by Sandra Murphy

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a signed copy of Eggs on Ice, a link to purchase it from Amazon, and an indie bookstore where a portion of the sale goes to help support KRL.

Choosing attorney Allan Sharp to play Scrooge in the local production of A Christmas Carol was type-casting. He and Mayor Mobley hatched up schemes to their benefit, not the townspeople, very Scrooge-like behavior.

Suzanne, co-owner of the Cackleberry Club café, and her partner Toni are backstage crew for the production. Toni’s worried about turning on the wrong lights while Suzanne is trying to get the hang of the fog machine. One wrong twist of a knob and the stage will be a whiteout situation. So far, the rehearsal is going well but more practice will help.

Right on cue, the Ghost of Christmas Past comes on stage and struggles with Scrooge. It’s a realistic performance, drawing applause from actors not on stage at the time. Unfortunately, Scrooge doesn’t stand up and take a bow.

Suzanne is the first to realize something’s wrong. Scrooge has been stabbed to death right in front of the cast. She’s able to chase the Ghost, but when she’s threatened with the bloody knife, the Ghost manages to escape.

Oddly, Amber, a former employee of Allan’s law firm, is the prime suspect. An anonymous tip says Allan fired her, and she’s held a grudge for months. Considering the number of people Allan and/or the Mayor have done wrong, it’s a stretch to think Amber is the killer Suzanne thinks.

Sheriff Doogie eats at the Cackleberry almost daily, so Suzanne is able to weasel some information from him by bribing him with desserts. After all, she found the body and was closest to seeing the Ghost. More mayhem and another death follow, making the job of finding out who really did do the deeds all that much harder.

As Suzanne chases the killer, how close can she get before the killer comes after her instead?

The Cackleberry café is a welcoming place with breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, and special events like catering Allan’s funeral. There’s also a book area and craft area to bring more people into the café.

Petra shares recipes for Jalapeno Grilled Chicken Sandwiches, Crab Cakes, Slow-Cooker Sweet and Sour Pork, Peach Cobbler Pancake Topper, Church Basement Funeral Cookie Bars, Winter Salad, Elvia French Toast Stuffed with Peanut Butter and Bananas, Breakfast Burritos, Chocolate Chip Scones, Pumpkin Breakfast Casserole, and Sheriff Doogie’s Three Little Pigs Breakfast Hoagie.

This is the eighth book in the series. Childs also writes the Scrapbooking mysteries with Terrie Farley Moran (15), the Tea Shop series (19), and two Afton Tangler thrillers under her own name, Gerry Schmitt. All great reads.

To enter to win a signed copy of Eggs on Ice, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “ice,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen December 15, 2018. U.S. residents only. If entering via email please include your mailing address (so if you win we can get the book sent right out to you), and if via comment please include your email address. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & mystery short stories in our mystery section. And join our mystery Facebook group to keep up with everything mystery we post, and have a chance at some extra giveaways. Be sure to check out our new mystery podcast too with mystery short stories, and first chapters. Our latest episode is set at Christmas time.

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

Eggs on Ice (A Cackleberry Club Mystery #8)

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 St. Louis Missouri. She writes about eco-friendly topics, pets and wildlife for magazines and reviews mysteries and thrillers for KRL. A collection of her short stories, published by Untreed Reads, From Hay to Eternity: Ten Tales of Crime and Deception can be found at all the usual outlets. Each one is a little weird and all have a twist you won’t see coming.

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.