Bear
Witness to Murder
A
Teddy Bear Mystery #2
by
Meg Macy
Genre:
Cozy Mystery
“Cute
and cuddly on the outside, murder and mayhem on the inside . . .
Totally adorable.” —Duffy Brown on Bearly
Departed
As
autumn air settles into the quaint small town of Silver Hollow,
there’s nothing more popular than Sasha’s teddy bears—and
murder in cold blood . . .
Silver
Bear Shop and Factory manager Sasha Silverman is cozying up to the
fall season by hosting Silver Hollow’s Cranbeary Tea Party, the
opening event of the village’s Oktobear Fest—a too-cute
celebration themed around teddy bears. She barely has a moment to
agonize over the return of her former high school rival, Holly
Parker, whose new toy and bookstore in town could spell big trouble
for the Silver Bear Shop and her cousin’s small bookstore . . .
But
when Sasha discovers Holly’s shop assistant dead with a knife
plunged in her body, the unpleasant woman suddenly looks like a real
backstabber. So does Sasha’s ex-husband, rumored to have rekindled
the fiery extramarital affair he once had with the victim. Now,
before a gruesome homicide case takes the fun out of both the Fest
and her personal life, Sasha must identify the true culprit from a
daunting suspect list—or risk becoming as lifeless as one of her
stuffed bears . . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The village clock struck the half hour while we walked down Theodore Lane. I heard a car’s rumbling muffler ahead of us, probably on Kermit, and hurried past Holly’s corner shop. Once across the street, Rosie led the way to the Sunshine Café; the fog parted, showing Uncle Ross’s vintage pale blue Oldsmobile parked at the curb. He always drove the car in the village Memorial Day and Labor Day parades, chock-full of teddy bears, but never offered anyone a ride if he could help it.
My uncle cussed a blue streak if any speck of dirt marred the leather seats, and he routinely checked the polished fenders for any scratches or nicks.
I caught sight of his grizzled beard and cap through the window. Mayor Bloom sat with him at the counter. Dad and Gil Thompson usually joined them for coffee and the café’s popular French toast, but they hadn’t yet returned from up north.
Past the half-hidden brick library, I cut through a stretch of blacktop to Church Street. It wasn’t easy navigating in the denser fog. Rosie nosed her way through the narrow alley between Abby Pozniak’s antique shop and Blake’s Pharmacy until we emerged into the mist-covered graveled parking lot.
Shadowy forms that loomed in our path turned out to be parked cars, a Dumpster, and a mailbox. I stepped cautiously over the stones.
“Ouch!” I’d hit my shoulder on a lamppost that appeared beside me. I peered at each parked car in the uneven lot. At last I found mine and unlocked the door. Rosie’s whining suddenly turned into loud barks. That meant trouble.
“What is it, girl?” She wouldn’t budge, so I followed the leash hand over hand.
I found Rosie guarding an inert form on the ground, right beside a blue MINI Cooper. Was it Holly Parker? My heart jumped into my throat. The jacket’s hood covered her head. I stood gaping, frozen in place. My brain couldn’t register for several minutes. Letters sparkled in the dim light on the hoodie’s pale pink fabric. THINK, that was clear enough to read, but PINK was darkened by a mottled brown stain.
So was the knife hilt embedded in her back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Praise
For Bearly Departed
“You’ll
fall in love with this delightful debut mystery.” —Victoria
Thompson, bestselling author of Murder
in Morningside Heights
“The
first in a new series features a complex plot awash in red herrings,
a perky heroine . . . and everything you ever wanted to know about
teddy bears.”—Kirkus
Reviews
“The
appealing, impulsive amateur sleuth, dedicated to the family
business, will appeal to fans of character-driven cozies.” —Library
Journal
“Entertaining
. . . inhabited by quirky, fully developed characters and good dogs
and cats.” —Publishers
Weekly
Bearly
Departed
A
Teddy Bear Mystery #1
“You’ll
fall in love with this delightful debut mystery.” —Victoria
Thompson, bestselling author of Murder
in Morningside Heights
The
Silver Bear Shop and Factory might be the cutest place around, but
there’s nothing warm and fuzzy about murder . . .
As
manager of the family teddy bear shop and factory,
thirty-one-year-old Sasha Silverman leads a charmed life. Well,
except for the part about being a single divorcée with a ticking
biological clock in small-town Silver Hollow. And that’s just kid’s
stuff compared to Will Taylor, the sales rep who’s set on making
drastic changes to the business her parents built from scratch—with
or without Sasha’s approval . . .
But
before Will digs his claws in, someone pulls the stuffing out of his
plan . . . and leaves his dead body inside the factory. Reeling from
shock, Sasha’s hit with more bad news—police suspect her
hot-tempered Uncle Ross may have murdered him. Sasha knows her uncle
would never do such a thing, and she’s launching her own little
investigation to expose the truth. As she tracks Will’s biggest
rivals and enemies for clues, Sasha can’t get too comfy—or she’ll
become the next plaything for a killer . . .
“A
twisty mystery tale with a likable protagonist and a colorful
supporting cast. Sure to be a very enjoyable series!”—Livia J.
Washburn, bestselling author of Black
and Blueberry Die
“Cute
and cuddly on the outside, murder and mayhem on the inside—I love
this book!!! Totally adorable.”—Duffy Brown, bestselling author
of Braking
for Bodies
Meg
Macy is an award-winning author and artist. Her first published
book, Double Crossing, won the 2012 Spur Award for Best First
Novel from Western Writers of America. Meg is also one-half of the
writing team of D.E. Ireland, authors of the Eliza and Henry Higgins
Mystery series—of which two titles have been Agatha Award
finalists. Meg lives in Southeastern Michigan, the setting for her
Shamelessly Adorable Teddy Bear mysteries.
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1 comment:
The cover is delightful and perfect for this story and is colorful and unique.
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