Mission to Murder

Mission to Murder
(A Tourist Trap Mystery)
2nd in Series
Cozy Mystery
Release Date: July 31, 2014
Kensington Publishing
230 Pages

 

Synopsis

In the California coastal town of South Cove, history is one of its many tourist attractions—until it becomes deadly…

Jill Gardner, proprietor of Coffee, Books, and More, has discovered that the old stone wall on her property might be a centuries-old mission worthy of being declared a landmark. But Craig Thomas, the obnoxious owner of South Cove’s most popular tourist spot, The Castle, makes it his business to contest her claim. When Thomas is found murdered at The Castle shortly after a heated argument with Jill, even her detective boyfriend has to ask her for an alibi. Jill decides she must find the real murderer to clear her name. But when the killer comes for her, she’ll need to jump from historic preservation to self-preservation …

About This Author

USA Today and New York Times, best-selling author, Lynn Cahoon is an Idaho native. If you’d visit the town where she grew up, you’d understand why her mysteries and romance novels focus around the depth and experience of small town life. Currently, she’s living in a small historic town on the banks of the Mississippi river where her imagination tends to wander. She lives with her husband and four fur babies.

Goodreads –http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5857424.Lynn_Cahoon

Twitter – https://twitter.com/LynnCahoon

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Website – http://lynncahoon.wordpress.com/

Amazon author page – http://www.amazon.com/Lynn-Cahoon/e/B0082PWOAO/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

Purchase Links:
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Excerpt –

Some people like to hear their own voice. That jewel of wisdom hit me as I filled the coffee carafes for the third time. As chamber liaison, I’d volunteered my shop, Coffee, Books, and More, to serve as semi-permanent host site for South Cove’s Business Basics meeting. The early morning meeting was scheduled to run from seven to nine but the clock over the coffee bar showed it was already twenty minutes past. With more items to cover on the agenda, we’d be ordering lunch, maybe dinner, before the end.

All because the newest committee member, Josh Thomas, owner of the new antiques store down the street, had issues. He didn’t like the agenda, the city’s promotion plan, and he especially didn’t like the fact the city didn’t have a formal animal control office. These subjects were not part of the regular list of discussion topics for the eclectic mix of owners of gift shops, art galleries, inns, and restaurants. I usually loved feeling the creative energy and listening to wacky ideas members brought to the table. Today, the meeting droned on and I couldn’t wait for it to end.

“I wonder why he even moved here,” Aunt Jackie fake-whispered to me as she sliced a second cheesecake. “He hates everything.”

“Hush.” I elbowed my aunt, trying to quiet her.

“Jill Gardner, don’t tell me you weren’t thinking the same thing.” She started plating out the cheesecake.

A couple of the council members snickered, and Josh’s face turned a deeper red than normal. His wide girth barely fit into the black suit he wore. From what I could tell, he wore the same threadbare suit every day. Watching the buttons on his off-white shirt, I worried one would pop off each time he took a labored breath.

“As I was saying, we must press the police department to deal with felonious teenagers running the streets.” Josh didn’t acknowledge he’d heard Jackie, a tactic I’ve often used with my aunt. She’s overbearing, opinionated, speaks her mind, and I love her to death.

“There’s no problem.” Sadie Michaels replied, the words harsh and clipped. “There’s not a lot for kids to do around here, so they hang out at the park. They don’t cause problems for local businesses. We’ve raised them better than that.”

“I beg to differ. Craig Morgan, the manager over at The Castle, has caught kids breaking in after-hours. They’ve been having drinking parties, swimming in the pools, and he’s even caught a few couples in the mansion’s bedrooms, doing heavens knows what.” Snickers from the rest of the members floated around the room as Josh wheezed in another breath. “We must stop these criminals before there’s real trouble. The antiques housed at The Castle are priceless.”

My Review:

I really enjoyed Mission to Murder.  I always love books that are part of a series. Mission to Murder is the second book and I had no problem following the story even though I didn’t read the first one. I really like Jill she owns a coffee shop combined with a book story trying to make ends meet. She dates the town police detective and has a spunky dog. I like the town of South Cove and how everyone knows each other. In this story Jill must solve the mystery of who killed the owner of The Castle as she is the prime suspect. I loved the twist and turns in the story and I was unsure who the murder was till the end. I can’t wait till the next book in the series comes out – this book was very entertaining. In the mean time I am going to read the first book in the set!

 

I received a Copy of this book from the author for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for the review, and the review is honest and my responsibility.