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The Case of the Bullfighting Builder by Debbie De Louise 💕 Guest Post, Book Tour, FREE eBook and eBook Bundle Giveaway 💕 (Cozy Mystery)

2026-07-19T00:07:00.000-04:00

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Cathy discovers that the biggest surprise of all may still be waiting for her...

When Cathy Jefferson’s builder is found dead at the construction site of her new home, she’s pulled into a murder investigation that will test her detective skills like never before.

While sorting through her grandmother’s attic, Cathy uncovers a secret about her parents, who died in a car crash years earlier. Now juggling two cases and determined to learn the truth about her parents’ death and catch her builder’s killer, Cathy teams up with her fellow detectives Nancy and Howard.

Their investigation leads them to a ranch where a prize bull is kept, and to Cathy’s estranged uncle and her college roommate. As secrets unravel and danger closes in from every direction, Cathy discovers that the biggest surprise of all may still be waiting for her.

Will Cathy catch her builder’s killer so that her new home can be finished, and will she receive closure about the death of her parents? Find out in THE CASE OF THE BULLFIGHTING BUILDER, the sixth book in the Buttercup Bend Mysteries series by Debbie De Louise.

Fiction’s Thin Line

By Debbie De Louise

Before I became a published author, I was a voracious reader. I still enjoy reading but have less time for it. As a reader, I often wondered, and still do, how much of a fiction author’s real-life experiences are included in their books. For me, the answer is quite a lot. I bend the truth, though, and disguise it in multiple ways.

I believe that the one of the perks of being an author, besides money which is not much for most authors and besides leaving a legacy which is appealing but not the main draw, at least not for me, is sharing a part of oneself with others and also acknowledging new insights into our own past. Writing is cathartic. It’s a creative process in which you learn so much about yourself. It’s subconscious and, like a dream, elements come together in different ways than you expect.

Here are some examples from my own writing. In my first published book, Cloudy Rainbow, I was involved as a librarian in the virtual world of Second Life©. I used the theme of virtual reality in the book, creating a fictional virtual world and a virtual séance. The main character, Dulcie Mills, was a name I’d used for my avatar. In the book, each chapter is told my a different character and takes place at different times in Dulcie’s life. In one section, she’s in college working at the student newspaper. I was a features editor on my college paper. In addition, the cat in my book, Floppy, was named after the one I’d recently lost. My grief helped me pen the words, and I featured real scenes from my experiences with Floppy. For instance, the one where he made himself a nest under my mattress, and I panicked because I thought he couldn’t breathe, really happened.

In the first book of my Cobble Cove series, A Stone’s Throw, the main character is a librarian and also a photographer for the local newspaper. I drew upon my real-life occupation as a reference librarian at a public library and my hobby of taking photos to create Alicia Fairmont. I also featured an older character, Mac, who had the habit of eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch every day. A man I knew when I worked part-time in my college library had that same habit. Although he and Mac had many differences, their lunch habits were the same.

The Case of the Cat Crazy Lady features the murder of a woman who owned many cats and also cared for stray cats outside her home. My mother was modeled after this lady. Although the neighborhood didn’t refer to her the same way, we always had a number of cats and kittens in our house. I even ended up taking one of my mother’s strays after I married and another one of her own cats many years later. In my book, the main character, Cathy Carter, has a pet Siamese named Oliver. He was the cat I adopted after my mother began to suffer from dementia and became too old to care for him. He was a senior cat who we were blessed to have a few years before he passed away from kidney disease. As I was finishing this book, I had to make the decision to let him go. Although Cathy’s cat lived on, another cat in the book died and was buried at her pet memorial center. The poem the cat’s owner recites at the burial was one I’d written after I lost Oliver.

Two years ago, I moved to South Carolina from Long Island with my two cats. The first year we were in our new home, my daughter rescued an orange female cat that she called Soup. Our move and this kitten were the inspirations for Murder at Meadows Lake Clubhouse, the first book of my new Soup the Supernatural Kitten series.

While readers may not be aware of all the “real” themes, characters, and scenes in authors’ books, there’s a thin line between the fictional elements and the true ones. In my new release, The Case of the Bullfighting Builder, Buttercup Bend #6, I include two characters from Cathy’s past who were modelled after a guy I had a crush on in college and the woman he was dating. Of course, I got over him, as did Cathy, but it’s another example of fictional truth telling.

How can you spot an author’s truths in their books? It isn’t easy. Authors are storytellers and tight-rope artists who walk that thin line between fiction and reality. But rest assured most mystery authors haven’t killed anyone in real life, even if they’ve thought about it.

Cathy considered making herself a sandwich while Harry and Hermione ate their chow, but she wanted to continue her work up in the attic. She also figured she’d check on Zippy, the bearded dragon lizard she’d adopted after solving a murder case on her and Steve’s honeymoon.

The cats ate quickly, so she was able to remove their bowls and clean up before heading to the den where they kept Zippy’s tank. Entering the room, she saw the reptile clinging to a log. Steve had quickly taken a liking to him and, when she finally agreed that they could adopt him, her husband promised to be his caretaker. Besides the right heat, lighting, and diet which often consisted of bugs, Zippy was easier in some ways to care for than her cats. He didn’t do much and didn’t ask for much. She couldn’t cuddle with him the way she did with Harry and Hermione, but Steve considered him a pet. He liked to take him out of his tank and even for walks when the weather was warm. As it was early October, Steve took advantage of the nice days and also let Zippy loose to walk around the house or ride on his shoulder. The cats sniffed his tail when they first met him but didn’t try to harm him. She still kept an eye on them when they were together.

Leaving Zippy to his nap on the branch, Cathy went up to the attic to resume sorting through her parents’ stuff. Harry followed her. The black cat ran to a box she hadn’t checked, his yellow eyes staring at her.

“Alright, Harry,” she said, “I’ll check that one now.” She lifted the lid. Inside were more things of her mothers’ – blouses, dresses, and other clothing that Gran hadn’t had the heart to take to Goodwill. As Cathy went through them, she realized her mother must’ve been the same size as she was when she was killed in the car accident ten years ago. Maybe she could wear some of them. It might make her feel connected. As she had that thought, she fingered the light scar on her cheek, a reminder of the accident that had cost her so much.

At the bottom of the box, underneath all the clothes, she found a folded piece of paper. It was strangely out of place as if it had been tossed in and covered. Unfolding it, she read the typed words, “Accident Report.” It was dated a few days after the car crash. She’d been in the hospital recovering from her injuries during that time and had never seen this report or been told about it by her brother or grandmother.

Harry meowed as she sat cross legged on the floor reading the paper. She pet his head absently as the words blurred before her eyes, and she realized she was crying. Sheriff Miller had signed the report. An examination of the car after the accident had revealed the brakes had been tampered with. How could that be? Who would’ve wanted to harm her family? And why hadn’t an investigation into the crime been conducted? Cathy had to know. She needed to confront Gran and ask for answers.

Cathy Carter and her brother Douglas own a pet cemetery and animal rescue center in the small, upstate New York town of Buttercup Bend.

After the local “Cat Crazy Lady,” Maggie Broom, is found dead in her home, Cathy is stunned to learn that Rainbow Gardens and Rainbow Rescues is the recipient of most of Maggie’s estate.

Maggie’s estranged brother and sister come to town and are upset with the terms of their sister's will. Sheriff Leroy Miller is convinced one of them killed Maggie.

When another person turns up dead, Cathy sets out to solve the murders with her reporter friend, Nancy Meyers. But who really wanted to kill the "Cat Crazy Lady," and why?

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Debbie De Louise is an award-winning author and a retired reference librarian. She is a member of Sisters-in-Crime, International Thriller Writers, the Cat Writers’ Association, and the South Carolina Writers Association. She’s written over twenty books including three cozy mystery series: the Cobble Cove Mysteries, Buttercup Bend Mysteries, and her new series, Soup the Supernatural Kitten Mysteries. She’s also written a paranormal romance, standalone mysteries, a time-travel novel, and a collection of cat poems. Her stories and poetry appear in more than a dozen anthologies. Originally from Long Island, she moved to South Carolina where she now lives with her husband, daughter, and three cats. Learn more about Debbie and her books by visiting her website at https://debbiedelouise.com.

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Crying in the Chapel: A Swinging Sixties Mystery by Teresa Trent 💕 Guest Post, Book Tour and $20 Giveaway 💕(Vintage Cozy Mystery)

2026-07-19T00:06:00.000-04:00

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With her wedding day fast approaching, Dot must unmask a killer hiding in plain sight...

It’s August 1965, and Dot Morgan is finally getting married to the dashing reporter Ben Dalton. Her wedding day, August 14th, promises to be perfect—if only it didn’t follow Friday the 13th. What could go wrong? Planning a wedding with the members of the Camden Chapel, Dot thinks she’s overwhelmed, but then it gets worse when a body is found on the church lawn. Dot decides to focus on her wedding to Ben, but when police reveal the victim didn’t jump from the belfry—he was pushed—she can no longer look away. Her suspects aren’t hardened criminals; they’re the same church members who bring casseroles and ask about her family. With her wedding day fast approaching, Dot must unmask a killer hiding in plain sight, or the secrets of Camden Chapel will remain buried in the summer heat.

Getting Dot to the Altar

By Teresa Trent

Crying in the Chapel is the fifth book in the Swinging Sixties Mystery Series and the book where I finally marry off Dot and Ben. Usually when I write a Swinging Sixties Mystery the process of research can take quite a bit of time, mostly because things were so different back then, from coffee pots to cameras, from phones to fast food.

Crying in the Chapel was different. Before I started writing mysteries I worked part time in a florist shop, a tuxedo rental business, and various churches. I had seen weddings from all sides. These jobs opened me up to the wonderful, if not highly stressful, world of all the things that go into creating that perfect day. Some brides and grooms were very easy to work with while others, I had to wonder what they saw on each other.

I enjoyed inventing the wedding planner who made everything perfect. Have you ever questioned why some people knock themselves out to do everything exactly right? It might mean there is a part of their life they can’t fix.

Dot and Ben are getting married while Ellie, Dot’s cousin, her husband Al, are about to give birth to little Al, Jr. Dot and Ellie have been through so much together in the first four books that these life events have to be lived through together.

So how do you plan a wedding from the 1960s? I looked at Bride’s Magazine from 1965 abd 1966. From that I knew Dot’s wedding would need some daisies and a mini wedding dress. I was inspired by the model Twiggy, but Dot’s big hair is pure Texas!

In Crying in the Chapel I wanted to capture the fun and chaos of weddings, as well as the false fronts characters put up to hide their secrets. Some of these secrets were sad, while others were homicidal.

Here are the Swinging Sixties books in order, but you can read Crying in the Chapel as a standalone.

A Twist and Shout Murder
If I Had a Hammer
Listen, Do You Want to Know a Secret?
I Can’t Get No Satisfaction
Crying in the Chapel

Here’s hoping you stay out of the belfry…Teresa

I entered the empty chapel holding a white leather bridal planning notebook, gifted to me by my own mother. The sturdy three-ring notebook held sections for guest lists, food, and the venue, and in the back pocket, my mother had included a small book from Emily Post, the etiquette goddess, on how to handle anything from duplicate gifts to late guests. Parts of the book were straight out of the Fifties, and things modern people in the Sixties rarely adhered to, but somehow it was good to have a book to tell me where the forks went in a place setting or how to properly plan a big event. Turns out, wedding planning involves a million different decisions, and today, I was working on the flowers. I decided my primary flower would be white daisies with other flowers worked in around them. I wanted the bouquets, the church, and the reception to be bursting with Gerber daisies. The best part was, they would also be on my wedding gown.

The Camden Chapel sanctuary was relatively small and could hold up to one hundred and fifty people. There were classrooms and offices situated on the other side of the church, and surprisingly, there were three floors. It had been a big building project for a town as small as Camden, but hope springs eternal that the heathens from the Dallas area will choose to commute and

live in our bedroom community. My assignment from Vernice was to pick up frames that would hook onto the pews to allow the florist to arrange flowers on the end of each row. After retrieving the frames, I was to deliver them to Lily Salem, the florist. Ben suggested her because he knew her from the private school they both attended. She had recently moved to town and opened Lily’s of the Field at the end of Main Street. For decades, Camden’s only flower shop was Henley Flowers, and they were still going strong. When I worked at the funeral home, I had daily chats with Gertrude Henley, and they were excellent at delivering on time. It would be tough for a new flower shop to get established in Camden, but we hoped our wedding would give Lily’s new business some good exposure.

Up front, standing on a metal stepladder, was Earl Gunther, the church caretaker. Vernice told me to ask him about these contraptions she called pew hooks. Earl was in his late fifties, with a slightly receding hairline that lent itself more to white than grey. He wore brown overalls with black buckles over a tan button-down shirt. He was replacing a lightbulb in the fixture that hung from the vaulted ceiling. His hand rested on the top of the ladder as he turned the bulb in the socket.

“Excuse me,” I said in a quiet voice, not wanting to make him jump and possibly fall off the ladder. At his age, a fall could do some damage. “Are you Earl?”

“Yes, ma’am. How can I help you?” His voice was gentle and measured, like a kindly grandfather.

“Vernice told me you could get some pew hooks out of the closet somewhere?”

He descended the ladder. “Are you the new florist or the bride-to-be?”

I blushed. In the last month, I had picked up a new name. People now referred to me as the bride before they used my name. They grinned at me when they said it and I wondered what they were thinking. “I’m the bride. I’m Dot Morgan.”

“Nice to meet you.” He put a finger to his temple and repeated my name. “Dot Morgan. Why does that name ring a bell?”

“I’m not sure. I’m not a member here. My fiancé is Ben Dalton.”

He shook his head. “No. That’s not it.” He stepped back slightly and focused on my face. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers. “That’s it. I saw your picture in the paper. I have a knack for remembering things. That’s what made me a good patrolman so many years ago. People would say stuff, mostly drunk people who were trying to drive, and then forget what they said. I didn’t forget.”

“You were a policeman?”

“Oh yes. Twenty-five years. I joined the force after a stint in the army. I mostly did patrol. I’ve brought half this town to the drunk tank, and I know about every husband and wife who fight so much that the neighbors call, too. I retired back in ’57. So, how do I know about you?”

As he observed me like a man looking for a piece to a jigsaw puzzle, I shifted from one foot to the other. I was never comfortable when someone connected me to those articles. I had been in the paper several times, mostly having to do with catching killers. The thought of it sounded like something out of The Fugitive on TV. Once people put it together that I was that girl, they treated me differently, and sometimes worse, even acting differently around me. They were waiting for me to find out something they might be hiding. My parents’ mailman once asked me if I knew what was happening with Mrs. Hitchcock down the street. I told him I didn’t really know her, and he laughed and said, “But I hear that when you don’t know, you have a way of finding out.”

Was there something nefarious going on with Mrs. Hitchcock? I had no idea, nor did I want to find out. But the mailman imagined me as a clandestine source of information, brimming with details about the lives of Camden’s people.

“Hey, Earl,” Clarence Shellhammer said from the door. “I need to talk to you about something.” He motioned for Earl to come closer.

“Excuse me,” Earl said. He stepped to the back of the sanctuary, and the two men began to whisper. Clarence looked very bothered and kept pointing to the front of the church. I heard the word “pipes” and then, very clearly, that Earl needed to mind his own business.

Earl nodded and whispered something I couldn’t hear. Then he smiled and patted Clarence on the arm. Clarence pulled away. And then looked over to me. “Sorry for interrupting.”

As Clarence left, Earl turned and pointed a finger at me as he walked back to where we had been talking. “You were involved with that murder out at the lake. From what I read in the paper, you practically solved that case for the police.” He smiled, making friendly creases on his cheeks. “You’re a smart girl. Good to see a young woman who is as smart as she is pretty.”

I wasn’t sure what to say to that, so I mumbled out a thank you. He stared at me for a few more seconds and then suddenly nodded, remembering my request. “Right. I’ll get those pew hooks for you, Detective Dot.”

“Although a friend of mine is on the police, I’m not a detective, Earl. I’m just a secretary. An out-of-work secretary, right now.”

Earl’s head bobbed back slightly as a look of surprise came over his features. “You’re too humble. I’m a good judge of character. And as far as just being a secretary, young lady, you just never know what you are capable of until you stop judging yourself.”

As he walked away, I fought rolling my eyes at the moniker Detective Dot. How silly. Plus, I hated to admit how much I enjoyed hearing it.

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Teresa Trent has been writing and publishing mysteries since 2011 starting with the Pecan Bayou Mystery Series and followed by the Piney Woods Mystery Series. She presently writes the Swinging Sixties Mystery Series and the Henry Park Paranormal Series. When Teresa isn’t writing novels and short stories, she spends her time creating narrated excerpts on her podcast, Books to the Ceiling, where she gets to use all that community theater experience from her teens and twenties along with a little audio editing she learned from her daughter. Teresa is a former English teacher, but also spent many years teaching music to preschoolers, working with children of all abilities. Teresa makes her home in Texas with her husband and son.

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Death Takes a Holiday by Tammie Painter 💕 Cover Reveal, Newsletter Freebie and $10 Giveaway 💕(Humorous Dark Paranormal Mystery)

2026-07-17T05:57:28.411-04:00

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Death needed a vacation.

What he got was a murder, a demon, and a 73-year-old detective with no time to kill.

Death is bored. Immortality will do that to you.

** A hilarious new series from the author of The Cassie Black Trilogy! **

After an eternity of escorting souls to the afterlife, Death — who really prefers you call him Mortimer — is bored. There's been departmental divisions, technical developments, and fitness crazes that mean people just aren't dying like they used to.

What's worse… He's running low on romance novels to keep himself occupied.

His solution: a working holiday to Top World, where he expects room service, infinity-high thread counts, and an easy solution to get business booming again.

What he doesn't expect is Mrs Morris, a seventy-three-year-old detective with a tightly packed schedule that leaves no room for an immortal assistant.

But Mortimer refuses to go away. After all, detectives find murderers, and having his very own killer would be the perfect way to nudge up those mortality rates.

Luckily, someone's just been murdered — and Mrs Morris has been hired to find the culprit. The only trouble? The victim reeks of demons, turning Mortimer's perfect opportunity into a great deal of trouble that could end his career. Oh, and the human race.

Death Takes a Holiday is a humorous fantasy novel about the most inconvenient partnership in the history of the afterlife, where a pair of unlikely allies are thrown together by broken bones, murder mysteries, pesky demons, and the deadliest cup of coffee in Portland.

Like Terry Pratchett joining the Thursday Murder Club, Death Takes a Holiday is perfect for fans of wry humor, paranormal mystery, and unforgettable characters forming reluctant bonds.

💕 To be released August 18 💕

Author of humorous fantasy whodunits full of mythical misfits and magical mishaps

Many moons ago I was a scientist in a neuroscience lab where I got to play with brains and illegal drugs. Now, I take wickedly strong tea and turn it into comic fantasy whodunits full of mythical misfits and magical mishaps that I hope give you a giggle.

My tales run the gamut from the ever-expanding Cassie Black Trilogy with its wryly humorous paranormal mysteries to the comical fantasy whodunits in The Circus of Unusual Creatures, and from light-hearted novellas celebrating my love of books to short fiction in which I really flex my myth-loving and humor-craving muscles!

When I’m not creating worlds or killing off characters, I can be found gardening, planning my next travel adventure, concocting some sort of mess in the kitchen, or working as an unpaid servant to one very spoiled cat and some very demanding squirrels.

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A Field Guide to Death and Deceit by Michelle L. Cullen 💕 Behind the Scenes, Pre-Release Tour and Prize Pack Giveaway 💕(Cozy Mystery)

2026-07-15T00:07:00.000-04:00

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As Harry, Emma, and team unearth clues, they increasingly dodge the police, stalkers, and danger...

Widower and anthropologist Harry Lancaster and his Gen Z colleague Emma are back for more murder and mayhem when they stumble upon a dead farmer.

This delightful sequel to A Field Guide to Murder is perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Benjamin Stevenson.

When an odd request leads Harry Lancaster to agree to meet his former sweetheart Willow at a farm on the outskirts of town, Emma’s suspicions run high, and she insists on joining him. Instead of Willow greeting them when they arrive, they discover the farm’s owner dead, with a corn rake embedded in his back.

After being interrogated by the police, Harry and Emma return to his home to find a bereft Willow, who admits she lost her life savings in a real estate scam involving the farm. Worried Willow will become the main murder suspect, Harry decides to help her, despite Emma’s concerns.

To bring the swindlers—and murderer—to justice, Harry recruits his potentially shady, financial-whiz brother and a neighborhood teenage hacker. Then Willow’s realtor is declared missing, and Harry’s brother is caught up in the fray.

As Harry, Emma, and team unearth clues, they increasingly dodge the police, stalkers, and danger in their race to save Willow and Harry’s brother before anyone else turns up dead.

Reading the Room: Anthropology, Detection, and the Cozy Mystery

by Michelle L. Cullen

Cozy mystery amateur sleuths always seem to stumble into solving murders with surprising results. Their day jobs may look ordinary on the surface, but once a mysterious death occurs, the skills required to run their businesses morph into investigative superpowers.

A pet groomer, a tea shop owner, or a bookseller may pick up clues that trained law enforcement misses entirely. These seemingly commonplace jobs provide a steady stream of social interaction, making amateur sleuths privy to gossip, attuned to everyday routines, and quick to spot behavior that’s suddenly off. Constant contact with their communities builds trust while offering credible reasons to ask probing questions. And because so many of these everyday heroes have either pursued their work as a lifelong passion or turned to it after some staggering setback, they’ll do anything to protect what they’ve built – including chasing down a cold-blooded killer.

For those of us who love these inventive mysteries, the range of professions that double as investigative platforms seems almost endless. But one profession that, in my opinion, doesn’t get enough credit as a good foundation for detection is anthropology.

In the early days of my career, I spent a decade helping rebuild communities after war across Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific. My job was to use my anthropological training to design and evaluate aid projects so they didn’t inflame existing tensions. This meant engaging with every walk of life and observing the full spectrum of human behavior. What I didn’t realize at the time was that this fieldwork doubled as a masterclass in writing crime fiction. The skills required were, in many ways, the same skills that make a great detective.

Noticing what most people don’t

A critical part of fieldwork is paying attention to small things: how people enter a room, where they sit, who speaks first, who makes eye contact with whom, and who carefully avoids it. When I couldn’t conduct interviews in English or French, I worked through interpreters, which forced me to read everything around the words themselves: body language, tone, hesitation, nervous tics, the sudden pivot to safer conversational ground. I became attuned to what was said, what wasn’t, and what the gap between the two might mean. That calibrated attention to detail is, at its core, an essential skill of detection.

Understanding that context is everything

Anthropologists are trained to ask why something exists in its particular form: why this object, in this place, used in this way, at this time? A detective asks the same questions at a crime scene. Every detail is a clue to something larger. The contents of a purse, for instance, can illuminate a person’s social world, economic circumstances, and private concerns, whether you’re an anthropologist reconstructing a life or a detective trying to understand why it ended.

Holding complexity without collapsing it

Anthropology demands that you suspend judgment, and fieldwork teaches you why. I witnessed the aftermath of unimaginable violence, but I also came to understand that the histories behind that violence rarely broke cleanly into victims and villains — more often individuals were a conflation of both. The ability to sit with moral ambiguity, to resist the easier story, is essential to good fieldwork. It’s also essential to good detection, where the obvious suspect is rarely the right one.

Moving between worlds

While in the field, I sat across tables from government ministers and subsistence farmers, community visionaries and stone-cold killers. Each conversation required a different approach; a different way of building trust, of making someone feel safe enough to say what they actually knew. The ability to adapt your persona without losing your footing is exactly the kind of social fluency that makes an amateur sleuth believable, and effective.

Trusting your instincts

Throughout my travels and work, when my gut told me something was wrong, it was. In fieldwork, ignoring that reflex can be dangerous. For a fictional detective, it’s the difference between solving the case and becoming part of it.

Applying these skills

Given all of this, it was hardly a stretch for me to make my amateur sleuth an anthropologist. I was able to give Harry Lancaster not just a profession for his backstory, but a whole way of seeing — one that I’d spent years developing in the field and that translated surprisingly well to the page. But anthropology is just one entry point.

What all great cozy mystery professions share is something more fundamental: they make the sleuth accessible and trustworthy, give them plausible reasons to ask questions, and position them to overhear secrets while moving through spaces where clues hide in plain sight. These sleuths don’t solve crimes through police procedure, they solve them by being socially embedded, sharply observant, and easy to underestimate. In cozy mysteries, the best detectives are the ones who would never seem like detectives at all.

💕 To be released September 15 💕

A cranky widower and his spirited caregiver team up to solve his neighbor’s murder in this charming and original mystery, perfect for fans of Richard Osman and Benjamin Stevenson.

Once a globe-trotting anthropologist, Harry Lancaster is now certain that all his grand adventures are behind him. Recently widowed and suffering from a fractured hip, Harry spends his days and nights behind a pair of binoculars, nose-deep in his neighbors’ affairs. His millennial caregiver, Emma, is determined to get him out of his armchair and back into the world.

Fate intervenes when Harry’s mysterious neighbor, Sue, phones, pleading for help. But instead of rescuing her, Harry and Emma find Sue dead: poisoned, days after a break-in at Sue’s house. Harry resolves to find out what happened, and Emma insists on going along for the ride. Together, they discover motives and suspects abound in Harry’s quaint condominium community—putting them both in the crosshairs of a cold-blooded killer.

Readers of Kristen Perrin and Deanna Raybourn will be charmed by this quirky, cross-generational murder mystery.

Michelle L. Cullen has lived and traveled all over the world, from working as a bilingual secretary in Paris to backpacking around Europe, Central America, and Southern Africa to helping rebuild communities after war throughout Africa, East Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific — where she saw the best and worst of human behavior. Her lifelong fascination with people and why they do what they do, was further fueled by her academic training. She obtained her PhD from the London School of Economics’ Sociology Department and her master’s degree in anthropology from Melbourne University in Australia.

A fan of adventure, she has a black belt in Taekwondo, has summited 900 feet rock climbing, snorkeled the Great Barrier Reef, and hiked up an active volcano. She currently lives in Annapolis, Maryland, where she’s either doing yoga, playing outside, or plotting murder. She’s a proud member of International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and The Authors Guide, and has been gleefully reading and watching murder mysteries since the age of ten.

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Ebba’s Enchantment by Sonja Gunter 💕 New Release Tour and $20 Giveaway 💕(Romantasy)

2026-07-15T00:06:00.000-04:00

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Chef Ebba Mignon, is also a witch, or so says her half-sisters and has 45 days to find her soulmate and acquire her powers.

Spices. Succulent Cuisine. Potioneer.

The clock is ticking.

Ebba Mignon, a naturally gifted chef and owner of The Mignon’s Place, never envisioned partaking in the witchery craft or having half-sisters, Opaline, and Narda. But here she was with only 45 days to find her soulmate/future husband and her witch talents to reveal themselves to her.

How was she expected to accomplish this burden in order to defeat Alyaaluladonati, the ancient one, from killing the three of them?

Neal James, writer for the Best Places to Eat in MN, schedules an interview with Ebba Mignon, in the small town of Onamia. He isn’t prepared for the deep affection he experiences for her or to admire her culinary art skills when they meet.

Believing in the supernatural takes Neal and Ebba on a journey that neither thought possible, transforming their passion into the right ingredients to last a lifetime.

Ebba took the chance to glance at him. He had sunglasses on, which hid his eyes. Would they be blue? To go with his brown hair? Realizing he was waiting for a

reply, she sighed. “My booth is the one with all the people lined up in front of it. Over there to the right.” She pointed in the direction they were walking.

“Wow. What are you serving?”

“The same thing I’ve done for the last two years.Subs.”

The man stopped suddenly. “Subs? That’s it?”

“Yes. I have only two things on my menu. One is a chopped Italian sub. I bake bread in the shape of a fish and add chopped-up prosciutto, pepperoni, and salami, along with lettuce, onion, tomato, and provolone cheese. I have my own special Italian vinaigrette dressing that I add to it too. The second item is my bestseller, a dill pickle sub.”

They continued walking toward her booth.

“A dill pickle sub? Never heard of that or had one before. What is it?”

“Glad you asked. I use sliced dill pickles that I order from a local Amish woman. The key is to use a small layer of mayonnaise on the pickles. This seals in any leftover juices from the pickle. Then I layer on turkey and prosciutto with cheddar cheese, a tomato, and a lettuce leaf.”

“Ebba! Hurry up. We need those plates.”

She waved to Narda, who was signaling to her. “Oh my. We better hurry. The line has gotten very long.” With hurried steps, she directed the man carrying the bin to the back of the booth.

“It’s about time. Did you see all the people waiting?”

Ebba looked at Narda. “Be glad we have plates. I almost dropped the bin. This man saved it—and me—from falling.”

“Where do you want this?”

She and Narda looked at the man in unison.

“Oh, sorry. Just set it down there.” Narda pointed to an empty spot on the table. Once he set it down, she opened it and took out a stack of plates. “Thanks for saving my sis. I’ll take these up front and let Opaline know you’ve returned.”

Ignoring Narda’s sarcastic reply, she turned to the man.

“Thanks again—”

“Neal, I’ve been looking for you. I see you’ve met Ms. Mignon. I was setting up the equipment before she left.”

What the heck? This man, who helped her, was the one and only Mr. James? She’d literally run into him. He’d sent her pulse raging, and she’d had sexual thoughts about

him. His first name was Neal. Could he be the one? Her soulmate?

No, she didn’t have time for this. It was just a coincidence his name started with the letter N. “You’re . . . My goodness, you must think I’m the worst person ever.”

“I don’t. I didn’t know you were the person I’d come here to meet. Let’s forget about why I’m here. How can Seth and I help you with the crowd of people waiting for food? What can we do?”

“Do? You want to work?” She hesitated, her mind still reeling.

“Yes, it looks like two more sets of hands would be helpful.”

“If . . . you’re sure. I could use your help. First, you both have to wash your hands and put on the plastic gloves. The dill pickle subs are almost gone. And I need to make another batch of ingredients for the chopped subs.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the two men said.

Ebba smiled and watched them do the safety protocol procedures for serving food, as she did the same. Taking out the three meats, cheese, and tomatoes from the coolers, she placed them onto the cutting board. Her nerves at Mr. James’s arrival and his offering to help had her doubting herself. The pendant throbbed against her skin.

“Ready to help. What can we do?”

His deep, rich voice was sexier in person than on the phone.

Stop! It was time to concentrate. She had customers to serve. “Okay. Once I have the chopped salad ready, I need you to fill the fish-shaped bread with three scoops. You

can start by opening and laying out the bread on the flat pan. While you’re doing that, it will allow me time to whip up some of the dill subs after I finish with the chopped Italian mixture.”

Within a few minutes, she had chopped the ingredients and added the vinaigrette. She slid the bowl over to the two men.

“Ebba, we need more subs,” Opaline said.

Looking up, she saw her sister standing in front of her.

When had she come over? “Mr. James and his cameraman are just finishing with the next tray of them.”

“Mr. James?”

She gave Opaline a look that said, ‘Don’t ask questions.’ “Yes. I ran into him, and he was kind enough to help. I’m working on the dill subs, and then I’ll do up another batch of the chopped Italian subs again.”

“Narda said he was a looker. I’ve been working on a spell to help you find—”

“Dear sister, this is not the time or place. Please take the tray of subs up to the front.”

“Of course. Sorry, but we will talk about it tonight.”

And just like that, her sister took the tray of finished subs and left. Out of the corners of her eyes, she saw Neal and the cameraman engaged in a conversation. Opaline was right. The three of them were going to have a lot to talk about later. Even now, just hearing his soft voice was rendering her pulse to pound erratically.

Again, the thought crossed her mind that Neal might be the one that fate had chosen for her. Suddenly, she realized he was staring at her. He smiled, and she nearly crumbled to the ground. With as much control as Ebba could gather within herself, she returned his smile. Was he interested in her?

Love. Magic. Danger.

Could these three words articulate distinct spiritual essences to fuse together?

Bookstore owner, Opaline Lunn, facilitates a Speed Dating Event, in hopes of finding her soulmate. She meets attendee Detective Eamon Dayan, who wasn’t looking for love, but sparks fly at their first kiss.

Together they unearth Opaline’s powers which lead to the discovery that she has two sisters, and someone called The Ancient One who wants to kill them.

Unraveling a myriad of mysteries, with Opaline’s newfound ability to do spells, the soulmates must find her sisters by her twenty-fifth birthday to be able to confront the evil force and save all of them.

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Angel numbers & scents unearth a truth that has been hidden for years.

Reach for the Soap, owner, Narda Hunt, has been receiving signs in the form of numbers telling her she needs to find her half-sisters, Opaline and Ebba. An imminent threat is about to force them to combine their witch powers to survive.

One set of angel numbers brings Narda closer to Owin Waters, whom fate has determined is her soulmate. Their special connection sends them to another realm where Narda meets her deceased mother. She reveals the truth behind the special powers that Narda and her sisters possess.

With this knowledge, Narda brings to light the evil that is waiting for her and her sisters on their twenty-fifth birthday.

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I was born and raised in the cold and beautiful Minnesota, but I escaped to Illinois for seventeen years to raise my two boys, and now I call Florida home. My husband Andy, who’s always been my hero, has put up with my late night computer typing and endless stacks of papers with my stories on them. We have one furry friend as family: Chip, a sixteen year old ragdoll cat.

Life has been full of ups and downs, but I’ve made it through the hard times. I love to travel and go to Disney World to trade pins. I’ve been a bowler for many years, and you can catch me writing my next novel at the lanes.

I encourage you to check out my web site, www.sonjagunter.com for more info and don’t be surprised if I let my Norwegian heritage come through in my stories.

Go Vikings! You betcha!

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Bitter Honey by Yona Katz 💕 New Release Blitz and $10 Giveaway 💕 (M/M Romantic Suspense)

2026-07-15T00:05:00.000-04:00

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An MM contemporary romantic suspense story of an abusive relationship, lost love, crime, trauma healing, and a HEA.

Christopher, a young yet well-regarded deputy district attorney, has seen his dream come true. With loving parents, an ideal job, a thriving career, and a flawless boyfriend, his life feels like a perfect fairy tale.

However, Christopher’s impeccable world is not as immaculate as it seems from the outside.

Worse, his paradise is shattered when he agrees to take over a colleague’s case. The past he long buried resurfaces, and the pieces of himself he carefully rebuilt begin to fall apart.

Faced with the toughest decisions that could change his life forever, he must choose his path without endangering himself and his loved ones.

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A citizen of the universe, Yona Katz is a financial director during the day. But as soon as night falls, numbers and reports are chased away by the stories that live in the stars. One day, Yona decided that she was brave enough to share these stories with the world. Yona loves exploring the themes of diversity and inclusivity. She wants to reach her readers to show them that love is universal, that even heroes are flawed, and that everyone has the right to make mistakes. Yona is Canadian but Antigua and Barbuda is her current home.

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Edited Out by Rebecca M. Douglass 💕 Fun Facts, Book Tour and eBook Bundle Giveaway 💕 (Cozy Mystery)

2026-07-13T00:07:00.000-04:00

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When a writer turns up dead, Seffi’s called on to wield a different kind of expertise...

Who erased the writer?

Winter in Maine is long, dark, and cold, and California transplant Seffi Wardwell is combating the winter blues with a full calendar. Tending the plants at the local bed-and-breakfast, writing reports for the library, and generally keeping an eye on events in Smelt Point barely leaves time for pastry and gossip at Sweet Dreams, the local bakery and heart of the village.

When the participants at an artistic retreat held at the bed-and-breakfast grow combative, Seffi is there to smooth things over, stiffen the spine of the innkeeper, and keep things going. But when a writer turns up dead, Seffi’s called on to wield a different kind of expertise. Then someone lets slip there was poison in a coffee bought at Sweet Dreams, and it looks like Seffi’s favorite source of treats is in real trouble. Can her knowledge of plants save the inn—and the local bakery—before the killer strikes again and tears the heart out of Smelt Point?

Hello, and thanks for letting me come and talk to your readers!

It feels a little odd to be here at Romance Novel Giveaways, because my Seffi Wardwell mysteries aren’t romances (my other mystery series, the Pismawallops PTA mysteries, have more of a romantic element, but no one would call them romances, either). Still, I think that many romance readers enjoy a good cozy mystery, with all the comfort there is in knowing that good will triumph over evil and there’ll be some tasty pastries along the way.

I get asked a lot about the settings for my books, so I’ll give you the inside scoop on Smelt Point, Seffi’s home in Maine. First, yes, I know it’s a bit odd that I set my books in Maine while I live in Seattle. That fact is, I like Maine. I’ve spent just enough time there to feel like I know it a little without getting too hung up on reality, and that coast lends itself to the cozy vibe. Besides, with all those peninsulas and harbors and villages, who’s going to notice that I slipped in an extra?

The setting of Seffi’s books is 100% fictional, and while I pulled a lot of elements from the parts of the coast I know, I pulled others out of thin air because they suited my stories. Smelt Point, like many of the villages on the Maine coast, is a relic of a time before the collapse of the local fishery, though there is still some going on there. Unlike many such villages in reality, it’s managed to hang on as more than a cluster of cottages—there’s a market and a library, as well as a small fleet that fishes out of the harbor—and the fish-processing plant that featured in Seffi’s first adventure, A Coastal Corpse.

Smelt Point—the name of course dates back to the days when smelt were the backbone of the local economy—sits on a knob on the side of the (wholly imaginary) Cat’s Claw peninsula, and has a decent harbor. The village is just short of the end of the Claw, and that last mile of land is now the Painter’s Head Nature Reserve, where when it’s not all under several feet of snow Seffi gets together with her friend Professor Greer to torment—er, to teach visiting students about botany.

Everything in Smelt Point is within about a 15-minute walk of everything else, which is good for Seffi, since she doesn’t have a car right now. If you are coming into the village from the “mainland,” you’ll have a choice of driving down to the harbor, where the hardware/marine supply store and gas station sit, or staying on the higher ground and going down “main street.” In “downtown” Smelt Point you’ll pass the pizza place, the Smelt Point Market, the library, and then Sweet Dream Bakery before you turn down the second side street to Seffi’s house (the first one will lead you farther down the Claw to the Beachside Inn, and eventually—if your vehicle can handle the road—to the Painter Head Reserve).

Seffi’s cottage isn’t large, but it’s as cute as can be, and even before she got it, it had the best garden in Smelt Point, a village that takes gardens and gardening seriously. Once the people figured out that Seffi was as willing to learn as to teach, and would take proper care of the garden, folks began to welcome her to their community. She’d already found the bakery on her own.

That’s pretty much it for the village, geographically speaking. If you want to know about the people who live there… you’d better head on over for a visit! Seffi and the rest of the garden club always have something going on.

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Rebecca M. Douglass has lived, worked, and hiked around the American West for more years than she’ll admit, while raising two children to adulthood and dreaming up interesting ways to bump people off. Thanks to good friends in Maine, she has also fallen in love with that mysterious coast. Since retiring from work at the library, the author has moved to Seattle, where she is writing the Seffi Wardwell Mysteries. In addition to her Ninja Librarian series for younger readers and the Pismawallops PTA mystery series, she has had short stories published in a magazines and anthologies. When she isn’t writing, Ms. Douglass likes to go hiking and backpacking, or travels to discover new places or revisit old favorites, including the Sierra Nevada mountains, the desert Southwest, and of course Maine, where so many of the best cozy mysteries are found.

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The Obscura Reckoning by Raven Storme 💕 Bookstagram Tour, Newsletter Freebie and $10 Giveaway 💕 (Dark Gothic Romance)

2026-07-13T00:06:00.000-04:00

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If he lets her go, she dies.

If he keeps her...

the world burns.

Lira was never supposed to survive.

The city wanted her afraid. Broken. Contained.

Instead, she became the one thing Cassian could never control.

The one weakness he would kill for.

After everything they destroyed to be together, Obscura is no longer whispering their names in the dark.

Now the city is watching.

Waiting.

Because the deeper Cassian drags Lira into his world of blood debts, violence, and power, the more dangerous she becomes. Enemies are closing in from every side. Alliances are fracturing. And someone inside Obscura is determined to use Lira to bring Cassian to his knees.

But they forgot one thing.

Cassian was dangerous before he loved her.

Now he is the kind of monster cities burn for.

And when a new threat emerges from the shadows, Cassian and Lira are forced into a war where loyalty is fragile, betrayal is inevitable, and love may be the deadliest weakness of all.

Because if he lets her go, she dies.

If he keeps her...

the world burns.

The Obscura Reckoning is the second book in the Obscura trilogy and ends with a continuing series arc.

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Lira was meant to die for the throne.

Cassian Vale was trained to be the blade that ended her.

But the moment he hesitates—one heartbeat, one breath—everything forbidden ignites.

Now the deadliest man in the Syndicate is the only thing standing between Lira and a prophecy that demands her blood. He should fear her. He should kill her. Instead… he can’t stop wanting her.

She’s the girl marked for sacrifice.

He’s the weapon shaped to obey.

Together, they become the spark that threatens to burn Obscura to ashes.

As Lira’s power awakens and the throne tightens its grip, their desire becomes its own kind of danger—raw, consuming, and impossible to survive untouched. Enemies hunt them. Shadows follow them. And the kingdom whispers one truth:

If Cassian doesn’t ruin her, she’ll ruin him.

A dark, seductive story of prophecy, power, and a love so intense it could topple a kingdom.

The Obscura Legacy

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Raven Storme writes dark, smut-heavy romance for readers who crave obsession, power struggles, and secrets whispered in the dark. Living in Pennsylvania, she’s been married for fourteen years and shares her life with fourteen dogs—because calm has never been her aesthetic.

Her debut series, The Obscura Syndicate, dives into forbidden desire, shadowy loyalties, and characters who blur every moral line. Raven believes love is messy, passion is dangerous, and the best stories live in the dark.

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Key West Food Critic Mysteries by Lucy Burdette 💕 Series Spotlight, Newsletter Freebie and 💕 (Cozy Mystery)

2026-07-09T00:07:00.000-04:00

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When a body turns up, Hayley realizes this isn’t just a missing-persons case—it’s a race against time.

The turquoise waters of Key West are stained with pink in this explosive 15th installment of the Key West Food Critic mysteries from USA Today bestselling author Lucy Burdette.

Food critic Hayley Snow’s employer, Key Zest, is throwing the event of the season, a lavish cocktail party catered by Janet Snow, Hayley’s mother. As Hayley boards the luxurious cruise, she anticipates a smooth sailing soirée filled with shimmering cocktails, mouthwatering mango-infused delicacies, and new supporters for the e-zine. But as the boat sets sail, the festivities take a tragic turn when an explosion rocks the vessel, plunging the party guests into chaos.

In the days that follow, Hayley learns that a local culinary entrepreneur died in the explosion and it was no accident–someone on board had a deadly agenda. With the tropical city of Key West as her backdrop, Hayley navigates a web of secrets and lies. Her investigation takes her from the shadowy corners of island politics to fierce competition between high-end event caterers and personal vendettas.

With the clock ticking and the stakes higher than ever, Hayley must rely on her keen intuition to unmask a cunning culprit before they strike again.

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Mother-to-be Hayley Snow bites off more than she can chew in the sixteenth installment of Lucy Burdette’s USA Today bestselling Key West Food Critic mysteries.

When Sheriff’s Deputy Darcy Rogers asks Hayley for a small favor, she can’t say no. Nine months pregnant and temporarily benched from her food critic duties, Hayley’s itching for a distraction and eager to help. All she has to do is tag along while a young woman picks up her daughter from her father at Monroe County’s safe custody exchange location. Easy, right?

Wrong.

In the chaos of the Sheriff’s Office open house, the mother disappears. Then the father bolts, leaving Hayley with a terrified girl and the realization that something has gone terribly wrong. Hayley and Deputy Rogers head north up the Keys to search for answers.

When a body turns up, Hayley realizes this isn’t just a missing-persons case—it’s a race against time. With the little girl’s safety at risk, Hayley must trust her instincts—and her heart—to uncover the truth.

💕 To be released July 14 💕

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Clinical psychologist Lucy Burdette writes the USA Today best-selling Key West food critic mysteries, a cozy, culinary mystery series starring food critic Hayley Snow, including #16, A DELICIOUS DECEPTION. A CLUE IN THE CRUMBS, won the Florida Book Award’s gold medal for popular fiction. Both the 12th book in the series, A DISH TO DIE FOR, and the 10th, THE KEY LIME CRIME, won the bronze medal for popular fiction from the Florida Book Awards. Lucy’s first women’s fiction title, THE INGREDIENTS OF HAPPINESS, came out in July 2023.

As Roberta Isleib, she wrote the golf lover’s mystery series (SIX STROKES UNDER) and the advice column mysteries (DEADLY ADVICE.) Lucy loves using her psychology background in her stories. She also loves to cook and to eat and to talk and write and read about food. She blogs with the wonderful crime fiction writers at Jungle Red Writers, and shares recipes and stories with twelve other cozy mystery writers at Mystery Lovers Kitchen.

Lucy’s books and stories have been short-listed for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. She’s a past president of both Sisters in Crime and the Friends of the Key West library.

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Wicked Temptation: The Lost Treasure by Patti O’Shea 💕 New Release Blitz and $20 Giveaway 💕(Romantic Suspense)

2026-07-07T07:24:15.305-04:00

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He’s always been a protector.

She’s strong enough to fight on her own.

This time, survival depends on each other.

He’s always been a protector. She’s strong enough to fight on her own. This time, survival depends on each other.

Special Forces Sgt. Cal “Baggs” Baggnell walked away from Iona Desmond. Carving out his own heart hurt—but watching the woman he loves charge headfirst into danger hurt even more.

Iona loves Cal with her whole being, but she couldn’t change the core of who she is to fit his protective nature. He knew exactly who she was when they met—the need for adventure is in her DNA.

Now, their paths collide in Puerto Jardin, where Iona has talked her way into Cal’s op. And he’s been assigned to work with her.

Their bait: the Lost Treasure of Trujillo. Their target: arms dealer Jorge Torres. Their problem: Torres isn’t the only predator closing in.

With ruthless drug lords, rival treasure hunters, and a powerful Russian mob lieutenant obsessed with finding the billion-dollar fortune, Cal and Iona must put their past aside. The deeper they dig, the deadlier the game becomes.

As betrayals mount and enemies tighten their grip, survival depends on one thing: Trust. If they fail, they won’t just lose their second chance—they’ll lose everything.

Wicked Temptation is a stand-alone romance with a HEA. There are references to events that happened in earlier books, but it’s not necessary to read them to enjoy this story.

Indulge in a protective Special Forces hero and a heroine who works undercover for the Paladin League as a photojournalist. This story features a second-chance romance, identical twins, and a kick-butt heroine.

“Archer—my boss—had intel that someone named Fuentes was after the treasure, but couldn’t get more.”

“So he sent you down and you kicked a hornet’s nest.”

She jerked her hand free. “I didn’t kick anything.”

His gut clenched, stupid and instinctive, the words scraping against an old wound he never talked about. He covered his fear with irritation. Anger was cleaner, sharper, easier to control. “And yet you were kidnapped.”

Io shot to her feet. “I did not kick anything. I hadn’t even done much when I was grabbed. I didn’t realize the words Paladin League were tantamount to waving a red flag and shouting I know where the treasure is.”

Cal stood and closed the distance. “You were down here for days.”

“I was working on my article while I got the lay of the land.” She glared at him. “I traveled to San Isidro, interviewed people, took pictures. The only thing I did in Trujillo was visit the convent the day after I returned.”

“The convent surrounded by men belonging to an arms dealer.” He glared back. “Don’t tell me you didn’t see them.”

“I saw them.” She crossed her arms. “I figured I’d be tailed. I was. I also figured I could lose them. I did.”

The cockiness. It made him insane. “They grabbed you and held you prisoner.”

“They did not. Torres and his men never touched me. They weren’t even that interested in me. It was easy to shake them off my ass.”

“Maybe too easy. Did you think of that?”

“Of course I did.” She stepped closer. “I didn’t just look behind me and say oopsie daisy, they lost me. I made sure my tail was clear.”

“You were compromised.”

“I was targeted. That’s different.”

“And that’s supposed to make me feel better?”

She opened her mouth, shut it, and then shook her head. “I’m too tired to argue. Believe whatever the hell you want.”

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Patti O'Shea's passions are writing, airplanes and traveling. Fortunately, she's been able to enjoy all three. After receiving a degree in advertising copywriting, she took a job with a major U.S. airline and now works in 757 Engineering. Besides teaching her about the planes she loves, it's given her an opportunity to travel to places like Australia, Papua New Guinea and Canada's Yukon Territory.

Writing, though, remains her primary love. Patti created her first romance when she was in junior high school and has been hooked ever since. She should have figured out she was a writer years earlier, however, since her dolls had such involved lives, complete with goals, motivation and conflict.

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