Sandra Balzo | Murder on the Orient Espresso

As my protagonist, Maggy Thorsen, recently put it: "If things had gone as I'd planned that weekend, the book would be called Fifty Shades of Sunburn, not MURDER ON THE ORIENT ESPRESSO."

But let me explain: This being the eighth installment of my Wisconsin-based
Maggy Thorsen mysteries, I decided my coffeehouse owner should take a
well-earned break from the cold and accompany her main squeeze, Sheriff Jake
Pavlik, to South Florida for a mystery writers' conference, where Pavlik is to
speak.

This wasn't as much of a stretch for me as it was for Maggy. I now live in Fort
Lauderdale and am treasurer of the Florida Chapter of Mystery Writers of
America, which puts on the premier mystery writers' conference in the world,
Sleuthfest.

For the record, Sleuthfest does NOT pile various warring factions of writers, reviewers and fans onto a night train into the Everglades to re-enact Agatha Christie's MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. And if we did, we'd make damn sure the weather was good, the tracks were solid and . . . well, I can't promise you an absence of critters. They are a bit of a nuisance down here.

Anyway, I'd been dying to give Maggy some alone-time with Sheriff Pavlik, he of
the tousled dark hair and mood-ring blue eyes. Sending them away together was
just the ticket--both for the relationship to develop, but also to give Pavlik a
co-starring role.

But, alas, the romantic, sun-drenched weekend is not to be.  Upon arrival,
conference organizer Zoe Scarlett rushes Maggy and Pavlik onto an excursion
train into the Everglades, explaining to the jet-lagged couple that Pavlik is to
play Christie's murder victim, Ratchett. Guests of Honor Rosemary Darlington and
Laurence Potter will be Mary Debenham and Hercule Poirot, respectively.

The weather is threatening as the train chugs out of the station, but things
inside are deteriorating even more quickly.  Reviewer Potter and author
Darlington obviously detest each other, though whether because of a rumored
affair or Potter's appraisal of Darlington's long-awaited comeback novel as
"badly-written pornography," nobody seems to know. A knife disappears
and Zoe Scarlett makes a play for Pavlik. Potter's wife turns up and, on her
heels, a young man claiming a stolen manuscript.

And then things really take a turn for the worse.

Sandra Balzo is an award-winning author of crime fiction, including nine books in two different mystery series from Severn House--the Maggy Thorsen Coffeehouse Mysteries and Main Street Murders, set in the High Country of North Carolina.  Balzo's books have garnered starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist, while being recommended to readers of Janet Evanovich, Charlaine Harris, Mary Daheim, Joan Hess and Margaret Maron. A Wisconsin native, Sandy now splits her time between South Florida and North Carolina. SandraBalzo.com