I am so excited. My new cozy mystery series by Level Best Books is launching in January, and it’s the Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries.
I am a beach girl, so this has been so much fun to write. Jade Hicks is the owner of ‘Tis the Season, a Christmas shoppe in the tiny town of Mermaid Bay, Virginia. It’s near the Historic Triangle on the coast near Jamestown, Williamsburg, and Yorktown. Jade spends most of her days (and nights) striving to keep the store viable in today’s crazy world.
Jade has a great team who helps her keep the brick-and-mortar store open year-round to cater to tourists during beach season. They are Peppermint Patti Hall, the bubbly ball of energy who has the world’s largest Ugly Christmas Sweater collection, Lorelei Tucker, the fashion plate of an aunt who keeps her ear close to the Mermaid Bay gossip mill, and Bernie Nash, Jade’s part-time handyman and Santa doppelganger. They help her share the Christmas spirit with the locals and thousands of visitors who flock to our town that prides itself in preserving the historic traditions of a bygone era.
Jade’s trusty sidekick and faithful companion is Chloe, a French bulldog who likes long walks on the beach, frequent naps, and plenty of snacks. She’s a good ambassador for the store. Though she grudgingly shares that role with the tuxedo cat, Neville (the Devil Cat) who really rules the showrooms with his iron paw.
Sticks and Stones and a Bag of Bones is the first in the series. They will be followed by Twinkle Twinkle Au Revoir and A Tisket a Tasket Not Another Casket.
Sticks and Stones and a Bag of Bones opens with the town’s big Christmas in July festivities that include a lighted boat parade, a fun run in the sand, and a Christmas craft show. Before all the hubbub starts, Jade and Chloe start their day with a quiet walk on the beach to enjoy the sounds and smells of the shore. It was the perfect beach day. The puffy white clouds floated above the bay, dotted with a few ships on the horizon. Seagulls and sandpipers outnumbered the people, and the lapping of the waves on the wet sand provided a soothing soundtrack. All was quiet until a scream rang out and shattered the peace.
An early morning jogger tripped over something in the sand that turned out to be a suitcase that had washed ashore. Its contents, a collection of bones, a skull, and rusty pistol spilled out onto the sand and drew a small crowd of gawkers. The gruesome discovery, along with some cryptic warning notes that some of the local business owners received a few days earlier, rock the small community. Word spreads like wildfire, and the town leaders schedule an emergency meeting to decide what to do about the weekend’s festivities and the macabre find.
Thankfully, calmer heads prevail, and the Sheriff (and Jade’s handsome boyfriend) Nick Driscoll reminds everyone that his office had stepped up security. There didn’t seem to be any imminent threats, and he warns everyone to be cautious. His investigation is ongoing, so he didn’t offer any more details, and unfortunately, that didn’t calm some of the jangled nerves. In the absence of an explanation, rumors about mob hits and murders fly around faster than a pickup game of Frisbee.
Jade and most of the other business owners in town are excited about the upcoming festivities. The hope is that this will be the start of a new annual tradition for Mermaid Bay, and a night that everyone in the town will never forget.
