Is this you? As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.
Claim your profile
Articles by Gretchen Rue
A Crime for All Seasons - Why Cozies Aren’t Just for Fall
Picture it, the perfect fall evening: you’re sitting in your comfiest chair with your coziest socks, you have a steaming mug of something delicious next to you and an autumnal candle filling the air with the scent of pumpkins or leaves, a cat is curled up next to you, and you have a brand new cozy mystery on your lap. Article continues after advertisement When we think about cozy mysteries, this is the mood and the setting most people think of. It’s sweaters and tea and fresh-baked cookies.
From Baker Street to Baking Sleuths
The path from Sherlock Holmes to modern baking cozies may not seem like a direct route, but there are plenty of ways that Sherlock set the stage for our current iterations of beloved bakeshop heroines. The moment John Watson meets Sherlock Holmes in A Study in Scarlet, the famous detective has taken over a university lab and is perfecting a chemical concoction for identifying the presence of blood.
Book Review: 'Since She's Been Gone: A Novel' By Sagit Schwartz
The book is in stores on Tuesday, February 6th from Crooked Lane. Click on the link to buy a copy. https://amzn.to/3vtolqc Beatrice, nickname Beans, lost her mother at the age of 15, and developed an eating disorder that took a while to overcome, which still haunts her today. 26 years later. She’s a psychologist now, and gets an emergency request for a session from a new client. The woman tells her that her mother is still alive, they’re coming for her, and not to mention every seeing her.
Book Review: 'The Last Word: A Novel' By Gerri Lewis
The book is in stores on Tuesday, February 20th from Crooked Lane. To purchase a copy click on the link. https://amzn.to/41E0EI1 Winter Snow lives in Ridgefield, Conn, and writes obituaries for a living. On this day she gets a call from Mrs. Arlington, a wealthy older woman, who wants hers written by this Friday. She meets with her, gets to know her a bit, and her new puppy Diva.
Book Review: 'A Pie To Die For: A Lucky Pie Mystery' By Gretchen Rue
The book is in stores on Tuesday, February 6th from Crooked Lane. You can purchase a copy at the link. https://amzn.to/48EQvNB Esme March lives in Split Pine Island, which is off the coast of Michigan. She owns Lucky Pine Diner, known for its pies, far and wide, some of the pies even have a little magic in them, whoever eats them usually gets some luck in their life. It’s November, which means the tourists are all leaving, and the island basically shuts down for the winter.
Book Review: 'A Killer Romance: A Beach Reads Mystery' By Maggie Blackburn
The book is in stores on Tuesday, February 6th from Crooked Lane. You can buy a copy at the link. https://amzn.to/3RGclJt Summer owns the Beach Reads Bookstore, on a small island off of North Carolina, she took it over after the death of her mother a few years ago. It’s time for Valentine’s Day, and she’s got a big author signing, Lana Livingston, a New York Time’s bestselling author.
Book Review: 'Like A Mother: A Novel' By Mina Hardy
The book is in stores on Tuesday, February 6th from Crooked Lane. Click on the link to buy a copy. https://amzn.to/3TRR0iS Sarah and Adam were a happily married couple, with a little girl, a house, another baby on the way and he had a good job. He got leukemia and died, and told Sarah everything was prepared for her after his death. Then his best friend Graham, and his wife Ava, wanted to adopt the unborn child, and have her sign papers to be the guardian of her little girl.
A PIE TO DIE FOR
A sweet treat for mystery mavens looking for something not too challenging. Convinced that an island outsider is up to no good, a pie shop owner encourages police to investigate him, at the risk of seeming like a suspect herself. Este March is getting ready for the off-season, when Split Pine Island in northern Michigan shuts down to everyone but locals as November ushers in cold weather.
The Sleuthing Spinster: Why Single Women Rule Cozy Fiction
When people talk about great fictional detectives, there are classic names that come to mind: Sherlock Holmes, Hercule Poirot; Sam Spade; Phillip Marlowe; and Columbo trip easily off the tongue. In the modern era there’s even Batman, whose cool gadgets are second only to his skill as a deductive genius (he did debut in Detective Comics, we sometimes forget). But there is a hugely popular subset of super-sleuths who don’t need the police (or men in general) to help them solve a twisty mystery.
Gretchen Rue: A Wicked Bit of Inspiration
There’s a question authors hear an awful lot, and that is: where do you get your inspiration from? And while it may sound like a cliché, my answer to that question is: everywhere. There’s also an old saying that goes: write what you know, and while that may be good advice, I think it’s often taken too literally. Am I a divorced witch who just inherited my aunt’s giant mansion and book shop? No, no I am not.
Death By a Thousand Sips (Witches Brew)
Cover Artist: Mary Ann Lasher Review by Joseph B. Hoyos Crooked Lane Hardcover / eBook ISBN/ITEM#: 9781639104536 Date: 05 September 2023 Links: Author's Website / Amazon Link / Show Official Info / Phoebe Winchester owns the Earl's Study in the tiny town of Raven Creek, Washington. It is a combination tea shop and bookstore. Planning to bid on an enormous collection of literary fiction, she drives to an estate auction at Weatherly Manor in nearby Barneswood.
Book Review: 'Death By A Thousand Sips: A Witches Brew Mystery' By Gretchen Rue
Phoebe Winchester has now lived in Raven Creek, Washington for seven months now, and has adjusted to life her quite well. Earl’s Study, the tea and bookstore, she inherited from her late aunt is doing well, as is the rest of the town. She decides to head out to an auction to bid on some books, along with her sneaky cat Bob, who his in the car. During the action, Bob sneaks in and finds Madeline, the woman in charge of the auction dead, and alerts Phoebe, who calls the police.
Steeped to Death By Gretchen Rue: Review/Giveaway/Interview
Sep 24, 2022 | 2022 Articles, Fantasy & Fangs, Kathleen Costa, Mysteryrat's Maze by Kathleen Costa This week we are reviewing the first in Gretchen Rue’s A Witches’ Brew Mystery series, and we have an interesting interview with Gretchen. Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book, and a link to purchase it from Amazon.
The Most Underrated Witches in Media
There are few characters in storytelling that are more maligned and misunderstood than the witch. She is most often seen as grotesque and terrifying in children’s stories (not to mention that, yes, she is almost always female), and is willing to do just about anything, including eating wayward children, to retain her beautiful glow. The Evil Queen in Snow White disguised herself as the hideous witch to trick the guileless heroine with a poison apple so she could remain the fairest in the land.
Review | NetGalley
Review by Kristina A, Reviewer Last updated on 12 Sep 2022 Steeped to Death by Gretchen Rue is the debut of A Witches’ Brew Mystery. I like the author’s writing style. It is casual and friendly which makes the story a breeze to read. The author took the time to introduce us to Phoebe Winchester who just inherited her Aunt Eudora’s estate. Phoebe inherited a beautiful Victorian house, a bookshop slash teashop called The Earl’s Study, and a cat named Bob.
Win A Copy Of The Book 'Steeped To Death: A Witches' Brew Mystery' By Gretchen Rue
Home > Free Books > Free Giveways > Win A Copy Of The Book ‘Steeped To Death: A Witches’ Brew Mystery’ By Gretchen Rue September 1, 20222022-09-01T03:39:33-05:00 Phoebe Winchester’s beloved aunt Eudora has a taste for adventure—and a knack for making magical tea. It’s even rumored that she just might be a witch.
Book Review: 'Steeped To Death: A Withces' Brew Mystery' By Gretchen Rue
Home > Books > Book Review: ‘Steeped To Death: A Withces’ Brew Mystery’ By Gretchen Rue August 20, 20222022-08-20T08:25:41-05:00 If you’re a fan of small town mysteries, this first novel in the Witches’ Brew series is a delightful debut. Phoebe Winchester is divorced and has inherited her Auntie Eudora’s estate, a mansion and a bookstore/tea room in town. And she also has a delightful cat named Bob, who is waiting for her when she arrives at the mansion.
Steeped to Death
DEBUT Phoebe Winchester’s Aunt Eudora leaves her the 200-year-old family mansion in Raven Creek, WA, and her combination bookstore/tea shop. Matters become complicated when Dierdre Miller shows up at the shop with a large man in tow, demanding that Phoebe sell her the house. Phoebe refuses and later that night the police find a body behind the shop—the man who accompanied Dierdre.
Show More
loading
Actions
Is this you?
As a journalist, you can create a free Muck Rack account to customize your profile, list your contact preferences, and upload a portfolio of your best work.Get in touch with Gretchen
Contact Gretchen, search articles and posts on X, monitor coverage, and track replies from one place.
Learn more about Muck Rack