Once Upon a Seaside Murder
Series: A Beach Reads Mystery #2
Author: Maggie Blackburn
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Pages: 336
Release Date: October 12, 2021, by Crooked Lane Books
Summary:
As the holidays approach, bookstore owner Summer Merriwether learns a dark secret in this second volume of Maggie Blackburn’s Beach Reads mystery series.
There’s no place like home for the holidays, even if home is sleepy, beachside Brigid’s Island, NC. During this season for giving, the town wakes up to a welcome throng of shoppers–and Beach Reads is no exception. But bookseller Summer Merriwether’s Christmas cheer turns to cringing fear when she uncovers a deadly secret about her late mother–a secret someone will kill to keep.
When the local library hosts a cozy mystery panel discussion, Summer learns that one of the authors on the panel based her book on an actual murder that shook Brigid’s Island thirty-five years before. Worse, she soon learns that her dearly missed mother, Hildy, took a disturbingly deep interest in the case, going so far as to collect clippings and keep a journal of the dark doings. This doesn’t jibe with Summer’s memories of her usually cheery mother at all.
Tidings get worse when Summer learns of her long-lost biological family’s involvement in the crime…and still worse when the life of the book’s author is threatened. With the help of Hildy’s plucky book club, Summer puts her scholarly smarts to work on protecting the cozy author and solving the decades-old murder.
But this ghost from Christmas past may still be deadly in the present, and if she can’t find the killer, Summer’s future will be brief.
Interview with Summer Merriwether
How did you and your author meet?
My author was on a beach vacation.
Why did this writer decide to feature you in a book?
She thought it would be fun to have a book snob get her comeuppance.
Do you have any friends or family helping you out?
Yes, my cousin Piper and aunt Agatha.
Do you have a regular job and investigate on the side or are you a full time detective?
I’m a Shakespeare professor on sabbatical currently running my mom’s bookstore: Beach Reads.
What is the funniest thing that happens to you or another character in this story?
I think the funniest thing is a hotel named Bluebeard’s Roost, not named after the famous pirate, but after a rooster who was, indeed named for the pirate.
Have you solved other cases or is this your first one?
I solved my mom’s murder case.
Do you have a gift or special talent?
I’m a very good reader and analyze text very well.
Who is the most important individual in your life?
It was my mom, but I guess now it is my cousin Piper.
What is your ideal vacation?
I think Greece.
If you could change anything about your life what would it be?
I wish my mom and I were on better terms when she died.
A Beach Reads Mystery Series
About the Author
Maggie Blackburn is the author of the Cora Crafts mysteries and the Cumberland Creek mysteries under another pen name. Her books have been selected as finalists for an Agatha Award and a Daphne du Maurier Award and as a Top 10 Beach Reads by Woman’s World. She has also been short-listed for the Virginia Library People’s Choice Award. She is the mother of two young women who are off following their dreams in the music business. She currently lives in Waynesboro, VA, and works at the University of Virginia as a development associate.
Giveaway
Prize: (1) Prize Package including A signed book and a self-care package: a candle, bubble bath, and chocolates.
Tour Organized by:
To find all the tour information, click the banner at the top of the page.
Have you signed up to be a Tour Host? Click Here Find Details and Sign Up Today!
Thank you for dropping by! So, what do you think of Once Upon a Seaside Murder by Maggie Blackburn? Check out the other stops if you have time.
Until the next time,
Happy Reading!
Thank you!