Today is my stop on the blog tour for A Deadly Endeavor hosted by TBR and Beyond Tours. A Deadly Endeavor is a historical fiction mystery and I want to tell you about it today. On top of that, I also had the chance to interview the author. Keep on reading to find out more!
Also, a big thanks to Jenny Adams for taking time to answer my questions.
A Deadly Endeavor by Jenny Adams
Genre: Adult Historical Fiction/Mystery
Publishing Date: March 5, 2024
Philadelphia, 1921. When Edie Shippen returns home after spending years in California recovering from Influenza, she’s shocked to discover her childhood sweetheart is engaged to her twin sister. Heartbroken and adrift, Edie vows to begin living her life as a modern woman—and to hell with anyone who gets in her way. But as young women start to disappear from the city, her newfound independence begins to feel dangerous.
Gilbert Lawless returned home from the Great War a shell of his former self. He hides away in the office of Philadelphia’s Coroner, content to keep to himself until a gruesome series of corpses come into the morgue. And when his sister, Lizzie, goes missing, he risks his career to beg help from the one person Lizzie seemed to her employer, Edie Shippen.
Fearing the worst, Edie and Gilbert desperately search for clues. It soon becomes clear that Lizzie’s disappearance is connected to the deaths rocking the City of Brotherly Love… and it’s only a matter of time until the killer strikes again.
Book Links
Goodreads
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
IndieBound
Author Interview
What inspired you to write A Deadly Endeavor?
This is always such a hard question to answer, because this book started life as something much different from what it ended up being! But the core of the story has always been Edie and Gil’s journey towards each other, and I think it was really inspired by my love of historical romance, the desire to show the healing of two deeply wounded people, and put it in a city I love! So much of the inspiration came from Philadelphia itself–I wrote this book while we were living in Manayunk and I was working in Chestnut Hill, and I wanted to write a book that really captured Jazz-Age Philadelphia!
What has been the favorite part of your publishing journey so far?
Holding my hardcover! I was not prepared for how emotional I was going to be when I was finally able to hold my book in my hands; traditional publishing is something I’ve pursued for the last 14 years, and to have it finally happen, and to finally be able to hold it? It was a total dream come true.
If you were a character in A Deadly Endeavor, what kind of character would you be?
I’d love to be one of the artists that Edie meets! I love the idea of gathering in a weekly salon, and they are so much fun to be around.
Describe A Deadly Endeavor in five words or less.
Heartbroken socialite stops a killer.
What is your favorite quote from A Deadly Endeavor?
“I can be your scandal, if you let me.”
What do you hope readers take away from your story?
My biggest hope is that they had fun reading it. It was such a blast to write, and the best feedback I had from early readers is that they all dropped everything and ignored their families for a few hours to read. That’s my biggest hope–that I can bring people a little joy!
Could you give us 5 random facts about A Deadly Endeavor (think the story, writing, publishing, anything that comes to mind)?
- It started life as a YA Paranormal Fantasy
- It sold almost exactly 12 years after I sent my first query letter
- It was my first non-YA manuscript, and my seventh complete manuscript
- I have found the crime writing community to be so amazing and welcoming! I knew no one when I sold A Deadly Endeavor, and I have made some really incredible friends!
- It’s the first in a series – the second installment of Edie and Gil’s adventures will be published in 2025!
Tour Schedule
If the synopsis and interview makes you want to know more about A Deadly Endeavor, click here for the full tour schedule. Other amazing bloggers and bookstagrammers are also talking about the book this week.
About the Author
Jenny Adams has always had an overactive imagination. She turned her love of books and stories into a career as a librarian and author. She holds degrees in Medieval Studies and Library Science from The Ohio State University and Drexel University, and currently lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her family.
Author Links
Website
Twitter
Instagram
Goodreads
So that was my stop on the tour for A Deadly Endeavor. I love reading more about the author and publishing process, and I hope you do as well. I’ll definitely be reading this one in the future.
