Good day, my fellow bookish peeps. I’m always thrilled to meet new-to-me authors and series. I’m always intrigued by how an author can take a small idea and grow it into a plot for a book. Today, I’m honored to welcome Linda Lovely, author of the Brie Hooker mystery series. Ms. Lovely will be sharing with us her thoughts on DNA and the role it plays in her latest Brie Hooker story, Bad Pick. I hope you’ll all read what Ms. Lovely has to say, follow this blog tour, learn more about this book and author, and put Bad Pick and the Brie Hooker mystery series on your TBR list. Thank you, Ms. Lovely, for taking the time to stop by today and share with us. Ladies and gents I give you, Ms. Linda Lovely.
DNA Surprises
by Linda Lovely
Are you tempted to take a DNA test to learn if your genes up the odds you’ll suffer from various diseases? Are you curious about your ethnic makeup? Do you view testing and DNA databases as vehicles to expand your genealogy research and learn more about your family history?
People are curious beings, and this curiosity quite naturally extends to our own bodies and family sagas DNA testing services now available can cater to an individual’s specific interests, whether they’re focused on health issues or ancestry. As a consequence, some 12 million American adults—about 1 in 25—paid to use DNA testing services in 2017.
However, folks who take advantage of DNA testing need to be prepared to learn things they’d rather not know. In some cases, test results and database matches yield unwelcome surprises that cause personal anxiety or family upheavals.
Despite urging from some of my relatives, I’ve resisted DNA testing because my mother fought a fourteen-year battle with Alzheimer’s before she died. I already worry enough that the disease may loom in my future without a test saying “yeah, your odds are above average.” That would make me even more concerned any time I forget a word or a name. As long as there’s no cure for Alzheimer’s, my saliva won’t be making an airmail trip to a DNA lab.
Yet, as an author of mysteries, DNA testing intrigues me. I’ve been especially interested in news stories describing how detectives have used “familial DNA” to solve cases where they’d run out of leads to pursue. In such cases, the detectives have samples of a suspected killer’s DNA but can’t find a match in any law enforcement database because the suspect’s never been arrested or convicted of a crime. In many states, these detectives now are allowed to search for “near” matches of first-degree relatives. Each person’s DNA contains about 20 critical markers. If software can find a DNA result that matches 10 of these 20 markers, the person with that DNA is most likely the suspect’s parent, child or sibling. This technique has yielded some headline-making arrests in previously hard-to-solve cold cases.
Of course, it’s not just law enforcement use of familial DNA that has the capacity to reveal surprising results. Individuals who give consumer testing services permission to put their DNA in databases that search for relatives may discover one or both of their biological parents are strangers and not the people they’ve always called Mom or Dad. In fact, a Facebook support community for people who’ve discovered unexpected parentage already has more than two thousand members.
The relative-matching software also can reveal that a person has one or more half-brothers or half-sisters previously unknown to them. This could be the result of prior hushed-up marriages, infidelity, or adoptions. When such a discovery is made, what can happen if contact is made or parents are confronted about long-held secrets?
In Bad Pick, my latest cozy Brie Hooker Mystery series, a familial DNA surprise plays a key role in the plot. But that’s the only hint I’ll give you. You’ll have to read Bad Pick to discover why the consequences can lead to murder.
Author Bio:
Hundreds of mystery writers have met Linda Lovely at check-in for the annual Writers’ Police Academy, which she helps organize. Lovely finds writing pure fiction isn’t a huge stretch given the years she’s spent penning PR and ad copy. She writes a blend of mystery and humor, chuckling as she plots to “disappear” the types of characters who most annoy her. Quite satisfying plus there’s no need to pester relatives for bail. Her new Brie Hooker Mystery series offers good-natured salutes to both her vegan family doctor and her cheese-addicted kin. Bad Pick is her eighth published mystery novel. She served as president of her local Sisters in Crime chapter for five years and belongs to International Thriller Writers and Romance Writers of America.
Catch Up With Our Author On:
lindalovely.com, Goodreads, Twitter, & Facebook!
on Tour April 1-May 31, 2019
Synopsis:
Vegan Brie Hooker lives and works with her feisty Aunt Eva at Udderly Kidding Dairy, a hop, skip, and jump away from South Carolina’s Clemson University. Brie’s fun farm outreach attempt backfires when religious extremists decide goat yoga is a form of devil worship. Believing one of the zealots might be persuaded to see reason, Brie’s free-wheeling friend Mollye convinces her they should call on the young woman. Big mistake.
Picketers at Udderly’s gates soon become the least of Brie’s troubles. Not only is she accused of murder, she worries the death might actually be her fault. Danger mounts when an old family friend’s visit ensnares Brie in a high-stakes feud between a U.S. Supreme Court nominee and the woman determined to expose his secrets. In her personal life, Brie’s still torn between the town’s two most eligible bachelors. While she’s edging toward a decision, she must first survive a cunning killer adept at crafting murders that look like tragic accidents. Will Brie be another “accident” victim? Pay a visit to Udderly Kidding Dairy and find out!
Praise for Bad Pick
“There’s such a lot to enjoy in Linda Lovely’s third Brie Hooker mystery Bad Pick. Of course, I came for the goat yoga and the religious extremists (I’m only human), but I stayed for the love triangle, the female friendships, the family members rubbing along so realistically, the sidelights on vegan cooking and the rich depiction of small-town life. And what kept me flicking the pages fast enough to cause a draft? The twisty, knotty, killer plot underneath all that charm. Bad Pick is a good un!”—Catriona McPherson, Multi-Award-Winning Author of the Last Ditch Mysteries.
“Wow! In Bad Pick, Lovely wrote an amazing novel only to see one part of the plot come to life in headlines all over the country. A fringe religious cult, a Supreme Court nominee, and goat yoga combine together in a tale that fans of mysteries won’t want to miss.” –Sherry Harris, Agatha Award Nominee and Author of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale mysteries.
“The Brie Hooker mysteries from author Linda Lovely continue to entertain, this time with extremists who really don’t like the farm’s new goat yoga offering. You’ll find yourself muttering, “What the feta?” as you follow the action around not one but two murders from the edge of your seat. Fix yourself a chevre sandwich and sit down to enjoy a delightful – and suspense-filled – read.”—Edith Maxwell, Author of the Local Foods Mysteries and the Quaker Midwife Mysteries.
Book Details:
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Published by: Henery Press
Publication Date: April 16, 2019
Number of Pages: 270
ISBN: 9781635114744
Series: Brie Hooker Mystery Series
Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads
Tour Participants:
Visit these other great hosts on this tour for more great reviews, interviews, guest posts, and giveaways!
Enter To Win!:
This is a rafflecopter giveaway hosted by Partners in Crime Virtual Book Tours for Linda Lovely. There will be 1 winner of one (1) Amazon.com Gift Card. The giveaway begins on April 1, 2019, and runs through June 2, 2019. Void where prohibited.
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Author: thebookdivasreads
I'm a reader, an avid reader, or perhaps a rabid reader (at least according to my family). I enjoy reading from a variety of different genres but particularly enjoy fiction, mystery, suspense, thrillers, ChickLit, romance and classics. I also enjoy reading about numerous non-fiction subjects including aromatherapy, comparative religions, herbalism, naturopathic medicine, and tea.
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The Book Diva's Reads 
My husband did a DNA test and there were little surprises.
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