ABOUT THE BOOK
Barn burning in a sleepy farming community is a serious enough matter, but a grisly murder or two in a small midwest town is a showstopper. Throw in a serial blackmailer who has his claws in some of the town’s leading citizens and you have one big recipe for disaster. Charlie Simmons, newly sworn in as Shannon’s policeman, takes on the challenge of investigating this cauldron of crimes in stride, untangling one thread after another from the fabric of the town of Shannon to find the simple truth.
Book Details:
Title: Two Murders Too Many
Author: Bluette Matthey
Genre: mystery
Publisher: Blue Shutter Publishing (October 21, 2020)
Print length: 215 pages
On tour with: Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT WITH BLUETTE MATTHEY
A few of your favorite things: raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens . . . the gentleness of living in the South of France, fresh croissants, strong black tea . . .
Things you need to throw out: just thinking about it all depresses me . . . what if I have to move it again? Still, as soon as I toss something out it seems I need it the following week.
Things you need in order to write: my books start with a trip to a place that provides an interesting setting, pictures of said place, and quiet time to brood on the plot and characters.
Things that hamper your writing: stress is a big obstacle to writing, as well as nagging minutiae that distract.
Things you love about writing: I love being a part of the process that results in the birth of a book with all its characters. I also enjoy sharing things I discover with my readers, like the history and background I bring to my books.
Things you hate about writing: proofreading a book 20 times and STILL finding a typo!
Things you love about where you live: Beziers, France is the second oldest city in France and a treasure trove of historical sites, fifteen minutes from the Mediterranean, and has loads of places to walk and explore.
Things that make you want to move: I really detest the (inhuman) bullfights that take place here.
Things you never want to run out of: cat litter; Taylor’s of Harrogate Yorkshire Gold Black Tea; Vitamin D3 K2.
Things you wish you’d never bought: snowshoes; classical guitar; 5-pound box of See’s Chocolates.
Favorite foods: a great hamburger or steak frites!
Things that make you want to throw up: Kimchi.
Favorite music: I love the French chanteurs and chanteuses, notably Edith Piaf and Charles Aznavour.
Music that make your ears bleed: punk rock, hip hop.
Favorite beverage: pure water.
Something that gives you a pickle face: cheap wine.
Favorite smell: the lavender fields of Provence.
Something that makes you hold your nose: Kimchi.
Something you’re really good at: creating (books, films, food . . .)
Something you’re really bad at: slow, methodical analysis.
Last best thing you ate: a passionflower-and-coconut confection from a patisserie up the street.
Last thing you regret eating: take-out pizza.
Things you always put in your books: a role for a cat, no matter how small.
Things you never put in your books: steamy sex scenes.
Favorite places you’ve been: perched villages in Provence; Florence, Italy; Abruzzo, Italy; all of Switzerland.
Places you never want to go to again: Atlanta, Georgia.
Favorite things to do: snorkel, travel to new places, enjoy time with my family.
Things you’d run through a fire wearing gasoline pants to get out of doing: fly anywhere in economy.
Things that make you happy: a road trip to someplace new.
Things that drive you crazy: having to clean up after adults.
Best thing you’ve ever done: raised three wonderful sons!
Biggest mistake: sometimes I wonder if we really make mistakes. We do things (sometimes dumb things) that we regret but, ultimately, these mistakes are woven into who we are.
Most daring thing you’ve ever done: I hiked into the remote Hermitage of San Bartolomeo near Roccamorice, Abruzzo, Italy, aware I was the only human around for miles as I trekked through the Majella National Park. Animal scat along the trail reminded me there were bears, wolves, and other beasts present.
Something you chickened out from doing: trying out for cheerleader in high school.
The last thing you did for the first time: rode an electric scooter around Paris.
Something you’ll never do again: hot air balloon ride . . . hated the crash landing!
EXCERPT FROM TWO MURDERS TOO MANY
Blanche Gruman sprawled on the park bench in front of the Presbyterian Church Monday enjoying the afternoon sun, her long, tanned legs stretched out on the sidewalk in front of the bench. She looked serene, with her face turned sunward, eyes protected by aviator sunglasses. Her blonde hair was almost white, bleached by the sun, and she wore it long and loose.
“Afternoon, Blanche,” Charlie said as he made his way toward town hall.
Blanche turned her head to see who had spoken. “Well, hey, Charlie!” she replied. She quickly sat up, pulling her bare legs primly under the edge of the bench. It was a lady-like move; just what you would expect from Blanche. A broad smile, showing perfect pearl-white teeth lit up her face.
Blanche Gruman owned and operated a successful hair salon in town. For Shannon, it was an exclusive salon. Blanche was an excellent cutter and stylist, and her flamboyant but tasteful sense of style attracted the cream of Shannon’s women to her salon, as well as some of the more prominent men. She had expanded her business over the course of a decade, hiring additional staff, but she was the queen bee, and closely guarded her select clientele.
Blanche had never married, though she’d had a fairly constant parade of suitors. Rumor had it that when someone had once asked her why she had never married she had flippantly replied, “Why marry one man when I can make so many happy?” Whether or not this was true, it was generally agreed that Blanche had a less traditional approach to relationships with men than her female contemporaries, and it was speculated that many of her female devotees who religiously came to Blanche for hair treatment did so as a means of keeping an eye on her latest paramour, primarily to make sure it wasn’t a wayfaring husband.
“You look mighty pleased with yourself,” Charlie said. He stood in front of her, blocking the sun from her eyes. She removed her sunglasses, hooking one of the templates on the V-neck of a snug knit top that accented her generous curves.
“It’s a great day to celebrate life,” she told him, “and that’s just what I’m doing.” Clearly, she was enjoying herself.
Charlie changed the subject. “You hear about what happened to Otto Hilty the other night?”
His question soured Blanche’s mood noticeably. Her voice took on a hard edge when she responded. “That SOB …” she began. “I don’t truck with what happened to Otto,” she said, “but I’ll not shed any tears for him.” She put her sunglasses on and stood, facing Charlie. “Like I said … it’s a great day to celebrate.” She walked off leaving Charlie standing, literally, with his mouth agape.
***
Excerpt from Two Murders Too Many by Bluette Matthey. Copyright 2020 by Bluette Matthey. Reproduced with permission from Bluette Matthey. All rights reserved.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bluette Matthey loves to travel as well as she likes a good mystery. She combines her two passions in her Hardy Durkin Travel Mystery Series, with her protagonist, trekker Hardy Durkin, taking readers to Corsica, Dalmatia, Abruzzo, Italy, The Black Forest, Germany, and the Swiss Engadine Valley. As always, Hardy is never far from a murder or two and invariably finds the key to resolving the crimes.
Matthey has a boots-on-the-ground approach to her writing and insists on visiting (and often hiking) each locale featured in her books, focusing on the region’s history, culture, and food as backdrop for her mysteries. Her treks mimic less strenuous versions than those of her protagonist, Hardy.
Bluette has also written the narrative for and developed a travel app for the South of France, Potty Poche. The app is written in five languages, focuses on must-see destinations in Provence and the Languedoc-Roussillon areas of Southern France, and serves as a public toilet navigator for the locations visited on the app, as well.
Bluette lives in Béziers in the South of France with her husband and two demanding cats. Béziers is France’s second oldest city, with history dating back to 500 BC, and the setting of Bluette’s next Hardy Durkin mystery, Homicide Hérault.
Connect with Bluette:
Website | Blog | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads
Buy the book:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble
