Introducing tour guide Lana Hansen
and the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery series
by Jennifer S. Alderson
Hello! I’m Lana Hansen and I recently started working as a tour guide for Wanderlust Tours.
I feel pretty spoiled being able to travel around Europe and stay in luxurious hotels, eat at top-notch restaurants, and go on fascinating day trips with my guests. Most tours are comprised of ten guests are less and are always accompanied by at least two guides, in case of emergencies.
Our tours last anywhere from seven to fourteen days and our clients are primarily older, wealthier professionals who are long on money and short on time.
When I am leading a tour, my day starts early and ends late. In addition to getting the guests to their scheduled activities and day trips on time, I also book special tours or meals for them. Heck, I’ve even been called out of bed to fetch extra blankets for a guest! I don’t mind really. My primary responsibility is making sure our passengers have the trip of a lifetime.
Most of my clients are lovely people who want to explore the world but don’t want to travel solo. Others are tagging along for the ride and not as enthusiastic about the cities we are visiting as I would hope.
For some reason or another, several guests have died under suspicious circumstances, and I have had to help the police find the real culprit. That’s my least favorite part of these trips, though I am becoming quite the amateur sleuth!
My first tour in Budapest was memorable for many reasons, mostly because it was my first trip abroad. I had visions of a grey, somber, Soviet-era architecture, but it wasn’t like that at all. The imposing statues, tiered-fountains, captivating monuments, delicate spires, and majestic buildings decorated with snow and sparkly lights made me feel as if I had stepped into a postcard. Everything was so much bigger than I had imagined. Several buildings seemed to fill an entire city block and many monuments stretched high into the sky, often topped by a stately figure, angel, or knight. It was truly magical.
Unfortunately, my first trip as a guide was a trial by fire. My fellow tour guide Carl died under mysterious circumstances on our third day! The police wrongly accused another guest and I ended up having to track down the real culprit.
Since then, I’ve led two more tours that were luckily fatality free. On my next assignment in Paris, I will be helping to train a new recruit named Randy. Considering this will only be my fourth tour, I sure hope I’m up to the task. My boss did mention that Randy was pretty cute and single, which may complicate matters…
Thanks for letting me share more about my life and work as a tour guide. If you ever want to travel with me, you’re always welcome to join me on one of my tours. I hope to see you on the road one day – happy travels!
About The Book:
Death on the Danube: A New Year’s Murder in Budapest
( Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series Book 1 )
Who knew a New Year’s trip to Budapest could be so deadly? The tour must go on – even with a killer in their midst…
Recent divorcee Lana Hansen needs a break. Her luck has run sour for going on a decade, ever since she got fired from her favorite job as an investigative reporter. When her fresh start in Seattle doesn’t work out as planned, Lana ends up unemployed and penniless on Christmas Eve.
Dotty Thompson, her landlord and the owner of Wanderlust Tours, is also in a tight spot after one of her tour guides ends up in the hospital, leaving her a guide short on Christmas Day.
When Dotty offers her a job leading the tour group through Budapest, Hungary, Lana jumps at the chance. It’s the perfect way to ring in the new year and pay her rent!
What starts off as the adventure of a lifetime quickly turns into a nightmare when Carl, her fellow tour guide, is found floating in the Danube River. Was it murder or accidental death? Suspects abound when Lana discovers almost everyone on the tour had a bone to pick with Carl.
But Dotty insists the tour must go on, so Lana finds herself trapped with nine murder suspects. When another guest turns up dead, Lana has to figure out who the killer is before she too ends up floating in the Danube…
Introducing Lana Hansen, tour guide, reluctant amateur sleuth, and star of the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series. Join Lana as she leads tourists and readers to fascinating cities around the globe on intriguing adventures that, unfortunately for Lana, often turn deadly.
Feel-good stories about friendship, travel, and celebrating new experiences. Coming soon: Books 2 and 3 in the Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mystery Series!
Book Links: Amazon / Amazon Worldwide
About The Author:
Jennifer S. Alderson was born in San Francisco, raised in Seattle, and currently lives in Amsterdam. After traveling extensively around Asia, Oceania, and Central America, she moved to Darwin, Australia, before settling in the Netherlands. Her background in journalism, multimedia development, and art history enriches her novels. When not writing, she can be found in a museum, biking around Amsterdam, or enjoying a coffee along the canal while planning her next research trip.
Jennifer’s love of travel, art, and culture inspires her award-winning mystery series—the Zelda Richardson Mysteries and Travel Can Be Murder Cozy Mysteries—and standalone stourries.
Author Links: Website / Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / LinkedIn /BookBub / Amazon
Tour and Giveaway:
TOUR PARTICIPANTS
November 29 – The Pulp and Mystery Shelf – GUEST POST
November 29 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
November 30 – I Read What You Write – CHARACTER GUEST POST
December 1 – A Blue Million Books – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
December 2 – TBR Book Blog – REVIEW
December 2 – Reading Is My SuperPower – REVIEW
December 3 – Mysteries with Character – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
December 3 – The Book Decoder – REVIEW
December 4 – Baroness’ Book Trove – REVIEW
December 4 – Hearts & Scribbles – SPOTLIGHT
December 5 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW
December 5 – Here’s How It Happened – REVIEW
December 6 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
December 6 – Brooke Blogs – GUEST POST
December 7 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
December 7 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
December 8 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
December 9 – Diane Reviews Books – REVIEW
December 9 – This Is My Truth Now – SPOTLIGHT
December 10 – Book Club Librarian – REVIEW
December 10 – eBook addicts – REVIEW
December 11 – Ascroft, eh? – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
December 11 – My Reading Journeys – REVIEW
December 12 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
December 12 – That’s What She’s Reading – GUEST POST
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Thanks so much for inviting Lana to introduce herself and her adventures to your readers!
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Sounds like a book I would enjoy reading.
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Yes, this series has definitely caught my interest.
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Yes, this series has definitely caught my interest
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This sounds like a refreshingly different mystery I would absolutely love! I can’t wait to read it!
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You and me both!
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Sounds interesting
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It does. Lana sounds like loads of fun.
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