Robbie Jordan here, waving hi from South Lick, Indiana! I’m feeling blessed our little town hasn’t had a murder in a whole year. Sure, I got involved in one last winter in California, but here we are in early December and life is peaceful.

I’ve been decorating my country store for the holidays. Yesterday my boyfriend Abe and his teen son Sean came over to help me trim the tree. When we were nearly finished, Sean gave me one more to hang, saying he’d made it himself. It’s a wooden skillet-shaped ornament painted blue on both sides, with Pans ‘N Pancakes neatly lettered in white, and has a loop of string attached to a hole in the handle. You can believe I got all choked up about that.

My crew and I have been busy coming up with festive breakfast and lunch specials for Pans ‘N Pancakes, the restaurant in the store. How do these sound? A spinach-red pepper egg bake, peppermint-mocha muffins, creamy cheesy Christmas grits with minced red and green peppers, split pea soup – again with bits of sweet red pepper – and of course gingerbread people.

But when Danna’s half-brother showed up – a brother she’d never heard of – and Abe told me a skeleton was found in an attic, life in South Lick started to get less peaceful. It got even more complicated when a local woman was found murdered in her own bed. I had to track down the victim’s tenant at her Hungarian grandfather’s assisted living residence outside of town. The South Lick tree lighting and visit from Santa event was disrupted by conflict and a local reporter acted suspiciously. And I was attacked on my own store’s front porch.

Don’t worry. Justice prevailed. But (and shh, don’t tell anyone) what happened after that made it all worthwhile.


Giveaway: Leave a comment below for chance to win a copy of Candy Slain Murder, either print (U.S. residents only) or digital (open to everyone). Giveaway ends September 30, 2020. Good luck everyone!


Candy Slain Murder is the eighth book in the “Country Store” cozy mystery series, coming September 29, 2020.

Christmas cheer has sent the griddle into overdrive at Robbie Jordan’s popular country store and café. And this year, there’s a new seasonal special to feast on: murder!

As December sweeps through South Lick, Indiana, Robbie’s life seems merry and bright like the string lights glistening around town. But strange happenings signal a bumpy ride into the holidays. First a man raises eyebrows at Pans ‘N Pancakes when he claiming to be the long-lost half-brother of Robbie’s assistant. Then a fire destroys the home of a controversial anesthesiologist, exposing skeletal remains in his attic. Helplessly intrigued, all Robbie wants for Christmas is to stop her winter wonderland from becoming a real nightmare. With a decades-old mystery taking shape, can she run as fast as she can in pursuit of a killer who’s harder to crack than a stale gingerbread man?

Includes Recipes for You to Try!

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About the author
Maddie Day pens the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Agatha Award winning Edith Maxwell writes the historical Quaker Midwife Mysteries and award-winning short crime fiction. With twenty-two mysteries in print and more underway, Maxwell lives with her beau and their adorable kitten north of Boston, where she writes, gardens, cooks, and wastes time on Facebook. She hopes you’ll find her on social media under both names and at edithmaxwell.com.

All comments are welcomed.