Books of Intrigue: Wines, Spines, & Crimes Book Club Cozy Mysteries, #2

By Elodie Hart

Two mysterious books, one dead man, and a gaggle of intrigued book club members. It's time for another book club adventure!

 

Donations to the library are usually good omens, but not when the benefactor ends up murdered by an apparent burglary gone wrong. The only problem is that Harper doesn't believe it's as simple as that. When two book connoisseurs from off-island arrive, along with a dangerously charming private investigator and the dead man's ex-wife…well, the book club can't resist much to the chagrin of a certain detective. Can Harper figure out what the two mysterious books are and why they were given to the library before the killer gets away? Or will the books be stolen from her safekeeping?

 

Harper and the book club were bitten by the sleuthing bug. Now they won't rest until they uncover clues that lead right to the killer.

 

Books of Intrigue is the second story in the Wines, Spines, and Crimes Book Club Cozy Mystery series. Download your copy today to join Harper and the gang as they uncover the mysteries and secrets of a dead man and a mysterious book in this fast-paced installment in the Wines, Spines, and Crimes Book Club Cozy Mystery series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elodie Hart
• Release date: Apr 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215519844

Elodie Hart

Elodie Hart was raised on old detective movies and mystery books. She loves a good puzzle (literally and figuratively), cuddling with dogs, and exploring small towns. The Tea Room Cozy Mystery Series is the first of many books she’ll write.

Book preview

Chapter 1

Almost there, Harper muttered, holding her breath.

Any little movement could make the stack of books fall over and then she would have to start from the beginning.

You know, we could have gone with a simpler design, Martin Hayworth said as he watched her carefully from behind his wire-rimmed glasses.

That wouldn’t be any fun, she said, smiling up at him before focusing on the books again.

As the head librarian, he was the one in charge but he let Harper have her way with a lot of things since moving to the island. That included book displays at the public library.

Being one of the only two professional librarians on Marilee Island off the coast of Southern California, Harper Lansbury took pride in her work. Creating book displays was something she loved to do whether it was for summer reads, Halloween spooky stories, or new acquisitions to the library.

Besides, it was a small library and they didn’t have much work cut out for them at the moment. Being the only library on a small island meant there were quite a few days with a lot of downtime. Today was one of those days.

That suited Harper just fine. She could finish the display and then head home to prepare for the book club meeting.

Five years ago, Harper inherited her grandmother’s beach cottage on the island and a good portion of her wealth. After some difficulties in her hometown of Los Angeles, Harper decided to move to the island full-time. The small library on the island had an opening for a librarian and she jumped at the chance.

She spent every summer on the island while she was growing up. The turquoise waters met white sandy shores and offered a sense of peace and tranquility she could never find on the mainland. The mild Mediterranean climate meant that it was tourist season year-round even if they did have a few weeks of cloudy and rainy weather during the winter months.

Moving from LA to Marilee Island had been the best choice she could make. It was a fresh start and she could leave behind the bad memories in LA. It also meant a slower pace of life, something she had always longed for.

Done, she breathed out as she stepped back from the display with her hands held out at her sides so she wouldn’t bump the table.

Impressive. I’m glad you’re the one in charge of the display tables, Martin said, smiling at her.

Martin was a kind older man who had been at the library for decades. He was born and raised on Marilee Island and rarely ever left. His salt-and-pepper hair gave away his age but his kind blue eyes held wisdom only found from practically living in a library for most of his life.

Meow! Pippin cried from his spot on the counter where he had been watching her.

Don’t you dare knock it over, Harper warned him.

Pippin was a sleek black cat with green eyes and a mischievous personality, hence the name. A few years ago, he sneaked into the library unnoticed and would leave presents on the front desk. People would report hearing sad meowing noises but Harper knew they didn’t have a cat so she chalked it up to the wind on the island. When Harper was cataloging new books one day, he nearly scared her out of her skin when he started rubbing against her ankles and meowing pitifully.

She took him to the veterinarian clinic and found out he just wanted a home and some food. Everyone at the library agreed that he should stay and become the cat librarian. Now he had a nice warm bed, bowls of food and water, and would proudly greet people whenever they walked into the library.

Did you two hear what happened? Rebecca Reb Devon said as she ran inside the library holding three coffees precariously in a cup holder.

No running in the library, Martin said gruffly, smiling slightly that he was able to use his librarian voice on one of his staff.

Reb rolled her eyes and slowed down. She had worked as an assistant librarian for as long as Harper could remember, even back when Harper was a teen visiting the island during summer break from school. She seemed to know everything that happened around the island and it looked like she had big news now.

I saw Lorena Westwood back on the island, Reb said, putting her hands on her plump hips.

Harper frowned. Why does that name sound familiar?

Because she’s Nick Fortuna’s ex-wife. You weren’t living on the island when they went through that nasty divorce, Martin said.

I think I remember her from when I was younger. Was she always dressed to the nines and wearing really heavy perfume? Harper asked, tucking her short brown hair behind her ears.

Reb snapped her fingers. That’s her. Anyway, she’s on the island and she’s looking at real estate.

You mean she’s moving back?

Reb shrugged, her blonde bob shaking with the movement. Why else would she look at real estate?

I’m surprised she could afford it. She didn’t get much out of the divorce, Martin mused.

Why not? Harper asked.

Infidelity. It was a clause in the prenuptial contract she and Nick signed. If either of them cheated, they would forfeit any monetary value from a divorce. She cheated with multiple men, so she got nothing, Reb said.

I’m a bit worried about how you know so much, Harper said, eyeing her warily.

Reb shrugged. It was a very loud, very messy divorce. Everyone knows about it.

Maybe she’s back on the island so they can reconcile, Harper suggested.

Martin looked uncertain and Reb outright snorted at that.

The way Lorena left town makes me find that hard to believe, Reb said. Lorena did everything in her power to revoke the prenup agreement and try to make it void, vowing to come back and ruin Nick if it was the last thing she did.

Those are pretty strong words, Harper said.

Which means the next few weeks should be interesting, Reb said, sipping her coffee.

And the library will fall apart if we don’t get back to work, Martin said, shooing them both away to do their duties.

Harper worried about what Reb said. They already had one recent murder on the island. Could they really handle whatever explosion was about to rock the boat?

The rest of the day, she pushed thoughts of marital problems from her mind and focused on her work. She had plenty to keep her hands busy and that included the mental preparations for the book club later that night.

When her shift came to an end, Harper waved goodbye to Martin and Reb.

Have fun at your book club, Martin said, waving her off.

See you on Monday, she called back.

Moving the kickstand out of the way, Harper pulled her sunny yellow beach cruiser bicycle out of the bike rack. Now that the weather had turned from cool winter weather to warmer spring weather, she could ride her bike to work.

As she hopped on the bike and put her foot on the pedal to take off, she saw someone at the book drop-off donation box. Surprise hit her when she recognized Nick Fortuna, the wealthy old man in his mid-sixties whose ex-wife just returned to the island. Harper didn’t have many interactions with him, but he’d always been kind to her. From what she knew, Nick had quite the collection of books—both modern and old books.

That was one more book the library could offer to the public for free. Most of their donations came from local hotels when tourists left books behind, so it was nice to see an island resident contributing to the public library.

Thanks for the donation, Mr. Fortuna, she called out, waving to him as she rode past.

She had a book club meeting to get to.

Chapter 2

Pulling up to her beach cottage, Harper hopped off her bike and pulled it up on the porch so it would be out of the way. The light blue cottage with a white trim sat sandwiched between a soft yellow cottage on one side and a bright green one on the other. Each residential street was a rainbow sensation of various colored cottages and bungalows. Grandma Angie loved the light blue color and Harper always loved the way it looked in her childhood so she kept it the same when she moved in.

The interior, on the other hand, needed some work when she moved to the island. Before she started working at the library five years ago, Harper made some changes to the cottage—a new roof, updated appliances that weren’t from the sixties, new flooring, double-paned windows, and new plumbing.

Stepping inside, she breathed in the slight lavender scent that permeated the air. That was Harper’s favorite scent besides books and she regularly burned lavender candles to relax after a day