My mother always claimed she had three daughters because of Omne Trium Perfectum. Everything’s better in threes. We were skeptical, but when Em and CJ bought a B&B, they named it the Three Sisters B&B. And promptly needed my help, just like when we were kids.

I’m Jess Walker, the oldest and the family “fixer,” so when a ferocious predator cornered a guest in the pantry, I was the one to rescue him.

The middle-aged man had wandered into the pantry and come face-to-face with a man-eating tiger. Otherwise known as Beam, our marmalade-colored pantry cat, like a barn cat for eradicating pests.

The guest had retreated deeper into the huge walk-in pantry until he hit the shelves of the back wall, and screamed for help. I found him and Beam glaring at each other. The guest seemed to realize help had arrived, but was unwilling to look away from Beam’s gaze.

“You’ll never win a staring contest with a cat,” I said.

“If I look away, he’ll eat me.”

“He won’t eat you. He just wants a treat.”

The man took a cautious step forward, Beam growled, and the guest immediately retreated.

What on earth? Beam had never done that before. Not even when a visiting toddler had gotten a little too rough. Maybe he was sick.

“He’s rabid,” the guest said.

Oh, great. I could picture his future online review: Owners keep a feral animal on the premises, and it attacks people. “He isn’t rabid. He’s had all his shots.”

I moved to pick up Beam, but he growled again and I drew back. There was definitely something wrong with him. Or, I thought, looking up at his prey, something wrong with the guest. Either way, I needed to separate them.

Fortunately, just then, my baby sister, CJ, pushed open the door. “What are you two doing in here?” She took in the scenario. “On, never mind. Be right back.” She disappeared and then returned quickly with a jar of cat treats. Right behind her was Em, the middle sister, with Beam’s carrier and a heavy pair of mitts.

The treats didn’t work, but the mitts did, and we got Beam secured without any blood being drawn. Em carried him off, saying she’d call the vet, and CJ left for a much-needed nap while her toddler also slept.

The guest slumped in relief, and I heard a clinking sound. I glanced to his left, where shelves were filled with jars of home-made jam. CJ had been exhausting herself lately, so the shelves had been packed to capacity with her bourbon bacon jam earlier today. Now there was a gap that should have held at least six jars.

Beam wasn’t sick. He’d been doing his job, guarding against pests.

Guests frequently took small things from their rooms, and my sisters, with more hospitality experience than I had, warned me not to confront anyone. But I couldn’t just let this go.

“I understand,” I said. “The gift shop is so tiny it does run out of jam quickly. I’m glad you found what you wanted in here. I’ll add them to your tab now.” I gestured for him to hand over the backpack, which he did with obvious reluctance.

Apparently, Mom had been right. Three was the perfect number of sisters to run a B&B and foil thieves. With a little help from our pantry cat, of course.

Giveaway: Gin has generously offered to give away one digital copy (Kindle or Nook) of My Old Kentucky Homicide, the first Bourbon B&B Mystery. To enter, leave a comment and let us know if you’ve stayed at a B&B before. One entry per person and the giveaway is limited to U.S. residents only. Giveaway ends January 11, 2024. Good luck everyone!

My Old Kentucky Homicide, A Bourbon B&B Mystery Book #1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: January 2024
Format: Digital
Purchase Link

From USA Today bestselling author Gin Jones comes three sisters, one corpse, and a whole lot of trouble…

Kentucky native Jess Walker’s big-city career has kept her too busy to visit her sisters and hometown. However, she relents when she’s invited to celebrate her nephew’s third birthday at the newly established Three Sisters B&B in the heart of bourbon country. The nostalgic bubble is quickly popped however when Jess realizes her family hasn’t been entirely honest with her. She was invited not so much for a family reunion, but to help them impress some VIP guests for inclusion in a tourism co-op on the bourbon trail.

Old resentments arise, and the sisters are at loggerheads immediately. But when one of the VIP guests is found dead, things only get worse. The sheriff is intent on treating the death as an accident, blaming it on unsafe conditions at the B&B. But the sisters know this was murder. Jess has always been the fixer of the family, so she jumps in to protect her sisters and their B&B’s reputation. With the remaining guests and the attractive—and single—owner of the nearby whiskey barrel factory all suspects, Jess has her work cut out for her. And it turns out, she can’t do it alone. All three sisters will need to work in perfect harmony in order to find the perpetrator of the Old Kentucky Homicide.

About the author
Gin Jones became a USA Today bestselling author after too many years of being a lawyer who specialized in ghostwriting for other lawyers. She much prefers writing fiction, since she isn’t bound by boring facts and can indulge her sense of humor without getting thrown into jail for contempt of court. In her spare time, Gin makes quilts, grows garlic, and advocates for rare disease patients.