Murder on the Rocks.: Boddington Bay Mystery Series, #1

By Lucinda D. Davis

Life was great until a body showed up!

Former New York City personal shopper, Angela Augustine loves life in the idyllic coastal village of Boddington Bay, south of Boston. The only blight on the horizon is a secret from her past that she must keep under wraps. However, with the gruesome discovery of a dead body on the rocks near The Jolly Roger Pub, Angela's life is suddenly complicated, albeit a lot more interesting! But her secret is suddenly rearing its ugly head again and it has to do with the victim himself.

She and her friend Larry Brownlow, former policeman turned boater, are not convinced it's suicide so they decide to catch a killer! Will Angela and Larry discover the truth behind the death before they themselves become victims? Will Angela's secret come out and ruin her new found happiness in the small town along with her business?

Small town America comes to life in this short coastal cozy 'coffee break' book thanks to the relationships between characters and the unforgettable, quirky village personalities. It is an enjoyable witty read offering a seaside suspense, a rocky murder, and a blossoming romance.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lucinda D. Davis
• Release date: Apr 23, 2016
• ISBN: 9781533759702

Lucinda D. Davis

About the Author Lucinda D. Davis has been reading and loving mystery stories since she was old enough to haunt the narrow rows of books at the small Quebec, Canada village library where she spent her summers. After decades of penning ad copy, marketing, and writing for horse sport magazines, she decided to do what people had been telling her to do for years: write some books! She presently lives in a small hamlet on the beautiful Rideau Canal in Ontario, Canada. Her living room view looks out over the locks and waterways. This idyllic setting replete with friends, and more than a few interesting characters inspired her Boddington Bay series of short 'coffee break' cozy mysteries. Her longer Coppin's Lock series brings England to the Canadian countryside! The stories introduce readers to a trendy town in Ontario, Canada that could have been plucked from the English landscape, quirky characters included! Take the essential and quintessential British tea shop, pub and antique shop, throw in two female sleuths, add a Police Chief left shaking his head and you've got the ideal cozy mystery. While the girls may roam from home from time to time, their hearts are firmly set in Coppin's Locks! Visit her website at http://www.lucindadavisauthor.com and Like her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Lucinda-D-Davis-637648859641784/

Book preview

A Boddington Bay Cozy Mystery

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Please note that all the characters in this book are fictitious, and while some of the places are real, others are from my imagination.

Chapter 1

Fudge, a black six-month old short-haired feline with two white paws and a mischievous kitten brain, jumped onto the marble topped counter, took a well-aimed swipe and bounded away. Angela Augustine’s mascara wand skidded wildly across her cheek before falling to the floor into a clump of cat hair. On days like this Angela cursed Aunt Marie’s generous financial bequest that had led her to Boddington Bay.

Tarnation, she whispered, dabbing black gobs off her face with a cotton swab, this would never happen in New York.

Downstairs, a cheery Yoo-hoo coincided with the slamming of the store’s front door. Lisa, the obnoxious cousin aka store manager, had arrived. Seconds later the jingle of brass bells on the bakery door announced the arrival of Betty and Bonnie Smyth, the sixty-year old twins. Time to face the troops. Angela went down the back stairs from her apartment to her tea room and store, the Kitchen Sink. ‘Anything and Everything for the Chef and Cook’, her website boasted.

Morning ladies, she called through to the kitchen where the twins were tying voluminous white aprons around their voluminous middles. Even six months into the job Angela still couldn’t tell them apart.

Mornin’, they called back together. They did everything together. Angela wondered if they had ever not done everything together. But, she knew, she was lucky to have the ‘together’ twins because heaven knows she wouldn’t have been able to make soup from scratch, or bake muffins, scones and cookies. Her culinary expertise was limited at best.

Now, what kind of a mood was dear Lisa in today? wondered Angela. Lisa Anderson was, to Lisa Anderson’s way of thinking, the store manager, marketing guru and promotions expert. To Angela, Lisa whose curly brown locks sported a different splash of color on the left side of her head each week, was a shelf stocker, paper shuffler and thorn in her side. Every so often Lisa enjoyed reminding Angela that prison time - even two months - for stealing finger bling was not cool. That needling was getting old. Jealousy no doubt. Ticked off because the day Angela walked out of jail old Aunt Marie had changed her will, and Angela had come out smelling like a rose financially. However, there was a caveat attached: she had to leave New York City, settle in the country and start a business. The Kitchen Sink, smack dab in the center of Boddington Bay village, forty miles south of Boston, was the result. Caveat two was that she had to offer her cousin Lisa, chronically unemployable, a job. So, Lisa, her ever so uninspiring husband Monty, and their sons Michael, eight, and Peter, ten, had also moved to Boddington Bay.

As much as Lisa enjoyed reminding Angela that she was an ex-jailbird, Angela was still the boss. She was proud of the transformation of the one hundred-year old red brick building, formerly a funeral parlor, into her business. It was one of the visual stars of the street with fresh paint, bright window boxes full of flowers and hanging baskets on the porch.

You have black on the side of your nose, said Lisa patting the bright pink stripe of hair on the side of her head.

Thanks, Lisa.

You’re welcome. Just noticed a letter from a law firm on your desk. No more problems, I hope.

None whatsoever. Probably a check.

Check?

Yes. Compensation. Righting a wrong. Funds for false incarceration.

Angela pretended to be busy