A Whale of a Murder

July 15, 2024

A Whale of a Murder

A Whale of a Murder: A Venus Bixby Mystery
by Valerie Taylor

About A Whale of a Murder

A Whale of a Murder: A Venus Bixby Mystery
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Chatham Crossing — a fictional whaling town situated between Providence and Cape Cod
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Aspetuck Publishing (April 23, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 358 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8986599526
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CW1L6DC1

First in the Venus Bixby Mystery series from award-winning author Valerie Taylor.

Sea breezes and fireworks fill the air in cozy Chatham Crossing, the peaceful and historic whaling town situated between Providence and Cape Cod.

Venus Bixby, owner of the forever popular music store Oldies & Goodies, is counting on the festivities over the Fourth of July weekend to propel her to a position on the prestigious Town Committee.

After years of living in the shadow of her late husband, Venus will finally be the center of attention this holiday weekend: starting with her fiftieth birthday celebration and ending as the parade’s Grand Marshal.

Faster than a cookie crumbles, her dream collapses on the morning of her party when she trips over orange platform shoes in the gardens of the Sofia Silva Whaling Museum and breaks her thumb. When it’s discovered the shoes are attached to the body of the manager of the museum’s gift shop, Venus becomes both a suspect and a sleuth in Chatham Crossing’s first murder in decades.

Given this unexpected turn of events, will Venus ever sing and dance at her birthday party, or will her fractured thumb end up in handcuffs?

Includes cookie recipes and playlist!

About Valerie Taylor

Valerie Taylor tried to retire in 2016. But life had other ideas. After enjoying some of the best years of her life in Boston and Seattle, she moved back home to Connecticut and embarked on a second career as an author. Her first romantic comedy trilogy What’s Not Said, What’s Not True, and What’s Not Lost won multiple awards. Encouraged by her readers, she created a new cozy mystery series, spinning one of the secondary characters in What’s Not LOST into the role of amateur sleuth in A Whale of a Murder: A Venus Bixby Mystery. When she’s not writing or reading, Valerie enjoys practicing tai chi and being an expert sports spectator.

Q&A With Valerie Taylor

Who is your favorite author and why?

My reading habits are quite fickle; most likely the result of belonging to three book clubs that meet most of the year. Yet, when there’s a break in the schedule, usually in the summer, I try to get my fill of Ernest Hemingway, Stephen King, and a selection from the year’s best seller list, which could be fiction or non-fiction. Hemingway always teaches me something about the craft of writing, King wows me with his imagination, and the best-selling author gives me all I need to sound as if I’m keeping up with current trends.

What is something unique/quirky about you?

It would be interesting to ask one of my friends or family members this question about me! From my vantage point, I fashion myself an introvert in many social settings. Yet often I’ll be the one to raise my hand and ask a controversial question when in a group setting. This combination of behaviors, while feeling unique to me, may be common for authors now that I think about it. We covet our alone time to create our stories, but we’re rarely shy about inserting our opinions into a myriad of discussions. Maybe we imagine it’s our characters talking, not ourselves.

What was your inspiration for writing this book?

Readers of my What’s Not trilogy inspired me to write A WHALE OF A MURDER. Consistently, readers of that romantic comedy series commented that they related to my quirky characters and thought the dialogue was spot-on, even saying that my writing was a “chef’s kiss.” My writing style, they suggested, could be perfect for a cozy mystery series. Who was I to argue? I took that on as a challenge that I hope my readers are now applauding.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?

After spending five years with Kassie O’Callaghan, the protagonist in the What’s Not trilogy, I enjoyed creating Venus Bixby. It took me a short period of time to shake Kassie’s snarky attitude out of my head, but I think Venus’s sister, Sherrie, took on that role in A WHALE OF A MURDER. Speaking of roles, I loved discovering a whole set of characters that were unlike those in my romantic comedies. In the cozy, there is the usual cast: victim, villain, witnesses, detective, and of course, the sleuth. By adding cookie bakers to the mix, I hope in writing this book I delivered a sweet world for readers to savor.

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

The second book in the Venus Bixby Mystery series is well underway. I’m hoping to release it in the spring of 2025. While it’ll be set again in the historic whaling village of Chatham Crossing, this time the victim of the crime is someone close to home, forcing Venus to re-assess some pre-conceived notions about her neighbors and friends as she defies the local detective’s warning to keep her nose out of the investigation.

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

When I became a published author, I never expected or imagined the feedback I’d receive from readers. Besides reviews, which are always welcomed, it’s the note I receive in the mail, or the email message that arrives first thing when I fire up my computer in the morning, that make my life as a novelist so worthwhile. Knowing that one of my books made a reader laugh brings a wide smile to my face. Or learning that someone stayed up way past their bedtime turning the pages to find out whodunit is oh so rewarding. For all that and more, I am eternally grateful that you let me entertain you. Thank you.