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A Shot In The 80% Dark
A Bean To Bar Mystery
by Amber Royer
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A Shot in the 80% Dark (Bean to Bar Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Golden Tip Press (July 15, 2022)
Paperback : 268 pages
ISBN-10 : 1952854148
ISBN-13 : 978-1952854149
Digital ASIN : B0B4FFZDWH
Felicity Koerber’s bean to bar chocolate shop thriving. Despite everything she’s been through with the murders she’s helped solve, Felicity is ready to take on new challenges. So when a local museum offers her a contract to create a chocolate replica of a gigantic sailing ship sculpture for a gala celebrating Galveston’s history, she jumps at the chance to combine chocolate-crafting with art.
The project is fun – right up until there’s not just one but two dead artists on the scene, and Felicity has to change gears back to detective. Logan, Felicity’s business partner and previous bodyguard, and Arlo, Felicity’s ex who is now the cop investigating the case, are split on which victim they think was actually the intended one. Felicity may have to take some chances, both emotionally and in luring out a killer, to determine the truth.
Can she find out how Galveston’s history relates to the murders, unmask a killer, and prepare 2,000 chocolate desserts for the gala all at the same time?
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Enjoy this peek inside:
Autumn leaves, and on her way out she passes Ash Diaz, who is just coming in the door.
From across the room, Tam Binh says, “Ash, what an unexpected pleasure,” in a tone of voice that means this visit is anything but.
“It’s okay,” I tell Tam Binh. “Ash and I are friends now.”
“Are we?” Ash looks pleased. He has light skin and square glasses and is wearing a button up shirt with a fitted denim blazer. Which gives him a hipster vibe. “I know I’ve thought of you as a friend, but I was never quite sure how you viewed me.”
“I did save your life,” I quip. “I wouldn’t do that for just anybody.”
Ash grins. After all, it hadn’t been that long since I’d kept him from getting poisoned and-or shot.
“Wouldn’t you?” Tam Binh asks. She gestures at Ash. “What about his irresponsible journalism? This guy gives bloggers a bad name.”
I say, “I think he’s paid enough for those mistakes.”
Tam Binh looks skeptical. Later, I’m going to have to give her the details about how one of Ash’s articles had gotten him accused of murder.
Ash says, “I’ve taken a few things down off the blog. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep working. My blog connects me to the world.”
“I don’t think you’d still be the same person if you gave up blogging,” I tell him. I move over to the counter and give Ash the last of Carmen’s piggy cookies. She’s in the kitchen, making something else. Her energy today seems boundless.
Tam Binh asks Ash, “Are you here because I’m in town? I told you a long time ago that I’m not interested in an interview about my friend’s murder.”
“No, I didn’t even know you were on the island,” Ash says. He points at me. “I came by because this one isn’t answering her phone. How is she going to be present at another murder scene, and not call me? She knows I have to do another article – she’s still my biggest audience draw – and if she wants any input on what goes into it, there’s only a limited amount of time before I have to go to press – or else the standard news outlets will beat me to it.”
“About that,” I say, not mentioning that it hadn’t even occurred to me to call Ash and give him a news tip. “There was an attempted purse snatching while we were trying on bridesmaids’ dresses, and my phone got smashed.”
“What happened?” Tam Binh asks, alarmed.
I realize I didn’t tell her about the incident, so I give details. Then I say, “Don’t worry. I doubt the thief would be determined enough to try again. But I clearly was specifically targeted. If you don’t feel comfortable staying at the hotel with your kids present, I understand.”
Ash is taking notes. I give him a sharp look and he shrugs like, What? What do you expect me to do with juicy details? Like a sprint in a bridesmaid’s dress?
Tam Binh says, “I’m sure the hotel will be fine.”
I tell Ash, “I’m hoping you can keep the details about the purse snatching out of your article. If the purse snatching has anything to do with the killer, that feels like it might be giving away too much.”
Ash scowls, but he nods. “Fine. But I’m keeping the notes, in case I can use them later. And in this article, I get to call you a mega murder magnet.”
I roll my eyes, but I can’t help but laugh. “Deal.”
I’d been upset when his first article had come out, and he’d practically accused me of being a murderer, and when the second one had shown up, saying I was attracting murders to my hometown. But Ash seems mostly harmless now that I know him, and if he’s willing to be more responsible with what he puts in this article, I’m willing to tell him what I know.
I start giving him details, and see him type A Shot in the 80% Dark into his notes program.
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About Amber Royer
Amber Royer writes the CHOCOVERSE comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series, and the BEAN TO BAR MYSTERIES. She is also the author of STORY LIKE A JOURNALIST: A WORKBOOK FOR NOVELISTS, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel. She blogs about creative writing technique and all things chocolate at www.amberroyer.com. She also teaches creative writing and is an author coach. If you are very nice to her, she might make you cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes, of course.
Author Links: Website / Blog / Instagram / Facebook / YouTube / Twitter
Purchase Links:
Amazon Barnes and Noble Kobo Apple Books
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Great cover