I am so excited to have G.P. Gardner at Mystery Thrillers and Romantic Suspense Reviews with a Spotlight, Excerpt and Giveaway.
Thanks G.P. and Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours for allowing me to join your Murder at Royal Court Blog Tour!
Please take it away, G.P.!
EXCERPT
“Good morning, Nita,” a woman wielding a broom called from the entrance to Lilliput. She kept sweeping.
“Evie, come meet my friend Cleo.”
When Evie turned toward me, I realized she looked extraordinarily familiar. Not Ann, but close enough to mistake for her.
“This is Ann’s sister,” Nita said. “She has this wonderful little shop full of dollhouses.” She rested a thin hand on Evie’s arm. “I know you don’t call them that, Evie. But I have to stop and think of their real name. Miniatures? Is that it?”
“Right, but lots of people say dollhouse. It doesn’t bother me a bit.”
“You look so much like Ann,” I said. “Especially your hair.”
Evie preened, fingering her short, reddish hair. “It ought to look the same. Came out of the same bottle.” She laughed.
“We’ll come look around in your shop before we leave,” Nita promised her. “It always puts me in a good mood to see your little treasures. Are you still making the needlepoint rugs? Cleo needs to see them.”
“They sell fast but I’ve probably got one or two.” Evie picked up a doormat and swept under it.
The knit shop was in the corner, angled between the building’s two wings, with display windows flanking the glass door. Nita pointed to the name, Royale Knit Shop, written across the windows in purple and green script with gold highlights. “Do you recognize the colors of Mardi Gras?”
I wouldn’t have thought of the connection, but I’d already learned Fairhope had a tradition of celebrating Mardi Gras. Any holiday, in fact.
Nita tried the doorknob without using the key. To our surprise, it opened. She hesitated and looked at me.
“Jim says always check the knob first, to be sure it’s locked and no one’s lurking inside. But I’m sure Ann just left it open for us.” She looked at me. I nodded agreement and we entered the shop, exercising no particular caution. I wondered what life must be like for her, always conceding to Jim’s hypervigilance. Nita clicked the lights on and the knit shop sprang to life.
A pink floral carpet covered much of the dark floor. The boxed-out display windows were decorated with stacks of luscious, jewel-toned yarns and mannequins outfitted in knitted garments. A wide purple stripe ran above the windows, around the walls and all the way to the high tin ceiling. On the side walls, bins of colorful yarns were topped with hat stands and plaster body parts displaying more knitted creations.
There was a shorter row of shelving in the middle of the room, ending at a glass checkout counter that sparkled under pendant lights. In the back, a big wooden table and chairs reminded me of a college library. I could imagine it lined with chatty knitters sipping coffee or tea as they twisted cables and counted stitches. The lighting must’ve been some special bulb, chosen because it so perfectly mimicked daylight.
At the very back of the shop, a pair of black Cracker Barrel rocking chairs held blue-and-white needlepoint pillows, and between the chairs, a mahogany table held a porcelain lamp glazed in the same colors.
“Isn’t it an inviting place? Ann’s a real artist, you know.” Nita folded her gloves together and went to turn the lamp on. “The knitting group will be here soon. I’ll put the coffee on and you can look around.”
I stopped to inspect an infinity scarf twirled with Mardi Gras beads and displayed on one of several mannequins. I was a tactile shopper who had to feel everything, and the infinity scarf was like a softer, fluffier Tinkerbelle.
Evie came in the door. “Somebody’s locked me out of the bathroom. Mind if I go through and unlock the door?”
“Of course not. I’ve done it myself.” Nita was at the coffee bar measuring out dark grounds, but she could explain the Royale Court layout to me while she worked. “The shops share bathrooms. This one is for the knit shop and Lilliput.”
Evie approached the door beside the coffee bar. “This one is shared three ways, actually. Ann and me, plus the back office. And somebody’s forever leaving the door locked. I’ve got a key somewhere but it’s easier to run over here.” She opened the bathroom door, disappeared from
view, and screamed.
Nita and I bolted as Evie burst out of the bathroom, clutching her throat.
“There’s a man!”
She took a few more steps before turning to stare at us, horrified, hands clasped against her chest. “I think he’s dead.”
“Call 911,” Nita ordered, and reached out to console Evie. My bag still hung from my shoulder. I pulled out my phone and punched in the number.
But I needed to know what I was reporting, didn’t I? I opened the bathroom door.
Nita was right behind me. “I want to see, too.”
Murder at Royale Court (A Cleo Mack Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Lyrical Underground (June 4, 2019)
Paperback: 228 pages
ISBN-10: 1516109023
ISBN-13: 978-1516109029
Digital ASIN: B07H72BF6W
Harbor Village is a vivacious retirement paradise known for its beachy locale and active senior scene. But ever since murder moved in, the idyllic coastal community is becoming a little less lively.
With the first annual antique car show cruising into the tranquil bayside oasis of Fairhope, Alabama, there are bumpy roads ahead for Harbor Village director Cleo Mack. As an automobile-themed lecture series gets off to a rough start, she finds herself balancing one too many responsibilities — and dodging advances from a shady event sponsor. It’s enough to make Cleo feel twice her age. But the festivities reach a real dead end when she discovers a body at the Royale Court shopping center.
When an innocent man lands in the hot seat for murder, Harbor Village residents look to Cleo to crack the case. Aided by an eclectic group of energetic seniors, Cleo races to identify the true culprit from a growing list of harmless Sunday drivers — before a killer revs up for another hit and run!
This ebook includes an exclusive knitting pattern!
About the Author
Born and raised in Alabama, G. P. Gardner earned BS and MA degrees in Psychology from the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL) and an MBA from Jacksonville State University (Jacksonville, AL). She also attended the University of Georgia (Athens, GA), where she studied biopsychology and primatology. But her heart belongs to Talladega College — an HBCU and the first educational institution in Alabama to admit students without regard to race — where she taught business. Her writing life began with short stories, some of which were published in regional literary journals and some of which won prizes. She enjoys the classic mystery writers as well as contemporary whodunits but reads widely. She is a knitter and once owned a knit shop in Fairhope, AL. She studied mystery writing with Terry Cline, another Fairhope resident. Murder in Harbor Village is the first in her series about social worker Cleo Mack. You can visit her at gpgardner.com.
Purchase Links – Amazon – B and N – Kobo – Google Play
Giveaway
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/02887792884
Please follow the rest of the tour here, thanks:
https://www.escapewithdollycas.com/great-escapes-virtual-book-tours/upcoming-great-escapes-book-tours/murder-at-royale-court-a-cleo-mack-mystery-by-g-p-gardner
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