank Rizzuto. 

Hank, the father of future Givenchy fashion house scion John Rizzuto, sold insurance. 

In the cemetery, the two men huddled behind a large headstone where they could see anyone who approached the fresh grave. 

Joe’s hand twitched on his revolver. He didn’t know how many bootleggers would turn up. 

It was a cold autumn night, but the ground had yet to freeze. Darkness pressed against them from all sides. The sky was pitch-black, the rustling wind sounded like a legion of ghosts while the tilting headstones spoke a haunting silence. 

They waited . . . 

Ten, possibly 15 minutes.

Joe and Hank scrambled to their feet and made a run for it. If the bootleggers had the guts to come back and dig up a liquor-filled casket, they were welcome to it.

CLOSE TO DEATH by Anthony Horowitz

Anthony Horowitz is one of the cleverest mystery authors working today, witness the Horowitz and Hawthorne series in which he uses himself as a character in the role of Dr. Watson to the Sherlock Holmes played by rogue ex-policeman Daniel Hawthorne, a shadowy private security consultant to Scotland Yard. 

From the preceding books in the series, we know that Hawthorne approached Horowitz with the idea to write true crime about his cases because Hawthorne needed the money. Horowitz's publisher loved the idea and offered a multi-book contract with a very tight schedule.

Now, stuck with a looming deadline and no current murder investigation, Horowitz convinces Hawthorne to tell him about a past case that was particularly challenging. Hawthorne does, but only in dribs and drabs, allowing for a riveting trick of fiction book construction that could only work in the hands of a master. 

The story of the death of an arrogant banker and the neighbors he antagonized is worthy of Agatha Christie. Everyone hated the man. So which neighbor killed him?

The story of the group of would-be killers is told in third person style. But instead of the whole thing offered from beginning to end, the account is broken up by Horowitz’s first person narration of trying to dig facts out of Hawthorne, so that the two time frames run in tandem. 

The reason given for this clever device is that Hawthorne doles out information to Horowitz and the latter can only write so much before he has to go back to the well. Frustration eventually leads Horowitz to dig into the mystery himself in an attempt to solve the 20-year-old murder. 

Some great humor bits ensue when Hawthorne picks apart Horowitz’s prose or when Horowitz checks if people have read his books.

The prose is smooth as silk, the relationships are pure dynamite, and the ending is thoroughly satisfying. The duality of the book, moving from Horowitz's telling of the story and Horowitz becoming a character in the story, is what makes this a cut above. 

Creating a series with himself, a well-known author with multiple books and awards, as well as television credits, like Foyle’s War and Magpie Murders, with references to projects his reader knows, is such a unique device that I'm tempted to try it myself.

Highly recommended.

Thank you for spending your time with me.

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