by Sandra Murphy

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of The Black Cat Sees His Shadow. We also have a link to order it from Amazon, and from an indie bookstore where a portion goes to help support KRL.

Sabrina Tate is supposed to be writing her mystery book, but it’s so easy to get sidetracked with all the goings on in Lavender, Texas. This time it’s the annual Pumpkin Days. Things wouldn’t be quite so hectic if she could only control her Aunt Rowe. She’s in charge of the pumpkin cannon. That’s right, pumpkins shot out of a cannon—what could go wrong?

First off, Sabrina is accosted in the grocery store parking lot by a man who thinks he knows her. He doesn’t believe it when she says she has no idea what he’s talking about or who he is. Vendors have booths set up and are doing a brisk business, including one who could be Sabrina’s double. It’s apparent the man thought she was Tia, the caricature artist. Tia even has a black cat that could be mistaken for Sabrina’s Hitchcock.

It seems the man is jewelry vendor, Calvin Fisher. He’s had run-ins with a number of people but can be charming to potential customers. When his body shows up, found by none other than Sabrina, her reputation for finding bodies and Hitchcock’s as the bad luck cat are on everyone’s minds. Sabrina and/or Tia were seen having words with Calvin, and that puts them on the suspect list. Of course, with his personality, there are a number of people sharing the list with them.

It only adds to Sabrina’s stress when her mom shows up with her husband, technically her stepdad, both who think she should move back home. When Mom sees Tia, she jumps to the wrong conclusion and really ramps up everyone’s blood pressure. It’s all Sabrina can do to bake for the pumpkin contest, write a few pages on her book, keep track of Hitchcock, solve the murder, and fend off a too-friendly vendor who thinks he and Sabrina are a match made in heaven.

This is book three in the Bad Luck Cat Mystery series. Hitchcock steals the page whenever he can. Sabrina is settling into her post-law job working for Rita, the boss who could drive a saint crazy. Now Rita’s moved to town and that opens up a whole new line of aggravation. Aunt Rowe is the fun relative everybody thinks they would like to have before they realize just how much work that could be. The characters are well-drawn, the plot believable, and Lavender is as much a character as any of the people.

To enter to win a copy of The Black Cat Sees His Shadow, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “shadow,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen July 29, 2017. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address, and if via comment please include your email address.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & short stories in our mystery section.

Use this link to purchase the book & a portion goes to help support KRL & indie bookstore Mysterious Galaxy:

The Black Cat Sees His Shadow

You can also use this link to purchase the book on Amazon. If you have ad blocker on you may not see the link:

Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the Arch, in the land of blues, booze and shoes—St Louis, Missouri. While writing magazine articles to support her mystery book habit, she secretly polishes mystery books of her own, hoping, someday, they will see the light of Barnes and Noble and a Kindle. You can find several of Sandra’s short stories at Untreed Reads including her newest, “Arthur,” included in the anthology titled, Flash and Bang, available now. Look for Denali, in the anthology Dogs and Dragons.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases using those links. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.