GRAND OPENINGS CAN BE MURDER
Bean to Bar Mysteries Book 1
by
AMBER ROYER
Categories: Cozy Mystery / Women Sleuth / Romance
Publisher: Golden Tip Press
Date of Publication: February 2, 2021
Number of Pages: 266 pages
Scroll down for Giveaway!
Felicity Koerber has had a rough year. She’s moving back to Galveston Island and opening a bean to bar chocolate factory, fulfilling a dream she and her late husband, Kevin, had shared. Craft chocolate means a chance to travel the world, meeting with farmers and bringing back beans she can turn into little blocks of happiness, right close to home and family. She thinks trouble has walked into her carefully re-built world when puddle-jump pilot Logan Hanlon shows up at her grand opening to order custom chocolates. Then one of her employees drops dead at the party, and Felicity’s one-who-got-away ex-boyfriend – who’s now a cop – thinks Felicity is a suspect.
As the murder victim’s life becomes more and more of a mystery, Felicity realizes that if she’s going to clear her name in time to save her business, she might need Logan’s help. Though she’s not sure if she’s ready to let anyone into her life – even if it is to protect her from being the killer’s next victim. For Felicity, Galveston is all about history, and a love-hate relationship with the ocean, which keeps threatening to deliver another hurricane – right into the middle of her investigation. Can she figure it out before all the clues get washed away? FIRST IN A NEW SERIES
PRAISE FOR GRAND OPENINGS CAN BE MURDER:
“With as many unpredictable twists and turns as the hurricane approaching Galveston, Grand Openings Can Be Murder is an intriguing cozy mystery set in a new chocolate shop along the island’s historic Strand. Readers will love learning about the bean-to-bar chocolate-making process while the store’s owner, Felicity, pursues truth, justice, and the perfect chocolate bar.”
— Diane Kelly, Award-winning author of the Death & Taxes, Paw Enforcement, House Flipper, and Busted mystery series.
What a delicious story centered around the making of chocolate and, oh yes, a murder.
Felicity is working to fulfill the dream that she and her husband, Kevin, had started cultivating before his death a year ago. Now, she’s decided that she owes it to him to make the dream reality.
As a woman who is a widow, I found it a bit of a stretch that Felicity was so easily attracted to Logan when she first saw him. If it had been more than a year since her husband died, I would have been more willing to believe, especially since the book opens with the pain of grief very evident on the pages. Still, this is a mystery with romance as a strong subplot, and romance readers expect that.
The cast of characters is so diverse and so much fun to spend some time with. In addition to her co-workers, Carmen and Emma, she has some gal-pals who always have her back, and then there’s Arlo, the high-school love who is now a Galveston police officer. The back and forth between him and Felicity is some of the most enjoyable parts of the story for me. Aunt Naomi is also an engaging character, and it was always nice to see her show up in a scene.
The solving of the mystery was a little light for me, but then I do prefer stories with a harder edge. Folks who lean more toward a cozy mystery would enjoy this read very much.
In addition to the characters, I really liked the trip to Galveston. I’ve been there a few times and remember The Strand and what fun it is to visit the shops and eat in some of the restaurants. Wouldn’t it be great to stop in to Greetings and Felicitations for a chocolate treat?
It was sad to see the damage after the hurricane Rita ravaged the island in 2005, so I know about hurricanes and the anxiety they cause. The unpredictability of where and when this fictional hurricane would hit, or if it would hit, added to the drama and suspense of the story.
CLICK TO PURCHASE!
│ Amazon│ Barnes and Noble │Apple Books │
│ Bookshop.org│Kobo│IndieBound│
Amber Royer writes the CHOCOVERSE comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series, and the BEAN TO BAR MYSTERIES. She is also the author of STORY LIKE A JOURNALIST: A WORKBOOK FOR NOVELISTS, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel. She blogs about creative writing technique and all things chocolate at www.amberroyer.com. She also teaches creative writing for both UT Arlington Continuing Education and Writing Workshops Dallas. If you are very nice to her, she might make you cupcakes.
◆ WEBSITE ◆ BLOG ◆ ◆ FACEBOOK ◆ TWITTER ◆ ◆ AMAZON ◆ GOODREADS ◆ ◆ INSTAGRAM ◆ YOUTUBE ◆
GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY! GIVEAWAY!
ONE WINNER
Autographed copy of GRAND OPENINGS CAN BE MURDER
and a $25 Gift Card to Dandelion Chocolate
End Midnight, CST, February 19, 2021
US ONLY
A RAFFLECOPTER GIVEAWAY
CLICK TO VISIT THE LONE STAR LITERARY LIFE TOUR PAGE
FOR DIRECT LINKS TO EACH POST ON THIS TOUR, UPDATED DAILY,
or visit the blogs directly:
| 2/9/21 | Excerpt | Texas Book Lover |
| 2/9/21 | BONUS Guest Post | Hall Ways Blog |
| 2/9/21 | BONUS Promo | LSBBT Blog |
| 2/10/21 | Top Ten | That’s What She’s Reading |
| 2/11/21 | Review | Missus Gonzo |
| 2/12/21 | Playlist | All the Ups and Downs |
| 2/13/21 | Review | StoreyBook Reviews |
| 2/14/21 | Author Interview | Rebecca R. Cahill, Author |
| 2/15/21 | Review | Forgotten Winds |
| 2/16/21 | Scrapbook Page | KayBee’s Book Shelf |
| 2/17/21 | Review | The Page Unbound |
| 2/18/21 | Review | It’s Not All Gravy |
blog tour services provided by
Pingback: Grand Openings Can Be Murder Roundup Post – Amber Royer