Library Journal Weighs In With a Great Review for A Basket of Trouble!

A Basket of Trouble, the third book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer series, officially debuts on November 8th, though many retailers already have the book in stock and are shipping copies.

A Basket of Trouble will be publishing a review for A Basket of Trouble in their November issue today that ends with the following pull quote:

"Groundwater’s third series entry (after To Hell in a Handbasket) is an action-packed cozy that successfully weaves in her small business and disability awareness."
  -- Library Journal

That means this book has hit ALL FOUR of the big 4 review publications (Booklist, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, Publishers Weekly)!! Only one other release of mine has hit all four, and that was the first in my other series (RM Outdoor Adventures), Deadly Currents. Needless to say, I'm very pleased with the reception that A Basket of Trouble is receiving from reviewers so far.

And, please check out my interview that was published today in The Big Thrill on-line magazine put out by the International Thriller Writers! The interviewer has some very interesting questions for me to answer. Go HERE.

A Great Review for To Hell in a Handbasket

I recently found a great review from a mystery reader/reviewer for the second book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer series, To Hell in a Handbasket. The Mysteries and My Musings blog said: "This was a great adventure murder mystery that will be hard to top." Read the full review HERE. Featuring winter sports such as skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling, To Hell in a Handbasket makes for a great winter holiday read! Amazon and Barnes & Noble both still have the book on sale for 21-33% off list price, depending on format. Got any mystery readers on your holiday gift list?

A Break in the VBT for Announcements!

First announcement is that I need a Wikipedia editor. My Wikipedia entry, which was composed by someone else, is hopelessly outdated, and I don't have the time to learn how to make Wikipedia edits to fix it. If anyone who reads this IS knowledgeable about how to edit Wikipedia pages and is willing to update the page by mining my website, contact me there. For doing the update, you'll get a free autographed copy of Deadly Currents, and maybe some more books, depending on the effort you put into it.

Second announcement is that enough new subscribers have signed up for my email newsletter that I awarded another prize! Courtney from Ashburn, Virginia received an autographed copy of Deadly Currents as well as a mystery book written by another author I admire. I award a prize of one of my mystery books and 1-2 books by other mystery authors every time a hundred more subscribers sign up for my email newsletter. Those are great odds, so please sign up and encourage your friends to do so!

Third announcement is that Deadly Currents has received its first customer review on Amazon, and it's five stars! You can read it HERE. I couldn't be more pleased. What would REALLY please me is more people adding their reviews after they read Deadly Currents, so I hope you'll consider doing so!

Fourth announcement is that the new Winter Issue of Mystery Scene magazine, which should be hitting newsstands and mailboxes early next week, includes a New Books essay titled "Deadly Rsearch" written by me. Please pick up a copy and read about the research that went into the writing of Deadly Currents. A bonus is that handsome Robert Crais graces the cover. ;-)

Fifth announcement is that it's only THREE DAYS until the official release date of Deadly Currents!!! Are you excited? ... I am!

And now back to the regularly scheduled program, starting tomorrow, with the next stop on my virtual book tour.

Two Wonderful Reviews for Deadly Currents!

I'm tickled pink--and red and yellow and orange (fireworks colors!)--to announce that I've received two wonderful reviews for my March 8 release, Deadly Currents, the first book in my RM Outdoor Adventures mystery series.

The first is from Publishers Weekly. Here's the first line:

"This enjoyable first in a new cozy series from Groundwater (To Hell in a Handbasket) introduces Mandy Tanner, "a brand new seasonal river ranger" on Colorado's Arkansas River."
-- Publisher's Weekly, January 10, 2011

The second is from Kirkus Reviews, and I liked it so much that I'm going to quote the whole thing:

"DEADLY CURRENTS
Author: Groundwater, Beth

A rafting trip down the Arkansas River gives a young Colorado river ranger a lesson in murder.

Mandy Tanner learned plenty about Pine Creek, the Numbers and Wildhorse Canyon when she worked as a guide for her Uncle Bill’s adventure tours. Now she’s using her skills to protect paddlers from the dangers of whitewater. Even an experienced guide like Gonzo Gordon wipes out every now and then, and when he flips his raft in a class V, Mandy handily plucks Hannah Fowler from the rapids. Tom King isn’t so lucky; when Mandy hauls him ashore from her cataraft, his pulse is thready. After the land developer dies on the way to the hospital, his widow Paula threatens to sue Mandy’s uncle. By the time the coroner decides that King was poisoned, not drowned, Bill Tanner is dead too. And although Mandy knows that poor diet and lack of exercise were as responsible for her uncle’s heart attack as the stress of getting blamed for Tom King’s death, she still wants to find the culprit. Not her brother David’s eagerness to sell the business and get back to his accounting practice, not her boyfriend Rob Juarez’s overprotective concern, not Chafee County Sheriff's Detective Quintana’s pleas, not even the rock through her window warning her off can stop the young ranger’s need to find the truth about how Tom King died on her watch.

Groundwater (To Hell in a Handbasket, 2009, etc.) kicks off a new series that combines outdoor action with more than a modicum of old-fashioned detection."
-- Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 2011

These publications are two of the "Big Four" that librarians and booksellers pay attention to when making decisions about ordering books. The other two are Booklist and Library Journal. I'm thrilled to be batting .500 (so far). ;-)

A nice review of A Real Basket Case

Hart Johnson writes the blog, Confessions of a Watery Tart, a digressionary journey of a writer. In this Wednesday's Murder Mysteries post, she reviews my book, A Real Basket Case, as well as a book written by a fellow Colorado mystery author and friend, Patricia Stoltey, titled The Prairie Grass Murders. Hart says she always calls it like she sees it, but she seemed to really enjoy reading both titles.

I agree with Hart when she said about The Prairie Grass Murders, "I loved this story, primarily for the characters—they were smart." I thoroughly enjoyed Patricia's book, too. About my A Real Basket Case, Hart said, "It was sassy, periodically naughty, but only in a PG way, and a very fun read." Wow!

Please go to Hart's blog to read the whole review of both books and to check out what else Hart has to say.

Gelati's Scoop

I recently made a new friend on Goodreads, the social network for keeping track of your reading and exchanging book recommendations with other avid readers. Giovanni Gelati, my new friend, enjoys character-driven works of fiction and blogs about the books he enjoys at Gelati's Scoop. I suggested that he try reading one of my books. He did and enjoyed it, asked me a few questions, and voila, a blog post was born. Please read what he has to say about A Real Basket Case, the first book in my Claire Hanover gift basket designer mystery series HERE. While you're there, check out the rest of his blog. Many thanks to Giovanni for his wonderful review!

A lovely review from a lovely reader!

Leola, who writes the "I Love to Read" book review blog, recently read my To Hell in a Handbasket mystery, the second in the Claire Hanover gift basket designer series. She decided that its winter sports focus, with skiing, snowshoeing, and snowmobiling scenes set in Breckenridge, CO, was a good fit with the ongoing winter Olympics. Apparently she really enjoyed the book, because she wrote a lovely, glowing review which you can read Here. Thanks so much, Leola!