A Pain in the Tuchis by Mark Reutlinger - Book Tour - Book Review - Giveaway - Enter Daily!

Hello, lovelies!!  It gives me great pleasure today to host Mark Reutlinger and his new book, “A Pain in the Tuchis,” here on FAB!!  For other stops on his 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 $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card!!  Also, come back daily to interact with Mark and to increase your chances of winning!!

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

A Pain in the Tuchis

Mrs. Kaplan Mystery Book Series

Book Two

by Mark Reutlinger

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GENRE: Cozy Mystery

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BLURB:

Combining the classic charms of Agatha Christie with the delightful humor of M. C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin novels, Mark Reutlinger’s Mrs. Kaplan mystery series returns as a notorious crank meets an untimely fate.

Yom Kippur is a day of reflection and soul searching. But at the Julius and Rebecca Cohen Home for Jewish Seniors, Vera Gold misses this opportunity to atone for her many sins when she up and dies. Indeed, Vera was such a pain in the tuchis to all those around her that when her sister claims Vera was deliberately poisoned, the tough question isn’t who would want to kill her—but who wouldn’t?

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EXCERPT TWO:

“Ida, we must go to see Inspector Corcoran right away. There is no time to lose.” . . . “Now?” I said. “We are going to see him now?”

“Yes. Get your coat. I shall hurry down to the front desk and ask for a taxi.”

Mrs. K walked quickly to the front door. But before she could open it, someone on the other side began pounding on it. Oy, such a tummel! I reached past Mrs. K to open it, but she grasped my arm and stopped me. The loud knocking continued.

“We cannot go that way,” Mrs. K said, pushing me back from the door.

“But you know there is no other way out, except the back window.…”

I suddenly had a vision of another time, another window, when we needed to get into an apartment at the Home to find important evidence. Getting Mrs. K through that window, from bristen at one end to tuchis at the other, was like pushing two pounds of chopped liver into a one pound jar.

“No, Rose,” I said, “we are not climbing through another window.”

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MY BOOK REVIEW:

Mrs. K and Ida are delightfully back at it again – enjoying tea at the Home, causing shenanigans, celebrating Jewish holidays, and of course, solving another murder!!

This book is such a pleasant, whimsical, comical read filled with quirky (and very entertainingly so!!) characters, fun Yiddish catch phrases, and clever cozy mystery plot points!!  Mrs. K and Ida provide a very amusing take on an older Jewish community that is anything but ordinary!!

Last month I had the pleasure of reading and reviewing, “Oy Vey Maria!” by Mark Reutlinger, which is Book Three in his Mrs. K Mystery Book Series.  I really enjoyed this amusing and entertaining read, so, when I saw he had another book review tour coming up, I pounced on signing up. Although this book, “A Pain in the Tuchis,” is actually Book Two in the series, and I was a bit worried about reading this book series backwards as it might seem odd and confusing, thankfully that was not the case.  Instead, I enjoyed getting to know more background info about the two main characters, their families, and their time spent living at the Julius and Rebecca Cohen Home for Jewish Seniors.  Clearly, the author has successfully made these books hold up for standalone reading, but as much fun as they are, you’ll be sure to want to read them all!!

This book starts right off with the death of a resident of the Home, Vera.  Vera’s death is ruled as being a natural death/death from illnesses/old age.  However, Vera’s younger sister, Fannie, who is also another resident of the Home, believes her sister was actually murdered.  Fannie pleads to Mrs. K to investigate and find out how her sister really died.  While Mrs. K and Ida seem a tad reluctant to help and urge Fannie to contact the police if she feels strongly enough about her suspicions.  Fannie admits to them that her sister actually confided in her the day before her death and disclosed that she thought someone was trying to poison her.  While Fannie pretty much dismissed her sister’s statement and chalked it up as part of her illness or age, it now seems maybe Vera was right, someone was trying to kill her.  As Mrs. K and Ida can see how distressed and concerned Fannie is, they finally agree to look into Vera’s death – hoping to at least find some answers and provide closure.

Vera was clearly not the favorite at the Home, and there are many stories and references to her rude, angry, bitterness, mood swings, erratic behavior, and her personal attacks on fellow residents, staff, and a cute little kitty.  While it seems Vera had way more enemies than friends, could her belittling and demeaning actions really lead someone to kill her??  Mrs. K and Ida are on the case, even though they’re not sure there is even a case to be solved, but with Vera’s last dying words of being poisoned, and her strange recovery/deterioration repeated health patterns, maybe there is something more to Vera’s death than being “natural.”

I loved teaming back up with this geriatric Holmes and Watson type amateur sleuthing duo!!  Mrs. K and Ida have easily become two of my favorite cozy mystery characters!!

While I did enjoy reading this book, I have to admit, I found book three to be more entertaining and engaging.  At times I felt the writing structure in this book to be somewhat clunky and not as smooth, soft flowing.  Also, some passages felt unnecessarily repetitive and slower paced.  This is mostly in regard to hearing about Vera’s devious exploits, her health, her numerous medications, and Daniel’s pharmacy skills.  Perhaps this is also because we don’t actually “meet” or “interact” with Vera, she is already dead on page one, therefore making it harder to connect and sympathize.  Everything is told in remembrance and recollection of her and it seems like many of the characters are repeating the same details and facts about her.  Unfortunately, this comes off a bit tedious and detracts from the story.

Although, regardless of repetitiveness, I really did enjoy hearing some of Vera’s kerfuffle’s including the one about Rena, her cat, and Mrs. K brilliant service animal solution!!  I am such an animal lover and appreciate Mrs. K standing up for Rena and not having a sweet, innocent furbaby removed from it’s loved one.

This book is also written with unnamed chapter titles that create steady transitions allowing the reader to stay emerged in the story.  This book is also told from Ida’s Point-of-View, further adding to the list of similarities of the Holmes and Watson writing style.

This book is also full of amusing Yiddish catch phrases and Jewish culture that are not only educational, but also fun and interesting to learn!!  The author was able to easily add these into the story with a natural voice, but clever dialogue that was simple to follow and understand.  I truly felt the author did a great job incorporating these terms into the story and providing a quick and straightforward interpretation of such phrase which made it easy to understand.  However, I really wish the author had included a vocabulary reference section of Yiddish terms at the beginning of the book.  This would allow the reader to not only understand and learn Yiddish, but perhaps even include the pronunciation of such terms, which I’m sure I embarrassingly butchered through many of them – at least in my head, not out loud lol!!

This book is book two in the Mrs. Kaplan Book Series, and while I had not read the first book previously, I had no trouble keeping up.  This book can easily be read as a standalone.

All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book and would absolutely recommend it!!  I think all cozy mystery readers 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**

Did you find this review helpful?

If so, please, please, please mark it as helpful on Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/review/R2VAF6WWHLCKLU

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AUTHOR BIO:

Mark Reutlinger, Professor of Law Emeritus at Seattle University, is the author of the “Mrs. Kaplan” cozy mystery series (which includes, in addition to A Pain in the Tuchis, Mrs. Kaplan and the Matzoh Ball of Death and Oy Vey, Maria!) and the caper mystery Murder with Strings Attached, as well as the political thrillers Made in China and (under the pseudonym M. R. Morgan) Sister-in-Law: Violation, Seduction, and the President of the United States. Mark and his wife, Analee, live in University Place, Washington.

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CONNECT WITH MARK:

Website:

https://www.MarkReutlinger.com

Twitter:

https://www.twitter.com/mark_reutlinger

BookBub Author Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/mark-reutlinger

BookBub Book Page:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/a-pain-in-the-tuchis-a-mrs-kaplan-mystery-by-mark-reutlinger-2022-01-05

Goodreads Author Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1192934.Mark_Reutlinger

Goodreads Book Page:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59695699-a-pain-in-the-tuchis-a-mrs-kaplan-mystery

Amazon Author Page:

https://amzn.to/3363wTB

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BOOK BUY LINKS:

Amazon US Kindle eBook:

https://amzn.to/3AGMGrr

Amazon US Paperback:

https://amzn.to/3KZ1WV5

Amazon CA Kindle eBook:

https://www.amazon.ca/Pain-Tuchis-Kaplan-Mystery-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B09KQYPD8Z

Amazon CA Paperback:

https://www.amazon.ca/Pain-Tuchis-Mrs-Kaplan-Mystery/dp/1509238735

Apple Books eBook:

https://books.apple.com/us/book/a-pain-in-the-tuchis-a-mrs-kaplan-mystery/id1593784979

Barnes and Noble NOOK eBook:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-pain-in-the-tuchis-mark-reutlinger/1121269521?ean=2940160791746

Barnes and Noble Paperback:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-pain-in-the-tuchis-mark-reutlinger/1121269521?ean=9781509238736

Book Depository Paperback:

https://www.bookdepository.com/Pain-in-the-Tuchis-Mrs-Kaplan-Mystery-Mark-Reutlinger/9781509238736

Books-A-Million Paperback:

https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Pain-Tuchis-Mrs-Kaplan-Mystery/Mark-Reutlinger/9781509238736

Google Play eBook:

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Mark_Reutlinger_A_Pain_in_the_Tuchis_a_Mrs_Kaplan?id=pXdXEAAAQBAJ

Kobo US eBook:

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-pain-in-the-tuchis-a-mrs-kaplan-mystery

Kobo CA eBook:

https://www.kobo.com/ca/en/ebook/a-pain-in-the-tuchis-a-mrs-kaplan-mystery

Powell’s Book Store:

https://www.powells.com/book/a-pain-in-the-tuchis-a-mrs-kaplan-mystery-9781509238736

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GIVEAWAY INFO:

Mark will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble Gift Card (Winner’s Choice!!!) to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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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.