Dax and Callahan have drifted south now, Dax working on a small construction project for the owner of the Paradise Bed & Breakfast in Key West, while Callahan makes himself at home, scrounging the occasional gourmet fish dinner and chumming around with the island's Hemingway cats. But trouble soon shows up when Ginger Browne, the inn's owner, discovers that a guest has perished in their nicest suite.
Liberty Anderson was a pretty young woman with plenty of money and the urge to party, and one of the men she approached in a local bar the night of her death just happened to be Trout Richardson, owner of a struggling boat charter business and Ginger's friend. Within a short time, most of the other guests have vacated the B&B, leaving Ginger to worry about the bills and about Trout's involvement with the dead woman.
The police aren't looking at any of the really important clues, Callahan thinks, after his preliminary examination of the body and the contents of the victim's purse. And Trout seems unusually wary of having cops asking questions of him. Will Callahan be able to find out what really happened and restore Ginger's business before the posturing local police detective bungles the case entirely, and could it be true that there's a spy in their midst?
A previous version of this story was published in 2018 as Trouble in Paradise
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Praise for Rebecca Barrett's books:
"Great fun reading. Loved it!" Nancy Collings, 5 stars on Amazon
"This book and the whole series is amazing. I loved every one of them." Chris KP, 5 stars
"As I read, I could marvel again at how skilled the author is at adding in the clues and the twists and turns." - 5 stars for
The Rat Catcher
"The cat's narrative hooked me.......a delightful read! I highly recommend it!" 5 stars online review
"I love this series. I love the idea that each takes place in a different location." Erin Dougherty, online review