Hi there! I’m Dot. I’m in town to check out a retirement village because I want to move closer to my son. I’ve finally admitted he’s not coming back to our little hamlet outside Pittsburgh and has instead started making a completely different life in Central Pennsylvania. When I roar into town in my VW Thing, I’m ready for almost anything, but finding a corpse while touring the model apartment on site was not on my bingo card. While I’m not the main character in the Sunny Side Up Mysteries, set in a wonderful little diner, I get quite a role this time when I help my (fingers crossed!) future daughter-in-law, Jax Tapman, solve the latest mystery.
Things don’t look good for one of Jax’s friends, but with her dad being the chief of police, and my former-cop son by our side, we’re all in to help Jax figure out whodunnit. I’ll admit to a little suspicion when my son’s ex-partner from the force shows up, but if she’s here to help then I’m here to do the same. The thing is I used to be a dispatcher at our local police department, so I know the ropes and the rules when it comes to trying to ferret out a murderer. Especially someone who thinks there will be no accountability for taking the life of a wonderful worker within the village.
Interestingly enough, it’s like living in my past to get things up on a murder board and then start brainstorming the reporter questions I used to love: who, what, why, when, where, and how. All necessary to dive into making the threads attach to each other and point to the only person who could have done this horrible deed.
Part of me was looking for a slow kind of life now that I was retiring. It was nice to be in the same town as my son. In the future, I think my average day will involve playing bongo, making friends at the pool, maybe taking up knitting. But on this one particular day in my life, there’s no denying that a part of my soul will always love the puzzle and intrigue of solving a crime, or at least helping as I can. Maybe this is just the way the universe wants me to direct my new life, in a new town, with some familiar faces and also new friends. Whatever the case may be, I’m here for it. Moving in on Monday!
A PINCH OF ASSAULT
Series: A Sunny Side Up Mystery, Book 3
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: August 2026
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link
Welcome to the Sunny Side Up Diner, where the jukeboxes jive and the secrets thrive…
With things at her Sunny Side Up Diner sailing along smoothly for once, Jax Tapman has turned her attention to her personal life. It’s time to meet the boyfriend’s mother in person. And while Jax isn’t totally certain she’s up to the challenge, she agrees to show Eliot’s mom around a local retirement home. It sounds innocent enough, and it shouldn’t be too difficult to sell the woman on the idea of moving to be closer to her son. But instead of making her case, when Jax enters the model apartment, she and her potential in-law find one dead body and a whole lot of secrets!
Suddenly it’s up to Jax to discover who the retirement home killer is—a task that only gets harder when someone from Eliot’s past shows up and might know far more about the crime than she’s letting on.
The Sunny Side Up Diner is jumping with gossip, Jax and her best friend Dani are running interference, and Eliot’s mom is calling all the shots. But sorting out chaos and minimizing damage is something Jax has grown accustomed to, if she can only get a clue.
About the author
Misty Simon (mistysimon.wordpress.com) always wanted to be a storyteller…preferably behind a Muppet. Animal was number one, followed closely by Sherlock Hemlock… Since that dream didn’t come true, she began writing stories to share her world with readers, one laugh at a time. She lives with her husband in Central Pennsylvania where she is hard at work on her next novel or three. She loves to hear from readers so drop her a line at misty@mistysimon.com.