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About the Book
Book: Such a Tease
Author: Chautona Havig
Genre: Christian Fiction/Historical/Mystery
Release Date: March 21, 2017
Madeline, with a little assistance, discovers her old adversary is gaining a following in Rockland! Can she expose him for the fraud she’s sure he is?
In book two of the Meddlin’ Madeline series, Madeline Brown has a new endeavor to occupy her time. But is it to keep her out of the way or a reward for her work in Sweet on You? With the help of her young friends, Madeline discovers her old adversary is gaining a following in Rockland! What’s a girl to do?
But her new position also gives her opportunities to observe, and what she sees sets more than one new investigation in motion. What does her old suitor, Delbert Jackson, know? Why is Mr. Merton giving important papers to that scoundrel, Vernon Smythe, and whatever happened to poor Abigail Cooper?
Add to these intriguing questions Henry Hardwick’s continued attentions, Edith’s newfound devotion to the temperance movement and Madeline’s determination to find her a more reliable suitor, and strange behavior from her Aunt Louisa and things heat up as summer fades from Rockland.
Her dear friend, Russell, busy with an important project at work, finds himself unable to help keep her out of trouble and away from danger. Is Madeline going too far? Will her meddling get her in serious trouble this time, will it destroy her reputation irreparably, or will she rid Rockland of a scoundrel once and for all?
My Thoughts
It was great to revisit Rockland in 1901 and see what Madeline was up to after the end of Sweet on You. I love how somewhat modern she is for her time, although she doesn’t seem to think there is anything unusual about her desire to work. I appreciate how the author dealt with how other people reacted to Madeline’s job, I found it very realistic of what people would have thought in 1901.
I really did like the characters in this book, especially Madeline and Russell. It was interesting to see Edith trying to move on after having her heart broken at the end of the first book. I also enjoyed Mr. Brown, I found him to be everything that a father ought to be and I loved how he appreciate Madeline’s modern ideas. I enjoyed seeing the relationship between Madeline and her Aunt Louise and just how different they are from each other and how that sometimes causes problems.
The mystery in this book was interesting, but it did not seem to draw me in as much as the first book’s plot did. I also felt like it dragged a little bit in some places, but I like how Madeline’s gift for sleuthing is being developed and I can’t wait to see what crime she has to solve in the next book.
Another thing that was hard to follow at times was the change in the points of view. But I also enjoyed how we got see the points of view of both the “good guys” and the “bad guy”, I felt like it added more depth to the characters throughout the novel.
Overall, I did like this book, but not as much as the first book. Therefore I am giving it 3.5/5 Stars because the plot was hard to follow at times, but I did enjoy the historical setting and revisiting these characters and I can’t wait to find out what happens to Meddlin’ Madeline next!
About the Author
Author of the Amazon bestselling Aggie, Past Forward, and HearthLand series, Chautona considers herself blessed to live in California’s Mojave Desert with her husband and five of her nine children. When not writing, which she admits isn’t often, Chautona enjoys blogging, paper crafts, sewing, smocking, photo editing, and old (read: before her parents’ time) music.
Guest Blog Post from Chautona
Leon Czolgosz is my new nemesis. He’s dead, but he ruined my book. No, really. The guy totally destroyed the opening pages of Such a Tease.
Now, these days, not a whole lot of people remember the name of Leon Cozolgosz. I didn’t. But I’ll never forget him now (although I may never remember how to spell his name).
Who is he? Only the guy who shot President McKinley. Why am I annoyed with him over a hundred years later? The idiot did this thing on September 6, 1901. You know, four days after this book opened? Yeah. Couldn’t he have done it on say… January 6, 1901? Even January 6, 1902 would have served my purposes.
Look, I’m not as callous as I appear. Truly. But if President McKinley had to die, did his murderer have to do it when it would completely mess up my book?
How did it mess up my book you ask?
I’ll tell you. I left it out—the whole assassination thing. There I was, fixing a wedding date for one of the characters, when a thought occurred to me. She could be married on Flag Day—if Flag Day was a thing then. I didn’t think it was. I really thought Wilson was responsible for that—you know, creating holidays in between his notes to Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany or something like that. But I hoped. Somehow—just maybe. I mean we had Labor Day from Cleveland, why not Flag Day from McKinley. But noooooo. He didn’t. What did he do?
He got shot. Four days after my book opened. And there wasn’t a single word about it in the story.
Like I could ever get away with that. This was news! Big news. And nothing about it in the life of a daughter of a politician? I think not.
Not only did this Leon Czolgosz (no, really. It’s spelled correctly) shoot the president on September 6th, but he didn’t do a good job of it! Look, I think I’ve established that I didn’t want President McKinley killed. But if the guy with the unpronounceable last name had to do it, couldn’t he have done a good job of it? Couldn’t he have shot the president in the head? McKinley suffered for eight days before he died. Eight days! They thought he was getting better and then gangrene killed him.
It would have been a mercy had Leon just shot McKinley in the head or the heart. Why the abdomen? Cruel, if you ask me, even for an anarchist.
And it made adding the whole affair to my book even more problematic. No, really! Think about it. I couldn’t have the newspapers announce the death of President McKinley on September 7th and then have a few mentions of the bank being affected or something. No… no… now I had to have a headline event, give false hope, and then add the death on top of it all.
Look, I do an obscene amount of research for my books. No, really. Keen was slang in 1901. Woohoo! Look up “peachy keen”? Yeah. Can’t use it. 1950s. The telephone? Can Madeline expect to use one in a burgeoning city in 1901? Considering there were over 850,000 telephones in use, yes. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to assume that a photographer who works for a local paper might have a telephone in order to receive calls requesting him to come photograph some big event—like the Mayor’s speech on the death of President McKinley, perchance?
Yep. Somehow, I almost missed one of the biggest events in US history. Research saved the book—and ruined my timeline. All at the same time. Gotta love history. Or not.
And Leon Czolgosz? Yeah. Thanks for nothing.
Blog Stops
Giveaway
To celebrate her tour, Chautona is giving away a Reader’s Teaser Package that includes:
A paperback copy of both Sweet on You and Such a Tease
A “Tea-for-One” teapot
A Tin of loose-leaf tea of your choice (six options available from our local tearoom)
A pound of assorted See’s chocolates
A set of six handmade antique-inspired note cards
A $25 Amazon Gift Card
And, for the teaser… the winner will also receive the exclusive short story (usually reserved for pre-orders) The Fate of Abigail Cooper!! Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries!
https://promosimple.com/ps/b2b8
Meanderings of a BookWorm 