Publishers Weekly
05/06/2019
This bright and breezy series launch from Gerard (the Black Cat Bookshop mysteries, as Ali Brandon) introduces Nina (pronounced Nine-ah) Fleet, a divorcée who moves from Atlanta to Cymbeline, Ga., where she impulsively buys a historic Queen Anne house. Soon afterward, Harry Westcott, an aspiring actor and current mascot for an ice cream company, arrives at her door dressed as a penguin, claiming that the executor of his great-aunt’s will wasn’t authorized to sell Nina the house. After he leaves, Cymbeline’s mayor arrives with the Sisters of Perpetual Poverty. Developer Gregory Bainbridge, the most hated man in town, has evicted the nuns from their convent. The mayor offers to fast-track permission for Nina to turn her house into a B&B if she agrees to immediately take in the nuns. When Bainbridge turns up dead wearing a penguin costume, things get complicated. Gerard provides it all: well-drawn characters, pithy dialogue, and enough twists and turns and shifts of motive to keep cozy fans happily playing the whodunit game. Agent: Josh Getzler, HSG Agency. (July)
From the Publisher
Praise for Peach Clobbered:
“Gerard has honed her craft, and it shows. Protagonist Nina Fleet is confident, sassy, and someone you’d want as a best friend, especially if Mattie her dog is with her...A 5-star read. Excellent characters, great fun, brisk plot, and a new cozy, cozy-setting. Dig in and enjoy. Just don’t forget to breathe.”
—Carolyn Haines, USA Today bestselling author of the Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries
“Filled with Southern charm and enough ditzy characters to keep readers guessing and laughing.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Bright and breezy...Gerard provides it all: well-drawn characters, pithy dialogue, and enough twists and turns and shifts of motive to keep cozy fans happily playing the whodunit game.”
—Publishers Weekly
"Humor, an engaging cast, interesting details about running a B&B, and the nicely evoked small-town Georgia setting distinguish this cozy."
—Booklist
"Entertaining and downright fun...Definitely another series that is sure to grab fans!"
—Suspense Magazine
"Nina is a spirited lead, and the town is full of supporting characters that add to the mosaic of Cymbeline...A perfect armchair vacation of a book."
—BookPage
“An engaging read with vibrant characters. Anna Gerard’s Peach Clobbered is chock full of fun, including eccentric Southerners defending hearth and home, a stalker, an unusual relic, an overheated penguin, and a gaggle of nuns. While trying to hang onto her new B&B, Nina Fleet (that’s Nine-ah to those who haven’t met her yet) investigates the death of an unpopular real estate developer. Gutsy and determined, Nina and her beloved Aussie pooch Maddy charm both friend and foe. I’d love to stay at Nina’s B&B and enjoy her hospitality. I didn’t want the book to end.”
—Maggie Toussaint, award-winning author
“Gerard paints a stunning portrait of small-town Georgia, replete with a colorful cast of characters. She lays the groundwork for what is sure to be a blockbuster series.”
—Karla Brandenburg, award-winning author
“Anna Gerard writes with a skillful touch...A whip-smart protagonist...A cozy blanket of murderous fun. A cracking-good, page-turning start to a brilliant new series!”
—Cheryl Hollon, author of Webb’s Glass Shop mysteries
NOVEMBER 2019 - AudioFile
Narrator Jane Oppenheimer captures Nina’s alarm when a man in a penguin suit shows up at her door insisting that the house she just bought to serve as a B&B really belongs to him. That’s what his late aunt promised, Harry claims. Shortly afterwards, Nina finds a man in a penguin costume, stabbed and dying—but it’s not her would-be evictor. Instead it’s the most hated man in town dressed in Harry’s penguin costume. Oppenheimer takes listeners through the gamut of emotions as Nina deals with the mystery of the stabbed man, Harry’s claim to her home, and the delightful group of tech-savvy nuns who move into the B&B after they’re evicted from their convent. Though the story contains unrealistic premises, this audiobook will still give listeners plenty of pleasure. V.M.G. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
NOVEMBER 2019 - AudioFile
Narrator Jane Oppenheimer captures Nina’s alarm when a man in a penguin suit shows up at her door insisting that the house she just bought to serve as a B&B really belongs to him. That’s what his late aunt promised, Harry claims. Shortly afterwards, Nina finds a man in a penguin costume, stabbed and dying—but it’s not her would-be evictor. Instead it’s the most hated man in town dressed in Harry’s penguin costume. Oppenheimer takes listeners through the gamut of emotions as Nina deals with the mystery of the stabbed man, Harry’s claim to her home, and the delightful group of tech-savvy nuns who move into the B&B after they’re evicted from their convent. Though the story contains unrealistic premises, this audiobook will still give listeners plenty of pleasure. V.M.G. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2019-04-14
A divorce and a life change turn out much weirder than a new B&B owner could ever have imagined in this series kickoff from the prolific Gerard (Fool's Moon, 2018, etc.).
Using her settlement from her golf pro ex-husband, Nina Fleet buys a lovely Queen Anne house in Cymbeline, Georgia, where she lives with her Australian shepherd, Mattie, who protects her from the likes of Harry Westcott, who claims his great-aunt was planning on leaving the place to him. Arriving at Nina's house wearing a penguin suit on a 90-degree day, he passes out on her porch. It turns out that he's the mascot of the Taste-Tee-Freeze Creamery, a hunky if annoying guy who claims to be an actor. Although he appreciates Nina's hospitality, Harry still plans to see her in court. Meanwhile, Mayor Melissa Jane Green, who'd refused to grant Nina a zoning change to start a B&B, asks if she can open the business the very next day to accommodate some nuns kicked out of their convent by developer Gregory Bainbridge. After hustling to prepare the rooms, Nina joins the nuns' protest against Bainbridge the following day. During their lunch break, a tourist begs Nina to help another man dressed as a penguin who's been stabbed in a nearby alley. Once the paramedics cut the suit off, they realize the victim is Gregory Bainbridge. So was the killer after Harry, who claims he's being stalked by a crazy fan, or Gregory, who's crossed many of the town's citizens? Even though she's a newcomer, Nina manages to pick up plenty of gossip and assistance when she decides to do a little sleuthing. Harry needs a place to stay in town and strikes a deal with Nina to move into a tower room she didn't know existed, and the delightful nuns have a lot of insight to offer even though they're all suspects.
Filled with Southern charm and enough ditzy characters to keep readers guessing and laughing.
