Side Trip to Kathmandu by Marie Moore

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Photo Credit: Camel Press

 

This book was sent to Traveling With T for review consideration.

Side Trip to Kathmandu

Sidney Marsh is in trouble. Her last 2 trips for Itchy Feet Travel have been… shall we say- disastrous?!

Her boss at Itchy Feet is not happy with Sidney. Even though Sidney says “it’s not her fault” he’s giving her one more (read: last) chance to have a trip and not to discover a dead body and end in a disaster.

Oh Sidney- what’s a girl to do that likes to put on her mystery hat and solve puzzling situations? Continue reading

Meeting Marie Moore- author of Game Drive and Shore Excursion

me and marie mooreA few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Marie Moore, author Game Drive and Shore Excursion, at Lemuria Books in Jackson, MS. Marie was fantastic, answered some questions and made everyone at the signing feel comfortable.

Two young people, Teresa and Matt, had come to Lemuria on their way back to New Orleans- stopped in for a New York Times, saw the book signing in progress and decided to stick around and grab a book to read instead. Others were more local folks, people who had read Marie’s books, but wanted to get them signed.

I asked Marie about the inspiration for her characters and she replied that “she does not base her characters on people she knows because it limits your imagination”. However, people she sees in everyday life are fair game. One time she saw a person, and after observing them for a bit- told herself “You don’t know it, lady, but you’ll be in  my next book!”

Marie says that she generally writes between 4am-8am and writes some in her library at one of her houses. Her #literarycrush is Mr.Rochester from Jane Eyre. And while she is working on her books, she does not read- but she is looking forward to reading Deadly Harvest by Michael Stanley.

Marie Moore has a 3 book deal with Camel Press- with her third, yet to be titled book, to be released in Spring 2014. She would like to call it Open Jaw ( a travel agent term- as her books are travel themed); but her agent is not partial to that title. Her first 2 books are Shore Excursion and Game Drive.

Marie Moore likes to write books that are fun and cute- but that also have a deeper level, a level of knowledge for the reader. For example in Game Drive, she made sure to educate the readers about illegal hunting – animals are being killed for their tusks for the ivory. It’s an issue that Marie feels that people should be made aware of.

If you are looking for fun books, cute mysteries and a main character that likes to solve mysteries- check out Marie Moore’s Sidney Marsh Murder series. I reviewed Game Drive several weeks ago as part of the Cozy Mystery Reviews Game Drive blog tour- to read my review, click HERE. I plan to read and review the first book, Shore Excursion, in the next few months.

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Game Drive by Marie Moore

game driveTitle: Game Drive

Author: Marie Moore

Series: Sidney Marsh Murder Series

Publisher: Camel Press

ISBN: 978-1603819619

Sidney Marsh, born a Mississippi girl, but moved to the Big Apple- where she is now a travel agent for Itchy Feet Travel  (don’t blame Sidney- she didn’t pick the name!) Sidney likes her work and loves her friend, Jay, who is a fun friend at the travel agency. One day Sidney walks in Itchy Feet late, and realizes the normal decor is gone and everything is different- more African safari like decorations. Turns out as she walks in the meeting, that this is the owner’s plan- safari’s for the groups as a way to drum up new business. Sidney and Jay get chosen to go on a “fam trip” to Africa (to familarize themselves with what to expect before they take a group on a safari).  After the debacle of the last trip that Sidney and Jay were on- it’s made clear to both of them that this trip to Africa needs to go smoothly.

Of course, best laid plans and all- the trip to Africa starts out ok; but slowly begins to disintegrate.  Jay’s nervous about the animals, Sidney’s pocket gets picked, and one of the travel agents has a terrible habit of making everyone wait! As Sidney listens and learns more about each travel agent- she becomes suspicious that someone on the “fam trip” is an imposter. Still, for the most part, Jay and Sidney are happy on the trip- until a body is found. Was it an accident? Did one of the animals attack? Or was it something more sinister? The “fam trip” continues, but Sidney and Jay are growing more suspicious as the days go by- and they aren’t the only ones.  Before this trip is over, more things will have went wrong, true identities will be revealed, and Sidney will learn that in Africa- it’s not only the wild animals that need to be feared- sometimes the humans are the most dangerous.

With danger, intrigue, romance, and more- Sidney Marsh takes the readers on a ride that is fun and interesting!

Blogger’s opinion: This is my first Marie Moore book, and I found the story enjoyable.  The story flowed fairly well for the most part. Sidney is an interesting character, and I liked the character Jay. With it being a book that had a travel angle- I did expect some travel agent talk; and while some was needed- perhaps it had just a bit too much. However, the book has more positive than negative about it. I do believe that I’ll be checking out the first book in the Sidney Marsh series- and look forward to reading more about Sidney.

*BIG HUGE GIVEAWAY! Cozy Mystery Reviews is offering a GREAT giveaway! Details HERE!