A Dickens of a Christmas turns deadly...
As the holiday season lights up Seattle's famed Pike Place Market,
Pepper Reece's beloved Spice Shop is brimming with cinnamon, nutmeg, and
shoppers eager to stuff their stockings. Add to the mix a tasty staff
competition--a peppermint bark-off--along with Victorian costumes for
this year's Dickensian Christmas theme, and Pepper almost forgets to
be nervous about meeting her fisherman boyfriend's brother for the first
time.
But when a young woman working in her friend Vinny's wine shop is
brutally assaulted, costumed revelers and holiday cheer are the last
things on Pepper's mind. Who would want to hurt Beth? Or were they
looking for Vinny instead?
The vicious attack upsets everyone at Pike Place, but none more than
Pepper's own employee, Matt Kemp. At first, Pepper is baffled by his
reaction, but his clandestine connection to Beth could hold the key to
the assailant's motive. Or perhaps it's Vinny's ex-wife who knows more
than she's letting on . . . and what about the mysterious top-hatted man
with whom Pepper saw Beth arguing that morning?
As the secrets of the market come to light, long-held grudges, family
ties, and hidden plans only further obscure the truth. Is it a ghost of
the past rattling its chains, or a contemporary Scrooge with more
earthly motives? As Pepper chases down a killer, someone is chasing her,
and in the end, the storied market itself may hold the final, deadly
clue.
A cozy holiday mystery full of culinary delights and a rich cast of
characters, the sixth installment in the Spice Shop Mystery series will
keep you turning the page . . . and reaching for another piece of
peppermint bark.
