Hi, everyone! I’m Zeke, Abby McCree’s roommate. At least that’s how she describes me. She actually inherited me from her late aunt along with the house we live in. It was sort of a package deal, but it’s worked out really well for both of us. Don’t get me wrong—I loved Aunt Sybil. After all, she was the one who brought me home from the shelter. That said, it’s Abby who has given me a higher purpose in life. More about that in a minute.

Did I mention that I’m a ninety-five pound mastiff mix? Abby thinks I’m quite handsome. She’s rather fond of my jowls, but my tendencies to drool and shed, maybe not so much. What can I say? No one is perfect.

I can’t tell you much about my past. For one thing, I don’t like to think back to my life before the shelter. Let’s just settle for saying that it wasn’t pretty. It left me reluctant to trust easily. However, thanks to Sybil and Abby, I’ve learned that not all people are like my first owner, and I’ve made a lot of friends living here in Snowberry Creek, Washington.

Most of my days start off listening to Abby complain about someone waking her up too early with a phone call. Sometimes it’s her mom. Other times, it might be one of the nice ladies from the quilting guild. At least Abby’s bad mood usually doesn’t last long. We head downstairs to the kitchen where she lets me out the back door to do my morning patrol.

I do a thorough check of the perimeter of our yard keeping an eye out for unsavory characters. Most of the time I have to send a few squirrels packing, obnoxious little rodents that they are. Not that they ever really leave the premises. No, they just scoot back up the closest tree where they flick their stupid tails and chitter at me. Like I care.

Part of my daily route includes a stop to see my good buddy, Tripp Blackston. He lives in the small house on the back of the property and goes to college. He and Abby are friends, too, which makes it nice for all of us. As a former special forces soldier, he’s a big help in my never ending efforts to keep Abby safe.

When I go back inside, Abby and I have breakfast. I mostly eat kibble, but she also slips me a piece of bacon now and again. Her mother doesn’t approve for some weird reason. There’s always plenty of bacon to go around.

Abby loves to bake, especially when something’s going on that has her worried. She shares the people cookies she makes with friends and family and sometimes total strangers. Better yet, she bakes all kinds of special treats for me. I especially love the organic pumpkin blueberry pawprint cookies she keeps in a special jar on the counter. I’ve trained both Tripp and the local police chief to sneak me a couple whenever they come in the back door.

I try to watch my weight, so I take Abby on a long walk most days. We especially like the nearby trail that winds through the national forest. Tripp sometimes invites me along on one of his runs. Abby thinks he’s crazy for getting up at the crack of dawn to go running, but he says that’s a habit left over from his time in the service. Both the walks and the runs are followed by a long nap. Weather permitting, I like to stretch out in the shade under the trees, but dozing in the sunbeam on the living room floor is good, too.

It’s important that I stay in shape, because I’m more than just Abby’s roommate. I’m her protector, the first line of defense in dangerous situations. Tripp helps, and so does Gage Logan, our local chief of police. But they aren’t always handy when something bad happens. There was the time someone tossed a brick through our window, and don’t get me started on the number of times Abby has crossed paths with a killer! I swear that woman attracts trouble like a magnet.

Granted, it isn’t as if she means to put herself in danger. It’s just that there isn’t anything she won’t do to protect someone she cares about, including doing a little sleuthing on her own to help clear a friend’s name. I love Abby, but keeping her safe might just be the death of me!

Death by Intermission by Alexis Morgan, Abby McCree Mystery #4
Genre: Cozy
Release: January 2021
Purchase Link

Ushered once again onto another committee by the mayor of Snowberry Creek, Washington, Abby is tasked with keeping the box office receipts of the town’s Movies in the Park nights. Cut to the director’s chair from where she’s suddenly organizing the summer’s last feature. From the opening scene through the final credits, Abby feels she’s earned nominations for best volunteer, best movie date with her tenant Tripp Blackston—and best daughter for ignoring her mother Phoebe’s own movie date with Owen Quinn.

Unfortunately, Abby and the others are treated to a post-credits scene: the body of local insurance agent Mitchell Anders. This discovery is followed by a plot twist revealing that the murder weapon comes from Owen’s food truck. With her mother’s boyfriend suspected of murder, Abby starts her own investigation determined to shine a spotlight on the real killer . . .

About the author
USA Today Best-selling author Alexis Morgan lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband. She is the author of over forty novels, novellas, and short stories that span a variety of genres. Death By Intermission is the fourth book in her first cozy mystery series, The Abby McCree Mysteries. 

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