Mary Ellen
Hughes is the national bestselling author of the Pickled and Preserved Mystery
series and the Craft Corner Mysteries. Learn more about her and her books at
her website. Today Mary Ellen’s latest amateur sleuth,
Piper Lamb, joins us.
Unexpected
Perks of Decorating
Hi! Piper Lamb, here, proprietor of Piper’s Picklings,
the shop in upstate New York that I opened after breaking off my going-nowhere engagement
with Scott.
I love my little shop, where I make and sell all
kinds of pickles, along with the spices and equipment for making your own. The
first year, I was pretty busy just getting my new business off the ground and
wasn’t too concerned with decorating. But when Ralph Strawbridge, who happens
to be a master carpenter, saw the deteriorating condition of my front door, he
offered to replace it with a hand-carved door.
At first, I hesitated, wondering if I could afford
that. But then he gave me a too-good-to-pass-up price quote, so I jumped at it.
Ralph’s inspiration was the beautiful plaque Scott
sent me from Thailand as he traveled the world to “find himself.” Though I
loved the plaque, which was carved with all the vegetables and fruits that I
pickle and preserve, I was also pretty annoyed because sending me such a great
gift meant he was ignoring the fact that we were no longer a couple.
Eventually, though, I hung the plaque up in the shop, where Ralph spotted it.
Ralph did an amazing job duplicating the carvings on
his door. Once it was in place, crowds actually gathered to ooh and ahh over
it. I was so delighted that we decided to hold a “grand opening” for the door,
and we put together a celebration at the shop for the next night.
The party was great fun, despite the sound of nearby sirens,
which, we learned the next day were due to a murder. Unfortunately, the
immediate suspect was Zach, the college-aged son of Sugar, an amazing caterer who
is also my good friend. How could I say no to her plea for help when Zach was
on the verge of being charged for murder?
Ralph, besides being such an outstanding carpenter,
showed a whole other side of himself by jumping in and coming up with great
leads for other suspects, as well as giving Sugar much needed support. This led
Sugar, who I think had been vastly underestimating Ralph, to see him with fresh
eyes.
Yes, that carved door led to many things beyond being
a lovely entrance into my shop. But isn’t that often the way with decorative
art? What seemed at first like a small change—hanging a new plaque on the wall—led
to an amazing new door, which brought people together who solved a murder and
prevented a terrible injustice, not to mention the beginnings of a new romance!
The impact of that one plaque could hardly be
predicted, but you might want to look around at your walls, or floors, or
furniture and think about what might be worth a tweak or two. Hopefully
there’ll be no murders to worry about (unless wallpaper is involved, LOL), but
a small change in décor might do wonders for your life. I’d say go for it!
Scene of
the Brine
Piper Lamb has to take a break from
jarring her delicious pickles and preserves to blow the lid off a poisoner....
Business is booming at
Piper’s Picklings in Cloverdale, New York. But not all is sweet in the life of
Piper’s number one customer and friend, local caterer Sugar Heywood. Sugar is
dating wealthy realtor Jeremy Porter, but his family doesn’t approve. After
their unscrupulous accountant finds some dirt on Sugar, the family quickly
urges Jeremy to throw her out like rotten fruit.
Things are further spoiled after the accountant is found
poisoned, and all evidence points to Sugar’s son, Zach. With the Porter family
determined to avoid scandal, it won’t be easy for Piper to preserve Zach’s
innocence. And after someone falls victim to a poisoned jar of some of her
brandied cherries, Piper’s got a peck of trouble to deal with herself…
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I enjoyed this, just as I enjoy Mary Ellen Hughes's books. I'm looking forward to reading Scene of the Brine.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Joyce. I hope you'll enjoy Scene of the Brine.
ReplyDeleteHope you sell a ton of this new book. I've got mine.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Ray.
ReplyDelete