Not Quite Cold

Book excerpt: Graciela Harper thought that getting rid of Anne Bonny’s ghost would be the first step toward putting all of the problems of her past behind her. Maybe things would work out with Beauregard Drayton, Heron Creek’s charming mayor. Maybe she and her cousin Amelia, and their childhood friends Melanie and Will, could find a way back to the comfortable friendship that defined their lives. But when the ghost of Glinda Davis, the town’s longtime, quirky hairdresser, puts a stop to Gracie and Beau’s relationship consummation, Graciela knows her life has changed for good. The insistent ghost drags Graciela into a world she’s only seen on reality television shows—one filled with moonshiners and backwoods politics that are solved by burying bodies, not friendly conversations. Graciela needs to figure out exactly what Glinda’s spirit requires so she’ll get the heck out of dodge, but the further she digs into the woman’s past, the more dangers seep into the present. As Graciela gets closer to the answers she seeks, she starts to wonder if she’s going to solve a murder in the process—or die trying.