There's a legend in the Sea Islands that before a hurricane hits the Gray Lady can be seen walking down the beach warning of doom. Penn doesn’t believe in such silly stories, but she does believe weather forecasters. A powerful hurricane is heading their way. Everyone on the island of Camellia Beach is busy boarding up windows and securing valuables to upper levels of buildings. Joe Davies, a local treasure hunter with an unquenchable sweet tooth, claims to have seen the Gray Lady walking toward him just that morning and is terrified for his life.
After the storm passes everyone returns to survey the damage. As Penn walks her little dog Stella on the beach, she finds Joe Davies’ body washed up onshore. Not only that, it looks as if an exploding transformer caused Joe’s seaside shack to burn to the ground. Did the Gray Lady claim another victim? Many on the island believe that is exactly what happened.
Penn is sure there’s another explanation. She follows the clues and hints of lost gold to discover that the truth behind the treasure hunter’s death is as much of a maze as the boating channels winding their way through the local marshes.
Oh My Word, this is a book that needs to be savoured like a great chocolate or fine wine!
Penn has trouble brewing in the form of a hurricane, what she doesn't expect is to see someone talking to what looks like a ghostly figure (after all ghosts don't exist … do they!), only to be told that she has seen the Grey Lady and those that see her can expect trouble. Well trouble arrives in bucketloads, when they get back on the island they discover Joe (the man who was talking with the aforementioned ghost) dead, Althea's shop has been damaged but the worst Penn is suffering is giving up her bedroom to a a couple of elderly sisters whilst the rooming house they live in is restored.
But then ghost hunters arrive, Joe's (sorry John's) wife and daughter arrive, some one is hunting for a surfing dude, and everyone is discombobulated! Now Penn needs to track down supplies, make things good with various friends and figure out what the flip is so important about Camellia Beach and why before someone else gets hurt!
Character Guest Post
Meet Troubadour of Camellia Beach
Hello, I’m Troubadour. You are lucky to know me.
If you haven’t read the Southern Chocolate Shop Mysteries, you might not realize that I’m a cat. Not just a cat, I’m a very special hairless Sphinx cat. I’m a creature with a higher than average intelligence. I’m certainly smarter than a dog. And I’m an excellent judge of character.
Did I mention that I’m much smarter than a dog, especially a particular fluff-ball barky dog?
And yet…
Have you noticed that every book features her picture? She’s front and center on every single book. That yappy little intruder—Stella. Why? I ask you. Why her?
I’m the one who watches Penn’s antics with a level-head. I’m the one who scratches the villains. (I also scratch Stella when she gets out of control.) If not for me, nothing no mystery would ever get solved.
I’m also the one who let Stella’s person, Penn, move into the apartment after my person Mabel Maybank passed away. She should be rewarding me with all kinds of pictures on book covers. In fact, I think the series should be the Troubadour Mysteries or even the Naked Cat Mysteries.
Let me fix this…
Now, isn’t that purrrfect?
I do worry about my island town, however. A hurricane has created all kinds of damage. And then there are these new people wandering around searching for treasure and ghosts and causing all kinds of trouble. Stella, that noisy puppy, thinks she’s going to bring calm back to the island. But what can she do? She’s never calm. Not like me. And I’m wise.
Here’s what I suggest. You read the book and decide for yourself which one of us should be on the cover of this latest mystery novel.
Do you prefer cats or dogs in your mysteries? (Vote for the cat!)
Read more about Troubadour and how he aids Camellia Beach’s favorite chocolate maker and sleuth, Charity Penn in Bonbon with the Wind, the latest book in the Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery series.
Dorothy St. James is the author of the White House Gardener mysteries. For the past twenty years she made her home on Folly Beach, an artsy island community in South Carolina with her sculptor husband. Dorothy is a member of Mystery Writers of America (MWA) and the International Thriller Writers (ITW). This is her fourth Southern Chocolate Shop mystery.
Follow Dorothy Online:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dorothy.stjames
Twitter: www.twitter.com/dorothywrites
Instagram: www.instagram.com/dorothymcfalls
Website: www.dorothystjames.com
Bonbon with the Wind Purchase Links:
Amazon: https://amzn.to/39Q2w4U
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bonbon-with-the-wind-dorothy-st-james/1135678760
Google Store: http://bit.ly/35vFEo9
Indie Bound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781087855806
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