April Showers Bring Dead Flowers by Krista Lockheart

A powerful new cozy mystery series from award-winning author Krista Lockheart. Join greenhouse expert Heather Moore and her sassy chihuahua as they uncover something unexpected in her new estate garden in this buzz-worthy fresh novel.

There’s something growing in the garden . . . and it’s not a flower.

A mystery is growing in the garden!

Greenhouse expert and horticulture Professor Heather Moore gets a new lease on life when she inherits her grandparents’ estate in New England. But the garden she loved as a child has seen better days. Determined to restore her grandfather’s garden to its former beauty, she’s accompanied by Ant, her charming chihuahua, and two of her favorite former students.

But wait, what? Ant suddenly digs up an even bigger challenge when he finds some human remains buried in an old potting shed. As she discovers clues and follows the evidence, a few suspects cross her mind, but ultimately they point to one wily and clever killer. Suddenly in danger herself, can Heather solve this puzzling mystery, restore her family’s legacy, and bring about justice?

April Showers Bring Dead Flowers is the first novel in the Murder on the Vine series. Join Heather and Ant as they explore the seedy underworld of gardens, greenhouses, and flower shops in this 'unputdownable' murder mystery!

Extremely funny, with a fast-paced plot and appealing characters, this adorable and ingenious story will embed itself in your heart and grow into one of your favorite reads.

Perfect for chick-lit fans, and with a dash of sweet romance as well, this will appeal and be highly accessible to many readers.

Don't miss this breakout novel in the cozy genre and pick up a copy today!

~~ Amazon ~~

Excerpt

The alarm stopped briefly, and they both looked toward the entrance. Several firefighters ran inside the market with their equipment right before the alarm went off again—louder and more agitating than before. Ant suddenly perked up, getting spooked at the loud noise. Heather had put her guard down and didn’t have a strong hold on the leash anymore, so he slipped right out of her grasp. Before she knew it, Ant took off running on his little frantic legs that were determined to get away from all this noise.

Heather took off running to find Ant. Once she got into a wide-open space, she stopped to calm herself, looking all around to see where he headed off to, but her little guy was nowhere to be found. Now, panic struck her, and she ran to her car to see if he was hiding there. She dropped to the ground immediately to look under her car, but there was so sign of him. Rolling over to check under the other vehicles, her hopes were dashed yet again. This day had turned out to be a complete disaster!

She jumped up, hitting her head against her side mirror in the process, and she rubbed her head to soothe the pain of the sudden impact. A little pain wouldn’t slow Heather down when her most favorite thing in the world was missing. “Anthurium!” she yelled to get his attention. “Where are you?” 

A group of people walked past Heather, and she stepped in front of them. “Have you seen a little Chihuahua running around here? He got away from me, and I can’t seem to find him!”

They all looked at each other and shook their heads. “I’m sorry. We haven’t seen your dog,” one of the women said. “We’ll keep an eye out for him.”

Though she felt dejected and overwhelmed, Heather kept searching for Ant until a hush fell over the area after the firefighters turned off the fire alarm. That was when she heard it—his funny little bark that almost sounded like a turkey call. It was unmistakable—that was Ant! 

She looked all around, and then suddenly, she saw him high on top of a steep hill she knew she’d never be able to climb. Heather ran to the bottom of the hill and called up to reassure him. “Mommy’s here, Anthurium! And I’m going to save you, no matter what it takes.” She looked back at the main road and saw a line of firefighters headed back to their trucks.

“No, you can’t leave! I need your help!” As Heather yelled, she ran toward the firemen as the last one was about to step onto the truck. “Please! Please! You’ve got to help me! My dog is stuck up on that tall hill!”

The young firefighter followed Heather’s finger and had to squint to see the little guy bouncing around on top of the hill. He looked like he was having the time of his life, but Heather knew he was more nervous and frantic than playful. 

“Please!” Heather begged the fireman again. “He’s my entire world! I can’t lose him.”

“Okay, okay, okay. We’ll help you.” The young man put his hand on Heather’s back to calm her. “Don’t worry. We’ll get him down in no time.”

Heather watched as they drove their truck around the block to get to the bottom of the hill, then she ran like crazy to get as close as she could. They extended the ladder up to the top of the steep hill, and the young firefighter climbed up to retrieve Ant. From where Heather stood, she could see him shaking like a leaf. Tears fell down her face upon realizing how scared he was. 

Once the firefighter got back down the ladder with Ant, he jumped out of the young man’s arms and into Heather’s, then licked her face all over and wagged his tail. He was no longer shaking out of fear—now, he was just happy to be back with Heather.

“I’m so over this place, big boy! What do you say we get out of here?” Heather finally let out a deep sigh of relief and thanked the firefighters for their help. She held on tight to Ant as she walked toward her car. There were more important things in life than getting her hands on some beautiful flowers, and she was grateful to learn that lesson with no harm befalling her best friend.

 

About the Author

Award-winning author Krista Lockheart writes irresistible cozy mysteries filled with humor and buzzworthy characters and plots. Her favorite activity is interacting with her readers from all over the world, and she enjoys their feedback and comments on her social media platforms. She loves good food, good conversation, and good books! Cooking is a passion and she especially enjoys making pasta with vegetables. Chocolate, avocado, and seafood are her favorite foods to celebrate with.

Krista comes from an artistic background, and her art workshops sell out within a few hours of signup. Her work has earned cultural council grants and has been featured in newspapers, magazines, and on TV and on the radio.

In the past few months, her memoir, travel travels, and short stories were published four times in the Writer & Readers’ Magazine, and her travel tale about her expedition to Peru was the editorial feature in DRIFT Travel magazine.

She contributed a short story to a Halloween anthology, and her debut novel was #1 in 12 categories on Amazon during its initial release (including in the Free Kindle Store and in New release categories). It also earned five book awards, including a a First Place award from Royal Dragonfly Book Awards, First Place in Humorous at The BookFest, and a Silver Award from Literary Titan, along with five star editorial reviews.

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