Murder, Mayhem, & A Fine "Writer"

Claudia Mair Burney

There's good writing, and then there's, well... really good writing. When I read Claudia Mair Burney's debut novel, Murder Mayhem and a Fine Man, I thought, where did this woman come from and how did she learn to write like this?

Claudia Mair Burney did the dogone thing. Amanda Bell Brown is a sassy and clever heroine. Sizzling dialogue, authentic description, and ever mounting conflict make it top notch reading. I couldn't stop laughing at the humor, was moved by the underlying spiritual message and was simply delighted to find a really well written novel. Book two, Death, Deceit, and Smooth Jazz stares at me from my night table. If it weren't for previous writing commitments, like this blog, writer's workshops I have to prepare for, and promises made to the people I'm critiquing, I'd be in a hot bath with a tall glass of ginger ale, grinning and laughing about what Bell and Jazz get into next. For those of you that haven't read it, here's the synopsis:

For Amanda Bell Brown, just living her life is murder!
How's a woman supposed to grapple with faith, a fine man, and turning thirty-five when she keeps tripping in her high heels over mysteries -- and not just the God kind?

Amanda Bell Brown knows that life as a forensic psychologist isn't quite as cool as it looks on prime-time TV. But when she turns thirty-five with no husband or baby on the horizon, she decides she's gotta get out and paint the town -- in her drop-dead red birthday dress. Instead, she finds herself at the scene of a crime -- and she just may know who the killer is. She needs to spill her guts, but not on the handsome lead detective's alligator shoes -- especially if she wants him to ask her out. A complicated murder investigation unearths not just a killer but a closet full of skeletons Amanda thought were long gone. Murder, mayhem, and a fine man are wreaking havoc on her birthday, but will her sleuthing leave her alive to see past thirty-five?

View the book video here:

Hurry and get a copy. I promise, you won't be able to put it down!