The Shady Chateau by Ana T. Drew - Book Tour - Book Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hey, lovelies!!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Ana T. Drew and her new book, “The Shady Chateau,” here on FAB!!  For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions Book Tour, please click on the banner above or any of the images in this post.

Be sure to make it to the end of this post to enter to win a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Ana and to increase your chances of winning!!

Thanks for stopping by!!  Wishing you lots of luck in this fabulous giveaway!!

The Shady Chateau

by Ana T. Drew

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GENRE: Cozy Mystery

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BLURB:

Beware, dressing up as Napoleon can get you killed!

Provence baker Julie Cavallo and her grandma sign up for a Napoleonic re-enactment at a nearby chateau. The event includes theatricals, war games, and costume balls — all courtesy of the host and pillar of the local community, Baron Gustave Cordes d’Auzon.

What a welcome break from baking and catering...

and from pining for a tall, dark, and unsociable captain of the gendarmerie.

Unlike the captain, the weekend guests at the castle love conversing. Some are so flamboyant they outshine even Julie’s badass grandma Rose!

It’s all fun and cosplay… until the lord of the castle turns up dead.

Three unlikely culprits plead guilty.

Each gives the gendarmes a different motive.

Each insists they did it alone.

Who’s lying? And why?

And who really killed the baron?

If you’re a fan of Murder on the Orient Express and country house mysteries, then you’ll love this book. It will regale you with a dogged amateur sleuth, a puzzling ensemble of suspects, and a tangled web of lies.

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EXCERPT ONE:

“Julie, darling.” Rose says. “How about we save time and jump straight to the part where you stop pretending that you don’t want to go to the chateau?”

“I’m not pretending.”

“Of course you are.”

She heads out of the room.

Lady follows her and I follow Lady.

“Eric is most likely imagining things,” Grandma says. “Who wouldn’t, after the year we’ve had? Even I see soon-to-be-dead people everywhere! Call him about those discounted tickets and then meet me in the office.”

After I call Eric and tell him that Rose and I will be joining him for the reenactment, I dash to the tiny room where Rose has installed her computer and printer.

A paragon of efficiency when she’s motivated, she’s already found a pattern for our Regency dresses and is printing it out.

She picks up the printouts and adopts the Warrior II pose, pointing the pages in her right hand toward an invisible destination somewhere outside the door.

“Forward, march to the sewing machine!” she calls to Lady and me. “And to glory!”

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MY BOOK REVIEW:

This book was such a fun, clever, exciting, entertaining read!!!

This was the second book I have had the pleasure of reading from Ana T. Drew, and it is the fourth book in her Julie Cavallo Investigates Mystery Book Series.  This book is equally enjoyable and definitely not one to be missed out on!!!

This particular book focuses on an exciting, but deadly adventure when Julie, her sous chef Eric, and her very entertaining grandma Rose attend a local Napoleonic re-enactment event.  Bring out the festive costumes, the heavy smoke, and the loud noise of the war games as you travel back in time and watch the living history come alive!!!  But this event isn’t all fun and games, especially when someone gets murdered for real.  Thankfully, our favorite French amateur sleuth, and baker, Julie Cavallo, is on the scene and ready to solve the case!!!  But when THREE people confess to the murder, solving this case is going to be anything but simple!!!

This book, like the others in this book series, features such a vast array of wonderful characters!!!  Ana T. Drew excels at the creation and development of characters!!!  They are complex, multidimensional, likable, genuine, and easy to relate to!!!

One of my favorite things about Ana T. Drew’s writing is her unique ability to draw inspiration from the Cozy Mystery Royal Goddesses like Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Patricia Wentworth, and Mary Roberts Rinehart.  Ana’s exceptionally crafty story telling skills weaves old school cozy mystery practices of intriguing, clever plots with sly and distracting red herrings, and smart and feisty heroines, then she adds her own spin with updated modern settings, easy to relate to and connect with characters, delicious, and often droolworthy, bakery recipes, and a fun, fresh, French accent!!!

This book also reminded me of one of my favorite CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Las Vegas episodes.  It was Episode Two of Season 12, titled “Tell-Tale Hearts.”  It featured the suspenseful, thrilling themes from “Stranger on a Train,” by Patricia Highsmith, and of course, as the title suggests, “The Tell-Tale Heart,” by Edgar Allan Poe.  In the episode, a family of four is murdered, a grandmother, a husband, a wife, and a young daughter.  Over the course of the episode, THREE complete individuals, with no known connection, confess to the quadruple homicide, all providing reasonable motives for their crimes.  But what sets these confessions apart, is that each suspect confesses using the exact same phrase, “I did it!  I killed the Chambliss family!”  Plus, they each have insider details of the crime that were never released.  So, like this book, multiple red herrings are present, every clue must be carefully and thoroughly double checked!!!  Let the mystery game begin!!!

Julie Cavallo is truly one of my favorite amateur book sleuths!!!  Not only is she a smart, witty, crime solving, talented baker – she is also kindhearted, compassionate, honest, trustworthy, enthusiastic, ambitious, and reliable.  She is the type of character you could easily relate to and even see yourself being friends with.  Although, I’d hope she’d also let me join her team and help her solve cases lol!!!

As I previously mentioned, this book is Book Four in Ana’s latest Book Series.  However, even though I have only read Book One, “The Murderous Macaron,” and now Book Four, “The Shady Chateau,” I had no problem following along.  Although, I am sure this book series would be even more enjoyed if read entirely and in order, it is not required, as each book seems to be strong enough to be read on its own as a stand-alone.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend it – and this book series, too!!  I think all cozy mystery readers, mystery fans, and of course, fans of Napoleonic re-enactments (btw very cool story line!!) will like this book too!!  So, add it to your TBR List and get to reading - you won't be disappointed!!

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations**

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AUTHOR BIO:

Ana T. Drew is the evil mastermind behind the recent series of murders in the fictional French town of Beldoc. When she is not writing cozy mysteries or doing mom-and-wife things, she can be found watching “The Rookie” to help her get over “Castle”. She lives in Paris but her heart is in Provence.

>>>Visit ana-drew.com for a free cookbook and a game!<<<

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CONNECT WITH ANA:

Website:

http://www.ana-drew.com

Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/AnaDrewAuthor

Pinterest:

https://www.pinterest.com/authoranadrew

BookBub Author Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/ana-t-drew

BookBub Book Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-shady-chateau-a-provence-cozy-mystery-julie-cavallo-investigates-by-ana-t-drew

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19972445.Ana_T_Drew

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58218120-the-shady-chateau

Amazon Author Page:

http://amzn.to/3231rVC

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AMAZON BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

http://amzn.to/3ozV5sv

Amazon US Paperback:

http://amzn.to/2WHkZz8

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Shady-Chateau-Provence-Mystery-Investigates-ebook/dp/B0964BHXM6

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/Shady-Chateau-Provence-Cozy-Mystery/dp/B097X4RC1Z

Amazon FR Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.fr/Shady-Chateau-Provence-Mystery-Investigates-ebook/dp/B0964BHXM6

Amazon FR Paperback:

https://www.amazon.fr/Shady-Chateau-Provence-Cozy-Mystery/dp/B097X4RC1Z

Amazon UK Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shady-Chateau-Provence-Mystery-Investigates-ebook/dp/B0964BHXM6

Amazon UK Paperback:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Shady-Chateau-Provence-Cozy-Mystery/dp/B097X4RC1Z

Amazon AU Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.com.au/Shady-Chateau-Provence-Mystery-Investigates-ebook/dp/B0964BHXM6

Amazon AU Paperback:

https://www.amazon.com.au/Shady-Chateau-Provence-Cozy-Mystery/dp/B097X4RC1Z

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Ana will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**This post contains affiliate links and if clicked and a purchase is made, I may receive a small commission to help support this blog.  This does not cost you anything, it just helps pay for all those awesome giveaways on here**

This contest is sponsored by a third party. Fabulous and Brunette is a registered host of Goddess Fish Promotions.  Prizes are given away by the sponsors and not Fabulous and Brunette. The featured author and Goddess Fish Promotions are solely responsible for the giveaway prize.