MURDER’S LEGACY
A Tori Winters Mystery, Book 2
by
Anita Dickason
Mystery / Amateur Sleuth / Women Sleuths
Publisher: Mystic Circle Books
Date of Publication: February 17, 2023
Number of Pages: 378 pages
***** Scroll down for Giveaway! *****
Secrets that defy time!
An inconceivable disaster brings Tori Winters’ plans for the historic house she inherited to a traumatic standstill. A section of the escape tunnel built by her great-grandfather, a notorious Dallas gangster, has collapsed. Within the rubble, there is a gruesome discovery. A skeleton with a bullet hole in the skull.
The shocking cave-in triggers an ominous scheme to condemn her property as accusations arise that the tunnel is dangerous.
Embattled, Tori soon discovers that more than the destruction of the house is on the line. It seems she can’t escape the past. It keeps clawing its way into her life with deadly consequences.
Who hides in the shadows with a motive for murder?
And … is Tori the target?
***** CLICK TO PURCHASE! *****
What a terrific read!
Anita Dickason has really hit her writing stride with this new series. The first book, Deadly Keepsakes, introduced Tori Winters who inherited a mansion and a significant amount of money from a grandmother she never met. Tori falls in love with the property and, using the money to pay for renovations, decides to turn it into a B&B, even though some powerful people in town put the pressure on her to sell and move on.
Some of those people are land developers who want to use the property for their own projects, and Myra Swanson, who thinks she is the queen of the local social set, is connected to one of those families. She’s tried to intimidate and insult Tori in the previous story and continues that effort in this one, too. This time Tori doesn’t back down and there’s a great scene where she really gives it to Myra with both barrels, figuratively speaking of course.
In this book, the work of renovating the old mansion is halted when a skeleton is found and an official investigation is started. Of course, Tori can’t help but jump in the middle of trying to figure out who this person was and what his connection to her gangster great-grandfather might have been. Was her great grandfather the one who shot the man? One clue she has to work with is an old poker chip, and the process of her research on old chips and the gambling scene in the Dallas area in the 1920s was quite fascinating. It’s evident that Dickason did a lot of careful research to lay that all out so well. That supposition on my part was proven right when I got to the end of the book and read the historical information that she’d uncovered. That extra is a real bonus for anyone else who loves to dive into historical facts.
Before getting to that, however, the reader is treated to a real thrill-ride of a story. Tensions rise when city officials start canceling permits and a rumor is started that the property is going to be condemned. When a pesky reporter gets wind of that and publishes an article revealing the condemnation in the newspaper, it could be the end of the line for the Red Door Inn, which is what Tori and her crew have decided to call the new B&B.
The crew, comprised of Mia, Cammie, Tina, and Heidi, doesn’t just work for Tori, the women are her friends – good friends. Their mutual respect and affection shines through every scene that they share, whether they’re talking about business or the mystery, and they’re all willing to go the extra mile to help Tori on both counts.
Very quickly in the story it becomes clear that the remains found in the tunnel were never supposed to be exposed, but now that the skeleton was found, Tori deals with more than permit cancellations and rumors. Mysterious things start happening; unusual sounds in the night in the old house, threats to Tori and everyone connected to her and the old house, and an assault on her grandmothers former housekeeper – the one person who might have information to help unravel this mystery of who got shot in the tunnel those many years ago and why.
The drama unfolds with mounting tension and I had a hard time closing the book when I needed to stop reading and maybe go to sleep. 🙂
This is a terrific novel with wonderful characters, starting with Tori. She is a strong, multi-layered person, and I’d love to have her for a friend. Then there are her gal-pals. Each one is unique and well-drawn, and their dialogue is natural and often fun. David, who started out as a potential adversary in the first book, is now a friend. Or more than a friend? There is just a hint of romance between them, and I look forward to seeing if that goes beyond a hint in future books.
Every element of the story is handled with great care and the book is a delight to read. If you like a cozy mystery with a strong plot, great people, and terrific dialogue, you’ve come to the right place. It isn’t necessary to read the first book in the series, Deadly Keepsakes, before this one, but why not? It’s well worth your time and helps set up some of the storyline you’ll find in Murder’s Legacy.
***** Watch the Book Trailer on You Tube – Part One – Part Two *****
Award-winning Author Anita Dickason is a twenty-two-year veteran of the Dallas Police Department. She served as a patrol officer, undercover narcotics detective, advanced accident investigator, tactical officer, and first female sniper on the Dallas SWAT team.
Anita writes about what she knows, cops and crime. Her police background provides an unending source of inspiration for her plots and characters. Many incidents and characters portrayed in her books are based on personal experience. For her, the characters are the fun part of writing as she never knows where they will take her. There is always something out of the ordinary in her stories.
In Anita’s debut novel, Sentinels of the Night, she created an elite FBI Unit, the Trackers. Since then, she has added three more Tracker crime thrillers, Going Gone!, A u 7 9, and Operation Navajo, which are not a series and can be read in any order, and Deadly Business, a crime thriller.
As a Texas author, many of Anita’s books are based in Texas, or there is a link to Texas. When she stepped outside of the Tracker novels and wrote Not Dead and the Tori Winters Mysteries series, she set them in the small Texas communities of Meridian and Granbury, respectively.
◆ WEBSITE ◆ FACEBOOK ◆ TWITTER ◆ AMAZON ◆ PINTEREST ◆ LINKEDIN ◆ GOODREADS ◆
YOUTUBE: AN AUTHOR’S WORLD *** BOOK CINEMA
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
THREE WINNERS:
eBook copy of Deadly Keepsakes, Tori Winters Mystery #1
+ tote bag & personalized coffee mug
(US only; ends midnight, CDT, 3/24/23)
***** A RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY *****
CLICK TO VISIT THE LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE
FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY, or visit the blogs directly:
| 03/14/23 | Sybrina’s Book Blog | Author Interview |
| 03/14/23 | Hall Ways | BONUS Promo |
| 03/15/23 | Shelf Life Blog | Review |
| 03/15/23 | LSBBT Blog | BONUS Promo |
| 03/16/23 | The Real World According to Sam | Review |
| 03/16/23 | Jennie Reads | Review |
| 03/17/23 | The Plain-Spoken Pen | Review |
| 03/17/23 | All the Ups and Downs | Playlist |
| 03/18/23 | Boys’ Mom Reads | Review |
| 03/19/23 | StoreyBook Reviews | Review |
| 03/20/23 | The Clueless Gent | Review |
| 03/20/23 | Chapter Break Book Blog | Scrapbook Page |
| 03/21/23 | Reading by Moonlight | Review |
| 03/21/23 | Writing and Music | Review |
| 03/22/23 | Forgotten Winds | Review |
| 03/22/23 | The Book’s Delight | BONUS Review |
| 03/23/23 | Rox Burkey Blog | Review |
| 03/23/23 | It’s Not All Gravy | Review |
blog tour services provided by
Thank you so very much for taking the time and interest to read and review the book. I loved your comments. Murder’s Legacy was such a fun book to write. The characters have really taken on a life of their own.
It’s great when the characters do take on a life of their own. That makes them real people that readers can relate to. I love it when my characters talk to me and influence the way the story goes, even when I have to rein them in a bit.
Wow! You positively GUSH about this book. I am so glad you loved it so much (I just finished and loved it too). Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome. Glad you liked my review and glad you share in the enjoyment of this book.