All I wanted was a breather.

Ha! So much for that plan.

I’d barely unpacked my bags on Cattail Island, the glorified sandbar where I grew up, when I heard that my old friend Eva had passed away—and bizarrely, at that. She tumbled from the top of the most historic lighthouse on the Outer Banks. The police think she took her own life, but I know something they don’t: Eva, before she died, had unearthed a dormant treasure hunt. What if digging up that clue put a target on her back? What if Eva was murdered?

A pandora’s box awaits anyone who tracks down the remaining treasure hunt clues. But it’s something I’ve got to do. Eva’s daughter, Summer, has asked me for help. And I’m not the type of woman to turn down a grieving twelve-year-old, especially since I once was one myself. If I can prevent more tragedy from striking this normally sleepy tourist destination, then by hook or by crook, I will.

So, looks like I’ll be spending a bit more time on Cattail Island than I initially bargained for. My temporary employment at The MotherVine Bookshop isn’t half-bad. After all, I can’t complain about being surrounded by books—or loved on by Tin Man, the Instagram-famous bookstore tabby cat.

Nor can I complain about my summer living arrangement. Uncle Hudson is a salty old islander, but he loves me. Years in the city haven’t made this thirty-eight-year-old laid-off reporter too fancy to sleep in the loft above his woodshop.

And I’d be lying by omission if I failed to mention Toby. Yes, there’s a guy. A kind, good-looking martial arts instructor who has offered to teach me some self-defense moves, which might come in handy if I get myself into trouble, which is likely. Maybe Toby can also teach me how to resuscitate my braindead love life.

More important, though, is justice. For Eva, for Summer, for all of Cattail. Good thing I’ve got plenty of leads. A shifty lighthouse keeper, a nasty furniture company empress—the list goes on.

So look out, bad guys, whoever you are. I’m Callie Padget, and I’m coming for you.

Smile Beach Murder, An Outer Banks Bookshop Mystery #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: May 2022
Purchase Link

From author Alicia Bessette comes an all-new mystery series featuring Callie Padget, a former reporter turned bookshop clerk in the Outer Banks who is pulled into a deadly web of secrets when a mysterious fall at a lighthouse echoes a tragedy from her past.

When Callie is laid off from her reporting job, she returns to her hometown of Cattail Island and lands a gig at the local bookstore—the same one where she found comfort after her mother died.

In fact, the anniversary of her mother’s infamous death is approaching. Years ago, Teri Padget tumbled from the top of the lighthouse. As islanders are once again gossiping about the tragedy, devastating news strikes: the lighthouse has claimed another victim. Eva Meeks, of Meeks Hardware.

The police are calling it suicide, but Callie does not believe Eva jumped any more than she believes her mother did—especially because Callie knows that before her death, Eva had dug up a long-forgotten treasure hunt that could have put a target on Eva’s back.

In Callie’s search for answers, she enlists the help of some beloved books and several new friends, including the handsome local martial arts instructor, Toby Dodge. But when another death rocks Cattail Island, Callie must face her fears alone. As she earns enemies in pursuit of the truth, Callie knows she will either uncover the killer or become a victim herself.

Meet the author
Before authoring the Outer Banks Bookshop mystery series, Alicia Bessette worked as a reporter in her home state of Massachusetts, where her writing won a first-place award from the New England Newspaper & Press Association. A pianist, published poet, and enthusiastic birdwatcher, she now loves living in coastal North Carolina with her husband, novelist Matthew Quick.

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