by: Joann Keder
Series: Honeypie Mysteries
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: February 14, 2024
Honeypie Sweetwater’s life is a recipe for disaster—her culinary career in San Francisco is burnt to a crisp, her sterling reputation tossed out like last week’s leftovers, and now her home is slipping through her fingers like fine sand. Just as she’s about to surrender to fate, a ghost from the past delivers a bombshell—her beloved grandmother didn’t die; she was murdered. Clutching the deed to a quaint diner on the rugged coast, Honeypie whisks back to the salty sea air of her youth to unravel a mystery that’s been marinating for years. In a town bubbling with secrets, every friend could be a suspect, and every enemy, a clue. As the plot thickens and an enigmatic blast from the past steps out of the shadows, Honeypie must face a bitter truth: the most dangerous ingredients in this simmering scandal are her own buried secrets.
"Ma'am?"
Honeypie Sweetwater stared out the window of her condo. The rain was coming down in sheets, which was fitting for her current financial situation. Unwillingly, she turned her head to face the stern woman sitting across the table from her.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Steam, I—"
"It's Sistine, like the chapel? And I'm Ms." She twitched her nose just like the old television show with the witch. Also fitting.
"This is your copy of the documents for the foreclosure on this property."
"It's my home. We're not talking about a lemonade stand. I raised my son here and started a business—"
"And that failed too, didn't it?"
Honeypie dug what was left of her fingernails into her palms, doing her level best not to lose her cool. "You just look at the numbers. You don't have any idea what my life has been like, or what it took just to put food on the table for my kid some months."
After a brief stare-down that Honeypie felt confident she'd won, the banker leaned back, causing the wobbly wooden chair to creak in protest. She flopped an arm over the back of the chair and stuck her tongue in her cheek before delivering the next blow.
"There is also the matter of your inheritance. The land and property in Washington State will also become our holdings after you sign the paperwork." She shuffled through her papers containing a collection of colorful stickers. "I hear great things about the museum in Misty Cove."
"The Chewseum? I didn't realize that was still open. It's a food museum. Kinda cheesy, get it?"
Ms. Sistine ignored H.P.'s attempt at humor and shoved the documents in front of her.
"Please sign on the lines I've highlighted."
Her inheritance. Her childhood. Everything that made her the woman she was today.
Honeypie Sweetwater stared out the window of her condo. The rain was coming down in sheets, which was fitting for her current financial situation. Unwillingly, she turned her head to face the stern woman sitting across the table from her.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Steam, I—"
"It's Sistine, like the chapel? And I'm Ms." She twitched her nose just like the old television show with the witch. Also fitting.
"This is your copy of the documents for the foreclosure on this property."
"It's my home. We're not talking about a lemonade stand. I raised my son here and started a business—"
"And that failed too, didn't it?"
Honeypie dug what was left of her fingernails into her palms, doing her level best not to lose her cool. "You just look at the numbers. You don't have any idea what my life has been like, or what it took just to put food on the table for my kid some months."
After a brief stare-down that Honeypie felt confident she'd won, the banker leaned back, causing the wobbly wooden chair to creak in protest. She flopped an arm over the back of the chair and stuck her tongue in her cheek before delivering the next blow.
"There is also the matter of your inheritance. The land and property in Washington State will also become our holdings after you sign the paperwork." She shuffled through her papers containing a collection of colorful stickers. "I hear great things about the museum in Misty Cove."
"The Chewseum? I didn't realize that was still open. It's a food museum. Kinda cheesy, get it?"
Ms. Sistine ignored H.P.'s attempt at humor and shoved the documents in front of her.
"Please sign on the lines I've highlighted."
Her inheritance. Her childhood. Everything that made her the woman she was today.
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I love cozy mysteries and this looks great!
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