My name’s Myrtle Kane. My late husband and I moved from Iowa to Hullis Island, South Carolina, when we retired—Hayes was Keokuk’s fire chief, I was a registered nurse. The Lowcountry captured our hearts when we visited our daughter Kylee, then a Coast Guard investigator, stationed in Charleston.

Kylee, who’s over fifty now (seems impossible), retired when I was diagnosed with cancer. Since her dad passed away a few years back, she was determined to be by my side. Kylee means the world to me, but we butt heads when she tries to manage me. She’s always insisting I rest more, eat better, avoid stress, and stop saying yes to requests for volunteers. I say hogwash! Maybe, if I sat around contemplating my navel, stayed on the sidelines of fights that raise my blood pressure, and swore off all my high-cholesterol favorite recipes, I might live longer. Then, again, why would I want to.

As long as I’m breathing, I’m determined to live well. Cancer treatments have thinned my hair and left my scrawny body minus two breasts. But, hey, I enjoy being alive, onery, and outspoken. To my great amusement, I’ve even become the subject of sex scandal gossip. Guess you’re never too old for people to think ill of you.

As the instigator of a lawsuit against my homeowner association (HOA), I’m good at ducking when the verbal sticks-and-stones are tossed. Our authoritarian Hullis Island board recently proclaimed an open hunting season on deer inside our neighborhood, a designated nature preserve. The directors declared the deer a “safety concern,” since Bambi can carry ticks and scamper in front of golf carts. Claiming that safety trumps covenants, the directors said they weren’t required to let residents vote. I said hooey. Lord knows we need to address deer overpopulation, but that’s no reason to suspend democracy. My neighbors deserve a say in how to cull the herd. Stay tuned to see how my efforts turn out.

Despite the HOA flap, I count my blessings every day. I’m back to volunteering at the no-kill animal shelter and three days a week I answer phones and play Susie Secretary at Welch HOA Management, much to Kylee’s dismay.

Once I recovered enough from chemo to fend for myself, I evicted my daughter. Told her she was welcome to visit my house any time, but she needed to hover less and move on. Fortunately, Kylee took the eviction in the spirit intended. Now, instead of spending fulltime babysitting her mom, she’s getting on with her life’s next chapter. We still get together plenty, though I avoid climbing aboard the thirty-eight-foot sailboat she calls home. I get seasick at the very notion, even when her boat’s securely moored at Beaufort’s Downtown Marina.

My daughter isn’t my only family nearby. Ted Welch, my honorary son, now lives in Beaufort, and his boy Grant, who calls me grandma, is a cadet at The Citadel in Charleston. Ted was my son Barry’s best friend from the time the boys were knee-high to a grasshopper. When Barry, a firefighter like his dad, died on the job, I think Ted grieved as much as Kylee and me.

As you’ve probably guessed, Ted owns Welch HOA Management, my part-time employer. His company counts more than a dozen Lowcountry HOAs as clients. Ted employs Kylee, too. After a man was murdered just down the street from me, he talked Kylee into serving as a security consultant. A deputy sheriff tried to blame Ted for the neighborhood feuds that seemed to spark that first murder and, to Ted’s dismay, the ones that followed. Ted was darn lucky to count on Kylee’s investigative skills to find the devious killer.

Now, she’s trying to help Ted unravel two new puzzles. Someone made a fake 911 call about an active shooter, triggering a SWAT team’s frightening descent upon an HOA board meeting. Then, several board presidents, the heads of HOAs managed by Ted, were kidnapped. Dealing with these frightening incidents has Ted, Kylee, and me on pins and needles, but it’s Thanksgiving week and my honorary grandson is home for the holiday. I’m determined we’re going to enjoy a big turkey with all the fixin’s no matter how many villains try to spoil the fun.

Neighbors to Die For, An HOA Mystery #2
Genre: Cozy
Release: November 2022
Purchase Link

A CRAFTY KILLER’S BLAME GAME

Refereeing homeowner association spats over acceptable mulch color was never part of Kylee Kane’s post-Coast Guard retirement plans. The irate combatants are trying the security consultant’s patience when gunfire erupts and a SWAT team swarms in. How did they arrive before any possible report of an active shooter?

Two days later, Kylee discovers a ghost boat. Not a soul onboard. Among the missing—presidents of HOAs managed by her employer. Are the incidents linked?

As Kylee chips away at shift-the-blame deceptions, the ruthless killer expands his hit list to include not only Kylee but everyone she loves. Will it be Kylee’s last Thanksgiving?

About the author
A journalism major in college, Linda Lovely spent most of her career working in PR and advertising. Her tenth mystery / suspense novel, Neighbors To Die For, was published by Level Best Books November 8. Lee Child calls this second installment in Lovely’s HOA Mystery series, “An excellent mystery written with charm, appeal and wry humor—and ex-Coast Guard Kylee Kane is a great main character.”

Lovely is secretary of the SE Chapter of Mystery Writers of America, and past president of the Upstate SC Chapter of Sisters in Crime. For several years, she helped organize the Writers’ Police Academy. To learn more, connect with Linda at her website, lindalovely.com.

All comments are welcomed.