Barbara Jean Coast

A Nate to Remember: a Poppy Cove Mystery Barbara Jean Coast

Publisher Marketing: It's springtime in Santa Lucia and everything is blooming, including the Poppy Cove dress shop. 1958 is proving to be a banner year for its young owners Margot Williams and Daphne Huntington-Smythe--with Hollywood starlets becoming customers and attracting national attention to their business. Even the girls' love lives are blossoming. But a casual walk with their boyfriends along the beachfront after an art show suddenly turns shocking, when an unidentified man's body is found washed up on the shore, with a gunshot wound clean through his heart. The startling discovery becomes personal when the police arrive at the dress shop the next day and confirm that the dead man is none other than Nate--Nathan--Reed, Margot's ex-husband! Everyone is astounded; Margot has always been secretive about her background, but no one thought it included a spouse. The news becomes even worse when it's discovered that Margot had a hidden handgun which has now gone missing, and is the same caliber as the one that killed her ex. The young designer finds herself the prime suspect in the murder. She feels even more alone when her police detective boyfriend Tom is forbidden to associate with her while the crime is investigated. As Margot's past comes to light, Daphne must come to terms with the news about her friend and business partner, which causes her to wonder if maybe she's lived too sheltered a life. Determined to have her own secret adventure, Daphne gets herself involved in a predicament more daring than she bargained for. With Margot working hard to prove her innocence and Daphne trying to lose hers, Nathan's killer is still on the loose and creating more havoc. That dead man on the beach is truly A NATE TO REMEMBER.