Showing posts with label Framed for Murder. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Framed for Murder. Show all posts

Monday, June 17, 2024

Marla White and Framed for Murder

Please welcome Marla White, author of the acclaimed Pine Cove Mystery series. The second in the series, Framed for Murder: A Pine Cove Mystery, has just released. Marla, could you tell us a bit about the background of the series?

Framed for Murder: A Pine Cove Mystery is set in the fictional, tiny, Southern California mountaintop village of Pine Cove that may or may not bear a close resemblance to the very real town of Idyllwild but is obviously a lot more murder-y than the real thing.

I’ve been to Idyllwild as a mentor for several retreats and have stayed in rooms from the awesome to the eccentric, but they showcase the beauty of the place. Pine trees, clear blue skies, a rushing brook, and not a chain coffee shop in sight.  And the people are so lovely!

When I learned the Wild Rose Press was looking for holiday themed novellas, I was in the midst of failing to bake Starlight Mint Surprises and the origin story to “Framed” was born. I thought it would be funny to have a character running a B&B who was equally baking challenged. And what better place for the B&B than a small, mountain town like Idyllwild?

More than dealing with being a terrible cook, Mel is also dealing with the trauma of losing the only career she ever wanted, being a beat cop for LAPD. I’ve always loved fish-out-of-water stories and wanted to play with the idea that this quirky little town is exactly what she needs to heal. “Framed” is the second book in the series and she’s not there yet, but her mountain home is starting to grow on her.

 

Fascinating—what a contrast between small town baker and former cop in the same body! Can you give us a summary of the story?

Old enemies become allies to unravel a deadly mystery

Mel O'Rourke used to be a cop before a life-changing injury forced her to turn in her badge. Now she leads a relatively peaceful life running a B&B in the quirky mountain town of Pine Cove. That is, until her old frenemy, the charismatic cat burglar Poppy Phillips, shows up, claiming she's been framed for murder. While she’s no saint, Mel knows she’d never kill anyone and sets out to prove Poppy's innocence.

The situation gets complicated, however, when the ruggedly handsome Deputy Sheriff Gregg Marks flirts with Mel, bringing him dangerously close to the criminal she’s hiding. And just when her friendship with cafĂ© owner Jackson Thibodeaux blossoms into something more, he’s offered the opportunity of a lifetime in New Orleans. Should she encourage him to go, or ask him to stay? Who knew romance could be just as hard to solve as murder?

Pine Cove
How about an alluring little excerpt?

Too much conversation before coffee. 

“Excuse me, is that your car parked out front?” She struggled to maintain a polite tone.

The woman’s head snapped toward her, her perfect lips making a surprised little ‘o’ before breaking out in a broad smile. She removed her wireless earbuds, blasting classical music across the room. A swipe to her phone silenced them, and she got to her feet in a fluid motion, stepping toward her with the grace of a ballet dancer. “Officer O’Rourke, how good to see you,” the woman gushed in a lilting British accent. “Or should I just call you Mel?”

“Poppy?” She was too astonished to squeak out more.

“In the flesh.” The lithe woman beamed but stopped short of wrapping her arms around Mel in an enthusiastic hug. So many questions rattled around in her pre-coffee sluggish brain, but she blurted out the most obvious one first.

“How did you get in here?” She’d locked the front door after the posted eight o’clock closing time last night. The guests all had keys to their own cabins or rooms and had instructions to call if they needed her after eight. The safety protocol was a habit she’d stuck to religiously after finding a murdered man sitting in a chair right across from the one vacated by her…nemesis? Acquaintance? She shook her head, unable to put a label to their relationship.

“Well,” she purred, her brown eyes sparkling behind long fake lashes, “I drove up early this morning and it was too cold to sit in my car until your eight a.m. opening time.” She gestured to the sign in the window stating lobby hours. “So I let myself in. I knew you wouldn’t mind.”

Poppy Phillips was a thief. A notorious cat burglar, sometimes called “The Ghost” by social media outlets and more whimsical members of the public. Many police forces had been chasing her for years, including the LAPD. They knew she’d committed a multitude of crimes, but never found the evidence to make the charges stick, until last year. Mel, hot on her heels in pursuit after a daring robbery, got within an arm’s length of grabbing her with the stolen items on her person when the thief nimbly jumped from the roof of the building they were running across, over an alley, to land on the one next door.

Mel tried to follow, but slipped and slammed into the side of the building instead. With her partner too far away to help, she clung to the rooftop by her fingertips until they cramped from the strain. She started reciting the Hail Mary for what she thought would be the last time when two strong, slender arms pulled her to safety. It was Poppy. She could have kept going and escaped, but she came back to save Mel’s life.

As they both collapsed to the roof, breathless and laughing at the absurdity of the situation, she cuffed herself to the thief and arrested her. Rather than lashing out and trying to escape, she just sat there and laughed some more. It was almost insulting how chill she was about the whole thing. But, since one rescue deserved another, she convinced the prosecutor, a member of her extended family, to drop the charges in light of services rendered. So what was she doing here?

Making a mental note to change the lock and check into a security system to prevent another surprise visit from potentially less amiable thieves, she persisted. “Yes, but what are you doing here? In Pine Cove?” She narrowed her eyes at the intruder. “Are you on the run?”

Poppy’s eyes grew wide in a nearly convincing guise of innocence. “No.” She huffed with the perfect blend of indignation and hurt feelings. “Why would you say such a thing?”

“Experience?”

After mulling her statement over for a moment, the Brit gave her a crooked grin. “You got me there but seriously, after our run in on the rooftop and you managed to keep me out of the nick, I got to thinking, is this what I really want to do with my life? So, I decided to turn over a new leaf. When I heard about your lovely B&B, I says to me-self, ‘Poppy, that’s the ticket. Go work for your old pal Mel.’ And here I am.” She spread her arms wide like a magician who had performed a trick and awaited her due applause.

Mel scrubbed her face with her hands. “This is too much conversation before coffee.”

Framed for Murder: A Pine Cove Mystery

The Wild Rose Press, June 17, 2024

Cozy Mystery, Romance

300 pp.

Heat Level – on a pepper level? A poblano for salty language and mild kisses

Buy Links:


Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Apple Books

GoodReads

AllAuthor

Books2Read 

Book Bub

 

About the Author

Marla White

Marla White is an award-winning novelist who prefers killing people who annoy her on paper rather than in real life. Her first full-length mystery novel, “Cause for Elimination,” placed in several contests including Killer Nashville, The RONE Awards, The Reader’s Favorite, and finishing second in the Orange County Romance Writers for Romantic Suspense. Originally from Oklahoma, she lived in a lot of other states before settling down in Los Angeles to work in the television industry.  She currently teaches at UCLA Extension and gives seminars about the art of script coverage. When she’s not working on the next book, she’s hiking, cheering on the LA Kings, or discovering new craft cocktails (to, you know, drown her sorrows over the Kings).  

Contacts:

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/TheScriptFixer

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marlawriteswords/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarlaAWhiteAuthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21467766.Marla_A_White

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/marla-a-white

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3MHIzkB

Substack: https://substack.com/@marlawhite?utm_source=edit-profile-page