Corpse and Robbers

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Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, move over! We have Cam Reddick the owner of Peachy Kleen on the job and of all places, he’s cleaning a funeral home. Wonder if he’ll find any dead bodies? More about the book below and a fantastic giveaway of 10 paperback copies. 

About Corpse and Robbers

Corpse and Robbers: A Male Housekeeper Mystery

Cozy Mystery

2nd in Series

Setting – A small town in Michigan

Cozy Cat Press (April 16, 2022)

Paul Bearer & Sons has two memorial services on the schedule, but three dead bodies. When Rusted Bonnet’s funeral home becomes the site of a murder, Cam Reddick finds himself as a prime suspect. To distance himself from the allegations, Cam must untangle a host of clever cons and mini mysteries, from corpse robbing to a fine art scam to a modern-day treasure hunt. Cam soon discovers that Paul Bearer’s more closely resembles a con artists’ colony than a funeral home. With help from his ex-wife and mother, Cam ultimately unearths the most devious and deadly ploy of all.

Corpse and Robbers in the second installment of Stephen Kaminski’s Male Housekeeper Mystery series.

Excerpt: Corpse and Robbers
Sandpaper skin and puckered dimples soured Ronald Tremblay’s square jawline. Valerie and Cam found him tucking into a plate of peeled shrimp.“I didn’t see those, Ronnie,” Valerie remarked by way of introduction.

Ronald wiped cocktail sauce from his upper lip with a napkin. “They’re in the back, near the quartet.”

“I may have to try one,” she said. “Ronnie, this is Cam Reddick from Michigan. He knows Kamila Galax and her husband.”

Cam reached out a hand and Ronnie shook it with a rough grip. “How are the old whipsaws?”

“Very good,” Cam said. “They’re neighbors of mine.” He didn’t dare tell Ronnie that he ran a housekeeping business, afraid of the reaction that might engender from the board chair.

“Good folks,” Ronnie said. “I hated to see them go. Gannon was a professor in my department at the U.”

“Visual arts, right?”

“Yes, sir. The man had one heck of a keen eye.”

“Was he interested in paintings?” Cam asked.
.

Valerie, who had been ogling Ronnie’s plate of shrimp, touched Cam on the forearm and excused herself.

“Paintings?” Ronnie repeated and set his plate on the tray of a passing waiter. “Sure. He taught photography, but he never met a medium he didn’t like. Oils, clay, Gouache, you name it. Why do you ask?”

“I have a couple of originals by French painters,” Cam fibbed. “They caught Gannon’s attention.”

“I have no doubt. I imagine Kamila would’ve been captivated, too, if they’re any good. She was on the board here.”

“I know. She’s the one who told me about the function tonight,” Cam lied.

“So, she does get the flyers we send!” He coughed then slammed a fist against his chest. “Mind if I get a drink?”

“I’ll join you,” Cam said, not wanting to lose him. He took a step toward the bar.

“No need to go anywhere,” Ronnie said. He made eye contact with a model-thin woman standing near the front door of the gallery. She walked confidently toward the pair, her deep-set, raccoon eyes boring into Cam’s. When she reached them, Ronnie whispered something into her ear and she swiveled and strode to the back of room and through a closed door.

“I hope you like bourbon,” Ronnie said. “That’s one perk of being the chair here—I don’t wait in line for a drink. So, who do you have?”

Cam creased his eyebrows. “Who do I have?” he repeated.

“Which French painters?” Ronnie asked more sharply.

Before Cam could respond, the toothpick-framed woman returned and silently handed Ronnie and Cam tumblers filled to the brim. A bouquet of vanilla and toasted caramel assaulted his nostrils.

Ronnie lowered the lids on his washed-out eyes and breathed in heavily. “I never tire of this smell.” He knocked back half of his drink in a single swallow and peered at Cam.

Cam took a small sip. Bourbon flames licked the back of his throat. “Very nice,” he managed weakly.

“A man’s drink for sure.”

Cam nodded his head, then managed to squeak out, “Denys Rouland.”

“Your originals are Roulands?” Ronnie cast a less-than-surreptitious glance at Cam’s cheap duds.

“Yes,” Cam answered with more bravado than he felt. “Do you have any here?” He pictured the chair answering: ‘Not anymore; we had three go missing.’

Instead, he said, “Unfortunately not.” Ronnie polished off his drink. “As far as I know, Captain Sickleson and his wife have the only Roulands in Windsor.”

You can find Corpse and Robbers at Amazon 

My Review

This is the first book I’ve read by Stephen Kaminski and even though it was the second in the series, I had no trouble getting into the story. This is a pure who-dunnit with plenty of red herrings and con men. I liked the character of Cam Reddick and all of the worlds he’s balancing while solving crimes. This mystery was light and easy to read and very entertaining. I’ve always been fascinated by funeral home storylines and the family who runs Paul Bearer Funeral Home is a pretty fascinating group. This is a good one.

Kaminski also pens the Damon Lassard Dabbling Detective Mysteries. He is the recipient of the Murder & Mayhem Award for Best Classic Cozy, multiple Reader Views Literary Awards, and was a Chanticleer Media CLUE Award finalist.

About Stephen Kaminski

Stephen Kaminski is the author of two cozy mystery series: The Male Housekeeper Mysteries and the Damon Lassard Dabbling Detective series, both published by Cozy Cat Press.

“Corpse & Robbers” (2022) is the latest of Kaminski’s Male Housekeeper Mysteries. The first installment of the series, “An Au Pair to Remember,” was penned in 2019.

Each of Kaminski’s Damon Lassard books — “It Takes Two to Strangle” (2012), “Don’t Cry Over Killed Milk” (2013), and “Murder, She Floats” (2014) — was awarded the Reader Views Literary Award for the Mid-Atlantic Region, and Don’t Cry Over Killed Milk was named Best Classic Cozy in the 2014 Murder & Mayhem Awards and was a 2013 Chanticleer Media CLUE Award Finalist.

Stephen is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and Harvard Law School and currently serves as the chief executive officer of a national energy association. He lives with his 120 lb Swissie, Siberian forest cat, rescue kitty, and a gaggle of occasionally tolerable but always loveable humans in Bethesda, MD.

You can find Corpse and Robbers at Amazon 

2 thoughts on “Corpse and Robbers

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  2. Pingback: Corpse and Robbers: A Male Housekeeper Mystery by Stephen Kaminski #Review / #Giveaway - Great Escapes Book Tour - Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book

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