Spotlight & Giveaway: A Killer in the Crystal Palace by Deb Marlowe

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Deb Marlowe to HJ!

Hi Deb and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, A Killer in the Crystal Palace!

 
Hello all! Thank you for having me at HJ to discuss the first book in my new Kier and Levett Mystery Series! I love history, mystery and romance and this series features them all!
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

A Killer in the Crystal Palace is a Victorian Mystery with a sleuth duo–Miss Kara Levett and Mr. Niall Kier. It is set during the Great Exhibition of 1851 and both of the main characters are exhibitors. Kara creates dazzling case clocks and intricate automatons. Niall is a forge artist who uses brain and brawn to turn plain metal into intricate beauty. They find themselves caught up in a tangle when a man is murdered in the Crystal Palace–the great glass house built in Hyde Park to host the exhibition. Kara is accused of the murder and she and Niall find themselves taking on the work that Scotland Yard seems reluctant to do–finding the real killer!
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

Favorite line? I literally have hundreds of them! But here’s a section that I love:

There it was. A moment of connection that stretched out between them. And right then, her thinking shifted and she knew. There was more here than her unusual attraction to a large and masculine male. Perhaps he would turn out to be the one who could keep up with her. Perhaps he offered a challenge she hadn’t even known she longed for.

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

• The setting for this book is the Great Exhibition of 1851, the first world’s fair and the brain child of Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria. Countries from around the world showed off their greatest art, design and technologies. There were some incredible exhibits to be discovered there, and many people encountered things they had never seen nor heard of, including a hot chocolate machine, a weather predictor, an animatronic, talking head, carbonated bubble water for sale and the first six shooter revolver!
• You can find the recipe for the hand pies that Kara treats Niall to at her favorite shop on the Deb Marlowe’s Historical Kitchen section of my website at www.DebMarlowe.com I definitely craved hand pies when I was writing that scene and I had to give it a go! They are delicious!

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

Beyond his tall, strong Highlander blacksmith’s physique and his artist’s nature, Niall has one quality that Kara cannot resist. She is in a unique position. The daughter of a baron, she was not raised as a traditional Victorian female–the human version of a hot house flower. She’s been taught resilience and business and a great many things that would have been considered unfeminine in those times. She’s inherited a fortune and has connection to the peerage, but she’s different–and largely alone. Niall is the first man who not only accepts all the myriad sides of her–but he celebrates them.

Niall finds Kara’s beauty attractive, but he is fascinated by her differences. Not her money or knowledge, but her independence and her forthrightness. He’s never met a female who didn’t wield her attributes as a weapon and he’s beyond intrigued at the new sort of relationship he can have with Kara.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

It’s true, authors do grow fond of their characters and I admit, this section where she admits her feelings was a major point of growth for Kara and I did grow teary writing it:

As the frogs and night insects sang around them, Kara made a noise of her own and dropped her head to her knees.
“Kara?”
“I didn’t even ask.”
“For the layout of the park? We’ll figure it out.”
“No. I didn’t ask if you would come with me tonight. And yet, here you are by my side. Unhesitating.” She gripped his arm. “I want you to know how much it means to me.”
He made a disparaging noise.
“No,” she insisted. “I have to tell you. I’ve never had a . . . companion like you. We’ve only known each other a short time, and yet—”
“I know.” He placed his hand over hers. “It’s the same with me.”
She ducked her head. “Perhaps I’ve done this wrong. Perhaps we should have waited for Scotland Yard.” She shot him an agonized glance. “What if we cannot do this and I’ve put you at risk—”
“Don’t be absurd.” He stopped her. “The die is cast. We go on. Together.” He raised a brow at her. “Do you think there’s anything we couldn’t get done, between the two of us?”

Readers should read this book….

If they enjoy being transported to a vivid historical setting like the Great Exhibition, being swept up into a fast-moving mystery, and love to embrace strong female characters and the men who appreciate them.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

The second book in the Kier and Levett Mysteries is Death from the Druid’s Grove. It releases May 26. Right now I am working on the third book, Murder on the Mirrored Lake, due out in August. I’m having a blast with these two and can’t wait until you can all come along on their adventures!
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway: An autographed copy of A Killer in the Crystal Palace and a bit of swag for US only.

To enter Giveaway: Please complete the Rafflecopter form and Post a comment to this Q: The Great Exhibition was a huge success. Over six million visitors passed through the gates, from all over the world. It was avidly discussed and covered by newspapers the world over. Queen Victoria visited thirty-seven times! Have you ever attended a huge event like this? Or gone to an exhibit, theatre or concert over and over?

 
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Excerpt from A Killer in the Crystal Palace:

The coach moved into traffic and she allowed herself to relax. “Thank you for coming with me. I get so wrapped up in what I’m working on, sometimes I forget everything else. I feel like I’ve done the same with these investigations.”
“Balance,” he said. “You mentioned it, earlier.”
“Yes. We’ve been so caught up with chasing lies, theft, danger and death. I needed a bit of laughter and life.”
“And soul-stirring music,” he added.
“Yes.” The light was dim. She hoped he heard the grin in her voice. “I’m glad to know we are compatible in the light as well as the dark.” She also hoped he understood what she meant.
“Yes,” he rasped.
Silence stretched out again. She laid her head back and let it sway with the motion of the carriage.
“I’m afraid.” It was easier to say it into the darkness.
“That man won’t get anywhere near you, again.” It sounded like a vow.
“No. I’m afraid because Turner seems suddenly . . . frail. Tired. Older.”
“Oh. I’m sorry.”
She sat up. “I don’t know what I would do, if anything happened to him. He’s the one who usually reminds me to keep balanced, you know. He’s always been there. Since the night he found me in that attic, he’s been by my side. On my side.”
“He still is.”
“But he won’t always be. I’m beginning to see it, now. It frightens me more than the thought of that scarred murderer.”
He sighed. “I’ve made massive mistakes in some of my own relationships,” he confessed. “But I will share one thing I’ve learned. Treasure your friends while you have them. You are a good friend. Those pies will warm Turner’s heart as well as his belly, because you thought to send them. Just, remain that friend. Keep him close, for as long as you have him.”
“Yes. I will.” It was her own vow.
“And one thing more. Don’t forget balance in that area of your life, as well. Keep your ties strong with the other people who are important to you, too. Don’t forget the rest because you feel you must concentrate on one. Let them help. Let them know how you value them. They’ll be there for you if something does happen.”
She sighed and leaned back again. “You are a wise man, Mr. Niall Kier.”
“And you are a surprising woman, Miss Kara Levett.”
She liked the sound of that. She let it echo in her brain and she might have dozed a bit as the carriage rocked on its way. She sat up suddenly, though, struck by a thought. “Will Mr. Hywel be able to provide a nice picnic basket, if I request it?”
“If you request it, I rather think he’d contrive a picnic with the Queen.”
She was caught, for a moment, by the possibilities his statement dredged up, but she eventually brushed them off. “Nothing so difficult is required. But I think I shall take your advice. I will leave the Exhibition a bit early tomorrow and invite my cousin to picnic with me in the park.”
“And his betrothed?”
She sighed. “Yes, her too.” She tilted her head. “You see how you are reforming me?”
He scoffed.
“No. I am serious. I’ve been too long alone and unopposed. It might be uncomfortable to have my faults illuminated but you do it so gently I cannot complain.”
“I don’t recall doing any such thing,” he objected.
“Perhaps you merely lead by shining example,” she suggested with a grin.
This time he audibly snorted.
“Well, perhaps it is just that I have needed someone to challenge me. In any case, I believe I shall invite Turner, as well. That should rile Miss Bailey. But perhaps she needs to be challenged as well. In any case she must learn how things stand.”
“Turner will likely insist on serving, won’t he?”
“Yes, but I will insist that he also sit with us to eat.” She rolled her head toward him. “Should you care to join us?”
“I should like nothing better.”
“Good.” She smiled into the dark. “Good.”

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

London, 1851, and the Great Exhibition is on. A soaring success despite months of dour predictions, it is the event of the year, on front pages and wagging tongues the world over—and Miss Kara Levett is thrilled to be in the middle of it. The daughter of a baron and an exhibitor herself, she happily demonstrates her elaborate automatons and case clocks to the crowds.

But her situation grows perilous when a man is murdered in the Crystal Palace and she becomes the prime suspect. With the unexpected aid of Mr. Niall Kier, a reserved Scottish blacksmith, artist and fellow exhibitioner with secrets of his own, Kara begins the work the Metropolitan Police show no inclination for—finding the true killer.

Together, Niall and Kara dig up international espionage schemes and sordid family secrets, and chase clues from Victorian high society to the London slums, all while trying to stay ahead of the villains who seek to make her the next victim.
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Meet the Author:

USA Today Bestselling author Deb Marlowe grew up with her nose in a book. Luckily, she’d read enough romances to recognize the hero she met at a college Halloween party – even though he wore a tuxedo t-shirt instead of breeches and boots. They married, settled in North Carolina and raised two handsome, funny and genuinely intelligent boys.

The author of many historical romances, Deb is a Golden Heart Winner, a Rita Finalist and her books have won or been a finalist in the Golden Quill, the Holt Medallion, the Maggie, the Write Touch Reader Awards and the Daphne du Maurier Award.

A proud geek, history buff and story addict, she loves to talk with readers! Find her discussing books, period dramas and her infamous Men in Boots on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Watch her making historical recipes in her modern kitchen at Deb Marlowe’s Regency Kitchen, a set of completely amateur videos on her website. While there, find out Behind the Book details and interesting Historical Tidbits and enter her monthly contest at [email protected]