Mackenzie Almeida first appeared in Murder on Cape Cod and one of the best ways to learn about a person is by asking questions, so let’s get to know Mac.


What is your name?
Mackenzie Almeida, but everybody calls me Mac.

How old are you?
I’m 36.

What is your profession?
I own and run Mac’s Bikes, a 3-R bike shop: repair, rentals, and retail.

Do you have a significant other?
Yes!

What is his/her name and profession?
Tim Brunelle is a baker and owns Greta’s Grains here in town. He’s also a hunky surfer and runner who adores me.

Any children?
Not yet, but my little niece Cokey brings a lot of joy to my life in the meantime.

Do you have any siblings?
My half-brother Derrick, who works with me in the shop.

Do your parents live near you?
Yes, just down the road. My father is the minister at the UU church and Mom (Astra) is a professional astrologer.

Who is your best friend?
Gin Malloy, owner of Salty Taffy’s Candy Shop.

Cats, dogs or other pets?
I’m deathly allergic to mammal pets, so I own an African gray parrot named Belle. She’s a hoot.

What town do you live in?
Westham, MA, on Cape Cod.

Type of dwelling and do you own or rent?
I own a tiny house behind my shop on land I own.

What is your favorite spot in your home?
My cozy couch.

Favorite meal and dessert?
A meal somebody else cooks, preferably Tim. He makes a mean grilled scallops. I’m partial to rich, creamy ice cream for dessert.

Favorite hobby?
Oops. I don’t really have time for a hobby. I read a lot of cozy mysteries – does that count?

Favorite color?
Oranges and strong turquoise look good with my skin.

Favorite author?
You had to ask. I’m going to play it safe and go with Agatha Christie.

Favorite vacation spot?
I live in paradise, but I loved my time biking in New Zealand. It’s gorgeous.

Favorite sports team?
I don’t follow many sports. Still who from Cape Cod doesn’t love the Red Sox?

Movies or live theater?
I love live theater, and we have a good summer community theater on the Cape. In the winter I’d have to go to Boston for live theater, so that’s when I take in movies.

Are you a morning or a night person?
Morning all the way.

Amateur or professional sleuth and whom do you work with?
Strictly amateur. My book group, the Cozy Capers, reads only cozy mysteries, and when real-life murder hits Westham, the other members work with me to try and figure it out. State Police Detective Lincoln Haskins isn’t too happy about that, I’ll tell you.

In a few sentences, what is a typical day in your life like?
On weekdays, I take a brisk walk with Gin at seven, and open my shop by nine. I’m in the shop all day, but I have a mechanic as well as Derrick, so sometimes I can get out to go to the bank – or do some sleuthing. In the evenings I either eat dinner with Tim, go to book group, stop by my parents – they live in the UU church parsonage – or stay home and read.


Giveaway: Leave a comment below for your chance to win one (1) print copy of Murder At The Taffy Shop, limited to U.S. residents. Contest ends April 1, 2020. Good luck everyone!


Murder At The Taffy Shop is the second book in the “Cozy Capers Book Club” mystery series, coming March 31, 2020 only at Barnes & Noble and will release on all platforms and formats in 2021.

Cape Cod bicycle shop owner Mackenzie “Mac” Almeida and her mystery book club find a certain accusation of murder quite the stretch . . .

When your mother is an astrologist and your dad is a minister, you learn to keep an open mind. Which is just what Mac loves to do—exercise her mind by puzzling out fictional clues in the mystery novels she reads and discusses with her Cozy Capers Book Group.

But now Mac’s friend Gin has found herself in a sticky situation. After wealthy genealogist Beverly Ruchart is found dead outside Gin’s taffy shop, the candy maker becomes a person of interest. When it’s revealed that Beverly was poisoned the night Gin brought a box of taffy to a dinner party at Beverly’s house, she’s bumped to the top of the suspects list. It’s up to Mac and her Cozy Capers crime solvers to unwrap this real-life mystery. But this time they might have bitten off more than they can chew . . .

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About the author
Agatha and Macavity finalist Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries and award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she pens the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. With twenty books in print and more in production, Maxwell lives north of Boston, where she writes, gardens, and cooks. Find her at edithmaxwell.com and as @MaddieDayAuthor on social media.

All comments are welcomed.