Hey, y’all! My name is Bonnie Balfour, and I’m the proud new owner of Bless Her Heart, a second-chance shop in my adorable hometown of Bliss, Georgia. At Bless Her Heart, I make old things new again. Clothing, home décor, furniture, accessories, you name it. I can breathe new life into anything, because I see beauty everywhere. It’s probably a side effect of growing up on a flower farm, having little money, and learning to be creative. But I don’t think anything becomes useless just because it gets old or goes out of fashion. If that was true, I’d be in a heap of trouble. Because being a recently divorced, thirty-nine-year-old housewife kind of SCREAMS old and useless to a lot of folks. Or maybe that was just my ex-husband.

Regardless, I’ve never been one to sulk or sit idle for long, so I moved back home to the absolute best place on earth and took up residence in the family cottage at the edge of Bud’s and Blossom’s Flower Farm, Bud and Blossom are my folks. They still live there and the farm is thriving these days. They make me breakfast nearly every morning now, whether I want it or not. (I always want it). And I leave them with some of the baked goods I make at night when my mind is too busy to rest.

After breakfast, my kitty companion, Clyde, and I head to work. We lease the old bank space on the square downtown. The buildings there are tall and narrow, mostly two-story and painted an array of cheery colors. The square, ironically, is a giant grassy oval. It’s peppered in ancient mossy-limbed oaks and anchored by a large octagonal gazebo where the local jug band likes to play. My best friend, Cami, is chairwoman of a board charged with rejuvenating the area and bringing in more tourism. So far, she’s doing great, but for a town as small as ours, nearly an hour off the nearest highway, she has her work cut out.

Clyde and I stop at Blissful Bean for coffee and a little cream, then open our store promptly at ten. Clyde likes to lounge in the window display, warming his sleek black fur in the hot southern sun. I get things ready for the day. I start by tidying the store, which looks like a page ripped straight from Shabby Chic Magazine, thanks to all the donations and excellent estate-sale finds I’ve given some new paint, pizazz and purpose. Then, I work on new projects, adjusting hems and necklines of outdated, but well-constructed dresses and gowns.

We see a lot of people in a day, most who drop by for the extra baked goods I keep on a refreshments stand. The baking does more than help me relax, to be honest. Baking reminds me of Gigi, and I secretly hope she’ll move back to Bliss one day too.

My favorite guest is a friend of Gigi’s, named Sutton. She’s also moved away in recent years, but is back for the summer and staying with her great niece. Sutton dresses in muumuus and talks to plants. She’s some sort of former hippie turned mystic and she doesn’t always mean it, but she’s hilarious. For example, when she heard I was in trouble after finding a dead body in a pile of donations, she gave me a small succulent in a hot pink pot and told me the plant’s name was Judy. And Judy will protect me. Isn’t that the sweetest? I’m not sure what a plant can do in the face of danger, but I just love when folks want to help one another. So, I gave Judy the place of honor on my desk. She sure is super cute.

As for the other thing, the body in my donations. . .I’m not sure what to make of that, but a local homicide detective, on loan from up north, seems to think I’m the killer. His ridiculous investigation is putting my name and new business in the local spotlight for nefarious reasons and I don’t like it. Not to mention he’s creating such a stir the local gossip mill is hiring extra staff for overtime. Clyde and I are trying to find Detective Grumpy a more reasonable suspect and save the new life we’ve been setting up here, but someone is starting to leave us threats. So, we tend to end our days with a triple check of door and window locks, then a whole lot more baking. I think Clyde and I have a good shot of naming the real killer and putting an end to all this mess if we just keep at it. So, that’s the plan. Wish us luck!

Burden of Poof, Bonnie & Clyde Mystery #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: September 2021
Purchase Link

An amateur sleuth named Bonnie and her kitty companion Clyde, with names like those, what could possibly go wrong?

Life hasn’t sparkled too brightly for Bonnie Balfour over the past few years, but a heart-breaking divorce has brought her back to her small rural hometown of Bliss, Georgia, and things are starting to shape up.

The proud new owner of Bless Her Heart—a second chance dress shop and boutique on the town square—Bonnie thinks thirty-eight might not be too late for a fresh start in life after all.

Until a grouchy old widow turns up dead in a pile of donations meant for Bonnie’s shop, and the town’s new detective pins her to the top of his suspect list!

To save her shop, dream and reputation, Bonnie must coordinate clues and stitch together the truth about her innocence, but the unreasonably handsome detective and prying eyes of the local gossip mill are fast fraying her nerves.

When a series of anonymous attacks begin to hem her in, Bonnie fears the real killer is fixing to make her his next victim. Can this amateur sleuth measure up?

About the author
Julie Anne Lindsey is an award-winning and bestselling author of mystery and romantic suspense. She’s published more than forty novels since her debut in 2013 and currently writes series as herself, as well as under multiple pen names, for Harlequin, Kensington, Sourcebooks and Crooked Lane Books. When Julie’s not creating new worlds or fostering the epic love of fictional characters, she can be found in Kent, Ohio, plotting murder with her shamelessly enabling friends. Today she hopes to make someone smile. One day she plans to change the world.

Learn more about Julie at julieannelindsey.com.

All comments are welcomed.