1. Final(ist) Revenge!

REVENGE AT THE GALLIANO CLUB has been named a finalist for the Silver Falchion Award for Best Historical! The award is given by the Killer Nashville International Writer’s Conference. The winner will be announced at the conference next month. 

I was already over the moon to be included in the judges’ Top Picks list. It’s doubly exciting that the book is now one of only 6 finalists in the historical fiction category.

MURDER AT THE GALLIANO CLUB, the first novel in the Galliano Club thriller series, won this award last year. It’s amazing to think that this band of characters based on my grandfather’s tales from when he was a deputy sheriff during Prohibition, has been recognized in this way.

2. Tornado Alert

St. Mary's Church, minus its steeple. Picture credit Elizabeth Martina.

Even while I’m celebrating Silver Falchion Finalist status, my hometown of Rome, NY, which inspired the fictional city of Lido in the Galliano Club books, is reeling from the aftermath of a shocking summer tornado that churned through the heart of the city this past week. 

No one in my family was injured or lost a home, but plenty of others did. The tornado damaged 2-story homes in the older part of the city, tore the steeples and roofs off churches, scoured a housing complex where many senior citizens live, and much more. 

Luckily, the tornado did not flatten the historic buildings along Dominick Street (the model for Hamilton Street in the books) where the real Galliano Club still stands.

St Mary's Church in better days. Photo credit: Flickr.

St. Mary’s Church in Rome was the inspiration for St. Brigid’s Church in the Galliano Club books.

Please keep Rome in your thoughts as the city grapples with the extensive damage.

#noticed

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. 

Shepherd.com is a newish site loaded with book recommendations that's unlike any other reader platform. The site just launched a new feature called My Book DNA that sends you 100% personalized book ideas 

#excerpt

MASTER OF THE ART OF DETECTION by Liese Sherwood-Fabre

I had the pleasure of meeting Liese Sherwood-Fabre when we were fellow panel members at a mystery author event organized by the Smith County Library in Wylie, Texas. After the event, we discovered that we have much in common, having both juggled work and family while living overseas and in some of the same places.

And that we both write mysteries, of course!

Liese’s Sherlock Holmes series is a fresh take on the master sleuth. When I asked how she started writing about Holmes, here’s what she said:

I think most people know about Sherlock Holmes. The Robert Downey, Jr. films created a renewed interest a few years ago. 

I was on the treadmill one day (an easy place to let your mind wander) and thought about how Sherlock became Sherlock. There is very little in the original stories about his past. This gave me an almost blank slate to work with. 

I decided I wouldn’t make his father (obvious choice) his mentor, but his mother. I gave her a name (not even mentioned in the original works), a background (the niece of a famous French artist who was mentioned in the original stories), and a brilliant mind confined by Victorian conventions. Her sons (Mycroft and Sherlock) are her outlet for her limited life.

You can read the complete interview with author Liese Sherwood-Fabre here: https://carmenamato.net/author-to-author-with-liese-sherwood-fabre/

Liese’s latest Sherlock Holmes mystery is MASTER OF THE ART OF DETECTION, which sees Holmes at the height of his powers in an intriguing collection of cases. Each adventure presents a web of secrets, clues, and deceptions. Only his highly honed observational skills lead him to the truth.

In a locked-room murder, did the victim succumb to “The Curse of Kisin?” 

And how had the daughter of Squire Northridge disappeared from her own locked bedroom? Can Holmes, an ocean away, determine if a missing treasure hunter ran off with Jean Lafitte’s fabled buried plunder?

The disappearance of a beloved dog is an adventure filled with whimsy and humor, as are the return of Lady Frances Carfax and the howling dog of Baker Street.

Liese’s 4-book series entitled The Early Case Files of Sherlock Holmes is also a great introduction to her work. If you are a Sherlock Holmes fan, indulge!

Thank you for spending your time with me.

Keep healthy, stay in touch, and happy reading!

 All the best, 

PS: Has this been forwarded to you by a friend? Get your own.

PPS: To keep this newsletter free, consider buying a book. Leave a review or invite me on your podcast or book blog. Thank you!

PPPS: If you no longer wish to receive Mystery Ahead, please use the "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of this email. I hate to see you go, but I understand how full inboxes can get.