A Murder Yule Regret (A Bread Shop Mystery) by Winnie Archer
About A Murder Yule Regret
A Murder Yule Regret (A Bread Shop Mystery)
Cozy Mystery 7th in Series
Publisher : Kensington Cozies (November 30, 2021)
Mass Market Paperback : 304 pages ISBN-10 : 149673355X ISBN-13 : 978-1496733559
Digital ASIN : B08Y69YZKB
Freelance photographer and Yeast of Eden bakery assistant Ivy Culpepper has just scored the job of a lifetime shooting the Dickensian dress-up X-mas party thrown by It Girl film actress Eliza Fox . . . until an unwanted guest appears.
A holiday costume party in the sleepy coastal town of Santa Sofia could be just the boost Ivy needs for her fledgling photography business. At the party, Ivy enters a Victorian fantasy come to life, all courtesy of the fabulous Ms. Fox. Ivy gets to play shutterbug while hanging with Scrooge, Marley, the Cratchits, and more classic Dickens characters. But what begins as the best of times turns out to be the very worst for one of the party guests—a tabloid journalist with more enemies than Ebenezer himself.
When the man’s body is found sprawled across the jagged rocks below the house, the fingers begin pointing at Eliza. Meanwhile, Ivy gets roped into helping prove the starlet’s innocence. Her festive photos are now official evidence—and the Ghosts of Christmas Present could mean the party for Eliza is over, once and for all.ance photographer and Yeast of Eden bakery assistant Ivy Culpepper has just scored the job of a lifetime shooting the Dickensian dress-up X-mas party thrown by It Girl film actress Eliza Fox . . . until an unwanted guest appears.
A holiday costume party in the sleepy coastal town of Santa Sofia could be just the boost Ivy needs for her fledgling photography business. At the party, Ivy enters a Victorian fantasy come to life, all courtesy of the fabulous Ms. Fox. Ivy gets to play shutterbug while hanging with Scrooge, Marley, the Cratchits, and more classic Dickens characters. But what begins as the best of times turns out to be the very worst for one of the party guests—a tabloid journalist with more enemies than Ebenezer himself.
When the man’s body is found sprawled across the jagged rocks below the house, the fingers begin pointing at Eliza. Meanwhile, Ivy gets roped into helping prove the starlet’s innocence. Her festive photos are now official evidence—and the Ghosts of Christmas Present could mean the party for Eliza is over, once and for all.
EXCERPT FROM A MURDER YULE REGRET
I kept walking, more snippets of party chitchat coming at me.
“Can you believe he showed up? The gall!”
“You don’t believe it’s true, do you?”
“Pst.”
“I mean, that Yentin article wrecked her career, didn’t it—”
“And that picture of—”
“Pst.”
I had no idea what the people I passed were talking about, but I admit, my curiosity was piqued. Ear-hustling, as my feisty eighty-something neighbor called it, was an entertaining pastime when you didn’t know anyone.
“Pst!”
Whoever was psting needed to try another method.
“Ghost of Christmas,” someone hissed. “Ivy!”
Oh! I spun around, realizing the psting was for me. The person before me was dressed as a nineteenth-century beggar, but through the makeup and costume, I recognized the face. “Maggie! Wow, great costume,” I said, completely mesmerized by the depth of her commitment to the role.
“Oh yeah, well, you know, I had to go all in.”
That she had.
Without warning, she grabbed my arm and yanked me aside. I let out a surprised “umph.” “Maggie—” I started, then worry sliced through me. Had something happened to Olaya? “Is everything okay—” I started, but stopped and breathed a sigh of relief when I spotted Olaya manning her bread table.
“What? Yeah, everything’s fine.”
“God, you scared me,” I said.
“Sorry.” She looked contrite for a split second before her eyes bulged. I could almost feel the electrical current flowing through her body, amping up with every passing second. “Well?”
“Well what?” I asked coyly. Watching her eyes frantically scan the crowd, I knew exactly what had her so anxious.
“Did you meet her?” she demanded. “Is she as wonderful as she seems? Please tell me she’s not one of those stuck-up stars.”
“Who?” I asked, making my expression blank.
“What? You know who! Eliza Fox!” Maggie practically screeched, then she looked at me, blinked, and backhanded my arm. “Oooh, Ivy. Don’t do that!”
I dragged her away from the partygoers before she raised a crazy fangirl alarm and Nicole fetched Security to have her removed. “I haven’t seen her come downstairs yet,” I said, realizing it had been close to an hour since I’d descended those stairs. “She should be coming anytime now.”
“Dammit, stop,” someone snapped. “It’s over.”
About Winner Archer
Winnie Archer is the nationally bestselling author of the Bread Shop Mystery series, and the Magical Dressmaking Mystery series written as Melissa Bourbon. A former middle school English teacher, lives in North Carolina with her educator husband, Carlos, and the youngest of their five children. She can be found online at MelissaBourbon.com.
Author Links
No comments:
Post a Comment