I know what all y’all were saying. That I was unfeeling, mean, I wasn’t “quirky” enough – whatever the heck that means. I was grieving the loss of my beloved only grandchild and it changed me, profoundly. My name’s Vivi Slidell and I’m the owner (well, now part owner) and operator of the Sea Glass Saloon in Emerald Cove, Florida. Emerald Cove is in a part of the state you may never have heard of – the panhandle. It used to be little quieter than the rest of Florida but not by much anymore.
When Chloe Jackson waltzed into the bar with her story about her car being broken down and she needed to earn money so she could get back home to Chicago, I didn’t buy if for a minute. That girl was up to something, and I thought I’d better find out what. Of course, I’d heard of her—my grandson Boone talked about her all the time. She was the love of his life, even if she didn’t know it. That I hadn’t met her sooner will always be a puzzle, because I knew a lot more about her than she still does about me.
She’s a hard worker – I’ll have to give her that. Chloe will scrap gum from under tables or pick up supplies or deal with a mean drunk and put them in their place with a smile. And when I was a suspect in a murder, she used all her skills as a former children’s librarian to figure out what was really going on. Maybe I didn’t show my gratitude quite as much as I should have. Although, I thought giving her the keys to Boone’s beach house when I realized she was sleeping in her car, was quite generous. Not that anyone seemed to give me credit for it. Well, maybe Joaquin, our head bartender. The man has a heart bigger than his collection of Hawaiian shirts and that’s saying something.
How’s my day go? It usually starts at the gym (how boring is that?) then to the bar where every darn day is different. That’s why I love it so much even though I’m at the age where people on the news call a person my age elderly. Let me tell you, I resent that because I don’t feel elderly. I’d arm wrestle any one of them given the chance and odds are I’d win. Sorry, I got a little distracted there. My day is filled with interesting people, some longtime friends, some strangers. It all keeps me young. I’ve gotten to know Chloe better and I’m fond of her, more than I want her or anyone to know. She takes risks and I don’t want to lose another person I care about although, I should know by now that’s what life is about.
I may be up to a little bit of trickery in Three Shots to the Wind. I want Chloe to be happy. Sometimes the people in my life need a little nudge and I’m just the woman for the job.
Three Shots to the Wind, A Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon Mystery #3
Genre: Cozy
Release: March 2022
Purchase Link
The third installment in Sherry Harris’s Agatha Award-nominated series finds former Chicago librarian Chloe Jackson loving her new life as a bartender in Florida. . .until a surprise visit from her Windy City ex-fiancé ends with him blown away in the Panhandle!
DEAD EXES TELL NO TALES
Saloon owner Chloe Jackson appears to have a secret admirer. She’s pouring drinks at the Sea Glass Saloon in Emerald Cove when an airplane flies by above the beach with a banner reading I LOVE YOU CHLOE JACKSON. She immediately rules out Rip Barnett. They are in the early stages of dating and no one has said the L word. Then a bouquet of lilacs—her favorite flower—is delivered to the bar, followed by an expensive bottle of her favorite sparkling wine. It couldn’t be . . .
Sure enough, her ex-fiancé from Chicago has flown down to Florida for an accountants’ convention. But is he trying to mix business with pleasure and win her back? Unfortunately he’s not in a hotel conference room, he’s floating facedown in the lake next to her house, clutching a photo of Chloe. Who murders an accountant on a business trip—it just doesn’t add up. When Rip becomes the prime suspect, Chloe is determined to find the secret murderer. But if she isn’t careful, it may be closing time and lights out for her . . .
About the author
Sherry Harris is the Agatha Award nominated author of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale mystery series and the Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon mysteries. Sherry is a past president of Sisters in Crime, a member of the Chesapeake Chapter of Sisters in Crime, the New England Chapter of Sisters in Crime and Mystery Writers of America. Sherry loves books, beaches, bars, and bargain hunting — not necessarily in that order. She is also a patent holding inventor.
Connect with Sherry on Facebook, on Twitter, on Instagram and on her blog, The Wickeds.
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Sherry has generously offered to give away one print copy of Three Shots to the Wind. To enter, please leave a comment below. One entry per person and the giveaway is limited to U.S. residents only. Giveaway ends March 30, 2022. Good luck everyone!
All comments are welcomed.
Thanks Sherry for the book giveaway and letting Vivi speak.
I love learning more about Vivi. The backstory is revealing to her personality. Can’t wait to read this book, Sherry! thanks for the post, Dru Ann.
Thanks, Beth!
Thanks for having me and Vivi!
It sounds like a really interesting book. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you!
This series is outstanding and one I enjoy as each book reveals more about the characters and how their lives connect. Congrats Sherry on this newest Chloe adventure! I do so look forward to reading it.
Thank you, Judy!
This is a really spectacular and exciting series….one of my very favorites! Can’t wait to read this new book 📕! Love the awesome cover too! Thanks so much sweet Sherry for offering a free book to one lucky winner! And thank you sweet Dru for interviewing Sherry about this newest book! 📚 Hugs 🤗 to you both! 😊
I hope you love reading it!
I’m not familar with this series, but it sounds like I’d enjoy it.
Thanks for stopping by!
I really enjoyed the first two books
I’m so glad you liked them!
Can’t wait to read this one! A book set in the panhandle of Florida sounds wonderful now on a grey day in March here in NE.
Congratulations on the release of the new book. I love how Vivi is slowly coming to appreciate Chloe but can’t let anyone know. This has quickly become one of my favorite series, and I can’t wait to read Three Shots to the Wind!
Thank you so much, Christi! I love how Vivi is evolving too!
It’s so cold here in Northern Virginia too!
I found your garage sale series because of a book club category of “an author with your initials”! I loved reading those books and have enjoyed this series as well! Looking forward to this next book!
I love how you found my books! That’s so fun.
Congratulations, Sherry. This is one of my favorite series. Chloe and Vivi are well drawn characters as is the location which I’m dying to visit. My copy is already on its way to me!
Thank you so much, Cindy! That means so much coming from you!
I really like this series. Glad to see it continue and hope for more stories to come! Thanks for a chance!
I’ve turned in the fourth one — Rum and Choke!
This is a fun series! I love it when stories take place in areas I’m familiar with. The Florida panhandle is where we went to the beach when my family lived in New Orleans eons ago.
That is so cool! It’s grown so much which is good and bad!
This book has been on my radar for some time. Anxious to read it (and the first two in the series!)
Thank you! There are so many books to read that it’s hard to get to all of them!
You are a new author for me- looks like I am going to be reading a new author -thanks
Thank you!
Sherry, I’ve just found you and Vivi and I have no intention of losing either of you! Vivi sounds like my kind of gal.
That is lovely!
New author and series for me, sounds good!
Thanks, Teresa!
Love all of Sherry’s books and look forward to this one. Thanks for the chance.
I love this series. I just checked both the Brooklyn and Queen County Library data bases. Neither of them even show this great book on order yet. I’m going to have to start an insurrection at Central with the help of my librarian friends.
Laughing! Thank you so much!
**** WINNER ****
Three Shots to the Wind is noraadrienne
Congratulations!