Guns and Roses: A Modern Mystery Set in Colonial Willamsburg

Roxanne Prescott #1

by Taffy Cannon

Strange things are happening on the History and Gardens of Virginia Tour. Are they odd misadventures? Harmless pranks? Or does somebody have murder in mind? Ex-Texas cop Roxanne Prescott thought she'd moved into a more genteel line of work, leading the well-heeled on educational tours for her aunt's travel agency. But as the group, which she has mentally nicknamed the Guns and Roses Tour, moves from Mount Vernon to Monticello, a practical joker targets the tourists. In Colonial Williamsburg the pranks escalate with deadly results. Roxanne must figure out which of her group is a killer hiding behind a genial facade. Guns and Roses is a cozy mystery with an edge, first in a new series about the Irish Eyes Travel Agency. Author Taffy Cannon's knowledge of the South and her acerbic wit enliven this classic closed-circle-of-suspects mystery.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Eileen Emily Cannon aka Emily Toll

Taffy Cannon is the author of thirteen mysteries, including Guns and Roses (2000), which was an Agatha Award nominee and Macavity Award Best Novel nominee, and Blood Matters (2007), winner of the Best Mystery/Thriller in the San Diego Book Awards. Anyone who has ever had difficulty with a health insurance company will appreciate “Instant Karma,” her short story in the recent San Diego Noir (2011) anthology. She also runs a professional organizing business and is a multi-term president of the Friends of the Carlsbad Library, for which she manages a bookstore that earns $100,000 a year for the Library.

Reviews

[Trish · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very much a dry run at what became the author's Booked for Travel series, under her Emily Toll pseudonym. The premise is the same - problems/murders on a guided tour, although Roxanne, the main character here, is younger than Lynne from the other series, and with a more interesting background.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Former policewoman Roxanne Prescott agrees to lead her aunt’s tour group for a History and Gardens of Virginia Tour at various colonial historic sites. But when mysterious pranks start plaguing the group, her cop instincts rise to the forefront. Is this harmless mischief, or is it a precursor to murder? As the incidents turn deadly, Roxanne determines to find the killer among her motley charges. This is one tour group you’d want to ditch, although the itinerary sounds fascinating. The detailed settings immerse you in the story and will make you want to book a tour for yourself.

[MsAprilVincent · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the book would take place in Williamsburg, and the amateur detective would be one of the re-enactors. But it's really about a tour group of rich people who are looking at gardens around Williamsburg.

Nobody dies until 3/4 of the way through. The mystery is fairly easy to figure out.

Not at all what I expected. That's not so much a bad thing, I guess, but it was a bit of a letdown. My preconception was a better idea.

[Sherrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basically about an Off Duty Police Officer helping out her Aunt with taking a group of tourist on one of their touring trips. Unfortunately, from day one things start happening, a flat tire, a woman who trips on something and falls down the stairs, some phone calls, but when a little girl is kidnapped and a woman has been killed this tour became sinister and it is up to Roxanne and another Deputy to find out what is going one and who killed the woman.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

#1 in the Roxanne Prescott series. Finalist 2000 Agatha Award for Best Novel and Finalist 2001 Macavity Award for Best Novel. Roxanne, on leave from the Austin, TX PD, is working as a tour guide for her aunt.
Despite an interesting setup,and some interesting characters and situations, the novel feels disjointed. The mishaps that take place on the Colonial Virginia tour feel episodic and having the characters (there are 15 people on the tour)do their own first person exposition is confusing. By the end of the book, Olive was mentioned and I couldn't remember who she was. Roxanne is a hard-working character and I feel bad about not feeling an attachment to her. Verdict is that there is a lot of potential here but some additional editing would have helped.

Roxanne Prescott series - Following the death of her partner at an Austin, Tex., crime scene, former policewoman Roxanne Prescott attempts to start a new career as a guide for her aunt's upscale tour business, the Irish Eyes Travel Agency. Leading a group of well-to-do folk on a tour of Virginia's historic sites--the Guns and Roses tour, as Roxanne likes to think of it--proves to be no picnic. As the group moves from Mount Vernon south to Fredericksburg, Monticello and Colonial Williamsburg, what at first seem accidents escalate into practical jokes, malicious pranks, possible kidnapping and death. Unprepared for such trouble, Roxanne has her hands full, trying to pacify angry sightseers, prevent further accidents and discover who is seeking to jeopardize the tour and her aunt's business.

[Mark Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tour to Colonial Williamsburg runs into trouble when a series of strange accidents ends in murder. A fun mystery that uses multiple viewpoints well to tell the story.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this as a fun way to get familiar with Williamsburg before vacationing there. The writing and storytelling were mediocre.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mystery set during tour of Virginia battlefields and Williamsburg.
Good itinerary.
Started with pranks, then someone is killed.
Pretty good.

[Jack Heath]

Synopsis: Roxanne is our tour guide for Colonial Williamsburg. Strange things start to happen, and then it turns deadly. She answers the call.

[Jenine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Agatha Christie territory, it's a very by-the-numbers mystery. Guess I was in the mood.

[Sabra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Could not even finish I was so bored.