Shade Grown

January 09, 2024

Shade Grown

Shade Grown (Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery)
by Heather Day Gilbert

About Shade Grown

Shade Grown (Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
8th in Series
Setting – West Virginia
WoodHaven Press (December 11, 2023)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 190 pages
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8987556955
Digital ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0BPQ8KHZR

BOOK EIGHT in the Award-winning BARKS & BEANS CAFE cozy mystery series!!

Welcome to the Barks & Beans Cafe, a quaint place where folks pet shelter dogs while enjoying a cup of java…and where murder sometimes pays a visit.

During Lewisburg’s popular summer home and garden tour, Macy and her brother Bo discover new aspects of their hometown’s history. One of the last homes they visit features a lush commemorative shade garden marking where a Civil War soldier’s bones were buried. As Macy pauses to admire a bed of blue hostas, she glimpses a shadowy shape lying beneath the dinner-plate leaves. It turns out to be the body of famed movie star Cody Franklin, who’d purchased the garden house as a quiet country retreat.

Back at the cafe, Macy speaks with Cody’s distraught sister, who lets slip that she’s afraid her brother’s killer will target her next. Macy’s heart goes out to the bereaved sibling, and she agrees to speak with Cody’s local acquaintances in hopes she’ll uncover some helpful backstory.

But someone powerful is lurking behind the scenes, and Macy has to zoom in on the killer before everything fades to black.

Join siblings Macy and Bo Hatfield as they sniff out crimes in their hometown…with plenty of dogs along for the ride! The Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series features a small town, an amateur sleuth, and no swearing or graphic scenes.

The Barks & Beans Cafe series in order:
Book 1: No Filter
Book 2: Iced Over
Book 3: Fair Trade
Book 4: Spilled Milk
Book 5: Trouble Brewing
Book 6: Cold Drip
Book 7: Roast Date
Book 8: Shade Grown
Standalone Novella: House Blend

About Heather Day Gilbert

HEATHER DAY GILBERT, an RWA Daphne du Maurier Award-winning author and 2-time ECPA Christy Award finalist, enjoys writing contemporary mysteries with unpredictable twists, much like the Agatha Christie books she read growing up. Her novels feature small towns, family relationships, and women who aren’t afraid to protect those they love. Find out more at heatherdaygilbert.com.

Q&A With the Author:

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I loved working in the home and garden tour in Lewisburg, which is something my husband and I have enjoyed going on in the past. Lewisburg is a lovely small town in southern West Virginia, where I live, and it's unique in that there are many styles of homes to explore there.

Do you have any other books you are working on that you can tell us about?
Book 9 in the Barks & Beans Cafe series, KNIGHT BREW, will be set at a Renaissance Faire, and it'll release in November 2024. It's up for Kindle preorder now. ;) I'm also working on two books in different genres in 2024.

Can you tell us about what you have planned for the future?
More writing—and more mysteries! And the Barks & Beans Cafe series will reach book 10...and maybe beyond, if sales keep going well for it!

How long have you been writing?
I've written novels for over fifteen years now, but I've been avidly reading and writing since I was very young.

Anything more you would like to say to your readers and fans?
I so appreciate each and every reader who finds and enjoys this series featuring a cafe where folks can pet shelter dogs...and where murder sometimes pays a visit! Thank you to every reader who reads and reviews my books and lets me know you can't wait for the next mystery!