My cat, reading, sketching, and baking are my favorite things in the world. Not necessarily in that exact order. Most mornings, I feed my cat, Peaches, wrap up something I baked, and dive into Washington, DC bound traffic. By day, I manage the Color Me Read bookstore in Georgetown. Unfortunately, I live in an affordable apartment outside the beltway. For years I’ve been searching for a place in Georgetown, but it’s very pricy. I can’t bring myself to pay a small fortune for a dark, dismal hole in the wall.

Jim is always the first person to greet me. He waits patiently on a bench outside the bookstore, his belongings packed neatly in plastic bags attached to a rusting dolly. I hand him the muffins or whatever I baked. He’s always thrilled, and every morning I wonder how he came to be homeless. I would bunk with my sister or my parents if I had nowhere else to go. Doesn’t he have any family?

I unlock the bookstore and punch in the security code. After flipping the sign on the door to open, I walk through the old building, turning on the lights, and it seems to come alive. The parlor where a family once entertained guests is still arranged for comfortable reading and chatting by the fireplace. The owner, Professor John Maxwell (you may have heard of him, yes, he’s that John Maxwell-the adventurer!), thinks the bookstore should cater to local academics and the international community of Washington. Consequently, great minds often gather in the parlor for fascinating impromptu discussions.

As I stride through the store, I pause to start coffee brewing. By the time I return to the first floor, the coffee is ready. I pour some into a large disposable cup and take it out to Jim. Customers are already coming in and my day has officially begun.

I love my job, probably for the same reasons that I like to read. Intriguing customers ask for books on subjects that I never would have given a thought. It’s fun to hunt down obscure tomes. I consider each of them a challenge.

I don’t think of myself as shy. But I’m not a gregarious nightclubbing type of person like my sister. After work and on my days off, I turn into an adult coloring book artist. It’s not unusual for me to sketch into the wee hours.

But all that changed the day I found a body in the bookstore. Suddenly, I was caught up in a vortex of mysterious happenings and my boss, John Maxwell, was arrested. As they put him in the police car, he said to me, “The little grey cells, Florrie. Use the little grey cells and the eye of the artiste.”

You know what that meant . . . He was depending on me to spring him!

You can read more about Florrie in Color Me Murder, the first book in the NEW “Pen & Ink” mystery series, coming February 27, 2018.

Includes A Front and Back Cover for You to Color!

By day, Florrie Fox manages Color Me Read bookstore in Georgetown, Washington D.C. By night, she creates her own intricately detailed coloring books for adults, filling the pages with objects that catch her eye. There’s plenty of inspiration in her new apartment—a beautiful carriage house belonging to Professor John Maxwell, Florrie’s boss. He offers the property to Florrie rent-free with one condition—she must move in immediately to prevent his covetous sister and nephew from trying to claim it.

When the professor’s nephew, Delbert, arrives, he proves just as sketchy as Florrie feared. But the following morning, Delbert has vanished. It’s not until she visits the third floor of the store that Florrie makes a tragic discovery—there’s a trap door in the landing, and a dead Delbert inside. The esteemed Professor Maxwell is an obvious suspect, but Florrie is certain this case isn’t so black and white. Doodling clues, she begins to consider other colorful characters on the scene, all with a motive for murder. With a killer drawing closer, Florrie will need to think outside the lines . . . before death makes his mark again.

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About the author
Krista Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of the Domestic Diva Mysteries and the Paws & Claws Mysteries. Several of her books have been nominated for the Agatha Award. Krista lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia with two cats and a brood of dogs. Her friends and family complain about being guinea pigs for her recipes, but she notices they keep coming back for more. Please visit her at kristadavis.com.

All comments are welcomed.