dice on a deadly sea
Book 2 in the Cardboard Cottage Mystery Series
What happens when four best friends celebrate the big Five-O? Another husband dies trying.
Zelda Carlisle’s birthday cruise is supposed to be sun, sea, all party-no stress. But when the Cardboard Cottage sleuths bump into a dead man on deck, their tropical getaway turns into a floating whodunit
Caught between a mud spa mishap, a flirty pirate with secrets, and a reckless mistake they can’t take back, the friends are in over their heads—and in way too deep (in the Pacific).
Sleuthing falls to Amy Sparks, who must sort through false leads, glittering lies, and shark-infested waters to catch a killer if they hope to leave the ship alive.
PUBLISHED BY SCORPIUS CARTA PRESS MAY 2021.
Favorite lines from favorite friends...
“What is it with us and dead husbands?” Amy asked.
“Wasbunds,” Genna said. “A husband that was.”
“That’s not funny,” Zelda said.
“It is, too," Genna shot back.
“I had a husband that was,” Zelda said.
Amy glanced at Rian. “Déjà vu! Another murder, right under our nose."
“Yes,” Genna agreed, “and there’s no shortage of suspects in this dicey, pricey game of sneaking around.”
“Who’s sneaking around?” Zelda asked.
“We are!" Amy exclaimed. "We may need that get out jail free lawyer after all!”
Snorkeling the Galapagos with friends
A crystal-blue panorama stretched in every direction, tourmaline and shimmering. Only the curved glass of her mask separated her from the sea and its creatures. It was like swimming through a dream.
Below the surface, the world went quiet—like snow muffling sound across a landscape. Her breath echoed in her snorkel. The soft squeak of surprise when a fish zipped past. And beneath it all… not a hum, not silence, but something in between. A quiet that filled the space like music just beyond hearing.
A school of fish, banded in blue and silver, glided past her and scattered, still in perfect rhythm. Sea stars dotted the sandy floor—one chocolate brown, one mustard yellow, a cluster of cobalt blue spiked and creeping like slow fireworks.
Then: a flicker of motion. A penguin shot past, bubbles streaming from its feathers. It locked eyes with her—curious, suspicious—like the penguins in those animated movies that save the world. She laughed into her snorkel. The penguin blinked, then vanished into the blue.
