A lot has changed for me since I first shared a day in my life, back in 2021. (If you want to know what my life was like then, check me out here). Book time moves differently than outside book time, so while for y’all it’s been two years, for me less than a year has passed. But in that time, I’ve solved five murders (more if you count the secondary murders the folks I’ve caught have committed). And my business has gone from a dream I was holding onto from the past to a gathering place in my community, and a reality I share with my friends and business partner, Logan.

I’m Felicity Koerber, and I own Greetings and Felicitations, a bean to bar chocolate shop on Galveston Island. Right now, I’m also maid of honor, helping my best friend Autumn plan her wedding, so my day is chaos. When I unlock the back door in the morning (I always park down the street to give the customers limited access to the few parking spots on the Strand) the kitchen smells rich and fudgy. The shop’s pastry chef, Carmen, is hard at work on the groom’s cake, which is going to be shaped like a music note to celebrate the couple’s love of Jazz. I’m about to make truffles that echo the flavors in the bride’s cake – highlighting the lemon and lavender tiers – to go in gift boxes for the guests. I know Logan wants to help with the project. After all, he’s been trying to learn the business. Only – I keep pulling back from letting him. Logan and I have gotten close, but I’ve also re-connected with my high school sweetheart, Arlo, who is now a cop. Arlo and I are supposed to have coffee later. I’ve told these two guys that I’m going to decide between them by the day of Autumn’s wedding, and now that that day is getting close, I’m more conflicted than ever.

Of course, I have more pressing matters to think about while I get set up for the day, sorting cacao beans to get roasted and into the melanger. The melanger has to run for about three days to make a batch of chocolate, and roasting is a relatively short part of the process. As I stand, smelling the aroma of the beans change from harsh astringent raw to fruity and nutty, I think about the copy of The Thin Man tucked away in my office filing cabinet. You see, every time a rare book comes into my life, something bad happens. I don’t like to think of myself as superstitious, but I can see a pattern. And this time is no different. Two days ago, Tiff – one of Autumn’s bridesmaids – had a friend of hers come in from out of town. Said friend left the book and “borrowed” – okay, let’s be honest, stole – some of Tiff’s things. Apparently that’s a coping mechanism Lydia falls into when she’s stressed. Or rather, fell. Because yesterday morning, Lydia was murdered. And before she died, one of the things she “borrowed” from around town was a live pigmy goat. Which I have to look for this afternoon, once I get things squared away here. Because apparently, if you don’t milk a nanny goat daily, it can be very bad.

And while I’m looking for the goat, I might be able to pick up some clues. And who knows? Some clues may come to me. Here comes my neighbor, Mrs. Guidry, who runs the Cajun restaurant across the street – and notices everything.

Something Borrowed, Something 90% Dark, A Bean to Bar Mystery Book #6
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: September 2023
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

Felicity Koerber’s bean to bar chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand is hosting the friends and family coming into town for her best friend Autumn’s wedding. As matron of honor, Felicity has a ton of tasks to complete – including making chocolates for the gift bags. She doesn’t have time to solve another murder. But when one of the bridesmaids becomes a prime suspect in the death of a visiting real estate agent, Felicity has to put her detecting skills to use again to keep the wedding plans from getting derailed.

She’s already nervous about the impeding deadline she’s given herself to finally choose between her two love interests – and figuring where life goes once she makes her choice. But add in a missing pigmy goat and a new coffee shop that wants to partner with her, and she’s frazzled.

She begins to discover that not everything is as it seems among the wedding guests. Can she handle the wedding preparations, pull off turning her shop into a concert venue, and unmask the killer – before anyone else dies?

About the author
Amber Royer writes the Chocoverse comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series, and the Bean to Bar Mysteries. She also teaches creative writing and is an author coach. Amber and her husband live in the DFW Area, where you can often find them hiking or taking landscape/architecture/wildlife photographs. If you are very nice to Amber, she might make you cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes, of course! Amber blogs about creative writing technique and all things chocolate at amberroyer.com.

All comments are welcomed.