Sammi Carter - Sucker Punch

Table of Contents

PRAISE FOR THE Candy Shop Mysteries

A sweet tale of the coziest kind! Mix a little chocolate with a dash of murder and a pinch of deception, and you get Candy Apple Dead , a new mystery that is sweet, deadly, and highly entertaining... A lively, fast-paced story of sweet and sour. The Best Reviews

A promising new mystery series. Abby is a wonderful new character... Anyone with even a minor sweet tooth will enjoy the various descriptions and recipes included here.

The Romance Readers Connection

Small-town intrigue, a juicy conflict or two, and some fun characters are the highlights of this story, which launches what will probably be an exceedingly popular new series. Carter has a very accessible styleand is equally talented at inducing sugar cravings in the reader. Dieters beware!

Romantic Times

Delightful start to a new mystery series featuring a feisty heroine... An engaging, entertaining tale... Abby is a sensible, believable heroine. Shes strong, yet vulnerable, and definitely feisty! The story moves along at a quick pace... And the Divine Almond Toffee... yummy!

Fresh Fiction

A delicious whodunit full of interesting, well-developed characters. I cant wait for the next installment!

Affaire de Coeur (four and a half stars)

An exciting one-sitting amateur-sleuth tale... Readers will appreciate [Abbys] spunk and desire to insure justice occurs. Midwest Book Review

Berkley Prime Crime titles by Sammi Carter

CANDY APPLE DEAD

CHOCOLATE DIPPED DEATH

PEPPERMINT TWISTED

GOODY GOODY GUNSHOTS

SUCKER PUNCH

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP
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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

PUBLISHERS 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.

SUCKER PUNCH

A Berkley Prime Crime Book / published by arrangement with the author

PRINTING HISTORY

Berkley Prime Crime mass-market edition / June 2009

Copyright 2009 by Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

For information, address: The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.

eISBN : 978-1-101-05759-9

BERKLEY PRIME CRIME

Berkley Prime Crime Books are published by The Berkley Publishing Group,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.,
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BERKLEY PRIME CRIME and the PRIME CRIME logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

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For Abigail

Chapter 1

What are you talking about? my cousin Karen demanded, her expression a mix of horror and hurt feelings. You cant hate Valentines Day! Even her auburn curls seemed to droop, as if my slip of the tongue had affected them, too. A lifetime spent in the candy business has turned her into a full-fledged romantic. But why not? She and Sergio had been married forever. She had reason to believe.

Weak winter sunlight spilled into the candy shop through the front windows and winked off the glass containers on the shelves. The day looked warm and sunny, but that was a delusion. The temperature in Paradise had been hovering below zero for more than two weeks, ever since a February cold front swept down from the Arctic and swallowed the northern half of Colorado.

Id grown up hanging around Divinity, just as Karen had, but Id only been owner of the shop for two years. I hadnt been bitten by the romance bug, but I still knew better than to open my mouth around Karen about some things. My attitude toward Cupid was one of them.

If I hadnt unexpectedly found myself standing beneath a cascade of carelessly stacked gift boxesevery one covered with red and pink heart stickersI would have kept my opinion to myself. At least, thats what I told myself. I picked up one of the boxes and grimaced. Are they all like this?

They were gaudy, and they werent the only thing bothering me. Id run a few errands yesterday afternoon, and I hadnt come back until after the shop was closed. Apparently Karen and my new clerk, Liberty, had been busy while I was gone. The entire shop was now filled with hearts, so much red and pink my head had started to pound when I came inside a few minutes earlier.

Karen snatched the box away from me and skewered me with a look. Yes, theyre all like this. Theyre festive. And you didnt answer my question. How can you say you hate Valentines Day? Youre a candymaker for Petes sake. Its like our national holiday.

Karen had worked part-time for our Aunt Grace from the time we were teenagers until Grace died. Shes been my assistant manager since I came back to Paradise, Colorado, to run the shop. When it comes to Divinity, she and I agree about almost everything. But not this time.

I tried to pick my way through the mound of boxes without crushing any. Theyre usually pretty classy lookingwhite with gold trim. Classic. Elegant. The heart stickers moved them from the refined column right over into cheesy.

I didnt say that I hate Valentines Day. I said that I try to avoid thinking about it. ThisI waved a hand to encompass the hearts hanging from the ceiling and wallsmakes that kind of hard to do. When did we decide to... decorate... and why wasnt I consulted? These stickers were a huge waste of money, not to mention the cost of the boxes youve ruined. The shop wasnt struggling to make ends meet anymore, but thats only because we watch every penny and never spend when we dont have to. Until today.

Karens scowl etched lines into her face. Shes a few years younger than I am, but shes also married with a teenage daughter, and she sometimes forgets shes not my mother. We havent ruined anything, she said.

Thats a matter of opinion.

Karen dismissed my concerns with a flick of her slender wrist. It was Libertys idea, she said, and I happen to think its a good one. Liberty saysand she has a pointthat were cheating ourselves by not getting more into the spirit of the day.

Great, I snarled. Now youre taking business advice from someone who thinks the alternative rock station is the perfect background music for a candy shop. Karens quick glance into the showroom set my teeth on edge. Give me some credit. Id never talk about Liberty when she was around to hear me.