Dressed Up 4 Murder, the sixth novel in our Sophie Kimball Mysteries, set in Sun City West, Arizona, started out as an original premise. Since the series features Streetman, a neurotic Chiweenie dog owned by the mother of bookkeeper and amateur sleuth, Sophie (Phee) Kimball, we thought it would be fun to create a series of doggie costume contests centered around the fall and winter holidays. Throw in a murder and we were off!

Of course that was just the first layer in a process that would weave in and out. It wasn’t enough to have any old murder. We had to kill off a high level rep in the seafood industry and link it to a dog food company that produced all natural foods made from fish. That sent us on a wild goose chase to find out about fish-based dog foods and the never-ending Asian carp infiltration in our lakes. If that wasn’t enough, we tied that to gourmet seafood restaurants and you can only imagine the worst.

We thought we were ever-so-original but imagine our surprise when we found out otherwise. When we told our Sun City West dog park friends about the costume premise, we were immediately met by, “They used to have one here years ago.” Then we learned it took place on the exact spot we’d chosen to hold it. Even funnier, it was judged by our former high-profile sheriff, Joe Arpaio, known for having all inmates wear pink. And that was only the beginning.

Again, when we shared the second layer of intrigue with friends, they responded with, “Don’t you know there’s so much restaurant sabotage going on?” Apparently not, we thought to ourselves, so we added a third layer – a covert enterprise that would be a spoiler if we revealed it. Ultimately, we learned one thing. There are no new ideas. Only new ways to present and develop them. Of course that won’t keep us from trying.

Dressed Up 4 Murder follows the antics of Streetman, who has been entered in all three contests – Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Hanukkah- Christmas. And nothing goes as planned. From jealous dog owners to money hungry entrepreneurs, Phee navigates through a narrow path of misdirected clues and red herrings to catch the culprit behind the murder. She’s assisted by her well-meaning yet overbearing mother, Harriet, along with a plethora of quirky book club ladies whose penchant for gossip exceeds their cravings for bagels, cream cheese and coffee.

Like all of our Sophie Kimball Mysteries, this one uses hyperbole to the full extent. We take the actual senior community of Sun City West and embellish it with fictionalized and real restaurants and places of interest. Our characters are composites of friends and family so that we don’t get sued. We say that because every so often, someone approaches us and asks, “Is so and so in your book really you-know-who?”

Please join us for the fun with Dressed Up 4 Murder that was recently released on February 25, 2020.

Last one standing is the winner . . .

The holiday season has arrived and bookkeeper/amateur sleuth, Sophie “Phee” Kimball, would love nothing more than to enjoy the comforts of her new home with her detective boyfriend near Arizona’s Sun City West. Instead, her mother Harriet wants to showcase her chiweenie-chihuahua-dachshund Streetman in the Precious Pooches Holiday Extravaganza costume events. The festivities begin in October and end on St. Patrick’s Day—with the winner starring in the St. Pat’s Day parade. But things quickly turn an awful shade of green when Streetman uncovers a dead body under a tarp-covered grill in the neighbor’s yard.

The victim is Cameron Tully, a seafood distributor working out of Phoenix, who died from ingesting a toxic sago palm leaf. Before the police can even find a motive and suspect, another Precious Pooch owner nearly dies from the same poison. With Harriet believing someone’s targeting her and Streetman because of the costume contests, Phee will need a potful of Irish luck to sniff out a killer . . .

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About the author
New York native Ann I. Goldfarb spent most of her life in education, first as a classroom teacher and later as a middle school principal and professional staff developer. Writing as J. C. Eaton, along with her husband, James Clapp, they have authored the Sophie Kimball Mysteries (Kensington), The Wine Trail Mysteries (Kensington Lyrical Underground), and the Marcie Rayner Mysteries (Camel). Visit us at: In addition, Ann has nine published YA time travel mysteries under her own name.

When James E. Clapp retired as the tasting room manager for a large upstate New York winery, he never imagined he’d be co-authoring cozy mysteries with his wife, Ann I. Goldfarb. Non-fiction in the form of informational brochures and workshop materials treating the winery industry were his forte along with an extensive background and experience in construction that started with his service in the U.S. Navy and included vocational school classroom teaching.

Visit their website at jceatonmysteries.com, their blog and Facebook.

All comments are welcomed.