Jill Gardner—or as she’s now known, Jill King—is working to provide gifts for needy kids this Christmas. But someone’s about to puncture the holiday spirit . . .
Jill’s store, Coffee, Books, and More, is co-sponsoring a charity dart tournament on Thanksgiving weekend with Chip’s Bar, where toys and cash will be collected. She and her new husband, Greg, will be competing as well—that is, if Greg’s brother and his girlfriend don’t ruin the evening. But the event leads to something much worse than a family squabble when the bar owner is found dead the next morning after being used as a human dartboard . . .
Jill and her police-detective hubby both aim to find the killer—but scoring a bullseye will be hard since the place was packed with a rowdy crowd of locals and a platoon of stuffed-animal-toting, very competitive motorcyclists. And with the night’s big haul of cash donations left untouched, what could possibly be the motive for this murder?
Release date:
November 4, 2025
Publisher:
Lyrical Press
Print pages:
208
* BingeBooks earns revenue from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate as well as from other retail partners.
“A fun read for those who enjoy tales of witches and magic.”
—Kirkus Reviews
THREE TAINTED TEAS
“A kitchen witch reluctantly takes over as planner for a cursed wedding… This witchy tale is a hoot.”
—Kirkus Reviews
ONE POISON PIE
“One Poison Pie deliciously blends charm and magic with a dash of mystery and a sprinkle of romance. Mia Malone is a zesty protagonist who relies on her wits to solve the crime, and the enchanting cast of characters that populate Magic Springs are a delight.”
—Daryl Wood Gerber, Agatha Award winner and nationally best-selling author of the Cookbook Nook Mysteries and Fairy Garden Mysteries
“A witchy cooking cozy for fans of the supernatural and good eating.”
—Kirkus Reviews
A FIELD GUIDE TO HOMICIDE
“The best entry in this character-driven series mixes a well-plotted mystery with a romance that rings true to life.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Informative as well as entertaining, A Field Guide to Homicide is the perfect book for cozy mystery lovers who entertain thoughts of writing novels themselves… This is, without a doubt, one of the best Cat Latimer novels to date.”
—Criminal Element
“Cat is a great heroine with a lot of spirit that readers will enjoy solving the mystery (with).”
—Parkersburg News & Sentinel
SCONED TO DEATH
“The most intriguing aspect of this story is the writers’ retreat itself. Although the writers themselves are not suspect, they add freshness and new relationships to the series. Fans of Lucy Arlington’s ‘Novel Idea’ mysteries may want to enter the writing world from another angle.”
—Library Journal
OF MURDER AND MEN
“A Colorado widow discovers that everything she knew about her husband’s death is wrong… Interesting plot and quirky characters.”
—Kirkus Reviews
A STORY TO KILL
“Well-crafted… Cat and crew prove to be engaging characters and Cahoon does a stellar job of keeping them—and the reader—guessing.”
—Mystery Scene
“Lynn Cahoon has hit the golden trifecta—Murder, intrigue, and a really hot handyman. Better get your flashlight handy, A Story to Kill will keep you reading all night.”
—Laura Bradford, author of the Amish Mysteries
TOURIST TRAP MYSTERIES
“Lynn Cahoon’s popular Tourist Trap series is set all around the charming coastal town of South Cove, California, but the heroine Jill Gardner owns a delightful bookstore/coffee shop so a lot of the scenes take place there. This is one of my go-to cozy mystery series, bookish or not, and I’m always eager to get my hands on the next book!”
—Hope By the Book
“Murder, dirty politics, pirate lore, and a hot police detective: Guidebook to Murder has it all! A cozy lover’s dream come true.”
—Susan McBride, author of the Debutante Dropout Mysteries
“This was a good read and I love the author’s style, which was warm and friendly… I can’t wait to read the next book in this wonderfully appealing series.”
—Dru’s Book Musings
“I am happy to admit that some of my expectations were met while other aspects of the story exceeded my own imagination… This mystery novel was light, fun, and kept me thoroughly engaged. I only wish it was longer.”
—The Young Folks
“If the Shoe Kills is entertaining and I would be happy to visit Jill and the residents of South Cove again.”
—MysteryPlease.com
“In If the Shoe Kills, author Lynn Cahoon gave me exactly what I wanted. She crafted a well told small town murder that kept me guessing who the murderer was until the end. I will definitely have to take a trip back to South Cove and maybe even visit tales of Jill Gardner’s past in the previous two Tourist Trap Mystery books. I do love a holiday mystery! And with this book, so will you.”
—ArtBooksCoffee.com
“I would recommend If the Shoe Kills if you are looking for a well written cozy mystery.”
—Mysteries, Etc.
“This novella is short and easily read in an hour or two with interesting angst and dynamics between mothers and daughters and mothers and sons… I enjoyed the first-person narrative.”
—Kings River Life Magazine on Mother’s Day Mayhem
Chapter 1
As I watched the angry faces gathered around the tables in Coffee, Books, and More, my coffee shop and bookstore, I regretted signing a new ten-year contract to host and sponsor the business-to-business meetings here. Usually, the meetings went smoothly. Darla Taylor, owner of South Cove Winery, ran the meetings with an iron fist. Since it was the holidays, you would think that everyone would be in a festive mood. But there was no peace on earth, goodwill to men—I mean, personkind—feeling today.
No, Mayor Baylor had showed up to press the flesh because there was an election coming soon. The mayor typically only showed up around election time. He and his wife, Tina, didn’t care about helping to run the huge Christmas craft bazaar scheduled in a few weeks or hiring enough elves for Santa’s Village. The local power couple just wanted the votes to keep the smarmy Mayor Baylor in office. And the mayor had news for the group.
I’d broken the news last year that the mayor’s office had planned to close Main Street for the holiday season, but, like all things that we don’t want to deal with, people had already forgotten the warning. So, no one had petitioned the city council to rethink their idea.
No one except for one business that didn’t even attend the monthly business-to-business meetings. Chip’s Bar had asked for an exemption for motorcycles to use the street during the closure. With Diamond Lille’s owner, Lille Stanley, voicing her support, the council’s decision to grant the exception had been made back in August.
On Thanksgiving morning, only two days away, the barriers would go up, and cars and trucks would be banned from nine a.m. to midnight. Then the street would reopen to vehicles, allowing businesses to restock. Most of the businesses, like mine, had an alley behind our shops for deliveries anyway.
Darla banged the gavel on the lectern. “Folks, you knew this was coming. If it doesn’t work, I’m sure the mayor and city council will be glad to discuss next year’s plan.”
Josh Thomas stood. “No one told us that there could be exceptions. My delivery truck needs to be loaded and unloaded in front of the store. What am I supposed to do? Unload in the dark?”
“There are streetlights…” Mayor Baylor interrupted what we all knew would be a long tirade from Josh. He was notorious for them, even when he was wrong. I thought this time, the antique dealer might just have a point. Instead of Josh continuing, another voice interrupted the mayor.
“And why are motorcycles allowed on the street? Those things are death traps. And they’re so loud. If you’re allowing motorcycles, you should just reverse the entire thing,” Matty Leaven pointed out. She owned a jewelry store in town. Since she’d joined our business council, she always seemed to take Josh’s side in discussions. “Maybe there needs to be new blood in City Hall. People who stand for the little guy.”
Josh looked at Matty like she’d just won a Nobel Prize for standing with him. He wasn’t used to someone agreeing with his ideas. Mandy, his wife, who came into my shop a lot for coffee, often laughed about Josh’s infatuation with the jewelry designer. I thought he was playing with fire.
“Hold up, folks. This isn’t about the upcoming election. We are a bipartisan group and our mandate doesn’t allow electioneering during the meeting.” Darla met my gaze and rolled her eyes. “Anyway, if we could get back on the subject, Main Street is closing. Any further comments can go to the mayor’s office or any member of our city council. Their names and email addresses are on the city website. We’ll talk more about the holiday festival next meeting, but Jill wanted to bring up our annual charity event. This year, we’re partnering with Chip’s Bar for a dart tournament to be held in the community center. The entry fee will be cash and a new toy, which will be donated to the California Central Coast Family Project for kids that won’t be on Santa’s delivery route this year. Jill, do you want to give us the details?”
I stood up, my list of talking points at the ready. None of them dealt with the closed road or the motorcycle exemption. I introduced myself, even though most of the people knew me. “Thanks, Darla. I’m Jill Gardner, I mean, Jill King. I own the coffee shop/bookstore you’re sitting in and I’m your council liaison for the next ten years. Wow, that sounds like a long time. Anyway, I wanted to let you know that the dart tournament is also being sponsored by Coffee, Books, and More and is the brainchild of Chris Aquilla and Carrie Jones. It was at Carrie’s suggestion that we started the book club last year.”
I could see people starting to put their notes away. I was talking too much and needed to get to the point, quickly. Chris was digging in her bag, trying not to make eye contact with me for fear I’d ask her a question.
“Anyway, the fundraiser for CCCFP is this Friday night, sponsored by Chip’s. The entry fee is ten dollars, and the bar is kicking in the money for the players’ winnings so every dollar from entries goes to the charity. They’re also kicking in fifty percent of that night’s profits.” I handed out flyers. “Please have these available for people to take. I believe Chris and Carrie have already stopped by your businesses to give you a stash, but just in case you’ve already handed those out, here’s more. Both Greg and I are playing, and I hope to see the rest of you there as well.”
“It’s Thanksgiving weekend. We might have family at the house,” a woman on my right side mumbled. She probably didn’t think I’d heard, but I had.
“Bring them along! We have family in town as well. The more, the merrier.” I pasted a smile on my face, hoping it didn’t look as fake as it felt. Greg didn’t want to go. He worried that the presence of law enforcement might dampen the celebratory mood. He also didn’t want to go out when his family would be in town. I was hoping they’d tag along at least for the charity part of the night. The charity event hadn’t been my idea, but I was supporting it like it had been. Besides, it was for the kids.
“Matt and I are coming too, but if you already have plans that night”—Darla looked pointedly at Marvin and Tina Baylor—“just drop a donation check off with Amy Newman-Cole at City Hall or before you leave here. We don’t want any child to go without a Merry Christmas.”
Josh glowered at Darla but didn’t object. I knew that Mandy had already committed to coming on Friday night, so he couldn’t say anything against the event. But I could tell he wanted to.
Darla ended the meeting and everyone scattered before Mayor Baylor could corner them. Tina had reached the exit first, blocking it and handing out Baylor for Mayor buttons as people left. I noticed that Matty Leaven snuck out while Tina was handing a button to another person. The girl was smart, that was for sure.
After everyone was gone, I moved tables back in order with the help of my barista on deck, Deek Kerr. He seemed quiet, distracted, and not his usual chatty self. Deek was a writer, so it wasn’t unusual for him to be in his own world. I took his rag away when he’d cleaned the same spot for the last few minutes. “What’s got you all up in your head? Plotting another book?”
He glanced toward the door. Everyone had left the coffee shop, and it was just the two of us. “I’m not thinking about a book. What do you think about Matty Leaven?”
“I don’t know her very well. She seems to think like Josh a lot, though.” I wiped the last table and went to the sink to rinse the rag. “Why?”
“I can’t figure out her aura. It changes colors based on what she’s saying. I don’t think she agrees with Josh. I think she likes stirring up trouble.” He poured himself a cup of coffee after following me to the coffee bar. “I’m probably just overanalyzing the situation.”
“I don’t like her at all,” Tilly North, my newest barista, chimed in as she filled the treat display case. “She’s nice to your face, then I overhear her saying mean things about people, like Josh and Mandy. She says awful things about Josh all the time to her friends while they’re getting coffee. She’s one of those people who thinks baristas or whoever is serving her are completely invisible. I worked with people like that when I was at the hospital. They think you can’t hear them when they’re talking right outside your room.”
Tilly had been in a car accident and suffered a brain injury. She’d lost many of her long-term memories, like the fact that she and Toby Killian, another one of my baristas and one of Greg’s deputies, had dated in high school. When she’d come to work for me, she’d been dating someone new. Now, that relationship was over, but Tilly had stayed in the area. She was a great addition to the bookstore team. And usually very perceptive about people.
“I’ll watch her more carefully.” I hoped that Josh wouldn’t figure out that Matty was messing with him. He had enough self-esteem issues. He didn’t need to know that Matty didn’t like him. I poured myself a fresh cup of coffee. I had back-of-the-house tasks to do, namely accounting and scheduling, since Evie was in the city visiting her cousin, Sasha, and her daughter this week for the Thanksgiving holiday.
Toby had also dated Sasha. The boy sure did get around. It was a small town. We had connections all over the place.
“Just be careful around her, Jill.” Deek was staring out the window again. “I have a feeling. And it’s not good.”
Now I was worried. Deek Kerr liked everyone. He could read auras, or at least he thought he could. Sometimes he told me things that, when I looked them up, didn’t match the aura lore published on the internet. But when you’re talking about magic and seeing things that aren’t there, maybe the internet didn’t have all the information. Deek was a good guy and he saw people clearly, which made him an excellent barista and bookseller.
I decided to change the subject. “Are you coming to Thanksgiving at the house? I haven’t heard from either of you.”
“Mom’s out of town, so I thought I’d just hang at the house.” Deek moved back behind the coffee bar. “I’ll grab the boxes of books that need to be shelved.”
“Deek Kerr, you stay right there.” I didn’t use my boss voice often but this was going to be one of those times. When he froze and turned to me, I continued. “There is no way you’re not coming for dinner now that I know your mom’s not going to be home. So what are you bringing?”
“Jill, it’s your first family dinner since you’ve been married. You don’t need strays hanging around.” He blushed as he glanced over at Tilly, who now had her hands on her hips.
“Oh, so you don’t think I should go, either?” she challenged him. “I don’t appreciate being called a stray.”
“I didn’t say that.” Deek stumbled over his words. Finally, he let his shoulders drop. “Look, I don’t want you to invite me because I’m some loser who doesn’t have family for Thanksgiving. Mom’s just not into those traditions, so she’s going on a cruise. I’m used to this.”
“Which is why you’re coming. My family isn’t just those people who are related to Greg or me. You should know that by now. I won’t have you sitting around the apartment eating ramen while we’re having a turkey dinner. Besides, I think Harrold is bringing Lille, so I’ll need some of my people to watch my back.”
Lille Stanley, the owner of Diamond Lille’s, was one of my Uncle Harrold’s favorite people. Lille liked Greg and my Aunt Jackie too. She just hated me. Thanksgiving dinner should be fun. Not.
I’d say Lille would have Jim to chat with since he used to hate me too, but since he started dating Beth, he’d been more open to my presence. Besides, since Greg and I were married now, Greg’s first wife Sherry was out of the picture.
“She hates you? How can anyone hate you?” Tilly’s eyes widened. She was such a nice young woman, she didn’t understand the concept. “Well, I’ll be there to watch your back. I don’t have the money to visit my folks now that they’ve moved to Tennessee. I don’t want to be in the house all by myself. I love the holidays. Mom left me all the old Christmas decorations, so I’ve been working on getting the house looking like Santa’s workshop for weeks.”
“My mom never decorated,” Deek admitted. “I hated the holidays growing up because we were always the one family who didn’t have a tree or lights on the house.”
“Well, Greg is going to get everyone to help string lights outside the house and we’ll be decorating the tree after dinner. It’s one of the King family traditions.” I was looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving this year. “Aunt Jackie and Harrold are leaving for a cruise on Friday. So you won’t see her for two weeks if you don’t come.”
Deek stared at me. “I thought you wanted me to come.”
“Stop it.” I started laughing. “You love Aunt Jackie. I know you do.”
“Did I tell you she updated my author questionnaire last week for people who want to schedule book events here? She thinks we should charge an event fee if they don’t hit a certain amount of sales.” Deek threw a clean towel over his shoulder as he talked.
I groaned. Aunt Jackie had been harping on that for a while. And she hated the Cove Connection book club. She thought that members should be required to buy the book from the store to participate. I didn’t care where they bought or borrowed the book from, I just wanted people to be reading more. Besides, we worked closely with our local library on author events. “I’ll talk to her. Just file away the changed copy and don’t make any drastic movements. We’re doing fine financially on author events overall. Some are just more popular than others. Everyone needs a shot in the arm every once in a while.”
“Thanks. I’d rather not tell my newly published authors I don’t think they’re big enough to bother with.” Deek nodded to the back door. “Am I excused? Those books aren’t going to shelve themselves.”
“Are you coming to Thanksgiving?” I stared him down.
He blinked first. “I’ll bring focaccia bread. I’ve been working on my recipe.”
Tilly watched him head to the back room. “He reads, he’s cute, and he bakes? How on earth is he still single?”
From the look in Tilly’s eyes, Deek might not be that way for long.
* * *
Greg came into the shop just before my shift ended at eleven. “Do you have time for lunch at Diamond Lille’s?”
“I’d love to.” I nodded to Deek. “You have the helm, good sir.”
Deek laughed and pointed at Tilly. “This one thinks she’s in charge. If I didn’t know better, I would think I was still working with your aunt. Tilly loves the checklists.”
Tilly playfully slapped his arm. “There’s nothing wrong with a little organization now and then. With the sieve of my brain, writing things down is the only way I know I’ll remember to do something. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I’m going to bring pumpkin cheesecake if that’s okay.”
I was a little thrown by the change of subject, but Tilly’s mind just worked like that. And anything she thought came out of her mouth. Mostly. “Sounds great. I’ll see you both on Thursday. Call if you need anything.”
As Greg and I started down the street toward Diamond Lille’s, he glanced back at the bookstore. “Are both of them coming to Thanksgiving?”
“Yes. Judith is going out of town. Toby, of course, will be there and Evie’s already gone to see Sasha.” I ticked off my staff members on my fingers as I listed them. “Anyone from City Hall?”
“Your friends Amy and Justin are heading to see his folks. Esmeralda is going to New Orleans to be with her family. And the rest of them are otherwise committed. I’d hoped that Tim and Dona might come and bring the baby, but they’re going to her parents’ place in Sacramento.” He nodded to the antique store. “Josh and Mandy are going to her family’s farm. He’s not looking forward to it.”
“He hates being around people.” I knew there was more to the story, but at least Josh was trying to forgive Mandy’s family for a few things that had happened before they were married.
“I should tell you that Jim and Beth are fighting. Mom called this morning to warn me.” He checked the roa. . .
We hope you are enjoying the book so far. To continue reading...
Please log in to recommend or discuss...
