As a former Wall Street investment banker, I used to joke that the worst financial decision I’d ever made was my impulse purchase of a chubby, fluffy, and utterly adorable Newfoundland puppy I named Wellington. Newfies aren’t exactly built for New York City penthouse living. I spent a fortune on dogwalkers, doggie daycare, groomers, and food. But I wouldn’t trade Welly for the world.

Honestly, I thought I had it all. I had an envious career, a fiancé who was an up-and-coming celebrity chef, and a really great dog. Then, on my thirty-fifth birthday, I went to Jeffery’s restaurant Sizzle (known for its trendy style of cooking meats) for a romantic birthday dinner. I made the mistake of arriving early and caught Jeffery with his tart of a pastry chef, Mia Long, doing it on a slab of Himalayan sea salt. I was so shocked and horrified that all I could think to say was, “I. . .I hope you’re not planning to cook my birthday dinner on that thing!” I might have been pointing at Mia, but I had meant the poor slab of sea salt beneath her. That was the night I really did make the worst financial decision of my career. I drank a bottle of wine, popped on the internet, and the next morning found myself the owner of an old, abandoned lighthouse on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Sure, I could have backed out of the deal, I suppose. But there was something about the old lighthouse that spoke to me. It also happened to be located in the picturesque village of Beacon Harbor, a place I had visited as a child. My Grandma and Grandpa Bakewell used to own a bakery in Traverse City, Michigan, but Beacon Harbor was their favorite lakeside getaway. It was probably the bottle of wine, but I called it fate. I mean, what are the odds that the old lighthouse had just popped up on a Google search and happened to be for sale? It didn’t take me long to figure out that I needed a career change as well as a change of scenery. Welly needed a change too, and what better place for a giant waterdog to live than a lighthouse.

Although I had made a career in finance, baking was in my blood. Heck, with a name like Bakewell it comes with the territory. The moment I had made up my mind, I called my best friend, Kennedy Kapoor, “Guess what?” Before she could answer I blurted, “I bought an old lighthouse in Beacon Harbor off the internet.”

There was a pregnant pause before she replied. “Oh, dear, you’ve been drunk-shopping again. Isn’t that one of your cardinal rules? Never shop while intoxicated?”

“Yeah, well, sometimes rules have to be broken. I own a lighthouse.”

“You sound oddly excited by this?”

“I am. Because Welly and I are moving to Beacon Harbor. I’m going to open my dream bakery—in a lighthouse! Welly can romp around his own yard! How does the Beacon Bakeshop sound?”

“Delicious, ambitious, and. . .” I was sure she was going to say utterly bonkers, but she refrained. Instead, she surprised me. “And absolutely genius! It sounds exactly like something you should do, Linds. And I’m going to be your PR.”

My new life in Beacon Harbor was going according to plan. Everything was falling into place. And I had the best PR person friendship could by. That’s why on opening day I never imagined there’d be a dead body.

Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop, A Beacon Bakeshop Mystery #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: February 2021
Purchase Link

More interested in kneading dough than adding it up, Lindsey’s breakup inspired her to set up the shop she always wanted in a place that always made her happy. She’d spent many childhood summers near this beach community and converting the old run-down lighthouse into a bakery café and home offers a perfect fresh start for Lindsey and her devoted Newfoundland dog, Wellington.

But not everyone in town has a sweet tooth. The preservation society won’t have the lighthouse’s history sugar coated by lattes and cakes—and a protest group crashes Lindsey’s Memorial Day opening. Then her ex-fiancé Jeffrey Plank and his girlfriend Mia Long arrive to trash the place. In the ensuing chaos Mia chokes on a donut and dies.

An autopsy reveals cyanide in Mia’s bloodstream and Lindsey is the police’s prime suspect. To clear her name, she’s going to need to combine ingredients found in the town’s checkered past to uncover the identity of a desperate killer . . .

Includes Delicious Recipes!

About the Author
Cozy mystery author, Darci Hannah, is a native of the Midwest and currently lives in a small town in Michigan. Darci is a lifelong lover of the Great Lakes, a natural wonder that inspires many of her stories. When Darci isn’t baking for family and friends, hiking with her furry pals, Ripley and Finn, or concocting her next cozy mystery, she can be found wandering around picturesque lakeside villages with her hubby, sampling baked goods and breaking for coffee more often than she should.

All comments are welcomed.