Murder (and Baklava) (A European Voyage Cozy Mystery—Book 1)

Written by Blake Pierce

Narrated by Katie Silverthorne

“When you think that life cannot get better, Blake Pierce comes up with another masterpiece of thriller and mystery! This book is full of twists, and the end brings a surprising revelation. Strongly recommended for the permanent library of any reader who enjoys a very well-written thriller.”
--Books and Movie Reviews (re Almost Gone)

MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) is the debut novel in a charming new cozy mystery series by #1 bestselling author Blake Pierce, whose Once Gone has over 1,500 five-star reviews.

When London Rose, 33, is proposed to by her long-time boyfriend, she realizes she is facing a stable, predictable, pre-determined (and passionless) life. She freaks out and runs the other way—accepting instead a job across the Atlantic, as a tour-guide on a high-end European cruise line that travels through a country a day. London is searching for a more romantic, unscripted and exciting life that she feels sure exists out there somewhere.

London is elated: the European river towns are small, historic and charming. She gets to see a new port every night, gets to sample an endless array of new cuisine and meet a stream of interesting people. It is a traveler’s dream, and it is anything but predictable.

But when a wealthy, high-maintenance passenger suddenly turns up dead outside of Budapest, the cruise has become a bit too unpredictable. Even worse: as the last person to see her alive, suspicion falls on London, leaving her no choice but to solve the crime (with her new sidekick, an orphaned dog), and save her cruise line and herself.

Laugh-out-loud funny, romantic, endearing, rife with new sights, culture and food, MURDER (AND BAKLAVA) offers a fun and suspenseful trip through the heart of Europe, anchored in an intriguing mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat and guessing until the very last page.

Book #2 (DEATH AND APPLE STRUDEL) and book #3 (CRIME AND LAGER) in the series are now also available.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lukeman Literary Management
• Release date: Sep 28, 2020
• ISBN: 9781094315812

Blake Pierce

Blake Pierce is author of the #1 bestselling RILEY PAGE mystery series, which include the mystery suspense thrillers ONCE GONE (book #1), ONCE TAKEN (book #2) and ONCE CRAVED (#3). An avid reader and lifelong fan of the mystery and thriller genres, Blake loves to hear from you, so please feel free to visit www.blakepierceauthor.com to learn more and stay in touch.

Reviews for Murder (and Baklava) (A European Voyage Cozy Mystery—Book 1)

[Michelle Jungers · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I like cozy mysteries for quite a few reasons, one of them being that you don’t really expect a whole lot out of the story. It’s meant to be a quick read and usually it’s quite easy to figure out the “whodunnit”. If you happen to get more than that, even better. Some writers do these cozy mysteries very well and you pretty much know what to expect out of each book. That is not the case with this book by Blake Pierce.

I have only read one other series by Mr. Pierce, and I have not actually read the whole series yet. While I enjoyed it I wasn’t rushing to the next book. Murder (and Baklava) definitely have a waiting for the next book. London Rose is our main character. She seems to be at a major cross road in her life. So she does what every character does in this type of book... ignores the advice from the people who love her and takes off to do what she wants of course!

Ms. Rose accepts a new position with her struggling company on a new cruise ship. From the beginning, we have the jealous coworker, the cute coworker, the old friend coworker, and the “ not quite sure what to make of you” coworker. Mr. Pierce takes his time letting us get to know each character and definitely takes his time getting to the murder of the story. I was beginning to think there wouldn’t be one here. I think it worked though because by the time it occurred, we have gotten to know the murder victim and form an opinion about them and their possible enemies. I love that London Rose is a strong female lead. I hope she doesn’t go falling for some guy quickly and become all goo-goo eyed. I think there are many possibilities ahead with this series and it’s one I’m willing to stick around to see what happens next with Ms. Rose.

[Janie · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Couldn’t get past the narrator mispronouncing BAKLAVA!!! x x x x x x x x

[Phyllis Blignaut · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Thanks for the update and I look forward to hearing more