Turning thirty can be murder!
Scooping Up Scandal
Little Dog Diner Book 7
by Emmie Lyn
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Turning thirty can be murder!
When a body is discovered next to the Little
Dog Diner on her milestone birthday, Dani Mackenzie finds herself scooping up a
scandal instead of cutting cake.
The prime suspect is the new owner of the
Blueberry Bay Grapevine, but the victim’s stepbrother and ex-girlfriend also
have means, motive, and opportunity.
With this trio of suspects, it will take a
good nose to uncover whodunnit. At least Dani has her best friend—her Jack
Russell, Pip—at her side to help sniff out the killer! But in the meantime, her
kick-off to her thirties is turning into more of an upside-down cake than a
celebration as she uncovers money, a business scandal, and thwarted love at the
core of this crime.
It will take the victim’s black Labrador and
finding a winning lottery ticket to solve this mystery, but Dani never throws
in the towel. Will she and Pip once again use their experience at solving
mysteries to bring justice to Misty Harbor, Maine, or will they be caught in
the crosshairs of the killer?
I fumbled on
the nightstand to silence my ringing phone even before my sleep-deprived brain
surfaced through the fog.
“Hello?” I
mumbled. The time blinked 5:30 on my watch. Really? Who was making calls at
that hour? If I’d been fully awake, I would have checked the caller ID. But you
know how it is. I reacted before thinking when caught by surprise. Or when
aroused from a deep sleep. Oh, well. Too late to hang up and go back to
dreamland. Because an unintelligible whisper came through the phone. Creepy.
Awake now and
heart pounding from the unknown, I scooched up against the headboard until I
was sitting up straight. Was this a crank call before the sun was barely above
Maine’s Blueberry Bay? So much for sleeping in on the one day my Little Dog
Diner was closed.
Pip, my Jack
Russell terrier, looked at me with her head cocked as if asking what was going
on? I had no more of a clue than she did.
I heard my name
coming through the phone. “Dani? Dani Mackenzie?” The caller seemed confused as
if she wasn’t sure she had the right number.
At first, I
didn’t recognize the voice.
“Uh-huh?” I
said, wishing I’d let it go to voicemail.
With my husband
Luke out of town for a few days, I knew this wasn’t his deep, rumbling tone, so
I was ready to hang up when I realized he wasn’t calling with some kind of
emergency.
But then I
heard, “It’s Cam. Camilla Carter?” Finally, a name to go with the mystery
caller. “The Blueberry Bay Grapevine?
I hope I didn’t wake you,” she said low.
Why the
whisper, I wondered. Was she afraid she’d wake the rest of the
neighborhood?
Just then, Pip
pushed her head under my arm and knocked the phone loose. When I grabbed it, I
hit the speaker button, absently scratching under her ear. Of course, Pip
leaned in for more love from me, at the same time Cam’s breathing startled me,
amplified now and suddenly sounding like a buzzsaw.
“I’m awake,” I
said, hearing the annoyance in my voice.
“I’m really
sorry, Dani.” Cam paused. “I didn’t know who else to call.”
Fair enough, I
thought, but her apology did little to soothe my irritation.
“What’s wrong,
Cam?” I asked, hoping it was something simple like she’d locked herself out of
her office and hoped I had a spare key. I did unless she’d changed the locks.
Cam had just bought the weekly Grapevine newspaper
from my grandmother, Rose Mackenzie. She’d moved into an apartment over the
paper in a building next door to my diner and hadn’t made many friends yet. So,
this early morning phone call made sense.
But when she
hadn’t broken the silence on her end of the phone, I sat up a bit straighter,
curious. “Cam? Are you okay?”
She whispered,
“It looks like someone’s trying to break into your diner.”
That got my attention. “Call the police,
Cam. I’m on my way.”
Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D4MN9RQT
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/213694790-scooping-up-scandal
**Don’t miss the rest of the Little Dog
Diner Series!**
Find them on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1LX72G7
About the Author
Emmie Lyn grew up in a small town in New
England, much like the towns where her female characters live—scenic, quaint
and filled with colorful characters. She loves to create mysteries with twists
and unexpected turns that draw readers in and capture their imagination.
Emmie lives in rural Massachusetts with her
husband, a rescue terrier, and a black cat with a bad attitude. She shares
twelve acres with a wide variety of wildlife including deer, bunnies, turkeys,
and many songbirds. When she’s not busy thinking of ways to kill off a
character (for a book, of course!) she enjoys a cup of tea and chocolate in her
flower garden, hiking, or spending time near the ocean.
Website
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Author
Links
Website: https://emmielynbooks.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emmielynauthor
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Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/emmie-lyn
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Emmie-Lyn/author/B07W976FV6
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18404840.Emmie_Lyn
Giveaway
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This looks really good. Thanks for sharing and hosting this tour.
ReplyDeleteI like the excerpt. Sounds like a good cozy mystery.
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