Silver Dagger Book Tours
  • Welcome!
  • Current Tours
    • Book Tours
  • Book a Tour
  • Open Sign Ups
  • Contact
  • About
  • Win a Book Tour!
  • Welcome!
  • Current Tours
    • Book Tours
  • Book a Tour
  • Open Sign Ups
  • Contact
  • About
  • Win a Book Tour!

Pierced Peony - Book Tour and Giveaway

5/1/2021

30 Comments

 
Picture
Picture

Pierced Peony
Motts Cold Case Mystery Book 2
by Dahlia Donovan
Genre: Cozy Mystery 

Picture
On a casual walk along the Cornish Coast, Pineapple “Motts” Mottley stumbles upon a body and a perilous new murder case in the second novel in the Motts Cold Case Mystery series.

As spring rolls into summer, Motts settles into her cottage. She’s enjoying a daily stroll when a body in the sea destroys her peace and quiet. It brings yet another mystery for her to solve.

How does a woman who vanished from Polperro three years prior wind up battered by waves?

Motts is drawn into the investigation despite her best attempts. She finds a family in turmoil and loads of suspects. With no easy answers, she tumbles further into chaos and ever closer to danger.

Can Motts find the killer before she’s the one put on ice?

Will she survive a bone-chilling brush with death?




Add to Goodreads
Amazon * Apple * B&N * Kobo * Books2Read


​

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
​A cat, a turtle, and a stranger face off in the garden. The stranger blinks first. Right. The joke still needs some work.
“Do you always let your turtle and cat out in the garden together?”
“They’re friends. They like to gossip.” Motts set her trowel to one side and got to her feet. She dusted the grass and dirt off her knees. “They both need fresh air and sun in moderation. Are you lost?”
The man didn’t seem lost despite having popped up beside the back fence around her garden. He looked like a police officer. Though not quite as broad-shouldered, he stood as tall as Teo Herceg, the detective inspector she’d met in April and had been dating for over a month.
“I’m hoping to speak with Pineapple Mottley.” He sounded like a policeman. His suit, while nice, appeared rumpled from driving; his short grey hair, however, was gelled and styled perfectly. “I’m Detective Inspector Dempsey Byrne with the Metropolitan Police’s cold case unit.”
“Cold case?” Motts’s heart stuttered in her chest. She rubbed her fingers together nervously. “Jenny. You’re here about Jenny.”
Jenny Cleverly had been her lone best friend through her early childhood. Motts had stumbled across Jenny’s lifeless body on her way home from primary school while walking through a park, hidden behind a hedge. She still had nightmares about finding her.
The unsolved crime had haunted Motts. She’d developed an obsessive curiosity about cold cases as a result. And at least once a year, she searched online to see if anyone had been arrested for Jenny’s murder.
“Ms Mottley?”
“Motts.” She had a sudden sense of déjà vu; she’d had a similar conversation with Teo in April. He’d been investigating the murder of a Rhona Walters, who’d been buried in the garden behind her cottage. It had been an auspicious start to her life in Polperro. “Cactus.”
Her beloved Sphynx cat had leapt onto the fence and then over to the detective’s shoulder. Detective Inspector Byrne didn’t bat an eyelid. He simply reached up to pat Cactus on his head.
Well, he certainly approves of the random strange man intruding on our afternoon.
Intruding inspector intrudes introspectively.
Introspectively?
Not my best alliteration.
“I don’t often see a flowerless garden.” He glanced slowly around at her rows of fruits and herbs. “None at all?”
“My allergies try to drown me if I’m around them for too long.” Motts kept flowers far away from her cottage. Real ones, in any case. She made and sold origami and quilled floral arrangements as part of her small business, Hollyhock Folded Blooms. “Why don’t you come in for tea? Cold case curiosities can converse comfortably.”
Don’t frighten the fancy London detective with your peculiarities.
The judgmental voice in her head sounded suspiciously like her mum, who meant well but couldn’t always relate to Motts’s more unique traits. She didn’t understand her wayward autistic and asexual daughter. Motts had given up trying to fit into neurotypical moulds.
I am who I am.
Alliterations and all.
Oh, fun accidental alliterations are the best.
“I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“Wouldn’t you?” Motts stared blankly at the man, unable to decide if he was being polite or not. “You drove from London. At least a five-hour drive on a good day. Tea isn’t imposing. Sleeping in my garden and trampling the herbs would be.”


Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture

Poisoned Primrose
Motts Cold Case Mystery Book 1 

Picture
"Wonderful mystery with a unique and special heroine!" - A Cozy Cup of Murder

Meet Motts and the quirky cast of characters in her world. Poisoned Primrose is a quintessential cosy British mystery and an all-round fun story to throw yourself into.



Autistic, asexual, and almost forty, Pineapple “Motts” Mottley flees London with her cat and turtle to a quaint cottage in Cornwall. She craves the peace of life in a small village. The dead body buried in her garden isn’t quite what she had in mind, though.

Unable to resist her curiosity, she falls directly into a mess of trouble and runs head-first into the attractive detective inspector, Teo Herceg. She tries to balance her business with the investigation, but as the killer focuses on her, staying alive becomes trickier than advanced origami.

Will Motts survive the onslaught of murderously bad luck?

Can she solve the mystery before it all spins out of control and off a cliff?




Add to Goodreads
Amazon * Apple * B&N * Kobo * Books2Read


​
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
​Chapter One
​
A cat, a turtle, and a Pineapple walk into a cottage…. That’s it. That’s the punch line of my life choices.
“Well, here we are.” Motts closed the solid wooden front door to her new cottage, leaning back against it and releasing a pent-up sigh. She opened her bluish-grey eyes to stare at all the boxes, plastic bins, and bags. “Bugger. You’ve no one to blame but yourself for this, Pineapple Mottley.”
Pineapple Meg Mottley had been so named because her mother had craved nothing but the tropical fruit during her one and only pregnancy. There’d only been one issue. No one ever called her Pineapple; her uncle had nicknamed her Motts as an infant, and it stuck.
Meow.
The plaintive cry came from behind one of the boxes. Motts moved quickly to lift up her precious cat. Cactus was a tortoiseshell Sphynx cat; she’d found the poor dear at a shelter and fallen head-over-sneakers in love. He buried his head in her shoulder-length brown hair, purring his little heart out.
She stroked the suede-like downy fuzz covering his wrinkly body. “What are we going to do about this mess? Want to help me unpack? No?”
Figures.
What have I gotten myself into?
When her auntie Daisy had passed away, Motts had taken the inherited cottage as a sign. London had always been overwhelming to her senses. Polperro was a much quieter place with a slower pace suited for her autistic needs.
She loved Polperro. Her parents were both originally from Cornwall. A lot of her family lived in the area, as did her ex-girlfriend.
Despite having spent many a holiday with family at the cottage, Motts found herself overwhelmed by the sudden change. This was a terrible idea. I should’ve sold the house. I am such a silly fool.
Okay.
Take a few deep breaths.
Match Cactus’s purring.
You’re going to be okay.
“Ahh!” She jumped when a rapid knocking on the door jolted her. “For goodness sake.”
“Motts? You okay?”
She spun around and yanked the door open to find the welcome sight of her ex-girlfriend, Pravina Griffin, and Vina’s twin brother, Nish. “I’m….”
How do I finish the sentence?
Panicked?
In the middle of the biggest mistake I’ve ever made?
Just slightly overcome by irrational fear?
Nish moved forward to take Cactus from her arms while Vina led her inside. “Amma is bringing over supper. She wanted to let the sambar simmer a little longer. She even made your favourite kind of rice.”
The Griffin twins took after their Tamil mother, Leena, who’d been a Bollywood star before falling in love with Cadan Griffin, a Cornish-Indian cricket player. They’d settled in Polperro to run a coffee shop and bakery. Griffin Brews had been around for thirty-plus years, and now their children managed it, allowing their parents to retire early.
Leena and Cadan had welcomed Motts with open arms even before she’d briefly dated their daughter. Motts and Vina had realised over the years that their close bond felt more like that of siblings. They’d dumped each other but remained the best of friends, where they’d started in the first place.
“Let’s talk about something less daunting than unpacking. How goes the dating life? Did you fill out a dating profile on the site I emailed you?” Vina plucked Moss, Motts’s turtle, out of his travel terrarium. “Well?”
“No, I didn’t. There’s no box to check for asexual, biromantic autistic.” Motts gently took Moss to return her to a safer place. “No touching the turtle.”

​
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Dahlia Donovan wrote her first romance series after a crazy dream about shifters and damsels in distress. She prefers irreverent humour and unconventional characters. An autistic and occasional hermit, her life wouldn’t be complete without her husband and her massive collection of books and video games.


Website * Facebook * Twitter * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads * Newsletter


Picture
Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

May 1
kickoff at Silver Dagger Book Tours
A Pinch of Bookdust

May 2
The CRASH Crew

May 3
Reading Authors Network
Scrupulous Dreams

May 4
Liliyana Shadowlyn
Books A-Brewin'

May 5
#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog
A Writer's Life

May 6
Lisa Everyday Reads
I Read What You Write

May 7
Cassidy's Bookshelves
Literary Gold

May 10
First of All… - REVIEW #2
FUONLYKNEW

May 11
Character Madness and Musings
Books a Plenty Book Reviews

May 12
Craving Lovely Books
The Bookshelf Fairy

May 13
Midnight Book Reader
Book Corner News and Reviews

May 14
Musings From An Addicted Reader
Cover Love Book Blog

May 16
Jazzy Book Reviews

May 17
Writing Dreams
Books all things paranormal and romance

May 18
Girl with Pen
Inside the Insanity

May 19
Sapphyria's Book Reviews
Momma Says: To Read or Not to Read

May 20
Bayou Book Junkie
Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin'

May 21
The Sexy Nerd 'Revue'
Sylv.net

May 22
Lisa's Reading

May 24
Birdie Song's Blog

May 25
Insane Books

May 26
Anna del C. Dye official page
Buried Under Books - REVIEW #2

May 27
eBook Addicts
Twisted Book Ramblings

May 28
Bedazzled By Books
The Faerie Review

May 29
A Wonderful World of Words
The Book Dragon

May 31
nanasbookreviews
Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author

June 1
BookishKelly2020
Teatime and Books

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Picture
30 Comments
Marcy Meyer
5/4/2021 12:16:31 pm

Cute cover! Looks good.

Reply
bn100
5/4/2021 04:28:06 pm

cute cover

Reply
Debbie P
5/4/2021 10:02:05 pm

I love a good mystery and this sounds good. Cute cover!

Reply
Dahlia Donovan link
5/5/2021 12:06:55 pm

Thank you!

Reply
Karin
5/7/2021 06:16:17 am

Cute titles. Love the aliteration

Reply
Karen M
5/8/2021 05:44:44 pm

Excerpt sounds like good cozy. Love the cover.

Reply
Jamie Martin link
5/9/2021 05:58:49 pm

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Reply
Husband wife love poetry in urdu link
5/10/2021 02:41:33 am

Amazing! Its really awesom post, Ihave got much clear idea about from this paragraph.

Reply
Ginger Hafer
5/12/2021 11:34:53 am

I like the book covers. They are very colorful. I would enjoy reading these books as cozy mysteries are my favorite genre.

Reply
David Basile
5/12/2021 12:34:28 pm

The book sounds very interesting

Reply
beth shepherd
5/12/2021 01:51:30 pm

This looks like a great read. I like the cover as well!

Reply
Ann Fantom
5/12/2021 06:45:47 pm

This sounds like an interesting book and I also like the cover.

Reply
Danielle Day
5/12/2021 09:53:46 pm

Sounds interesting!

Reply
Debbi Wellenstein
5/13/2021 11:17:13 am

I enjoyed the excerpts. Thanks for the giveaway!

Reply
LYNN CLAYTON
5/13/2021 09:42:51 pm

oh nice cover looks like a great read

Reply
Mary Cloud
5/13/2021 10:10:37 pm

The covers are cute - thanks for sharing

Reply
Stephanie Liske
5/16/2021 04:53:32 pm

I like the book details.

Reply
Terri Quick
5/19/2021 07:03:25 pm

Cool looking cover

Reply
Hesper Fry
5/31/2021 07:15:44 pm

The book covers are super cute and this sounds really good!

Reply
Ally Gibson
5/31/2021 10:51:47 pm

Sounds like a great book. I can't wait to read the entire thing!

Reply
Heather Mahley
6/1/2021 01:08:07 am

Sounds really good

Reply
Dynal Roberson
6/1/2021 10:23:54 am

Cute cover, looking forward to reading!

Reply
Susan Smith
6/1/2021 11:44:42 am

Sounds like a great mystery. The cover is cute!

Reply
Jen Reed
6/1/2021 02:31:44 pm

The book details look fun to read. I like the setting of quaint town in Europe.

Reply
Carol G
6/1/2021 03:29:54 pm

I like the use of the cat crouching in flowers on the cover, hope that theme continues in any more books.

Reply
Jennifer McKelvey-Galindo
6/1/2021 05:58:36 pm

I like the cover art and the fact a cottage is involved in the story!

Reply
Sand
6/1/2021 09:36:36 pm

Sounds like a good book!

Reply
Jennifer Alaggio
6/1/2021 10:08:47 pm

This definitely sounds like a nice cozy read for me. I am in love with the cover!!! I hope to read it soon!

Reply
Buddy Garrett
6/1/2021 11:36:41 pm

It sounds like a great mystery. It has a great story, setting and memorable characters.

Reply
Richard
7/10/2023 10:40:11 pm

<a href="https://srislawyer.com/reckless-driving-virginia/">I Got a Reckless Driving Ticket in Virginia</a>,This Site use to good.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Win a FREE tour here!
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Sign up for tour updates!

    New tours. All genres. All ages. All the time.

    Thank you!

    You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

    RSS Feed

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Action
    Activity Book
    Adventure
    African American
    Alt History
    Anthology
    Apocalyptic
    Audiobook
    Australian
    Bdsm
    Billionaire Romance
    Biography
    Chick Lit
    Childrens
    Christian
    Coloring Book
    Comedy
    Coming Of Age
    Contemporary Fiction
    Contemporaryromance
    Contemporary Romance
    Cookbook
    Cozymystery
    Cozy Mystery
    Crime
    Cyberpunk
    Dark
    Dark Romance
    Drama
    Dystopian
    Educational
    Epic Fantasy
    Eroticromance
    Erotic Romance
    Fairytale
    Fantasy
    Fantasy Romance
    Financial
    Giveaway-hop
    Gothic
    Graphic-novel
    Health And Wellness
    Historical
    Historicalromance
    Historical Romance
    Holiday
    Horror
    Humorous
    Inspirational
    Legal Thriller
    Lgbtq
    Literaryfiction
    Mafiaromance
    Mafia Romance
    Magicrealism
    Magic Realism
    Mcromance
    Mc Romance
    Memoir
    Menage
    Middlegrade
    Middle Grade
    Military
    Mystery
    Mythology
    Native American
    Newadult
    New Adult
    Nonfiction
    Paranormal
    Paranormalromance
    Paranormal Romance
    Parenting
    Pets
    Poetry
    Politics
    Postapocalyptic
    Pulp-fiction
    Reverseharemromance
    Reverse Harem Romance
    Rockstarromance
    Rockstar-romance
    Romance
    Romantasy
    Romanticcomedy
    Romantic Comedy
    Romanticsuspense
    Romantic Suspense
    Satirical
    Sciencefiction
    Science Fiction
    Scifi
    Scifiromance
    Scifi Romance
    Selfhelp
    Shortstories
    Short Stories
    Special Needs
    Special-Needs
    Speculativefiction
    Speculative Fiction
    Sportsromance
    Steampunk
    Supernatural
    Suspense
    Sweetromance
    Thriller
    Timetravel
    Time Travel
    Travel
    Urban
    Urbanfantasy
    Urban Fantasy
    Western
    Womensfiction
    Womens Fiction
    Youngadult
    Young-adult
    Youngadultya
    Young Adult Ya

    Picture

    Archives

    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016