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Mrs. Morris and the Mermaid (A Salem B&B Mystery)
by Traci Wilton

 

Mrs. Morris and the Mermaid (A Salem B&B Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
8th in Series
Setting – Massachusetts
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Kensington Cozies (February 20, 2024)
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1496741390
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1496741394
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C6FV91ML

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Set in Salem, Massachusetts, this fun, cozy series sees a widowed B&B owner teaming up with a charming ghost to solve murders—an engaging read for fans who like a paranormal tinge to their mysteries.

Charlene and her handsome spectral friend, Dr. Jack Strathmore, are thrilled that their Salem, Massachusetts, B&B is overflowing with mermaids in advance of the town’s newest attraction—a mermaid parade! Retired Hollywood actress Trinity Powers has even agreed to appear on the lead float to commemorate her breakout role as the eponymous mermaid in the blockbuster cult classic, Sirena. The parade also features Trinity’s rival, an up-and-coming ingénue, who stars in the film’s recent (and somewhat controversial) reboot. Though their rabid fan clubs seem ready to tear each other—and the festivities—apart, the vying actresses are keeping it cool, for now . . .

But when Charlene discovers a mermaid murdered, she realizes a killer is out to steal the show. With the help of Jack and Detective Sam Holden, Charlene plunges into the case, determined to stop a killer from striking again . . .

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Enjoy this peek inside:

Charlene stepped into the dining room and clasped her hands together. Her guests were in varying stages of preparation for the big day and the kids, even Dillon, brimming with excitement.

“Great costumes.” She could see why the twins had won in prior contests because of the intricate beadwork.

Aqua and Jewel were in blue and green bodices and tails. Aqua’s hair had been dyed blue to match and Jewel’s was dyed green. The tails had been propped against the wall to keep them clean as the twins finished breakfast.

“Thank you!” Natalie was finishing some eggs and toast, with coffee and juice. “I’ll get dressed when I’m done here. Linc has to help me with the coconut shells.”

Linc, his bare chest painted blue, winked. “My pleasure.”

Barb and Andrew were in street clothes as they ate. “I have a new clam shell top that I bought to wear with a skirt that ripples like water.”

“It’ll be really pretty,” Andrew said. “But let’s get Natalie’s email and maybe we can buy you a custom tail for next year.”

“That would be nice!” Barb said. “How much are they?”

Linc sipped coffee. “Anywhere from five hundred to ten thousand. Check out Tida Wave’s Creations.”

Charlene swallowed her surprise. That seemed expensive, but Natalie’s work was first-rate. That explained how they could afford to travel.

Andrew didn’t blink at the cost. “Thanks. We will.”

Natalie shifted toward Charlene. “Registration starts at ten, right?”

“Yes.” Charlene bestowed an encouraging smile at each of them, her keys to the Pilot in her palm. “I’ll see you there, so make sure to say hello.” Brandy had rented metal stands for observers though people were welcome to bring their own chairs to watch from the sidewalks or their lawns. “Parade begins at noon. There will be food trucks all day. The King and Queen Neptune will be announced at six. At eight we’ll start Sirena to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the movie at the Common.”

Natalie gestured to Charlene’s shirt. “Is that the T-shirt for registration? It’s very cool. Too bad there wasn’t one with Alannah Gomez on it. The new Sirena.”

Charlene hadn’t realized this would be such a point of contention but after hearing Andrew and Natalie discuss it on Friday, she and Jack had looked up the feud online. Fans were vicious in their defense of their chosen mermaid. Trinity fans claimed that Alannah needed support from her other actors because she wasn’t as graceful in the water, and Alannah fans said that Trinity was boring.

“Trinity is classic,” Andrew said. His tone today wasn’t as friendly as it had been on Friday. She wondered if it had anything to do with the party at Ariel Glitter’s house last night. Jack had told her that the Martins had come in after midnight.

The Bonets wore T-shirts with Darryl Hannah from Splash on the front—nice, neutral ground at the dining table. The Sanchos brothers had on tight silver T-shirts that would be paired with their tails later but for now, wore jeans. Dean was older by a few years than Steve.

“We are Team Alannah too,” Lottie said. “Dillon knows all the songs.”

Dillon, hair dyed dark blue, wore a navy shirt and shorts with painted scales. His parents were in matching shimmering shirts—jeans for Terry, but Lottie wore a skirt.

“I heard there might be trouble at the parade,” Dean Sanchos said to Charlene.

“What kind of trouble?” Charlene hid her dismay behind a cool façade. She hoped to nip the problem in the bud.

Steve plonked his elbow next to his plate with a sigh. “At Ariel Glitter’s party, there was talk of a possible showdown. Trinity’s people want Alannah to apologize in person for all that she’s said.”

“What?” Terry asked, confused. “We don’t know anything about that.”

Andrew slammed his coffee cup onto the table. “Team Trinity will defend their queen.”

“When?” Charlene asked. She’d need to tell Brandy.

Barb waved her hand. “That was just a bunch of people blowing off steam after too much beer. Ariel probably won’t remember anyway. Nothing will happen.”

“Don’t know a time.” Dean glanced around the table. “Me and Steve want a chance at the prize money for the best costume. We created an animated Triton. It’d be cool to meet Trinity, but we don’t care about fighting.”

Charlene cleared her throat to get their attention. “I declare this B and B Switzerland.”

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About Traci Wilton

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From cozy mysteries to seaside romance, USA Today bestselling author Traci Hall writes stories that captivate her readers. As a hybrid author with over sixty published works, Ms. Hall has a favorite tale for everyone. Mystery lovers, check out her Scottish Shire series, set in the seaside town of Nairn, or the Salem B&B Mystery series, as Traci Wilton. Her latest project is an Irish Castle cozy as Ellie Brannigan. Whether it’s her ever-popular By the Sea romances, an Appletree Cove sweet romance, or a fun who-done-it, Traci finds her inspiration in sunny South Florida, living right near the ocean.

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Author Links: Website / Twitter / Amazon / Instagram / Kensington

Facebook / Facebook / Facebook

Purchase Links – Amazon – Kindle  – Amazon – Paperback –  B&N – Kobo – Bookshop.org

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Slashed Potatoes and Grave-y

by Joann Keder

 

(Honeypie Mysteries, #1)
Publication date: February 14th 2024
Genres: Adult, Cozy Mystery

Honeypie Sweetwater’s life is a recipe for disaster—her culinary career in San Francisco is burnt to a crisp, her sterling reputation tossed out like last week’s leftovers, and now her home is slipping through her fingers like fine sand. Just as she’s about to surrender to fate, a ghost from the past delivers a bombshell—her beloved grandmother didn’t die; she was murdered. Clutching the deed to a quaint diner on the rugged coast, Honeypie whisks back to the salty sea air of her youth to unravel a mystery that’s been marinating for years. In a town bubbling with secrets, every friend could be a suspect, and every enemy, a clue. As the plot thickens and an enigmatic blast from the past steps out of the shadows, Honeypie must face a bitter truth: the most dangerous ingredients in this simmering scandal are her own buried secrets.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes& Noble / Kobo

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Enjoy this peek inside:

“Ma’am?”

Honeypie Sweetwater stared out the window of her condo. The rain was coming down in sheets, which was fitting for her current financial situation. Unwillingly, she turned her head to face the stern woman sitting across the table from her.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Steam, I—”

“It’s SIStine, like the chapel? And I’m Ms.” She twitched her nose just like the old television show with the witch. Also fitting.

“This is your copy of the documents for the foreclosure on this property.”

“It’s my home. We’re not talking about a lemonade stand. I raised my son here and started a business—”

“And that failed too, didn’t it?”

Honeypie dug what was left of her fingernails into her palms, doing her level best not to lose her cool. “You just look at the numbers. You don’t have any idea what my life has been like, or what it took just to put food on the table for my kid some months.”

After a brief stare-down that Honeypie felt confident she’d won, the banker leaned back, causing the wobbly wooden chair to creak in protest. She flopped an arm over the back of the chair and stuck her tongue in her cheek before delivering the next blow.

“There is also the matter of your inheritance. The land and property in Washington State will also become our holdings after you sign the paperwork.” She shuffled through her papers containing a collection of colorful stickers. “I hear great things about the museum in Misty Cove.”

“The Chewseum? I didn’t realize that was still open. It’s a food museum. Kinda cheesy, get it?”

Ms. Sistine ignored H.P.’s attempt at humor and shoved the documents in front of her.

“Please sign on the lines I’ve highlighted.”

Her inheritance. Her childhood. Everything that made her the woman she was today.

 

 

About Author Joann Keder:

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USA TODAY bestselling author, Joann Keder spent most of her years in the Midwest, growing up and raising a family on the Great Plains of Nebraska. She worked for sixteen years as a piano teacher before returning to school to receive a master’s degree in creative writing. A mid-life move to the Pacific Northwest led her to re-examine her priorities. She now creates stories about life and relationships in small towns while her ever-patient husband encourages her on.

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Instagram

 

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Once Upon a Murder (A Lady Librarian Mystery)
by Samantha Larsen

 

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Once Upon a Murder (A Lady Librarian Mystery) by Samantha Larsen

Publication Date: February 20, 2024
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books 
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1639106219
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1639106219
Digital  ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C4J6WW7B

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Book Synopsis

Miss Tiffany Woodall must sleuth the slaying of a footman to clear her beloved’s name in the second Lady Librarian mystery, in the vein of Deanna Raybourn and perfect for fans of Bridgerton.

1784 England. Officially hired as the librarian for the Duchess of Beaufort, Miss Tiffany Woodall is through with masquerades and murders for good. That is, until she stumbles upon the frozen dead body of former footman Mr. Bernard Coram. The speed with which her peaceful new life is upended is one for the record books: the justice of the peace immediately declares her the primary suspect in the murder.

As Tiffany hunts for the truth to clear her name, she learns that Bernard got into a fight over a woman at the local pub the night of his death–but he was also overheard blackmailing Samir. The justice of the peace arrests Samir, and Tiffany realizes that her life may have more in common with a tragic play than a light-hearted romance.

With her love locked up in jail and her own reputation on the line, Tiffany must attempt to solve the murder before the book closes on her or Samir’s life.

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Enjoy this peek inside:

It was a man.

            And his body was half covered in snow. Which meant that the corpse was cold and most likely dead. Warm skin melted snow, like the wet on her cheeks that looked like tears. Tiffany stooped down to her knees and saw that the man was very tall. Even face down in the mud, he had to be six feet. Practically a giant. He wore no hat and the back of his head and hair were covered in blood.

            With all of her strength, Tiffany tried to turn the body over. She pushed with her hand and then added her right shoulder until the form slowly turned face up. The legs still tangled stiffly together.

            She knew that face.

            Even muddy and bloody, she would have recognized Mr. Bernard Coram anywhere.

            Tiffany yanked off her wet glove and pressed her hand against his neck. There was no pulse there. His skin was as cold as ice and extremely pale. One of his eyes looked as if it had been blackened. And there were four long scratches on his left cheek. His lips were blue and snow frosted his eyebrows. He’d been dead for many hours.

            While Tiffany had never liked the handsome young man and former footman, she certainly hadn’t wished for his death.

            And what was he doing near her cottage?

            Bristle Cottage was at least a mile from the village of Mapledown and the road in front of her house led to Astwell Palace. The place where he had been dismissed five months previous for his terrible treatment of the Duchess of Beaufort’s adopted son, Mr. Thomas Montague. She recalled that his parent’s farm was somewhere near the village.

            Who or what had killed him?

            Only last year, Tiffany had helped solve her own half brother’s murder and the death of a lady’s maid. They had both been the unintended victims of the late Duke of Beaufort’s efforts to kill his wife and marry his lover. Tiffany had begun to unravel the mystery when she discovered that the two victims had both been given a snuffbox by the Duchess of Beaufort. Poison had been the murderer’s weapon of choice. She glanced around the road and open area. Between the mud and snow, she didn’t see a rock large enough to bludgeon a head. Nor any other manmade item that might have been used as a weapon.

            The sleet had covered up any tracks that might have been left by an animal or the murderer. The scratches on his face could indicate an unfortunate meeting with a wolf or a bear. She remembered the fairytale from her childhood, Little Red Riding Hood. A young girl goes into the forest to visit her grandmother’s cottage and is tricked by a wolf disguised as her.

“Grandmamma, what great arms you have got!”

“That is the better to hug thee, my dear.”

“Grandmamma, what great legs you have got!”

“That is to run the better, my child.”

“Grandmamma, what great ears you have got!”

“That is to hear the better, my child.”

“Grandmamma, what great eyes you have got!”

“It is to see the better, my child.”

“Grandmamma, what great teeth you have got!”

“That is to eat thee up.”

Then the wolf eats the girl. Tiffany’s cottage was in the forest, however, there were no Big Bad Wolf’s footprints in the mud. Only the two freshly made ruts by the wheels of a carriage which led her to believe that Bernard had met his death at the hands of a human.

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About Samantha Larsen

Samantha Larsen met her husband in a turkey sandwich line. They live in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she spends most of her time reading, eating popcorn, having tea parties, and chasing her four kids. She has degrees from Brigham Young University, the University of North Texas, and the University of Reading (UK). She also writes historical romances under Samantha Hastings. Learn more at www.SamanthaHastings.com

Author Links: Website / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter

Purchase Links
Amazon – B&N – Books A Million – Powells Books – Bookshop.org – Target – Walmart 

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