Читаем Murder, She Barked полностью

Murder, She Barked

by Cristina Ryplansky.

Penguin supports copyright. Copyright fuels creativity, encourages diverse voices, promotes free speech, and creates a vibrant culture. Thank you for buying an authorized edition of this book and for complying with copyright laws by not reproducing, scanning, or distributing any part of it in any form without permission. You are supporting writers and allowing Penguin to continue to publish books for every reader.

Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group.

BERKLEY® PRIME CRIME and the PRIME CRIME logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) LLC.

For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,

a division of Penguin Group (USA) LLC,

375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

eBook ISBN: 978-1-10159306-6

PUBLISHING HISTORY

Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / December 2013

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.

Version_1

For my own beloved Oma, Elizabeth Jäger Pflüger, who loved nothing more than a good book

Contents

Praise for Krista Davis

Also by Krista Davis

Title Page

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Epigraph

Holly’s List

One

Two

Three

Four

Five

Six

Seven

Eight

Nine

Ten

Eleven

Twelve

Thirteen

Fourteen

Fifteen

Sixteen

Seventeen

Eighteen

Nineteen

Twenty

Twenty-one

Twenty-two

Twenty-three

Twenty-four

Twenty-five

Twenty-six

Twenty-seven

Twenty-eight

Twenty-nine

Thirty

Thirty-one

Thirty-two

Thirty-three

Thirty-four

Thirty-five

Thirty-six

Thirty-seven

Thirty-eight

Thirty-nine

Forty

Forty-one

Forty-two

Forty-three

Forty-four

Forty-five

Forty-six

Author’s Note

Recipes

Special excerpt from The Diva Wraps It Up

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to my new cover artist, Mary Ann Lasher, who captured the Sugar Maple Inn so beautifully. As always, thanks to my fabulous editor, Sandra Harding, and terrific agent, Jessica Faust. I count myself lucky every day to be able to write mysteries. Sandy and Jessica bring joy and humor to the process, making it all the more wonderful. Fletcher Cochran was kind enough to brainstorm plot ideas with me, for which I am most grateful. I hope you’re pleased with the result, Fletcher.

Thanks also to my friends in crime, Janet Bolin, Daryl Wood Gerber, Peg Cochran, Janet Koch, Kaye George, and Marilyn Levinson for always being only an email away. Also to Susan Erba, Amy Wheeler, and Betsy Strickland, for their friendship and for sticking with me through thick and thin. I would be remiss if I did not thank my mother, who remains my biggest fan. She’s not as mischievous as Holly’s Oma, but there’s a little bit of mom in that character.

Trixie and Twinkletoes are based on my own dog and cat whose antics keep me in stitches and provide fodder for their animal characters in Wagtail.

Last, but most certainly not least, I have to thank my readers for their continuing encouragement and support. Without you, I wouldn’t have the best job in the world!

If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and man.

—Mark Twain

Holly’s List

SUGAR MAPLE INN EMPLOYEES

Oma (Liesel Miller)—owner

Sven Berg—front-desk night shift

Casey Collins—front-desk night shift

Shelley Dixon—waitress

Zelda York—front-desk daytime

Chloe Kane—front-desk daytime

Tiny Goodwin—handyman, grounds

RELEVANT GUESTS