Coronavirus Blues

Watchin' the Detective: A Mystery Dinner Romance

by Louise Hathaway

When I first wrote this cozy mystery back in June of 2014, I tried to include all my favorite locales in Orange County, California, where I’ve lived for 65 years. To read of these places again now in March of 2020, during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, is bittersweet. With a heavy heart, I’ve discovered that I cannot visit my favorite places mentioned in my story. The entire county is on lockdown and the restaurants, malls, and theaters I love are all closed.

With fondness, I look back at the time when I attended a mystery dinner show with my husband, sister, and brother-in-law that took place in the dining room of a Newport Beach golf course which is now closed. The show we saw was supposed to be set in the French Rivera at a wedding reception and the audience was encouraged to dress as if it were the early 60s, the time frame in which the mystery took place. Most of the dialogue from the show I’ve tried to recreate in my story. The only difference is that someone wasn’t murdered in the one I attended, as happened in the pages of this cozy mystery and romantic comedy.

So, come along with my alter-ego, librarian Isabella, who attended the mystery dinner show and fell head-over-heels in love with the detective who came to investigate the murder. 

Does the detective return her affections? Will she help him solve the mystery? You will have to read Watchin’ the Detective: A Mystery Dinner Romance to find out.  

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2Uq5Deg

Barnes and Noble: https://bit.ly/2wL42GZ

Apple: https://apple.co/2UsxfzG

Smashwords: https://bit.ly/2wCK0yx

Kobo:https://bit.ly/2QTWKr7

Date Night Ideas

Are you looking for something fun to do on date night?  Here's an idea: how about going to a mystery dinner theater?  My husband and I went to a performance and had a great time interacting with the performers and trying to figure out whodunit. A few days afterwards, I was inspired to write this Romantic Comedy and Cozy Mystery about what happens when someone is actually killed during the performance. 

In this humorous and sexy romance novel,  Isabella, a librarian in her early thirties, goes with her friends to a performance where a murder takes place.  When a handsome detective comes to investigate, she falls in love with him, and gets herself mixed up with some dangerous people when she goes undercover—in spite of his warnings—to help him solve the crime.

Watchin' the Detective: A Mystery Dinner Romance 

by Louise Hathaway

Only 99 Cents!

Available at Amazon, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Google Play,

Kobo Books and Smashwords

Click here to purchase on Amazon

Click here to purchase on iBooks

Click here to purchase at Barnes and Noble

Click here to purchase at Google Play Books

Click here to purchase at Kobo

Click here to purchase at Smashwords

Here's what readers are saying in two 5 Star Reviews:

"What a wonderful little book! A great idea to take the dinner into an actual murder and then on top of it add some romance too. Great idea. This is a very easy read and hard to put down. I would recommend this to anyone who had been to a murder mystery dinner and hoped for more than just so-so food. You'll not regret it!"

"Walk through Orange County with Isabella as she helps Detective Don "Draper" Sterling solve a murder mystery. Light and fun murder mystery to read at the beach! Take Isabella with you..."

Books about Librarians

When was the last time you visited a library?  How long has it been since you asked a librarian a reference question? These days, it seems like the only people who go to the library are those wanting to use the Internet or check out DVDs.  It's a favorite hang-out for the homeless or those seeking either an air-conditioned or heated place to camp out all day and night until closing.  The times they are a changin' as Bob Dylan says.

Death Among the Stacks: The Body in the Law Library

I worked at a law library for several years. The people I worked with were all college educated and three were former lawyers.  We used to have enjoyable conversations about politics, TV, movies, and each other (there was a lot of office politics that I did my best to steer clear of). I'll never forget the time when the library's electronic compact shelving malfunctioned and almost crushed to death one of my coworkers.

I used that background for the first novel I wrote that takes place in a library.  It is called "Death Among the Stacks: The Body in the Law Library".  I had Agatha Christie's detective, Hercule Poirot, in mind when I wrote this book with my husband.  We wanted it to be a story with multiple suspects who, in the last chapter, are summoned by the detective, who then grills them in front of everyone, saying why he suspected each one and making everyone nervous until he finally reveals whodunit.

Watchin' the Detective: A Mystery Dinner Romance

 

The second book about libraries I wrote is a romantic comedy.  It's about a librarian who goes to a performance at a mystery dinner theater where someone is actually killed--definitely not part of the act.  A handsome detective comes to investigate and she falls madly in love with him.  She gets mixed up with some dangerous people when she tries to find out who the murderer was.  This is a little racy: her fantasies about him are quite graphic (and very funny).

The characters in Watchin' the Detective get married and spend their honeymoon in New Orleans. This book is mostly a travelogue about New Orleans and Louisiana and anyone planning to go visit The Crescent City would benefit by some of the travel tips it offers.

Honeymoon in New Orleans

My final book in the series finds the two librarians from earlier stories going to Europe.  Isabella is trying to recover from her husband's death and Nicole is looking forward to her first visit to Europe. Will either of them find love on this vacation? Where will they go and what will they do on September 11, 2001 when they find themselves stranded in London and cannot take a flight home as planned?

Destination Europe: The Summer the World Changed

These books are all available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Google Play, 

Smashwords, and Kobo Books

Mystery Dinner Romance

Have you ever wanted to go to a mystery dinner theater where the audience has to figure out whodunit? That is where two lovers meet in this humorous and sexy romance novel. Isabella, a librarian in her early thirties, goes with her friends to a performance where an actual murder takes place. She falls in love with the handsome investigating detective, and gets herself mixed up with some dangerous people when she goes undercover—in spite of his warnings—to help him solve the crime.

Watchin' the Detective: A Mystery Dinner Romance 

by Louise Hathaway

Only 99 Cents!

Available at Amazon, iBooks, Barnes and Noble, Google Play,

Kobo Books and Smashwords

Click here to purchase on Amazon

Click here to purchase on iBooks

Click here to purchase at Barnes and Noble

Click here to purchase at Google Play Books

Click here to purchase at Kobo

Click here to purchase at Smashwords

Romance at the Mystery Dinner Theater

Have you ever wanted to go to a mystery dinner theater where the audience has to figure out whodunit? That is where two lovers meet in this humorous and sexy romance novel. Isabella, a librarian in her early 30s, goes with her friends to a performance where an actual murder takes place and falls in love with the handsome investigating detective. For readers 18+.

Watchin' the Detective: A Mystery Dinner Romance

By Louise Hathaway 

This eBook is available for $2.99 at all your favorite online bookstores

Also available in paperback at Amazon.com

Click on the links below to purchase:

Purchase at Amazon

Purchase at iTunes

Purchase at Barnes and Noble

Purchase at Kobo

Purchase at Smashwords

Purchase at Google Play

A Fun Romance Novel

Valentine's Day is coming up.  Are you in the mood, ladies, for a fun romance novel?  If so, you may like this story about a librarian in her mid-thirties who must choose between two men: the first is ten years younger than she is and the second is a handsome detective she meets when she goes to a murder mystery dinner show where an actual murder takes place and he is sent to investigate. She has a very rich fantasy life when she imagines herself with the detective and because her dreams are pretty sexually-explicit, this book is for those 18 and over.  If you've ever wondered what it would be like to go to a murder mystery show or what a typical day for a librarian is like, you will enjoy this book.

Watchin' the Detective: A Mystery Dinner Romance

By Louise Hathaway

eBook is only $2.99

Available is paperback at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Purchase at Amazon

Purchase at iTunes

Purchase at Barnes and Noble

Purchase at Smashwords

Purchase at Kobo

Purchase at Google Play