Blog Tour and Guest Post: Russian Dolls

New Adult - Mystery&Detective

Date Published:3/13/2013

Alexandra Neve is a student at University College London whose world suddenly falls apart. When her best friend jumps from the university’s rooftop, she can’t stop herself from asking, ‘Why?’ The police rule her friend’s death a suicide and for them the case is closed — so whom can she turn to for help?

Sometimes the person you need the most is the one you least expect to find, and in this case it’s none other than Ashford Egan, a blind middle-aged history professor, who’s more willing than most to listen to what she has to say. 

Neve and Egan are as different as they come. She’s restless, careless at times, and fearless when the need arises, while he’s almost the complete opposite: a deep thinker with an analytical mind, a highly rational and collected individual.

As they enter the violent world of the Russian mafia, they must overcome their differences and learn to work together. It’s their only chance if they want to survive.

Author Bio:

Cristelle Comby was born and raised in the French-speaking area of Switzerland, somewhere between Geneva and Lausanne, where she still resides.

 Thanks to her insatiable thirst for American and British action films and television dramas, her English is fluent.
 She attributes to her origins her ever-peaceful nature and her undying love for chocolate. She has a passion for art, which also includes an interest in drawing and acting.
 Russian Dolls is her first new-adult novel, and she’s hard at work on the next titles in the series.
 www.cristelle-comby.com

twitter:            @Cristelle

facebook:        /cristelle.comby

Buy Links 

http://cristelle-comby.com/?page_id=83

Guest Post:

How important music is for me

Music has always taken an important place in my life. I listen to it, every day -- on my way to work, all-day long while at work, when I relax at home. I would even listen to it in the shower, if I had one of those water-proof radios -- Santa, if you’re hearing this...

But I don’t listen much to songs when I write. I tried, but it’s too distracting to sing along to We Will Rock You, while I write. Sometimes, when it’s really too quiet at home, I may turn on some movie soundtrack, at a very low volume, but never anything with lyrics.

I’ve done quite a few bits of Russian Dolls with the soundtrack of Inception and later that of The Dark Knight Rises playing on a loop. I also have one awesome kick-arse Hans Zimmer mix, which I got of off YouTube.

As for my characters, well ... they’re a bit like their creator’s -- they like music too.

Neve’s quite the rock/metal fan (and really, I wonder who she takes after?). She likes Metallica, and Green Day, and AC/DC, and Rammstein and lots of other bands like that. And I’m sure that if you look at the bottom of her CD collection, you’re going to find some 70-80’s rock music (from both sides of the Atlantic) even if she wasn’t born then.

Egan is more into classical music -- opera and the likes. He likes the kind of music that is made with real instruments -- you know, the stuff they used before computers and the Internet came along. He listens to string quartet and entire big effin’ orchestras.

So yes, when it comes to music, my two PIs aren’t really compatible ... but let me tell you a secret: Neve continues to hope that, one day, she will manage to drag Egan to an Apocalyptica concert (yes, it’s metal, but they have strings and all).

My Thoughts:

From the start I liked Alexandra. I felt almost an instant connection with her character, and wanted to keep reading. It crushed my heart a little to see how detached she became after Irina's death. From that point the story goes on such a wild, random, almost fly by the seat of your pants kind of ride! Throw in a mystery, the Russian mMafia, and two polar opposite people and you have the perfect little book!