Book Spotlight & Giveaway ~ MURDER AT THE ZOO by Marcia Rosen

Murder at the Zoo (Agatha, Raymond, Sherlock, & Me Mystery, #2)
by: Marcia Rosen
Series: Agatha, Raymond, Sherlock, & Me
Genre: Mystery
Release Date: March 14, 2023
Publisher: Artemisia Publishing, LLC

A body is tossed into the lion’s habitat at the zoo where Miranda Scott is the senior vet. She and Detective Bryan Anderson join forces to unravel that mystery and several more murders. A fan since childhood of Agatha Christie, Raymond Chandler, and Sherlock Holmes they seem to live in her head frequently telling her what to do…and not do. Murders, family, deceit, revenge and a gangster father and godfather often get in the way of a fine romance between Miranda and the Detective.

There is an ongoing mystery with fascinating characters helping to solve the murders (yes more than one) while sensing the romantic interest just beneath the surface with the Veterinarian and the Detective. The gangster characters are always very compelling for me but it was the fun with the famous voices demanding they be heard that drove the story for me.

Their voices often play in my head as I sit down to write my mystery books. But I also love puzzles and fitting the pieces together to find the whole. I find going to the source of a problem leads me to a space where I can create my own mystery characters and stories.

Still, I keep wondering why do we enjoy the detective genre so much? Why do we so enjoy murder mysteries? I believe in part it’s a glimpse into that darker side of humanity. We seem to be fascinated by behaviors that stir our curiosity and allow us to think, to solve the puzzles of who did such awful acts and why. The stories and characters are filled with suspense and incredibly intriguing to me. I like the way they challenge my thinking and they inspire me as an author of murder mysteries.

Many of us mystery writers have the ambition and desire to create thrilling crime fiction with clever detectives. In cozies, like I write, the amateur sleuth finds the murders have many twists and turns; there are a few foreshadowing comments; and there are several red herrings to distract readers. The amateur sleuth sifts through clues, tossing the useless information out. The hunt is on to find the truth . . . for the reader and for me.

I am very much influenced by the voices of famous mystery writers. Perhaps some of your readers are too?

“Miranda, get to the zoo! Visitors are pointing at a human arm in the lions’ enclosure.”

“Hmmm. This is intriguing. A body in the lions’ den. What are the facts?”

“Agatha, Raymond, facts if you please,” Sherlock demanded.

“All of you shut up!”

It was not the first time Miranda shouted to the voices in her head. Sometimes they seemed so real to her. She had read nearly every book of every famous mystery writer and had seen movies made from them many times. She was often absorbed and obsessed by the stories and the characters.

Miranda loved their ways of thinking, analyzing problems, finding solutions, and delving into the dark spaces hidden in humanity: Raymond Chandler’s tough Detective, Philip Marlowe, who always found a dame he could lust after and distrust and Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, and her Tommy and Tuppence. Their gossip and ways of finding clues and uncovering secrets swirled in her head, while the famous Sherlock Homes demanded facts and attention to the tiniest of details.

There were other geniuses of mysteries who stopped by to give Miranda their “two cents” at times, especially when Agatha, Raymond, and Sherlock were disagreeing with each other. Miranda was sure they would have plenty to say about the murder at the zoo.

Purchase Murder at the Zoo from:

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Marcia Rosen (aka M. Glenda Rosen), award winning author of eleven books including The Senior Sleuths and Dying To Be Beautiful Mystery Series and The Gourmet Gangster: Mysteries and Menus (Menus by her son Jory Rosen). She is also author of The Woman’s Business Therapist and award winning My Memoir Workbook. For 25 years she was owner of a successful national marketing and public relations agency, Marcia has frequently been a speaker and/or program moderator at organization meetings and conferences, bookstores, libraries and Zoom Programs. Topics she has taught and presented over the past twenty years include: Encouraging the Writer Within You, Marketing for Authors, Writing Mysteries…Not A Mystery, Writing Your Memoir and recently “Anatomy of Writing A Murder.” Many articles on these topics have been published on mystery reader blogs and in newsletters and magazines including “Mystery Scene Magazine” and “Mystery Reader International Journal.”

She is a member of Sisters in Crime National and New Mexico (Croak & Dagger), Southwest Writers, New Mexico Book Association, Women Writing the West, Public Safety Writer’s Association, and National Association of Independent Writers and Editors—for which she is also a board member.

Places to find Marcia Rosen:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Goodreads

You can follow the Murder at the Zoo Blog Tour here.

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