Red Hot Mess

RED HOT MESS

A Pepper Penn Cozy Mystery — Book One

She inherited a pepper farm, a fresh start, and a murder investigation. Talk about a red hot mess.

At forty-nine, Pepper Penn has officially run out of ways for her life to go wrong.

Divorced? Check.

Unemployed? Check.

Moving back to her tiny hometown to run her late aunt's pepper farm while looking after her aging father? Unfortunately, check.

But Pepper's determined to make the best of her second chance. After twenty-six years as an insurance claims adjuster, how hard can selling peppers and homemade jelly at the Cinder Creek Farmers Market really be?

Then someone turns up dead beside a jar of her aunt's famous hot pepper jelly.

And wouldn't you know it? Pepper had a very public argument with the victim the night before.

Now she's a person of interest in a murder investigation, her inherited business is under suspicion, and the handsome local deputy would really prefer she leave the detective work to professionals.

Fat chance.

Pepper spent decades spotting lies, uncovering fraud, and following money trails. And something about this murder smells worse than an overdue compost pile.

With help from a retired mail carrier who knows everybody's secrets, a dramatic baker with a talent for trouble, and an assortment of suspicious small-town characters, Pepper starts digging.

What she uncovers is hotter than her aunt's legendary pepper jelly: missing money, buried grudges, dangerous secrets, and a killer who's willing to do just about anything to keep the truth hidden.

In Cinder Creek, everybody knows everybody's business. But somebody's been getting away with murder.

And Pepper Penn is about to turn up the heat.

RED HOT MESS is the hilarious, heartwarming first book in the Pepper Penn Mystery series, packed with small-town secrets, laugh-out-loud characters, mouthwatering food, an amateur sleuth with plenty of attitude, a dash of slow-burn romance, and a twisty murder mystery.

Perfect for readers who love clever middle-aged heroines, quirky friendships, charming small towns, and cozy mysteries with plenty of humor and heart.

Welcome to Cinder Creek. Things are about to get spicy.