Death at the Midnight Dragonfly-Great Escapes Tour-Review/Giveaway

About the book 

On the fourth day of Christmas,
In Mercy, Mississippi….

Four suspects lying,
Three sleuths a sleuthing
Two clues a hiding
And a very, very dead body.

It’s the Christmas season in Mercy, Mississippi. But things are far from jolly.

For Vlad Templeton the sleepy little town where he spent his childhood provides the perfect place to conduct his state funded sleep study. But when the local bank manager, who was participating in the study, is found dead on his doorstep, is it a set up…or is Vlad somehow involved?

But, when someone makes an attempt on Lily Gayle’s and Dixie’s life, the two realize they better move fast….or they might end up sleeping forever.

Character interview 

Hello Miss Edna!  Welcome to the blog.

Hello there, young lady. I'm mighty glad to be here. Thank you for the invitation.

Have you ever visited a blog before?

I'm not right sure what a blog is, but I say never be scared to try new things!

I am sure you have a bunch of stories to tell us.  How long have you lived in Mercy?

Why I was born right here in this house. Back in nineteen and thirty-two. A midwife delivered me. You know, now that I think on it, it was one of those Mitchell women. You know they had a midwife in every generation of that family. Tragic what happened to them. This town has all kinds of stories, not all of them nice....if you know what I mean.

Oh it does seem like such a quaint town.  I would love to visit.   What
is your favorite place in town?

My front porch! I can sit right here in my rocker and see most of what happens right from the comfort of my own home since I'm right on the town square. This house is one of the first built in Mercy. And if I get hungry or thirsty I always have food and drink in the house. You should come sit a spell some time.


I loved meeting Lily Gayle and all your other friends when all the drama happened and poor Lux was murdered.  Oh my goodness.  I am sure you all just were hoping for a little peace and quiet around town.

I feel just terrible about Luxen. I loved him all my life. And it turns out he loved me, too. Sad how people hurt the ones they love in the name of protecting them. I sure did hope after that happened that we'd get a little time to recover and to celebrate the holiday season. 

I love Christmas.  Do you?   I bet Christmas is your favorite holiday since you
make such a special Christmas punch.  Is it?Oh my! I've loved Christmas since I was a little child. Back then we'd go caroling around to all the houses and there was a great big tree on the courthouse lawn that got decorated so that everyone in town could enjoy it. We'd have little gifts tied to the branches too. If you wanted to surprise someone who maybe couldn't afford to exchange gifts, you could just tie your little package on the tree with their name attached and they'd get it. I can tell you that was one of my favorite traditions from my childhood. That old tree died years ago and no one planted another one, so we don't do that tradition anymore. 

Have you been making it a long time?  Have you ever spiked it for a little extra kick maybe for a New Years party?

Oh, Honey! I've been making that punch my whole life. My Daddy taught me the recipe when I was just a tiny girl. It has a special ingredient that used to be a lot easier to come by....even if the reveneuers didn't much like it. I reckon a young girl like yourself never heard of a reveneuer. That's what we called the government men back in the old days who came looking for home brew stills and busted them up. Some of the boys around here had a fine time tricking those old reveneuers. But nowadays, I get mine from an old friend whose name I won't mention. Even though the reveneuers are long gone, there's still consequences to making shine.


I heard about your little visit to the jail house.    I cannot imagine how
It must have felt.  Can you share your experience with us?

Ben Carter called me and asked me to come to his office and I thought I was going in there to answer some questions about things at the Christmas party. I was there for a lot of it and I saw some things that I thought he;d want to know about. And I let him know about the castor oil in Tom Hammond's punch as a joke, but Ben didn't thing it was funny. Imagine my surprise when he told me I was under arrest! Me! One of the most respected ladies in this town! I was struggling to my feet, since I'm not as spry as I used to be, when he pulled a black plastic bracelet out of his desk drawer and told me I would have to wear if I didn't want to sit in jail. I sure let him know there was no way he was putting that bracelet on me. My word is my bond and he would have to settle for that.

I just imagine that Ben Carter is probably on your ‘list’.  Are you still annoyed with his little high handed Sheriff acting?

 I have never in my life been treated with such disrespect! I just know his poor Mama is turning in her grave that a son of hers acted that way. I know he was raised better.


I am so sorry to bring up such a sordid mess and what with Ben acting all
Policeman like!

So what is all that craziness  with a sleep study going on up at the new B&B?

Sleep study. Hmph. I never heard of such. If people can't sleep they're not doing enough work. Simple. I don't think anybody needs all that medical equipment and money to figure out why someone's not sleeping. But I guess the government is ready to throw money at anything these days. And I hear this study is to see if not being able to sleep runs in families. Well, I can tell them that for free. And, there's something else going on up there with that sleep study. It seems legitimate, but I have a feeling there's something else. And my intuition tells me Lily Gayle knows what it is. I'll get it out of her, you can be sure of that.

Let’s chat for a minute about all that wonderful new food that Harley is
sharing and asking you to taste test.  What is your favorite treat she’s introduced to you?

I don't hold with all this fancy stuff she's coming up with. Good old fashioned home cooked food is what's best. But she's got her heart set on this new business and I aim to support her all the way. I'm an old lady and just don't like change. These young folks will enjoy the new food. The meatballs with peach bourbon glaze sandwich is not really my style, but Lily Gayle and Dixie sure did like it.  And the chocolate and peppermint muffins are nice and the girls loved them. But my favorite is that strawberry bread. Mighty tasty. 

I would love to sample some of her treats.   They all sound so good.

I would love to visit with you again but I think I should pop on over to
Mercy and sit with you on your porch and let you tell me everything
that is going on in town.

Maybe we can share a cup of punch!

You just stop on by any time. I'm always happy to chat with friends on my porch. I'll even let you borrow my bird watching binoculars. You can see lots of interesting things around the town square with them. Watching birds I mean, not people. I'd never do something like that. And I'd be happy to share some punch with you if you're in town around Christmas. That's the only time I make it. You come on by soon!


Thanks for visiting!

And then I thought

This is my 2nd chance to read a Lily Gayle. I enjoyed the first one I read so I was delighted to get the chance to read more. 
Although these books are part of a series they are stand alone. 
But you will enjoy reading them in order. 

The characters are all as charming as Miss Edna. I was delighted to get the chance to interview her.  
It was fun visiting her Lily Gayle and her other friends again.  
And seeing the Midnight Dragon Fly up and operating.  

I am looking forward to many more installments in the series.  

The author Susan Boles weaves a fun story/plot with some great characters that are just cozy making the reader feel like they are home. 

Lily Gayle is a delightful sleuth that tends to get into a bit of trouble while she's snooping.  Whether it's peeking into windows or finding opened doors she doesn't let anything stop her from finding the answers.  She does step on a few toes and she has to  act fast to find who dun it and save the day!  

If you love a good clean cozy mystery you won't be disappointed visiting Mercy Mississippi and Lily Gayle.   

I received a complimentary copy. 
This review will appear on the retail sites where available. 
This review will appear on Good Reads. 

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