Burn Out - Victoria Heckman, Author
3:39 PM Posted by MAC
Elizabeth Murphy's Junk Food Cookies
1 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Blend above until creamy
Add in:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Mix in any or all of below-adjust proportions of "junk" to taste!
1 pkg chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries or cherries
1 cup crushed or chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut
Roll into balls a little bigger than a golf ball. Makes approx. 20
cookies that size.
Bake in 350 degree oven for approx. 14 min. Cool 5 min.
before removing from sheet.
Victoria Heckman, Sisters in Crime-Central Coast Chapter President
Author of the K.O.'d in...Hawaii Mystery Series:
www.victoriaheckman.com
& the Ancient Hawaii Mystery Series
1 cup margarine or butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
Blend above until creamy
Add in:
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Mix in any or all of below-adjust proportions of "junk" to taste!
1 pkg chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries or cherries
1 cup crushed or chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut
Roll into balls a little bigger than a golf ball. Makes approx. 20
cookies that size.
Bake in 350 degree oven for approx. 14 min. Cool 5 min.
before removing from sheet.
Victoria Heckman, Sisters in Crime-Central Coast Chapter President
Author of the K.O.'d in...Hawaii Mystery Series:
www.victoriaheckman.com
& the Ancient Hawaii Mystery Series
Burn Out – An Animal Communicator Mystery – Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir, Laugh, Repeat
Cap continued to dominate the physical space and Shirley’s attention, but Elizabeth watched Missy, too. Missy was not happy with the attention Cap was getting. She distinctly said, He is always first. He’s always getting fussed over. I deserve that too. She stuck out lower lip and rolled her brown eyes. She’s no fun. She thinks she’s a princess. She doesn’t know how to have fun. If Elizabeth had any doubt the speaker was Cap, he removed it by prancing in place, raising his hoof and waving it. “Okay. I see what’s going on.” “Yes?” Shirley asked. “It’s an ego thing. Missy is pretty strait-laced and came from a show background that Cap is working hard to diminish from his high up status as a dressage horse. Cap has a sense of humor. He knows it makes her mad to bring it up, so he does. He doesn’t necessarily really believe that, but she’s so easy to rile. Then Missy gets mad and retaliates by biting and chasing him. He comes off looking like the abused one, but it’s mutual. Like siblings anywhere.” “I see. I can believe that. I’ve had Cap over 20 years and Missy only one. The other problem is Missy has started trying to do to me what she does to Cap. Now I understand why she does it to him, but how can I get her to stop doing it to me?” “We have to come up with a plan and stick to it.”
Yep, you guessed it. Elizabeth Murphy is a “Doctor Doolittle” “Horse Whisperer,” call her what you want but she communicates with animals as well as a bug now and then. Her “talking” to the animals isn’t something that she makes too public for fear that people will think for one that she needs to be in a loony bin and for another because her husband is a firefighter hoping to make captain. But, when fires start happening for no apparent reason, talking to the animals at the scene comes in handy.
While visiting her husband Tig at the training center one day, Elizabeth noticed an announcement for a part-time job entering data into the computer. It was a short time job so she decided to give it a try. After the job was underway, she started noticing “accidents” were occurring while fighting what were being called arson fires. After doing more research she determined that the fire that had injured her best friend’s husband Terry wasn’t normal. Someone had cut a hole in the concrete pad under the floor and dug a hole, covering it up before setting the fire. Not knowing the hole was there, Terry fell through the burned wood injuring himself. And when Tig was injured in a training fire, Elizabeth knew it had to be someone connected to the department. But the Firefighters were like a big family. Who would want to hurt their own? With the help of the animals, Elizabeth was determined to find out.
Victoria Heckman had me guessing throughout the whole book on this one. By page 187 I had my suspects narrowed down to 3. By page 199 I had added another suspect to my list. Turned out to be one of my weakest suspects!
Burn Out was a joy to read. I laughed at some of the “conversations” with the animals. Victoria Heckman had me believing that people/animal conversations was quite normal. All of her characters were very creatively created making them seem like people you actually knew. This was a fun, humorous yet serious book to read.
242 pages
2010
Revenge Publishing
ISBN# 978-0-9846098-1-9
Review Stir, Laugh, Repeat at Amazon.com
Labels: animal communicator, arson, Book Reviews, Burn Out, cookbooks, firefighters, fires, Martha A Cheves, Mystery, Stir Laugh Repeat, Victoria Heckman
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I'm from Georgia, moved to North Carolina by way of Florida. I've been in Charlotte for 14 years and love it. The recipes in my book Stir, Laugh, Repeat are all tested by "Food Testers" of which I now have 24. They try a dish and rate it from 1-10 with only those scoring at least an 8 making the book. My website is a holding place for my 2nd book Stir, Laugh, Repeat... Again. Please visit my site to find new recipes and tips. All recipes are easy, using common ingredients and according to my testers, great!
June 21, 2011 11:27 AM
Hi, Martha, haven't been to your blog in awhile. I can see you've got some great new recipes. I read Victoria's book too and agree, it was lots of fun.
Marilyn
June 21, 2011 12:44 PM
One reason I liked Burn Out was I talk to my animals all the time! Unfortunately, I don't hear what they're saying as clearly as Elizabeth! It's a fun book, which I really enjoyed. Not sure if my waistline can stand another cookie recipe, however--though this one sounds good.
Madeline (M.M.)Gornell