Title: An Embarrassment of Itches
Author: M.K. Dean
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Book Blurb:
As a house-call vet, Ginny Reese has seen her share of the weird and wacky. But nothing in her previous experience could have prepared her to find one of her clients floating in her own swimming pool.
Local artist Amanda Kelly was extremely wealthy with her share of secrets. By naming Ginny as her heir, not only did she make Ginny the number one suspect, but she painted a big bull’s eye on her friend’s back as well.
With her trusty German Shepherd at her side, it’s up to Ginny to find the real killer and prove her innocence to the sheriff. The new sheriff. Who happens to be her ex.
Piece of cake, right?
Excerpt:
The door opened, and a man I’d never seen before blew into the room like he
owned it. If Brad was the epitome of the California Surfer Dude forced to work in
an office, then this guy was Brooklyn Bad Boy personified. Dark hair shone with
some sort of styling gel, and he appeared to be sporting at least two day’s growth of
ferocious stubble. He wore a battered bomber jacket that had probably set him
back at least five hundred bucks, paired with distressed jeans and black motorcycle
boots.
The glance he flicked in my direction dismissed me instantly as not being worth his
time. He cast a similar look at Laney, and all but sneered before taking a seat at the
head of the table between us. “Ladies. Are they going to get this show on the road
or what?”
I suppose had the new arrival not bruised my ego with his dismissal of my charms,
I might have seen his appeal. In many ways, he was a grittier, edgier version of Joe,
and Lord knows, I have a type. But Joe had ten times the animal magnetism of this
guy, more so because I suspected this guy often felt the need to beat his chest.
The door opened once more, this time as the assistant ushered in Brad Taylor. He
scowled at us all on entering and made a beeline for the coffee.
“Hey,” Brooklyn called out as the assistant was shutting the door. “How much
longer is this going to take?”
The assistant fixed him with a steely-eyed glare. “Mr. Carter will be with you
shortly.”
Brooklyn made a sound of disgust, took out his phone, and began scrolling. Brad,
having poured himself a cup of coffee, seemed undecided as to where to sit, and
finally took a seat between Brooklyn and Laney.
Pausing only to shoot me an unfriendly glare, Brad gave Laney a brief smile, as
though they’d met before. Then he turned to Brooklyn and spoke in his stuffiest
voice. “And you are?”
Brooklyn looked up from his phone with a wolfish smile. “I’m Derek Ellis.
Samantha was my wife.”
And that, as they say, put the cat among the pigeons.
“She was what?” Brad sputtered, even as Laney’s eyes popped wide open and she
gasped, “No way!”
“You heard me.” Ignoring Laney, Derek responded to Brad instead. “I’m
Samantha’s legal husband. Which means all her stuff comes to me, not you.”
Brad half rose out of his seat. “Impossible. My sister never would have married the
likes of you, and she wouldn’t have kept it a secret, either.”
“Don’t be so sure about that, pal. Who do you think gave her the idea to cut you
guys out of her life? Go to New York and make a new life for herself? Me, that’s
who.” Derek shot Brad a withering look that made him sink back into his chair.
“But that was at least five years ago.” Brad had the poleaxed expression of a man
who’d just received word of a terminal disease. “She would have said something
before now.”
Laney piped up. “She left New York a long time ago. Where have you been all this
time? I’ve been Amanda’s agent for the last four years, and she’s never breathed a
word about your existence.”
“Yeah? Well, she never mentioned you, either.” Derek lifted his lip in a perfect
sneer.
Brad’s brows pulled together in a sudden scowl. “I’m not buying it. Sure, Sam
abandoned her family—left me to run the company while still benefiting from the
dividends—but we’d mended our fences. And she never said a word about being
married. Prove it.”
“Prove what?” Derek leaned back in his seat and rested his elbow on the back of
the chair. “That I’m her husband? Yeah, I thought you might want to see the
certificate.” He pulled a folded document out of an inner pocket of the bomber
jacket.
Brad made to snatch it away, but Derek whipped it out of reach and held it open.
“Look but don’t touch.”
He positively gloated as both Brad and Laney craned forward to examine the
unfolded certificate.
Brad made a noise of disgust and slammed back into his own seat. “That means
nothing. So, you got married. There’s nothing to say you’re still married. You
could have gotten divorced.”
“She didn’t divorce me.” The statement was delivered in a cold, flat tone that
raised the hair on the back of my neck.
“Yeah, well we’ll see about that.” Brad pushed his hand through his hair angrily in
a gesture that screamed his uncertainty.
Derek’s smug smile returned; there wouldn’t be any record for a divorce filing.
“Suit yourself.” Derek shrugged with a curve of his upper lip. “No matter what you
think, I’m the legal heir.” He shot a malevolent glance at Laney. “Which means
you can both stop panting over her crappy drawings. They’re mine, not yours.”
“If her work is so crappy, why do you care what happens to it?” I broke off a piece
of cookie and popped it into my mouth.
Derek’s eyes went hard and still, like chips of flint. A wave of hostility emanated
from him. If Brad had made me uncomfortable earlier in the evening, Derek
triggered all my alarm bells.
“I’d lay off the cookies if I were you, sister.” Derek’s smile was toothy as he patted
his stomach. He let that sink in a moment before adding, “Who the hell are you
anyway?”
“I’m the vet.” Somehow my mouth kept running even after I should have shut up.
“You know, the one skilled in castration and euthanasia.”
Brad’s coffee cup hit the table with a clatter, splashing coffee on his sleeve, which
he mopped up with a napkin, cursing under his breath. Laney’s eyes went wide
with suppressed glee, and she sat with the lively expression of a cat watching two
mouseholes at once.
Buy Links (including Goodreads and BookBub):
Bookbub https://www.bookbub.com/books/an-embarrassment-of-itches-an-animal-lovers-cozy-mystery-ginny-reese-mysteries-book-1-by-m-k-dean
What makes your featured book a must-read?
Kirkus Reviews calls An Embarrassment of Itches “a well-paced and entertaining series opener with an appealing protagonist.”
An Embarrassment of Itches is a PRG Reader’s Choice award winner, a Distinguished Cozy Mystery award winner, and is a finalist in the upcoming RONE and Murder and Mayhem awards.
Readers are sitting up and begging for more Ginny Reese mysteries!
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $15 Amazon US or Amazon Canada gift card
Open Internationally. You must have an active Amazon US or CA account to win.
Runs October 12 – October 19, 2022.
Winner will be drawn on October 20, 2022.
Author Biography:
M.K. Dean lives on a small farm in North Carolina with her family, as well as the assorted dogs, cats, and various livestock.
She likes putting her characters in hot water to see how strong they are. Like tea bags, only sexier.
Social Media Links:
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Email: mckennadeanromance@gmail.com