About Paws for Concern
Life is good for Samantha Armstrong. She left her cheating boyfriend, settled into her cozy cottage on her Aunt Mary’s Palm Beach estate and is finally opening Canine Confections, her dream dog bakery on the ritzy Worth Avenue.
But Samantha’s happy new life goes doggone crazy when Palm Beach resident and pastry shop owner Whitney Goodwin is found dead on Canine Confections’ floor, whisking Samantha into the middle of a murder investigation. The only bright spot is that she finds herself adopting Whitney’s loveable dog Sweet Pea.
As the killer strikes again, it’s obvious that the shopkeepers on Worth Avenue are the target. Samantha’s impatience won’t let sleeping dogs lie. She takes it upon herself to move things along by padding around town with Sweet Pea and sniffing out clues to clear her name and Canine Confections’ reputation—before it is too late …
Includes a recipe from Chef Sarah Deters at the test kitchen of Three Dog Bakery, the original bakery for dogs!
About Amy Hueston
Thank you for inviting me to talk with your readers about “Paws for Concern!” It’s the first book in my A Canine Confections cozy mystery series and involves 2 of my favorite things—dogs and sweet treats!
The protagonist in the series is Samantha Armstrong and she recently moved to Palm Beach, Florida. The town is a fun backdrop and fits nicely in the cozy genre because, like a cozy mystery, the sunshine is never far. So even though one of the Palm Beach elite winds up dead on Canine Confections’ floor the morning of Samantha’s grand opening, things never get too dark.
Another reason I wanted this story to be set in Palm Beach is because I’ve been there a lot. As you drive along Royal Palm Way from West Palm Beach to Palm Beach, you can almost feel the difference in the air.
One of the fun places to visit in Palm Beach is The Breakers Hotel (see photo below ↓). It’s a luxury hotel with Renaissance paintings on the ceilings and old-fashioned teas at holiday-time. I love that stuff. Another place I adore is The Flagler Museum (see photo below ↓) . It’s Henry Flagler’s Gilded Age museum and pretty magnificent. I really like seeing how people used to live. And then of course, is Worth Avenue, the location of the dog bakery in A Canine Confections mystery series (see photo below ↓). Worth Avenue has shops and large stores, but it also has fabulous restaurants and art galleries. A big perk is that dogs are welcome in some of the shops and outdoor cafes.
The ocean is only steps away from Worth Avenue, and over on County Road is the wonderful Classic Bookshop of Palm Beach. I had the good fortune of running into James Patterson signing books for an upcoming event. It was just a few of us in the store and he went out of his way to talk with me, encourage me about my books, and give me a few laughs. (See photos below ↓)
Another fun memory about Palm Beach is going out to dinner at the wonderful Café L’Europe, a fine-dining restaurant across the street from the Classic Bookshop (see photo below ↓). The reason it’s a good memory for me is not only because I was there with my husband, who looked even more gorgeous in the glow of Café L’Europe’s lighting, or because of the delicious food, or the maître de who told us everything from our dress-code clothes to our choice in seating was “Perfect,” but because of the pianist (who played beautifully) and the DOG at his feet. The dog was large and black. I’m not sure of the breed but does it matter? Not to me. He laid there at his Person’s feet like this was the place he is meant to be. It made my heart so happy.
CityPlace is another fun area to talk about. It’s located in West Palm Beach but is very close to the Palm Beach. It’s filled with shops, restaurants, a comedy club and a movie theatre … but we’ll talk about that another time.
I want to thank you again for having me here. It’s an honor and a pleasure.
Amy
Thank you for letting me visit!
ReplyDeleteAmy