A Midwinter Mix-up: A Beach Hill Cozy Mystery

By Mina Allan

It's winter in Beach Hill, and although the tourists are gone for the season, the town is still filled with drama. Realtor Andrea Biscotti is looking forward to some downtime with her dogs and attending Didi's "Always Winter Never Christmas" party to chase away the winter blues.

When a restaurant supplier messes up her order, Didi ends up with an ugly ice sculpture packed with a diamond tennis bracelet—and a load of trouble. As the bad guys come looking for their loot, Andrea and Didi must capture the crooks, return the bracelet, and prep for the party of the season.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mina Allan
• Release date: Feb 14, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215594568

Book preview

A Midwinter Mix-up

A MIDWINTER MIX-UP

A Beach Hill Cozy Short Story

MINA ALLAN

Table for 7 Press

Copyright © 2023 by Erin Dionne as Mina Allan

All rights reserved.

Cover art by DLR Cover Designs

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

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For the real Didi, whose generosity and sparkle know no bounds.

CONTENTS

1. A Party is Like being in Fiji

2. Are those Diamonds?

3. Fiji?

4. Like Throwing Daggers

5. Sir Mumford the Frozen

6. Not the Paparazzi After All

7. Every Woman is Diamond Tennis Bracelet Material

8. Lights Out

9. Get Out of My Kitchen!

10. Martha Helped

11. Fiji or Bust!

12. Didi’s Bramble Recipe

Excerpt: A Parade and a Perp

A Parade and a Perp • Chapter 1

About the Author

Also by Mina Allan

A PARTY IS LIKE BEING IN FIJI

Acold nose pressed against her cheek yanked her right out of sleep.

Lemon! Go back to bed, Andrea groaned. The little dog whined and nudged her again. It’s too early, she told him.

Then she actually lifted one eyelid and peered at the clock. After seven! The boys had let her sleep in.

Okay, okay, she said. You win. Andrea pushed off the covers and shivered in the February chill in the air. Even though her apartment had good heating and insulation, living near the water in New England in the winter meant the cold seeped in despite anyone’s best efforts.

She stumbled to the kitchen to start the water for her hot chocolate, then went to throw on clothes to take the boys out to do their business. Amaretto, her tawny-colored dachshund mix, took advantage of her getting out of bed and curled up at the base of her pillow. He cracked open an eye when she came back in to get dressed, as if to say, Move your feet, lose your seat.

Come on, you, she said, pulling the covers off him. He gave her a disdainful yawn and hopped off the bed.

At the door, Andrea stuffed her feet in the winter boots, clipped the dogs’ leashes on, and cringed against the cold gray wind. Luckily the boys didn’t want to linger, and they were back inside in no time.

I have to help Didi today, she told them as they crunched their breakfast. Living in a beach town that truly came alive in the summer could be hard in the depths of winter. It had been particularly cold and drab one so far, and with seasonal businesses closed plus a lack of snow coupled with cold temperatures, downtown was a frozen wasteland. The sea churned in shades of gray, and the sky had stayed a flat white for days. People were