"Does The Italy Affair refer to international intrigue or romantic entanglement? For Maggie, it may be both.
Four years after her adventures with The War Council, UC Berkeley Professor Maggie McGrew’s professional life couldn’t be better. In addition to teaching communication studies, Maggie has added consulting gigs with Silicon Valley tech companies and a successful book to her resume.
Her personal life is another story. Feeling a bit at loose ends, Maggie accepts her friend (and former War Council comrade) Monique’s invitation to join her as one of the university representatives on an alumni association tour of the “Art Towns of Northern Italy.” There, she discovers a region filled with beautiful art, amazing food, a variety of dogs, and an abundance of Aperol spritzes—not to mention a mysterious painting hidden in a corner of a botanical garden and maybe, just maybe, love.
The Italy Affair is the second book in the University Chronicles series. Like The War Council, it offers a humorous look at life and love, this time amid all the romance of a trip to Italy."
"The last thing Samantha Powers expected to do on her first official trip as a travel writer was help solve a murder.
Samantha (“Sam”) Powers, a 34-year-old investigative reporter, has returned to her hometown of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, to take care of her ailing father, the town’s former police chief. At the urging of a family friend, she takes a job as the new travel columnist for Carmel Today, a local lifestyle magazine.
After a few months of writing about area hotels and restaurants and navigating the office dynamics at her new position, Sam sets out on her first big press trip to a luxury resort on the Hawaiian island of Maui. There she meets her fellow travel writers and the resort representatives hosting the trip, all of whom become suspects when one of the writers—someone almost everyone had a reason to want to kill—is found dead in his suite. Sam’s detective skills come in handy as she helps the handsome (and, yes, single) Maui detective solve the crime.
From the author of “The War Council,” “Destination Maui” is the first in the Destination Murder Mystery series, which combines exotic locales and a behind-the-scenes look at the travel industry with the twists and turns expected from a good mystery."
"Ever wonder what it would be like to be able to hire a team like the one from “Mission: Impossible” to solve your relationship woes? A young communications professor attempts to do just that in “The War Council."
After the love of her life leaves her for a job on the other side of the world, Professor Maggie McGrew is devastated. To Maggie, his leaving—and not taking her with him—was just not logical.
Instead of merely mourning the breakup, Maggie pours herself into the study of love. She comes up with the concept of a paramilitary-style relationship counseling service that she calls “The War Council” because, as they say, all is fair in love and war. Maggie then enlists her friends and colleagues—from fellow professors to a university psychologist and the rugby coach—to serve in a variety of roles on the council.
Maggie’s best friend Kathy (the psychologist) hates everything about the War Council but reluctantly agrees to be a member. Kathy also wants to help Maggie get over the boyfriend that left, so she uses some of Maggie’s own concepts to set her up with a new beau. When Maggie discovers the truth about the new man in her life and Kathy’s role in bringing them together and the ex-boyfriend suddenly returns, she learns that love is anything but logical.
In this humorous look at life and love, each of the main characters tells their version of the events that surround the creation of the War Council and the effect it had on their lives."
"An avalanche is the least of Sam’s problems.
On her third outing as a travel writer for “Carmel Today” magazine, former investigative reporter Samantha “Sam” Powers is invited to cover the reopening of the historic Lake Tahoe Mountain Lodge. The press trip has all the hallmarks of an amazing adventure, offering winter activities like skiing with a former Olympian, snowshoeing, dog sledding, and riding in a horse-drawn sleigh.
At the Lodge, a huge storm hits and guests start vanishing. As Sam begins to investigate the disappearances—with help from her best friend Lizzy—she stumbles into the culprit’s sights. When she finds herself dangling off a mountain peak, Sam wonders if her nose for mystery may have taken her too far this time.
“Destination: Lake Tahoe” is the third in the Destination Murder Mystery series, which combines exotic locales and a behind-the-scenes look at the travel industry with the twists and turns expected from a good mystery."
"Fresh off her first assignment as a travel writer, former investigative reporter Samantha “Sam" Powers is ready for a new adventure.
When her editor at Carmel Today magazine instead asks her to write a travel piece about the local Monterey County area as part of a special issue around the upcoming Pebble Beach Pro-Am golf tournament, Sam is initially hesitant. Not only is she not particularly fond of the sport of golf, Sam has had plenty of reasons to stay away from her hometown for the past dozen years. Truthfully, if it weren't for her ailing father (Carmel-by-the-Sea’s former police chief), she wouldn't have come back at all.
Ultimately, Sam takes the assignment. As she tours the scenic locales of Carmel Valley, Big Sur, Pacific Grove, and Pebble Beach, Sam ends up unearthing a cold case involving the disappearance of the previous editor of Carmel Today. Dangerously in over her head, Sam knows she will have to call on some friends—including the detective she met on her previous assignment to Maui—to solve the suspicious incident and come out alive. Will the unexpected puzzle help her gain a new appreciation for her hometown or will the Monterey area be the last place Sam ever sees?
“Destination: Monterey” is the second in the Destination Murder Mystery series. Readers can expect exotic locales, a behind-the-scenes look at the travel industry, and the twists and turns expected from a quality mystery."
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