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A Map for Murder: A Mystery by 24 Authors
When their best friend Merilee lands in jail, Janet and Molly naturally rush to her aid. But when the two girls find out that Merilee has been accused of murdering her own mother, they realize that the only way to help her is to find the real killer! The mystery takes the three friends back and forth from their artsy neighborhood in Dallas, to the Old West town of Shotgun City, to a ranch so big you could get lost in it. When the threesome find a map of nearby Packsaddle Mountain, they realize they’ve found a clue to a legendary outlaw’s treasure—a treasure worth killing for. Before all is said and done, the three friends will have to face a lot of danger and team up with some unlikely allies to discover the hidden loot and bring a murderer to justice. Written by twenty-four different authors, this is one cozy mystery you won’t want to miss!
169 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 26, 2020
2 people are currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Rockwell
33 books149 followersPatricia Rockwell has spent most of her life teaching. From small liberal arts colleges to large regional research universities—and even a brief stint in a high school, her background in education is extensive. She has taught virtually everything related to Communication—from a fine arts speech-theatre orientation to more recently a social science research approach. Her Bachelors’ and Masters’ degrees are from the University of Nebraska in Speech and her Ph.D. is from the University of Arizona in Communication. She was on the faculty at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette for thirteen years, retiring in 2007.
Her publications are extensive, with over 20 peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals, several textbooks, and a research book on her major interest area of sarcasm, published by Edwin Mellen Press. In addition to publications, she has presented numerous papers at academic conferences and served for eight years as Editor of the "Louisiana Communication Journal. " Her research focuses primarily on several areas of communication: deception, sarcasm, and vocal cues.
Dr. Rockwell is presently living in Aurora, Illinois, with her husband Milt, also a retired educator. The couple have two adult children. SOUNDS OF MURDER is her first novel.
Her publications are extensive, with over 20 peer-reviewed articles in scholarly journals, several textbooks, and a research book on her major interest area of sarcasm, published by Edwin Mellen Press. In addition to publications, she has presented numerous papers at academic conferences and served for eight years as Editor of the "Louisiana Communication Journal. " Her research focuses primarily on several areas of communication: deception, sarcasm, and vocal cues.
Dr. Rockwell is presently living in Aurora, Illinois, with her husband Milt, also a retired educator. The couple have two adult children. SOUNDS OF MURDER is her first novel.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
March 13, 2021
I had seen A Map for Murder on social media and was very intrigued by the idea of a group mystery. 24 different authors each wrote one chapter of this cozy mystery. I recently finished the book and was pleasantly surprised at how cohesive the story is and how smoothly it flows from one chapter to the next considering each new chapter means a new author. I was unfamiliar with the contributing authors before this, but when reading their bios at the end of the book, I was impressed by their backgrounds.
The book is a light, easy-to-read mystery about two friends from Texas who do whatever it takes to prove their friend did not murder her mom. The small-town police force is correct and the women don't know who to trust so they decide it's up to them to solve the crime and prove their friend's innocence. There is a treasure hunt involved which could be tied to the murder.
I liked the friendship between Molly, Janet, and Merilee and the way they stuck together. A couple things that happen in the story that are a little far-fetched, but this is a fun cozy with a bit of romance mixed in. I enjoyed the book and would rate it four stars.
The book is a light, easy-to-read mystery about two friends from Texas who do whatever it takes to prove their friend did not murder her mom. The small-town police force is correct and the women don't know who to trust so they decide it's up to them to solve the crime and prove their friend's innocence. There is a treasure hunt involved which could be tied to the murder.
I liked the friendship between Molly, Janet, and Merilee and the way they stuck together. A couple things that happen in the story that are a little far-fetched, but this is a fun cozy with a bit of romance mixed in. I enjoyed the book and would rate it four stars.
November 27, 2020
I want to start by saying that I have never read a book written in this multi-author style. I kept looking for differences and variances between the authors and found none. The book is seamless, and it was fun to read. I understand that Cozy Cat Press offers other novels written in this style. I am interested in reading those as well.
The story follows three friends and their quest to find a killer. The scenery comes to life, and you feel as though you are right there on those old dusty roads. Coming from a rural area, I must say I miss those dirt roads out in the middle of nowhere. The description of the vehicles in this book is superb. I felt as if I were the one driving.
I found the characters to be refreshing and modern, yet still vulnerable. I enjoyed Molly, Janet, and Merilee, but the other characters are well written also. I could see the bad guy as he was…dastardly.
There is one plot hole that I couldn’t reconcile in my mind, so I have to knock off a star for that. But, I am happy to award A Map for Murder 4 out of 5 stars. The book is well worth reading, and I recommend it to all cozy mystery fans. I would love to have an audiobook version to listen to on wintry days like today.
Many thanks to Alicia at Cozy Cat Press for providing me with an ARC copy of A Map for Murder in exchange for an honest review.
The story follows three friends and their quest to find a killer. The scenery comes to life, and you feel as though you are right there on those old dusty roads. Coming from a rural area, I must say I miss those dirt roads out in the middle of nowhere. The description of the vehicles in this book is superb. I felt as if I were the one driving.
I found the characters to be refreshing and modern, yet still vulnerable. I enjoyed Molly, Janet, and Merilee, but the other characters are well written also. I could see the bad guy as he was…dastardly.
There is one plot hole that I couldn’t reconcile in my mind, so I have to knock off a star for that. But, I am happy to award A Map for Murder 4 out of 5 stars. The book is well worth reading, and I recommend it to all cozy mystery fans. I would love to have an audiobook version to listen to on wintry days like today.
Many thanks to Alicia at Cozy Cat Press for providing me with an ARC copy of A Map for Murder in exchange for an honest review.
December 11, 2020
Review posted on https://bookswithraven.wordpress.com/...
Molly, Janet and Merilee are close friends, they always have each others backs. When Merilee finds herself in prison, Janet and Molly know they need to help her. They find out that she is framed for the murder of her mother, they need to find out who the real killer is. In order to figure this mystery out, they must return to their childhood town called Shotgun City in Dallas. The three of them need to dig deep into the ranch where they all had links with when they were younger. The secrets and treasure hidden by the people in Shotgun City is worth killing for. The girls do not know who to trust as everyone know everyone as it is a small town. They make unlikely allies in the attempt to catch the real murderer and they put themselves in danger in order to do this.
As you can probably guess, this book is written by 24 authors who come together and write a chapter each. The story developed chapter by chapter. I found they all had their own style of writing but none of them were out of place. The story flowed very well for a book which was written section by section. I found no differences or variations between the chapters, the book is seamless. At some points I actually forgot each chapter was written by a different author. I have never read a book where different authors write the same story together in this way. I would love to read some more books like this.
The characters in this book were fun and lovable. Although it was a serious mystery book, there was some humour between the characters which I enjoyed reading. I found the writing style of each chapter amazing, it was written very well. The descriptions of the scenery was incredible, I could really imagine what the town and the surrounding areas looked like. I will be checking out the authors who were part of this story and seeing what other books they have written. Books like this gives the opportunity to discover new authors, which is amazing.
Thank you to Alicia for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book, it was a great mystery book.
Molly, Janet and Merilee are close friends, they always have each others backs. When Merilee finds herself in prison, Janet and Molly know they need to help her. They find out that she is framed for the murder of her mother, they need to find out who the real killer is. In order to figure this mystery out, they must return to their childhood town called Shotgun City in Dallas. The three of them need to dig deep into the ranch where they all had links with when they were younger. The secrets and treasure hidden by the people in Shotgun City is worth killing for. The girls do not know who to trust as everyone know everyone as it is a small town. They make unlikely allies in the attempt to catch the real murderer and they put themselves in danger in order to do this.
As you can probably guess, this book is written by 24 authors who come together and write a chapter each. The story developed chapter by chapter. I found they all had their own style of writing but none of them were out of place. The story flowed very well for a book which was written section by section. I found no differences or variations between the chapters, the book is seamless. At some points I actually forgot each chapter was written by a different author. I have never read a book where different authors write the same story together in this way. I would love to read some more books like this.
The characters in this book were fun and lovable. Although it was a serious mystery book, there was some humour between the characters which I enjoyed reading. I found the writing style of each chapter amazing, it was written very well. The descriptions of the scenery was incredible, I could really imagine what the town and the surrounding areas looked like. I will be checking out the authors who were part of this story and seeing what other books they have written. Books like this gives the opportunity to discover new authors, which is amazing.
Thank you to Alicia for sending me an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book, it was a great mystery book.
March 20, 2021
Three girls go from regular apartment life to solving a murder mystery when one of them finds herself behind bars for the murder of her own mother. Molly and Janet know their good friend Merilee, who was such a devoted daughter to her mother, would never do such a thing. But, if Merilee didn’t do it, who did? When the girls decide to find out, they step right into the messy world of getting involved in solving a murder.
Their journey takes them back to their hometown in Shotgun City near Dallas, TX where they discover the shocking truth about the murder of Merilee’s mother. It seems there was a large sum of money involved-- hidden treasure, in fact. It is the perfect motive for murder. When the girls get their hands on the map that will take them to the treasure, their plan goes spiraling as unexpected events urge them to be smarter than the killer, and take matters into their own hands.
This book was full of exciting twists and turns. Perhaps the most interesting thing about it is how it's group written by 24 different authors. Each author wrote one chapter, then passed the story off to the next author, who would continue the story. It reminds me of those ‘continue-the-story’ notes that used to get passed around when I was in high school. I never knew how the story might turn out, and they usually ended up turning out pretty wild, or in a way I would never have expected. I imagine writing this book would have been a similar experience. You would think that each chapter would sound very different depending on the variances in tone in the authors voices as separate writers, but the book was seamless as ever.
The story was set in Texas, and I noticed that the authors maintained that subtle Texas drawl in the voices of the characters. I read this book while staying in Louisiana, and the feel of the setting and the personalities and language of the characters felt comfortingly familiar to me. I could easily have believed that this book was written by one single author. The fact that it is written by 24 different authors is a testament to the talent of the authors that worked on this story.
Cozy Cat Press has other group written mysteries, and I am definitely going to try reading them in the future. I recommend this book because of it’s witty good humor, enticing mystery and it’s unique group written style.
Their journey takes them back to their hometown in Shotgun City near Dallas, TX where they discover the shocking truth about the murder of Merilee’s mother. It seems there was a large sum of money involved-- hidden treasure, in fact. It is the perfect motive for murder. When the girls get their hands on the map that will take them to the treasure, their plan goes spiraling as unexpected events urge them to be smarter than the killer, and take matters into their own hands.
This book was full of exciting twists and turns. Perhaps the most interesting thing about it is how it's group written by 24 different authors. Each author wrote one chapter, then passed the story off to the next author, who would continue the story. It reminds me of those ‘continue-the-story’ notes that used to get passed around when I was in high school. I never knew how the story might turn out, and they usually ended up turning out pretty wild, or in a way I would never have expected. I imagine writing this book would have been a similar experience. You would think that each chapter would sound very different depending on the variances in tone in the authors voices as separate writers, but the book was seamless as ever.
The story was set in Texas, and I noticed that the authors maintained that subtle Texas drawl in the voices of the characters. I read this book while staying in Louisiana, and the feel of the setting and the personalities and language of the characters felt comfortingly familiar to me. I could easily have believed that this book was written by one single author. The fact that it is written by 24 different authors is a testament to the talent of the authors that worked on this story.
Cozy Cat Press has other group written mysteries, and I am definitely going to try reading them in the future. I recommend this book because of it’s witty good humor, enticing mystery and it’s unique group written style.
November 16, 2024
Interesting collaboration of many authors to write one story. I found the story fairly cohesive and a decent read. Only a few chapters with spoilers or unlikely twists that I found disappointing. Characters are believable enough that I kept telling them to stop doing stupid stuff!
I may look for other collaborations for a future read.
I may look for other collaborations for a future read.
January 12, 2021
Book: A Map of Murder: A Mystery by 24 Authors by Patricia Rockwell
Book 138 for the year
Stars: 5 stars Time to Read: 2 Days
How Did I Get It? Digital Version via Kindle
Mini Review: Molly and Janet join together to prove their best friend’s innocence. Merilee has been arrested for her mom’s murder but her best friends know this can’t be the case. Molly and Janet travel to Shotgun City, Texas and discover a map that leads to an outlaw’s treasure. Does this map hold the key to Merilee’s mom’s murder?
The format of this book is one I have never seen before. Each author was designated a chapter. When the chapter was over the next author continued the story. None of the proceeding authors had a say in the story. You would think this would cause the book to flow poorly. But it didn’t. The book felt as though it was written by one author. The mystery was good with a few extra surprises. Overall this was the perfect cozy mystery.
Have you read this book?
#booksofinstagram #booksofig #readingchallenge #readingchallenge2020 #aliciareads2020 #bookworm #reading #bookreviews #bookrecommendations #goodreads #amreading #currentlyreading #kindle #ebook #whatsmommyreading
Book 138 for the year
Stars: 5 stars Time to Read: 2 Days
How Did I Get It? Digital Version via Kindle
Mini Review: Molly and Janet join together to prove their best friend’s innocence. Merilee has been arrested for her mom’s murder but her best friends know this can’t be the case. Molly and Janet travel to Shotgun City, Texas and discover a map that leads to an outlaw’s treasure. Does this map hold the key to Merilee’s mom’s murder?
The format of this book is one I have never seen before. Each author was designated a chapter. When the chapter was over the next author continued the story. None of the proceeding authors had a say in the story. You would think this would cause the book to flow poorly. But it didn’t. The book felt as though it was written by one author. The mystery was good with a few extra surprises. Overall this was the perfect cozy mystery.
Have you read this book?
#booksofinstagram #booksofig #readingchallenge #readingchallenge2020 #aliciareads2020 #bookworm #reading #bookreviews #bookrecommendations #goodreads #amreading #currentlyreading #kindle #ebook #whatsmommyreading
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews