Sarah Can't Stop Reading

Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Clocked Out: A Josie Posey Mystery by Anna St. John! Today we are featuring a review and a special author guest post. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more! It’s a lot of fun!

Clocked Out: A Josie Posey Mystery
by Anna St. John

Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting: A small town in Sunflower County, Kansas, named English Village
Level Best Books (February 6, 2024)
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0CRFY4R6P

My Review:

Clocked Out is book two in Anna St. John’s Josie Posey cozy mystery series, featuring retired investigative journalist Josie, her wonderful friends (the Mahjong Mavens), her handsome love interest, a curmudgeonly (in the best possible way) chief of police and most importantly, her darling Old English sheepdog Moe. 

This book works well as a standalone for readers new to Josie’s series, but I encourage you to go ahead and download book one. As soon as I finished book one, I knew I needed to start at the beginning to hear about Josie’s first brushes with mysteries in English Village (see map of village below). 

What a delightful read this was! It has all the elements I love in cozy mysteries–small town, wonderful friends and the perfect pet side-kick. While Josie is retired, she works freelance for the local paper and is assigned to interview Ella McGregor Benjamin, a local who has found great success in watch design and making. Ella is home for a spell and Josie enjoys interviewing her and learning about the details of this unique artform. 

Unfortunately, only hours after Josie and Ella meet, Ella falls from a ladder in her family’s clock shop and suffers a head injury. She only regains consciousness for a brief moment (straining to share with the doctor her last words) and then passes away. What first appears to be a horrible accident is anything but. 

Josie, who has a wonderful rapport with the Chief of Police, begins assisting him with the investigation. This takes Josie deep into Ella’s life, meeting with friends, studying her journals and piecing together her last words. As Josie closes in on the killer, threatening notes are left for her. 

I loved following Josie’s investigation. I felt that I was with her, writing on index cards and studying Ella’s tiny handwriting in her journal. The details describing English Village brought the place to life and I could picture myself walking around the park with Josie and Moe. This was a wonderful mixture of cozy elements and mysterious clues. I look forward to reading more about Josie. And I do wish I could give Moe a wonderful pat and a dog treat!

 Author Guest Post:

Characters Rule: Josie Posey & The Mahjong Mavens By Anna St. John

Readers often ask: “Which comes first? The plot, or the characters?”

For me, the characters always come first. I begin by creating a place for them to live. Then I develop a list of people who will inhabit the story. It includes the names, physical characteristics, occupations and a few notes about their relationships or background. Once I am acquainted with the characters, they come to life in my head and help develop their own storyline. 

This is why I tend to be a “pantser,” writing from the seat of my pants, instead of a “plotter,” carefully planning every beat of the book in advance. Though I would dearly love to follow a beautifully structured outline for each book, my characters simply won’t allow it. 

Sound crazy? I don’t disagree. In my real world I prefer to be in control. I love spreadsheets and thrive on deadlines. But in my writing world, the characters often take charge. Here are some of the characters from the Josie Posey Mystery Series:

Main Character Josie Posey 

One of the things I love most about cozy mysteries is the amateur sleuth who outsmarts the professionals and solves the murder case. Josie jumped off the page almost immediately after I chose her name. I saw her with graying, naturally curly hair, of average height and a few pounds heaver than she would prefer. She is just 55, but feels she has passed her prime. Widowed and retired from an exciting job as a crime reporter, she struggles to find her place in a tiny town where everyone knows everyone. She had been confident in the big city, but is less so in the village.

Josie is unaware that others see her as attractive, engaging, and sincere. Behind her back, they describe her as “that woman with the wholesomeness of that reporter on the national news – Katie Something.” She has an uncanny ability to connect the dots on crime stories. Her super power is that she can interview anyone and convince them to share their secrets. Everyone trusts Josie Posey. 

She is so real I can imagine her voice in my head, guiding some of the action and the dialogue. When I place her in a situation, she carries on her own conversations. It is as though I am her scribe as she dictates the words to me. This is why you will see her use old-fashioned words that I might never have considered – like “kerfuffle” or “banshee.” 

Mahjong Mavens

Like me, Josie has played mahjong since her childhood and truly treasures her time with the self-proclaimed Mahjong Mavens each week. These ladies have their own personalities, reflected in their mannerisms as well as their words. 

Kate, the retired U.S. Marine, is in her mid 60s, but she still weighs the same as when she served in the corps. She’s a stately woman with short silver hair. Though she is the rule-keeper in the group, Kate is also the most adventurous maven. She is creative and recently entered one of her paintings in an art competition. Not surprisingly, Kate is a no-nonsense person. If I try to write flowery dialogue for her this character reminds me to keep it brief. She’s not the gushy type.

Nellie is the most practical of the mavens. She’s a former teacher, with perfect hair – her salt and pepper bob is always in place. She “mothers” all of the ladies, but particularly Josie. Nellie is most likely to ask questions, and to demand answers. She’s a close friend of Josie’s, always concerned for the amateur sleuth’s safety. When the conversation drifts away from the topic at hand, Nellie is often the one to redirect it.

Sharon is the party girl of the group. She loves to bake and is always testing new recipes on the mavens. She brings themed napkins and decorations to each event. She’s the shortest of the mavens, blue-eyed and blonde with an impish pixie face. Because others perceive Sharon as fun loving, they sometimes underestimate her abilities. When it comes to dialogue, Sharon may take awhile to get to the point but her observations are always on target.

Place the Mahjong Mavens into a situation and they practically write their own action. This is why, when Josie gets too close to a potential murderer in Clocked Out:

• Kate will try to usher Josie to safety.
• Nellie will help Josie organize the suspect list to present to the police chief.
• Sharon will attempt to diffuse the situation by serving appetizers to distract the person of interest.

And we can’t forget other central characters – like the understaffed police chief who is conflicted about drawing Josie into his investigation, and the handsome hardware store owner/blacksmith who admires Josie and wants to protect her.

Imagine what happens when we add an unexpected murder victim, an ex-husband, a doting professor, and a beautiful mentor into the mix. The action unfolds and our heroes respond.

I think of these characters as people who interact with each other just as my friends would in real life – banding together to support each other in one adventure after another. Obviously, the plot is important to the story, as well. What would a murder mystery be, without the murder? But in cozy mysteries, perhaps more than in any other genre, readers want to know and love the characters. 

The action changes with a new plot twist for each book, but the main characters remain – familiar faces to welcome us back each time. 

About the Book:

Josie Posey and her posse of Mahjong Mavens are at it again, in this cozy mystery where the retired big city crime reporter turned small town crime solver uncovers another murder in a picturesque English Village.

When the clockmaker’s daughter returns home for a visit, reporter Josie Posey is assigned the task of interviewing the talented watch designer. That very afternoon the young woman falls from a ladder while inventorying antique clocks.

At first, Josie is certain the fall was an accident. Everyone loved Ella McGregor Benjamin. But Ella’s deathbed statement is a mysterious riddle that can’t be ignored. With her Old English Sheepdog Moe by her side, and an ever-growing list of suspects, Josie scrambles to identify the killer before anyone else gets hurt.

The local police chief wants Josie to help solve the puzzle, but stay out of his murder case. The editor of The Village Gazette wants an in-depth story for the next edition. And somebody wants Josie to stop asking questions. Deadlines loom.

In this fast-paced rollercoaster ride of a mystery, the clock is ticking as Josie vows to find the killer before time runs out.

About Anna St. John:

Anna St. John writes cozy mysteries featuring a mature, yet feisty, former crime reporter, Josie Posey, as the amateur sleuth. Her debut novel, Doomed by Blooms, was released by Level Best Books in February 2023. Clocked Out is the second book in her Josie Posey Mystery Series. It is scheduled to release Feb. 6, 2024.

A former journalist, award-winning advertising copywriter, and ad agency owner, Anna is married to her high school sweetheart. She writes from her home office in Kansas, with her Old English Sheepdog by her side.

Anna is represented by Cindy Bullard, of Birch Literary Agency. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and the Kansas Authors Club.

Author Links: Website   Facebook Purchase Link: Amazon

TOUR PARTICIPANTS:

• January 31 – Mystery, Thrillers & Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
• January 31 – CelticLady Reviews – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
• February 1 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
• February 1 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
• February 2 – The Mystery of Writing – AUTHOR GUEST POST
• February 2 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – RECIPE
• February 3 – Brooke Blogs – SPOTLIGHT
• February 4 – #BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee – SPOTLIGHT
• February 4 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
• February 5 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading Books – REVIEW, AUTHOR GUEST POST
• February 5 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT
• February 6 – Sneaky the Library Cat’s blog – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
• February 6 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
• February 7 – Novels Alive – REVIEW
• February 8 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
• February 9 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER GUEST POST
• February 9 – Books to the Ceiling – SPOTLIGHT WITH EXCERPT/PODCAST
• February 10 – Reading Authors Network – AUTHOR GUEST POST
• February 11 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – REVIEW
• February 12 – The Book Diva’s Reads – CHARACTER GUEST POSTFebruary 13 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW

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