Hammers and Homicide (A Hometown Hardware Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Oregon
Crooked Lane Books (January 16, 2024)
Hardcover : 280 pages
Synopsis
Perfect for fans of Kate Carlisle and Victoria Gilbert, when a body is found in a hardware store, will Dawna Carpenter’s sleuthing measure up to find the killer?
Recent sexagenarian widow Dawna Carpenter thought running her own hardware store after the death of her husband was hard enough. With her adult daughter, April, moving back into town, and Darlene, the annoying boutique owner next door to her shop poking around, Dawna has her hands full. But when she finds a dead man in the bathroom of her store, with a framing hammer by his side, she’s in way over her head.
The victim, Warren Highcastle, was a land developer who was looking to purchase the old theater in town to build a new hotel. Dawna and April, worried about the implications of the crime scene at the hardware store, put themselves on the case. They soon learn that Warren had made quite a few enemies in his short amount of time in town. As the suspect list starts growing, so too do the threats against Dawna and April. Can Dawna and April nail the killer before they strike again?
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Guest Post
Hello! I’m Dawna Carpenter, owner of Carpenter’s Corner Hardware in Pine Bluff, Oregon. What? You’ve never heard of Pine Bluff. I can’t say I’m surprised. When people think of Oregon, they envision Portland or the coast, but they don’t realize what a diverse state Oregon is. If you left Portland to drive here, you’re going to leave behind the lush rainforest feel of Western Oregon, then drive nearly four hours through the Columbia River Gorge and the plains before finally climbing into the Blue Mountains and meandering your way to our picturesque valley.
Wait a minute. Excuse me for a second.
Sorry, I’m back now. My author person rudely interrupted to inform me that Pine Bluff is a fictional town. That’s nonsense and I’m not going to listen to her negativity. Either way, real or imagined, Pine Bluff is a charming small town. My family moved here when I was only eight and it’s never crossed my mind to live anywhere else. Maybe that’s small minded of me, but I love my quirky little town. Bob, my late husband, and I raised our three children here, built two businesses and had a wonderful life. After Bob died, my oldest daughter wanted me to move in with her family over on the coast. But no, my roots are as firmly planted here as that big Elm tree in the front yard.
Besides the fact, I’m beginning to think Bob is still hanging around inside our big brick home. I can’t tell you how often his signature scent of sawdust and coffee swirl around the room, and I swear to you, occasionally he kisses me on the cheek. Plus, there’s Lilac. That sweet kitty crossed the rainbow bridge ages ago, but she’s been sleeping on my bed every night now for two weeks. If a cat spirit can comfort me with her presence, why not Bob?
And boy do I need comforting right now! Not that I can’t take care of myself. I can, for sure, but the other day a man was killed in the bathroom of my store. How crazy is that? I found his body, but better me than one of my customers. Now I’m worried that people will be too freaked out to shop in my store, and with that big box home improvement store that recently opened in the next town over, things could get dicey.
My daughter April and I are going to figure out who killed the poor man, though, and try to get things as back to normal as possible. I hate to point a finger, but there’s several Pine Bluffians I’m suspicious might’ve had something to do with the man’s demise. Oh, there’s April now. We have some snooping to do. I don’t want to keep her waiting, so I’ll cut this off and talk with you again soon.
Excerpt
I ended the call then reached into the cupboard for a glass and filled it with infused cucumber water from a pitcher in the refrigerator.
“See her where?” April filled another glass with cucumber water. “What’s going on?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know? Join the Women’s Service Club, and I’ll tell you all about it.”
I’d been trying to get April to join the organization ever since she’d taken over the decorating and furniture restoration side of my business, but so far, she’d refused.
“Whatever, Mom. I’m not ready to wear polyester pants and go to a meddling women’s meeting.” My daughter rolled her eyes and tapped her wrist like she was checking a watch. “At least not for another…oh, let’s see…twenty years.”
I threw my hands in the air and looked down at the pink-and-white striped T-shirt, cotton shorts, and denim shoes I wore. “Do you see polyester pants here? Don’t think so, missy.”
“No, but your meddling is showing. Better get it tucked back in.”
The two of us cracked up like a pair of cackling hens.
“Anyway, Evonne called an emergency meeting tonight. Without a feasible buyer for The Emery, we need to regroup and double our efforts to save the theater for Pine Bluff.”
“See? I knew I wouldn’t have to join your stuffy old ladies club to get the scoop. You can’t keep from talking about it.” April grinned. “But, seriously, it’s a good idea. What time’s your meeting?”
“Seven. Why? Are you coming with me?”
“Nope, not going with you. Will you stop, please?”
I laughed. “Never.”
“I think I’m going to head to the workshop and finish the dresser I’ve been working on. Maybe I’ll work until your meeting is over. It should give me a few hours to paint.”
Workshop was an overreaching word for the storage unit where April refinished and stored the pieces of furniture that were the heart of her business, Carriage House Designs.
“Do you think it’s wise to be there alone right now? You could stay here and bake those cupcakes you promised J.T.”
“It’s too hot to bake. I’ll do it tomorrow morning while it’s still cool. I’ll be as safe at my workshop as I’d be here by myself. Don’t worry. I’ll text J.T. to let him know where I’m at, okay? You need to do the same thing when you leave the house, and then text me when you’re heading back home from your meeting. Plus drive your Jeep. No walking tonight.”
“Deal, bossy cow.”
April and I pinky swore. There was no going back on our deal now. With a pinky swear, it was completely unbreakable.
“The meeting isn’t for several more hours, though. I have all afternoon to kill. Think I’ll turn on the air-conditioning unit in the sunroom and read for a bit after I start a load of laundry. It’s too hot to work in the garden right now.”
“Sounds perfect. And don’t say kill.” April glowered at me in jest before she turned to head outside.
I grabbed the dishtowel hanging on the stove doorhandle and snapped my daughter on the rear end before she made it outside.
“Oh, lady, you’re going to be mighty sorry you did that.” April let the screen door bang behind her for good measure. “Lock the door,” she called over her shoulder.
About the Author
When Paula Charles isn’t writing under the towering trees of the Pacific Northwest, she can be found in the garden with her hands in the dirt or sitting on her front porch with a good book and a glass of iced tea. She has a love for small towns, ghost stories, and pie. Paula lives on a small farm in Southwestern Washington with her patient husband and a handful of furry and feathered critters. Paula also writes cozy mysteries under the pen name of Janna Rollins.
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Giveaway
P.J. Murphy writes novels that introduce unusual and humorous twists to classic genres. If you pick up one of his books, you’re in for an interesting read that never loses its sense of fun. As a writer, P.J. tries to stick to the adage ‘write what you know,’ although with the addition, ‘just make sure you exaggerate and distort it beyond all recognition.’ He is planning to write a novel about taking a road trip with a parrot. He has never owned a parrot.
Maggie Blackburn is the pen name for bestselling mystery author Mollie Cox Bryan, who writes cozy mysteries with edge. She’s the author of several bestselling mystery series Her books have been selected as finalists for an Agatha Award and a Daphne du Maurier Award and as a Top 10 Beach Reads by Woman’s World. She has also been short-listed for the Virginia Library People’s Choice Award. She’s also penned a historical mystery under the name of Mollie Ann Cox. She lives in Crozet, Va. and is the mother of two grown, nearly perfect daughters.
Tara Lush is a Florida-based author and journalist. She’s an RWA Rita finalist, an Amtrak writing fellow, and the winner of the George C. Polk Award for environmental journalism.
Joyce St. Anthony was a police secretary for ten years and more than once envisioned the demise of certain co-workers but settled on writing as a way to keep herself out of jail. In addition to the Homefront News Mysteries, she is the author of the Brewing Trouble Mysteries and the upcoming Cider House Mysteries, written under her own name, Joyce Tremel. She lives in the beautiful Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania with her husband.
Lyn Farrell is the pen name of Lynda Farquhar the author of the Mae December Mystery series as well as the Rosedale Investigations series. She is a former Michigan State University professor in the College of Human Medicine, a mother, and a grandmother. She loves playing with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and is always on the lookout for her family artist grandfather’s (Eugene Iverd) paintings. He was a Saturday Evening Post cover artist.
T. C. LoTempio is the award-winning, national bestselling author of the Nick and Nora mystery series. Her cat, Rocco, provides the inspiration for the character of Nick the cat. She also writes the Urban Tails Pet Shop Mystery Series, as well as the Cat Rescue series. Her latest series is the Tiffany Austin Food Blogger series from Severn House.
