A groggy start, but I stayed up late gaming. Again. My partner Taylor constantly lectures me about it, but playing video games is a harmless way to unwind at the end of the day compared to what a lot of the older guys do. It only takes me fifteen minutes to drive from my one-bedroom apartment to the Eugene Police Station where I grab a half-coffee, half-vanilla cappuccino from the break room machine before heading to my desk. My collection of Star Wars bobbleheads nod politely while I log in. I’m working on a few cases lately, including surveillance of a suspected drug house. Most people think detectives get in car chases and carry cool weapons, but my time’s mostly spent interviewing and reviewing documents—videos, photographs, text messages, and other stuff. I sit on my butt more than you’d expect.

At five I head home and change into sweats and my new Nike crewneck. I recently started running to get into shape. It’s a fitness thing, not a vanity thing. I’m naturally skinny, but keeping up with Taylor while tracking down Travato’s killer in San Francisco left me gassed. It was humiliating. My goal is to run three miles without stopping before the end of December. It’s getting easier, and I no longer feel like Track Town, USA’s biggest loser. Other runners have even started nodding at me when we pass because I’m now a familiar face. When I finish my run, I shower and eat yogurt and granola for dinner while making a sandwich for my lunch tomorrow. I guess I’ve become a bit of a health nut these days, but it’s true about eating better making you feel better. Plus, I save money packing a lunch instead of always grabbing fast food.

The best part of my day is sinking into my couch with a bottle of beer and switching on my Xbox. Lately I’ve been playing Cyberpunk 2077. The game has a few glitches, but if you can get past them (and I can!), it’s so much fun. I’ve played over 40 hours. Night City is way more exciting than Eugene, plus there are constant references to other worlds like Blade Runner, Fallout, and the Matrix. I’m in a basement corridor deciding whether to retreat to the parking lot or advance toward my target and I opt to charge ahead when a massive explosion fills my ears and assaults my eyes.

It’s late, so I power down and head to bed when my phone rings. A dead man’s been found at the Pharmer’s Market, a locally owned pharmacy over on Chestnut Street. That’s a block away from The Abbey: Senior Living where my old English teacher Sister B lives. For a wild second it crosses my mind that she might be involved, but that’s nuts. What’re the odds she’d be involved in another investigation so soon after Travato’s death?

Dropped Like A Bad Habit – A Nun the Wiser Mystery, Book 2
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: August 2025
Format: Digital, Print
Purchase Link

The bodies keep piling up along Chestnut Street…

When Sister Bernadette hears from the local pharmacist about plans to redevelop and gentrify their small community on Chestnut Street, she rallies her neighbors at The Abbey: Senior Living to help stop it. Chestnut Street is home to local mom-and-pop businesses that The Abbey’s residents frequently access. But when the healthy pharmacist mysteriously drops dead with no discernable reason, Detective AJ Lewis is stumped. Then another, younger, business owner dies with no explanation, and AJ is suspicious and starts to dig.

Sister Bernie, trying to solve small, seemingly nonsensical thefts, is intrigued and positions herself to collaborate with the police for what she hopes will be her second murder investigation. Why did two seemingly healthy men conveniently die? Who’s behind the shadowy Vision Corporation? Each question leads to a dead end or another question. And then there’s an unexpected death at The Abbey. Coincidence or connection?

Murder’s becoming a bad habit Sister Bernie and AJ are determined to break.

About the author
Melissa Westemeier is a Sister in Crime and teacher from Wisconsin. She uses humor to explore serious subjects, and her published books include murder mysteries, rom-coms, and a trilogy loosely based on her years tending bar on the Wolf River. She likes her coffee and protagonists strong and prefers to work barefoot with natural lighting.