Knives and Knightsticks: An amateur sleuth and organized crime serial romance novel (Adventures in the Six Book 1) IS LIVE and the authors are here with some fun details, giving us a “peek” behind the book. 😉 And, they are celebrating by sponsoring today’s newsletter AND giving away 2 copies!!
So what’s it about?
What shade of lipstick goes with bloodstains?
Sadie and Zoey, best friends and sharers of shoes, have both lost their jobs for Very Bad Reasons. Sadie ditched her lawyer boyfriend (who happened to be her boss) and Zoey followed her nose into a story that shattered her burgeoning career as a journalist.
When the story that destroyed Zoey’s career lands her next to a dead body, Sadie’s new job at the police station makes for the perfect spy. Unravelling the mystery proves to be more dangerous than expected, and the two find themselves wedged between romance, organized crime and deciding what shoes go best with a stakeout.
If you loved the Stephanie Plum series, the Rock Chick series or Firefly Lane, you’ll enjoy Knives and Knightsticks!
5 Fun Facts About the Book
- The authors are besties and met when they dated the same guy (but not at the same time);
- The company the main character (Zoey) works for is based partly on a real-life PI business that one of the authors worked with;
- No weapons were bought for this book, but the authors did use the ‘pretend’ versions mentioned in the book for real life practise;
- Both authors are pretty sure they’ve never dated a mobster (ooh but there was that one guy…); and
- There really is a shady McDonalds at King and Dufferin in Toronto, but neither of them have flushed drugs down the toilet there (allegedly).
P.S. There’s a Spotify playlist!!!
Series Introduction:
This is the first in the Adventures in the Six series, set in Toronto. It features twenty-something best friends, Sadie and Zoey, as they solve the mysteries that fall into their lap. They are poorly prepared for, well… everything. So, as their amatuer sleuthing lands them in increasingly dangerous situations, they pick up survival skills (and weapons!) along the way.
The series will unfold with new mysteries (and new men!) that will increase in scale as the books go on and the girls ‘come of age’, so to speak. As the mysteries ramp up, so will their love lives. Buckle up, friends, because it’s going to be a bumpy ride!
A little about the authors:
Authors K. Lew and C.R. Lockhart are best friends who found each other through meeting the same Mr. Wrong. Once upon a time, they both lived and worked in Toronto. Together, they hit the hottest bars, drooled over the hottest men and drank too much wine in boardrooms after work.
Cindy-Rose is a life-long writer and journaler, while Kaitlyn has been drafting legal documents since before she could drink. When the pandemic hit, Cindy-Rose encouraged Kaitlyn to give writing a try and she LOVED it! Finally, lightning struck when Cindy-Rose convinced Kaitlyn to outline a book with her.
The moment they started to create together, it was magic! Their first book was born in the span of two weeks and it’s been nothing but fiery literary chemistry since.
Kaitlyn now lives in a suburb of Toronto, where she found her man and her dogs. She misses the good sushi but loves the country trails and down-home people. She keeps her inner City Girl alive by wearing incredibly impractical shoes and rapping in her car.
Cindy-Rose now lives in Vancouver with her greatest fan, her husband, and her crazy cats who prove that pets really do adopt the personality of their owners. She loves the mountains and the great Bubble tea but misses the sharply tailored business suits of Bay Street men. She keeps the Toronto girl in her alive by changing the shade of her red hair as regularly as it rains.
They have both grown up and moved on to new adventures, but a piece of their hearts always remain in the Six where they became friends. And yes, they’ve both met Drake.
Excerpt:
“Have you lost your ever-loving mind?” I demanded, plopping into Zoey’s dark blue rideshare with anger and attitude. “Do you have a death wish?” I pushed, not expecting or wanting an answer.
She didn’t get to answer. Answering was for people with a feasible excuse and an opportunity to defend themselves. Right now, she had neither.
“What part of ‘I promise I won’t go on a stakeout alone’ was unclear to you? What part of ‘I promise to be safe’ did you decide was up for debate?” She opened her mouth to speak, and I held up a finger and shot her a look that dared her to try me.
“How dare you? Honestly, how dare you! You are my best friend, my roommate, my family whom I have chosen, and you promised me that you would not endanger yourself again–you promised it on our friendship. Uh-uh, no, still my turn to talk,” I barrelled through her second attempt to speak.
“I would understand if Dion couldn’t make it, I would understand if you were annoyed, but what I cannot understand is why you wouldn’t tell me first. You know–you know–that I would support you on any crusade, no matter how crazy. I would have done this with you.”
I finally took a moment and looked around the car at her detritus of takeout cups and lack of anything helpful.
“I would have also been a lot more prepared. Were you going to lure the mobster out with an iced latte? Most importantly, I would have known you were safe.” I took a deep breath, trying to calm down from my rant. “I could have lost you the other day at that stupid crime scene, and the only thing that has kept me from going off the deep end with stress and worry is trusting that you would reach out to me for help and support. So let me offer you some freaking support, woman!”
Zoey went through a day’s worth of emotion written on her face in the span of a moment. Fear, laughter, shame–thank God–and skepticism.
“I know, I know,” she said, holding up her hands defensively. “I did promise, and I really am sorry that I broke that, but I couldn’t let this opportunity go. You know why.”
“I do!” I replied, “I do understand. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t tell me or ask me to come with you.”
“I did ask you! You said ‘no’ in no uncertain terms!”
“That was when I thought someone could go with you, Dion, or another PI. Not when the only option was you going alone. Why wouldn’t you tell me that?”
“Because! I love you, Sadie, you are my soulmate, but you aren’t exactly Daring Investigative Barbie. You have to go pee when you sneak around in the dark. I didn’t think a stakeout would be up your alley.” She paused for a moment and looked down, finally admitting, “I thought you wouldn’t let me go.”
“Let you go,” I repeated incredulously. “Honey, no one has let you do anything since the third grade. You’re going to do what you need to do, you always have. I love you enough to respect that.”
Surprise flashed over her features, and I shook my head.
“I wouldn’t and couldn’t stop you, but I could help you.” I held up my hand to stave off her retort and went on, “I may not be daring, but I am supportive as hell and always prepared. No one can argue that.”
Zoey’s raised eyebrows and head tilt acknowledged her agreement.
“So let me support you?” I asked, finally and quietly.
She nodded and leaned over to hug me across the gear shift and emergency brake.
“Um, so how did you find me?” she asked while we were still hugging.
“I’m psychic,” I replied simply.
She huffed out a laugh and let go of the hug.
“I know you know me creepily well, but really, how did you know?”
“Dion called.”
Her eyes flew open wide with outrage.
“That little shi–”
“He was worried about you! He said he did a background check on Vecchio after you left, and, well, we know what he found. He was worried you would go alone and do something stupid.” I studied her for a moment, “And while you are hale and whole, I’m not entirely sure that you didn’t… Why are you covered in dirt and twigs?”
“It’s a long story,” she said simply with a look that finished with, and you don’t want to know it.
“Oh, you’ll tell me. Are those my sunglasses? And why are you in black? It’s four thirty in the afternoon–what are you trying to blend in with, because it sure isn’t the night.”
“Ugh. Look who is suddenly full of surveillance advice now that my boss ratted me out.” Her look was pure venom and made me happy as hell.
“Listen,” I smiled, “I understand that you want to keep an eye on Vecchio and see where he could lead us, but I had some time to think this through on the three busses I took to get here.”
“And?”
“And I think we need to be smarter about this. The car was a good call—smart—but what if we needed to leave? What if we needed to follow him on foot? What if someone caught us?”
“Yeah, I thought of a few of those things myself while I was sitting here,” she replied wryly. “What do you suggest, Miss Marple?”
“How much longer do you have the car?” I asked.
“A few more hours.”
“Let’s go shopping,” I said with a grin.
Time for the giveaway!
The author is giving away an E-Book of Knives and Knightsticks: to TWO lucky commenters!
How to enter for a chance to win it?
Just leave a comment below, (or better yet, tell me your favorite mystery book) and by 10pm EST, Sunday April 11th 2021, I will randomly select two lucky commenters as the winners.
The winners will be contacted and will have 48hrs to respond confirming their email address, so if you are picked, do not delay or you will lose your chance. The ebook will be sent to the winner directly by the author.
Giveaway open to International!!!
Rock Chick
Rock Chick is my favourite too, Victoria!
Favorite mystery is anything by Kate Morton.. Not crime but you’re always wondering WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN!
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I got hooked on Janet evanovich years ago!
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Expermint in terror Karina Halle