Out of Temper (Bean to Bar Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
‎Golden Tip Press (February 1, 2022)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 264 pages

Synopsis

Felicity Koerber’s bean to bar chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand has been the scene of two murders – both of which she has been instrumental in helping solve. So when she gets invited to demo her chocolate skills aboard a cruise ship sailing out of the local port, she’s excited at the chance to get away from the shop long enough to regain her equilibrium. She even brings her best friend along, and makes plans for time at the spa. But when she gets on board, she finds out that she’s been booked for a mystery-themed cruise, and said best friend, Autumn, has to finally deal with the real reasons she quit writing mysteries. Only – if that wasn’t stressful enough – it doesn’t take long before there’s a real murder on the cruise, and someone Felicity knows becomes the prime suspect. When said suspect asks her for help, she can’t exactly say no, can she?

Felicity finds herself surrounded by cruise goers who all had connections to the victim – and finds that both Logan (her business partner, whom she recently kissed) and Arlo (the cop who was once Felicity’s first boyfriend, before she moved away from Galveston) are dealing with the case until more official help can arrive. How will Felicity survive the ensuing awkwardness?

One thing that helps: the retired police dog turned therapy dog she meets on board. Satchmo helps Felicity deal with being back on the water after tragedy in her past – and also helps her uncover a vital clue to the case. Can Felicity unmask the killer and keep a friend from being framed before all the suspects leave the ship?

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Character Guest Post

Hi Everyone!!!!  I’m Satchmo!  I’m a beagle, and if you’ve had a bad day, it’s my job to make you feel better.  Have you heard of a therapy dog?  Well, I’m in training to become one.  It’s just about the greatest job in the world to me!  I love people.  I know some dogs who don’t.  And some of them have their reasons.  But not me.  I’ve had some pretty great people in my life.  I’ve always been fed and taken care of, and I’ve always had something to do.

See, I’ve been working most of my life.  I used to work for the police.  I’m proud to say that beagles have some of the best noses in the business.  We can sniff out anything!  I used to work with a handler who teamed up mainly with homicide detectives.  It was really sad work, searching out people who were missing and sometimes never coming home again.  It kind of gets to you, after a while.  Maybe that’s why I got to retire.  Retirement is a concept I don’t completely understand.  I mean, I don’t work with the same handler, but now I have Bea, who’s teaching me to be a therapy dog.  So isn’t that the same thing?  And I don’t go to the police station anymore, but my nose still works overtime, catching the same smells.  Bea still works with the police, so she even brings home a lot of the same smells I knew from before.  So what does it mean to be retired?  I’m still me, after all.

Bea has brought me onboard a cruise ship.  It’s actually my third time to be on a boat.  One time was when I was working for the police.  That time was very sad.  I don’t really want to talk about it.  Just know that the bad guys got caught, I got treats, and everything was almost okay at the end.  Because when someone’s life ends, things are never quite the same, you know?

But the cruise ship!  It is spectacular!  Especially the floor where the big restaurant is.  You would not believe some of the smells coming out of that kitchen.  And right when we got here, there was a party, and someone dropped an entire plate of meatballs.  I was over there, snacking them up before the person could even figure out who to ask for cleanup.  Bea scolded me.  I’m supposed to wait for treats to be offered.  But seriously.  Meatballs!  Who could resist?

Right after that, I met Felicity.  She smelled of sadness and nervousness.  I got the idea that it was something about being on a boat that makes her uncomfortable.  Bea asked me to spend some time with her, and you know what?  I really helped!  She stopped freaking out about the boat moving.  And she gave me roast beef.  Roast.  Beef.  Mmmmmmm.  I only get to eat meat like that as a special treat, so I must have really helped Felicity.  I’m not even out of training, and I already have a success story!

Go me!  Who’s a good dog?  I am!  Right?  Tell me I’m a good dog!!

I never get tired of hearing that.

So right now, I’m hanging out with Felicity, and I smell a cat.  Right?  What’s a cat doing on a cruise ship?  It doesn’t make any sense.  But the cat starts running before I can find out, so I have to chase after it, to get some answers.  It’s more of a kitten really, and it runs a lot faster than it looks like it should be able to.  So I’m flat out running when I pick up a familiar smell in the air.  An unsettling smell, of iron and inky blackness.  A smell I don’t like.

But my training from the police kicks in, and I have to go towards the smell instead of away from it, like any reasonable canine.  And yeah, there’s a dead body.  And surprisingly, Felicity’s response is, “What?  Again?”  Like this happens all the time.  Which doesn’t make sense.  She isn’t part of the police.  She smells like chocolate.  Which I’m not allowed to eat.  Bea says it’s poisonous to dogs, but I’m not so sure.  It smells so good, sometimes I think she’s just saying that so she can keep it all for herself.  But if there’s even a chance she’s right – I’m not going near the stuff.  Especially not now, since we just found a dead body right near a whole display of boxes with chocolate’s deep, earthy smell.

I don’t know the dead guy, but he smells of coffee and sweat and ink.  It’s not pleasant, so maybe he wasn’t a pleasant person, but no matter who he was, he deserves justice.  I look over at Felicity, and somehow I can tell that she’s thinking the same thing.  I hope we can work together on this one.  But can a therapy dog and a chocolate maker solve a murder?  Find out in Out of Temper.

About the Author

Amber Royer writes the CHOCOVERSE comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series and the BEAN TO BAR MYSTERIES. She is also the author of STORY LIKE A JOURNALIST: A WORKBOOK FOR NOVELISTS, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel. She blogs about creative writing techniques and all things chocolate at . She also teaches creative writing for both UT Arlington Continuing Education and Writing Workshops Dallas. If you are very nice to her, she might make you cupcakes.

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