Pumpkins in Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery Book 1) by Kathi Daley Excerpt

Pumpkins in Paradise (Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery Book 1) by Kathi Daley
$2.99

Between shopping for Halloween costumes, volunteering for the annual pumpkin festival, and coaching her girls to the state soccer finals, high school teacher Tj Jensen finds her good friend Zachary Collins dead in his favorite chair. When the handsome new deputy closes the case without so much as a “why” or “how,” Tj turns her attention from chili cook-offs and pumpkin carving to complex puzzles, prophetic riddles, and a decades’ old secret she seemed destined to unravel.

Customer Review By Christine E. Turner 

So can I start by saying I love all things pumpkins. I go kinda crazy over them in October. I was intrigued by the title and the beautiful cover photo showing a perfect fall day. I bought it hoping to be immersed in all things fall. I was not disappointed. Not only did I get my fall fix but I also found a great group of "book friends" and a town I would love to be a part of. TJ, the main character, was the type of person any woman would want for a friend. She is intelligent, loyal and fun to be around. It was so enjoyable to go on this adventure with her. She has to work through some complex puzzles and clues each one taking her closer to the burning question she needs answered. On the way she gets to know herself and her mysterious friend a little better. I came for the pumpkins but I will be staying for the characters. I can't wait for the next Tj Jensen Mystery.


Excerpt:

Tj carefully parallel parked her Four Runner on Lake Front Road in front of Tiz the Season, the retail store where she’d brought her half-sisters, Ashley, eight, and Gracie, five, to buy their Halloween costumes. The entire downtown section of the lakefront community was decorated for the upcoming Halloween festivities. Bright yellow aspen trees lining the sidewalks were draped with orange and white twinkle lights, while hundreds of scarecrows and huge orange pumpkins were displayed in front of brightly lit shops inviting the casual passerby in from the crisp fall air.

Milligan’s Barber Shop, with its old-fashioned red-and-white barber pole and raised barber chairs, displayed cutouts of ghosts and bats in their large picture window, while Wilma’s Old-Fashioned Ice Cream, with its black-and-white checkered floor and white wrought-iron tables, featured man-size scarecrows displayed among a group of expertly carved jack-o’-lanterns.

“Oh, look,” Gracie gasped as she climbed out of the vehicle and noticed the huge fall village, complete with an operating train in the front window. Ashley and Gracie trotted over to watch as the small train chugged, tooted, and smoked its way through the miniature town square. The store’s owner, Rachael Adams, added to the village each season. This year a delightful traveling carnival with a revolving Ferris wheel and a brightly painted merry-go-round were prominently displayed alongside the charming Main Street.

“Okay, we’re in, we’re out,” Tj warned as she locked the car door and slung her purse over her shoulder. “You need to be at dance in half an hour.”

“There is no dance,” Gracie informed her.

Tj turned to look directly at the brown-haired, brown-eyed kindergartener while Ashley walked around the edge of the building to get a closer look at the miniature village. “It’s Friday. You always have dance on Friday.”

“Miss Marsha sent a note. I gave it to you on Monday.” Gracie’s ringlets bounced as she shuffled impatiently.

Tj did remember something about a note.

“She had to go to the dynocologist to get a baby,” Gracie informed her.

Tj knew that Marsha and her husband of four years had been trying to conceive, but she was surprised she’d told her students as much. “She told you she was going to the gynecologist?”

“No. She said she had a pointment, but Bethany said she was getting a baby from a dynocologist ʼcause she needed to get fertilizer for her eggs.” Bethany Sherwood was a precocious five-year-old who, in Tj’s opinion, was a bit too informed for her age. “Dance is going to be on lasterday.”

“Lasterday isn’t a word,” corrected red-haired, green-eyed Ashley as she returned from the window. “Dance class has been rescheduled to tomorrow. Can we go in now?” she asked impatiently. “The place is packed. All the good stuff will be gone.”

“There’s plenty of good stuff.” Tj grabbed each of her sisters’ hands and opened the front door to deafening noise as excited children ran up and down crowded aisles in search of the perfect costume. Picking up a bright orange hand basket, she pushed her way into the throng.