As I’ve already told my friend, Dru, my life as a retiree in English Village is a simple one. Like others in my small circle of friends, I volunteer at the library and play a weekly game of mahjong.

We’re senior citizens now. Honestly, no one pays any attention to women with graying hair. We are nearly invisible in our tiny town – though we do try to keep up on the local events, and we’ve named ourselves the Mahjong Mavens. Isn’t that fun?

I only took the assignment as a freelance reporter because I missed the action of my former life in the big city, where I spent years as a crime reporter turned crime solver. Here in picturesque English Village, it’s mostly one golden day after another. Writing a weekly feature story sounded like a good idea at the time. Something to fill the days, you understand?

This morning, for example, my fluffy Old English sheepdog nudged me awake, just as he always does. I felt his warm breath on my pillow and opened my eyes to see his sweet face nose-to-nose with mine. Moe is my best friend, my exercise coach, and my constant companion. We generally enjoy a leisurely breakfast together — me at my kitchen counter, and Moe at his personal feeding station nearby – before we head out the door to run errands.

Today our plans were interrupted by a phone call. Leslie Anderson, the editor of our Village Gazette newspaper, rang me before I’d finished my first cup of coffee. “Josie, you need to be at The Curiosity Shop in an hour. One of our biggest celebrities is in town and has agreed to an interview if we can accommodate her schedule.”

“It’s Wednesday,” I reminded her as I hand-washed my favorite coffee mug. “Mahjong Day.”

“She is five minutes from your house,” Leslie insisted.

“Can’t this wait until tomorrow?” I pushed back.

Let me just say that when Leslie Anderson wants a story there is no point in arguing with her. The woman is determined to get her way. While I admire her tenacity, I sometimes wish she would dial it down a little. In this case, she won the battle, convincing me to spend an hour or two with Ella McGregor Benjamin, a rising young star in the luxury watchmaking industry.

“Don’t be one second late,” Leslie told me. “This lady is deadly serious about being on time.”

Anyway, to make a long story short, I hopped into my little red VW convertible and barely made it to the interview before all the clocks in the showroom struck the top of the hour in a cacophony of chimes, bells and chords. Talk about a dramatic entrance!

Our conversation went well. Ella was a delightful young woman. I liked her. But if I had known she was embroiled in a high-stakes controversy, I would have conducted the interview differently. Instead, I asked all the wrong questions. Later I wondered whether I could have prevented her death.

As it turned out, I was one of the last people to see her alive. When Chief Marshall gave me the news, I couldn’t believe it. Nothing bad ever happens in English Village…except for the occasional murder, of course.

Clocked Out, A Josie Posey Mystery Book #2
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: February 2024
Format: Print, Digital, Audio-(May 14)
Purchase Link

Josie Posey and her posse of Mahjong Mavens are at it again, in this cozy mystery where the retired big city crime reporter turned small town crime solver uncovers another murder in picturesque English Village.

When the clockmaker’s daughter returns home for a visit, reporter Josie Posey is assigned the task of interviewing the talented watch designer. That very afternoon the young woman falls from a ladder while inventorying antique clocks.

At first, Josie is certain the fall was an accident. Everyone loved Ella McGregor Benjamin. But Ella’s deathbed statement is a mysterious riddle that can’t be ignored. With her Old English Sheepdog Moe by her side, and an ever-growing list of suspects, Josie scrambles to identify the killer before anyone else gets hurt.

The local police chief wants Josie to help solve the puzzle, but stay out of his murder case. The editor of The Village Gazette wants an in-depth story for the next edition. And somebody wants Josie to stop asking questions. Deadlines loom.

In this fast-paced rollercoaster ride of a mystery, the clock is ticking as Josie vows to find the killer before time runs out.

Meet the author
Anna St. John is a former journalist and advertising agency owner. She didn’t begin to write cozy mysteries until she retired, at age 70. Her debut novel, DOOMED BY BLOOMS, is currently a semi-finalist for the 2023 Chanticleer Mystery & Mayhem Book Awards. CLOCKED OUT is book two in her Josie Posey Mystery Series. Connect with her on her website anna-stjohn.com, or her Facebook page @cozyauthor.

Anna is represented by Cindy Bullard, of Birch Literary Agency, and Level Best Books.