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Paint Me a Crime (A Rose Shore Mystery)
by Holly Yew
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About 'Paint Me A Crime'
Paint Me a Crime (A Rose Shore Mystery)
Cozy Mystery 1st in Series
Setting – Okanagan Valley in BC, Canada
Touchpoint Press (June 13, 2023)
Paperback : 252 pages ISBN-10 : 1956851623
ISBN-13 : 978-1956851625 Digital ASIN : B0BWPVHLSB
Art curator Jessamine Rhodes has left behind her gig at a prominent gallery in the city to open her own community art center in the small town of Rose Shore. She’s all set to host an extravagant opening watercolors class and has even booked a famous artist to teach it. Gabriella Everhart brings along her priceless painting Tranquil to showcase as the centerpiece of the event. The opening class is just wrapping up when suddenly Tranquil disappears before Jessamine’s eyes. Next, the lights of the art center flicker out and leave the crowd in complete darkness as a scream pierces the air. To her horror, Jessamine’s flashlight reveals that prestigious art collector Victor Carlisle has been murdered, and now her dreams are as shattered as the champagne glass found near the scene. Determined to save her now teetering reputation, Jessamine sets out to search for answers and the missing painting on her own. She has invested everything into her art center and is too anxious to step back and do nothing. Along the way, she teams up with a handsome paramedic who seems to have his own reasons for wanting justice for Victor’s tragedy.
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EXCERPT:
A moment later, the lights went out in the Rose Shore Community Art Center, leaving the building in total darkness. A startled gasp carried throughout the crowd, and guests panicked as they moved toward the front doors in the foyer. Jessamine pulled out her cell phone from her wristlet and used the flashlight feature to get a sense of what was going on.
Before she could process anything, a new sense of terror arose as the piercing shatter of breaking glass silenced the flustered crowd. Then, a bone-chilling scream echoed through the silence.
“Quick, Jess, let’s get inside!” Emilia shouted over the pounding rain as they raced through the Rose Shore Resort parking lot. The balmy autumn weather had taken a miserable turn on Thursday morning, and a heavy rainstorm was violently hitting their little town. Mid-morning felt like dusk under the dark, dreary sky.
The running footsteps slowed to a stop just on the other side of the rock. Jessamine’s already-racing heart sped up even more. Her grip on the stick was shaky—she could be found at any moment! Determined to use the element of surprise to her full advantage, she leaped out from behind the rock and took a swing with the stick.
“Jessamine! Stop! What are you doing?”
She realized just in time it was Jackson she was about to attack like a birthday party piñata.
“Jackson, you scared me! Why are you sneaking around the forest?”
“Why are you hiding behind large rocks and jumping out at people with sticks? And why were you booking it down the street in your pajamas?”
She was completely lost in her own little art world when the gallery doors closed with a click.
“Madeleine? Are you there?”
Jessamine walked over to the doors and pulled at the handles. They wouldn’t turn. She was locked inside.
She knocked on the door. “Hello? I’m locked in here.”
She couldn’t hear anything on the other side of the doors and, even though her gut told her something was wrong, she tried to remain calm and think of a logical reason for the locked doors.
Her panic didn’t subside for long as another sense flared alive, and her heart started pounding. She knew what was happening even before the high-pitched alarm went off.
She could smell it.
Smoke.
Jessamine started banging on the doors even louder. “Help! I’m trapped in here!”
No answer. She took out her phone and dialed 911 and told the operator what was happening before she searched for another way out. The blackout blinds were all electronic, and once she found the switch to pull them up, they seemed to take forever to rise. Her impatience with the whirring sound grew worse as it was becoming more and more difficult to breathe. Jessamine held up her arm in front of her mouth to block out the smoke that started to seep into the gallery through the cracks in the double doors.
When the blinds were finally up, she let out a strangled sob when she realized that none of the windows could actually open. Hurrying to the other side of the room, she searched for another way out, but there was only a large bookshelf at that end. Her only option now was to break one of the windows. She looked around on the bookshelf for something heavy enough to do the job and read the spine of the thickest book she could find. The Complete Collection of Jules Verne: Volume One sat perched in the middle of the highest shelf.
Jessamine said a quick apology to the beautifully bound book as she stood on her tiptoes to reach it.
It took a moment for her to realize what was happening next. A few seconds after Jessamine picked up the book, she stumbled forward into a black hole. Her senses were completely off balance as she stood and tried to make sense of what had happened. The bookshelf had shifted sideways, and she was now in another room.
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About Holly Yew
After having called many places around the world home, Holly Yew has settled in the Okanagan, BC with her husband, son, and two rescue dogs. When she’s not writing or reading, she’s playing the piano, watching Star Wars, or enjoying a Dole Whip in Disneyland.
Holly is a member of Sisters in Crime and International Thriller Writers. She loves connecting with other writers and bookworms on social media, and you can find her at hollyyew.com.
Purchase Links - Amazon - Amazon Canada - Barnes and Noble
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