Undercover Babymoon (Unde(a)Feated Detective)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – Orlando FL/Caribbean Cruise
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wild Rose Press (September 11, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 246 pages

Synopsis

Most mothers-to-be spend their pregnancy leafing through baby names and shopping for nursery furniture. Minka Avery spends hers trying to hunt down a murderer on the open seas.

Minka’s promotion to Orlando PD’s homicide department has some bumps at first, including her growing baby bump. Just as she and her partner begin to hit their stride, Logan Baris’s suspicious death baffles them. The investigation leads the detectives to believe he had a hand in a shady operation, but the cruise ship worker’s troubles seem to voyage into the ocean blues with him.

After they meet up with some dead ends on land, Minka convinces her partner and his wife to join her and her husband to embark on a covert investigation on the ship. Will they be able to uncover whatever scheme is underway on the vessel? Or will the choppy waves of personal drama make it run ashore?

Amazon

Guest Post

A Ruse on This Cruise?

By Karina Bartow as Wynn McCallum

For three years, I’ve spent almost every hour with my fellow crew members on the Exquisite Marvel. While we cruise through the Caribbean, tending to our guests and ensuring they have a vacation of a lifetime, we bond over shared interests and experiences. We give each other heads-up about which passengers are the neediest and which are good tippers. To be honest, I have a closer relationship with some of my coworkers than I do my own family.

Recent events, however, have rocked my confidence in how well I know these people. My best friend and roommate, Logan, unexpectedly exited the ship and ended up being killed during his absence in Orlando. He told me he had to handle an urgent matter, but his harried demeanor prevented me from prying for details.

He’s seemed distracted in the last couple of months, but I assumed it was because of his romance with another colleague. Now, detectives are scoping the Exquisite Marvel, suspicious that something aboard could have led to his murder. All of these developments make me wonder if I knew the real Logan Baris.

My mind won’t even allow me to delve as deeply as I probably should into the question. Not only did we share a cabin on every voyage, but we palled around in our free time. I’ve taken several vacations with Logan and his brother, and I never spotted any red flags that warned of his character. Our discussions over our mutual comic book obsession often gave way to deeper topics about life and philosophies, and Logan always manifested such a care for people. Being an only child, I cherished our friendship and had unshakable trust in him.

If he was a part of some nefarious scheme at sea, I don’t see how I can have faith in anybody else here. He and I confided in each other about everything…or so I thought. I’m close to others, but none compare to the bond between us.

Ever since I learned of his death, I’ve been combing through my memory for any clues I may have missed. Aside from his preoccupation, I noticed a few changes in his work habits. We both had positions in the kitchen, with him waiting tables while I assist in cooking as well as delivering room service. More than once during the past six months or so, he’s asked me to let him take some of my deliveries. I believed him when he said he could use the extra tips to buy an engagement ring for his girlfriend, so I acquiesced. I can’t help but wonder if there was more to the story.

The notion of him deceiving me hurts, but what bothers me more is that he wouldn’t ask for my help if he was involved in a plot deeper than he could manage. I thought he realized I would help him through whatever was happening and can’t understand why he didn’t turn to me if he was in trouble. I suppose he could have been protecting me, or perhaps he didn’t want me to talk him out of his agenda. Regardless, I find myself grieving the end of what I thought our relationship was as much as I am his passing.

In my reflection, I’ve observed the travelers with keener eyes than I typically wear. Many of them use this week of modest luxury to pretend they’re somebody else, basking in the glamour of dressing up, being pampered, and island hopping. I suppose we enable those fantasies by catering to their every whim and making sure everything appears glitzy and unused, even when a thousand people have stood in the exact same spot. That in mind, wouldn’t it stand to reason that some of us display similar pretenses? Maybe we succeed at fostering our guests’ dreamy illusions because we don’t like to live in reality, either.

I must admit that one thing I’m sure of about Logan is his constant thirst to be more. Back before he landed his job on the ship, he pursued a singing career. Though his nightly performances at the cabaret show gave him a chance to showcase his talent, he itched to achieve stardom. Several talent scouts approached him through the years, but nothing ever panned out. Since he’s started to contemplate marriage, he’s grown restless to score his big break and give his lady a man to be proud to call her husband. I’m worried such aspirations propelled him to the brink.

Whatever the case, I’m sneaking glances over my shoulder more than I typically would. It intimidates me that I could be walking among any cohorts in this terrible scheme that cost Logan his life. Who knows? His killer could be here.

It seems my dreams of being in a comic book have come true, but it’s not anything like I envisioned.

About the Author

Karina Bartow grew up and still lives in Northern Ohio.  Though born with Cerebral Palsy, she’s never allowed her disability to define her.  Rather, she’s used her experiences to breathe life into characters who have physical limitations, but like her, are determined not to let them stand in the way of the life they want.  Her works include Husband in Hiding, Forgetting My Way Back to You, Brother of Interest, Wrong Line, Right Connection, and Accidental Allies.  She may only be able to type with one hand, but she writes with her whole heart!

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