Terrie Farley Moran | Aunt Ophie Is Back!

I have received so many emails, Facebook messages and face-to-face questions from readers demanding to know when they will get to hang out with Ophie again. So I have to tell you this straight up. In CAUGHT READ- HANDED, the second book of the Read ’Em and Eat cozy mystery series, Aunt Ophie has settled permanently in Fort Myers Beach.

You may recall that in the early pages of WELL READ, THEN DEAD, the Agatha Award winning first novel of the series, Sassy Cabot and Bridgy Mayfield, BFFs and co owners of the Read ’Em and Eat bookstore and café—breakfast, lunch and all you can read—found themselves in deep trouble when chef Miguel Guerra fell in the kitchen and broke his leg.

Fortunately Bridgy’s aunt Ophelia immediately traveled to Fort Myers Beach from her home in Pinetta Florida, hundreds of miles to the north. She burst into the café on stylish, strappy bright pink high heels and brought along her own personal brand of southern charm. Ophie is a wiz in the kitchen but the words “clean up” are not in her vocabulary. Still, she has the ability to whip up delicious meals, not to mention her fabulous buttermilk pie. Sassy and Bridgy opt to tolerate the inevitable and are careful not to look a rescue horse in the mouth.

The Read ’Em and Eat is a haven for folks who love books and food. The tables are named for authors and decorated with their pictures and snippets of their work. Have a seat at Robert Frost. Alongside copies of his fruit poems, there’s his picture on the cover of a 1962 issue of Life Magazine. The book clubs are meeting regularly and Miguel is back in the kitchen. Miss Marple Scones, Green Eggs and Ham and Old Man and the Sea Chowder are basics on the menu. And I promise there is another murder for Sassy to try and solve.

Still you fret. What about Ophie? At the end of WELL READ, THEN DEAD, Miguel is nearly ready to come back to work and there is no reason for Ophie not to travel back to her home in Pinetta. We’ve been left wondering…

One thing is for sure. Ophie never does what is expected so I was not surprised at all when, in the opening sentence of CAUGHT READ-HANDED, we find Ophie tapping her “extra-long shocking pink fingernails impatiently on the countertop beside the cash register.” And I was glad to see her, because the Read ’Em and Eat just wouldn’t be the same without her.

About Terrie Farley Moran

A life-long New Yorker, Terrie Farley Moran dabbles in genealogy and is struggling to learn the Irish Tin Whistle, which is not nearly as much fun as hanging out with any or all of her seven grandchildren. Terrie specializes in writing Short Mystery Fiction and her stories have been accepted for publication by numerous anthologies and by Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. Terrie's noir short, "When A Bright Star Fades," was named a Distinguished Mystery Story of 2008. Her paranormal mystery, THE AWARENESS, can be found in the anthology, CRIMES BY MOONLIGHT, edited by Charlaine Harris.

Terrie blogs amid the grand banter of a group of talented New York mystery writers at www.womenofmystery.net and is pleased to say that she is the story editor of the recently released Murder New York Style: Fresh Slices, an anthology of twenty two mysteries all set in New York City and all reflecting the cutting edge attitude of New Yorkers be they tough or humorous. The stories include cozies, noirs, paranormal and straight who-dun-its.

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About CAUGHT READ-HANDED

From the national bestselling author of WELL READ, THEN DEAD comes the second mystery featuring Sassy Cabot and Bridgy Mayfield, who bring Fort Myers Beach, Florida, residents plenty of sinful treats and killer reads at their bookstore café, Read ’Em and Eat.

Happy to help her fellow bibliophiles, Sassy visits the local library with book donations for their annual fundraising sale. Unfortunately, the welcoming readers’ haven is in turmoil as an argument erupts between an ornery patron and new staff member, Tanya Lipscombe—also known as “Tanya Trouble.” She may lack people skills, but everyone is shocked when she’s later found murdered in her own hot tub.

The man last seen arguing with Tanya is soon arrested. But Alan Mersky, a veteran with PTSD, happens to be the brother of Sassy’s former boss—and he’s no murderer. Now it’s up to Sassy and Bridgy to clear Alan’s name and make sure the real killer gets booked.