Murder at the Taffy Shop

It's late summer on Cape Cod and the tourist season is in full swing. At Mac Almeida's bike shop business is brisk. In Murder at the Taffy Shop by Maddie Day, Mac hopes it's just the bike shop that causes excitement. (Murder at the Taffy Shop will be published by Kensington Books on March 31.)

That hope is short lived as her friend Gin stumbles across a body near her candy shop. The victim is the next door neighbor of Mac's parents. Beverly Ruchart is a not well-loved member of their community.  

The police learn Beverly had held a dinner party the night before and several locals were invited, including Gin; Beverly's son-in-law Eli who is dating Gin; Ron Ruchart, Beverly's grandson; Wesley Farnham and his daughter Isadora. Gin explained that Beverly seemed quite drunk and and wasn't feeling well by the dessert course. 

As much as Mac and Gin would like to think Beverly died of a

heart attack, the police learn something different. Someone poisoned Beverly and when a container of the poison is found in Gin's garage, the police eye her as a suspect. 

Mac and her Cozy Capers Book Group decide they cannot let their friend be accused of a murder she did not commit so they decide to investigate. Although they have been warned not to get involved, the group fans out to ask questions. When someone tries to break into Mac's shop, she decides she may have hit a nerve and thinks maybe her investigating should be done quietly and from inside her house. 

This is a promising new series from Maddie Day and I look forward to the next book. Mac is a likable character and her eccentric family is fun to be around. 

Murder on Cape Cod

A new series from Maddie Day is set on Cape Cod. In Murder on Cape Cod, the first in the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, Mackenzie “Mac” Almeida’s bicycle shop is ready for the influx of summer tourists. Being located in the quaint, seaside hamlet of Westham, Massachusetts, the bike shop is in the perfect spot for summer fun.

Returning home one evening, Mac stumbles across the body of Jake Lacey, a down-on-his-luck handyman. To Mac's dismay, she recognizes the knife used to stab Jake. It or something like it belongs to her brother and he soon becomes a suspect.

Mac’s only experience with murder investigations is limited to the
cozy mysteries she reads with her local book group, the Cozy Capers. To clear her brother’s name, Mac asks her mystery book club for assistance in solving the case. Many of the members have opinions, some just want to meet Louise Penny.

For a chance to win a copy of Murder on Cape Cod, click here a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Day on Cape Cod with Maddie Day and a Giveaway

Welcome to a new series by Maddie Day (or Edith Maxwell as many of you know her). There's also a chance to win a copy of Murder on Cape Cod in a giveaway at the end of the interview, so be sure to enter. 

Why is Cape Cod a good setting for your new series?
Cape Cod is a nationally known attraction in the Northeast with something for everyone. It’s a

popular destination for its beaches, natural seacoast beauty, lighthouses, and iconic shops. Couples flock there to get married. Photographers appreciate the unique light. Artists and writers find solitude and community to produce their work. Nature lovers explore the wide variety of birds, other wildlife, ponds, and shorelines. Families visit in the summer to get away from the city. There are many historic sites to visit, and the Mashpee Wampanoag Indians are also located on the Cape.

Tell me about your experience on the Cape.
Because I live on the New Hampshire border, as far north in Massachusetts as the Cape is south, I don’t venture down there in the summer. Instead I rent a Quaker retreat cottage in West Falmouth during the off season for solo

writing retreats. I walk on the Shining Sea bike trail or rent a bike and tool around. I watch the ospreys fish and generally soak up the delectable sights, sounds, and smells of a coastal town. I staged my fictional town of Westham somewhere near there.

Why a bike mechanic protagonist and how does that work with the setting?
I’m always looking for an unusual occupation for a cozy protagonist. Because the Cape is generally flat, lots of people bike, so I knew Mac Almeida would have repair customers year round, not just during tourist season. Being a local business owner makes her a regular in the book group, too.

How did you choose Cape Verde Island as the character’s ancestry?
I knew that a number of people with Cape Verdean ancestry live on the Cape year round, and I have some familiarity with the language (I speak Portuguese and it’s a partly Portuguese Creole). The echo of “Cape” matches, too, and I thought, why not?

Love the Book Club reading only cozies. How will they be involved in future books? Will they

ever meet Louise Penny?
Ooh – great question! I don’t know if Louise will vacation on the Cape, but she might, or maybe the Wicked Authors will go on retreat there and help solve a crime. The Cozy Capers will certainly be involved in every investigation.

What are your plans for the future of the series?
Book two, Murder at the Taffy Shop, is complete and submitted. It takes place during the height of the tourist season in August. Book three will take place in early fall but I’m not yet sure what’s going to happen. I hope to have contract renewal after that.

The book releases December 18 in a paperback exclusive from Barnes & Noble. It will rerelease a year later in all formats on all platforms. This is an experimental deal between B&N and Kensington and none of us is quite sure how it will fly. In the meantime, I’d love to give away a signed copy to one commenter here today.

Readers: Where’s your favorite waterside getaway? Do you ever rent bikes and ride along the shore? What about book groups? Love ‘em? Hate ‘em? Dish!

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Agatha- and Macavity-nominated Edith Maxwell writes the Quaker Midwife Mysteries, the Local Foods Mysteries, and award-winning short crime fiction. As Maddie Day she writes the Country Store Mysteries and the Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries. Maxwell lives north of Boston with her beau and two elderly cats, and gardens and cooks when she isn’t wasting time on Facebook. Please find her at the Wicked Authors, on Killer Characters and her web site, and on social media:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaddieDayAuthor/
twitter: @MaddieDayAuthor
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