Sunbaked Snowbird: Poppy Pepper's Paradise Cove & Mini Golf, #1

By Molly Dox

Poppy Pepper's world just came to a stop. One of her guests, a snowbird from Pennsylvania, just turned up dead at her family's small, retro camper resort. Paradise Cove and Mini Golf was a quiet vacation destination, popular with retirees looking to get away from cold winters up north.  

As a one-time paramedic, Poppy missed the adrenaline rush of the challenging medic job. Channeling her unused energy, and with help from a friend, Poppy can't help but get herself involved in the case. Tangled in details, Poppy finds herself faced with multiple suspects and not enough clues.

Set in balmy Central Florida, "Sunbaked Snowbird" is perfect for a light weekend read. This cozy mystery is family friendly. (No foul language, no blood, no sex) "Sunbaked Snowbird" is book 1 in the 'Poppy Pepper's Paradise Cove and Mini Golf' series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Molly Dox Books
• Release date: Oct 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9781516381586

Book preview

Chapter 1

Reggie looked over at Poppy. Did you do something different with your hair?

Poppy shielded her eyes from the sun. I colored it. You notice it now?

They stood in front of the dead body that was baking in the Florida sun.

How long do you suppose he’s been there? Poppy turned to Reggie, knowing he was more schooled in crime being a sheriff, even though her own past as a paramedic helped her form an opinion.

It’s hard to say. Reggie tilted his head, and then looked to Poppy. It’s nice, but I liked your hair better when it was lighter.

My hair again? She shook her head. Did you call dispatch?

Yeah, they have a couple of cars on the way over. Reggie scratched his head. He might have been a sheriff, but seeing a dead body this close to home was unsettling.

Did you notice his watch is gone? Look, there’s a pale strip that was normally covered. The rest of his arm is darker, well, burned actually. Poppy commented, taking notice of the difference.

Vera Godshaw stood beside them with her arms clutched tightly across her stomach. The minute she saw her husband lying dead on the chair, she screamed like a howling monkey. She shook and rocked in place, trying to calm her nerves. Their winter snowbird trip wasn’t supposed to end this way. They came to Florida for the winter, since they’d retired. Home was in Pennsylvania the rest of the year.

Sirens cut through the air as they got closer. On arrival, a uniformed officer got out of his car. He nodded at the familiar face. Reggie, how are you?

Good, good. We have a body over here; wife found him and realized he wasn’t breathing. Screamed, we heard it and came over. He filled the officer in.

The officer turned to the woman. Did you call 9-1-1 for an ambulance?

She shook her head. I was in shock. I screamed, and then these two came running and took care of it. Look at him. I’m not ready to lose you yet, Bernie. Why did you have to go and die on me? She wiped her arm across her face, drying her tears.

Poppy chimed in. Looks like a call to the coroner might be in order.

Yeah, I’ll get on that in a second. He acknowledged and then turned his attention to Vera Godshaw. I’m going to have to ask you a few questions, Ma’am. Don’t go anywhere. The officer radioed dispatch letting them know the ambulance didn’t have to run hot and they’d need a coroner on site.

Poppy’s previous life experience as a paramedic gave her a strong stomach when it came to seeing dead bodies, though she’d been out of the field for as long as she could remember. When her mother died, she took over helping her father run their resort, Paradise Cove and Mini Golf.

Paradise Cove and Mini Golf was a staple in old Florida. It had been there for as long as she’d been living. Over time, its age was starting to show, but with a lot of hard work they were able to update it and made it a quaint and affordable option for those not looking for the standard hotel. The Orlando based theme parks were maybe twenty minutes away, but the resort offered a quiet atmosphere and a fair price.  Unlike the crazy, busy theme park areas, once you got farther away it was true Florida. What people visited in the tourist land of ‘things to do’ was big business in Florida, but it was only a tiny segment of the large state.

The officer asked Vera some standard questions. The entire time, she couldn’t stop staring at the body of her husband, still propped on the lawn chair in front of their unit.

When was the last time you saw him alive? The