Cassidy's Deadly Exit by Marla J. Hayes

Episode 74 of the GSMC Book Review Podcast features an interview with Marla J. Hayes, author of Cassidy's Deadly Exit, which is book 6 in the Tawnee Mountain Mysteries collection. Tawnee Mountain Mysteries is a set of 7 mysteries by 7 different authors, all taking place at the final destination of the Tawnee Mountain Resort.

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Broadway actress Cassidy Quinn finally wins a long coveted Tony award, but the words in her acceptance speech stir up a new problem - a previously low-key fan ramps up online rhetoric to the point where her usual security categorizes this unidentified person as an avidly persistent stalker.

Cassidy takes control of her career and her safety, while doing her best not to disappoint her most devoted fans - she travels to the Tawnee Mountain Resort to attend her first fan convention, a small gathering of her super fans. After all, what could happen to her when she's surrounded by devoted admirers, trusted employees, and the security precautions of a resort that has hosted large scale political gatherings without a single reported incident?

When events at the gathering turn deadly, Cassidy must figure out who among her fans and her staff wants to kill her, and her career.

Cassidy's Deadly Exit is a part of the Tawnee Mountain Mysteries series, a collection of seven brand new mysteries, from seven award-winning and bestselling authors, taking place at the same final destination, the Tawnee Mountain Resort. (Source)

As I said, this book is listed as the 6th in the series, but they are all stand-alone novels and can be read in any order. I read this one first and had no trouble. The Tawnee Mountain Resort appears in several books by Karen M. Bryson, and she is the one who put the collection together. She also gave the authors what they called the bible, a resource that contains descriptions of the resort and the fictional Old Town, along with already established characters in both places. The authors could create their own characters and stories, but anything that pertained to either the resort or the town needed to be added to the bible so it could be shared with the other authors. I have to confess I'm fascinated by this process, and think it's a really fun and interesting way to write a collection of mysteries. 

Cassidy's Deadly Exit is a part of this collection but it is also the first in a series of mysteries featuring Cassidy and her assistant Kevin. I liked them both as characters, but since this is a novella I felt like there was a lot more of their stories that I wanted to know, so I was glad to learn that more stories would be forthcoming. Cassidy is feisty, opinionated, and stubborn but with an underlying kindness that she tends to hide under her more brash characteristics. I liked her for a lot of reasons but I especially liked that she is a 40-something (she's an actress so she doesn't admit to the actual number) woman, an age that tends to be underrepresented in books, movies, and television, at least in terms of main characters.

Genres:

• Mystery
• Suspense
• Anthology

What I enjoyed:

• Cassidy's character and her representing a demographic that often gets overlooked in terms of heroines.
• The quirkiness of some of the secondary characters, a few of whom reminded me of people from my own (very small) hometown.

Quotes:

• "Her legs shook as she reached out for the nearest bench. She put her head between her knees. She refused to let her fear make her throw up. When she sat up, everything went dark.
  A black bag covered her head."
• "Like teenagers relaxing to gossip after a good party, Cassidy and Kevin sat in the middle of the couch in front of a roaring fire. They each wore pajamas and the white robes the resort provided. Instead of hot chocolate, they drank chocolate martinis. Instead of popcorn, they ate escargots and shrimp. The scent of garlic wafted through the suite."

Where you can find Marla online:

Facebook: Marla J. Hayes, Screenwriter

Twitter: @MarlaHayes

IMDb: Marla J. Hayes

Amazon Author Page: Marla J. Hayes

GoodReads: Marla J. Hayes

Author Bio:

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Marla J. Hayes, a produced screenwriter and occasional actress, graduated with a Master Screenwriter Certificate from ScreenwritingU in October 2017 -- check out her film Biz credentials on imdb.com. Now add novelist to her screenplay stories!

Her articles (and photographs) have been published in American and Canadian magazines and newspapers. She was a featured columnist in COLLECTIBLES CANADA magazine for over 10 years. Short fiction pieces have appeared in Canadian elementary school reading program textbooks and public school libraries continue to carry her picture book, HOW A CAROUSEL CAME TO NORTH BAY, published by Scholastic Canada.

Marla lives in northeastern Ontario, Canada. (Source)

If you're intrigued by the Tawnee Mountain Mysteries and Cassidy's Deadly Exit then today is your lucky today as I have 3 copies from Marla to give away! All you have to do is go to either our Facebook or Twitter pages and share the episode with Marla's interview, or go to Instagram and comment on that post. Simple as that: just comment on, share, or retweet Episode 74 and you'll automatically be entered to win Cassidy's Deadly Exit! 

To hear the interview with Marla, please click here.