Once Upon a Seaside Murder

 

Once Upon a Seaside Murder (A Beach Reads Mystery)
by Maggie Blackburn

About Once Upon a Seaside Murder

Once Upon a Seaside Murder (A Beach Reads Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Brigid’s Island, NC
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Crooked Lane Books (October 12, 2021)
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1643858327
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1643858326
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08TV4GK2C

As the holidays approach, bookstore owner Summer Merriwether learns a dark secret in this second volume of Maggie Blackburn’s Beach Reads mystery series.

There’s no place like home for the holidays, even if home is sleepy, beachside Brigid’s Island, NC. During this season for giving, the town wakes up to a welcome throng of shoppers–and Beach Reads is no exception. But bookseller Summer Merriwether’s Christmas cheer turns to cringing fear when she uncovers a deadly secret about her late mother–a secret someone will kill to keep.

When the local library hosts a cozy mystery panel discussion, Summer learns that one of the authors on the panel based her book on an actual murder that shook Brigid’s Island thirty-five years before. Worse, she soon learns that her dearly missed mother, Hildy, took a disturbingly deep interest in the case, going so far as to collect clippings and keep a journal of the dark doings. This doesn’t jibe with Summer’s memories of her usually cheery mother at all.

Tidings get worse when Summer learns of her long-lost biological family’s involvement in the crime…and still worse when the life of the book’s author is threatened. With the help of Hildy’s plucky book club, Summer puts her scholarly smarts to work on protecting the cozy author and solving the decades-old murder.

But this ghost from Christmas past may still be deadly in the present, and if she can’t find the killer, Summer’s future will be brief.

Character Guest Post

Summer Merriweather here. I’m still living on Brigid’s Island, running my mom’s bookstore: Beach Reads. I thought I’d have made some decisions by now. But I guess my career as a Shakespeare professor can wait while I’m sorting out the business and getting reacquainted with my family and friends after being away so long.

I’ve made a few changes, including developing a taste for romance books. (Please don’t tell my students, as I’ll never here the end of it!)  I’ve been continuing therapy for my severe arachnophobia. And Beach Reads now has a small Shakespeare section in Beach Reads. (Mom wouldn’t like that at all. She only carried romances and mysteries, by design.)

One thing I’ve found is that it’s hard to think when you’re still in shock over the loss of your mom, let alone learn how to run a business. A few of the members of the Mermaid Pie Book club have stepped up and have planned an upcoming event: Have a Cozy Christmas, with several cozy mystery authors attending. I don’t think I’ve ever read a cozy mystery, but I plan to. One writer has written a book “Mermaid Point Murder,” loosely based on a killing that took place on Brigid’s island 25 years ago. I’m told the case has never been solved.

It’s hard to believe that after all these years, nobody has cared enough to open the case and re-investigate. But then again, maybe they have and I just haven’t heard about it. Of course, my only regular conversations with anybody from the island while I was away were with my mom. She was all about lightness and love and didn’t like to discuss anything negative, let alone murder.

 

About Maggie Blackburn

 

Maggie Blackburn is the pen name of Mollie Cox Bryan. She writes cozy mysteries with edge. She’s the author of several bestselling mystery series. She’s recently released a novella mystery series: The Victoria Town Mysteries. Her book, “Goodnight Moo,” has been shortlisted for a Fresh Fiction Reader’s Choice Award. Her books have been selected as finalists for an Agatha Award and a Daphne du Maurier Award and as a Top 10 Beach Reads by Woman’s World. She makes her home at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Shenandoah Valley, Va.

Author Links

Website http://www.molliecoxbryan.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/molliecoxbryanauthor/

Twitter https://twitter.com/molliecoxbryan

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/molliebryan/

Purchase Links – Amazon – B&N – Kobo – IndieBound 

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