CrimeReaders.com

Since there’s no way to top the bio on Larissa Reinhart‘s website, I’ll share a taste of it with you here. It starts like this:

Larissa considers herself lucky to have taught English in Japan, escaped a ferocious monkey in Thailand, studied archaeology in Egypt, and survived teaching high school history in the US. However, adopting her daughters from China has been her most rewarding experience. After moving around the Midwest, the South and Japan, she considers Peachtree City, Georgia, her home address.

Clearly, Larissa is an adventurer.  She’s also a fine writer. And did I mention she’s beautiful? Look at her there, smiling in her jeans and  denim jacket, looking like she should be on the cover of a magazine. It would be enough to make you hate her if she weren’t just so darn nice.

But nice she is, which means you just can’t help but be happy at her success.

She’s also a member of the Mysterious Eight, which means she’s a contributor to the sampler/anthology Eight Mystery Writers You Should Be Reading Now. Her section contains an interview and a sample chapter from Portrait of a Dead Guy, the first book in the Georgia-based Cherry Tucker series. The most recent in the series is A Composition in Murder.

Cherry is an amateur sleuth, an artist by trade. When the series began, she was unemployed, but now teaches art in a local retirement residence. As someone who dabbles in art, I’m always interested in books about artists, and while I generally prefer darker fare, I do occasionally like a good cozy–and Larissa does know how to write a good cozy. Quirky characters, a likable heroine, a small-town setting, and a number of ongoing subplots make this series a charming addition to the cozy genre. The nursing home setting adds a lot of sweet (and sassy) moments too.

Larissa is about to launch a brand new humorous mystery series. Also set in Georgia, this one takes place in the mountain and lake resort town of Black Pine. However, as Larissa says, “This Georgia Peach’s imported from Hollywood. She’s brought her Gucci’s but is leaving her past behind for a detective do-over.”

Here’s a blurb. Doesn’t it sound like fun?

“Child star and hilarious hot mess Maizie Albright trades Hollywood for the backwoods of Georgia and pure delight ensues. Maizie’s my new favorite escape from reality.” — Gretchen Archer, USA Today bestselling author of the Davis Way Crime Caper series

16 Millimeters, Maizie Albright Star Detective #2, launches June 20th. Look for the cover reveal on Dru’s book musing on May 7th.

Want to know more about Larissa? Check out this interview I did with her for The Big Thrill,the online magazine published by International Thriller Writers‘.

Or go to her website, http://larissareinhart.com/.