Magic forests, forbidden romance and villainous royalty in a tale about an uncommon thief, a soldier prince and a deadly power struggle.
In the kingdom of Everness, the memory of magic only lives on through whispered stories. Lara, an elusive bandit raised in a clan of thieves, makes the mistake of stealing from the tyrannical royal family . . . and getting caught.
She has no idea how high the price for her freedom will be.
Forced to choose between forfeiting her life or offering her services to the cruel, spoiled prince regent, Lara is blackmailed into retrieving a stolen heirloom from the crown prince of an enemy kingdom. She must pose as his betrothed — a princess of Everness he is yet to set eyes on.
Bound by a dangerous secret and driven by a desperate need to protect those she loves most, Lara’s path to freedom is rife with treachery and complexity. Most of all, an infuriating and charming prince who can only lead her to becoming an enemy of the crown, or an enemy of her own heart . . .
If the Crown Fits follows an uncommon thief as she fights to survive among ruthless princes while fighting against forbidden desire, injustice and a kingdom of secrets. Perfect for fans of Throne of Glass, The Veiled Kingdom, Powerless, Spark of the Everflame, A Kiss of Iron and The Cruel Prince.
Leané Giliomee is a romantasy and historical fiction writer from South Africa. She fell in love with writing in high school and has wanted to be a full-time author ever since. If she’s not reading or watching movies, you’ll find her with her cat (and most trusted writing partner), Loki, working on the next novel.
My thoughts: Lara is tricked into stealing from the palace and finds herself forced to assist the Prince in return for her life. He wants her to pose as his sister, Princess Eloisa, and get to know the Prince of the neighbouring kingdom, who is supposed to marry the Princess.
He’s got a hidden agenda, obviously. But as Lara and Cai get to know one another and become involved in the plan to bring down the monarchy, they join forces to prevent Prince Lance from his plan to use the magical stones to control the country and start a war.
Lara was raised by her uncle, leader of a bandit clan, and has no memory of her parents, she’s a thief and usually a pretty good one. She’s not very good at playing princess, the gowns are a nuisance in particular. She grows close with her lady-in-waiting and learns about the situation in the palace through the people set to guard her and guide her as she pretends to be the missing princess. But where is Eloisa?
Cai doesn’t really want to get involved with the internal politics and rebellion that Lara’s uncle is spear heading, but he certainly doesn’t trust Lance either. His men are being held hostage and he will fight for their freedom but once he knows he’s been set up by the Prince, he’s determined to return to his own country.
These two very different people are drawn together in the prince’s scheme, but they find themselves engaged in a much more dangerous game. Can Lara and Cai find a happy ending or will circumstance force them apart?
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
When Italy’s greatest opera singer, Rodolfo Argento, is killed in a terrible car accident, the police initially rule his death a tragic accident or suicide. But his elderly mother, Violetta, believes this to be poppycock! Her son was a brilliant driver and had too much to live for. She suspects foul play and turns to Private Investigator, Dan Armstrong to discover the truth.
A cheating spouse?
So Dan and Oscar travel to Verona, the city of Romeo and Juliet, to find out what really happened. There Dan discovers Rodolfo’s private life could have come straight out of a Shakespeare play. Although now happily married, Rodolfo was a man with a reputation to rival Casanova, his past strewn with heartbroken women. Could his death have been a star-crossed lover determined to get revenge?
A family feud?
Or does the truth lie much closer to home? With his large inheritance still to be settled, the motive for Rodolfo’s murder could simply be greed. As Dan searches for suspects while staying at the Argento Opera Academy (where people randomly launch into operatic arias.) life for Dan is complicated by the fact that Oscar has a habit of joining in with the singing…
Can Dan solve the case before he and his tone-deaf dog get thrown out?
I’ve written all sorts: thrillers, historical novels, short stories and now I’m enjoying myself hugely writing romance and whodunnits. Romantic comedies are what we all need from time to time. Life isn’t always very fair. It isn’t always a lot of fun, but when it is, we need to embrace it. Murder mystery is all very well, but it needs to put a smile on your face, so that’s why I like to inject some humour.
My thoughts: I love this cover, with Oscar playing a canine Romeo in his smart yellow bow tie!
This time we’re in Verona, where Dan and Anna (and Oscar) are invited to stay at the Argento Operatic Academy while investigating the death of opera singer Rodolfo, whose family own the academy. He crashed his car into a tree, speeding, but his mother believes the police are wrong in assuming it was suicide or a tragic accident.
Dan asks a lot of questions and Oscar gets a girlfriend! All of his questions do seem to be leading to murder, and he’s got plenty of suspects to rule out, from family members, Rodolfo’s agent, staff at the Academy, various locals the singer either seduced or their husbands, it’s a lot to sort through.
Dan works with the local police to find out who the killer was and also why they killed Rodolpho. It almost leads to another death, and things get a bit intense, but thankfully things work themselves out. Though Oscar’s romance with fellow Labrador Elektra has yet to be resolved.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
In a world that long lost its moral axis, free will was the chain that tied a God’s vengeance to his entertainment. With nothing but hope to keep her dark thoughts afloat, Tiadola waited for centuries for the preordained trials that would end her life to begin. But nothing could have prepared her for the moment they were set in motion by encountering the dragon compelled to hunt her. When the stranger she thought the dragon had sent after her quickly becomes her friend instead, the lines between want and need become a blur as they embark together on a journey towards her imminent trials. Caught between her desire to continue living in order to save the human realms and the mental warfare that the trials would entail, would she be able to become the first of her kind to win?
My thoughts: I really like dragons but I didn’t like the dragon in this. He’s compelled to hunt down and essentially psychically torture Tiadola to death, and he seems to find it very amusing. What Tia has to go through, in their mental battles, designed to kill her, is cruel and brutal.
There is a cute baby dragon too, and she was very sweet, but the old dragon is not. More cute baby dragon content please!
It’s also a very spicy romance too as Tia and her “stranger” fall hard for one another and with nothing to lose, as Tia is pretty sure she’ll be dead soon, they set to making the most of it. As one of my friend’s said about another book “there’s a lot of bonking going on!”
I found the politics and the different species a bit confusing to get my head round, I’m still not entirely sure what Made and Born means, but hopefully in the next book that will be expanded on more as change comes to the kingdom on the heels of war.
Triggers/CW: Violence, existential angst, loss, death and sexually explicit content.
When a ruthless gang burgles the home of a Premier League football player, DCI Gavin Roscoe and DS Sunita Roy suddenly have a murder and a kidnap on their hands. The footballer’s stepson, Marcel, is taken from the palatial property whilst it is being ransacked, and his bodyguard is shot, stone cold dead.
To help them with their task, DI Parkes from the National Crime Agency’s Kidnap Unit joins the investigation but he has very different ideas about how the operation should be run.
While rain lashes the surrounding countryside, tempers rise, as do the flood waters. Can the police track down this dangerous gang, unmask its malevolent ringleader, and reunite the boy with his family before it’s too late?
IT NEVER RAINS is the sixth book in the detectives Roy and Roscoe crime fiction series by Tony Bassett.
Tony Bassett is a former journalist who worked on regional and national newspapers in Britain for more than 40 years. He mainly reported on crime, show business, human interest and consumer topics. Now retired, he writes crime fiction. Tony is best known for his series of novels set in the West Midlands. They feature Detective Chief Inspector Gavin Roscoe, an experienced detective and family man, and his sergeant, law graduate and resourceful problem-solver Sunita Roy.
The fifth book in the series, Heir To Murder, was judged first in the Mystery and Suspense (Police Procedurals) category in the American Fiction Awards in June 2024. The novel concerns a peer of the realm’s son found axed to death after a row over loud music. Two years earlier, his older brother mysteriously disappeared while hiking in Spain. Here is the Amazon link The series is published by The Book Folks, an independent London publisher specialising in crime fiction.
Other books in the series (in order) are: Murder On Oxford Lane, The Crossbow Stalker, Murder Of A Doctor and Out for Revenge. His stand-alone thriller Seat 97, about a man shot dead at a London concert hall, has also been published by The Book Folks. Two further works (the crime novel Smile Of The Stowaway and the spy novel The Lazarus Charter) were published by The Conrad Press.
Tony first developed a love of writing at the age of nine when he produced a junior school magazine. A few years later, his local vicar in Tunbridge Wells staged his play about the Biblical story of Naboth’s Vineyard. At Hull University, Tony was judged Time-Life Magazine student journalist of the year in 1971.
Tony, who has five grown-up children, is a Life Member of the National Union of Journalists. He lives in South-East London with his partner Lin
My thoughts: This was a very clever, interesting police procedural and DS Sunita Roy does tremendous work unravelling the case and finding the missing boy. Unlike the twit they’ve been landed with from the NCA’s Kidnap Unit – DI Parkes, who just seems to have useless ideas and get under foot. At one point I thought he might be the man on the inside, so inept is his involvement.
Thankfully the rest of the team, and DCI Roscoe aren’t idiots and follow the evidence. Which shows a much larger, and more complicated conspiracy than it first appeared.
Another great read from Tony Bassett, a man who knows how to write a gripping and intelligent story.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
TO STEAL A MAN’S FREEDOM ALL IT TAKES IS . . . CONVICTION
Wade Darling stands accused of killing his wife and teenage children as they slept before burning the family home to the ground.
When the case lands on barrister Neve Harper’s desk, she knows it could be the career making case she’s been waiting for. But only if she can prove Wade’s innocence.
A matter of days before the case, as Neve is travelling home for the night, she is approached by a man. He tells her she must lose this case or the secret about her own husband’s disappearance will be revealed.
Failing that, he will kill everyone she cares about until she follows orders.
Neve must make a choice – betray every principle she has ever had by putting a potentially innocent man in prison, or risk putting those she loves in mortal danger.
For fans of Steve Cavanagh, Linwood Barclay and Gillian McAllister, introducing the latest novel from the master of the moral dilemma, Jack Jordan.
My thoughts: Neve has been handed the biggest case of her career – defending a man accused of murdering his family and burning his house down to cover up his crimes. Then she is told that she must get him convicted. His late wife’s family are willing to kill her’s to ensure this happens. They’re positive he’s guilty, and even if he isn’t, tough.
Neve is placed in a difficult position, an impossible one. Her client insists he’s innocent but Neve becomes less sure as the case goes on. Can she throw the trial and have an innocent man locked up or is he as guilty as his wife’s family says?
Clever, gripping and full of twists, this is another brilliant thriller from Jack Jordan, with a fascinating, conflicted protagonist and a complex moral dilemma at its heart.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
We’re celebrating the one year anniversary of Death Rattle by Carter Pugh this week!
Death Rattle Publication Date: September 10, 2023 Genre: Murder Mystery/ Urban Fantasy 🔪🫀Murder Mysteries 🏰Urban Fantasy 🕵️Hidden Identities 👩❤️👨He Falls First 🌶️ Spicy 🧚♂️ The Fae 🛏️ One bed 🫦Forced Proximity 🌪️Twists 🫶🪄Fated Mates 🌏Parallel Worlds 👯♀️👬Multiple POV 📚 Start of a Trilogy 🥺😢Depression/Anxiety Rep
Murder Mystery meets Urban Fantasy in this coming-of-age tale where nothing is as it seems.
Meet Clarke Carpenter, a thirty-year-old nanny and student who desires a life more substantial than her own, full of magic and wonder. After moving to the city, hoping to overcome her insecurities and claim a more vibrant life, her world unexpectedly upturns when she is accused of murdering her roommate. Clarke’s dreams of a fairytale existence are obliterated…or are they?
Follow along in this thrilling first instalment of the Death Book series as Clarke discovers the mystery of who she is.
My thoughts: Clarke’s life seems to be going well, until she finds her roommate dead, and as the only suspect, everything goes wrong. Her best friend goes missing and the police think she’s involved in that too. Until a strange man convinces her to run away with him, and gives the cops an alternative suspect.
But there’s more to this than a straightforward crime thriller, whole other dimensions as Clarke’s unlikely rescuer is from another world, and maybe so is Clarke …
Checkout girl Bea Jordan has a knack for stumbling into trouble. Even so, nothing can ruin her picnic in the allotment with her best friend, green-thumbed Ant.
With the annual Kingsleigh Flower and Produce Show approaching, she feels he’s had little time for her. Especially with the drama of a prize-winning tomato thief on the loose.
But a grizzly discovery is waiting for them by the pumpkin patch . . .
The body of Dylan Bradley, their old history teacher. Someone stuck a trowel in his head and left him for dead.
But who would want to hurt Dylan? Bea has a feeling it has something to do with the ruby ring he dug up in the allotment.
Then the discovery of a second body throws the townsfolk into full-blown turmoil. Now Bea must juggle small-town secrets, rivalries and murder with her growing feelings for Ant.
Can she dig up the truth before the killer strikes again, or has Bea finally planted the seed for her own demise?
AN ABSOLUTELY GRIPPING COZY MYSTERY FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS AND LOVEABLE CHARACTERS.
Meet the workers of Kingsleigh Costsave. There’s Bea, a maths whizz with a heart of gold. Ant, a hapless high-school drop-out. And wisecracking Dot, in her late fifties and always beautifully coiffed.
I’m a fiftysomething author of psych thrillers and cosy crime books for adults and thrillers for young for adults. I live in Bath, England, and have a husband, two grown up children and two dogs. I’ve been a full-time writer for 10 years, before which I had ‘sensible’ jobs.
I’m now writing crime for adults. My cozy crime series, The Supermarket Mysteries, is now published as ebooks with Joffe Books. The first novel in the series is The Missing Checkout Girl Mystery.
My debut psychological thriller, Safe With You, is published by HQ Digital and is out now.
For young adults, I have published the Numbers trilogy, The Drowning and Water Born with Chicken House UK. The first book came out in the UK in 2009 and the USA in 2010. My Numbers books explore the gift of being able to see death dates. If you looked in somebody’s eyes and saw the date of their death, would it change the way you felt about people? They’ve been published in 26 countries and optioned for film.
My thoughts: I like this series, I like Bea and Dot very much, but it was interesting to have a book that was focused a bit more on Ant and the other male staff members at Costsave, as well as some of the other characters.
Ant and Bob have been helping their friend Charles out with his allotment, and getting giant marrow Marvin ready for the local produce show and competition. Ant has been spending a lot of time there after work and bonding with the other growers, especially retired teacher Dylan. His genuine horror at finding Dylan’s body, locked in his shed with a trowel to the skull is awful. But he determines to find out who killed his friend and why.
Bea doesn’t want anything to do with it, understandably, but gets drawn into the case anyway. Dylan was a local councillor and wanted to open a town museum to showcase the history. She’s fascinated by this aspect of his life and agrees to find out more.
The whole gang become part of the investigation and the allotments are central to what they uncover as is Dylan’s passion for local history. The town might not seem like an interesting place to many, but all the intrigue and murder they uncover suggests otherwise!
A smart and witty crime novel with really great characters, always a pleasure to read.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
London based lawyer Kyra Gibson returns to Martha’s Vineyard and the beach house she inherited for an extended summer holiday. Still reeling from her father’s brutal murder and the role she and the handsome detective, Tarek Collins played in uncovering it, Kyra is hopeful for some peace and quiet. But when a summer squall reveals the wreckage of the pirate ship, Keres, rich with rumored treasure, all hopes of peace are dashed. Conservationists and treasure hunters descend on the exclusive island to lay claim to the ship. When two of the salvagers are killed, Kyra and Tarek’s friend, pub owner and amateur historian, Gully Gould is arrested for murder.
Determined to prove Gully’s innocence, Kyra, Tarek, and reformed playboy Chase Hawthorn team up to clear their friend’s name. But someone wants the treasure for themselves. And with someone willing to kill for it, there is more than just danger lurking along the island’s caves and coves. There is death.
Attorney Kyra Gibson has a lot on her mind this Thanksgiving. She’s been working long hours on a multi-billion dollar corporate merger, her family is visiting from London, and her relationship with former police detective Tarek Collins is heating up. When she and her companions are invited by her aristocrat client to attend a formal gala at a historic mansion on Chappaquiddick, Kyra reluctantly agrees.
But Chappy is more than just a playground for the wealthy. It’s a wild, remote place cut off from civilization. When the first body is found, the occupants are worried. Was it an accident or murder? When a second guest is brutally killed and then a third, there’s no doubt and the guests fearfully turn on each other. They are locked in a house with a murderer picking them off one-by-one. Kyra, her best friend Chase Hawthorn, and Tarek must survive the night and find the killer, or one of them could be next.
Both novels are from the Martha’s Vineyard Murders series, which starts with A Chain of Pearls. They can be read as standalones.
Raemi A Ray’s travels to Martha’s Vineyard and around the world inspire her stories. She lives outside Boston. When not writing or traveling she earns her keep as the personal assistant to the resident house demons, Otto and Dolph Lundgren.
My thoughts: I’ve really enjoyed these books, and hopefully there will be more to come.
Set on Martha’s Vineyard, each book can be read as a standalone or as part of a series, which is how I’ve read them.
Wraith’s Return – after a long lost ship is found just off the island, rumoured to be full of pirate treasure, it brings trouble to the small community. Pub owner Gully is invested in raising the ship from the seabed, and several conservation groups are protesting the plan.
When Gully becomes a suspect in the murders of two divers, and then a local fisherman, tensions heighten. Can lawyer Kyra and police detective Tyrek help Gully clear his name and find the real killer?
The book really casts the divide between lifelong islanders and “newcomers” like Gully, Tyrek and Kyra, even though all three have links to the island. Gully is suspected even though he’s the one who was funding the divers and has no reason to want them dead. Kyra is a brilliant investigator, even though she’s not a criminal lawyer (mergers and acquisitions) she has a really good understanding of human nature and an analytical way of thinking that make her a natural sleuth.
Widow’s Walk – Kyra’s most demanding client has rented a huge historic mansion on the small neighbouring island of Chappaquiddick to celebrate a huge deal. It’s Thanksgiving, and Kyra’s family are visiting. She doesn’t want to go to the event, but her boss and the client won’t take no for an answer, including her guests as theirs.
A tribute to Golden Age crime, this is a smart and clever read, with only a few people cut off from the larger island by a storm, the phones and Internet down, when the bodies start to pile up – one of them must be a killer.
Once again Kyra and her friends must solve the crime, identify the killer and keep themselves safe and alive long enough for help to arrive. They have limited resources, a lot of places to hide and plenty of suspects.
What first seem like accidents take on more sinister aspects when they find a very clearly murdered victim, and accusations fly. A woman is missing too – is she the killer or another victim?
Kyra and Tyrek are trying to get to the bottom of the case, is it linked to the big deal they’re all in the house to celebrate or is it about something else? Who could be killing the guests?
Both books are well written and very enjoyable, I liked the characters a lot too, Kyra is a great protagonist and her group of friends and family are a pleasure to spend time with. She’s smart and resourceful and as Wraith’s Walk ends with her needing to make decisions about her future, if she becomes a PI, I think she’d make a great one.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Ismail Karaman is one of the deadliest terrorists in recent history. So why is he free to float around the Persian Gulf on his luxury yacht?
Ex intelligence agent James Ryker thinks he knows why, and the answer lies at the corrupt heart of the SIS. Ryker isn’t one to let the bad guys get away with murder, even if it means taking matters into his own hands. But Karaman has many enemies, and one in particular will make all their lives much more complicated…
They call her the Angel of Death – a former agent whose last encounter with Karaman cost her her family, and left her in a Lebanese prison cell. Now she’s free, and with nothing else to lose, she’s determined to get her revenge… whatever it takes.
Ryker and the Angel may have the same target, but that doesn’t mean they’re on the same side.
Who will reach Karaman first?
And who will still be standing when the bodies pile up?
My thoughts: Ryker has never stopped investigating the Syndicate, despite no longer officially working for any intelligence service. He’s still in touch with Winter, though and still able to access various databases. He’s tracked his strongest link to Dubai, where he lives on his fancy yacht, not exactly hiding from anyone.
Ryker plans to get to Karaman, he has questions, he’s determined to follow the trail of the Syndicate to the top. But because he’s on the outside now, he doesn’t have the access he once did and it doesn’t go smoothly.
There’s also another person involved – a former agent known as the Angel of Death – who wants to get Karaman for her own reasons. Can Ryker get his man or will Angel or the intelligence community get there first?
Another action packed installment of Ryker’s story, which sees him pull off quite possibly his riskiest mission yet. He’s become perhaps too focused on proving the existence of the Syndicate and is putting himself at risk of winding up on the wrong side of the law, and even Winter won’t be able to help him.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
Award-winning author of the Annalisse series, Marlene M. Bell, brings distant friends together in the rural South only to have one of them become the victim of a brutal crime of passion.
Once celebrated for her show-stopping pastries and irresistible desserts, former celebrity chef Laura Harris is now making headlines for a far darker reason.
Laura has been accused of murder.
How could this petite chef have brutally smothered the beloved small-town matriarch, World War II ferry pilot veteran, Hattie Stenburg? Hattie wasn’t just a pillar of the community; she was Laura’s confidant and mentor. The shocking twist? Hattie’s will contained recent changes, bypassing next-of kin and leaving her entire fortune and historic estate to Laura.
As Laura scrambles to clear her name, she uncovers sinister secrets lurking beneath the town’s idyllic surface. The real murderer is always one step ahead, leaving taunting clues and threatening Laura to leave Texas—or face deadly consequences. With time not a luxury, Laura must untangle the web of deceit before the killer makes her the next victim.
In A Hush at Midnight, Marlene M. Bell twists an amateur sleuth crime mystery into a race against the clock to solve her mentor’s murder.
AmazonGoodreads For all of October the book is $1.99 on US Kindle
Marlene M. Bell has never met a sheep she didn’t like. As a personal touch for her readers, they often find these wooly creatures visiting her international romantic mysteries and children’s books as characters or subject matter. Marlene is an accomplished artist and photographer who takes pride in entertaining fans on multiple levels of her creativity.
Her award-winning Annalisse series boasts Best Mystery honors for all installments including these: IP Best Regional Australia/New Zealand, Global Award Best Mystery, and Chanticleer’s International Mystery and Mayhem shortlist for Copper Waters, the fourth mystery in the series.
Marlene also writes children’s books. Her picture book, Mia and Nattie: One Great Team is based on true events with a bottle lamb. It’s a touching story of compassion and love between a little girl and her lamb, suitable for ages three through seven years.
She shares her life with her husband and a few dreadfully spoiled horned Dorset sheep: a large Maremma guard dog named Tia, and cats, Hollywood, Leo, and Squeaks. The animals and nature are the cornerstone for Marlene’s books.
A monumental sepia-toned picture hanging over the brick and stone fireplace caught Laura’s eye, and she moved closer to investigate. She flipped the wall light switch to brighten the print’s details. A youthful Hattie in an oversized shirt and pants stood next to a four-engine bomber with a pin-up style girl painted on the fuselage.
“An iconic shot. Tell me about this one.” Laura pointed to the woman in the photo. “That’s you next to the bomber, isn’t it?” She’d remembered that particular aircraft from descriptions in long talks with Hattie. The girl standing in the photo resembled how Hattie would’ve looked in her twenties. Forties pageboy hairstyle and all.
“Me at Avenger Field in Sweetwater. That was ol’ Sheila Mae, the big girl. One of the biggest birds I’ve ever had the privilege to ferry. Did you know that B-17s take ten people to fly them on a mission?”
Laura scrutinized the giant silver aircraft and how small Hattie looked standing next to the wing.
“If you’re wondering about my baggy clothes, the girls had to wear military-issued men’s gear because all the clothes were made for men. Women flying trainers and bombers were unheard of until the WASPs, which stands for Women Airforce Service Pilots. Flying in theater was a men-only job back then. The girls asked to fly in combat, but General Peterson turned us down. He wouldn’t be responsible for women drivers getting blown out of the sky or something like that.” Hattie sighed. “The only things that kept our pants from falling around our ankles were extra wide belts and lots of elastic.” Hattie slapped her thigh and grinned, followed by a cough.
“How did you reach the pedals to fly something that huge?” Laura couldn’t imagine that petite women like herself had an easy time of it in the plane’s cockpit that Hattie had referred to as a Fortress.
“We rigged the seats with pillows so we could see above the instrument panel. We had to work out other things, but a few of us put our heads together and got it done.” Hattie reached for a glazed donut and held it up. “Try these with your coffee; they’re delish.”
“I have something you might like better. Will you be okay for a couple of minutes? I left the cooler in the car.”
“If it’s something made by your hands, I can’t wait.” Hattie set the donut on the plate and licked sugar from her fingertips. “Go ahead.” She flipped her hand toward the door. “Surprise me.”
Laura and Hattie ate the chocolate-glazed profiteroles and drank coffee for at least half an hour, catching up on so much lost time. Although writing letters was a nice pastime, it couldn’t replace a personal interaction where facial expressions said more than reading words on a page. Laura was glad she’d listened to her dad’s advice about driving a couple of hours to see her old friend. How Laura had longed for Hattie’s sense of humor and hearing the crazy recounts about her flying days.
Their near-fatal accidents were terrifying and the tales about frying donuts in their rooms and getting thrown out of the men’s local bar made Laura temporarily forget her irritation with Lucas Olsen, her latest companion of six months.
“Is Nicole a close friend of yours?” Laura asked. “You’re lucky to have someone staying with you.”
“She has her own place with Edith next door.” Hattie took another sip from her third cup of coffee. “Nicole lives at home to help out her mother and comes here to fix my meals and straighten the house. All but Warren’s office beneath the staircase. I keep his door locked with a special key.” Eating the last of her pastry had left custard on her lip. “Nicki’s a good kid. I don’t know what I’d do without her and Jordan, my groundskeeper.”
Two questions answered. Jordan cut the grass and did general maintenance on the property outside, while Nicole took care of Hattie’s indoor needs from the white house next door. Laura wondered what lay inside Warren’s office.
“Is there something I can clean or move for you in his office while I’m here?”
“All in good time.” Hattie held one eye in a wink longer than needed. “The Alamo’s behind that door.”
A conflicting statement if there ever was one.
Laura laughed as she worked through the puzzle. “Don’t tell me; Warren collected Texas battle memorabilia and you, the Staffordshire pieces?”
Hattie nodded. “Right-e-o. I’ve gathered almost every piece of Staffordshire made, large and small. The bigger specimens are upstairs.” Her eyes swept the staircase as she gripped the rocker armrest, then turned her pinpoint gaze on Laura. “I’m glad you stopped by, Laura.” She held up one bony finger. “You do look taller, though.”
A smile stretched across Laura’s face. “I wish. Still four-foot-eleven inches in bare feet.”
Hattie whisked crumbs from her lap blanket. “I adore French pastry, and your profiteroles were crackerjack. Time for a potty break.” She rocked forward with the help of her cane, tossing the throw blanket aside.
Neighbor Nicole banged through the front door with bags of groceries on a trolley cart, traipsing to the kitchen. She pulled along her heavy burden on squeaky wheels.
“I’ll help you to the bathroom. Point me in the right direction.” Laura set her coffee cup down, taking Hattie’s arm.
Hattie chuckled. “Did I ever tell you how I found Jordan trespassing in my barn?”
“What?”
“A few years ago, when I could still check the outbuildings in the mornings, I caught him sleeping in there and helping himself to the drinks in the little fridge. He was stranded on the road between towns. Poor fellow. He needed a job, so I put him to work.”
Laura was surprised at how easily Hattie had offered the stranger a job.
“I had the vacant guesthouse in back and needed the help. Mutually beneficial, as Warren would say. The guest’s quarters are over there around the corner.” Hattie pointed to her left and began coughing. “Sometimes, he takes Moonie.” Another deep-seated cough. “It keeps the little nubbin out of trouble.” Hattie’s coughing grew in intensity, and she had trouble taking breaths in between.
“Hattie, catch your wind.” Laura planted her feet, catching her friend as she lost her balance and swayed on her cane. Her coughing could bring about an embarrassing accident, and Laura knew how prim and proper Hattie would hate that. “How far to the bathroom?” she asked Nicole.
“Just go. I can handle her.” Nicole arrived on the cane side of Hattie with a fresh bottle of cough syrup. “Take a swig.”
Laura’s jaw dropped. “You’ve got to be kidding. Let her breathe normally first. She’ll choke.”
Hattie patted her chest and cleared her throat as she brushed Nicole’s hand away. Between coughs and gasps, Hattie managed a goodbye wave for Laura.
“I’ll stay with Hattie tonight,” Laura addressed Nicole. “Leave the groceries for now. Hattie needs her rest. I can sit with her.”
Laura’s dear pen pal managed a smile and a short wink.
Nicole folded her arms. “She doesn’t need you. I’ll even sleep on the couch if that makes you feel any better.”
Laura was shocked by the neighbor’s wisecrack in front of Hattie.
“You aren’t making me feel better.” Laura turned to Hattie. “Will you be all right if I leave now? I’ll stay if you want.” Laura hoped that Hattie would ask her to stay, but it was up to her.
Hattie paused, looked sadly into Laura’s eyes, then nodded. “We’ll talk again soon, my girl. I’m fine.”
Grabbing her leather bag from the floor, Laura’s tears welled, spilling down her cheeks. She hated to leave Hattie with someone as uncaring as Nicole. Laura made one last turn to watch the pair move along the hardwood floor and around the staircase.
She exited into chilly blackness on the porch amid a chorus of croaking toads and nighttime crickets.
Almost to Coldspell and full of misgivings, Laura couldn’t shake her feeling of dread for Hattie’s sake. Why did she allow Nicole to steer her away? She should’ve stayed with her mentor and not bowed to the will of a neighbor she knew nothing about.
Laura had to drive back to Stenburg no matter how late it was.
She glanced at the clock on her dash, beyond caring what anyone thought about an after-midnight visitation. Even if she had to nap in her car to make the trip back to Coldspell, she wouldn’t rest until she knew that Hattie was okay.
An inky blanket hung over the property when she arrived. Not a single porch or barn light shone from the Stenburg Estate. Living this far out from town, Laura couldn’t imagine why a dusk-to-dawn light hadn’t been installed. She’d mention it to her dad. Her headlights beamed on the front door and bay window, bright enough to wake someone sleeping on the living room couch. Laura left her Subaru in park with the engine running and jogged up the steps. She knocked quietly on the huge glass pane. If she could rouse the neighbor without waking Hattie, better yet.
A dog barked in the distance. The only sound for miles. Moon Pie should’ve been with Hattie, but Laura picked up no sound from inside the estate house. Surely, Hattie’s pet would notice visitors.
The barking continued, perhaps from a nearby shelter for stray animals.
Laura cupped her hands and peered through the window but was unable to see past the dark glass cloaked by heavy curtains. She knocked more firmly with her knuckles. Other than raising goosebumps on her arms, no one inside rose to open the front door.
Nicole had lied about staying with Hattie and sleeping on the couch.
Laura’s heartbeat quickened as she pounded on the massive door, calling for Nicole or Hattie to let her inside. No human or pet could sleep through the noise she was making. She tried the door and found it as it should’ve been. Locked.
“Hattie! Is anyone in there?” Laura kicked her boot at the door in frustration.
She checked the kitchen and bedroom windows that were too high for her to climb through even if she were lucky enough to find one unlocked. She ran along the wraparound porch, calling for Hattie—her car’s right headlight spotting the way from porch to grass.
The further she went toward the back of the house, the louder the barking became.
Hattie had mentioned that Moon Pie stayed with Jordan in the guesthouse.
Wake Jordan. He’ll find Hattie.
Laura ran to her car and drove behind the building to where the guesthouse connected to the estate via a concrete breezeway. There, she found a sharp-eared corgi with her nose pressed against the window, scratching with her claws and raising all kinds of ruckus.
Where is Jordan, and why is Moon Pie alone in the guesthouse? Laura’s tingling senses told her the scene was all wrong.
She slammed the Subaru into park and faced the dog from the other side of the narrow four-foot window near the guesthouse’s entrance. Laura tried to open the locked metal door by the knob, then gave a strong shove with her shoulder. All she received for her trouble was a sore arm. When she made eye contact with Moon Pie once more, the dog wriggled its rump, whining and whimpering. Crouching to Moon Pie’s level, she placed the flat of her hand on the outside screen, trying to soothe the irate dog with her words. A small gap below the sash showed her that Jordan had left the window slightly ajar for the dog.
Laura caught a whiff of something she couldn’t describe.
Moon Pie had her red nylon lead attached at the collar, as if she’d been dropped inside abruptly.
“Sweetie, I’m coming in.” Laura removed a driving glove, pried the screen from its runners with her nails, and threw it aside.
Moon Pie stuck her nose through the opening and sniffed.
“Don’t bite my fingers.” She replaced the glove on her hand and with all her might, lifted the sash from the gap, sliding it up and open. Enough to squeeze her small frame through sideways.
Moon Pie jumped out then came back to follow her inside, barking madly at her feet. Her boot caught the dog, throwing Laura headlong into the wall. “Honey, quiet. I can’t think.” Laura groped the painted surface with her palm until she found a light switch and flipped it on.
She stood in a bedroom.
Someone lay still on the mattress. Deathly pale.
A crawling sensation moved up her spine. Jordan. As she walked closer to the person, she realized the body was that of a female, partially obscured by a bed pillow. Laura took several labored breaths and sped around the footboard—watching for the rise and fall of the woman’s chest.
A fleeting thought of Nicole went through her mind, quickly dashed by the person’s hair color. Bitterness filled Laura’s mouth and she swallowed hard. Her worst fears had come true.
My thoughts: If Laura’s career as a chef ever fails, she’d make a great detective. After her mentor and surrogate grandmother Hattie dies in what Laura suspects is murder, despite the cops originally deciding it looks like natural causes, she starts to investigate, while pushing the police to do the same.
She’s also dealing with a few other issues, there’s her widowed dad’s new “friend”, the bakery she’s helping getting back on its feet with her friend, a handsome lawyer and Moon Pie, Hattie’s corgi to take care of. And someone keeps leaving her notes telling her to get out of town.
I hadn’t read any of the author’s books and this was an excellent introduction to her work, I really liked Laura, she’s dynamic and determined, not afraid to get stuck in and do her upmost to find Hattie’s killer.
The plot was satisfying and enjoyable, there was lots of fun little details and I think we need a prequel about Hattie, as well as more of Laura’s adventures.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 