Author Guest Post by Pat Duggan, Murder at Serengeti Plains

A body has been discovered! Was it an accident or was it murder?

Welcome to the June 1st stop on the blog tour for Murder at Serengeti Plains by Pat Duggan with Goddess Fish Promotions. Be sure to follow the rest of the tour for spotlights, reviews, author guest posts, and a giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

Please note that this post contains affiliate links, which means there is no additional cost to you if you shop using my links, but I will earn a small percentage in commission. A program-specific disclaimer is at the bottom of this post.

Author Guest Post

Describe the Book Cover and How It Came About

I am an author, not an artist, so the book cover design is always a challenge for me.  I understand some of the basic principles, like making it eye catching and hopefully relevant to the subject matter, but that is as far as it goes.

When I wrote Murder at Serengeti Plains, I had to decide on a name for the builders of the subdivision.  One day the name Zebra Homes came to me.  When it was time to name the subdivision, it seemed appropriate to name it after an area where zebras lived in the wild, hence Serengeti Plains.

The first challenge I encountered for the cover, was the title.  My English upbringing determined that the correct wording in most instances would be ‘Murder On The Serengeti Plains.’  However, in the context of a subdivision called Serengeti Plains, ‘Murder at Serengeti Plains’ was actually correct.  I just needed a title box which would provide the correct context.  In addition, concrete, is an important part of the story.

I conveyed these factors to Goddess Fish Promotions, who designed the cover for me.  They did an excellent job of conveying the subdivision concept in the title, by including a ‘new homes of sale’ sign in the title box and even adding a picture of a zebra to identify the builder.  The cement mixer provides a little mystery on the cover which will become clear when the reader gets into the book.  Finally, the zebra stripes background completes the overall design making the book stand out. 

Clearly I cannot take any credit for the book cover, but I think the result is both striking and effective.

About the Book

Murder at Serengeti Plains
Hazel Davies & Anna Kohl Mysteries Book Three
by Pat Duggan

Published 3 December 2021

Genre: Cozy Mystery
Page Count: 280
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

Murder at Serengeti Plains is the third mystery novel in the series, featuring amateur sleuths Hazel Davies and Anna Kohl.  The earlier novels are Murder at Eagles Nest and Could They Be Twins?

The book is set in a new residential subdivision, Serengeti Plains, built by the renowned local builder, Zebra Homes.  It is located in the peaceful, historic town of Centerville, Ohio.  However, peace is shattered when the new residents are awakened one morning by the sound of police sirens.  The procession of police cars, come to rest in their own neighborhood.  A body has been discovered!  Was it an accident or was it murder?

Hazel Davies and Anna Kohl have recently moved into this new subdivision.  They have previously helped the police to solve murders in both Florida and Ohio, but they did not expect to find one on their own doorstep.  When the police begin to look at their friend as the perpetrator, they find themselves drawn into yet another murder investigation.

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Excerpt

After Noah left, Hazel and Anna sat down to review what they had learned. 

It seemed that Detective Grant’s case was solely based on a perceived argument between Gary and Noah.  Everything else was assumption and speculation.  Noah had no reason to kill Gary, even if he had found him onsite without authority.  He could simply have called the police.  Both Hazel and Anna knew there had to be more to the story.

However, one question had emerged from Noah’s story – what was Gary doing on the building site?  The likelihood of his body being brought to the site and dumped seemed highly unlikely as the hammer, now identified as the murder weapon had apparently been found in the undergrowth nearby.  So, the inevitable conclusion was that Gary got there under his own steam, but why?

Hazel and Anna decided to make a list of the possible explanations.  After half an hour of considering the options, they concluded that there were only two possibilities.  Either he was there to meet someone, or he was there to steal something.  They decided it was time to ask around and see what they could find out.

It was time to take their daily walk.  Since moving into Serengeti Plains, Hazel and Anna had made a habit of walking around the subdivision for exercise.  They found the established part of the area a little boring as the homes had long since been completed and during the day there was very little activity, apart from the occasional dog walker.  As a result, they usually made their way to the streets where construction was still active.  There were numerous homes under construction and if nobody was working on a particular house, they would slip inside to view the progress.  They had watched many of the homes progress step by step from the footings to the roof and then observed each step inside towards completion.

About the Author

Originally from Manchester, England, Pat Duggan moved to the U.S. in 1985.  After a career in finance, which included running her own book-keeping and tax business, in the Cincinnati area, Pat and her partner retired and moved to Oregon.  Years later, they embarked on a five-year journey, traveling across the country in a motorhome.

Writing was a whole new direction for Pat, which began with two non-fiction books – The Power Within and Finding God in an RV.  Then she branched into writing fiction as she turned to her love for solving murder mysteries and the challenge to figure out ‘whodunit!’

Sadly, their traveling days are over, but settling down has brought its own reward as it inspired this latest novel.

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Giveaway Alert!

Pat Duggan will be awarding a $20 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.