Tourist Trap mysteries

Moving to the west coast, I found a series written by Lynn Cahoon that is jokingly called "The Tourist Trap Mysteries." The series features Jill Gardner, proprietor of Coffee, Books, and More in South Cove, California. Of course being on the coast brings out the tourist trap aspect of these books. The little town is filled with fun shops that are ideal stopping points for tourists traveling in this part of California.

When the mayor ropes Jill into being the liaison for a new work program for disadvantaged youth during the holidays, the towns people are concerned about the type of people the program will draw. After several run-ins with the program coordinator Ted Hendricks and witnessing him harassing another female shop owner, Jill fantasizes about killing him, only to find him dead in a car near her business.The police think it is suicide, but Jill believes there is more to the story.

As Jill digs into Ted's past she discovers his wife had vanished in an
apparent kidnapping scheme several years before. Even after the million dollars was wired to the offshore account, his wife was never released.

When Jill stumbles on some other unsavory history about the murder victim and one of the other store owners, she is unsure how to proceed. Naturally the new hires are under suspicion as well, but Jill works to prove they are deserving of the second chance they are receiving.

Despite her detective boyfriend's insistence that she not investigate, Jill continues to look into Ted's death. What she finds is a total surprise and unexpectedly answers a long dead question of what happened to Ted's wife.

I enjoyed this series for the breezy writing style and the main characters friendships with other store owners. The first book in the series is Guidebook of Murder.