1. Scavenger hunt

I recently co-hosted a literary scavenger hunt! It’s a perfect activity for book clubs, home school groups, senior events, etc.

Here is how to do it:

Assemble books 

Our theme was thriller novels but you can build a “hunt” around any theme. Thrift stores are perfect places to find cheap books. You need 3-5 more books than the number of participants.

Highlight unique phrases

Highlight 3-4 unique phrases in each book, such as “Yellow Mazda Miata” or “table with three legs.” Make a master list of all the phrases highlighted in each book. 

Participant forms

Each participant gets a form you created with 10 random highlighted phrases from the master list. Each form should be unique although you can re-use phrases. Envelopes with forms and pens add a fun touch!

Set a timer

Participants get a set time (we gave 45 minutes) to comb through the highlighted books (we covered ours in kraft paper to make the exercise even more challenging) to find the phrases on their form. To show their find, they must record the book title and page where it was found. Things get fun as the books are swapped around!

Reveal “location” of all phrases

At the end of the allotted time, read out the master list of phrases, book by book. In our group, only 1 person found all 10 phrases on their form!

Options

To add to the fun, we gave each participant 10 tickets. For every phrase they found, they got one entry for a giant gift basket raffle. The evening also included cocktails and an hors d’oeuvre buffet, but that part is up to you!

>>> Email me if you'd like our materials to use an exemplars.

2. A few extras to beat winter blahs:

Make my mother’s favorite Italian soup with this easy and delicious recipe from the Mangia with Michelle website: link.

No coffee, no workee. It’s just a fact of life. Black Rifle Coffee makes sure you never run out: link.

It’s the end of January and you still don’t have a 2024 planner?? Get my favorite Moleskine immediately: link.

Grab a book and stay warm this winter with murder, blackmail and revenge at the Galliano Club: link. 

Or forget the cold and head to Acapulco with Detective Emilia Cruz. After all, what’s a little homicide between friends? Link.

#excerpt

THE MYSTERY GUEST by Nita Prose

Molly Gray is the crime-solving Head Maid at London’s Regency Grand Hotel in the second book in the bestselling Molly the Maid series. Socially challenged, Molly has an eye for details that others miss and a clever repertoire of cleaning mantras she lives by.

The Regency Grand is thrilled to host famous mystery author J. D. Grimthorpe for a Big Announcement planned. Reporters and mystery fans pack the hotel’s new Tea Room in anticipation. But before he can finish his speech and share the big reveal, Grimthorpe keels over dead. 

Suddenly, Molly and her quiet maid-in-training are suspected of murder. The trainee was the last person to give Grimthorpe a cup of tea. The hot beverage was laced with poison.

Adding to the tension, Molly knew Grimthorpe years ago under difficult circumstances.

Both backstory and current events are revealed as Molly narrates the story. The dual timelines are easy to follow, with backstory chapters starting with “Before.” Those intervals reveal how Molly’s mother was a drug addict—possibly accounting for Molly’s peculiarities--and left her child to be raised by her own mother. 

Molly’s “Gran” was a maid working for the Grimthorpe family. When Molly is held back a grade because of her socially awkward ways, Gran takes her out of school and brings her to work at the mansion, where Molly meets Grimthorpe’s gorgon of a wife who allows the child to polish the silver and access the vast library next to her husband’s office. 

All is fine for a few weeks, until Grimthorpe assaults Gran and Molly contrives to get her grandmother fired.

Once we know the backstory between Molly and the dead writer, the murder investigation takes on heightened tension. Suspicion is thrown on the hotel doorman, Grimthorpe’s fans, his personal assistant and other quirky characters. 

But it’s Molly, with her way of noticing what no one else does, who ultimately breaks the case wide open.

I absolutely loved Molly’s narration, from her way of referring to her boyfriend as “beloved Juan Manuel” to her clever rhyming cleaning mantras. Some might call this a cozy mystery but I’d say that Molly the Maid books mops the floor with that category (pun intended). 

Highly Recommended.

Thank you for spending your time with me.

Keep healthy, stay in touch, and happy reading!

 All the best, 

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