Lies, Spies, and the Baker’s Surprise by Terry Ambrose
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About Lies, Spies, and the Baker’s Surprise
Rick Atwood is happy to welcome Henry and Tara Nicholas to his Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast. Henry owns a bakery and Tara, a bookstore. They seem like a nice couple—until Rick’s daughter Alex overhears Henry talking on his cellphone to his real wife. The situation blows up the following morning when Tara discovers Henry has been lying to her—thanks in part to Alex’s interference. Tara disrupts the entire breakfast service. She then demands Rick evict Henry.
After finding Henry a room at the town’s motel, Rick hopes the drama is over. But when Henry is found dead the following morning, Rick feels partially responsible. He and Chief of Police Adam Cunningham launch an official murder investigation. They quickly find multiple witnesses who saw Tara in Henry’s room at the time of the murder.
Alex, convinced Tara is innocent, launches her own undercover investigation. Her discovery puts her in a deadly showdown with a sociopath on a bluff near the Seaside Cove Lighthouse. What happens on the bluff could make or break the official murder investigation.
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About Terry Ambrose
Once upon a time, in a life he’d rather forget, Terry Ambrose, tracked down deadbeats for a living. He also hired big guys with tow trucks to steal cars—but only when negotiations failed. Those years of chasing deadbeats taught him many valuable life lessons such as—always keep your car in the garage.
Terry has written eighteen books, several of which have been award finalists. In 2014, his thriller, “Con Game,” won the San Diego Book Awards for Best Action-Thriller. His series include the Trouble in Paradise McKenna Mysteries, the Seaside Cove Bed & Breakfast Mysteries, and the License to Lie thriller series.
You can learn more about Terry and his writing at terryambrose.com.
At its heart, Lies, Spies, and the Baker’s Surprise is a mystery. It’s also the story of building a family. Yet when someone recently asked me what surprised me most about writing the book, I answered that it was my research into Joaquin Murrieta, one of early California’s most notorious bandits. No spoilers here, but Murrieta has nothing to do with the baker’s surprise in the book. What amazed me was the difficulty in finding the truth about a man who was so well-known in his time. The reason, as we’re fond of saying these days, is that it’s complicated.
There are plenty of stories about Murrieta. They range from portraying him as a victim to a vicious killer. In one scenario, he was like thousands of other miners—only a peaceful man who came to California in search of gold. The story goes that he was driven off of his claim. (Or not.) In another version, he and his brother were arrested for stealing a mule. His brother was hung in front of him, and Murrieta vowed revenge on the men involved. (Could be, but maybe not.)
It’s almost impossible to determine which stories are true and which are false. There’s very little in the way of reliable news stories in the late nineteenth century. Who know? Was Murrieta an honest man who was driven by his tormentors to violence and revenge? Or was he just a man who enjoyed killing? The truth probably lies somewhere in between. And therein lies the problem. How was I going to portray this man with such a murky past?
As a writer, I need a clear picture of who I’m writing about. And so I chose the enigma itself. As the storyline develops, we get different perspectives on Joaquin Murrieta. In Lies, Spies, and the Baker’s Surprise, a stranger arrives in town claiming he’s a descendant of Murrieta. Nobody knows for sure, and you won’t find a spoiler here, but the legends surrounding Joaquin Murrieta provide a wealth of material for a writer who loves to inject history into a modern mystery.
Don’t miss out on your chance to win a $35 Amazon gift card in my Book Birthday Month contest for Lies, Spies, and the Baker’s Surprise. Enter the bonus code “#Enigma” for three bonus entries in the entry option for this blog.
Author links: Website Facebook Twitter Instagram BookBub Goodreads Amazon
Purchase – Amazon
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