I always know it’s time for breakfast when I sense the night creeping away and feel a rumble in my tummy. Marley, my favorite human, is usually good about getting out of bed and not making me wait for breakfast, but I’m always willing to lend a paw if she needs help waking up. Walking all over her and rubbing my handsome face against hers tends to get the job done.

After I’ve had my breakfast I give myself a good grooming so I can keep myself looking purrfect. Most days Marley goes off to work and I have the house to myself. It’s a great house—big and rambling with lots of great places for snoozing. I like napping on the couch, or on the kitchen windowsill, and sometimes I’ll curl up on one of the cozy window seats upstairs. If there were ever a snoozing competition, I’d definitely be a contender for the top prize. I snooze with finesse and look cute while doing it.

When Marley gets home I like to go outside for some fresh air. I love prowling around the yard and pouncing on grasshoppers and all sorts of creepy crawlies. Sometimes I even find a mouse to chase. I always stick close to home, but there’s plenty to see in the yard, and there’s the beach to explore. I never go close to the big water, though. It roars and splashes, and I definitely don’t want my sleek orange coat getting wet. I prefer to perch on the logs and watch for crabs skittering through the sand. I’ve never caught one, but I’d sure like to.

Of course, Marley needs some cuddle time each day. She works hard running her pancake house (sometimes she brings yummy treats home!) and she solves murders too. I provide her with moral support and stress relief. When she’s sad or worried, I snuggle up with her and make her feel better. I might not solve crimes, but I’m pretty sure Marley would be lost without me.

Brett, Marley’s favorite human, visits the house most days now. I like it when he gives me a scratch under my chin, but I sure wasn’t impressed when he showed up one day with a dog. A dog! His name is Bentley and he’s way bigger than me. The first time he came to the house, he chased me behind the television. I wasn’t impressed, but then I put him in his place with a swat to the nose. Now that he knows who’s boss, we get along all right. I guess he’s not all that bad for a dog. But don’t tell him I said that.

This evening Marley has lots of friends over. They’re eating yummy food (I smell cheese!) and watching things move around on the television screen. I like it when Marley has friends over—lots of comfy laps to choose from—but the humans are getting a bit too noisy now. There’s lots of shrieking and laughing when scary things happen on the television. I’m going down the hall to nap somewhere quieter, but I won’t go too far. I always like to stay close to my favorite human.

You can read more about Flapjack’s favorite human in Of Spice and Men, the third book in the “Pancake House” mystery series.

With a Hollywood film crew in town to shoot a remake of the horror classic The Perishing, the residents of Wildwood Cove are all abuzz. Even Marley McKinney, owner of The Flip Side Pancake House, can overlook the fact that the lead actress, Alyssa Jayde, happens to be an old flame of her boyfriend. After all, the crew loves Marley’s crêpes—so much so that Christine, the head makeup artist, invites her onset for a behind-the-scenes tour. But when Marley arrives, the special-effects trailer is on fire . . . with Christine inside.

The cops quickly rule Christine’s death a murder, and Alyssa a suspect. Marley’s boyfriend insists that the actress is innocent, but when Marley sticks her nose into the complicated lives of The Perishing’s cast and crew, she discovers more questions than answers. It seems that everyone has a hidden agenda—and a plausible motive. And as the horror spills over from the silver screen, Marley gets a funny feeling that she may be the killer’s next victim.

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About the author
Sarah Fox, writer of cozy mysteries, was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, where she developed a love for mysteries at a young age. When not writing novels or working as a legal writer she is often reading her way through a stack of books or spending time outdoors with her English Springer Spaniel.

Connect with Sarah at www.authorsarahfox.com, on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram.

All comments are welcomed.