#SaturdaysAreBookish | and sometimes especially Cosy! Celebrating the 1st #BookBindingMystery “To Kill A Mocking Girl” by Harper Kincaid, of whom was also a feat. guest of @SatBookChat!

Posted Saturday, 5 June, 2021 by jorielov , , , 0 Comments

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Borrowed Book By: My path first crossed with Ms Kincaid during the #12DaysOfCozies Twitter chats hosted by @cozymysteryclub in December, 2020. It was a chance to interact with Cosy Mystery writers in a kick-off celebration of Cosies as a lead-up into the Christmas holidays. During the chats themselves there were several bookaways, wherein this novel was one of the prizes however I was meant to win a copy of another Cosy story in an anthology – however it never arrived by post. I did however receive a swag pack of bookmarks and stickers by the hostess of the chats and I have been using her #Sleuther bookmark to read all the lovely Cosies I borrow through my library whilst the other bookmarks I use either for books in my personal library or review books I receive for review consideration.

The chats were a benchmark of my 2020 Christmas celebrations as it allowed me to celebrate Christmas in a keenly special way last December whilst I was able to interact and seek out new series of Cosies to read this New Year, 2021 as well. I have quite a long list of stories and series I want to dive inside and this particular book marks the start of those readings. Ms Kincaid and I just happened to hit it off quite well and I knew I wanted to host her via @SatBookChat. This review is both a continued nod of celebration to #12DaysOfCozies and of course, a happy introduction to a new Cosy series I was thankful I have had myself courtesy of my local library!

I borrowed the hardbck copy of the novel “To Kill A Mocking Girl” direct from my local library. I was not obliged to post a review and am sharing my review on behalf of this novel for my own edification as much as continuing to share my readerly life on Jorie Loves A Story. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

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Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

This review has been a long time in coming to Jorie Loves A Story!! I’ve been wanting to host Ms Kincaid via #SatBookChat for most of Spring however, the timing for both the author and myself had to work out a few kinks. With my return to working full-time earlier in Spring and with some health afflictions in mid-Spring, we both decided to push this forward into June. I was grateful I finally had a chance to bring her into #SatBookChat’s community as I’ve been reading this novel off/on for as many months as we’ve been working on the schedule! Each time I thought I was close to finishing the novel, I had to boomerang the book back to the library! Laughs.

The joy for me on the morning of #SatBookChat today was waking up early enough to make more headway into the story and to find myself at the halfway mark before the chat began! It was my intentions to sneak into the book whenever I had an hour or so to spare to read it whilst hoping no one in my community wanted to read it this week as I had to re-fetch it! Smirks. Thankfully the stars aligned and whilst I wasn’t working, I happily tucked into the lives of Quinn, Sister Daria and Aiden.

For me, the character who stole my heart is Sister Daria and until I had the convo this morning with Ms Kincaid I couldn’t sort out why I leant more towards her than Quinn. Until of course the author pointed out Quinn is sweet and all but she’s a bit dull and mundane in comparision to Daria and I believe that’s true! Sister Daria is a renegade nun in so many ways – from her background and backhistory to how she approaches the sisterhood with ideals and beliefs that are not in-step with the rest of her sisters. I celebrated finding that inclusive of her storyline but again, it isn’t a conventional character and I think that in of itself is why I love her as much as I do!

After the chat, I quickly dove back into the story – I knew with an afternoon shift I didn’t want to put off reading more of the book or if I could, get into the ending as I was dearly curious about who was ‘behind’ the whole sequencing of events. This is one thinking mystery I was appreciating see develop because it didn’t seem to be an obvious choice in regards to whom the person was behind the crime. If you factor in the fact, Quinn was labelled as a person of interest early-on in the storyline, I knew I was ready to see where Kincaid would take us next to root out the truth and solve the case alongside Quinn and her family.

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Why I enjoy Cosy Mysteries (Contemporary & Historical):

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When it comes to Mysteries, stories of Suspense and even Thrillers, I have the tendency to read through the centuries as I appreciate a wicked good Contemporary as much as a thrillingly brilliant Historical which you can intuit from my Story Vault. (mind, its not updated for awhile) Focusing on the topic today, Cosy Mysteries (yes, I purposely spelt it this way!) have been my jam since I was quite young. I’ve openly discussed how much I struggled with reading when I was a young girl – before and after I learnt I was dyslexic and when it came to reading, Mysteries were a constant companion.

I cut my teeth on Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys before I quickly moved into Adult Cosies with Agatha Christie and her lovingly brilliant Miss Marple! I wouldn’t discover Poirot until an adult – through the film adaptations and series; whilst it is a goal of mine to read his stories at some point. Cosies have a particular fondness for me because I’m not a reader who enjoys gritty and gruesome scenes of violence nor do I enjoy heavy pepperings of vulgarity (see also Review for a recent read that went over the top). I’d much prefer to get into the heart of the investigations, follow the central lead and supporting characters’ journeys and settle into the setting of the mystery as well. Small townes are an especially favourite of mine because of how quirky they are by nature and how cleverly their organised by writers to be full of interestingly diverse and ecelctic characters.

I read Contemporary Suspense novels which are writ similarly to Cosies – as their with a faith-based imprint (ie. Love Inspired Suspense) but in general, I tend to categorise those separately from ‘Cosy’ as Cosy has its own guidelines and perimeters to adhere too, themselves. I do count Cleo Coyle’s Coffeehouse Mysteries as Cosies but I know their just ‘this side’ of Hard-Boiled, too. I like to peer into a Cosy’s characters’ life, take up residence there and enjoy the respite from other genres I regularly read. Cosies also have a cosy-comfortable vibe about them and you tend to get attached to the characters and/or the setting quite immediately.

When it comes to Cosy Historical Mysteries – I sometimes put a few ‘nearly Hard-Boiled’ lovelies into that category, too, such as the Susan Spann Hiro Hattori series I regularly have read through the last several years. For Historicals, rather than having myself feel anchoured into our modern world with pop cultural references which I devour in stories due to the fact it opens a lot of my geeky doors of delight – I prefer to feel more attached to the timescape in History. Similar to why I love reading Victorian, Regency and Edwardian Romances. I like to feel as if I’ve removed myself into that portal of the historical past and can see/sense everything I might have if I were physically removed.

The best bit of course is the suspension of reality to tuck close to a Cosy character, peer into the investigative processes and see if I can either guess or root out the culprits along with the sleuths in the story. Whether their professionals or amateurs, I love following along and seeing where the writer has chosen to take us through their own vision for the set-up and the reveal. Even the motivations for the characters who are villains is of interest as sometimes that can explain so much about the story and also, in the case of series, how that affects the characters who will return.

Cosy Mysteries are just a part of my bookish heart as much as Science Fiction, Fantasy & Historical Fiction – I rotate through genres on the regular and as you will denote by the events I co-host and/or participate inside every year, there is a genre of interest or flavour of story that might tempt you as you read the chronicles of my readerly life here on Jorie Loves A Story. It is harder to explain what led me into Cosies originally because my earliest memories of reading outside the moments I was listening to Mum (ie. the original narrator in my life) read to me were of Mysteries!! They’ve just always ‘been’ there, you know!?

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My Connection to the Author: Harper Kincaid

Ms Kincaid and I truly loved interacting during the #12DaysOfCozies Twitter chat event during December, 2020. It sparked a wonderful connection between two writers and two avid readers wherein we found we share a heap in common with each other. and so, naturally a friendship started to develop. We’ve remained in contact over the months since as our schedules have allowed and I have been grateful to find someone I can relate too who is also celebrating being GenX through her series of Cosy Mysteries as the Bookbinding Mysteries is for readers who like GenX (and/or GenY) sensibilities in their stories.

I am disclosing this, to assure you that I can formulate an honest opinion, even though I have interacted with her ahead of reading her novels. I treat each book as a ‘new experience’, whether I personally know the author OR whether I am reading a book by them for the first time. This is also true when I follow-up with them on future releases and celebrate the book birthdays which come after their initial publication.

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#SaturdaysAreBookish | and sometimes especially Cosy! Celebrating the 1st #BookBindingMystery “To Kill A Mocking Girl” by Harper Kincaid, of whom was also a feat. guest of @SatBookChat!To Kill A Mocking Girl
Subtitle: A Book Binding Mystery
by Harper Kincaid
Source: Borrowed from local library

Quinn Victoria Caine is back in her quirky town of Vienna, Virginia, starting her new life as a bookbinder in her family-owned, charm-for-days bookshop, Prose & Scones. With her trusty German Shephard RBG-‘Ruff Barker’ Ginsburg by her side, what can go wrong? Okay, sure, bumping into her ex, Scott, or her former high school nemesis, Tricia, is a drag. It certainly doesn’t help they have acquired the new hobby of shoving their recent engagement in her face every chance they get. But that doesn’t mean Quinn wanted to find Tricia dead in the road. So why does half the town think she may have done it?

Quinn is determined to find Tricia’s killer, even if it means partnering with her cousin-turned-nun, Sister Daria, and Detective Aiden Harrington, her older brother’s too-movie-star-handsome-for-his-own good, best friend. They believe she’s innocent, but of course that doesn’t influence the police, who peg her as their prime suspect. Or, at least until she’s poisoned.

But there is no way Quinn is going to stop now. Vienna is her town and-for better or worse-Tricia was one of their own. Someone may have killed the mocking girl, but no one’s going to stop the notorious QVC.

Genres: Contemporary (Modern) Fiction (post 1945), Crime Fiction, Amateur Detective, Cosy Mystery



Places to find the book:

Borrow from a Public Library

Add to LibraryThing

ISBN: 978-1643853048

Published by Crooked Lane Books

on 7th July, 2020

Format: Hardcover Edition

Pages: 352

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The Bookbinding Mysteries:

To Kill A Mocking Girl (book one)

A Midsummer’s Night Scheme (book two) ← forthcoming 2022/?

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Converse via Twitter: #ToKillAMockingGirl

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i love the setting of this series:

In the background of the series itself is an independent bookstore run by Quinn’s parents and that is where Quinn runs her bookbinding services as they work in-line together for the most profits. The bookstore itself is called Prose and Scones which made me itch to visit it if it were a true bookstore because who wouldn’t want to walk round til you were inspired by a book you saw on a shelf whilst having a nosh on their baked delights!? Scones get overshadowed a bit on this side of the Pond but I have very fond memories of having hot chai and scones with Mum in my early twenties when the coffeehouse used to be at the mall. You know, when malls were still okay to be walked in and enjoyed like they had back in the ’80s? Circa early 2000s and life was a bit calmer – where Mums and daughters could have coffee klatch conversations, enjoy a scone and stroll the mall whilst enjoying the walk together.

The towne the series is set inside has its fair share of quirks and of course, there is a rat of a snake on the force in this towne who is too quick to judge and is terrible at keeping his opinons to himself. Thankfully Kincaid put Aiden on the scene! Whilst at the same time, this is also a story about two cousins – Quinn and Sister Daria. The two are more sisterly than cousin, they are both entrusted with their own secrets and living truths whilst they each have a tenacity of intuitive sleuthing between them. They’re both the two sides of each of their coins and even though, I’m partial a bit more to Sister Daria than Quinn, you can’t love one without the other! I liked how Kincaid had these two sleuths able to read each others minds and come up with different plans of action based on what they were uncovering together. Plus, it speaks volumes how much they rely on each other and how much they try to respect each others’ differences – in particular Quinn’s continuing anguish over not entirely understanding Daria’s choice to join the Anglican nuns.

My Review of to kill a mocking girl:

The story opens with Quinn speaking with her Mum – the setting is one of those lovely quaint main streets in a towne which is becoming larger than it used to be and with it, a sense of loss for the close-knittedness of the community and with the new expansion of more crime. Part of me was reflecting on Murder, She Wrote – wherein, some small communities seem to have the worst luck when it comes to attracting murder if you factor in how Cabot Cove was equally quaint and yet, never was without a case for Jessica Fletcher to solve! I admit, I’ve been binge watching the series from the beginning – the theme song was familiar throughout my childhood as I’ve been avidly watching murder mysteries and reading them in equal measure since elementary school. However, I never knew how it all began and I find it rather strange in the first season they never actually addressed Fletcher’s husband and what became of him? Apparently knowing she was a widow with a kind-hearted nephew and niece was all we needed to kick-off a beloved series and that suits me just as well now as it had as a child; but the curiosity is still lit inside me about Mr Fletcher all the same.

Quinn and her mother have a way of speaking which all Mums and daughters share who have a close relationship – the two don’t even have to speak too much to understand the other and they seem to recognise what is being said even without all the words to piece it all together as well. I love finding strong relationships and togetherness between Mums and daughters in fiction as it seems to be as rare as it is IRL. Not to mention the fact, I also caught myself thinking of Murder, She Baked (the tv series, not the book series by another name) as the towne in Kincaid’s novel felt as tangible as in the series I used to love watching before it made a curt exit from our lives. Small townes have quite the appeal for me and I love how Vienna felt just the right size with just the right amount of independent businesses, too. That’s another reason I adore those kinds of townes and small cities – they have a refreshing grip on independent business and those communities are not as attached to chains and big box stores which seem to be on their outskirts rather than their internal downtowns; all the better if you ask me!

Bookbinding is an artistry of its own and it is one I wished I personally knew more about as I always regret whenever a book of mine falls into disrepair and I am at a loss to know how to bring it back to rights! This might be why I am extra careful with all the books I read and whenever I get a ding on one of the covers, I take it as a personal disappointment I wasn’t more careful with the book itself whilst reading it. Silly, of course, but books have always been in my life and I have long since felt like their caretaker – keeping them safe and shelved whilst awaiting to share their stories with others in the future long after I’ve had the chance to spend hours with them myself. I tend to read books without leaving a whisper of a hint I’ve opened their covers and try to keep them as preserved as I can whilst engaging with the story and the writer’s vision therein. Call it a quirk or my inter-librarian shining but I like to look after the books with as best of care as I can give them.

Sister Daria was the stand-out character for me when I first started reading this story and she remains a whip-smart character on my second go-round as I prepared for hosting Kincaid during my chat. I loved how dynamic she was and how interesting her own back-story was as a character. She was a non-traditional nun and I loved her for it – because she not only spoke her mind but she had such a lot of realistic edge to her that she became quite the endearing character as a strong compliment to Quinn. The two are cousins anyhow and I felt Kincaid made such a smart choice in having them as co-conspirators whenever they were working together.

Bash is the best older brother you could have – Quinn hit the jackpot with Bash, as he’s dearly dedicated to his sister but he also is a stand-up fellow as he’s a firefighter with a big heart. He was a wicked compliment to Quinn – as their two sides of the same coin whilst Sister Daria brought in the spice which rounded out their family quite well. Their all cousins but they all felt more akin to siblings which I felt worked brilliantly. I liked how Bash wanted to reach out to Quinn to ask for advice about something he was trying to decide on whilst Quinn instantly knew it wasn’t the decision which he needed help with but rather he needed his sister to as a sounding board.

Uniquely enough, Tricia is the one character I just did not connect with at all and yet, I had a feeling she was central in the storyline. Her personality just rankled though – she was more about getting on the wrong side of people’s opinions and she had this impression that her boyfriend and her were the cat’s meow. To the brink that she couldn’t see past her own engagement in order to enjoy it more as she was fearful of others who might want to destroy the happiness she had found. It spoke of a woman who was very insecure and also one who had quite a few secrets of her own; especially as what could a realtor in this small towne fear on such a deep level? Part of you want to pity her situation and the other part of you wished she’d grow from the mistakes she keeps making in regards to how she treats people.

Quinn’s father is wicked incredible and seeing him take that Office to task was sheer brilliance after he basically dragged Quinn over the coals for a crime she didn’t commit. Why he felt the need to dimminish her intergrity and drive in some nails over her state of mind at that particular point in time is beyond me. He was the kind of Officer who apparently prejudged people and let stand whatever opinion he had of them irregardless of the truth. In other words, his whole attitude rankled and he had to be taken down a few pegs, which thankfully Quinn’s father did and did well. Before the scene faded, you gathered Quinn’s family was going to go to bat for her one way or the other; as her Mum and brother Bash showed up with her clothes, her (Cousin) Sister Daria was eager to go to task on anyone who didn’t believe she was innocent and her father was ready to go back to court even though he’s retired! I had a feeling her Mum would have done more as well if it were needed as sometimes families have to stick together when circumstances prove to be unbearingly difficult such as the pickle Quinn currently found herself in right now.

What surprised me is how old Quinn is as I hadn’t realised to be just under twenty-ten right now, you’d have to be bourne in the early nineties – which of course for me, being Gen-X were my high school years. So that was something! Laughs. When Kincaid broached the Rizzoli and Isles reference in respects to Sister Daria & Quinn I had to smirk – whilst knowing it was yet another series I grieved the loss of and had wished could have gone for a few more seasons. Most recently, I had to ‘let go’ of White Collar with equally choking emotion. I’m definitely the reader who appreciates pop cultural references in Contemporaries – as they not only keep us anchoured in our own timeline of History but they also make the stories cosy-comfortable to read.

Ha! When Quinn and Daria were looking through the yearbooks and commenting aloud about how school safety patrols were full of power addictive kids, I could instantly relate. It took me so long to get accepted into that program (right at the end of fifth grade, too) and then, once I was one of them as I joined for the reasons the proram was established, I sadly had to acknowledge I was clueless why the other girls’ in my grade wanted to be one of those kids. Oy. Talk about misreading the signals – I didn’t last long, because unfortunately those kids like to take advantage and manipulate stuff behind your back. I just wasn’t cut out for it – as it felt like politics even at that age as everyone was out for a power grab however which way they could get it. I, on the other hand really liked helping the younger grades ‘be safe’ on their way home. Aye. Apparently I was a caregiver before I ever learnt the term in my twenties when I became one for the first time.

It is interesting the tales you can read out of yearbooks – from the notes to the photos to the classmates who just photobombed the activity clubs to ‘be in it’ rather than be a member of those clubs. It takes all kinds really. More to the point – I enjoyed seeing Kincaid’s mind looping together old yearbooks with present day citizens of the towne. How there is a hidden history of connection and how despite appearances, things really weren’t as they seemed. I felt like the other shoe dropped as I started to see things I hadn’t connected previously until then.

OOh my. When things start to gain momentum, you’re keenly interested in seeing how Aiden and Quinn will start to piece together the puzzle which has become rooted behind this mystery! Aiden for his part needs to learn how to interact with Quinn a bit better because so far he’s making an #epicfail at relating to her in a way that is both romantic and respectful of her at this age. I think he’s stuck in the past a bit and for whichever reason, can’t or doesn’t know how to make the transition. Sadly, she’s ready for it but will he step up is the question! Meanwhile, Sister Daria and Quinn make a good tag-team when it comes to noodling out clues and sorting through known facts to see the pieces which have been overlooked or missed completely. It is quite telling that Quinn and Sister Daria along with Aiden are in the middle of a brewing storm! Their towne isn’t going to know what happened until they all explain the whys and hows; which is of course irking me a bit because I feel I’m on the fringes of solving this one myself!

I share a passon for Etsy artisans and designers, myself. I have a super huge list of loveliness waiting for me to make purchases – however, the accessories like the purses Quinn is sporting in this story I’ve seen myself. I even love the armwarmers which are literary inclined – there is something to be said for shopping on Etsy whenever you want to get your geeky and bookish self a special gift that you can’t find anywhere else. I was enjoying all the references made to Etsy purchases whilst acknowledging that it takes an Etsy shopper to understand an Etsy curator! Did I mention a lot of my list is also inclusive of Indie fashion designers, Indie stationary designers and of course, fantastical artwork? Hmm.

The best bit about the growing tension and tongue-in-cheek humour boiling between Aiden and Quinn is that I think even Sister Daria was hoping the two of them would get their act together sooner than later! They each had a keen interest in the other but how to get them to bridge the gaps between them? Quinn saw things from one perspective and of course, Aiden saw it from another – yet putting their slow burn romance aside for a moment which has a lot of happy fodder for the reader to dig through – my heart nearly stilled until I learnt the fate of one of the characters who was put into harm’s way! Mind, I won’t say whom but it was epic and of course, I loved the spur of the moment solution Quinn conceived!

Of course, sisters will fight and sisters will agrue but at the heart of sisters is love and compassion. This can also be said for Sister Daria and Quinn – if I felt the relationship brewing between Quinn and Aiden was heated, it didn’t hold a candle to what was brewing between these girls’! Oh, my goodness! They seriously needed to have it ‘out’ with each other and not let things fester for so long without having a good talking through – which I believe is why the Reverend Mother wanted Quinn to have dinner with the order in the first place. To air out the ghosts and get rid of the drama that clearly was set over the boiling point! Aside from their little guffaw – it was the sisters themselves I loved hearing about most! Reminds me why four of my favourite films involve nuns! (if you remember: The Trouble with Angels, Where Angels Go Trouble Follows, Sister Act and Sister Act II: Back in the Habit)

When RBG fell ill, I think my heart fell through the floor! It was the second time in a short period of pages wherein I felt myself lurching with worriment and dearly grateful Kincaid didn’t leave me hanging to find out the resolutions to the issues plaguing the cast and a beloved canine! I cannot tolerate any cruelty to animals in stories which is why I was thankful Kincaid made the choices she made in this story rather than the outcome another author made which left me with a DNF. And, that dear hearts was when the ending started to light up for me like firecrackers! I did guess the wrong villain but only because I guessed the wrong crime! Kincaid made such a strong case for this to go a few different ways – that’s what I loved about the ending, actually. I was properly surprised and loved every inch of how she concluded the first installment of this delightful new series!

As you find yourself tucking into Vienna, Virginia, be mindful of what you observe, stay on top of the signals you’re noting from your writer Ms Kincaid but most of all – have a heap of fun following along with her characters as they sleuth and uncover the secrets which are hiding right in plain sight! I cannot wait to see what she does with the sequel and of course, which part of the new title will play a part in the storyline as this one was about a cursed fate mocking girl!

Small Fly in the Ointment:

Whilst reading the story, I noticed some copy editing errors,.. little things like words were missing or something was said wrong. I couldn’t put my finger on all the errors directly as I was reading this story a bit faster than usual as I was caught in the currents of chasing after Quinn and Sister Daria, but ever so often, I noticed something was a bit off and usually when I’m wearing my betareader hat, those are things I’d broach with the writer to ensure everything was in the final draft as they intended rather than having an error slip past a proofreader or copy editor at that stage. You can happily read this story without worrying over these things yourself but part of me wished someone had given it another look-over before it went to print to catch what I had seen. Uniquely a lot of this happens before the halfway point and the back-half of the novel felt more polished without any errors standing out to me as they had previously.

on the cosy sensibility & styling of harper kincaid:

Kincaid is a writer after my own bookish heart because she has a way of evoking points of reference into her storyline even at times when I don’t think she meant to trigger a memory out of her reader but perhaps for some of us, as we regularly devour so much #Mystery into our vortex, references and familiarities are just par for course! It was also lovely to find a Cosy writer who took a Contemporary spin on how she asserted her setting and how we found ourselves arriving in Quinn’s life as she’s quite the world traveller but has suddenly come back home to roost. You can even see this in how Quinn’s Mum talks about her ‘time away’ and how she felt her daughter was unreachable even at times where I intuited her Mum wanted her closer to home.

I appreciated Kincaid’s inclusion of referencing how sometimes girls’ who are smart sometimes find themselves on the opposite side of the fence when it comes to their peers. I loved that whole sequence about the advice Aiden had given to Quinn. It so many respects, I can relate to the conversation because I, like Quinn was on the receiving end of those kinds of circumstances myself.

Kincaid settled us into the towne’s gossip mill quite well as it was all housed through the local eatery – which makes a heap of sense as if its not a place to eat, it would be the salon. People need a central place to thread their thoughts and a diner or eatery works just as smashing as a hairdressor’s as everyone is coming/going all the time and that increases the chances to overhear something worth gossiping over. All the characters funnelling into the scenes in this instance are charmingly dear and kind; from the husband and wife who own the eatery to the persons coming in to eat and giving away a few more details about the goings on in the towne – everything fit together quite nicely for a charmer of a series this was shaping up to being.

I share a lot of writerly and readerly instincts with Ms Kincaid – something I noted during the #12DaysOfCozies and something I instantly remembered during this mornings #SatBookChat! Point of fact, it is also inclusive of how she wrote some portions of To Kill A Mocking Girl because I loved how the thoughts of her characters are in italics and easily identifiable within the context of the narrative itself. I love that because it gives you this intimate glimpse into their mind and allows you a counter-perspective to what they are saying aloud.

On top of which, we’re both intuitive wordsmiths and we tend to choose the same words and/or expressions – of which I gave a s/o on #booktwt as that is just quite rare! I generally use words others never use themselves or I use words that might have been popular outside the generation OR century of my birth; either way you slice it, this has been a wicked fun read for me and definitely the read I needed right now in my life. It is good to find ways to smirk and laugh whilst reading inasmuch as nodding at finding a writerly kindred spirit who is as in love with words as you are yourself.

Full stop: My family and I *adored!* My Big Fat Greek Wedding! It is a Classic in its own right!! I personally loved all the inclusive religious references, too. Whilst I wickedly loved the creative side dodging of using strong language – mostly because I prefer less language in literature than more and this time round, it was clever seeing how an author could side-step it and keep the humour intact whilst she maneuvered it!! The religious humour was honest and real – totally within the framework of being ‘funny’ and never off-colour as sometimes that kind of stuff can become. If you have a healthy outlook on life and a strong faith life, you’ll love what Kincaid gave to this story!

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission.

This book review is a compliment to the @SatBookChat
featuring the author Harper Kincaid:

About Harper Kincaid

Harper Kincaid

A multi-genre talent, Harper Kincaid has published Romantic Comedies and Romantic Suspense for Entangled Publishing and Samhain Publishing, as well as Creative Non-Fiction and Poetry in the #1 Amazon feminist anthology, You Do You, published by People I Want to Punch in the Throat Media along with the online media conglomerate, Medium.

Her Cozy Mystery series has Ms. Kincaid embracing her love for quirky heroines in unpredictable predicaments in her debut cozy mystery, To Kill a Mocking Girl, with Crooked Lane Press. In her previous incarnations, Ms. Kincaid earned her master’s degree in Gender History and another in clinical/macro social work; she rarely uses either. These days Her mother is so very proud.

When not writing, she adores listening to Lo-Fi, Indie complaint rock played on vinyl, the theater, well-informed optimism, happy endings, and making those close to her laugh ‘til they snort. She is a self-admitted change junkie but is now happily settled in the cutest lil town of Vienna, Virginia, with her wife-whisperer husband, their two girls, and Q-TiP, a fancy-pants pup with badass name.

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission.

#SatBookChat logo badge created by Jorie in Canva.

I happily hosted Ms Kincaid via #SatBookChat, on Saturday, 5th June, 2021. We discussed her first novel in this series (Bookbinding Mysteries) whilst happily talked about her writerly process & style as well as what is coming up next for the series – you will be able to read through the transcript via Moments.

Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission.

{SOURCES: Author photograph of Harper Kincaid, author biography, book cover art for “To Kill A Mocking Girl” as well as the “To Kill A Mocking Girl” book synopsis and promo graphic were provided by the author Harper Kincaid and used with permission. Tweets were able to be embedded by the codes provided by Twitter. Rainbow Digital Clip Art Washi Tape made by The Paper Pegasus. Purchased on Etsy by Jorie and used with permission. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: #SatBookChat badge, #SaturdaysAreBookish banner and the Comment Box Banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2021.

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About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

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Posted Saturday, 5 June, 2021 by jorielov in 21st Century, Amateur Detective, Book Review (non-blog tour), Content Note, Cosy Mystery, Crime Fiction, Fly in the Ointment, Indie Author, Modern Day, Small Towne USA, Virginia




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