Rural Pennsylvania’s Vance Township Police Chief Pete Adams is down an officer and has been dealing with extra shifts as well as a pair of bickering neighbors, one of whom owns a machete and isn’t afraid to use it. Golden Oaks Assisted Living is outside Pete’s jurisdiction, but a murder in the facility his Alzheimer’s-afflicted … Continue reading Cry Wolf: A New Zoe Chambers Mystery By Annette Dashofy. #Win a signed print copy!
from Cry Wolf: A New Zoe Chambers Mystery By Annette Dashofy. #Win a signed print copy!
We Know Where the Bodies are Buried
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Reviews. Show all posts
New paramedic mystery, giveaway, and character interview: Uneasy Prey by Annette Dashofy
On the way to the emergency room, an elderly woman regains consciousness long enough to inform paramedic Zoe Chambers that her fall down the basement steps was no accident. Before she can say more, she succumbs to her injuries, launching Zoe and Police Chief Pete Adams into the investigation of a burglary ring targeting the […]
from New paramedic mystery, giveaway, and character interview: Uneasy Prey by Annette Dashofy
from New paramedic mystery, giveaway, and character interview: Uneasy Prey by Annette Dashofy
The Good Bad Review
Before I was a mystery author, I was a college professor, so I’m no stranger to reviews. We professors have end-of-semester student evaluations, as well as public websites that invite students to rate their professors on such criteria as easiness, helpfulness, and –Heaven help us—hotness. Some reviews are more helpful than others, and, surprisingly, the negative ones can be among the most useful.
No class is right for every student, and not every book can be a good fit for every reader.
On this point, it’s instructive to read the reviews for Sarah Caudwell, one of my favorite authors. Her books are very English, very mannered, and very funny. But Hemingwayesque, she is not.
Consider this opening passage from Caudwell’s first novel, Thus Was Adonis Murdered.
Scholarship asks, thank God, no recompense but Truth. It is not for the sake of material reward that she (Scholarship) pursues her (Truth) through the undergrowth of Ignorance, shining on Obscurity the bright torch of Reason and clearing aside the tangled thorns of Error with the keen secateurs of Intellect. Nor is it for the sake of public glory and the applause of the multitude: the scholar is indifferent to vulgar acclaim. Nor is it even in the hope that those few intimate friends who have observed at first hand the labour of the chase will mark with a word or two of discerning congratulation its eventual achievement. Which is very fortunate, because they don’t.
Here she sets up the persona of Hilary Tamar, the pompous and not-so-self-aware Oxford don who narrates this an three additional adventures. This paragraph isn’t a quick read, but in my opinion it’s a rewarding one. It is definitely, however, not everyone’s cup of tea.
Favorable Goodreads reviews describe Caudwell’s first novel as “very funny,” “an incredible plunge into British wit (second to none),” “witty,” and “probably the most charming murder mystery that I’ve ever read.”
Now, let’s hear from the haters:
“If emotional involvement in a story is important to you, avoid this book at all costs…[a]smug, self-consciously witty, piece of tripe.”
If I’m looking for something mannered, witty, and not emotionally taxing, this one-star review wouldn’t necessarily put me off. This is a review that does a service to potential readers, giving us a clear, if negative, perspetive. The next one is an even better bad review.
“Style-wise, I’d give it 5 stars–Ms. Caudwell is/was a terrific writer; very funny in a very British sort of way. But you have to accept the plot-style, which involves way more talk than action. The mystery is essentially sussed out via roundtable discussions and letters from the “suspect” (Julia) that, while incredibly enjoyable, aren’t a bit credible as letters. No one could relate verbatim dialogue in a letter as Julia is purported to do.”
This was voted most helpful negative review on the book’s Amazon page, for good reason. It tells the reader what the reviewer liked and disliked, and why. I am fully prepared to suspend disbelief for the sake of entertaining dialogue; others may not be.
Now, I have to give this next one-star review…one star.
“Couldn’t read more than a few chapters.”
If I didn’t know anything about Thus Was Adonis Murdered, this would not help me at all. Why couldn’t the reviewer read more than a few chapters? Was there too much gore? Explicit sex? Typos and formatting errors? Did the reviewer recently emerge from a bank vault to find that she was the last person on earth, just as she dropped her only pair of reading glasses? Why couldn’t you read more than a few chapters, reviewer, why?
“Couldn’t read more than a few chapters” is a bad bad review.
I think there are two important lessons here:
- you can’t (and shouldn’t) please everyone, and
- a review says as much about the reviewer as about the thing being reviewed—and that’s a good thing. (I don’t wish to embarrass anyone, but I will say that if you have not yet mastered the spelling of “professor,” you probably aren’t a good fit for my senior-level class.)
So when I say I appreciate honest reviews, I really mean it. But I should say that I mean helpful honest reviews. If you have to leave a bad review, make sure it’s a good bad review.
And of course plain old good reviews are always appreciated.
PREORDER THE CASE OF THE DEFUNCT ADJUNCT
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Filed under: Frankie Bow, Higher Ed, Impression Management, Writing Tagged: Amazon, good bad review, marketing, RateMyProfessors, Reviews, RMP, Sarah Caudwell
from The Good Bad Review
Laura’s Interests reviews The Case of the Defunct Adjunct
If you like your cozy mysteries with humor and a satisfying dose of sarcasm, Frankie Bow is your go-to author. Put Molly Barda and best friend Emma Nakamura together and you never know what can happen next.
Win two signed books and a Bayside Made in USA Mahina State t-shirt
Read the full review at Laura’s Interests
PREORDER THE CASE OF THE DEFUNCT ADJUNCT
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Filed under: Adjunct, Buy, Reviews, Writing Tagged: Case of the Defunct Adjunct, Laura's Interests, Review
from Laura’s Interests reviews The Case of the Defunct Adjunct
The Musubi Murder on Amazon’s KBoards Book Discovery
The Musubi Murder is spotlighted today on KBoards Book Discovery. Come have a look!
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THE MUSUBI MURDER Amazon / B&N /Powell’s /Audible / iTunes
Filed under: Author Interviews, Buy, Fun, Impression Management, Reviews, Writing Tagged: blog tour, book spotlight, Buy Buy Buy, cozy mystery, Musubi Murder, Mystery, StoreyBookReviews, Writing
from The Musubi Murder on Amazon’s KBoards Book Discovery
The Musubi Murder is spotlighted on StoreyBookReviews
The Musubi Murder is spotlighted today on StoreyBookReviews. (Check out Leslie’s book challenges here–inspiring to those of us who know we should be reading more!)
Blog Tour Stops
August 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Cozy Wednesday
August 6 – Lilac Reviews – Review
August 7 – Jane Reads – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
August 8 – dru’s book musings – A Day in the Life
August 9 – Book Splurge – Review, Interview
August 10 – Bea’s Book Nook – Review, Giveaway
August 11 – Hobby Lady – Spotlight
August 12 – readalot – Review, Giveaway
August 13 – View from the Birdhouse – Spotlight
August 14 – deal sharing aunt – Interview
August 15 – LibriAmoriMiei – Review
August 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Interview
August 17 – StoreyBook Reviews – Spotlight
August 18 – Brooke Blogs – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
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from The Musubi Murder is spotlighted on StoreyBookReviews
I’m on Cozy up with Kathy today!
Today I’m at Cozy up with Kathy, a delightful blog devoted to cozy mysteries!
Blog Tour Stops
August 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Cozy Wednesday
August 6 – Lilac Reviews – Review
August 7 – Jane Reads – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
August 8 – dru’s book musings – A Day in the Life
August 9 – Book Splurge – Review, Interview
August 10 – Bea’s Book Nook – Review, Giveaway
August 11 – Hobby Lady – Spotlight
August 12 – readalot – Review, Giveaway
August 13 – View from the Birdhouse – Spotlight
August 14 – deal sharing aunt – Interview
August 15 – LibriAmoriMiei – Review
August 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Interview
August 17 – StoreyBook Reviews – Spotlight
August 18 – Brooke Blogs – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
BE THE FIRST TO LEARN ABOUT PROMOTIONS, EVENTS, AND NEW RELEASES:
THE MUSUBI MURDER Amazon / B&N /Powell’s /Audible / iTunes
Filed under: Author Interviews, Buy, Fun, Impression Management, Reviews, Writing Tagged: blog tour, book spotlight, Buy Buy Buy, cozy mystery, Cozy Up with Kathy, Musubi Murder, Mystery, Writing
from I’m on Cozy up with Kathy today!
Oggi siamo a LibriAmoriMiei!
The Musubi Murder is reviewed today on LibriAmoriMiei
Blog Tour Stops
August 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Cozy Wednesday
August 6 – Lilac Reviews – Review
August 7 – Jane Reads – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
August 8 – dru’s book musings – A Day in the Life
August 9 – Book Splurge – Review, Interview
August 10 – Bea’s Book Nook – Review, Giveaway
August 11 – Hobby Lady – Spotlight
August 12 – readalot – Review, Giveaway
August 13 – View from the Birdhouse – Spotlight
August 14 – deal sharing aunt – Interview
August 15 – LibriAmoriMiei – Review
August 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Interview
August 17 – StoreyBook Reviews – Spotlight
August 18 – Brooke Blogs – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
BE THE FIRST TO LEARN ABOUT PROMOTIONS, EVENTS, AND NEW RELEASES:
THE MUSUBI MURDER Amazon / B&N /Powell’s /Audible / iTunes
Filed under: Author Interviews, Buy, Fun, Impression Management, Reviews, Writing Tagged: blog tour, book spotlight, Buy Buy Buy, cozy mystery, LibriAmoriMiei, Musubi Murder, Mystery, Writing
from Oggi siamo a LibriAmoriMiei!
The Musubi Murder gets 5 stars on Laura's Interests
Today The Musubi Murder is reviewed on Laura's Interests.
Filed under: Author Interviews, Buy, Fun, Local life, Reviews, Writing Tagged: blog tour, book spotlight, Buy Buy Buy, cozy mystery, Hobby Lady, Musubi Murder, Mystery, Writing
from The Musubi Murder is featured on Hobby Lady!
The audible narration is 5 stars +++ and you will be laughing out loud at the misadventures Molly and her colleagues (and students) find themselves in...Molly Barda would be fun to hang out with...I look forward to watching her solve more crimes.
BE THE FIRST TO LEARN ABOUT PROMOTIONS, EVENTS, AND NEW RELEASES:
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from The Musubi Murder is featured on Hobby Lady!
The Musubi Murder is featured on Bea’s Book Nook!
Today The Musubi Murder is featured on Bea’s Book Nook.
Blog Tour Stops
August 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Cozy Wednesday
August 6 – Lilac Reviews
August 7 – Jane Reads
August 8 – dru’s book musings – A Day in the Life
August 9 – Book Splurge
August 10 – Bea’s Book Nook
August 11 – Hobby Lady
August 12 – readalot
August 13 – View from the Birdhouse
August 14 – deal sharing aunt
August 15 – LibriAmoriMiei
August 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy
August 17 – StoreyBook Reviews
August 18 – Brooke Blogs
BE THE FIRST TO LEARN ABOUT PROMOTIONS, EVENTS, AND NEW RELEASES:
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Filed under: Author Interviews, Buy, Fun, Reviews, Writing Tagged: blog tour, book spotlight, Buy Buy Buy, cozy mystery, Musubi Murder, Mystery, Writing
from The Musubi Murder is featured on Bea’s Book Nook!
The Musubi Murder is featured on Book Splurge!
Today The Musubi Murder is featured on Book Splurge.
Blog Tour Stops
August 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Cozy Wednesday
August 6 – Lilac Reviews
August 7 – Jane Reads
August 8 – dru’s book musings – A Day in the Life
August 9 – Book Splurge
August 10 – Bea’s Book Nook
August 11 – Hobby Lady
August 12 – readalot
August 13 – View from the Birdhouse
August 14 – deal sharing aunt
August 15 – LibriAmoriMiei
August 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy
August 17 – StoreyBook Reviews
August 18 – Brooke Blogs
BE THE FIRST TO LEARN ABOUT PROMOTIONS, EVENTS, AND NEW RELEASES:
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Filed under: Author Interviews, Buy, Fun, Reviews, Writing Tagged: blog tour, Book Splurge, book spotlight, Buy Buy Buy, cozy mystery, Musubi Murder, Mystery, Writing
from The Musubi Murder is featured on Book Splurge!
A Day in the Life of Molly Barda, today on Dru’s Book Musings!
Do you remember someone in your formative years, perhaps a high school counselor, telling you that if you do what you love, the money will follow?
That, as it turns out, is not a sound career planning strategy. Let me tell you what happens when you follow your dreams.
A Day in the Life of Molly Barda, on Dru’s Book Musings!
Blog Tour Stops
August 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Cozy Wednesday
August 6 – Lilac Reviews – Review
August 7 – Jane Reads – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
August 8 – dru’s book musings – A Day in the Life
August 9 – Book Splurge – Review, Interview
August 10 – Bea’s Book Nook – Review, Giveaway
August 11 – Hobby Lady – Spotlight
August 12 – readalot – Review, Giveaway
August 13 – View from the Birdhouse – Spotlight
August 14 – deal sharing aunt – Interview
August 15 – LibriAmoriMiei – Review
August 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Interview
August 17 – StoreyBook Reviews – Spotlight
August 18 – Brooke Blogs – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
BE THE FIRST TO LEARN ABOUT PROMOTIONS, EVENTS, AND NEW RELEASES:
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from A Day in the Life of Molly Barda, today on Dru’s Book Musings!
The Musubi Murder is on Jane Reads today!
The Musubi Murder is featured today on Jane Reads!
Blog Tour Stops
August 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Cozy Wednesday
August 6 – Lilac Reviews – Review
August 7 – Jane Reads – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
August 8 – dru’s book musings – A Day in the Life
August 9 – Book Splurge – Review, Interview
August 10 – Bea’s Book Nook – Review, Giveaway
August 11 – Hobby Lady – Spotlight
August 12 – readalot – Review, Giveaway
August 13 – View from the Birdhouse – Spotlight
August 14 – deal sharing aunt – Interview
August 15 – LibriAmoriMiei – Review
August 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Interview
August 17 – StoreyBook Reviews – Spotlight
August 18 – Brooke Blogs – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
BE THE FIRST TO LEARN ABOUT PROMOTIONS, EVENTS, AND NEW RELEASES:
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from The Musubi Murder is on Jane Reads today!
The Musubi Murder is on Lilac Reviews!
The Musubi Murder is featured today on Lilac Reviews!
Blog Tour Stops
August 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Cozy Wednesday
August 6 – Lilac Reviews – Review
August 7 – Jane Reads – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
August 8 – dru’s book musings – A Day in the Life
August 9 – Book Splurge – Review, Interview
August 10 – Bea’s Book Nook – Review, Giveaway
August 11 – Hobby Lady – Spotlight
August 12 – readalot – Review, Giveaway
August 13 – View from the Birdhouse – Spotlight
August 14 – deal sharing aunt – Interview
August 15 – LibriAmoriMiei – Review
August 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy – Interview
August 17 – StoreyBook Reviews – Spotlight
August 18 – Brooke Blogs – Review, Guest Post, Giveaway
BE THE FIRST TO LEARN ABOUT PROMOTIONS, EVENTS, AND NEW RELEASES:
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Filed under: Author Interviews, Buy, Fun, Reviews, Writing Tagged: blog tour, book spotlight, Buy Buy Buy, cozy mystery, Musubi Murder, Mystery, Writing
from The Musubi Murder is on Lilac Reviews!
The Musubi Murder hardcover edition is available now!
The hardcover edition of The Musubi Murder is available now!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Musubi Murder will be the star of a blog tour, arranged by the marvelous Lori of Escape With Dollycas, starting August 5.
Here’s the full blog tour schedule!
August 6 – Lilac Reviews
August 7 – Jane Reads
August 8 – dru’s book musings – A Day in the Life
August 9 – Book Splurge
August 10 – Bea’s Book Nook
August 11 – Hobby Lady
August 12 – readalot
August 13 – View from the Birdhouse
August 14 – deal sharing aunt
August 15 – LibriAmoriMiei
August 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy
August 17 – StoreyBook Reviews
August 18 – Brooke Blogs
Filed under: Author Interviews, Buy, Fun, Reviews, Writing Tagged: blog tour, book spotlight, Buy Buy Buy, cozy mystery, Dollycas, Musubi Murder, Mystery, Writing
from The Musubi Murder hardcover edition is available now!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
The Musubi Murder will be the star of a blog tour, arranged by the marvelous Lori of Escape With Dollycas, starting August 5.
Here’s the full blog tour schedule!
Blog Tour Stops
August 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – Cozy Wednesday August 6 – Lilac Reviews
August 7 – Jane Reads
August 8 – dru’s book musings – A Day in the Life
August 9 – Book Splurge
August 10 – Bea’s Book Nook
August 11 – Hobby Lady
August 12 – readalot
August 13 – View from the Birdhouse
August 14 – deal sharing aunt
August 15 – LibriAmoriMiei
August 16 – Cozy Up With Kathy
August 17 – StoreyBook Reviews
August 18 – Brooke Blogs
BE THE FIRST TO LEARN ABOUT PROMOTIONS, EVENTS, AND NEW RELEASES:
THE MUSUBI MURDER Amazon / B&N /Powell’s /Audible / iTunes
Filed under: Author Interviews, Buy, Fun, Reviews, Writing Tagged: blog tour, book spotlight, Buy Buy Buy, cozy mystery, Dollycas, Musubi Murder, Mystery, Writing
from The Musubi Murder hardcover edition is available now!
The Musubi Murder reviewed on ShelbyFoister.com
Shelby Foister is a writer, reviewer, gamer, photographer, and dad. His book reviews are thoughtful and detailed. He gives the reader a great sense of a book’s strong and weak points, and avoids spoilers.
His review of The Musubi Murder is honest and insightful. I’m thrilled that the overall verdict is favorable, but I also appreciate learning what does and doesn’t work for a reader.
My favorite sentence:
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THE MUSUBI MURDER August 2015 Amazon / B&N /Powell’s /Audible / iTunes
Filed under: Buy, Fun, Reviews, Writing Tagged: cozy mystery, Mystery, Reviews, Shelby Foister, Writing
from The Musubi Murder reviewed on ShelbyFoister.com
Bad book reviews = great sales?
Maybe the one-star review, that bane of every author’s ego, isn’t such a bad thing after all.
Stanford Daily reports that the only thing worse than bad publicity is no publicity.
By measuring the size of sale spikes in the week following the release of each book review, the study showed two main points: positive publicity benefited all titles and the bad publicity only helped lesser-known and obscure authors.
Just one more reason to stop fretting about reviews, and sit down and write another, better, book.
The original study is here.
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Filed under: Impression Management, Science!, Writing Tagged: books, business, career advice, context matters, marketing, Reviews, science, Unintended Consequences, Writing
from Bad book reviews = great sales?
Survey: What should we call our forthcoming anthology of Hawaii mysteries?
Several Hawaii-based mystery authors, editors, and artists are donating their time to a mystery anthology to benefit Read Aloud America. I can’t say much more just yet, but there is some amazing talent involved in this project.
We’d love to get your ideas on what to name our anthology. Come fill out the very short survey here!
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Filed under: Author Interviews, Buy, Fun, Impression Management, Reviews, Writing Tagged: benefit, Buy Buy Buy, Read Aloud America, survey, Writing
from Survey: What should we call our forthcoming anthology of Hawaii mysteries?
Today on College Misery: You Won’t Believe This One Weird Trick to Raise your Graduation Rate!
1. Don’t let teachers give failing grades
Read the whole post on College Misery
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Filed under: Author Interviews, Buy, Fun, Knaves and Dunderheads, Reviews, Writing Tagged: Chicago, College Misery, grade inflation, grades, graduation rate, misery, students
from Today on College Misery: You Won’t Believe This One Weird Trick to Raise your Graduation Rate!
New software gizmo will tell you what your skills are, match you with the perfect job
New software gizmo will tell you what your skills are, match you with the perfect job
Texas State Technical College, spurred by the fact that one third of its state funding is now tied to its graduates’ starting salaries, has eliminated all majors except petroleum engineering developed software that matches graduates’ skills with job requirements. But why should Texas State Technical College students have all the fun? Anyone can try out the Skills Engine here.
I fed three academic CVs into the Skills Engine. Do academics actually have any transferable skills? See the results over at College Misery.
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Filed under: Author Interviews, Buy, Fun, Higher Ed, Impression Management, Reviews, Science!, Writing Tagged: career advice, employment, Higher Ed, jobs, Texas
from New software gizmo will tell you what your skills are, match you with the perfect job
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