Author: Reluctant Retiree

Living in FL and enjoying life.
Posted in Cozy Mysteries

The Inn at Holiday Bay: Clue in the Cottage

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

A heartwarming cozy mystery series about losing everything, taking a chance, and starting again.

After suffering a personal tragedy Abby Sullivan buys a huge old seaside mansion she has never even seen, packs up her life in San Francisco, and moves to Holiday Bay Maine, where she is adopted, quite against her will, by a huge Maine Coon Cat named Rufus, a drifter with her own tragic past named Georgia, and a giant dog with an inferiority complex named Ramos. What Abby thought she needed was alone time to heal. What she ended up with was, an inn she never knew she wanted, a cat she couldn’t seem to convince to leave, and a new family she’d never be able to live without.

In book 27 in the series, it’s summer in Holiday Bay and the flowers are in bloom. Abby meets a mysterious stranger who is destined to bring changes to her life she could never see coming, Mylie is awaiting the birth of baby Danny, Jeremy and Haven are determined to stay on top of things in the garden, and Georgia merges toward a part time commitment at the inn as her show, Cooking with Georgia, begins to expand and grow.

With so much going on, Annabelle decides to attend day camp with Colt’s niece and nephew as they adjust to life in Holiday Bay on a full-time basis.

Meanwhile, the cottages have been opened for the season and the inn is full to capacity when first-time guests Rowen and Linda reserve the entire property to celebrate their 35th anniversary. When the couple’s friend and financial advisor turns up dead, everyone begins to wonder if perhaps the announcement of an amendment to Rowen and Linda’s will might be behind the unexpected turn of events.

Posted in #allrecipes

How to Create Perfect Cheeseboards Year-Round

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

Let’s start with an apology. We’re sorry we didn’t bring this hack to you back in November. This was before all the holiday cheese boards and charcuterie boards. Trust us, if we had known about this trick back then, we would have shared it with you. 

Fortunately, cheese isn’t just a holiday food. It is everyday food for many of us. There are always occasions to make cheeseboards. Some occasions include birthdays and anniversaries. Valentine’s Day, an Oscar party, and the big bowl game are other examples. Even an average Tuesday is a good time, to name a few.

If you always volunteer to bring the cheese to an event, you should know about this trick. You like your cheese boards to look professional with uniform slices.

How to Use a Fork to Uniformly Slice Cheese

This viral cheese-cutting tip that spread.the.grub posted on Instagram is so simple and so genius. 

Here’s how it works. Grab a dinner fork (any regular old dinner fork). Grab your block of cheese. This trick seems like it would work best with a semi-hard cheese such as Cheddar, Gouda, Swiss, or provolone. It wouldn’t work very well with a soft goat cheese or Brie that isn’t easily sliceable. Hard cheeses, such as Grana Padana or Parmesan, would probably crumble under the knife. 

But for those cheeses that are cut into slices cleanly, this method will make easy work out of uniformity.

Allrecipes

Posted in #Classics

Command Authority (Jack Ryan Book 13)

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

In this Jack Ryan thriller, #1 New York Times bestselling author Tom Clancy delivers an electrifying story of intrigue, power, and a family with two generations of heroes….

Decades ago, as a young CIA analyst, President Jack Ryan Sr. was sent out to investigate the death of an operative—only to uncover the existence of a KGB assassin codenamed Zenith. He was never able to find the killer….

In the present, a new strongman has emerged in the ever-chaotic Russian republic—the enigmatic President Valeri Volodon. But the foundations of his personal empire are built on a bloody secret from his past. And none who know of it have lived to tell. For he has set a plot in motion—a plot to return Russia to its former glory.

But when a family friend of Ryan’s is poisoned by a radioactive agent, the trail leads to Russia. And Jack Ryan Jr.—aided by his compatriots John Clark and the covert warriors of the secretive Campus—must delve into an international conflict thirty years in the making, and finish what his father started.

With President Ryan fighting the political battle of his life, and his son fighting a silent war against a ruthless foe, global conflict becomes imminent—and the possibility of survival may soon be lost for all….


Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Command Authority

“Once again, the acrid scent of cordite wafted through my imagination during the climactic gun battle as Clancy’s characters from the world of intelligence achieved yet another victory over the forces of evil.”—The Washington Times

“Vintage Clancy…A pleasing fairytale for people who like things that blow up.”—Kirkus Reviews

More Praise for Tom Clancy

“He constantly taps the current world situation for its imminent dangers and spins them into an engrossing tale.”—The New York Times Book Review

“A brilliant describer of events.”—The Washington Post

“No one can equal his talent for making military electronics and engineering intelligible and exciting…He remains the best!”—Houston Chronicle

Posted in Cozy Mysteries

Jingle Bells and Shotgun Shells

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

It’s Christmas time in Honey Hollow and Santa might have a list, but I’ve got one of my own—a hit list.
Okay, fine. Santa’s got a list, but I’ve got a body—and if I don’t solve this case before Christmas morning, I might just end up on the naughty side of a jail cell. As for that naughty list of mine, well I’ll take care of that. I always (almost) do.

When Santa drops dead, I’m making a list and checking it twice… for suspects.

Look, I never planned to spend my Christmas investigating murder instead of committing it. But when Santa face-plants into my festively decorated elf attire and drops dead during the Jingle Bell Jubilee, what’s a reluctant hitwoman to do?

I’m Effie Canelli, and my holiday to-do list just got complicated: bake gingerbread, wrap presents, figure out who offed Santa, and oh yeah—avoid assassinating someone who is near and dear to my boyfriend (direct orders from my Uncle Jimmy, the family’s resident crime lord).

My hot detective boyfriend Cooper is officially investigating, but between my meddling Nona Jo orchestrating surprise weddings, Aunt Cat and Carlotta wreaking havoc at every turn, and a growing list of suspects with murder on their Christmas wish lists, I’m knee-deep in yuletide chaos.

So grab your spiked eggnog and join me in Honey Hollow, where the cookies are sweet, the family dynamics are sweeter, and someone is decking more than just the halls this Christmas season. Trust me—this holiday murder spree is the gift that keeps on giving!

It’s a race against time—before the real Santa slides down the chimney and someone else ends up on the wrong side of a sleigh.

Merry Christmas to me, huh?

Cosmopolitan Magazine calls Addison’s books, “…easy, frothy fun!”
Humor with a side of homicide.

A laugh out loud standalone cozy mystery by New York Times, USA TODAY, & Wall Street Journal bestseller Addison Moore

***A MURDER IN THE MIX Crossover!*** Includes RECIPE!

Posted in Cover Reveals

The Rewrite #CoverReveal

Posted on by Reluctant Retiree

The Rewrite
Beth Rinyu
Publication date: January 29th 2026
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Contemporary, Romance

How long would you hold a grudge?
If you’re Eloise Hendrickson, the answer is twenty-five years.

After being humiliated by her overseas pen pal in seventh grade, Eloise, now a successful writer, has never quite let go of that one mortifying moment. One bad breakup, a late night of drunken internet sleuthing, and a half-baked excuse to bust through writer’s block send her straight into the path of the boy she’s hated her whole life.

Her plan? Turn him into the villain of her next novel.
The plot twist? He’s not the jerk she remembers.

Instead, he’s a charming chocolatier, a devoted family man, and awkwardly, a huge fan of her books. But as Eloise reconnects with the past, it’s not him who captures her attention, it’s someone else entirely. Someone unexpected. He’s rude, infuriating, and gets under her skin like no one else. He’s the exact opposite of the heroes she creates and the men she dates.

With new friends, a fresh perspective, and possibly the beginnings of something romantic—Eloise must decide if she’s finally ready to let go of the perfection she’s always demanded from herself as well as everyone around her, and embrace the unpredictable, wonderfully flawed life waiting for her.

Maybe her next bestseller won’t be about righting the past after all.
Maybe it will be about rewriting the future instead.

Warning: This book may contain chocolate and possibly a happily ever after.


Author Bio:

I’ve always had a passion for Creative Writing. There’s something special about being able to travel to a different place or become a different person with just the stroke of a pen—or in today’s world, a tap of the keyboard. Maybe it all started with the soap opera-level drama I used to script for my Barbie dolls. Plot twists, emotional arcs, surprise twins… it was basically a writer’s room before I even knew what one was. Whatever the spark, storytelling quickly became my favorite creative outlet. I craft stories that keep me on my toes and constantly push me beyond my comfort zone. Deep characters you either root for or love to hate are the ones I’m most drawn to.

Exploring new places helps me uncover fresh and exciting settings for my books, but there’s nothing quite like a quiet walk in the woods or sitting by the ocean close to home. Turns out, plot twists and inspiration arrive just as easily with a sea breeze—or a few curious squirrels.

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