Seven Deadly Sequins * Julie Anne Lindsey * Bonnie & Clyde #2

When a competitive local baker is found murdered following a fiery public recipe dispute, a Georgia dress shop owner and her mischievous black cat must untangle a messy web of small-town gossip to clear her grandmother’s name.

The Story: Written by prominent, award-winning cozy mystery author Julie Anne Lindsey, this delectable second installment in the celebrated Bonnie & Clyde Mystery series turns a scorching Southern summer into a fast-paced, high-stakes puzzle box. Lindsey masterfully balances high-impact fashion restyling metrics with a chaotic food truck feud.

The plot follows the intuitive Bonnie Balfour, who has returned home after a heartbreaking divorce to open "Bless Her Heart," a second-chance dress shop and boutique on the town square of Bliss, Georgia. To drum up local business, Bonnie coordinates a clever strategy for the upcoming Founder's Day parade court, redesigning stunning vintage evening gowns. Her focus is pulled entirely sideways when her feisty grandmama, Gigi, discovers that a former friend is using Gigi's secret recipe to sell prize-winning peach cobbler from a festival food truck. Gigi publicly confronts the baker, creating a highly volatile scene witnessed by dozens of local material witnesses.

The situation shifts into severe criminal territory hours later when the rival baker is found dead. Because Gigi's fingerprints are discovered directly on the murder weapon, the town's handsome new sheriff, Mason Wright, is legally forced to put Gigi at the absolute top of his suspect list. Refusing to let her grandmother take the fall, Bonnie dons her sleuthing hat once more. Backed by her smart, sneakily perspective-driven black cat, Clyde, Bonnie launches a frantic campaign to outrun the killer, sorting through a suspicious pool of cutthroat cooks, hidden family agendas, and bitter town grudges before Gigi's reputation is permanently shredded. Published as a standout pacy whodunit by Cozy Queen Publishing, this charming, Southern-fried mystery serves as an essential showpiece for amateur detective shelves.

Perfect For: Devotees of traditional, fast-reading culinary cozy mysteries and amateur sleuth stories with an animal companion like the works of Joanne Fluke, Diane Mott Davidson, or Cleo Coyle; readers keeping pace with Bonnie Balfour’s ongoing Georgia business ventures; and fiction lovers who appreciate intense small-town gossip webs, fiery romantic banter, and deep-south charm.

Published 2021 by Cozy Queen Publishing LLC.

Cozy Mysteries / Culinary & Food Truck Whodunits / Amateur Female Sleuths / Cat Companion Mysteries / Series Continuations