A Hint of Mischief (A Fairy Garden Mystery) by Daryl Wood Gerber ~ #BookTour #Excerpt

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A Hint of Mischief

(A Fairy Garden Mystery)

by Daryl Wood Gerber

Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – California
Kensington Cozies (June 28, 2022)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages

The proprietor of a fairy garden and tea shop in Carmel-by-the-Sea, Courtney Kelly has an occasional side gig as a sleuth—with a sprinkling of magical assistance. . . .

Courtney has thrown a few fairy garden parties—for kids. But if a local socialite is willing to dip into her trust fund for an old sorority sister’s fortieth birthday bash, Courtney will be there with bells on. To make the job even more appealing, a famous actress, Farrah Lawson, is flying in for the occasion, and there’s nothing like a celebrity cameo to raise a business’s profile.

Now Courtney has less than two weeks to paint a mural, hang up tinkling windchimes, plan party games, and conjure up all the details. While she works her magic, the hostess and her girlfriends head off for an indulgent spa day—which leads to a fateful facial for Farrah, followed by her mysterious death. Could the kindhearted eyebrow waxer who Farrah berated in public really be the killer, as the police suspect? Courtney thinks otherwise, and with the help of her imaginative sleuth fairy, sets out to dig up the truth behind this puzzling murder . . .

Purchase Links:
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“Thief!” a woman cried outside of Open Your Imagination, my fairy garden and tea shop. I recognized the voice. Yvanna Acebo.

I hurried from the covered patio through our main showroom, grabbed an umbrella from the stand by the Dutch door, and headed outside, quickly opening the umbrella so it protected me from the rain. “Yvanna, what’s going on?”

Yvanna, a baker at Sweet Treats, a neighboring shop in the courtyard, was dressed in her pink uniform and standing at the top of the stairs that led through the courtyard, hands on hips—no umbrella. She was getting drenched.

“Yvanna!” I shouted again. “Were you robbed? Are you okay?”

She pivoted. Rain streamed down her pretty face. She swiped a hair off her cheek that had come loose from her scrunchie. “I’m fine,” she said with a sigh. “A customer set her bag down on one of the tables so she could fish in her purse for loose change. Before we knew it, someone in a brown hoodie slipped in, grabbed the bag, and darted out.”

“Man? Woman? Teen?”

“I’m not sure.” Her chest heaved. “That’s the second theft in this area in the past twenty-four hours, Courtney.”

“Second?” I gasped. Carmel-by-the-Sea was not known as a high-crime town. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. We had suffered two murders in the past year. Flukes, the police had dubbed them. “Where did the other theft occur?”

“There.” She pointed to the Village Shops, the courtyard across the street from ours. Carmel-by-the-Sea was known for its unique courtyards. “At Say Cheese.”

“The thief must be hungry,” I said. Say Cheese had a vast array of cheeses, crackers, and condiments. “Were you scared?”

“No. I’m miffed.” A striking Latina, Yvanna was one of the most resilient women I knew. She rarely took a day off because she had a family of six to feed—two cousins, her grandparents, her sister, and herself.

“Call the police,” I suggested.

“You can bet on it.”

We didn’t have CCTV in Cypress and Ivy’s courtyard yet. Maybe I should mention it to our landlord.  I returned to Open Your Imagination, stopped outside to flick the water off the umbrella, and then moved inside, slotted the umbrella into the stand, and weaved through the shop’s display tables while saying hello to the handful of customers. Before heading to the patio, I signaled my stalwart assistant Joss Timberlake that all was under control.

“Do not argue with me!” Misty Dawn exclaimed. “Do you hear me? I want tea. Not coffee.  Tea!” Misty, a customer, was standing by the verdigris baker’s racks on the patio, wiggling two female fairy figurines. When she spotted me, she uttered a full-throated laugh. “You’re back, Courtney. Is everything okay outside? Did I hear the word thief?”

“You did.”

“Hopefully nothing too dear was stolen.”

In addition to my business, the courtyard boasted a high-end jewelry store, a collectibles shop, an art gallery, and a pet-grooming enterprise.

“Bakery goods,” I said.

“And no one got hurt?”

“No one.”

“Phew.” Misty gazed at the figurines she was holding. “I swear, I can’t get over how young I feel whenever I visit your shop. It takes me back to my childhood, when I used to play with dolls. I’d make up stories and put on plays. At one point, maybe seventh grade, I thought I was so clever and gifted with dialogue that I’d become a playwright, but that didn’t come to pass.”

Misty,  a trust fund baby who had never worked a day in her life, even though she had graduated Phi Beta Kappa and had whizzed through business school, had blazed into the shop twenty minutes ago, hoping to hire me to throw a fairy garden birthday party for her sorority sister. In the less than two years that the shop had been open, I’d only thrown three such parties, each for children.

“Let’s get serious.” Misty returned the figurines to the verdigris baker’s rack, strode across the covered slate patio to the wrought-iron table closest to the gnome-adorned fountain, and patted the tabletop. “Sit with me. Let’s chat. I have lists upon lists of ideas.” She opened her Prada tote and removed a floral notepad and pen. 

Fiona, a fairy-in-training who, when not staying at my house, resided in the Ficus trees fitted with twinkling lights that surrounded the patio, flew to my shoulder and whispered in my ear. “She sure is bossy.”

I bit back a smile and said, “The customer’s always right.”

“How true,” Misty said, oblivious to Fiona’s presence. 

I thought perhaps I should mention it to our landlord.


 

 


Agatha Award-winning author Daryl Wood Gerber is best known for her nationally bestselling Fairy Garden Mysteries, Cookbook Nook Mysteries, and French Bistro Mysteries. As Avery Aames, she penned the popular Cheese Shop Mysteries. In addition, Daryl writes the Aspen Adams Novels of Suspense as well as stand-alone suspense. Daryl loves to cook, fairy garden, and read. She has a frisky Goldendoodle who keeps her in line. And she has been known to jump out of a perfectly good airplane and hitch-hike around Ireland alone. You can learn more on her website: httsp://darylwoodgerber.com

WEBSITE – FACEBOOK – TWITTER – BOOKBUB – YOUTUBE – INSTAGRAM – PINTEREST – GOODREADS – AUTHOR AMAZON – NEWSLETTER

 

 

Tour-Wide Giveaway – (USA Only)

(1) A choice of Book 1 or 2 and a Fairy Door and Fairy Figurine plus a $15 Amazon Gift Card.

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Individual Blog Giveaway – (USA Only)

The author has graciously offered up to one lucky winner on Angel’s Guilty Pleasures their choice of either SPRINKLING OF MURDER (Book 1) or A GLIMMER OF A CLUE (Book 2) in Paperback or eBook.  **The Winner will be notified by e-mail, and will have 48 hours to respond or a new Winner will be chosen. Winning entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.

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I'm an outdoor sun loving reader living near San Fransisco. I’m a mother, wife, animal & book lover. I'm the owner, reviewer & mind behind Angel’s Guilty Pleasures. My favorite animals are horses & dogs. As for reading I love all things paranormal & urban fantasy & my favorite shifters are dragons.

11 comments on “A Hint of Mischief (A Fairy Garden Mystery) by Daryl Wood Gerber ~ #BookTour #Excerpt

  1. We have grand kids who would love this!
    Thank you for sharing this with us.

  2. This book sounds great.

  3. Congrats on the new release! I love the idea of a mystery series involving fairy gardens, very original!

  4. […] Cozy Corners – REVIEW June 22 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT June 22 – Angel’s Guilty Pleasures – SPOTLIGHT, INDIVIDUAL GIVEAWAY June 23 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT June 23 – […]

  5. […] 22 – Angel’s Guilty Pleasures – SPOTLIGHT, INDIVIDUAL […]

    • Sounds like a good weekend read.

  6. Congratulations on your newest release! I love the cover and the story sounds intriguing.

  7. never read this author

  8. I LOVE A HINT OF MISCHIEF’s book cover. The mystery sounds good.

  9. Congratulations on your release of A Hint of Mischief, Daryl, your book sounds like my kind of mystery and I am looking forward to reading it! Good luck with your book and the tour! Thanks for sharing it with me an have a wonderful day!

    • Eva, thanks so much! I hope you enjoy the story! You have a great day, too. ~ Daryl