Head on into the kitchen and pour yourself a cup of Community coffee while I put my face on. Don’t be shy about it, since the Fontenot girl will be ringing the bell at our hat shop before you know it.
Amazing to think she up and asked twenty of her nearest and dearest to be in her bridal party. We’ll be crafting hats at Crowning Glory for weeks to come, not to mention helping those girls dress for their own weddings someday here on the Great River Road.
Let’s just hope this to-do goes a whole lot smoother than the Solomon affair. Folks will be talking about that one for years to come. Who knew someone would waltz right onto the property at Morningside Plantation and murder poor Trinity Solomon the night before her big event?
My heart broke for the family afterward. Especially since the girl’s sweet Aunt Maribelle was so nice to me when I first showed up in Bleu Bayou. There was no way I’d let the culprit slither away, even though I almost lost my own life in all the hullabaloo.
Looks like I’ve finished fixin’ my face. Time to hop into my VW, which I named Ringo on account of it being a Beetle and all, and head over to Crowning Glory. You might want to bring your coffee, since there’s no telling what that gulf breeze will blow in.
Murder At Morningside is the first book in the NEW Missy DuBois Mystery series, published in eBook and hard copy by Kensington/Lyrical Underground, May 2016.
Hat designer Missy DuBois opened her shop, Crowning Glory, along Louisiana’s Great River Road to cater to the sophisticated Southern bride. But bless her heart, who knew creating stylish wedding veils would lead to murder?
Hired to craft a veil for a socialite getting married at Morningside Plantation means Missy can bask in the height of antebellum atmosphere. But when the bride is found dead in a women’s bathroom, Missy the milliner finds herself entangled in one unfashionable murder. With the list of suspects thicker than the sweltering Louisiana heat, including a gaggle of bridesmaids shedding nary a tear and a family with no shortage of enemies, it seems anyone at the mansion may have done away with the bride-to-be. While Missy has Southern charm to spare, she’s going to need more than manners and a manicure to put a hat pin on this murderous affair . . .
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About the author
Sandra Bretting works as a freelance feature writer under contract at the Houston Chronicle. She received a journalism degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism and wrote for other publications (including the Los Angeles Times and Orange Coast Magazine) before moving to Texas.
Her Missy DuBois Mystery series debuts from Kensington/Lyrical Underground in May 2016. Bretting’s previous mysteries include Unholy Lies (2012) and Bless the Dying (2014). Readers can reach her online at www.sandrabretting.com and through Facebook.
Readers: Most people own at least one hat. (Missy says she’ll even count ball caps.) Which is your favorite?
Giveaway: Leave comment below for your chance to win the eBook of Murder At Morningside for you or a friend. US entries only, please. The giveaway will end June 2, 2016 at 12 AM EST. Good luck everyone!
All comments are welcomed.
Sounds great. Thanks for the chance, Sandra and Dru!
You’re welcome, Laura. And good luck in the giveaway!
Adding this new series to my list. Thanks for the chance to win.
You’re welcome, Doward. Nice to meet you!
Yes please Dru. I love Southern Mysteries and would love to win this one.
I love Southern mysteries, too! There’s such a gentleness to them, but they can still be sassy.
I just have to read this new book.
Hi, Annette…and good luck in the giveaway!
This book sounds like a fun read! Thank you for the chance to win.
It was fun to write, too! These characters have a lot of good times together, and I’m glad they let me tag along 🙂
Another new author and I can’t resist a story involving hats! I have collected women’s hats of the 20th century. I have funny ones (a green net beehive) and majestic ones (beaver with a dead bird on it!) and love them all. If I wear one, I like the large brim hats from the 30’s. But there are some of the 40’s styles…. whoops. I do get carried away. Can’t wait to read this book!
Thank you Dru for the introduction! Thanks to Sandra as well for the chance to win a copy! 🙂
Oohhh…good luck in the giveaway, Barbara! Missy’s book is chock full of “hat talk.” My favorite hat is a straw sunhat with a navy polka-dot hatband. But I’d give anything to see your beaver hat!
My favorite hat is my “going away hat” from my 1957 wedding. I wore it last Mother’s Day. Since I’m over 80, I can do that.
I love that, Amy! One of my most prized possessions is a wedding announcement from my parents’ 1958 ceremony. My mother’s wearing a lace fascinator with seed pearls. I’d give anything to have that hat today!
I love any book set in the Deep South. I have traveler Louisiana’s Great River Road and visited many of the old plantations and I really love that area of the country. I would really love to read the book. My favorite hat is a large brimmed hat that I wear in the hot weather.
I’m thrilled you’ve already been to the Great River Road. Did you stop by Nottoway on your visit? Between the wide-plank porch and the fluted columns, it doesn’t get any better. Best of luck in the giveaway!
At this time I only own 2 hats. A white ball cap and a taupe Sun hat. I did get married in a royal blue 40s type hat with semi netting to pull down over my eyes. It was gorgeous. Alas it faded even though it was in a hat box.
Interesting about the fading of the hat. (By the way…nice to meet you!) Did you line the hatbox with acid-free paper? I know that’s kind of a recent thing, but the chemicals in some tissues can cause material to fade. Such a pity!
Sun hat
I like a good sunhat, too. Especially if it’s made of parabuntal straw, so the weave is nice and tight. Best of luck in the raffle!
I love hats and try on many that I see.
But I don’t buy them because 1-I have an unusually large head and dinky hats look really stupid, 2-I haven’t found a proper fedora like I want, and 3-hat hair.
Living in hot south Florida doesn’t help, either.
Hi, Elizabeth…those are all valid concerns. I know when I wear a hat in Texas, I have to commit to it for an entire day. On the upside, I don’t have to wash my hair every day 🙂
Most any wide brim hat is my favorite!
Hi, Mary Jane. I agree…there’s nothing like a great wide-brim hat, especially for a summer wedding!
I love Southern mysteries (and hats). This is a new to me author and this series sounds like one I will enjoy.
Hi, Mary. The book has gotten great reviews, so I don’t think it’s bragging to say people seem to really like it!
Thanks Sandra for introducing me and my readers to Missy DuBois.
The pleasure has been all mine. Thank you for giving me the chance to meet everyone!
I love the name of her hat shop: Crowning Glory. That’s one great name. I’m not sure that I own any hats but ball caps. But I’d sure love to ready about this cast of hat characters. Thanks for the chance!
Hi, Donna! You should try a hat sometime; they’re especially great for summer weddings and any party outside. Good luck in the raffle!
I have one straw hat that I love for summer, buy that isnt my fav right now. I had cancer and lost my hair and now its growing back so I have a grey newspaper boy cap that I get so many complains on,so I have to say thats my fav right now. Book sounds like a great new series, hope I win, ty for the chance . .
Hi, Betty! Congratulations on making it through your cancer treatment. You are one tough lady! I like newspaper boy caps, too; they’re fun and stylish at the same time. Best of luck in the raffle 🙂
I have an Ohio State Buckeyes football ball cap. I need to get a fun summer hat!
Hi, Brooke! I have a daughter named Brooke, so I love your name, of course! You should try what’s called a “parabuntal straw” hat for summer. It’s tightly woven so it blocks the sun, and it’s still cute. Best of luck in the raffle!
I love ebooks…yay for a contest with one. My favorite hat is a black wool beret with a peacock feather stuck straight up…I bought it in College and used to wear it in the winter with my coat and get compliments if you can imagine. Thanks for the contest…
Marilyn ewatvess@yahoo.com
Hi, Marilyn! Anyone who wears a beret is my kind of girl. (They’re perfect for winter mornings.) Good luck to you in the raffle!
I’m not really a ‘hat-person’….I guess the next best hat for me would the hood of a hoodie sweater or a jacket, since I hate carrying an umbrella….LOL!!!!
Thank you for the giveaway….
You’re very welcome! And I hope it stays sunny and dry where you are, so there’s no need for an umbrella/hoodie 🙂
I like a wide brimmed fedora or a straw cowboy hat. I don’t wear too many hats usually as I have a small head, so hard to find one that fits an adult and looks good. I would love to win this book. Thanks.
Hi, Janet. You could always combine the two and wear a straw fedora. It’s a really cute look with jeans and t’s. Good luck in the giveaway! (P.S. If worse comes to worst, the publisher priced the first book at only $3.99, so it’s a good bargain as far as eBooks go.)