Sand Trapped: Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series by Joanna Campbell Slan

About Sand Trapped

Sand Trapped: Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series

Cozy Mystery 6th in Series

Publisher: Spot On Publishing (May 16, 2021)

Paperback: 292 pages

ISBN-13: 979-8503202564

Digital ASIN: B091S4S2MW

A Cozy Mystery That's a Real Hit!

First they warned Jocelyn Johnson.

Then they ticketed Jocelyn Johnson.

Then someone murdered Jocelyn Johnson.

And Cara Mia Delgatto was looking for a lost ball when found Jocelyn “JJ” Johnson face down in a sand trap. Gave a whole new meaning to “take a drop.”

It wasn’t a surprise. The neighbors hated JJ for the reckless way she drove her golf cart. Sure, she lived on the grounds of a swanky golf club, and yes, she had tons of money, but JJ ruined flowerbeds, terrorized grandkids, and made a nuisance of herself.

Except…except…she’s quiet now. Lying there in the dirt at Hole #6. Someone bashed in JJ’s head. (Who would risk ruining an expensive Homna golf club like that?)

Cara doesn’t want to get involved. But when Gerta Hunsickler is named the prime suspect, and Gerta’s husband is so angry at his wife that he’s starting divorce proceedings, Cara can’t sit on her hands. She knows what it’s like to be unfairly accused. So she promises to take a swing at it and see if she can hit a long drive down the fairway of justice!

Meanwhile, back at The Treasure Chest, Cara’s friends are busy creating fabulous and fun Mother’s Day gifts. There are two brides-to-be working for Cara, and their two mothers-in-law-to-be have decided not to play nice. Can you say, “Mama’s boy” ten times really fast? I thought you could.

If you love warm-hearted, clean books, that feature female amateur sleuths, fur babies, family, and friends, you’ll love this charming DIY/recycling/upcycling series set on the Southeast Coast of Florida.

Cara Mia Delgatto and the Red-headed Invader

By Joanna Campbell Slan

Bang! Bang! Bang! The knocking on my front door was insistent.

“Coming!” I shouted as I hurried past the piles of laundry in my hallway. My name is Cara Mia Delgatto and I live in a little cottage on Jupiter Island, Florida. Since my laundry room is tiny, I have taken to sorting clothes on the tile floor. I hadn’t expected company. I didn’t really did want it, either.

But the banging started again and from the way my dogs yodeled their greetings, I could tell this was a friend they knew. One they enjoyed. A person who brought treats.

I yanked open my door to see my next-door neighbor, Aurora Hamilton. She was quaking in fear.

“What on earth?” I asked. “Are you all right?”

“C-c-c-cara, you have to come and see. There’s a big lizard. Really big. Bright red. I bet he’s poisonous. He’s outside my front door.” Aurora’s teeth chattered. She weighs maybe a hundred pounds soaking wet, and she’s small-boned with dark hair and big eyes. As usual, she was wearing sports shorts in a tropical print and a hot pink zip-up jacket.

“A bright red lizard?” I asked as I hurried along beside her. Aurora moved like a race walker with her clenched fists swinging at her side.

“All I saw was his head,” she said. “It was red like an apple. I don’t know what the rest of him looks like. I panicked.”

No kidding. That part I’d already figured out. We hurried around her hedge of green island ficus, past the two statues of lions, and stopped at her front door. Aurora lives in a 10,000 square foot mansion designed by an acolyte of the famous Floridian architect Addison Mizner. The huge peach-colored stucco façade rises to red tile roofing. On one side is a balcony with black wrought iron railing. The other wing features curved floor-to-ceiling windows. It’s a magnificent piece of property, and I’m the lucky girl who owns what used to be the guest house next door.

Aurora pointed to a splotch of red that I could barely make out through the green island ficus near her front door. The body of the reptile was hidden but a small leg was showing. Squinting, I could also make out a scaly foot with tiny claws. Thinking back to the classes I took on biology, I realized this was a critter that could probably climb trees.

“See?” First Aurora pointed at the red patch and then she clutched her hands to her chest. “What if it’s poisonous? Maybe it’s bright like that to warn us, like coral snakes. They’re colorful, too.”

I sincerely doubted that there were any poisonous lizards here on the Treasure Coast of Florida. But better safe than sorry. I broke off a nearby twig and used it to part the ficus leaves and expose the lizard. He was easily nine inches long from nose to tail. His head was brilliant crimson with a small crest like a scaly Mohawk. His body shone like a blue sapphire, deeply colored and smooth, although it faded to white at his hindquarters. His tail went from white to red and ended in jet black. I pulled my iPhone out of my pocket and took a photo. After the lizard burrowed back into the hedge, I thumbed through Google. With very little effort I was able to show Aurora that her reptilian invader was a Rainbow Lizard, an Agama or Red-headed Agama, from Africa.

“They were brought here as pets, but they escaped and now they are here to stay,” I said. “He won’t hurt you unless you try to pick him up. That’s when he might give you a painful nip.”

“No chance of that!” Aurora fisted her hands on her hips. “He’s got his nerve. Scaring the wits out of me.”

I smiled at her. “Do you know what he eats? Small rodents and bugs.”

Aurora cocked her head at me and grinned. “Oh-kay. In that case, he can stay!”

~*~

I have met Cara before through other book friends, characters in others series.

She is likable and friendly and sweet. She takes care of her friends, even when they make it difficult or put her in situations she'd rather not experience.

In this book we get to see people in various stages of life and different economic circles.

The main story takes place on and around a golf club and the homes circling the course.

Cara is not an obsessive golfer, nor is she overly concerned with the status of her address.

We meet some people to whom all those things matter and make a difference in how they treat others.

This book is a study in status and in how deeply pets impact out lives.

Oh - and there is also MURDER and other deceptions.

I found various elements of the story to be intriguing, including the mysterious Dan.

Ms. Campbell Slan's writing style flows easily and keeps me turning pages.

Just one more chapter!

I didn't want to leave The Treasure Chest, but I will, long enough to try my hand at a few suggested crafts.

About Joanna Campbell Slan

"Our best friend, our next-door neighbor, and ourselves with just a touch of the outrageous." That's how RT Book Review describes Joanna's protagonist, Kiki Lowenstein. The truth is that's a pretty good description of Joanna Campbell Slan as well.

Joanna is a New York Times Bestselling, USA Today Bestselling, and Amazon Bestselling author as well as a woman prone to frequent bursts of crafting frenzy, leaving her with burns from her hot glue gun and paint on her clothes. And the mess? Let's not even go there.

Otherwise, Joanna's a productive author with more than 80 written projects to her credit. Her non-fiction work includes how to books, a college textbook for public speakers, and books of personal essays (think Chicken Soup for the Soul).

Currently, she writes five fiction series: The Kiki Lowenstein Mystery Series (Agatha Award Finalist, contemporary, St. Louis setting, crafting), the Cara Mia Delgatto Mystery Series (contemporary, Florida setting, DIY, and recycling), the Jane Eyre Chronicles (Daphne du Maurier Award Winner, 1830s England, based on Charlotte Brontë's classic), the Sherlock Holmes Fantasy Thrillers (late 1800s, based on Arthur Conan Doyle's books), and the Zen Cozy Mystery Series (launch 2021).

A former TV talk show host, college teacher, and public relations specialist, Joanna was one of the early Chicken Soup for the Soul contributors. She won a Silver Anvil for her work on the original FarmAid concert to benefit farmers.

In her ongoing quest never to see snow again, Joanna lives with her husband and their Havanese puppy, Jax, on an island off the coast of Florida. You can email her at jcslan@joannaslan.com or visit her website at https://linktr.ee/jcslan

Author Links

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