Today is a special excerpt from the mystery novel, Ladle to the
Grave, by Connie Archer.
During her virtual book tour, Connie will be awarding a $20 Amazon or
Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn winner.
To be entered for a chance to win, use
the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!
A little
bit about the author:
Connie
Archer is the national bestselling author of the Soup Lover’s Mystery series
from Penguin Random House (Berkley Prime Crime). A Spoonful of Murder, A Broth
of Betrayal, A Roux of Revenge
and Ladle to the Grave are set in the
imaginary village of Snowflake, Vermont. A
Clue in the Stew will be released in April 2016. Connie was born and raised
in New England and now lives on the other coast.
A little
bit about the book:
By
the Spoonful is Snowflake, Vermont’s most popular soup shop, but owner Lucky
Jamieson doesn’t have any time to enjoy her success—she’s too busy trying to
keep a lid on false accusations against her loved ones…
It’s almost May, and
some of the local ladies have organized a pagan celebration in the woods to
welcome spring. But the evening goes terribly wrong when one of the attendees
winds up dead, apparently poisoned by an herbal concoction prepared by Lucky’s
grandfather, Jack.
Lucky’s sure her
grandfather could not have made such a tragic mistake. But before she can clear
him of suspicion, her best friend, Sophie, is diverted from planning her
wedding to By the Spoonful chef Sage DuBois when she finds a dead man floating
in the creek on her property. Now it’s up to Lucky to get both Sophie and Jack
out of hot water before a killer stirs up more trouble…
Recipes included!
Excerpt from Ladle to the Grave:
When Lucky reached Jack’s front
porch, she was dismayed to see the windows dark. She heard thumps and banging
and Jack’s voice crying out. He was inside, somewhere in the dark.
Jack knew it was happening again. He
couldn’t block out the screams. The boat was rising and falling in the sea. The
water was purple with blood. A hand reached up from the dark waters. Jack
grasped it and held on with all his strength. Then a quick glimpse of a shark’s
fin, and the man was gone. He was holding a disembodied arm. All around him
were the cries of men being torn to pieces. Jack sobbed. He couldn’t help them,
no matter how quick he was, no matter how strong. He wasn’t fast enough to save
them.
Lucky pushed the door open and
called Jack’s name. His moans were louder now. He had barricaded himself in the
bathroom in an effort to control the memories. The sound of shattering glass
came from within. She hurried to the kitchen and grabbed a small knife from the
wooden block next to the stove. Just as she slid the edge of the blade into the
doorframe, a heavy thud hit the door and Lucky fell back in shock, the knife
falling from her hands. Her heart was racing. She pushed the knife into the
doorjamb again and finally the lock released.
Jack was slumped on the floor in a
small pool of blood. Broken glass was everywhere. He was lost in his nightmare.
“It’s okay now, Jack. You’re home. You’re
safe.”
He looked into her eyes, confused.
“Lucky?”
“You had a spell, but you’re okay
now.”
Tears spilled down Jack’s face. “I’m
sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry about. Everything’s
going to be all right now.” She prayed her words would make it true.
