Wildcard Book Tour
This book promo is part of my participation as a blog host for Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours.
Wildcard book tour includes an exclusive excerpt from the book. Check it out below, comment, share, and subscribe for more from Sarandipity’s. And check out the Rafflecopter giveaway at the end.
Book Details
WILDCARD (JAX DIAMOND MYSTERIES)
Cozy Mystery/Thriller
8th in Series
Setting -Niagara Falls
Publisher : Independently published (March 31, 2025)
Paperback : 206 pages
ISBN-13 : 979-8315596820
Digital ASIN : B0DDHJKV3T
The honeymoon begins with a dead body in the bedroom…
Niagara Falls, 1923. Traveling out of the city isn’t PI Jax Diamond’s cup of tea, but when he and
Laura along with their courageous companion, Ace, head to Niagara Falls on their honeymoon,
they’re on cloud nine. That is, until Jax carries his new bride over the threshold, and there’s a
corpse in their bed that looks to have been there since the dawn of time.
A ten-year-old unsolved murder sets off a string of others with victims plunging to their deaths
over the falls, and all the evidence is pointing to nightclub owner and their good pal, Orin
Marino, as the killer.
Jax, Laura, Ace, and friends risk their lives trying to solve a crazy riddle and stop a killer before
the next victim takes the plunge. But every step forward sends them two steps back. It’s a wild
and crazy ride with twists, turns, and belly flops in this fun and fast-paced 1920s cozy thriller.
Easily reads as a standalone.
About Gail Meath
Gail Meath is the author of the multi-award-winning Jax Diamond Mysteries, a fun 1920s series
about wise-cracking PI Jax Diamond, his courageous German Shepherd partner, Ace, and
Broadway star Laura Graystone, as they, along with a crazy group of friends, solve some of the
toughest crimes in New York City. She is alternating that series with her new 1930s Golden Age
of Hollywood mysteries series, Stone & Steele, starring Vivian Steele, a widow seeking justice,
and Preston Stone, a playboy vigilante.
In both series, the author challenges readers to identify the villains before she reveals them:)
Gail also has a list of other award-winning historical romances, westerns, and fictional
biographies of true heroines. She lives in a small village in Upstate New York with her husband
and sweet Boston Terrier, and she spends loads of time with her grandchildren.
Author Links
Website Facebook Instagram Goodreads Bookbub
Purchase Link
EXCERPT 3
Laura and Carla stood on the platform on Goat Island overlooking Niagara Falls. They watched ferry boat approaching, and even from this height, they could see the drenched passengers dressed in black raincoats, talking and laughing.
After the boat slowly drifted by, Laura and Carla walked back the way they came, but with Laura’s next step, her foot twisted out from under her. She yelped as she lost her balance. Thankfully, Carla caught her arm to keep her from falling.
“Are you all right, Laura?”
“Yes…” She glanced down, thinking she’d stepped on a stone, but instead, there was a broken peanut, shell and all, on the ground. She didn’t think much of it until she spotted another whole peanut about ten feet in front of them, and another one the same distance in front of that one.
“Someone dropped peanuts on the ground. I didn’t notice them when we came this way.”
“I didn’t either, but I’m not sure why it matters?”
“It doesn’t.” Laura glanced behind them and didn’t see any on the ground. They walked a little farther, but now she kept her eyes peeled on the ground. By the time she counted nine single whole peanuts in a row and perfectly spaced apart, she stopped walking and stood there thinking about it. “Did I tell you about the peanut that Ace found in the bedroom?”
Carla stifled a snicker. “No, I don’t think so.”
“It’s possible housekeeping didn’t see it when they cleaned the room, but it’s just as possible that the person who put the skeleton in the bed dropped it. I just counted nine whole peanuts on the ground, one every ten feet or so. I would understand it if someone were dropping empty peanut shells, or if they were digging into a bag of peanuts, and they dropped a few at a time, but just one every ten feet? Doesn’t that seem suspicious to you?”
“When you say it like that, it does.” Carla looked in front of them. “There’s another one. It can’t hurt to see if they lead us somewhere.” They continued walking. “You know what this reminds me of, don’t you? I’m sure you’ve read the book about Hansel and Gretel. Hansel leaves a trail of breadcrumbs in the woods so they can find their way home.”
“Carla, if someone is intentionally dropping these peanuts, I’m afraid he’s leading us right into the witch’s cauldron.”
“Oh, relax, there are plenty of people here. Nothing is going to happen.”
Laura looked around. “That’s probably what Benjamin Hackett thought yesterday before he was pushed over the falls.”
The two of them followed the trail of peanuts with Carla counting them out loud. When she reached twenty-eight, they were standing beside a flight of stairs, and the sign in front of them stated that boarding for the Maid of the Mist was at the bottom of the stairway.
Carla looked over the railing. “There’s a peanut on the third step. Boy, that’s a dangerous place for one. Someone could trip over it and fall headfirst to the bottom.” She climbed down to the third step and kicked the peanut aside. “Come on. I see a few more peanuts down here.”
Laura didn’t budge. She was ready to go back to the hotel. She didn’t like this at all. On top of the rest, she had the bristling feeling of being watched.
“What’s wrong, Laura? You were a whole lot braver after those diamond thieves kidnapped us. Why the cold feet now?”
“This situation is entirely different. We saw the kidnappers and knew who they were, but this fella could be standing right next to us, and we’d never know it.” Carla stared at her as though what she’d said made no sense at all. Laura finally headed down the steps. “Most people run from danger. We don’t always have to run toward it.” She stood next to Carla. “I don’t see any more peanuts.”
“I just kicked the last one off this step. We’re only halfway to the bottom. I wonder why they stop here? If someone dropped the peanuts on purpose, you’d think they would have led us to the ferry. Didn’t the riddle say after a walk on the goat, they took a ride on the ferry boat?”
“Yes, but the very next stanza says…” Laura took the riddle out of her pocket. “Then it all went awry. Something bad happened around here after the boat ride.”
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
June 4 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
June 5 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – REVIEW
June 5 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
June 6 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
June 7 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
June 7 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
June 8 – Frugal Freelancer – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT <- (Now Sarandipity’s) you’re HERE!
June 8 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
June 9 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
June 9 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
June 10 – Carla Loves To Read – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST
June 11 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT