Wednesday, May 06, 2015

What is Elizabeth J. Duncan reading?

Featured at Writers Read: Elizabeth J. Duncan, author of Slated for Death: A Penny Brannigan Mystery.

Her entry begins:
You've caught me reading two non-fiction books.

Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. That's the time and place the opening sequence of Breakfast at Tiffany's was filmed (on October 2, 1960, to be exact). You'll remember it. A yellow cab approaches on an empty street and stops. A beautiful woman gets out, holding a cup of coffee and a pastry which she eats while looking in the window of a jewellery store ... all to the strains of Henry Mancini's "Moon River."

The full title of the book is Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's and the Dawn of the Modern Woman. This stylish little book by Sam Wasson examines how the film helped drive the cultural transition from the straight-laced 1950s into the liberal 1960s. It also provides a cool, behind the scenes look at how the producers got Audrey Hepburn to play the role of Holly Golightly, how her character was changed from the way Truman Capote wrote her, how then mid-list director Blake Edwards came to direct it, how Mickey Rooney...[read on]
About Slated for Death, from the publisher:
When the body of well-liked and respectable Glenda Roberts is discovered at the bottom of a former slate mine, now a busy tourist attraction, pandemonium erupts in the North Wales town of Llanelen. Penny Brannigan finds herself drawn into the investigation when jars of her house-brand hand cream are found among counterfeit inventory Glenda and her sister were selling.

Police are convinced that the mine operator whose asthmatic son suffered an almost-fatal attack due to the merchandise is responsible for Glenda's death. But Penny's not so sure. A visit to Glenda's mother only deepens her conviction that a hidden family secret is the real reason for the murder.

Elizabeth J. Duncan's Slated for Death is a wonderful traditional mystery with snappy dialogue, lively characters and an enchanting setting.
Visit Elizabeth J. Duncan's website and blog.

Coffee with a Canine: Elizabeth J. Duncan and Dolly.

The Page 69 Test: The Cold Light of Mourning.

The Page 69 Test: A Brush with Death.

The Page 69 Test: Never Laugh As a Hearse Goes By.

Writers Read: Elizabeth J. Duncan.

--Marshal Zeringue