Freelance writer Emily Garland is cash-strapped, newly single, and tired of reporting on the same old condo stats. When she’s offered a lucrative assignment in the village of Lount’s Landing, she decides to take a chance. All she has to do is relocate and uncover the real story behind a proposed redevelopment plan. What could possibly go wrong?
Plenty, as it turns out. Not everyone is happy with real estate mogul Garrett Stonehaven’s plans to convert an old schoolhouse into a mega-box store. At the top of the list is Arabella Carpenter, the outspoken owner of The Glass Dolphin antiques shop, who will do just about anything to preserve the integrity of the town’s historic Main Street.
But Arabella is not alone in her opposition. Before long, a vocal dissenter dies. A few days later, another body is discovered. Though both deaths are ruled accidental, Emily’s suspicions are aroused.
Putting her interview skills to the ultimate test, Emily teams up with Arabella to discover the truth behind Stonehaven’s latest scheme—before the murderer strikes again.
Amazon.com 4.4 average. Goodreads 4.23 average.
This is book 1 in the Glass Dolphin 3-book cozy mystery series. It was my debut novel (2015) and opened to strong reviews. It is the story of Arabella Carpenter, owner of the Glass Dolphin antiques shop on the historic Main Street of Lount's Landing (a fictional small town 90 minutes north of Toronto) and Emily Garland, a journalist from Toronto who moves to Lount's Landing to find out the real story behind a developer's plan for a mega-box store in the town. Such a development would have serious impact on the local independent shops and businesses, but Emily also has a personal reason for stopping Stonehaven: she blames him for her mother's death. Many of the store owners are against the proposed development. One vocal supporter dies. Then another...Emily is convinced it's murder and enlists Arabella to find out the truth.
End Chapter 1: Emily signs a contract
Michelle stood up. “Emily, you’ve been in this business long enough to know this kind of assignment doesn’t come along every day. Work with us. Get rich with us. And help us to expose Garrett Stonehaven for the lying, cheating, bastard we both know he is.”
Definitely more to this scenario than meets the eye. Emily pulled a gold-plated pen out of her handbag, a graduation gift from her mother a dozen years ago. She twirled it between her fingers, remembering how proud her mom had been, her daughter the first one in the family to go beyond high school. Remembered the way her mother had looked the last time Emily saw her, shell-shocked and shattered.
“Where do I sign?”
Excerpt (abbreviate) from Chapter 3. Arabella meets Emily
Arabella arrived at the Glass Dolphin to find a slender woman in a thin coat shivering by the front door. Arabella had made similar wardrobe miscalculations in November, a month where the prevailing Lount’s Landing winds could be as unpredictable as an eBay auction.
“Sorry to keep you waiting, but we’re not open until Saturday,” Arabella said, pointing to a sign in the window. Something was vaguely familiar about the woman, though she couldn’t stick a pin in it.
Mind you, the Coach handbag Beret Girl carried was definitely a knockoff. The single rows of Coach’s signature C’s, versus double, the way the C’s didn’t quite line up at the center. It was a dead giveaway.
Arabella prided herself on her ability to spot the real from the reproduction. The antiques world was full of fakes. But not the Glass Dolphin. Within her walls, everything would be original, from the exposed beam ceiling and the carefully restored pine plank floors to the merchandise she sold.
Authenticity mattered.
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German
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Unavailable for translation.
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Portuguese
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Already translated.
Translated by Gerson Loyola de Aguilar
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Author review: Fast and courteous, asks questions when in doubt. |
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Spanish
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Already translated.
Translated by Cristina López
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Author review: RUN DON'T WALK from this pretend translator. Meets deadline but I get a warning that the bio isn't in the proper language, and when I asked for the book title (to get a cover done ahead of time), and had cover prepared, when the book was "done" the title didn't match what she'd told me. When I sent her the cover and the comments, she wrote EXCELLENT. I don't think she really understands English beyond using a translation software. I am trying to get out of the contract. Cumple el plazo pero me avisa de que la biografía no está en el idioma adecuado, y cuando le pedí el título del libro (para tener una portada hecha con antelación), y tenía la portada preparada, cuando el libro estaba "hecho" el título no coincidía con lo que me había dicho. Cuando le envié la portada y los comentarios, escribió EXCELENTE. No creo que entienda realmente el inglés más allá de usar un programa de traducción. Estoy tratando de salirme del contrato. Traducción realizada con la versión gratuita del traductor www.DeepL.com/Translator |
