Death of a Cupcake Queen (Hayley Powell Mystery)($7.99Value)

Description

As the food and cocktails columnist for the Island Times , Hayley Powell attends a lot of events—but this one will be murder… On the eve of her high school reunion, Hayley dreads seeing the trio of mean girls who used to torment her: Sabrina Merryweather, Nykki Temple, and former prom queen Ivy Foster. These days Ivy wears a different crown as the cupcake queen—and flaunting her success is just the icing on the cake. But maybe the prom queen should have been voted Most Likely to Die. At the reunion, Ivy is found murdered, cupcakes scattered around her. Is a killer out to teach the mean girls a lesson? As Hayley tries to get the scoop, she’ll have to be careful…or someone may be writing this columnist’s obituary next. Includes seven delectable recipes from Hayley’s kitchen! Praise for Death of a Chocoholic "This funny and quick-paced series keeps getting better." — RT Book Reviews Lee Hollis is the pen name for a brother and sister writing team. Rick Copp is a veteran Hollywood writer/producer and also the author of three other mystery novel series under his own name and Lee Hollis. He lives in Palm Springs, CA. Holly Simason is an award-winning food and cocktails columnist who lives in North Carolina. You can follow them on Facebook (Lee Hollis), Twitter (@leehollisbooks), and Instagram (leehollisbooks). Death of a Cupcake Queen A Hayley Powell Food & Cocktails Mystery By LEE HOLLIS KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP. Copyright © 2015 Rick Copp Holly Simason All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-0-7582-9453-1 CHAPTER 1 Sabrina Merryweather was not the kind of woman you kept waiting for long. And Hayley was panic-stricken that she was already a half-hour late meeting her for an after work cocktail. Which explained how the back left tire of Hayley's Kia had just run up over the curb as she tried to quickly parallel park outside her brother Randy's bar, Drinks Like a Fish. Hayley had been delayed at the office by an irate caller complaining about his name being misspelled in today's Island Times Police Beat column. Seriously? You want accuracy in the report of your Driving Under the Influence conviction? Unbelievable. Hayley checked her watch as she jumped out of the car and slammed the door shut. She dashed forward but was slung back suddenly by something snagging against her shoulder blade. She had been in such a hurry she didn't notice she had shut her bag inside the car. The leather strap attached to the bag nearly dislocated her shoulder. Hayley lost her balance and landed butt first on the pavement, her arm still dangling from the now limp strap. She composed herself and casually glanced around to make sure no one had seen her embarrassing pratfall. No such luck. A couple of gum-chewing skateboarders in shorts hanging low enough to see the label of their Jockey underwear, nudged each other with their elbows and guffawed at Hayley, who was now using the strap to haul herself up on her feet. She hit the unlock button on her remote, slowly opened the car door, and daintily removed her faux Fendi bag that had been trapped inside. As the snickers and giggles a few feet away persisted, Hayley brushed herself off, locked her car again, and marched inside the bar, head held high. God, it was only Monday. She found Sabrina sitting alone at a table next to the wall, sipping a cocktail, a bright smile on her face. Whatever happy pill she was on, Hayley wanted a prescription. Pronto. Sabrina had left her post as county coroner months ago after her husband filed for divorce in order to reassess her life and figure out where she wanted to go from here. Since that time, Hayley hadn't seen much of her at all, which to be truthful, wasn't such a bad thing considering Hayley had never been all that fond of her former high school nemesis Sabrina in the first place. Although Sabrina's memory of her astonishingly bad behavior back then was fuzzy at best, Hayley had a far more clear-eyed picture of Sabrina's past cruelties. But after seeing a self-help segment on the Today Show about how letting go of grudges helped you live longer, Hayley tried her best to forgive and forget. Or at least forgive. Forget? Never. When Sabrina called Hayley earlier in the day to suggest they meet for a drink and catch up after she got off work, Hayley just didn't have the energy to come up with an excuse not to go. So she just said, yes . One drink. After all, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't at least a little bit curious to know what Sabrina had been up to all these months. She had heard rumors. One person told her that Sabrina took a trip to see the Seven Wonders of the World but got waylaid in Machu Picchu with a stomach virus before giving up and coming home only having seen one wonder. Another said she was launching her own medical practice again in Bangor, which was one hour north of the island. There was also the Debbie Downer who insisted Sabrina had never fully recovered from her divorce and was holed up in her hou