A Deadly Competition: Wines, Spines, & Crimes Book Club Cozy Mysteries, #5

By Elodie Hart

Harper was a librarian, not a beauty pageant judge. Yet she found herself in the middle of a contest—and another murder.

 

The book club ladies had swindled Harper into being a judge for a pageant—and right into the middle of another murder. When she joins the panel of judges for the Miss Marilee Island contest, she finds herself in the middle of an all-out war between three major contestants. When one of them ends up dead, it's up to Harper and the book club gals to solve the murder. With the recent murder of a beauty pageant queen so similar to something that happened in the past, Harper has to dig into that, avoid backstabbing contestants, and deal with her semi-romantic encounters with the handsome Viking detective. And when the killer targets Harper, things go from bad to worse. Now she has to solve the murder, figure out how she feels about the detective, and try to stay out of the murderer's reach—all while judging a beauty contest. It's all hands on deck to solve the murder and keep Harper alive long enough to sort out her love life.

 

Will Harper and the book club ladies be able to figure out who the backstabbing killer is, or will the killer get to Harper first?

 

A Deadly Competition is the fifth story in the Wines, Spines, and Crimes Book Club Cozy Mystery series. Buy your copy today to join Harper and the book club ladies as they figure out who's out to kill the contestants in this fast-paced installment in the Wines, Spines, and Crimes Book Club Cozy Mystery series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elodie Hart
• Release date: Jul 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223698784

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

I’m a librarian, not a beauty pageant judge, Harper muttered as she stood on the stage and looked out over the empty seats in the audience.

It wasn’t really a beauty pageant but it sure felt like one with all the posturing that went on behind the scenes. Harper had only been onboard the judging panel for a grand total of five days and she already couldn’t wait for the whole event to be over.

When Harper Lansbury moved to the island five years ago, she never thought she would be a judge at a local competition. All she wanted was to take care of the library and enjoy her weekly book club. That changed about a week ago when she received a call from Marla Pierre welcoming her to the judging panel. At first, Harper had no idea what she was talking about and then it hit her—the Miss Marilee Island competition.

Every summer, the local government held a competition to crown a woman Miss Marilee Island. The contestants had to be upstanding members in town, interested in preserving island wildlife and marine life, forward thinkers to lead the next generation into the future, and capable of winning over the hearts of the locals.

That would lead people to think that the contestants were the nicest women in the world. However, Harper could say that assumption was unequivocally false.

In the few days that she’d been involved there had been no less than three cat fights backstage, stolen items, and bad behavior one would expect out of a drama movie, not a small island town. Harper always thought the residents of Marilee Island were the nicest people she’d ever met until she became involved in this competition.

You need to make sure you stay hydrated. Heaven knows we’re going to have plenty of headaches over the next few weeks, Marla said, muttering that last part.

Headaches? Harper echoed, turning to look at Marla who wore sunglasses pulled over her eyes even though the afternoon sun was behind them.

With everything that goes on behind the scenes at this event, you need to be prepared for the worst.

I thought this was just a friendly contest, Harper said, laughing a bit nervously.

Marla turned to look at her but all Harper could see was her own reflection in the sunglasses. Her dyed blonde hair was straight as a board and stopped just above her shoulders. Harper knew her eyes were blue but the big sunglasses hid them entirely.

Competitions can be cutthroat. I should know, Marla said. At forty-five years old, Marla sounded much older, but Harper chalked that up to an interesting life with varied adventures in it. But this took a darker turn than normal.

Are you alright, Marla? Harper asked, growing worried at the dark tone in her voice.

Why wouldn’t I be fine? The sun is shining, the nights are warm, and the next few weeks are sure to be an adventure, Marla said.

Harper nodded but something about Marla was off. The woman was a former Miss Marilee Island contest winner for five years running, but she had become something of a recluse in the past few years. Harper remembered watching the contest during the summer when she’d been on the island staying with her grandmother. Marla had won those competitions back then.

A crash from backstage made Marla shake her head and go investigate, leaving Harper standing on the stage in bewilderment. As she left, Marla stumbled a little but caught herself after just a second of pin-wheeling her arms, and then she strutted away like nothing had happened.

You look a bit lost, Daphne said as Harper went down the stage steps and over to the judge’s table.

How bad would it be if I pulled out of being a judge? Harper asked.

The balance of the judging panel would be off, the contestants would be angry, the whole competition would be in shambles, and the local government would list you as a disturber of the peace.

So nothing too bad, right?

Daphne smiled but Harper knew what the answer was. As the contest seamstress, Daphne Bardot was the one in charge of all the formal outfits. She made unique dresses for each of the women competing. That way, no one would have an advantage over someone else by having a professional seamstress. Out of everyone Harper had met in the competition so far, Daphne was the most normal.

Reserved and shy, Daphne was the exact opposite of the competitors. She kept to herself for the most part but didn’t seem to mind Quinn’s company. Compared to the others, Daphne’s brown hair and brown eyes sparkled with friendliness even if she kept her hair in a simple ponytail and didn’t put on a face full of makeup. If everyone else were a glamorous beauty queen, then Daphne was a plain Jane.

How did you get roped into doing this anyway? Daphne asked, a pen sticking out of the corner of her mouth while she organized some papers and clipboards.

One glass of wine too many and five overly enthusiastic friends, Harper said, just about able to picture the book club ladies cackling at her situation—the situation they put her in.

The usual, then.

I see you’ve had personal run-ins with the book club ladies.

A few of them, Daphne said, grinning.

The ladies of the book club, mostly the eldest two, were island celebrities for their eccentric behavior. Everyone on the island knew who they were and the kind of shenanigans they got up to on a regular basis.

They decided I would make the perfect judge to fill in at the last minute and filed the paperwork on my behalf, Harper said.

They did the heavy lifting for you.

Harper grinned. That’s exactly what her friends had told her when Harper found out about it and demanded answers.

A loud wail from backstage made Harper jump in surprise before she and Daphne took off running toward the sound. What in the world was going on?

Rushing into the backstage area of the marquee tent, Harper stopped when she saw Juliette Tulloch standing in the middle of the room holding shreds of fabric in her hands.

Juliette was one of the contestants people had high expectations for. Her long black hair was silky smooth and blew in the wind like a shampoo commercial. Stunning green eyes were framed by thick dark lashes and set in a picture-perfect face. Her tall lithe figure could rival that of any runway model and she could wear any style of clothing effortlessly—except for maybe a shredded dress.

Oh no. I spent three days making that dress, Daphne moaned, raising a hand to her face and making her charm bracelet jingle slightly.

After having the library she worked at trashed by a drug-dealing murderer a couple of months ago, Harper knew exactly how Daphne felt.

You! Juliette screeched, stabbing a very sharp red nail in Daphne’s direction. You want to see me fail, don’t you? That’s why you made such an easy-to-ruin dress!

Of course not, Daphne said quietly, hunching her shoulders. I spent a lot of time making that dress. I would never ruin all my hard work.

Juliette glared at her before she clenched the fabric in her hands again.

My dress is ruined! Who did this? Juliette screamed, whirling around in a circle as she glared at everyone.

No one stepped forward to claim responsibility but Harper didn’t really think they would.

It was you, wasn’t it, Lisa? You’ve always been jealous of me and my place in this competition, Juliette screamed.

Are you crazy? I’m the one on top here, not you, Lisa scoffed, looking down her nose at Juliette.

Lisa Renner was another of the favorite competitors and stood neck-to-neck with both Juliette and Cordelia. Honey-brown eyes glared at Juliette from across the backstage area before she tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder and scoffed.

You’re both crazy if you think either of you will win. I’m the obvious favorite, said Cordelia in a bored voice as she barely flicked her hazel eyes at Juliette’s dress. Cordelia Bertinelli’s chestnut hair had the soft waves you couldn’t get from anything other than a curling iron, while her tan skin was compliments of plenty of time outdoors on the island’s many beaches.

The three of them were the top contestants and had been in the competition before. They also had a strong disdain for each other that Harper couldn’t quite figure out.

The other contestants looked away, not wanting to get into the line of fire if Harper had to guess. The three continued to trade barbs, all while Marla stood off to the side shaking her head.

My guess is that this was intentional, Daphne whispered.

Sabotage? Harper whispered.

I wouldn’t put it past any of them, Daphne whispered back.

Harper glanced around, taking note that nobody seemed particularly interested in Juliette’s distress. Other contestants simply rolled their eyes at the drama or outright ignored it. Judges offered empty platitudes. Juliette sat clutching the remnants of her ruined dress, eyeing anyone who came too close.

All the while, Harper rubbed her forehead as the headache Marla warned her about came on suddenly.

She did not sign up for this.

Chapter 2

Before Harper even arrived at the marquee tent a headache began to make itself known behind her eyes. After the drama of Wednesday night at the rehearsal, Harper didn’t know what to expect at the first real event of the competition.

Would there be another dress cut up to shreds? Would something else happen?

Harper! Over here, called out Sasha Orwell.

Turning around, Harper looked out over the crowd and saw her friends and fellow book club members. Sasha waved at her, raising her arm up in the air. As the owner of a bed and breakfast on the island, Sasha was living out her dream with her husband now that her children