Deep Green Envy

 

Deep Green Envy (Deep Lakes Cozy Mystery Series)
by Joy Ann Ribar

About Deep Green Envy

Deep Green Envy (Deep Lakes Cozy Mystery Series)
Cozy Mystery
Setting – Wisconsin
3rd in Series
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ten16 Press (September 21, 2021)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 344 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1645382931
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1645382935
Digital Print length ‏ : ‎ 226 pages
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09CMX8S6W

Summer in Deep Lakes sprouts a homegrown murder on the O’Connor farm. Frankie Champagne’s hunt for clues lands her deep in sheep doo-doo, especially after rare stones surface in unexpected places. Crime-solving is no picnic for the baker/vintner as she hops from farm to field to bakery, trying to keep up with the tourist season and track a killer, too.

Pop over to Bubble & Bake for Sweet Fur Friends  

by Frankie Champagne 

(Deep Lakes Mystery Series) 

    When I learned how to make pastry dough from my Danish grandma, Sophie, she taught me all of her baking secrets. Between the measuring, kneading, and rolling, Grandma Sophie told me stories, taught me folk songs, and constantly reminded me to add LOVE to every confection.  

    I miss my grandmother, but I feel her presence at my bakery/wine lounge, Bubble & Bake, every day. The smells of cinnamon, butter and vanilla are embedded in her embroidered aprons I wear in my kitchen.  The well-seasoned rolling pin she gave me bears a worn spot on is, gazing down at me, her snowy white hair pulled back into a bun, her round face lit with a the handle from her wedding band.  All I have to do is look up from my countertop and there she non-stop smile indicating mischief, her arm proudly around my ten-year-old self as we present the first kringle we made together to the camera.

    Time spent in Grandma Sophie’s kitchen never seemed like work, even on the warmest summer days. Open windows welcomed country breezes and cold lemonade poured freely from a large metal pitcher.  Grandma and Grandpa had well water that gushed from a metal pump just outside the back porch.  Cold well water tasted almost as good as lemonade after a morning of baking pastries in a hot kitchen.

    Their house on the outskirts of a small Wisconsin town was a storybook escape for me.  I could pretend I was Laura Ingalls as I played in the nearby creek or searched for four-leaf clovers in a field as big as the sea.  But, mostly, I enjoyed my time with Grandma’s and Grandpa’s furry critters. No matter how much I begged, my parents said no to kittens and puppies, so I held, petted, scratched and loved on my grandparents’ resident four-legged friends.

    Grandma believed it was good luck to have a kitchen cat, so she always brought one of the outdoor cats into the house to live in her kitchen.  My favorite was a long-haired striped Maine Coon named Chowder, who was so large I could almost ride him like a pony. Seriously, he was docile, tolerant of my constant attention, and greedily claimed anything that dropped to the kitchen floor from our baking adventures.  Since I was a somewhat messy child and had not learned the importance of cleaning while baking, Chowder probably relished my visits to Grandma’s kitchen!

    Once I launched my own bakery in the tourist town of Deep Lakes, Wisconsin, I was determined to work around the health inspector and have a shop cat of my own.  I waited for the final inspection before I reached out to our local vet, Dr. Sadie, who happily let me bring orphaned cats to Bubble & Bake.  In our rural area it was common for people to dump litters of kittens at the vet’s back door in the dark of night, and she could only care for so many.  

    The shop’s popularity means abundant exposure for our furry friends.  I host one at a time, find someone to adopt the kitty, then board another.  Brambles, a tuxedo cat, was a great comfort to me during the winter months of Deep Dark Secrets.  A regal Siamese named Pearl played a large role in solving the mystery of the granite quarry heiress in Deep Bitter Roots, and a mystical Norwegian Forest Cat I called Cookie, was a surprise holiday visitor in Deep Flakes Christmas.

    Recently, I’ve branched out in my fur friendships.  I’ve fallen for, not one, but two canines. Freya is my romantic companion’s bouncy, well-muscled Norwegian elkhound who has a sixth sense about her.  In my new escapade, Deep Green Envy, I found a loyal friend in Sonny, a retired sheep herding Sheltie at the O’Connor farm, where my business partner, Carmen and her rancher husband live.  Sonny was my constant companion while I watched over the farm so Carmen and her family could attend a cousin’s wedding in Chicago. Unfortunately, a shooting happened while they were away, so Sonny went from my companion to my protector.  

    Not to worry though, Bubble & Bake also hosted a chubby Tortie named Sundae for the summer, who ended up to be more than we bargained for.  You can read all about Sundae in Deep Green Envy, too.  Maybe one day I’ll spy a Maine Coon at Dr. Sadie’s vet clinic and relive my childhood time in Grandma Sophie’s kitchen.

Photos:  Tuxedo Cat, Sheltie Dog Sonny

About Joy Ann Ribar

Joy Ann Ribar lives in central Wisconsin with her business partner-husband, John. She writes the Deep Lakes Mystery Series, starring baker/vinter and all-around spitfire, Frankie Champagne. Joy’s writing is inspired by Wisconsin’s four distinct seasons and local flavors, which she hopes to promote for all to enjoy.

Joy is a member of Sisters in Crime, Midwest Independent Booksellers, and Wisconsin Writers Association.  She enjoys researching viticulture at area wineries, birding, hiking, and chatting with readers.  Joy and her husband, John, someday plan to sell their house, buy an RV and travel around the U.S. spreading good cheer and hygge! Joy is a little proud to have two bestsellers with Orange Hat Publishing: Deep Dark Secrets (2019) and Deep Bitter Roots (2020), under the Ten16 Press imprint of Orange Hat.

Author Links 

• • Website: https://joyribar.com/
  • Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoyRibarAuthor
  • Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/authorjoyribar/

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