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Maddie Swallows Mysteries #1-2
Maddie Swallows Mysteries: A Duet: Dead Before Dinner / Dead Upon Arrival
New Mexico meets cozy mystery in this two-book duet. If you like small towns, humor, and intrigue, you'll love the Maddie Swallows mystery series.
This duet includes the first two books of the Maddie Swallows series, Dead Before Dinner and Dead Upon Arrival.
Dead Before Dinner:
Green chile has never been more dangerous. Psychologist Maddie Swallows’ decision to return to New Mexico seemed like a good idea at the time, considering the divorce and her two teenagers she’d dragged along for the ride. But that was before the New Year’s Eve party she was guilt-tripped into attending. Before a member of the town council wound up dead and everyone at the party became a suspect. And before she was forced to unravel the secrets of her former hometown in order to clear her name. Of course, with the help of two precocious teenagers and one meddling mother, the real murderer doesn’t stand a chance.
Dead Upon Arrival:
Flying high in the New Mexican sky has never been more lethal.
The biggest hot air balloon festival would have been a vacation if Maddie didn’t have to balance her apathetic teenagers, a meddling mother, and act as therapist for a desperate patient. Let alone solve a murder case!
When Maddie witnesses someone fall from a hot air balloon, it seems like a tragic accident. But as facts come to light, the police are convinced it’s foul play. And Maddie’s friend is to blame.
With the remainder of the festival canceled and all attendees required to stay for questioning, Maddie has two days to discover the truth behind the murder and free her friend from suspicion.
Grab Dead Before Dinner and Dead Upon Arrival and test your whodunit skills today!
This duet includes the first two books of the Maddie Swallows series, Dead Before Dinner and Dead Upon Arrival.
Dead Before Dinner:
Green chile has never been more dangerous. Psychologist Maddie Swallows’ decision to return to New Mexico seemed like a good idea at the time, considering the divorce and her two teenagers she’d dragged along for the ride. But that was before the New Year’s Eve party she was guilt-tripped into attending. Before a member of the town council wound up dead and everyone at the party became a suspect. And before she was forced to unravel the secrets of her former hometown in order to clear her name. Of course, with the help of two precocious teenagers and one meddling mother, the real murderer doesn’t stand a chance.
Dead Upon Arrival:
Flying high in the New Mexican sky has never been more lethal.
The biggest hot air balloon festival would have been a vacation if Maddie didn’t have to balance her apathetic teenagers, a meddling mother, and act as therapist for a desperate patient. Let alone solve a murder case!
When Maddie witnesses someone fall from a hot air balloon, it seems like a tragic accident. But as facts come to light, the police are convinced it’s foul play. And Maddie’s friend is to blame.
With the remainder of the festival canceled and all attendees required to stay for questioning, Maddie has two days to discover the truth behind the murder and free her friend from suspicion.
Grab Dead Before Dinner and Dead Upon Arrival and test your whodunit skills today!
370 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 6, 2023
248 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 24, 2023
Good guys, Bad Guys, & Interesting Guys...and Gals
I am usually found reading paranormal books, but it's the people in books who draw me into a story, and where better to find that than in a good mystery? Makes sense that I became a mental health therapist and retired...oh, that didn't sound right...
Anyway, I could definitely relate to Maddie. And the therapist in me enjoyed having a birdseye view, so to speak..well, I wasn't actually there, was I?...seeing how the main people in these books changed over time.
These are classic cozy mysteries, no gore, no explicit sex, the murderers are found out, and they are not full of evil incarnate. They are people who go too far down the wrong path, perhaps believing that's the only way justice will win out. So maybe the mystery is not profoundly deep and complex, and resolves more easily than in real life. Yet the way the murders happen and who the people behind them are strikes me as more true to life than a complex thriller.
So I have a lot of fun reading paranormal light fantasy, but despite my retirement from being a therapist, I enjoy a really well written "people" story best, like this one.
Happy Reading!
I am usually found reading paranormal books, but it's the people in books who draw me into a story, and where better to find that than in a good mystery? Makes sense that I became a mental health therapist and retired...oh, that didn't sound right...
Anyway, I could definitely relate to Maddie. And the therapist in me enjoyed having a birdseye view, so to speak..well, I wasn't actually there, was I?...seeing how the main people in these books changed over time.
These are classic cozy mysteries, no gore, no explicit sex, the murderers are found out, and they are not full of evil incarnate. They are people who go too far down the wrong path, perhaps believing that's the only way justice will win out. So maybe the mystery is not profoundly deep and complex, and resolves more easily than in real life. Yet the way the murders happen and who the people behind them are strikes me as more true to life than a complex thriller.
So I have a lot of fun reading paranormal light fantasy, but despite my retirement from being a therapist, I enjoy a really well written "people" story best, like this one.
Happy Reading!
May 16, 2023
Book 1: Maddie thought moving home to Amor was a good idea. She finds, however, that the town is not as friendly as when she was growing up there. The people are suspicious, critical & not supportive. When she attends a dinner party & there is a murder, her life gets more complicated. Her 2 children have lessons to learn also as they adjust to this new life in a small town. Are they a help or hindrance? Only by reading the book will you find out! I look forward to the future of this series.
Book 2: I learned of & wanted to visit this hot air balloon festival a year ago when we visited the area (at the wrong time of year). So when I started reading the book I was excited. A story set at the festival with someone dying from a hot air balloon ride? Yes, but this time Maggie is asked to help solve the mystery. I loved this story more than the first one, I believe. The ending was quite the surprise also. I can't wait for the next book after reading the epilogue in this book.
Book 2: I learned of & wanted to visit this hot air balloon festival a year ago when we visited the area (at the wrong time of year). So when I started reading the book I was excited. A story set at the festival with someone dying from a hot air balloon ride? Yes, but this time Maggie is asked to help solve the mystery. I loved this story more than the first one, I believe. The ending was quite the surprise also. I can't wait for the next book after reading the epilogue in this book.
August 24, 2023
Dead Before Dinner...Great cozy mystery. Maddie is a newly divorced mother of two teenagers. She left her fancy university position and moved back home to New Mexico. She and her co-worker are going to start their own business. It's a hard transition for everyone especially after a disliked town council person dies. A captivating story that keeps you reading.
Dead Upon Arrival -Maddie, her daughter Lilly, her son Flash and her mother are on their way to New Mexico for a huge hot air balloon gathering. Maddie didn't make reservations for rooms to stay in so they are stuck in a very low level motel. Things get better when they take a drive to see where the balloons are. They are amazed by the balloon glow they see as they top the hill. Everything was great until a man falls out of a balloon basket. Will Maddie figure out who did?
Dead Upon Arrival -Maddie, her daughter Lilly, her son Flash and her mother are on their way to New Mexico for a huge hot air balloon gathering. Maddie didn't make reservations for rooms to stay in so they are stuck in a very low level motel. Things get better when they take a drive to see where the balloons are. They are amazed by the balloon glow they see as they top the hill. Everything was great until a man falls out of a balloon basket. Will Maddie figure out who did?
May 2, 2025
Maddie with her two children, Lilly & Flash & her friend Tilly have moved to Amor since her divorce. Maddie & Tilly are setting up a Psychology Therapy business in the small town that Maddie grew up in. Tilly & Maddie are invited to a dinner party where someone dies. It turns out to be a suspicious death. Maddie (with unwanted help from her children!) gets involved. Then, another death happens. An interesting first story. The second story finds the family at a hot air balloon event. They get there for the big glow & then see a man fall from a balloon that had been cut loose from its tethering ropes. Naturally, virtually the first people on the scene were Lilly & Flash! Turns our that their own Sheriff is on the scene &gets the job of working out who did it! The man arrested is a friend of the person who had insisted that Maddie be at the festival & begs her to find the real killer. Once again, a very enjoyable read.
May 12, 2023
Dead Before Dinner is a fun beginning of a new series. Ms. Bellemore has written a fun and angsty, well plotted cozy mystery that drew me into the plot immediately and kept my attention. There are certainly some mean spirited people in Maddie's hometown. I like these new characters, the small town and this amazing mystery!
In Dead Upon Arrival, Maddie, at a patient's request, and her family travel to New Mexico's hot air balloon festival. Soon Maddie has another murder to solve. I love how this psychologist, and her family, get involved in solving these murders. It is a plus that I never figure how who dun it! With too little time, too many suspects and too many possible motives, will Mattie find the murder before it is to late for the man sitting in jail?
In Dead Upon Arrival, Maddie, at a patient's request, and her family travel to New Mexico's hot air balloon festival. Soon Maddie has another murder to solve. I love how this psychologist, and her family, get involved in solving these murders. It is a plus that I never figure how who dun it! With too little time, too many suspects and too many possible motives, will Mattie find the murder before it is to late for the man sitting in jail?
October 5, 2023
KAT BELLMORE
KAT BELLMORE WRITES THE MADDIE SWALLOWS MYSTERIES DEAD BEFORE DINNER AND DEAD UPON ARRIVAL. IN THE FIRST INSTALLMENT, THE FRIENDS DRIVE INTO UNCHARTED CHAOS. NO ONE KNOWS WHO TO RIDE WITH BEFORE A WILD POLICE WITCH HUNT. IN THE SECOND MYSTERY, A HOT AIR BALLOON RACE FINDS NO ONE ELSE TALKING OR RIDING SOMEWHERE EXCEPT FOR THE ANTICIPATED DATE OF ARRIVAL.
KAT BELLMORE WRITES THE MADDIE SWALLOWS MYSTERIES DEAD BEFORE DINNER AND DEAD UPON ARRIVAL. IN THE FIRST INSTALLMENT, THE FRIENDS DRIVE INTO UNCHARTED CHAOS. NO ONE KNOWS WHO TO RIDE WITH BEFORE A WILD POLICE WITCH HUNT. IN THE SECOND MYSTERY, A HOT AIR BALLOON RACE FINDS NO ONE ELSE TALKING OR RIDING SOMEWHERE EXCEPT FOR THE ANTICIPATED DATE OF ARRIVAL.
December 22, 2024
A great story and great characters. Very enjoyable.
I love reading cozy mysteries. Characters that are easy to relate to and would enjoy having in your life! I intend to read all of her books, they are too good to miss. I want to see how her life goes with Benji and her children.
I love reading cozy mysteries. Characters that are easy to relate to and would enjoy having in your life! I intend to read all of her books, they are too good to miss. I want to see how her life goes with Benji and her children.
August 10, 2023
Love these characters!
Maddie is a strong, single mom of 2 with her mother (helping) her? After moving back to her hometown & opening a therapy practice with her best friend her family become homicide detectives! Moms everywhere will enjoy the lol moments! Next, please!
Maddie is a strong, single mom of 2 with her mother (helping) her? After moving back to her hometown & opening a therapy practice with her best friend her family become homicide detectives! Moms everywhere will enjoy the lol moments! Next, please!
August 23, 2023
Fantastic fun mysteries
Fantastic fun mysteries that were simple to follow and easy to read involving hilarious Mom and daring teenage children loving murderous adventures. Maddie and small town residents make for an endearing reading adventure.
Fantastic fun mysteries that were simple to follow and easy to read involving hilarious Mom and daring teenage children loving murderous adventures. Maddie and small town residents make for an endearing reading adventure.
September 11, 2023
These are great cozy mysteries. I love that Maddie and her kids get involved with each using their special talents to solve murders. Well done!
February 16, 2024
The characters are wonderful and I like that the story has a lot of light moments mixed in with the murder and family drama. I can't wait to see what's next.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews