Why? Why in the world did the one job that I had to learn in order to gain my inheritance have to involve waking up before the sun?

I’m Margaret – Maggie to my friends, Magpie Maggie is my CB handle – and I am a recovering shopaholic turned truck driver.

That isn’t entirely true. How can I put it better? I’m still a shopaholic at heart but when my father passed away and all my shopping money dried up, I had to give up retail therapy and get a job. Not just any job though, nope. In his will, dear old dad said I had to make three deliveries in 18-wheeler trucks for his company, Longhorn Trucking, for it to become my company. So now I only shop at thrift stores and I’m learning a whole new language: trucker lingo!

Yep. Me driving a giant truck is as terrible an idea as it sounds. Still, somehow I pulled up my stilettos, got my CDL, and am now on my fifth or sixth delivery as an officially licensed truck driver.

There were some bumpy roads along the way, of course, and a dead body or two, but let’s not focus on that.

I’m on a quick haul to Houston right now with my faithful road trip cocker spaniel, Desiree Grace, as my companion since my fiance and my best friend were both too busy to ride along.

Actually, my best friend is the reason that I am now hauling almost one hundred steel drums of perfume three hours across the state in the pouring rain.

I’m a little flustered actually. It’s hard enough to drive this giant rig when you can see out of the windshield. It’s almost impossible to read road signs through this deluge of water.

Wait…no! Now, my phone died and my GPS is down and I have no idea where I am.

Great. Just great.

I’d like to say this is the worst trip ever but since I haven’t been interrogated, threatened, attacked by a jerk with a baseball bat, or had to give a statement on how I found a dead body yet then I have to say this is actually in the top two or three best trips.

***

Two hours later, scratch that. Worst trip ever.

Do you have any idea what a corpse mixed with fifty-five gallons of perfume smells like?

Yuck. I’m never wearing perfume again.

Probably.

Okay, at least not for a while.

Magpie Maggie, over and out.

Magpie Maggie Delivers the Dead: A Longhorn Trucking Mystery, Book 5
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: January 2025
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link

Things are looking up for Maggie. Work is good, her relationships are even better, and her sweet puppy Desiree keeps a smile on her face.

When her best friend Trudy calls to beg for help clearing out a warehouse that Logan plans to lease for a brand-new office space, Maggie is happy to help!

The haul to Houston entails loading almost one-hundred 55 gallon drums into Daisy, her big pink semi, and making a solo trip down to the delivery site and back. Solo except for Desiree, of course, her trusty sidekick when everyone else is busy.

No problem.

Well, the torrential rainstorm is a problem.

And possibly the inability to navigate when her phone dies taking with it the crucial GPS.

Plus, the unsavory man who for some reason keeps stalking her and trying to get into the stainless steel drums.

Alone, lost, and preparing to panic, can Maggie find a way to slip through a scary situation and deliver the goods to Scent Labs as planned? Or is she resourceful enough to get herself out of this latest jam?

About the author
Katherine Brown is a Texas girl, weaver of words, and lover of books. Katherine has an amazing husband and stepdaughter, loves to read all things magical or historical fiction, and enjoys passing on that love of books to children.