Fool Me Once (Tarot Mystery Series #2)

by Steve Hockensmith, Lisa Falco

Overview

From bestselling author Steve Hockensmith and tarot expert Lisa Falco comes a new mystery that isn't fooling around

Since taking over the White Magic Five and Dime, Alanis McLachlan has been tracking down old customers and making amends for her mother's con jobs. So when Marsha—one of the shop's most loyal clients—comes looking for a way out of her abusive marriage, Alanis does everything she can to help.

But lending a hand leads to unforeseen consequences, including the murder of Marsha's husband. Now Alanis has to use her wiles to undo a mess of her own making. Her growing mastery of the tarot might help her find the truth...if the killer doesn't get to her first.

Praise:

"Winning."—Publishers Weekly

"Delightfully quirky."—Kirkus Reviews

"Smart, humorous and refreshingly offbeat."—Shelf Awareness

"Savvy plotting, sharp writing, and a believable use of fortune-telling to frame the stories."—Booklist

"Readers who adore the women detectives of Dorothy Cannell and Maggie King will be pleased by this quirky series."—Library Journal

"A funny book in which the reader also learns something is a rare treasure indeed."—Mystery Scene

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781410484246
Publisher:	Gale Group
Publication date:	01/27/2016
Series:	Tarot Mystery Series , #2
Edition description:	Large Print
Pages:	427
Product dimensions:	5.60(w) x 8.60(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Steve Hockensmith (California) is the author of the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies novels Dawn of the Dreadfuls (Quirk Classics, 2010) and Dreadfully Ever After (Quirk Classics, 2011). His book Holmes on the Range (Minotaur Books, 2007) was a finalist for the Edgar, Shamus, and Anthony Awards for Best First Novel. 

Lisa Falco (Los Angeles) received her first tarot deck at the age of eight years old. She holds degrees from both Northwestern University and Cal State University Northridge, and is the author of A Mother’s Promise (Illumination Arts, 2004). 

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Editorial Reviews

"Winning."—Publishers Weekly

"Delightfully quirky."—Kirkus Reviews

"Smart, humorous and refreshingly offbeat."—Shelf Awareness

"Savvy plotting, sharp writing, and a believable use of fortune-telling to frame the stories."—Booklist

"Readers who adore the women detectives of Dorothy Cannell and Maggie King will be pleased by this quirky series."—Library Journal

"A funny book in which the reader also learns something is a rare treasure indeed."—Mystery Scene

From the Publisher

06/01/2015
After inheriting her late mother's tarot reading shop in tiny Berdache, AZ (The White Magic Five and Dime), Alanis McLachlan wants to help anyone who had been flimflammed by her con-artist parent. Yet it turns out she has a gift; the cards are definitely a gateway to…something. Meanwhile, a reading for Marsha Biggs, who might be ready to file for divorce from her abusive husband, Bill, backfires when Marsha disappears and Bill is found dead. VERDICT This amiable sophomore effort in Hockensmith's cozy series is filled with the lore of tarot (provided by expert Falco). The protagonists—Alanis and her half sister Clarice; Clarice's girlfriend, CeeCee; and Eugene, their lawyer—create a curious crime-fighting team. Readers who adore the women detectives of Dorothy Cannell and Maggie King will be pleased by this quirky series.

Library Journal

2015-07-01
A wisecracking magic-shop owner turns sleuth to exonerate a friend from a murder rap. Sassy first-person narrator Alanis McLachlan, who has recently inherited the White Magic Five and Dime from her mother, unfolds the story of Marsha Riggs, who's such a regular client of the shop that her angry husband, Bill, has to physically drag her out of the place in the middle of one of her frequent tarot readings. Turns out that Marsha has a restraining order against her husband, and right after they leave, Alanis calls the police. It's only a hop-skip for Alanis to drive by the Riggs house and then check on Marsha at the motel she currently calls home. Everything changes when an early phone call from crusty Detective Burby of the local police department informs Alanis that Bill Riggs is dead. Naturally, she feels a duty to investigate. She finds many clues at the Riggs home and, maybe more important, finds that she loves being a sleuth. Even if the mystery is fairly standard, Alanis' sophomore adventure (The White Magic Five and Dime, 2014) is delightfully quirky. As a bonus, several informative tarot readings are embedded in the narrative, and each chapter begins with a pertinent card and quotation.

Kirkus Reviews