Book Review, Guest Post and Giveaway–> Slayed on the Slopes by Kate Dyer-Seeley and Scene of the Climb by Kate Dyer-Seeley

About the Book:
After talking her way into a job writing for Portland’s Northwest Extreme magazine, Meg Reed may now really be in over her head. Actually, about 8,000 feet over her head. . .

She’s at Mount Hood’s remote Silcox Hut, covering the seriously hardcore Ridge Rangers—Oregon’s elite high-altitude rescue team–during their four-day winter training. Sure, Meg beefed up her outdoor skills over the summer . . . but she’s still hoping to cover the event with some hot chocolate by the cheery fireplace. Then, during a sudden blizzard, she swears she hears gunshots. No one stranded in the hut believes her . . . until self-absorbed Ridge Ranger Ben Rogers is found outside in a pool of frozen blood. Meg’s now got to find this killer quickly . . . before cabin fever does them all in!

Book Review:
Slayed on the Slopes is the second book in the Pacific Northwest Mystery series and my second book by the author.
The cover is again a very beautiful and eye catching one while the blurb too made me very intrigued about the book.

Don’t miss out on the first book, Scene of the Climb, available now!

Praise For Scene Of The Climb

“A splendid overview of the greater Portland and Columbia River Gorge region, perfect for travel buffs. Her protagonist shows promise with her determined attitude and moxie.” –Library Journal

Includes Adventure Guides!

Book Review:

I signed up to review Slayed on the Slopes and the tour organizers and the author were kind enough to send me the first book in the series, Scene of the Climb too, so that I could get the whole story. 

Scene of the Climb is the story of Meg who wrangles herself a job under false pretenses and then is soon embroiled in a mystery where not only is she faced with a killer but is also faced with the challenge of completing her work assignment which means that she will have to break her trekking shoes!

The cover is beautiful and instantly made me relive my holiday to the many scenic hill stations in my country. The blurb is pretty interesting too and had me wanting to start on the book right away.

This is the author’s debut cozy mystery and she does a decent job of delivering a mystery where the reader is faced with multiple suspects and has to rake his mind to determine who the real culprit is. The writing style is simple and engaging and I could feel the scenery of the story in my mind.

The character of Meg had me loving and then hating her. She is sometimes sweet and determined to make a life for herself but is also careless and somewhat seemingly spoilt at the other times. I loved her friend, Jill and her boss Greg. Running around solving the mystery was interesting with these people.

The only aspect that asked for improvement was the tightness of the plot which lagged at times but still nothing major to dampen my interest.

All in all, Scene of the Climb is a promising debut by the author and an entertaining cozy mystery. 4 out of 5 to it and recommended to all cozy mystery fans. This one has adventure, great scenery and a sweet not-so-perfect heroine.

I received a copy of the book from the author and the tour organizers and I am very thankful to them. The above review is my honest and unbiased opinion and in no way influenced.

Goodreads | Amazon US | Amazon IN | B&N 

Guest Post:

Why do you write cozy mysteries?

I’ve been reading cozy mysteries since I was a kid. I got
hooked on the genre from a young age with Trixie Belden and Nancy Drew. I spent
a summer reading all of Agatha Christie’s books, and have never looked back.

Cozy mysteries are escapism at its best, taking readers
on a quest to figure out whodunit, with a dash of romance and plenty of
page-turning twists. They’re typically light reads without gratuitous violence,
featuring amateur sleuths who stumble into solving a mystery while going about
their everyday lives. They also serve as travelogues. I’ve been
transported to quaint villages on the English countryside, to sunny Nice, and
ancient Egypt while reading cozies.

When I decided I wanted to try my hand at penning a cozy,
I knew I had to follow the old adage of “write what you know.” I know the Pacific
Northwest and the outdoors. One of my favorite things about writing the series
is introducing readers to the Pacific Northwest through Meg’s adventures—or
misadventures.

Meg is less than skilled when it comes to the outdoors. I
intentionally wanted to create a young character who was out of her element
when on assignment for Northwest Extreme
magazine. She’s intimidated by her hard bodied colleagues, yet willing to jump
in and give every assignment a try. One of my goals in writing the series is to
make the outdoors accessible to everyone. Meg stumbles her way through hikes
and climbs, but learns a lot about herself in the process. That’s what being
out in nature is about for me—pushing my limits, getting lost on a quiet trail
with nothing but my thoughts, or just taking an extra moment to soak in the
wild space around me.

That’s really how every story idea starts. When I was
writing Scene of the Climb, the first
book in the series, my family and I were hiking Angel’s Rest in the Columbia
River Gorge. When we got to the summit, I had a thought flash through my
head—what would happen if someone fell from the top, but it wasn’t an accident?
Usually the story starts with an out-of-whack event, like a murder on the top
of a cliff. Or, in Slayed on the Slopes,
we were at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood and I thought, what would happen if
there was a blizzard and someone was discovered buried in the snow, but the
authorities couldn’t get through the storm.

So pretty much, I’m constantly thinking about ways to
knock someone off!

Once I have an idea of how the murder happens I plot out
each character’s storyline and what secrets they might be hiding. Hopefully
that helps throw suspicion onto everyone. All my characters are hiding
something. The question the reader has to puzzle out, is whether or not their
hiding the fact that they’re the killer.

I love the process of plotting and planting red herrings.
It’s always amazing to me how everything comes together at the end of the
story. Sometimes it’s even unexpected to me—I’ll realize I was layering in
something that I wasn’t even consciously aware of until I get to the end. Hopefully
readers will have as much fun reading my cozies as I have writing them!

About the Author:

Kate Dyer-Seeley writes the Pacific Northwest Mystery Series for Kensington Publishing. The first
book in the series, Scene of the Climb, features the rugged landscapes of the Columbia River Gorge and a young journalist who bills herself as an intrepid adventurer in order to land a gig writing for Northwest Extreme.

Her work has appeared in a variety of regional and international publications including: The Columbian, The Vancouver Voice, Seattle Backpacker, Portland Family Magazine, and Climbing Magazine.

Kate lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and son, where you can find her hitting the trail, at an artisan coffee shop, or at her favorite pub. Better yet—at all three.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Giveaway:
Winter warmer package- signed copy of Slayed on the Slopes, Signed copy of Scene of the Climb, Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Hot Chocolate Mix, Oregon Chai Tea, 1 Pound of Coffee and Collectable Mt. Hood art coaster (US)
Ends April 27, 2015

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This event was organized by CBB Book Promotions.