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**NEW RELEASE!!**

Amazon * Bookbub * Goodreads

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A Cozy Mystery Setting

by Brenda Whiteside

The inspiration for the setting of Candy, Cigarettes, and Murder is a real-life historical western town, Prescott, Arizona, and a decades old hotel called the Hassayampa Inn. What fun it’s been having the Martini Sisters frequent this colorful spot. The names have been changed to protect the not so innocent. Here’s a peek into where the murder and mayhem happen with the sisters solving the capers.

WYATT, ARIZONA, formerly Juniper until 1880, is located at the base of the Bradshaw Mountains, two hours north of Phoenix, and named for Wyatt Earp who frequented the historical Azul Restaurant and Saloon located inside the Dulce Inn. The town hall sits in the middle of the town square. The dated building displays white pillars and dozens of steps. Festivals and art fairs are held in the town square. The town has a slight old west feel with turn of the century buildings. Arizonans don’t consider Wyatt high desert because it is lush with ponderosa pine and juniper. Gold Creek runs through the west side of town two blocks from the town square. After a rain, you might actually be able to pan small gold nuggets.

THE DULCE INN, a 150-year-old establishment, is situated on Dry Gulch Avenue, the main road through town, and is across the street from the town square. The inn is ranked as the oldest and classiest boutique hotel in Wyatt, Arizona. Brass and glass double doors enter off the street. Rich jewel colors of gold, deep sage green, burgundy, rust, and purple can be seen throughout the lobby, restaurant, and saloon. On the thick ceiling beams, gold and deep sage green are gilded in an interlaced pattern.  Painted wall murals echo images of nearby rugged mountains, and tall, arched doors lead to a pretty patio and garden. The hotel resonates taste and southwestern charm. Leather chesterfields in the center of the room, invite you to curl with a cup of coffee in hand, while the soft glow from the brass Stiffle lamps on the end tables toss light across the open book in your lap. Above the enormous fireplace, a pastoral desert painting looms large over the oak mantel. A huge block of carved oak forms the reservation desk.

THE AZUL RESTAURANT AND SALOON is located within the Dulce Inn. The one great room is divided by a half-wall topped with a glass partition to separate the dining tables from the bar. The effect allows both sections their own ambience and patrons seated at the bar to enjoy the beautiful stained-glass windows on the far side of the restaurant as well as the stamped copper ceiling from the 1800s. In the restaurant, gold-colored cloths cover the tables with chairs covered in a striped pattern of gold, burgundy, and rust. Wait staff wear black slacks and sage green tailored button-down shirts.

That’s just a taste of where murder, mayhem, and amateur sleuthing happens for the lively and enjoyable Chocolate Martini Sisters. Come join them there and enjoy the rest of the setting:

*Semi-secluded patio attached to the inn, with a decorative Japanese maple tree, cedar, lounge chairs, a pergola covered with wisteria vines and a black iron bench for sitting

*The police station dating back to the early 1900s

* Jen’s Java Café, Peace Out Bookstore, and Murder & Mayhem Bookstore

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**Coming Soon September 2023!!**

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