“If you don’t get down here ASAP, I’m throwing your breakfast in the trash!”

Ugh. I considered myself a morning person, but Elliot, my roommate and best friend took it to a whole new level.

“I’m coming!” I hollered back, jumping out of bed and frantically sorting through the pile of clothes on my floor for my favorite shorts. Sometimes I think Elliot was a drill sergeant in another life…

When I made it downstairs, sunlight was filtering in and making rainbow prisms on the floor of our kitchen, where Elliot stood, holding out a plate of ube pancakes.

I took the plate, narrowing my eyes as I told him, “You know, you don’t have to make breakfast every morning. And you especially don’t have to sound off your bullhorn of a mouth yelling at me to get out of bed, either.”

He flipped me the bird and then smiled smugly when I wolfed the pancakes down, nearly choking to death when I tried to cram a giant forkful into my mouth.

His phone dinged, and he took a minute to look at the screen before announcing, “Gotta head off to work. Your turn to make dinner tonight.”

“Great, sounds like we’re having pizza.”

He just shook his head. “If it weren’t for me, you’d be eating gas station food for every meal. Tragic.” With that he headed out, whistling Moves Like Jagger just to annoy me—he knows whistling creeps me out.

After clearing my plate, I got ready at warp speed and jetted down the hill, fighting traffic on my way to work. Waikoloa Village residents typically worked near the resorts, and it was always a mad rush in the morning to make it to work on time.

After parking in the back parking lot, I noticed red flashing lights near the shoreline of the Beach Club Beach, one of the nicest beaches along the Kohala coast. The Hawaiian name for the bay was Makaiwa Bay, which means mother-of-pearl eyes, fitting as it was certainly a precious gem in my book. My steps slowed as I walked down the sandy pathway toward the water. Brody, my coworker, saw me and waved me over.

“What’s going on?”

“Another dead body on the beach. Looks like it was my turn to find one.” He grimaced; his tone was mocking, but his face white.

“I wonder what happened?”

“Sis, you need to keep that pretty little nose of yours out of other people’s business. Remember what happened when you poked around into that guy Wainright’s murder?”

I bristled. “Hey! That wasn’t my fault—that whole situation was crazy!”

“Yeah, well, I’m guessing the person who killed our victim wasn’t exactly sane.” Something on his face raised my hackles.

“What do you mean? You think someone murdered her?”

“Summer, that lady wasn’t just murdered. She was mutilated.” His face lost its usual comical expression, taking on a deadly seriousness as he delivered his news. “Whoever killed her was definitely not playing with a full deck of cards if you know what I mean.”

Could that be true? Had a murderer visited our quiet little stretch of the Big Island—again?

Beach Club Bloodshed – A Summer Jenkins Mystery, Book 1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: August 2025
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

Summer Jenkins day just went from bad to a downright dumpster fire.

First, there’s the dead body covered in stab wounds. Then, she finds out her best friend Lani’s missing and considered a person of interest in the murder.

With Lani MIA, everyone is looking to Summer for answers, including one hot hunk of a detective, Cole Peterson.

Detective Hottie, uh, Peterson, is a complication Summer doesn’t need right now. He senses Summer’s hiding something behind those pretty blue eyes, but when she becomes a victim of a hit and run, all of his protective instincts emerge as Summer gets drawn farther into the web of intrigue.

As the accidents start to pile up, Summer takes matters into her own hands and lands herself in hot water with a Yakuza boss, a Russian oligarch, and Auntie Miriam.

She can’t decide who’s scarier…

With the stunning backdrop of the Big Island’s Kohala Coast and a cast of quirky characters, this story is anything but a typical murder mystery.

Beach Club Bloodshed will keep you on the edge of your seat as Summer and her friends race against time to solve the murder and clear their names. But with danger lurking around every corner and unexpected twists at every turn, will they be able to crack the case before it’s too late?

Meet the author
Christine Wellert is a writer, mother of 3 humans and several canines, wife to her high school sweetheart, Registered Nurse, and author of the cozy mystery Beach Club Bloodshed. Christine splits her time between the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii. When not chained to her keyboard, you can find Christine hiking, skiing, scuba diving, or traveling.