Book Title: Chris Crossed Murder (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #4) by Lauren Carr
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +)
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: Feb 22, 2023
Content Rating: PG-13 (Lauren Carr's books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between). No F-bombs!
"Lauren Carr is among my favorite mystery writers. She knows how to write a fun tale while keeping readers engaged. ...I would give Chris Crossed Murder one hundred stars if I could. I believe readers who enjoy reading well-written and clean cozy mysteries will most definitely want to read it. I have no doubt they will enjoy it as much as I did. The fifth installment from A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery series is on my radar for when it releases." - Review of CHRIS CROSSED MURDER (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery, Book Four) by Amy Campbell, Locks Hooks and Books
It proves to be a Christmas to remember when the Matheson family receives the horrendous news that Chris Matheson’s body has been found in the woods near an international airport.
Everyone is stunned—especially Chris Matheson.
The mystery deepens when they discover the victim has Chris’s federal agent badge and appears to have been investigating one of his old cases.
The Geezer Squad’s latest case is not only a whodunit but who-got-dun. Is this a case of mistaken identity? Was Chris the intended victim? If not, then they must identify the murder victim to find his killer.
With Christmas days away, join the Chris Matheson and the Geezer Squad as they race to piece together the clues to their most puzzling case yet.
Check Out The Rest of The Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries:
Book Title: ICE (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #1) by Lauren Carr
Category: Adult fiction, 364 pages
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: February 26, 2018
Content Rating: PG-13 (Lauren Carr's books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between). No F-bombs!
When Sandy Lipton and her unborn child disappeared, the court of public opinion found young Chris Matheson guilty. Decades later, the retired FBI agent returns home to discover that the cloud of suspicion cast over him and his family has never lifted.
With the help of a team of fellow retired law enforcement officers, each a specialist in their own field of investigation, Chris Matheson starts chipping away at the ice on this cold case to uncover what had happened to Sandy and her baby and the clues are getting hot!
Book Title: Winter Frost (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #2) by Lauren Carr
Category: Adult fiction, 332 pages
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: January 22, 2019
Content Rating: PG-13 (Lauren Carr's books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between). No F-bombs!
"Winter Frost was an entertaining, at times humorous read with suspense, some surprises, and even cute animals in the mix." Review of Winter Frost by The iRead Review
It all started with a chance encounter in the city with Blair, his late wife.
Chris Matheson and the Geezer Squad, working under the guise of a book club, dig into the events surrounding his late wife’s supposed death halfway around the globe. A state department employee shoots himself in the back three times. A CIA operative goes missing. A woman is targeted by an international assassin three years after being declared dead in a terrorist attack overseas.
Nothing is as it seems.
In his most personal cold case, Chris fights to uncover why the state department told him that Blair, the mother of his children, had been killed when she was alive. What had she uncovered that has made her a target? Who terrified her so much that she had gone into hiding and why are they now after him?
Book Title: The Last Thing She Said (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #3) by Lauren Carr
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 386 pages
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: July 22, 2019
Content Rating: PG-13 (Lauren Carr's books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between). No F-bombs!
“I’m working on the greatest mystery ever,” was the last thing noted mystery novelist Mercedes Livingston said to seven-year-old Chris Matheson before walking out of Hill House Hotel never to be seen again.
For decades, the writer’s fate remained a puzzling mystery until an autographed novel and a letter put a grown-up Chris Matheson on the trail of a cunning killer. With the help of a team of fellow retired law enforcement officers, each a specialist in their own field of investigation, Chris puts a flame to this cold case to uncover what had really happened that night Mercedes Livingston walked out of Hill House Hotel. Watch out! The clues are getting hot!
Selling over half a million books worldwide, Lauren Carr is the international best-selling author of the Mac Faraday, Lovers in Crime, Thorny Rose, Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries, and Nikki Bryant Cozy Mysteries—thirty titles across five fast-paced mystery series filled with twists and turns!
Book reviewers and readers alike rave about how Lauren Carr seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor.
The owner of Acorn Book Services and iRead Book Tours, Lauren is also a publishing manager, consultant, and virtual book tour coordinator for independent authors.
Lauren is a popular speaker who has made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at conventions.
She lives with her husband, and two spoiled rotten German shepherds on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.
connect with the author: website ~ blog ~ facebook ~ instagram ~ twitter ~ pinterest
Author Interview with Lauren Carr, author of CHRIS CROSSED MURDER (a Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery)
1. Can you share a bit about your writing journey? Looking back, how early did this interest start and how did it develop over the years?
I believe writers are born writers. Either you’re a storyteller or you’re not. Even before I could read or write, I was making up stories. If someone asks me how my day was, I can’t just say, “Fine.” I have to set the scene, establish all of the characters, and build to a thrilling climax.
My mother was a big reader and she loved murder mysteries. That’s where I got it. She’d read Perry Mason to me at bedtime. I started out with the Bobbsey Twins. From there I moved on to Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys and then on to Agatha Christie. I got hooked.
But while I was always a writer and I always loved murder mysteries, I didn’t attempt to write murder mystery novels until I was in my mid-thirties. I believed that only someone extremely clever could put together a murder mystery and pull it off and I didn’t think I was that clever.
2. What was the career you had before you became a full-time author? Can you share about that day - that moment - when you decided to walk away from your job and focus on writing full-time? How did your family react?
I’d spent ten years working in Washington, DC, for the federal government. I was an editor and learned layout and design. I hated it. The materials I worked on were so boring.
Of course, when I decided to quit and start Acorn Book Services, my family thought I was crazy. I come from a family that believed in safety nets. Normal people get full-time jobs with benefits and they stayed at that job until they retire.
My husband declared that the world was going to end. It was a huge change. There have been some very lean times. The journey was much too long for me to go into here. Let’s just say there were good times and bad. There were so many times when I was on the brink of achieving all of my goals, and then the rug would be yanked out from under me.
For example, I had sent the manuscript for A Small Case of Murder to a literary agent whose clients often ended up on Oprah Winfrey. He’d sent it back with a two-page letter going on and on about how tremendously talented I was. He touched on every detail in the book. It was clear that he had read every word. He declared the plot and writing brilliant. Then, in the last paragraph of the letter, he said, “But I don’t know how to market it.”
My response was, “Why don’t you market it as a brilliantly written mystery written by a tremendously talented author?”
3. Do remember what it was like to publish your very first book? Highest moment? What did you learn from this experience that surprised you? (Note I remember there were some glitches in the proof, etc.)
After a few years of beating my head against the wall, I decided to take a chance and self-publish A Small Case of Murder with iUniverse. When I received the proof, they told me to “look it over and let us know if you want to make any changes.”
So, I stared at the cover. This was the cover for my book! Finally, I was a novelist. I hugged it and stroked it and thumbed through the pages and called everyone to tell them that I was officially an author. Then, I called iUniverse and told them to release it.
I had no idea I was supposed to read it to proof it for typos! I edited it. I paid an editor to edit it. I had been through that book so many times, it never occurred to me that I would need to read it again after it had been formatted.
The book was released. My mother received her copy. She sat down to read it and called me screaming.
Do you want to know the real horror of this?
I had spent over ten years working as an editor and layout design artist for the federal government. I knew that the purpose of a proof is to proofread it.
I couldn’t get it through my head that the process of publishing dry government documents in Washington is the same as publishing novels in New York. New York may be more glamorous, but underneath the glitz, the process is still the same.
It wasn’t until It’s Murder, My Son, that that realization struck home. I knew everything I needed to know to publish my own books and do it well. It was one of those moments where you smack yourself in the forehead.
I used Amazon’s Createspace to publish Its Murder, My Son, and it went to number one on Amazon in mystery. I’ve been writing full-time and publishing my own novels ever since.
4. You are a prolific writer with over 25 books published. How do you stay so scheduled working from home and did that come easy for you from that start? What does your daily schedule look like? What benefits came from embracing this career at a later age?
I’ve never had any problem scheduling my writing. I write when the words come, and they are always coming. When I had a full-time job outside the home and a son living at home, I still had time for writing.
There are things that I call “time thieves” that I steer away from. Like watching television. I don’t spend hours a day watching television. When someone mentions celebrity names or television shows, I have no idea who they are talking about.
It all goes back to writers being born. Writing isn’t a job or career. It is who I am. I’m a storyteller and I was blessed to make a living doing it. I was born a storyteller and I will die a storyteller.
5. While writing 5 distinct series, you have had to create a large cast of strong, intelligent men and women as well as a bevy of intriguing pets. How do you manage to create so many distinct personalities for both people and pets?
It’s easy because we are all unique in our own way—even those of us with fur. I’m a people watcher. When we’re out, I’m watching people—imagining, questioning. A big part of what I do when I’m working on a storyline is deciphering why things happen. Why would someone murder someone? I don’t stop at greed or power. I want to reach deep into the psyche to get to the root cause of the crime. That’s what brings the characters to life. Because each character has a different background and motivation, each one is different.
6. In closing, do you have any spoiler alerts for upcoming titles soon to be released?
I’m really excited to be working on a stand-alone novel that I had started before I started CHRIS CROSSED MURDER. Entitled THE PRIME SUSPECT, a young woman hires a private investigator to clear her name when she becomes the prime suspect in two entirely separate murder cases, including that of her cheating husband.
Giveaway:
Thank you so much, Amy, for the wonderful review for CHRIS CROSSED MURDER. I am so glad you enjoyed this latest Geezer Squad mystery! Good luck to everyone in the giveaway for the PayPal prize and cookied!
ReplyDeleteFantastic review Amy. I have the book sitting beside me right now, waiting to be read. I have been loving Lauren's books for...many years...lol and your review makes me even more eager to begin reading Chris Crossed Murder!
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
Thank you so much, Sherry! I hope you enjoy this latest Geezer Squad Mystery.
DeleteWonderful review Amy. I have the book sitting beside me. Your review makes me even more eager to being reading it.
ReplyDeletesherry @ fundinmental
Thank you so much, Sherry! I hope you enjoy this latest Geezer Squad Mystery.
Delete