ALL THINGS UNDYING by Marcia Talley (Severn House)

Lucky for me, I got ahold of an early copy of Marcia's terrific new Hannah Ives mystery. I like Hannah nearly as much as I like Marcia, so I'm always glad to give a shout out to the two of them. This morning this letter from Marcia landed in my mailbox. I thought you'd enjoy reading it before you read All Things Undying.

Fall greetings from Annapolis, Maryland!
I’m delighted to announce that the ninth Hannah Ives mystery, All Things Undying, has just been released in the U.S. At the same time, you can buy the previous book in the series, Without a Grave, in trade paper format.

Way back in 1998 when I wrote the first novel in the series, I consciously made Hannah's husband, Paul, a math professor at the U.S. Naval Academy because I knew the Academy had a faculty exchange program with Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth, England. I'd have to do research in England, right? Alas, by the time I got around to writing the book that became All Things Undying, the exchange program between the two schools had been discontinued. I'm not easily discouraged, however, so I sent Hannah and Paul back to Dartmouth to visit friends they'd made during an earlier visit.

But, Hannah’s holiday on “the English Riviera” turns topsy-turvy when a stranger stops her on the street to deliver a message from her long-dead mother. Stunned and curious, Hannah’s inquiries lead to a budding friendship with Susan Parker, a popular television medium whose accurate predictions leave fans and critics alike puzzled and intrigued. In spite of her skepticism, Hannah schedules a private reading. But on the morning they are to meet, Susan is struck by a hit-and-run driver.

Hannah’s passion to right a wrong soon draws her beneath the surface of the seemingly idyllic community where more than one person has a reason to want Susan dead. Or, does the answer lie in the past, in the final, desperate days of World War Two? Has a disaster that was covered up for decades claimed yet another victim? Did a message from beyond the grave lead Susan Parker to a cold-hearted killer?

"Told in the first person by the likable Hannah, the novel combines present and past effectively, with vivid details of wartime in the English countryside woven throughout the engaging story.” – Booklist.

“Hannah is so endearing that even readers who scoff at second sight will be touched.” – Kirkus.



Click here to visit my website for details!
To launch All Things Undying, I will have several book-signing events. For my hometown friends, please mark your calendars for the Annapolis launch party at 7:00 pm on Thurs., October 7 at the Barnes and Noble in Annapolis Harbour Center. On Friday, October 22, at 7:30 pm, I'll be doing a reading/signing at The Annapolis Bookstore on Maryland Avenue. Be there or be square!

Later in the month, I'll be attending Bouchercon, the world mystery conference, in San Francisco.

If you can’t make a signing, autographed copies can be ordered from a fine Independent Bookstore near you, like my good friends at Mystery Loves Company, Mystery Lovers Bookshop, or The Poisoned Pen. You can also order copies from Barnes & Noble or from You Know Who. All Things Undying, is a first-edition hardcover, so you'll be doing a kind deed for me—and a lot of other people—if you request that your local library order a copy for their mystery collections.

For more information and a complete schedule of events, please visit my website, or drop by my blog, which I update from time to time with news, ruminations and photographs.

And since some of you have asked, allow me to mention that my next Hannah Ives mystery finds Hannah back in her home territory—Annapolis, MD -- with all the usual suspects. In the meantime, to help ease you into a British frame of mind, why not stir up a batch of

Janet's Scones
"Horn Hill House" Dartmouth, Devon

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, frozen
1/2 cup raisins, currents or dried fruit bits
1/2 cup sour cream
1 large egg

Combine dry ingredients. Grate butter into flour mixture on large holes of a box grater, using your fingers to work it in ‘til mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in raisins. In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and egg until smooth. Using your hands, knead sour cream mixture into flour mixture, pressing dough against the bowl until it forms a ball. Turn out on lightly floured board. Pat into a 7- to 8-inch circle about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. of sugar. Cut into 8 rounds or triangles. Place on a cookie sheet about 1 inch apart. Bake 400˚F ‘til golden, about 15 to 17 minutes. While still warm, split, slather with Devonshire clotted cream and top with strawberry jam.

Enjoy while reading All Things Undying, and know how grateful Hannah and I are for your support.

Fair winds and following seas,
Marcia