Cassidi Conti first appeared in Deadly Dye and a Soy Chai and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Cassidi.
What is your name?
My full name is Cassidi Lee Conti. I answer to Cassidi or Cass, but not to Butch or David!
How old are you?
Now I’m 28. The past two years in Danger Cove have really flown!
What is your profession?
I’m a hair stylist and the owner of The Clip and Sip hair salon. My step-cousin, Gia Di Mitri, is a makeup artist and manicurist who helps me run the business. We serve a free drink to every customer.
Do you have a significant other?
I do. We’ve been dating for two years, and he’s one of the finest men I know. He’s kind, a hard-worker, and very devoted to his family. And he’s pretty easy to look at too.
What is his name and profession?
Zac Taylor. He works at Pirate’s Hook Marine Services, a yacht sales and repair company that his father started. After his father died, Zac’s mother had to sell the business, and Zac wants buy it back. The company was named after a rock formation in the Danger Cove bay that is shaped like the prosthetic hook worn by pirates. But its name comes from an incident in 1579, when the pirate Sir Francis Drake had one of his crewmen, Bart Coffyn, hung from the hook-shaped portion of the rock in a gibbet and left to die for looting gold, silver, and jewels from Drake’s personal treasure box. By the way, the booty that Coffyn stole has never been recovered, and Zac has been looking for it.
Any children?
Not yet. Someday when I’m married I hope two have two.
Do you have any sibling(s)?
I’m an only child, although I feel like Gia is my sister, albeit a much louder, New-Jersey-Italian one.
Do your parents live near you?
Unfortunately, no. My mother lives in Fredericksburg, Texas, where she was born. And after my parents divorced, my dad moved back to Atlantic City. He’s Italian-American and missed the New Jersey Italian community.
Who is your best friend?
I have two—Gia and Amy Spannagel. You’d love Amy. She’s a lot like Amy Farrah Fowler from The Big Bang Theory, only in an assistant-librarian version.
Cats, dogs or other pets?
I would love to have a pet. But my salon is located on the ground floor of the three-story Victorian “painted lady” I inherited from my uncle, Vincent Conti, so I can’t have any animal fur in the house.
What town do you live in?
I think I’ve already mentioned that I live Danger Cove, which is in Washington state. Some people call it “the friendliest—yet deadliest—town in the northwest,” but I wish they wouldn’t. We business owners in Danger Cove have enough problems, as it is.
House or building complex? Own or Rent?
Like I said, I inherited a house from my uncle, Vinnie. But the expense of running the house and the salon is almost more than I can afford. It doesn’t help that things keep happening to scare away my clients!
What is your favorite spot in your house?
My bedroom is cozy. But there are a few things about the house that are, um, unsettling because it was a brothel during the gold rush era. So I guess the salon is my favorite spot. When I get the money, I’m going to hire Alex Jordan at Finials and Facades Renovation and Restoration Services to give the painted lady a much-needed makeover to take care of those problem relics. . .
Favorite meal? Favorite dessert?
As a Texas girl, I love a good breakfast taco. And I make a peach praline pie with Fredericksburg peaches that is to die for—but not literally, of course.
Favorite hobby?
Hm, that’s a tough question because I have so little free time between work and, well, crime. But I would love to do more baking.
Favorite author?
That one’s easy—Agatha Christie.
Favorite vacation spot?
I can’t afford to travel much, but Italy is on my bucket list.
Favorite sports team?
Oh, the Dallas Cowboys. I’ve been watching them since I was a kid. I really like their silver star logo.
Movies or Broadway?
Movies, for sure. I love the old Agatha Christie movies with Margaret Rutherford and the Hallmark Channel mysteries.
Are you a morning or a night person?
I’m definitely a morning person, but things keep me awake at night—you know, stress, people lurking around the house. Thankfully, I have an espresso machine at the salon, and I often start the day with a triple. Occasionally, I meet Amy for coffee at Carolyn’s Coffee and Creamery on the pier overlooking the bay.
Amateur sleuth or professional?
I’m definitely an amateur. And for the record, I never wanted to be a sleuth. But some awful things have happened at the beauty salons in Danger Cove, so I had to do something (and note that I said salons, because it’s not just mine!). And did I mention that my Uncle Vinnie was murdered?
Whom do you work with when sleuthing?
Gia and Amy, which complicates things. Gia is kind of aggressive, and Amy can be really dingy. So, we’re no Charlie’s Angels.
In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
I work in The Clip and Sip Tuesday through Saturday from nine to six, but I have to be downstairs by eight because the salon has become a stop on Harriet McCudgeon’s Gold Rush History Tours—and not because of our killer styles, either. But enough about that. I hope you’ll come by The Clip and Sip and have some wine or one of my homemade liqueurs (I promise there’s no more poison). If you don’t drink alcohol, we have a wide selection of coffees and teas. Gia and I would love to have your business!
Giveaway: Two readers selected at random will receive a copy of Killer Eyeshadow And A Cold Espresso; either Kindle/Nook (open to everyone) or print (U.S. residents only), winner’s choice. Leave a comment below for your chance to win. The giveaway ends February 8, 2019. Good luck everyone!
You can read about Cassidi Killer Eyeshadow and a Cold Espressok, the third book in the “Danger Cove Hair Salon” cozy mystery series, released February 5, 2019.
Salon owner Cassidi Conti thought The Clip and Sip’s struggles were behind her. That is, until a local sightseeing company gets wind of her building’s brothel past, and busloads of tourists run her clients off. Hoping to save her business, Cassidi contracts Finials and Facades Renovation and Restoration Services to remove some racy relics from the premises. To help cover the costs, her step-cousin Gia commits the duo to doing hair and makeup for the vow renewal ceremony of a wealthy socialite and her gangster husband. But when the soon-to-be-renewed groom drinks an espresso during an eye makeup session and keels over dead, Cassidi fears a mob retaliation. Now she has to figure out what an exotic flower arrangement, an antique cameo, and an Agatha Christie book have to do with the murder, or it’s RIP for The Clip and Sip—and for Cassidi!
Purchase Link
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About the author
Traci Andrighetti is the USA TODAY bestselling author of the Franki Amato Mysteries and the Danger Cove Hair Salon Mysteries. In her previous life, she was an award-winning literary translator and a Lecturer of Italian at the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a PhD in Applied Linguistics. But then she got wise and ditched that academic stuff for a life of crime–writing, that is. Her latest capers are teaching mystery writing for Savvy Authors and taking aspiring and established authors on intensive writing retreats to Italy with LemonLit. Visit Traci at traciandrighetti.com.
All comments are welcomed.
New-to-me series…
Thank you for the giveaway….
My pleasure! Thank you for stopping by to see Cassidi!
I really should get back to Danger Cove, I think I am way behind on the happenings there 😀
Soooo much has been going on. Definitely stop by the hair salon to catch up on the local gossip!
Ah yes a hair salon is THE plans to get the local news!
Haha! Right? And thanks to that free drink Cassidi offers at The Clip and Sip, the tongues really loosen!
This sounds like a fun series I need to check out. Thanks for the giveaway!
Danger Cove IS fun, Shelly. But it’s also dangerous…
I must find the previous books! I love series about hair salons! If I wanted to find a new town to move to, the name Danger Cove would be a draw for me!
I hope you stop by the salon, Debbie! But be careful…
Sounds like a fun series. Thanks for the chance.
Good luck, Jaime! If you’re ever in Danger Cove, stop by The Clip and Sip for a free drink. But watch your back…
Sounds like fun–especially the author retreats to Italy.
Sharon, I have stories, so many stories…
This series sounds fun!
Lisa, it’s good, clean, murderous fun!
Thank you for this chance.
Of course, Carolyn! There’s an ice cream shop in the hair salon series with your name on it!
I enjoyed getting to know Cass, and I love the title Killer Eyeshadow and a Cold Espresso. Thanks for being on Dru Ann’s blog!
Thank YOU for reading, Celia. The original title was A Killer Makeover and a Cold Macchiato, but my publisher asked me to come up with a second option. I’m so glad she did, because I like this one a lot better.
Love this series! Such fun books. Cassidi is a great lead character, and I’m thrilled to see that Alex Jordan will be making an appearance. The book that introduced her was awesome. I’m looking forward to reading Killer Eyeshadow and a Cold Espresso. Thanks so much for the chance to win a print copy.
Linda, thanks so much! Yes, I solve the mysteries that the late Christina Burke left unresolved in Secret of the Painted Lady. I hope you like what I did!
I know I will love it!
Sounds good. I’d love to win.
Good luck, Amy!
This seems like a fun series! Thanks for a great introduction!
Thanks, Ashley! Cassidi and I are always happy to be on Dru’s Book Musings!
This is all completely new to me. However, I’d love to read this selection.
I hope you win a copy, Pauline. I just found out that Smashwords named it a Featured New Release!
This sounds like a fun series. I love reading good, clean, murder mysteries! Thank you for the chance.
It’s clean, Peggy! But that Uncle Vinnie…
Yes please Dru, I’d love to enter the giveaway. Cause you havta be init to win it!
LOL!
This sounds like a fun read, thanks for the giveaway!
Awww! Thanks, Katie!
Sounds like a great read. Thanks for the giveaway.
Hey, Doward! Nice to see you on the blog!
Hey, Doward! Nice to see you here!
What a fun book! I was lucky to be an advanced reader,and I laughed so hard in places!! It was great to have resolutions to things left hanging. I think you did a great job, Traci!
(Don’t enter me into the giveaway.)
Barbara, you are the best! Thank you for stopping by—and for laughing at my writing. 😀
I would think the brothel past would tickle the beauty salon clients. I know I’d get a kick out of it!
Oh, it does, Pat. But Cassidi doesn’t like it one bit—hits a nerve related to her uncle. But yes, I’d be all over that place!
Sounds like a fun series. Looking forward to reading.
I hope you enjoy it, Dianne!
New to me series. Love books set in the Pacific Northwest.
Woohoo!
I’d love to visit Italy one day, too.
Jana, it’s a beautiful country, and traveling there is always an adventure! Oh, and the FOOD.
Thanks for the chance to win a book from this new to me author. Renee
Awesome. Thanks for the chance to win this!
Sounds Great 👍
Looks like a Fun Read
😁💗😁
Shared on Twitter 😍❤😍
https://mobile.twitter.com/LindaMoffitt02/status/1093857203281428481
Thanks so much, Linda. And thank you for the share!!
**** WINNER ****
Killer Eyeshadow and a Cold Espresso is KnyttWytch
Congratulations!
Thank you! I look forward to reading it 😀