Gina Rae Mitchell

Chris Crossed Murder (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #4) by Lauren Carr | Book Review ~ Fabulous Giveaway | #PrivateInvestigator #TheGeezerSquad #Mystery

A book blog tour from iRead Book Tours.

Thank you to the author, publisher, & Lauren at iRead for providing me with the information for this tour.

Don’t miss the fabulous giveaway at the bottom of this post. Lauren is giving away a $75 Paypal gift card plus a box of Granny Bellas cookies!

Book Details

Chris Crossed Murder by Lauren Carr
Series: A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #4
Published by Acorn Book Services on February 22, 2023
Genres: Adult Fiction 18+, Fiction, Mystery
Format: Audiobook, eBook, Paperback
Pages: 424

t proves to be a Christmas to remember when Chris Matheson’s body is discovered in the woods near an international airport.

Everyone is stunned—especially Chris Matheson.

The mystery deepens when they discover the victim has Chris’s federal agent badge and appears to have been investigating one of his old cases.

The Geezer Squad’s latest case is not only a whodunit but who-got-dun. Is this a case of mistaken identity? Was Chris the intended victim? If not, then they must identify the murder victim to find his killer.

With Christmas days away, join the Chris Matheson and the Geezer Squad as they race to piece together the clues to their most puzzling case yet.

Source: iRead Book Tours, Kindle Unlimited, Received from the author or publisher for review.

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Purchase Links for Chris Crossed Murder

Amazon-OneLink for all countries    BookShop/IndieBound     

BAM     BN     BookBub

Chris Crossed Murder (A Chr...Shop on Amazon

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My thoughts on Chris Crossed Murder

Oh my goodness! I thought the author would never be able to top the last book I read in this series. I was so very wrong!

Chris Crossed Murder might have started just a tad slow for me, but it picked up steam in a big hurry. That’s just how I felt while reading: like a kettle slowly building pressure until something had to give. Luckily, the author threw in lots of unique, Lauren-style humor to give the reader a chance to breathe.

Ms. Carr includes a cast of characters at the front of the book. I greatfully made use of it since this is a large cast. All of my favorites are present, along with a host of new people. The Geezer Squad made up of retired law-enforcement experts always adds a touch of class and intellect to these tales.

No Lauren Carr book is complete without her loveable bunch of animals. Sterling and Thor always steal my heart. The rest of the pooches complement those two scene-stealers.

I am so afraid of giving anything away, since this book is chock-full of twists, turns, and unexpected happenings. But, you know you are in the presence of comedic/thriller genius, when you go from granny taking helicopter lessons and then finding a dead body in a tree to Sterling the German Shepard being banned from local casinos for cheating.

I highly recommend Chris Crossed Murder to all lovers of mystery, police procedurals, cold cases, and rapid-fire action. I always suggest reading series in the order they are written to enhance your enjoyment, but this one does work well on its own. Carr’s books are always clean, well-written, and entertaining.

Grab your copy today and let’s chat about this fantastic book and series.

 

I received a copy of the book for the tour. This review is my honest, unbiased opinion.

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I love to read books through my  Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription. 

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Guest Post

The Jail Bird Who Saved Christmas

Meet the Real Sterling from Lauren Carr’s Chris Crossed Murder

By Lauren Carr

 

In this guest post, Lauren Carr reveals the true life story of the real Sterling, who holds a special place in her and her family’s hearts.

 

On Thursday, December 8, 2016, my heart was broken.

After two months of battling a brave good fight, my handsome guy, and best canine friend, Gnarly passed away from cancer.

Cradling his head in my lap, and stroking his soft fur, I broke down. Man, I didn’t know the human body could hold so many tears.

December 8 marked the climax of a very rough two months.

It all started in October when my beloved German shepherd was diagnosed with cancer. Yep, my constant canine companion, my best canine friend, my muse to whom I dedicated Candidate for Murder, was very ill and from the time of his diagnosis, he went downhill fast.

At first, I was in denial. Gnarly was only four years old. He was a big strong dog. It wasn’t cancer. Burying my head in the sand, I blew my nose, sucked on sore throat lozenges, and plunged away on A Fine Year for Murder while praying that God would prove me right. Writing the second installment of the Thorny Rose mystery series was not easy. Often, I would find myself curled up on the sofa with Gnarly’s head in my lap.

Stroking his tall ears, I prayed that God would bless this beautiful dog with a miracle to save him. It wasn’t like I was asking for a big miracle. Gnarly was just a dog—but he was my best friend—my muse. God, can’t You bless me with this one little miracle?

Among the research online and friends who were dog experts I would talk to was Deb, the breeder who I had gotten Gnarly from as a pup. Deb and her late husband have been friends for years. As time wore on, and Gnarly’s health deteriorated, she offered that, if the worst was to happen, that when I was ready, I was welcomed to the pick of the litter for a new puppy.

No, I insisted. It’s not cancer and Gnarly will get better.

I was in such a funk over Gnarly’s illness that I wasn’t even aware that it was the Christmas season. Usually, I would be the first to put the tree up—the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I anticipated Cyber Monday the way others look forward to Black Friday.

But that December, I didn’t even notice that we were amid the Christmas season. All I could see was a looming deadline with an unfinished book, an editor frantic to finish the project before she left for the holidays, and my best canine friend wasting away before my eyes.

On Thursday, December 8, I let Gnarly go.

That afternoon, I called my sister to blubber out the news of Gnarly’s passing. After a long talk, Karen asked, “Are you going to take Deb up on her offer for a puppy?”

Not that she was suggesting that any dog could possibly replace Gnarly. However, we also had another German shepherd, Storm, a two year old female who had enjoyed Gnarly’s company. At this point, however, we were uncertain if she would be able to adjust to being an only dog.

“No,” I said, “we don’t really want to go through the puppy training stuff.” I went on to explain that we weren’t even going to actively look for another dog. My heart needed time to heal. “I’m leaving this in God’s hands. When the time is right, He’ll send the perfect dog my way.”

The next day, December 9, I called Deb to give her the sad news about Gnarly’s passing. Kindly, I declined her offer for a free puppy, explaining that we did not want to go through the puppy training.

“Well,” Deb said, “if you don’t want a puppy, maybe you’ll be interested in Gnarly’s nephew.”

Gnarly’s nephew!

On Thursday, December 8, the very same day that Gnarly had passed away—his nephew landed in an animal shelter.

Gnarly’s sister, Morgan, had been adopted by another dog breeder, Vicki. One of her puppies, Sterling had been adopted by a family who lived one state away. In the midst of a nasty divorce, neither parent wanted the responsibility of the German shepherd so the wife surrendered him to the county animal shelter. During check-in, the animal control officer discovered that Sterling had been microchipped, which was still registered to the breeder, and called Vicki to notify her that they had one of her dogs.

Luckily for Sterling, his adopted family never bothered changing the microchip registration. Otherwise, Vicki would have never discovered that Sterling was in jail. She has every one who adopts her puppies sign an agreement that they will not turn the dog into the pound or shelter. If the new owners can’t keep the dog, they are to return it to Vicki who will find the dog a new home.

Vicki had a cow! She called everyone from the humane society to the sheriff in an effort to get Gnarly’s nephew released into her custody. Unfortunately, fighting the doggie jail system is not that easy.

Luckily, one of Vicki’s calls was to fellow breeder Deb, who told me the news: Gnarly’s nephew was in jail!

Yes, I know I was emotional, but immediately I saw the love connection that God had in mind for us. I lost Gnarly—my best friend—on the same day that his nephew lost his family and his home—all right before Christmas. I had to save Sterling.

Vicki and I connected on Facebook. She hadn’t seen Sterling since he was a puppy, but she did send me pictures of Morgan, Gnarly’s sister, who looked just like her brother.

For eleven days, we battled the system for Sterling’s release.

Meanwhile, Gnarly’s nephew was locked up. I prayed that the family would pick him up and turn him over to Vicki, who accepted my offer to adopt him. Then, my husband pointed out that after all the fuss Vicki and I had been causing, Sterling’s family could pick him up and give him to someone else. Both Vicki and I changed our prayers to that Sterling would remain in the shelter until Day 11, at which point my son Tristan offered to bail him out for my Christmas present.

Suddenly, I was filled with the Christmas spirit. God had declined my prayer to save Gnarly, because He had a better plan. He was bringing Sterling who needed a family who wanted him, and me with my broken heart together.

Knowing that I would have my hands full with Gnarly’s jail bird nephew upon his release, I dug in to finish A Fine Year for Murder and get it off to the editor. I sent it out the night before I went to get Sterling out of jail.

On Day 11 of Sterling’s incarceration, I was at the animal shelter one hour before they opened. After all of my phone calls to them, they knew I was making the hour and a half drive to complete all the paperwork and pay Sterling’s bail for his release, so they let me in.

After completing the dozens of forms and paying all of the necessary fees, the animal control officer explained that Sterling would need to be transported to their vet to be neutered before I could pick him up the next day. “Do you have any questions?” she asked after we had wrapped up all the bureaucratic paperwork.

“Can I meet him?” I asked.

The animal control officer’s eyes got big. “You haven’t met him?”

That’s right. I was so set on adopting Gnarly’s nephew that I had just signed dozens of adoption forms and paid fees for the German shepherd sight unseen. Remember, Vicki had not seen Sterling since he was a puppy. Neither of us had any idea about his temperament.

All I knew about Sterling was that he was Gnarly’s nephew and he lost his family and home on the same day that I lost Gnarly. We were meant to save each other.

So, I waited in the reception area for them to bring out the jail bird who I had just agreed to take home to my family. Sure, there were a dozen things that could be wrong with him. Sterling could be a vicious dog who didn’t like people. Maybe he didn’t get along with other dogs, which would create chaos with Storm, our other German shepherd.

Whatever the case, I was prepared to do what I had to deal with it. We were now stuck with each other.

A few minutes later, I heard this loud, deep bark as the animal control officer was dragged into the reception area by Canine Inmate #227.

After eleven days of living in a cage, Sterling was bouncing off the walls, overturning water dishes, jumping all over anyone who came near him. This good-looking guy clawed his way toward me, and I knelt down to meet him eye to eye. As our eyes met, Sterling drop down onto the floor and laid his head in my lap—just like those last moments that I had with Gnarly.

The bond between us was instant.

Stroking his tall bronze ears, I burst into tears and hugged him. He licked my whole face.

Even the animal control officer got teary-eyed.

You couldn’t ask for a better Christmas present.

Since his release from jail, Sterling has fit into our family like a glove. Of course, it is impossible not to compare him to Gnarly, who had a lot of bad boy ways that endeared him to me—like opening doors, which my husband hated. Half the time, I call him Gnarly.

Yet, Sterling is his own dog. While Gnarly was extremely smart, Sterling is goofy. Within two months of adopting him, he ended up at the vet with a broken paw that he got while chasing a squirrel. The squirrels are still laughing at him.

He is extremely lovable. The last time I took him to the vet, the veterinary assistants and doctors made petting Sterling part of their rounds while waiting for the vet to do her examination. She wasn’t allowed to leave the examination room without giving him a belly rub.

Five years later, I still miss Gnarly, who holds a very special place in my heart, but Sterling has helped to heal it. He has taken on his role as my muse—which is why this goofy German shepherd has earned his spot as Chris’s furry sidekick in the Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries.

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Purchase Chris Crossed Murder online from a local bookstore.

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Easy Amazon Links

Amazon-OneLink for all countries

If the above link does not take you to your country, here are a few more:

Amazon – Canada

Amazon – France

Amazon – Germany

Amazon – United Kingdom

Please send me a note if your country isn’t listed and you would like to purchase using my links. Using my link does not change the price you pay. Amazon pays me a minimal amount out of their share. 

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Giveaway!

Come to the Geezer Squad (We Have Cookies!) as Chris Matheson figures out this latest cold case mystery! Enter to win $75 Paypal & Grandma Bellas Cookies! (ends Apr 7)

Please visit more stops on the tour for extra chances to win!

Official Tour Page for Chris Crossed Murder

Full Tour Schedule:

• Feb 22 – Locks Hooks and Books
• Feb 22 – Because I said so — and other adventures in Parenting
• Feb 27 – Bound 4 Escape
• Mar 1 – Cover Lover Book Review
• Mar 2 – Diane’s Book Journal
• Mar 3 –Bigreadersite
• Mar 6 – Rockin’ Book Reviews
• Mar 9 – Welcome To MLM Opinions Reviews
• Mar 9 – FUONLYKNEW
• Mar 10 – Splashes of Joy
• Mar 13 – Rockin’ Book Reviews
• Mar 14 – Library of Clean Reads
• Mar 15 –Novels Alive
• Mar 16 – Olio by Marilyn
• Mar 16 –  Leanne Bookstagram
• Mar 17 – Christa Reads and Writes
• Mar 17 – Older & Smarter?
• Mar 20 – Sandra’s Book Club
• Mar 21 – Paws.Read.Repeat 
• Mar 21 – fundinmental
• Mar 24 – Gina Rae Mitchell
• Mar 24 – Book Corner News and Reviews
• Mar 24 – Pause for Tales
• Mar 27 – My Reading Journeys
• Mar 29 – inspired.j.reads
• Mar 30 – My Reading Getaway
• Mar 31 – Adventurous Jessy
• Mar 31 – Just Another Reader 

Celebrating the Release of Chris Crossed Murder!

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Book Title: Chris Crossed Murder (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #4) by Lauren Carr
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +)
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Acorn Book Services
Release date: Feb 22, 2023
Tour dates: Feb 22 to Mar 31, 2023

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