A Lethal Lake Effect

June 10, 2024

A Lethal Lake Effect

A Lethal Lake Effect (A Victoria Square Mystery) by Lorraine Bartlett

About A Lethal Lake Effect

A Lethal Lake Effect (A Victoria Square Mystery)

Cozy Mystery 9th in Series

Setting - Victoria Square, McKinlay Mill, NY

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Polaris Press (June 6, 2024)

Number of Pages: 306

Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CYYDN1GH

Things go awry for Katie Bonner when her former mother-in-law, Margo, throws a housewarming party at her lakeside rental and one of her guests ends up dead in the water. Maxwell Preston was a devoted husband--and a not-so-great dad. He was a beloved pharmacist who didn’t take care of his ramshackle property, which is destined to be a hot commodity on Victoria Square when his heir puts it up for sale. But most of all, Preston was a stranger to the others who attended the party.

Meanwhile, Nona Fiske takes charge of Victoria Square big summer extravaganza—a disaster in the making as what little power she’s seized has gone straight to her head. The Davenport sisters have their own agenda, and they’ve not only been poking around to find out more about the dead man, but what other mischief has been going on around the Square.

So, who killed Maxwell Preston and why? That’s what Katie wants to know—and she’s willing to risk everything to find out.

About Lorraine Bartlett

The immensely popular Booktown Mystery series is what first put Lorraine Bartlett’s pen name Lorna Barrett on the New York Times Bestseller list, but it’s her talent -- whether writing as Lorna, or L.L. Bartlett, or Lorraine Bartlett—that keeps her in her readers’ hearts. This multi-published, Agatha-nominated author also pens the exciting Jeff Resnick Mysteries as well as the acclaimed Victoria Square and Lotus Bay Mystery series, and the Tales of Blythe Cove Manor, and has many short stories and novellas to her name(s).

Q&A With the Author:

What was your inspiration for writing this book?

When I finish a book, I often leave a few things hanging so I have a jumping-off point when I start the next book in the series. I had more than a year before I started the new book (A Lethal Lake Effect), so I had extensive notes. I looked forward to exploring the various relationships Katie, my protagonist, has with people on Victoria Square, including with her former mother-in-law, her friend Ray Davenport, her ex Andy Rust, friends--and an enemy on the Square.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

I’ve had a turbulent couple of years where I found writing extremely difficult. But A Lethal Lake Effect was the first book in a while that was fun to write. I looked forward to working on it every day. I didn’t know if it would be a short story, a novella, or a full-blown book. It ended up being the latter.

Do you have any other books you are working on that you can tell us about?

I’m currently juggling two projects. Booktown Mystery #19, A Perilous Plot, and a Lotus Bay Mystery. (That might be a novel, but time will tell.)

Can you tell us what you have planned for the future?

LOL--Booktown #19, A Perilous Plot, and A Tempest Not A Teapot (the Lotus Bay story). But I have ideas for the next Victoria Square Mystery, too, as well as a new story for my Jeff Resnick (hard-boiled suspense) series. I’m not running short of story ideas, that’s for sure.

Anything more you would like to say to your readers and fans?

I’ve created a companion series to go along with The Victoria Square Mysteries. It’s called Life On Victoria Square. It features the other merchants on Victoria Square. Katie still plays a big part in the stories, but the other characters get their time in the limelight. At this time, there are 10 original stories. The first six are also available as a box set (Life On Victoria Square Volume I).

They are:
Carving Out A Path
A Basket Full of Bargains
The Broken Teacup
It's Tutu Much
The Reluctant Bride
Tea'd Off
Life On Victoria Square Volume 1
A Look Back
Tea For You (A free Download: https://lorrainebartlett.com/tea-for-you/)
Davenport Designs
A Ruff Week