Publisher: Clear Creek Publishing
Date of Publication: March 13, 2015
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Named 2016 Best Mystery Series by Texas Association of Authors.
When Madison Reynolds finds herself widowed and penniless before forty, she does the only thing she knows to do – she packs up her teenage twins and moves back home with her eighty-year-old grandmother. Life in The Sisters, Texas has not changed much since she’s been gone, but at least her best friend Genesis is there to soften the transition back into small-town life.
To make ends meet, Madison opens In a Pinch Temporary Services. Her first real client is Ronny Gleason, but when she shows up for the first day of work at the Gleason Poultry Farm, Madison makes a gruesome discovery. The dead body she finds belongs to Mr. Gleason. When a local man is arrested for murder, Madison takes on the job of proving his innocence. Even though she is not a private investigator, both mothers are desperate: Lucy Ngyen to clear her son’s name, and Madison to pay her bills. But as she begins asking questions around town, her interference is not welcome.
With a daughter determined to go back to Dallas, a son settling into small town life, a feisty grandmother who knows all the town gossip, bill collectors calling, and now someone trying to keep her silent, Madison has no time for re-kindling her high school crush with police chief Brash deCordova. She has her hands full just trying to stay alive.
If she survives her amateur investigation, Maddy has a decision to make. Will she go back to her life in Dallas, or will she build a new life here in The Sisters?
Chicken Scratch by Becki Willis is the first book in The Sisters Texas Series, and what a fabulous beginning it is! Madison (Maddy) Reynolds is back in her hometown of Juliet, Texas (sister city to Naomi, Texas), newly widowed and with her twin teens, Bethani and Blake. Unfortunately, Maddy inherited nothing but debt and heartache, so she opened In a Pinch Temporary Services to make ends meet. No job is obviously too menial or degrading, which is why Maddy finds herself knee deep in chicken poop, maintaining chicken houses for a week. But nowhere in the contract for this job does it say anything about finding a dead body.
What comes next is a delightful cozy mystery full of well-crafted characters and a little restaurant that sounds like the perfect place to grab dessert and a cup of coffee.
Maddy stumbles across the dead body in chapter 1, and she quickly becomes embroiled in a multi-layered mystery that proves quite dangerous, if not downright deadly. And running into her high school crush from 20 years ago, Brash deCordova, adds a new level of complication to Maddy’s already complicated life.
The romance level in Chicken Scratch between several characters starts off quite tepid and uncertain, providing just enough intrigue and speculation on how some of these relationships will play out by the end of book 1 and going into book 2. Be prepared to fall in love with so many characters, especially Granny Bert, Genesis Baker, and Cutter Montgomery. I know I’m already head over heels!
Enter the giveaway below for a chance to win a signed copy of book 8, Wildflower Wedding with a Killer Reception and some Amazon gift cards.
Becki Willis, best known for her popular The Sisters, Texas Mystery Series and Forgotten Boxes, always dreamed of being an author. In November of ’13, that dream became a reality. An avid history buff, Becki likes to poke around in old places and learn about the past. Other addictions include reading, writing, junking, unraveling a good mystery, and coffee. She loves to travel but believes coming home to her family and her Texas ranch is the best part of any trip. Becki is a member of the Association of Texas Authors, Writer’s League of Texas, Sisters in Crime, the National Association of Professional Women, and the Brazos Writers organization. She attended Texas A&M University and majored in Journalism.
Connect with Becki below. She loves to hear from readers and encourages feedback!
2nd Prize: $10 Amazon Gift Card
June 20-30, 2019
VISIT THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THE TOUR:
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6/20/19
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Chicken Scratch, #1
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6/20/19
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When the Stars Fall, #2
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6/21/19
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Stipulations & Complications, #3
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6/22/19
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Home Again: Starting Over, #4
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6/23/19
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Genny’s Ballad, #5
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6/24/19
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Christmas in The Sisters, #6
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6/25/19
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The Lilac Code, #7
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6/26/19
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Wildflower Wedding, #8
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6/26/19
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Wildflower Wedding, #8
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6/27/19
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Wildflower Wedding, #8
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6/27/19
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Wildflower Wedding, #8
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6/28/19
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Wildflower Wedding, #8
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6/28/19
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Wildflower Wedding, #8
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6/29/19
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Wildflower Wedding, #8
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6/29/19
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Wildflower Wedding, #8
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This is such a fun series to write! Thank you for reading!