Dolly’s Dish 🐾 – A Word with Dolly Barkin… Sugar Hollow’s Sassiest Papillon
Well, hello there, sugar dumplin’. Dolly Barkin here.
I am honored to welcome you to Sugar Hollow. Come on in and get comfortable.
Around here, everyone is family. We tell it like it is… and we always pretend to know just a little more than we really do. But sometimes playing dumb like a fox is a good way to get information, too. Don’t let the folks around here fool ya.
Lean in and listen up. I have a couple of things to say.
I’ve lived in Sugar Hollow a long time, and I can tell you nothing ever happens around these parts. Oh, sure, there’s the occasional scandal at the Garden Club when someone waters their begonias at the wrong time of day (don’t ask… those Livingston twins are pieces of work), but murder?
Un. Heard. Of. Well…until now.
Word on the street—and by street, I do mean every porch, sidewalk, and whispered conversation I’ve overheard—is that Hal Woodward was murdered.
Some are saying it all started over a bingo game. Isn’t that the darndest thing you ever heard? I was just as stunned as you are.
But oh, honey, I tell you what, it gets better. And, of course, this is between you and me and the prayer list… but some are sayin’ Hal’s own wife, Mary, did it.
It’s always the sweet ones, isn’t it? The ones smiling at you as they pass the salt and plant a dagger in your back. These days, you simply never know what people are capable of.
Now, Hadley Bradford is sure as the August heat that Mary is innocent. And now she has my human, Tanzy, entertaining that same notion. Actually, Tanzy is doing more than entertaining because she’s the one behind that Sugar Hollow Amateur Sleuth Society that’s all up in everyone’s business trying to prove Mary’s innocence.
I really don’t care, as long as Tanzy feeds me on time. But I do hope they’re looking into Donnie Woodward, that no-good son of Hal’s. Bless his heart. He’s a grown man, and he still believes the world owes him a living—and now he thinks it owes him an inheritance, too.
I know. I know. From what I’m hearing he’s not pleased with how things might shake out. On account of Tennessee law, his stepmother, Mary, might get everything.
But I also have my suspicions about that orange cat, Jolene. How come no one but me finds it odd that she turned up at the Rose & Ivy Inn right around the time that Hal left for the great beyond?
What? What do you mean cat’s aren’t capable of murder? Honey, things in Sugar Hollow are shifting faster than the weather in the Appalachians. Secrets are slipping, and, you mark my word, not everyone is who they appear to be.
I am just sayin’.
Until next time… Stay curious and trust no one. Unless they bring food.
Now that you mention it, be a love and fetch me a biscuit.
💋 Dolly Barkin
DEAD TO ME
Series: A Sugar Hollow Amateur Sleuth Society Mystery, Book 1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: March 2026
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link
When life hands you chaos, all you need is a glass of sweet tea, a loyal circle of friends, and a mystery that refuses to stay buried.
After a public scandal upends her career, Hadley Bradford, a former forensic geneticist, retreats to her hometown of Sugar Hollow, Tennessee, hoping for the second chance she thought she’d lost. Instead, she finds trouble waiting at the very heart of town—inside The Rose & Ivy Inn.
When her godmother Mary’s husband dies under mysterious circumstances, Hadley’s old investigative instincts awaken—and so does her fierce loyalty to the woman who is like a second mother to her. As unsettling clues surface and flowers with chilling poems from an anonymous sender appear on her doorstep, Hadley realizes someone is watching… and they don’t want her asking questions.
The local police would prefer she leave things alone, but Hadley and the newly formed Sugar Hollow Amateur Sleuth Society have other ideas. With help from a few sharp-eyed allies around town, Hadley and the Society begin uncovering truths no one wants brought to light—forcing her to decide just how far she’s willing to go for justice.
Because even the sweetest towns have bitter secrets… and someone is determined to keep theirs buried.
Welcome to Sugar Hollow… where the tea is sweet, the gossip is scalding, and murder is always on the menu.
Meet the author
USA Today Bestselling author Nancy Robards Thompson writes cozy mysteries, sweet romance, and women’s fiction. Once, she worked as a newspaper reporter covering government, tourism, and business, but discovered reporting “just the facts” was boring. Happier to report to her muse, Nancy has sold more than 50 books to five traditional publishers and has made the leap to independent publishing. Her work, which critics have deemed “…funny, smart, and observant,” has sold in 22 countries and been translated into 12 languages. She lives in Tennessee with her husband and their corgi, Luna. For more information, sign up for her newsletter at substack.com/@nancyrobardsthompson.