Today, LitNuts is shining a spotlight on the Figure Skating Mystery Series from Alina Adams, a special edition e-book that includes five complete novels that were published as paperback originals by Berkley Prime Crime, plus videos by Ice Theatre of New York."Adams has the wacky, incestuous world of skating down cold...from Russian coaches to skating moms to groupie fans to prepubescent stars." ~Philip Hersh, Chicago Tribune
Figure Skating Mystery Series (5 books in 1)
All 5 Books in 1 Kindle Edition: $9.99
Fans of figure skating will laugh out loud at the descriptions of the skaters, attitudes, costumes, and stunts. Non-fans will revel in the finely crafted mystery. Bex Levy is a great protagonist who is prone to talking to herself, putting her foot in her mouth, and slashing at people with blades of sarcasm.
The Figure Skating Mystery Series includes five complete novels:
Murder on Ice (Book 1): At the World Figure Skating Championship, the Ladies' Gold medal goes to Russia's dour Xenia Trubin over America's perky Erin Simpson thanks to the vote of one judge. Who then promptly turns up dead. Who killed Silvana Potenza? A skater? A coach? A fan? An official? A parent? It's up to Bex Levy, intrepid television researcher, to figure everything out before the end of the competition, or lose her job–and maybe even her life.On Thin Ice (Book 2): Bex Levy’s search for a pair of athletes who mysteriously dropped out of the sport years earlier leads to a host of shocking secrets, a kidnapping–and a murder!
Axel of Evil (Book 3): Bex Levy races to discover who killed an ice skating coach during a competition in Moscow. Igor Marchenko defected from the USSR to the States in 1977 and this is the first time he's been able to return home. But he soon turns up dead, poisoned by a pair of gloves. And once Bex does the rounds, she finds that plenty of people had plenty of reasons to bump him off.
Death Drop (Book 4): Bex Levy investigates the mystery behind an infant left in the arena at the Nationals–and why the baby's mother, an ice dancer who mysteriously took off a year ago, is hanging dead from a sequined belt. But leery from events in the past, Bex is hesitant to follow the clues that will uncover personal secrets–and a killer who'll do anything to keep them from coming out.
Skate Crime (Book 5): When a world-famous coach is murdered on the eve of his televised tribute, the suspects include the former partner he dumped as soon as something better came along, the much younger new wife that he turned into a clone of his old one, his resentful daughter who always had to battle Daddy's students for his attention, the skater whose life he nearly destroyed, and the one he guided to Olympic Gold.
Praise for the Figure Skating Mystery Series and Alina Adams
"Murder on Ice mirrors events from the 2002 Winter Olympics. Corrupt judging, cutthroat battles between the skaters, and the behind-the-scenes viewpoint all help to add depth to this unique mystery." ~Roundtable Reviews
"Adams uses her extensive knowledge of the real-life world of competitive figure skating to create a very realistic background for this murder...complete with hints of dark humor. A likable, down-to-earth heroine makes this a must-read for cozy mystery fans with a fascination for figure skating." ~Romantic Times Magazine
"The book nails a Triple Axel in its description of the beautiful but bizarre world of figure skating, where skating talent is only the beginning of the package necessary to make it big. Female skaters, especially, need a pretty face and a good story to hold the public’s interest, and millions of dollars in ice shows and product endorsements can be at stake. Adams’ expertise is obvious, as is her exasperated affection for the sport." ~TheMysteryReader.com
"If you are even a casual fan of figure skating, you will love this book." ~The Romance Readers Connection
About the Author
Alina Adams is a New York Times best-selling author, soap opera insider, and pioneer in online storytelling who was born in the Soviet Union and immigrated with her parents to the United States at age seven. She learned English by watching American soap operas at their home in San Francisco.Alina's years glued to the television paid off. She received her B.A. and M.A. in broadcast communications at San Francisco State University, and became a writer at E! Entertainment Television's daily talk show Pure Soap. She went on to work at ABC Television as a writer for the transition of the soap opera Loving when it was reincarnated as the daytime drama The City. She also worked as a researcher for the Daytime Emmy Awards for ten years.
Alina's childhood and immigration experience was the inspiration for her two latest historical fiction novels: The Nesting Dolls (2020) and My Mother's Secret: A Novel of the Jewish Autonomous Region (2022).
Learn more about Alina and her work and sign up for her mailing list at AlinaAdams.com.