Setting - California
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Publication Date: June 17, 2024
Print length: 284 pages
Digital ASIN: B0D18C415T
SYNOPSIS:
After a life-changing injury, Mel O’Rourke trades in her badge for bed sheets, running a B & B in the quirky mountain town of Pine Cove. Her peaceful life is interrupted when an old frenemy, the notorious and charismatic cat burglar, Poppy Phillips, shows up on her doorstep, claiming she’s been framed for murder. While she’s broken plenty of laws, Mel knows she’d never kill anyone. Good thing she’s a better detective than she is a cook as she sets out to prove Poppy's innocence.
The situation gets complicated, however, when the ruggedly handsome Deputy Sheriff Gregg Marks flirts with Mel, bringing him dangerously close to the criminal she’s hiding. And just when her friendship with café owner Jackson Thibodeaux blossoms into something more, he’s offered the opportunity of a lifetime in New Orleans. Should she encourage him to go, or ask him to stay? Who knew romance could be just as hard to solve as murder?
If you’re a
fan of cozy mysteries, you know they’re typically set in a small town.
Somewhere quaint where, like Cheers, everybody knows your name. The
Thursday Murder Club is set in the confined space of a British old folks’
home. Miss Marple lived the small village of St. Mary Mead. Jeffrey Allen’s Stay
at Home Dad series is set in a small Texas town, and on and on. I’ve often
wondered why that is. Can amateur detectives only investigate in small towns
without worrying about destroying evidence or getting caught by the police,
unlike in real life?
Pine Cove, the
setting for “Frame for Murder”, is no exception. Inspired by the actual town of
Idyllwild, California, Pine Cove has one major street that is actually a large
circle. You can walk the entire town but trust me, as someone who meant to take
a two-minute walk down North Circle Drive and wound up spending forty-five
minutes on South Circle drive, it’s not easy.
I’ve been
fortunate enough to be invited to be a mentor at a writing retreat in Idyllwild
for the past eight years, and it was love at first sight. The rooms at the
first inn I stayed at had themes. One was something like “The Nest” and it had
a ton of bird themed prints and light fixtures. One was “Camp” which
included a canoe shaped bookshelf. Later I stayed in a room at the inn that
became the inspiration for The Babbling Brook Bed-And-Breakfast. That
room had a tiny balcony where I could hear the rushing waters from the brook
behind the place. The inn is very bear themed, with more cabins than attached
rooms with names like Papa Bear or The Owl’s Nest.
More than the
accommodations, the town is almost at the top of a mountain surrounded by
breathtaking peaks and pine forest. There’s one movie theatre in town, a gift
shop that has a giant cowboy hat—and I mean giant—over its door and a totem
pole-like carving in the center of town. There’s even a house that looks like a
1960s era flying saucer in bright yellow, but that’s for another book.
Inspired by
Idyllwild’s artsy, independent, small-town vibe, you won’t find a Starbucks,
McDonalds, or even a CVS in my fictional Pine Cove. There are just
Mom-and-Pop shops with delightfully quirky selections. That’s a tough
adjustment for my main character, Mel O’Rourke. A recent transplant from Los
Angeles, she doesn’t know how to navigate the small town without a “how to”
guide. In L.A., you just know Pink’s is the place to get a hot dog because
everyone knows that. You know to go to Porto’s for potato balls because
it’s like we’re a hive mind, you just do. Disconnected from her network and
naturally a little reserved, she’s at a loss about how to know things. Then in
walks Poppy.
Poppy Phillips
doesn’t even know the meaning of the word “reserved” and there’s nothing she
likes better than talking to people. She chats with the ironically named Tom
Horton, a guest at the inn, and finds out the Pastry Village has amazing
crullers. Need a manicure? She heard from the florist the best place to go.
Poppy will talk to anyone and everyone, which is an odd trait for a wanted cat
burglar known as “The Ghost”, but that’s Poppy, always making up her own rules.
She tells Mel, “I appreciate Officer O’Rourke kept a keen eye out, but civilian
Mel needs to quit seeing suspects and start finding neighbors and friends.”
After she finds out who really killed Kyle Lane and framed Poppy for his murder. And it better be soon. Deputy Sheriff Gregg Marks keeps dropping by to compete with Jackson Thibodeaux for Mel’s affection, but it’s only a matter of time before he figures out the identity of her new assistant.
Fun facts Something readers might find interesting about this book:
The quirky Babbling Brook Bed-and-Breakfast is loosely inspired by the Silver Pines Lodge in Idyllwild. Highly recommend staying there if you’re even in that neck of the woods.
A fact about me that readers might find interesting:
I share Mel’s nearly debilitating fear of heights. Well, not to the same extent, I can climb a set of stairs, but looking down more than a few flights? No way 😀
There’s a scene where Mel does a singing bowl session. I’ve done that and honestly, it’s pretty cool!
I accomplished the dream of becoming a published writer in my late fifties after helping other writers craft their stories for thirty years.
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