Thanksgiving is here, and Jolie Tucker
has had quite the year! She is ready to sit back and relax with family
and friends. But this is Leavensport, OH—so get ready for intense
therapy sessions, dysfunctional family holiday gatherings, uninvited
guests, and an inner-city teen advocate found DEAD—stabbed in the ear
with the turkey baster!
Welcome to Leavensport, OH, where DEATH takes a DELICIOUS turn!
Dutch
Cast Iron Cajun Turkey Recipe
Ingredients for Turkey
1 6 to 8-pound turkey, patted dry
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup Cajun Spice Mix (see below for ingredients to make your mix)
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup (or more) olive or vegetable oil
Ingredients for Cajun Spice Mix
5 tablespoons kosher salt
2 tablespoons cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon onion powder
Stir together.
NOTE: You can make the spice mix up to one month
ahead. Store airtight in room temperature.
Recipe Preparation
NOTE: If you’d like your turkey to have a crisp coat,
then you can add oil to a large cast iron skillet and lay the turkey in the
skillet once it’s hot for 30 seconds moving turkey around before putting in
Dutch Cast Iron Pot.
Set a rack inside a large heavy Dutch Cast Iron Pot. Season turkey lightly inside and out with salt and pepper, then with spice mix, massaging it into the skin. Transfer turkey, breast side down, to prepared pan and refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.
Remove turkey from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375°. Mix celery, pepper, and onion in a medium bowl. Fill turkey cavity with vegetable mixture, scattering any remaining vegetables over bottom of roasting pan. Brush turkey with oil.
Roast turkey, basting occasionally, for 1 hour. Using paper towels, flip turkey. Roast, basting occasionally, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of thigh registers 165°, 1–1 1/2 hours longer. Transfer to platter. Let rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.
About the Author
Moving into her second decade working in
education, Jodi Rath has decided to begin a life of crime in her The
Cast Iron Skillet Mystery Series. Her passion for both mysteries and
education led her to combine the two to create her business MYS ED,
where she splits her time between working as an adjunct for Ohio
teachers and creating mischief in her fictional writing. She currently
resides in a small, cozy village in Ohio with her husband and her seven
cats.
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Cosmic Cat (Crazy Cat Lady Mystery)
by Mollie Hunt
About Cosmic Cat
Cosmic Cat (Crazy Cat Lady Mystery) Cozy Mystery 6th in Series Independently Published (September 28, 2019) Paperback: 306 pages ISBN-10: 1726419339 ISBN-13: 978-1726419338 Digital ASIN: B07X4BK75S
When a superhero cosplayer falls to his death at a comic con, Lynley is left holding the bag– and a cat!
Who killed Captain Cat? His tribe wants to know.
When the Captain is murdered at
Bridgetown Comic-con and philanthropist Esmae Westhouse is arrested for
the crime, sixty-something cat shelter volunteer Lynley Cannon steps out
of her comfort zone and dons her Star Trek uniform to expose the real
killer.
A decade-spanninglove triangle, a band
of vigilante cosplayers, a shady pharmaceutical company,and an ancient
black cat named Kitty tie into a puzzling plot that has Lynley running
in all directions. The death of Captain Cat is only the beginning, and
Lynley must stay one step ahead of a ruthless hit man if she is to make
it out alive.
About Mollie Hunt
Mollie Hunt: Native
Oregonian Mollie Hunt has always had an affinity for cats, so it was a
short step for her to become a cat writer. Mollie is the author of THE
CRAZY CAT LADY COZY MYSTERY SERIES, featuring Portlander Lynley Cannon, a
sixty-something cat shelter volunteer who finds more trouble than a cat
in catnip. The 3rd in the series, CAT’S PAW, was a finalist for the
2016 Mystery & Mayhem Book Award, and the 5th, CAT CAFÉ, won the
World’s Best Cat Litter-ary Award in 2019.
Mollie’s sci-fantasy, CAT SUMMER (Fire
Star Press) is the first in her CAT SEASONS TETRALOGY where cats save
the world from an evil older than history—twice! Mollie also published a
non-cat mystery, PLACID RIVER RUNS DEEP, which delves into murder,
obsession, and the challenge of chronic illness in bucolic southwest
Washington. Two of her short cat stories have been published in
anthologies, one of which, THE DREAM SPINNER, won the prestigious CWA
Muse Medallion. She has a little book of Cat Poems as well.
Mollie is a member of the Oregon
Writers’ Colony, Sisters in Crime, Willamette Writers, the Cat Writers’
Association, and NIWA. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband
and a varying number of cats. Like Lynley, she is a grateful shelter
volunteer.
“Too many twists and turns to easily share about this book. Nevertheless, Carr has pulled off another “hit” that kept me reading in one setting until the clues were so well together that the villain fell into our laps…or Chris’s, LOL Carr has put a lot into the book beyond the mysteries this time…Characters enjoyed chocotinis, visited book stores…and even blundered into getting engaged (the ring had been purchased 4 months ago)… But, for me, a special thank you for the political spoof at a time when politics at the national level is devastating, gave me a laugh and lightened the load of it all!” – Review by Glenda Bixler, Book Reader’s Heaven
Book Details:
Book Title:The Last Thing She Said (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #3) by Lauren Carr
Category: Adult Fiction (18 +), 386 pages Genre: Mystery Publisher: Acorn Book Services Release date: July 22, 2019 Formats available for purchase: paperback, ebook, audiobook (audible & itunes) Tour dates: October 7 to November 15, 2019 Content Rating: PG-13 (Lauren Carr’s books are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between). No F-bombs!
Book Description: “I’m working on the
greatest mystery ever,” was the last thing noted mystery novelist
Mercedes Livingston said to seven-year-old Chris Matheson before walking
out of Hill House Hotel never to be seen again.
For decades, the writer’s fate
remained a puzzling mystery until an autographed novel and a letter put a
grown-up Chris Matheson on the trail of a cunning killer. With the help
of a team of fellow retired law enforcement officers, each a specialist
in their own field of investigation, Chris puts a flame to this cold
case to uncover what had really happened that night Mercedes Livingston
walked out of Hill House Hotel. Watch out! The clues are getting hot!
Book Title: Winter Frost (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #2) by Lauren Carr Category: Adult fiction, 332 pages Genre: Mystery Publisher: Acorn Book Services Release date: January 22, 2019 Formats available for purchase: paperback, ebook, audiobook (audible & itunes)Tour dates:October 7 to November 22, 2019 Content Rating: PG-13 (Lauren Carr’s books
are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a
murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind
closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between).
No F-bombs!
“Filled with twists and turns, Winter Frost
reads perfectly well as a stand-alone, although it is part of a series.
The author creates tension and suspense throughout by keeping the
reader guessing; she keeps readers engaged with well fleshed out
characters and a dash of humor. Sterling, the retired German Shepherd
police dog turned card shark, is a new favorite. As the story flows, the
truth unfolds, layer by layer, leading to a satisfying conclusion.
“Winter Frost was an entertaining, at times humorous read with suspense, some surprises, and even cute animals in the mix.” Review of Winter Frost by The iRead Review
MY REVIEW
All right. Back with the Geezer Squad and a freezing cold case.
We start out with Blair witnessing multiple deaths as she runs for
her life. No one to trust, it’s up to her to find her way to the
director of the CIA, with the disc. She has secrets and comes face to
face with one of them…Chris.
Chris has retired to a farm, but when he sees Blair, he has a lot to
investigate…so, with the help of the Geezer Squad he begins.
From the opening pages the action begins and it doesn’t stop until the end.
The characters are tough, resilient, trained professionals. Nigel,
with his trust guardian Tristan, is also on the case and pulls a fast
one of me. I love surprises and this was a doozy.
I love the visual imagery throughout. Here is an example and I think it will easily portray my feelings.
The hundred pound dog repeatedly leaps, all four feet off the floor, to peep through the door.
I cannot begin to describe my love for Sterling and was going to
share some of my favorite thoughts about him, then, I thought, I don’t
want to spoil the surprise for you. Lauren Carr’s fabulous critters
offer many moments of smiles and laughs with their distinct
personalities, right down to Thor, the bunny rabbit.
I just want to let you know, if you see a German Shepard with
sunglasses and an FBI hat, don’t get in his way. He’s probably on a
case.
A conspiracy within the government. A high level official crossed
over the line, turning traitor. Car chases. Bullets Flying. Danger rises
and they are in a race against time.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Winter’s Frost by Lauren Carr.
4 Stars
Book Description: It all started with a chance encounter in the city with Blair, his late wife.
Chris Matheson and the Geezer Squad,
working under the guise of a book club, dig into the events surrounding
his late wife’s supposed death halfway around the globe. A state
department employee shoots himself in the back three times. A CIA
operative goes missing. A woman is targeted by an international assassin
three years after being declared dead in a terrorist attack overseas.
Nothing is as it seems.
In his most personal cold case,
Chris fights to uncover why the state department told him that Blair,
the mother of his children, had been killed when she was alive. What had
she uncovered that has made her a target? Who terrified her so much
that she had gone into hiding and why are they now after him?
Book Title: ICE (A Chris Matheson Cold Case Mystery #1) by Lauren Carr Category: Adult fiction, 364 pages Genre: Mystery Publisher: Acorn Book Services Release date: February 26, 2018 Formats available for purchase: paperback, ebook, audiobook (audible & itunes)Tour dates:October 7 to November 22, 2019 Content Rating: PG-13 (Lauren Carr’s books
are murder mysteries, so there are murders involved. Occasionally, a
murder will happen on stage. There is sexual content, but always behind
closed doors. Some mild swearing (a hell or a damn few and far between).
No F-bombs!
“ICE is a
strong start to a new series that will have fans of Lauren Carr thrilled
to be introduced to another set of memorable and entertaining
characters. Carr’s Geezer Squad has brought sexy back to mature men and
women, whose kickass attitude and smarts sizzle as they melt the clues
to those cold cases!” Laura Fabiani, Library of Clean Reads
“For the whodunit mystery buff who loves ever-increasing suspense and
danger, Lauren Carr’s newest series offers up a big dose of both. Murder
and mayhem seem to be Chris’s new companions after returning home
following the loss of both his wife and his father. Juggling the
parenting responsibilities of his three daughters with his mother is not
something Chris was expecting at this point in his life, but life isn’t
something that goes as planned.” 5-Star Review at Blooming with Books
Book Description: When Sandy Lipton
and her unborn child disappeared, the court of public opinion found
young Chris Matheson guilty. Decades later, the retired FBI agent
returns home to discover that the cloud of suspicion cast over him and
his family has never lifted.
With the help of a team of fellow
retired law enforcement officers, each a specialist in their own field
of investigation, Chris Matheson starts chipping away at the ice on this
cold case to uncover what had happened to Sandy and her baby and the
clues are getting hot!
Lauren
Carr is the international best-selling author of the Thorny Rose, Mac
Faraday, Lovers in Crime, and Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries—over
twenty titles across four fast-paced mystery series filled with twists
and turns!
Book reviewers and readers alike
rave about how Lauren Carr seamlessly crosses genres to include mystery,
suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor.
Lauren is a popular speaker who has
made appearances at schools, youth groups, and on author panels at
conventions. She lives with her husband, and two spoiled rotten German
shepherds on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV.
Oct 7 – Working Mommy Journal – book review of The Last Thing She Said
Oct 7 – JB’s Bookworms with Brandy Mulder – book review of Ice / giveaway
Oct 7 – Bookriot – audiobook review of Ice / giveaway
Oct 7 – Just Another Reader – book review of Ice
Oct 7 – Rita’s Reading Room – series spotlight / author interview / giveaway
Oct 7 – Viviana MacKade – series spotlight / guest post
Oct 8 – Just Another Reader – book review of Winter Frost
Oct 8 – JB’s Bookworms with Brandy Mulder – book review of Winter Frost / giveaway
Oct 8 – Amy’s Booket List – book review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway
Oct 8 – Rockin’ Book Reviews – book review of The Last Thing She Said / guest post /
giveaway
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giveaway
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Oct 10 – Librorum in Sempiternum – book review of Ice / giveaway
Oct 11 – It’s All About the Book – book review of The Last Thing She Said
Oct 14 – b for bookreview – series spotlight / author interview
Oct 15 – Buried Under Books – audiobook review of Ice / giveaway
Oct 15 – Pause for Tales – book review of The Last Thing She Said
Oct 16 – Locks, Hooks and Books – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said /
guest post / giveaway
Oct 17 – Library of Clean Reads – series spotlight / giveaway
Oct 18 – Library of Clean Reads – book review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway
Oct 19 – Bookriot – audiobook review of Winter Frost / giveaway
Oct 20 – Librorum in Sempiternum – book review of Winter Frost / giveaway
Oct 21 – Hall Ways Blog – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway
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Oct 23 – Mystery Suspense Reviews – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said /
guest post
Oct 24 – Haddie’s Haven – audiobook review of Ice / giveaway
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Oct 24 – My Journey Back – series spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Oct 25 – Blooming with Books – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway
Oct 25 – StoreyBook Reviews – book spotlight / guest post / giveaway
Oct 26 – Bookriot – book review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway
Oct 28 – Sefina Hawke’s Books – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said
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Oct 29 – My Reading Journeys – book review of Winter Frost / giveaway
Oct 30 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – book spotlight of The Last Thing She Said /
giveaway
Oct 31 – Dab of Darkness Book Reviews – audiobook review of The Last Thing She Said
/ giveaway
Nov 1 – Life as Leels – book review of The Last Thing She Said / giveaway
Nov 4 – Books for Books – audiobook review of Ice / giveaway
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Nov 6 – fundinmental – book review of Winter Frost / giveaway
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Nov 7 – Haddie’s Haven – audiobook review of Winter Frost / giveaway
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Beware the East Wind (The Mah Jongg Mysteries)
by Barbara Barrett
About Beware the East Wind
Beware the East Wind (The Mah Jongg Mysteries) Cozy Mystery 4th in Series Bowker (August 17, 2019) Paperback: 254 pages ISBN-10: 1948532182 ISBN-13: 978-1948532181 Digital ASIN: B07WJ7KYSW
Beware the east wind! It’s hurricane
season in Florida, and everyone’s attention is focused on preparing for
the latest tempest. But in Serendipity Springs, mah jongg pals Marianne,
Sydney, Micki and Kat are caught in a different kind of whirlwind—a
mesmerizing murder case involving a slain hypnotist/chef and the woman
police suspect of doing her in, her embittered catering partner, Portia.
About the Author
Barbara Barrett started reading mysteries when she was pregnant with her first child to keep her mind off things like her changing body and food cravings. When she’d devoured as many Agatha Christies as she could find, she branched out to English village cozies and Ellery Queen.
Later, to avoid a midlife crisis, she
began writing fiction at night when she wasn’t at her day job as a human
resources analyst for Iowa State Government. After releasing eleven
full-length romance novels and one novella, she returned to the cozy
mystery genre, using one of her retirement pastimes, the game of mah
jongg, as her inspiration. Not only has it been a great social outlet,
it has also helped keep her mind active when not writing.
Bamboozled, the second book in
her “Mah Jongg Mystery” series, features four friends who play mah jongg
together and share otherwise in each other’s lives. None of the four is
based on an actual person. Each is an amalgamation of several mah jongg
friends with a lot of Barbara’s imagination thrown in for good measure.
The four will continue to appear in future books in the series.
Anticipating the day when she would
write her first mystery, she has been a member of the Mystery/Romantic
Suspense chapter of Romance Writers of America for over a decade. She
credits them with helping her hone her craft.
Barbara is married to the man she met her senior year of college. They have two grown children and eight grandchildren.
It’s Halloween, and excitement is
brewing in Braxton to carve jack-o’-lanterns, go on haunted hayrides,
and race through the spooky corn maze at the Fall Festival.
Despite the former occupant’s warnings,
Kellan renovates and moves into a mysterious old house. When a ruthless
ghost promises retribution, our fearless professor turns to the
eccentric town historian and an eerie psychic to communicate with the
apparition. Meanwhile, construction workers discover a fifty-year-old
skeleton after breaking ground on the new Memorial Library wing.
While Kellan and April dance around the
chemistry sparking between them, a suspicious accident occurs at the
Fall Festival. Soon, Kellan discovers the true history and dastardly
connections of the Grey family. But can he capture the elusive killer –
and placate the revenge-seeking ghost.
About James J. Cudney
James is my given name; most call me
Jay. I grew up on Long Island and currently live in New York City, but
I’ve traveled all across the US (and various parts of the world). After
college, I spent 15 years working in technology and business operations
in the sports, entertainment and media industries. Although I enjoyed my
job, I left in 2016 to focus on my passion: telling stories and
connecting people through words. My debut novel is ‘Watching Glass
Shatter,’ a contemporary fiction family drama with elements of mystery,
suspense, humor and romance. To see samples or receive news from my
current and upcoming books, please subscribe with your email address at
my website: https://jamesjcudney.com
What do I do outside of writing: I’m an
avid genealogist (discovered 2K family members going back about 250
years) and cook (I find it so hard to follow a recipe). I love to read;
between Goodreads and my blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com,
I have over 900 book reviews which will give you a full flavor for my
voice and style. On my blog, there is humor, tears, love, friendship,
advice and bloopers. Lots of bloopers where I poke fun at myself all the
time. Even my dogs have segments where they complain about me. All
these things make up who I am; none of them are very fancy or
magnanimous, but they are real and show how I live every day.
Happily settled in her cozy cottage with
its resident ghost, Cass Peake looks forward to Halloween. Then another
corpse is found on her beachfront. With the support of family and her
ghostly roommate, Cass investigates. To her dismay, she finds the murder
victim handled her goofy neighbor’s trust fund and he was in dire need
of money. The suspect list grows with a former husband, another needy
relative, and a maybe shady accountant who suddenly disappears. To top
it all off, rumors circulate about treasure hidden in Cass’s cottage.
Detective George Ho doesn’t like his
ex-girlfriend snooping around. Despite that, sparks still fly between
him and Cass. But superstitious George has no idea Cass’s home is
haunted. Can Cass solve the mystery and renew the romance with her
ghost-adverse ex?
About Rena Leith
I currently live in Cape May County in
New Jersey after spending years in the San Francisco Bay Area with my
Maine Coon cats Sierra and Ginger. I attended Clarion Writers Workshop
for Science Fiction and Fantasy at Michigan State University and sold a
story I wrote there to Damon Knight for The Clarion Awards anthology. I
wrote technical manuals in Silicon Valley and also published several
poems and science articles as well as a couple of chapters in Research
& Professional Resources in Children’s Literature: “Piecing a
Patchwork Quilt.” I’ve also taught English in high school and community
colleges.
Cagney and Lacey meet Moonlighting. That’s what I thought when I read Exercise Is Murder by Carolyn Arnold.
Sara and Sean created their PI firm, Pay It Forward, when they quit the Albany police force and came into a LOT of money. They loved the control they had over the cases they mutually agreed upon and surrounded themselves with those they trusted to help.
I can definitely relate to Sara when it comes to her car. She loves her stilettos, while I love my flip flops, though. She is a fashionista and I am a shorts and T shirt kind of gal. We both lack cooking skills, so it’s a good thing our men like to cook.
He grounded her and she gave him wings.
And that is something that leads to a great partnership.
Carolyn Arnold is a master at showing the characters and events through her ability to describe them in detail. She makes it easy to form a picture in my mind.
Exercise In Murder by Carolyn Arnold is a quick, fun, easy reading police procedural that includes enough suspects to keep my mind working trying to figure it out before she tells me. I love that Carolyn writes with a light touch, including humor with her murder.
I voluntarily reviewed a free copy of Exercise Is Murder by Carolyn Arnold.
4 Stars
GOODREADS BLURB
Getting in shape isn’t an easy walk in the park…
Running
junkie Katie Carpenter takes a tumble down a ravine and ends up
facedown in the Hudson River. The police conclude her death was an
accident, but those who were close to Katie aren’t buying that she just
tripped and fell—including her pro-athlete boyfriend. But it’s Katie’s
fitness trainer and friend who hires the McKinleys to investigate.
Anything
but an easy case to solve, Sean and Sara will break a sweat trying to
figure out who had the most to gain from the young woman’s death. Sadly
for Sean most of the evidence seems stacked against Katie’s boyfriend—a
man Sean idolizes. Can he put aside being starstruck long enough to view
things objectively? If Katie’s killer is going to be caught, he and
Sara will need to remain flexible and it might require bending the rules
a bit.
ABOUT CAROLYN ARNOLD
CAROLYN ARNOLD is an international
bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and
inspirational mentor. She has four continuing fiction series—Detective
Madison Knight, Brandon Fisher FBI, McKinley Mysteries, and Matthew
Connor Adventures—and has written nearly thirty books. Her genre
diversity offers her readers everything from cozy to hard-boiled
mysteries, and thrillers to action adventures.
Both her female detective and FBI
profiler series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being
accurate and entertaining, leading her to adopt the trademark: POLICE
PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.
Carolyn was born in a small town and
enjoys spending time outdoors, but she also loves the lights of a big
city. Grounded by her roots and lifted by her dreams, her overactive
imagination insists that she tell her stories. Her intention is to touch
the hearts of millions with her books, to entertain, inspire, and
empower.
She currently lives just west of Toronto
with her husband and beagle and is a member of Crime Writers of Canada
and Sisters in Crime.
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. January Bain will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Book two in the Manitoba Tea and Tarot Mysteries series
Charm McCall can solve a small-town murder, but can she figure out how to stop a man-stealing interloper?
A movie production company has come to town…and so has an old family friend of the town’s sexy new Mountie, Ace Collins. His “old pal” turns out to be a scheming long-legged blonde who throws Charm right off her game. Even Auntie T.J. playing the bagpipes down Main Street to drive the trespasser away doesn’t work.
Between catering for the world’s hungriest film crew, trying to solve the murder of the unit accountant who hired her and dealing with her new magical gifts, Charm’s a tad busy. But too bad, because she’s soon facing off against a bigger threat when more people become ill with suspected poisoning—and her own sister’s in the crosshairs. Charm’s left wondering if even Agatha Christie could have seen this one coming.
But with so much working against them—including the whole town being dead set against them consummating their relationship—do Charm and Ace stand a chance?
Read an Excerpt:
He stuck out his hand for a shake and I was blessed with the dampest paw on the planet, accompanied by a zinger of an image. Howard cared about every penny because he was embezzling company funds, meaning there would be less to steal if I made a decent profit. Sometimes I wished Granny Toogood hadn’t banned swearing—I had a few apt descriptors for this weaselly dealer. I also hoped she was feeling better. The doctor had advised a few days of rest and that had me worried.
Instead, I narrowed my eyes at him and he slid his hand from mine. Yuck. I dried my palm by rubbing it discreetly down the side of my jeans, half hidden by my Tea & Tarot apron.
“Can you start tomorrow?” he asked, his desperation leaking through, making his face shiny with sweat. Probably because the only other quote he most likely got today far exceeded ours. Guaranteed. The Husky Service on the highway did some catering, but they didn’t come cheap. And their bakery goods came out of pre-frozen tubs and boxes. We prided ourselves on everything fresh baked, from scratch—my fingernails were reduced to rubble from constant work. Proof positive.
“Tomorrow! So soon?” All the nerves in my body slammed into high gear. There was so much to do to prepare for such a large undertaking. Could it even be done that quickly?
“We’d really appreciate it. Might even find you a bit part in the movie.” It wasn’t the incentive he expected—I just shook my head, giving his start date some thought. Sometimes it was best to jump into things, otherwise I’d never do it. I just prayed I could pull it off and do my family and our town proud.
“Okay, but minus the movie walk-on.”
The relief on his face made me smile, despite his weaselly-ness.
The café door opened abruptly and in strode a young man dressed in expensive dark-wash jeans and a tight black T-shirt clothing a wiry, thin body, his face a study in annoyance. “Howard, I need to speak with you right now. Don’t think you can just get up and walk out on me, mister.” His hand on his hip pressed his case.
Howard’s face darkened to a dull red. “Chace, this is not the time or the place. Go. I’ll catch up with you later.”
The man looked as though he was going to object before he about-faced and left. His one-finger salute, reflected in the front window before he pranced away, was not in the best taste. Hmm. Good thing Granny wasn’t around to cut him down to size. In the nicest, politest way of course—she could make the worst villain tippy-toe around her. Probably ask him if he needs the finger for anything other than being rude.
“Please excuse my friend. He’s not himself today.”
“Oh, who is he then?”
Howard gave me a blank stare.
Baby Ling Ling sauntered in, grabbing my attention as she always announced her arrival with a loud greeting, or warning, depending on how her day was going. Our spectacular white Himalayan with her adorable squished-in face and apricot-colored ears, fluffy tail raised high, proceeded to choose her steps with the utmost care across the tiled floor of the café. I’d guess it was in case we’d had the bad manners to add a trap door since yesterday’s saunter. She deigned to notice the new visitor, striding over and giving him a quick sniff. She jumped a couple of feet in the air with a loud howl, her fluffy white fur standing straight on end as though she’d placed her paw on an electrical charge.
“Hiss.” She made herself as big as a tiny eight-pound cat could make herself, arched her back and continued the hissing.
“Nice cat,” Howard deadpanned.
“Careful what you say to her. Ling Ling’s officially multi-lingual since our librarian, Miriam, added Portuguese to her weekly slate of free language lessons.” I just couldn’t resist, not liking his look of disdain. Or his cheapness that was certain to affect our bottom line.
His look of confusion was quite satisfying. He gave Ling Ling a wide berth and headed for the door.
“Okay, then, we’ll expect you tomorrow? You’ll get paid once a week, just come by my office and I’ll cut you a check. Oh, and the camp’s out by Spirit Springs.” He paused, his hand on the doorknob, obviously needing confirmation.
“Yes, I know where the camp is, and the food will be there. You can count on the McCall family. We never go back on our word.” I gave him a level look that he declined to return. A nervous twitch of his nose and he hopped out of the café.
“That guy has a blackish aura with streaks of gray,” Tulip said, pursing her lips.
“Yeah, no surprise—he’s working under a brain cloud.” I didn’t want to say the words embezzling cocaine addict out loud and sink the project before it started. “And since when did you start seeing auras?” And what was I going to do with the unwanted knowledge that the guy was stealing company funds? A moral dilemma. I shouldn’t think that was business as normal, even for the movie industry.
About the Author:
January Bain has wished on every falling star, every blown-out birthday candle, and every coin thrown in a fountain to be a storyteller. To share the tales of high adventure, mysteries, and full blown thrillers she has dreamed of all her life. The story you now have in your hands is the compilation of a lot of things manifesting itself for this special series. Hundreds of hours spent researching the unusual and the mundane have come together to create books that features strong women who live life to the fullest, wild adventures full of twists and unforeseen turns, and hot complicated men who aren’t afraid to take risks. She can only hope her stories will capture your imagination.
If you are looking for January Bain, you can find her hard at work every morning without fail in her office with her furry baby, Ling Ling. And, of course, she’s married to the most romantic man! Who once famously remarked to her inquiry about buying fresh flowers for their home every week, “Give me one good reason why not?” Leaving her speechless and knocking her head against the proverbial wall for being so darn foolish. She loves flowers.
If you wish to connect in the virtual world she is easily found on Facebook. Oh, and she loves to talk books…
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