Well, hello there. I’m Dawna Carpenter, the owner of Carpenter’s Corner Hardware here in Pine Bluff, Oregon. I wasn’t expecting visitors this morning, but since you stopped by, come on in. Would you like a cup of coffee? I’ve just made a fresh pot and my daughter, April, is whipping up a batch of huckleberry pancakes. There’s plenty to spare, if you’d like to join us.

Normally I’d be at the hardware store by now, but I’m sure you’ve heard how I found that land developer, Warren Highcastle, murdered on the floor of the store’s bathroom yesterday. Chief Dallas says I need to keep the store closed until they have time to thoroughly investigate the crime scene. Honestly, I’m not sure I want to go back into the hardware store anytime soon. My late husband and I have owned that place for thirty years and it has always felt like a sanctuary to me, but having a murder take place in the space might change all that. And will people even want to shop there anymore? Will they feel safe?

With a little extra time on my hands, I’ve already been out weeding the garden this morning. Digging in the dirt really helps me think. Boy, are those weeds ever growing fast in this August heat. Remind me to load you up with vine-ripened tomatoes and a half dozen zucchini before you leave. Lord knows I have an overabundance right now.

After breakfast, April and I are going to take a walk downtown. Yesterday morning I heard shouting coming from the real estate office that was representing the land developer in his purchase of our town’s historic Emery Theater. I’m positive it was the victim and the realtor arguing. I couldn’t hear what they were saying, and I’m not a busybody, so I didn’t stick around to find out. The whole thing was out of the ordinary for our quiet mountain town, and now that the man is dead, I’d really like to chat with the realtor. Not to be nosy, of course, but simply to see if she’ll tell me anything about why they were arguing.

And speaking of the Emery Theater, I’m going to pop into City Hall to talk to my best friend, Evonne. Not only is she Pine Bluff’s city manager, but she’s the president of our Women’s Service Club. Now that Mr. Highcastle will no longer be purchasing the theater and trying to turn it into some kind of luxurious hotel, I think our group needs to double down on our efforts to purchase the theater ourselves. Our mission is to purchase the theater, restore it to its former glory, and donate it back to the town. We want to save our history, not change it.

After all that, I’ll definitely be ready for a slice of butterscotch pie and a cup of coffee at the Stage Stop Café. Have you tried their pie? No? You better get in there. It’s scrumptious. Better than what Grandma used to make.

Well, good night! Will you look at the time. I better get busy. It was nice chatting with you. Don’t forget that bag of zucchini and tomatoes I’ve packed up for you. Have a great day. We’ll visit again soon!

Hammers and Homicide, A Hometown Hardware Mystery Book #1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: January 2024
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

Perfect for fans of Kate Carlisle and Victoria Gilbert, when a body is found in a hardware store, will Dawna Carpenter’s sleuthing measure up to find the killer?

Recent sexagenarian widow Dawna Carpenter thought running her own hardware store after the death of her husband was hard enough. With her adult daughter, April, moving back into town, and Darlene, the annoying boutique owner next door to her shop poking around, Dawna has her hands full. But when she finds a dead man in the bathroom of her store, with a framing hammer by his side, she’s in way over her head.

The victim, Warren Highcastle, was a land developer who was looking to purchase the old theater in town to build a new hotel. Dawna and April, worried about the implications of the crime scene at the hardware store, put themselves on the case. They soon learn that Warren had made quite a few enemies in his short amount of time in town. As the suspect list starts growing, so too do the threats against Dawna and April. Can Dawna and April nail the killer before they strike again?

Meet the author
When Paula Charles isn’t writing under the towering trees of the Pacific Northwest, she can be found in the garden with her hands in the dirt or sitting on her front porch with a good book and a glass of iced tea. She has a love for small towns, ghost stories, and pie. During her childhood, she grew up in a town suspiciously resembling the fictional Pine Bluff, Oregon where she trailed behind her grandmother in the family’s hardware store until her grandmother would get fed up and put her to work counting nails. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, and also writes cozy mysteries under the pen name of Janna Rollins. Paula lives on a small farm in Southwestern Washington with her husband and an entire menagerie of furry and feathered creatures.