Mother's Day Mayhem

By Lynn Cahoon

Picturesque South Cove, California, is the perfect place to celebrate Mother’s Day, but not everyone is feeling motherly in bestselling author Lynn Cahoon’s latest Tourist Trap mystery, perfect for fans of Ellery Adams, Kathi Daley, and Lauren Elliott.
 
Jill Gardner, owner of Coffee, Books, and More is almost out of Mother’s Day cards. She has a few more in stock, but she’s set them aside because she needs Greg’s help choosing one for his mother. It’ll be Jill’s first time meeting her boyfriend’s mother, and she’s understandably nervous.
 
Turns out Jill isn’t the only one having feelings about mothers. Kyle, who works at the antiques store next door, needs to find the perfect card for a mother he hasn’t seen since he was five—when she went away to jail. But her arrival in South Cove isn’t exactly celebratory, her behavior toward her son unexpectedly restrained. Piqued, Jill discovers that a mother can never be replaced . . .  

Praise for The Tourist Trap Mysteries
 
“I love the author’s style, which was warm and friendly . . . [A] wonderfully appealing series.”
—Dru’s Book Musings
                                                                                                         
“Light, fun, and kept me thoroughly engaged.”
—The Young Folks
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lyrical Press
• Release date: Apr 2, 2019
• ISBN: 9781516109371

Book preview

Mother’s Day Mayhem

Also by Lynn Cahoon

The Tourist Trap Mysteries

Corned Beef and Casualties

Santa Puppy

A Deadly Brew

Rockets’ Dead Glare

Killer Party

Hospitality and Homicide

Tea Cups and Carnage

Murder on Wheels

Killer Run

Dressed to Kill

If the Shoe Kills

Mission to Murder

Guidebook to Murder

The Farm-to-Fork Mysteries

One Potato, Two Potato, Dead

Killer Green Tomatoes

Who Moved My Goat Cheese?

The Cat Latimer Mysteries

Slay in Character

Of Murder and Men

Fatality by Firelight

A Story to Kill

Table of Contents

Also by Lynn Cahoon

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 4

CHAPTER 5

CHAPTER 6

CHAPTER 7

CHAPTER 8

Note from the Author

Recipe – Tiny’s Provolone Stuffed Meatloaf

Love Lynn Cahoon?

About the Author

Mother’s Day Mayhem

A Tourist Trap Holiday Novella

Lynn Cahoon

LYRICAL PRESS

Kensington Publishing Corp.

www.kensingtonbooks.com

To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.

LYRICAL PRESS BOOKS are published by

Kensington Publishing Corp.

119 West 40th Street

New York, NY 10018

Copyright © 2019 by Lynn Cahoon

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

All Kensington titles, imprints, and distributed lines are available at special quantity discounts for bulk purchases for sales promotion, premiums, fund-raising, educational, or institutional use.

Special book excerpts or customized printings can also be created to fit specific needs. For details, write or phone the office of the Kensington Sales Manager: Kensington Publishing Corp., 119 West 40th Street, New York, NY 10018. Attn. Sales Department. Phone: [phone].

Lyrical Press and Lyrical Press logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

First Electronic Edition: April 2019

ISBN-13: 978-1-5161-0937-1 (ebook)

ISBN-10: 1-5161-0937-6 (ebook)

Printed in the United States of America

CHAPTER 1

Coffee, Books, and More, my coffee shop and bookstore combo in the tourist town of South Cove, California, was doing its regular business on a Wednesday morning. Which meant I hadn’t had a customer since the last of the commuters had left around seven thirty. You might think I would be upset at the lack of customers, but you’d be wrong. Mostly because I’d been reading the new Linda Castillo book this week and I had to know the ending. So when the bell over the door went off when I only had ten pages left, I groaned. Aloud.

When I looked up, I saw the situation was worse than I’d expected. Instead of an actual customer, Josh Thomas, the antique dealer who owned the building next door, stood in his black suit in the middle of my dining room. I’d told him before that he needed to branch out with a little color in his clothing choices, but I guess I hadn’t made an impact. He looked like a funeral director at the local mortuary. And since I knew Doc Ames—who was actually a funeral director and looked less dour—Josh actually looked like a caricature of a funeral director. From a bad horror flick.

He turned his head and located me, sitting on the couch. Sighing, I put away the book that I’d have to wait until after lunch time to finish and crossed the room to greet him. Hey, Josh. How can I help you today? Too late in your day for some coffee?

He glared at me, like I’d dragged him into the shop to interrupt my reading. No, Miss Gardner, I’m not here for a coffee.

Josh had always called me Miss Gardner. Not Jill. At first, I thought it was due to our new acquaintance. But since I’d known him for over three years and he used to date my aunt, now I assumed he like referencing my single status. Like I was worried about it or something. Josh was staring at me now, and I realized he was waiting for a response to a question I hadn’t heard. I’m sorry, what did you say?

Josh sighed, loudly, looked around at the door to make sure we were still alone, and then asked me the question again. Have you noticed anything different about Kyle?

Kyle? I tried to think about the last time I’d seen Josh’s employee. Had it been last week? He lived in an apartment over the antique shop next to Josh. Had it been over a week?

Kyle Nabors, the man who works for me? At the antique store? Josh reminded me of Kyle’s identity as he glared. Are you sure you’re all right?

This is why I didn’t like talking to Josh. He tried to make me feel like an idiot. On a regular basis. I know who Kyle is, I was just trying to remember the last time I saw him. I guess it was last week when I left the store after my shift. He was coming down from the apartment and I was going out to the parking lot for my car. I’d driven in that morning because I had to go into Bakerstown to get dog food. I can’t believe how much food Emma goes through in a month.

I’m not here to talk about the care and feeding of your dog. He pulled a small notebook out of his jacket pocket. He paused as if taking notes. When exactly did you see him and what did you talk about?

I wasn’t sure how I felt about being interrogated, but I’d play along, especially since I might need to repay the favor one day when I was investigating—not investigating—one of our local mysteries. Like I said, it was last Tuesday—

Josh interrupted me and glared. You said, last week.

Fine, so I said last week instead of Tuesday. But it was Tuesday. Can I go on? I waited for Josh to nod, then continued my story. "Anyway, I saw him coming down the back stairs. I waved, he waved, but that was it. He looked

Reviews for Mother's Day Mayhem

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