If I could play bingo all day, I would, and that’s what I thought retirement was going to be for me—Bingo. That’s it. At sixty-seven years old, I deserved that much.

But then my eldest sister was murdered in her small Californian coastal town and before I realized what was happening, I found myself moving out there and taking over her souvenir store, along with my other sister, Dottie, and turning it into a bakery. Not before we solved her murder, of course.

Funny thing is, I don’t know how to bake. Neither does Dottie. We’ve hired a sweet woman to bake for us while we work the front of the store, so it works out okay. Of course, she only knows how to bake French desserts. I don’t mind—I’d rather have an éclair over a donut any day.

And as much as I never thought it possible, I love the ocean even more than the New Mexican deserts I left behind. The salty air has been good for Dottie and me. She doesn’t use her cane as much nowadays and I can walk all the way down to the beach without getting winded.

They even have bingo every Sunday at the community center. If we attend the church service just before, we get an extra card.

Only problem we have now is that we just had our grand opening for our bakery in conjunction with Dottie’s seventieth birthday. That itself isn’t the problem. It’s that a woman who attended the grand opening died later that night.

And apparently, I’m the one who did it.

Death and Dacquoise, A Seaside French Patisserie Mystery Book #1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: April 2024
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

Retirement isn’t nearly as relaxing when people keep dying.

Retired sisters, Joe and Dottie Lawson, never expected to find themselves taking over their sister’s tacky souvenir store-slash-bakery in the small coastal town of Starlight Ridge. But after her death and the reading of the will, here they were.
There were two problems with this.

One- The souvenir store was in a state that would give hoarders nightmares.

Two- Neither Joe nor Dottie knew how to bake.

It was a miracle that brought Sophie Adams into their shop, a young woman who had spent time learning to bake in the best French patisseries, but was now home due to an existential crisis. She was the answer to all their problems. Unfortunately, within a day of their meeting, a strange man winds up dead on the shop’s floor, and all evidence points to Sophie and the smashed dacquoise found next to the body. A dacquoise that had been meant for Joe and Dottie.

Now, the Lawson sisters need to clear Sophie’s name, both for the sake of Sophie’s future and the future of their seaside French patisserie. Before more bodies show up.

Death by Dacquoise is the first book of the Seaside French Patisserie Mystery series. If you like small coastal towns, humorous retirees, and of course, murder, you’ll love this cozy mystery series.

About the author
Kat Bellemore is a small town romance and cozy mystery author. Deciding to have New Mexico as the setting for two of her series was an easy choice, considering its amazing sunsets, blue skies and tasty green chile. That, and she currently lives there with her husband and two cute kids. They hope to one day add a dog to the family, but for now, the native animals of the desert will have to do. Though, Kat wouldn’t mind ridding the world of scorpions and centipedes. They’re just mean.

You can visit Kat at kat-bellemore.com.