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      LYRICAL UNDERGROUND

      Kensington Publishing Corp.

       www.kensingtonbooks.com

      Lyrical Press books are published by

      Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018

      Copyright © 2018 by Kym Roberts

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

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      To the extent that the image or images on the cover of this book depict a person or persons, such person or persons are merely models, and are not intended to portray any character or characters featured in the book.

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      Kensington Publishing Corp.

      119 West 40th Street

      New York, NY 10018

      Attn. Special Sales Department. Phone: 1-800-221-2647.

      Kensington and the K logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

      LYRICAL PRESS Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.

      Lyrical Press and the L logo are trademarks of Kensington Publishing Corp.

      First Electronic Edition: December 2018

      eISBN-13: 978-1-5161-0659-2

      eISBN-10: 1-5161-0659-8

      First Print Edition: December 2018

      ISBN-13: 978-1-5161-0661-5

      ISBN-10: 1-5161-0661-X

      Printed in the United States of America

      Dedication

      For the characters who inspire the mystery

      Acknowledgments

      Thank you to the members of the Kensington team who have made this series possible. I am ever so grateful for their hard work and patience. Thank you to my editor Martin Biro, who is the brain behind several of my titles, including Killer Classics and the man who made the series possible. I would be remiss to forget Penny’s line edits—whew! She worked hard! Thank you to my agent, Kim Lionetti, who has been with me from the beginning—pushing me and my work to make it the best it can be. Keep pushing, Kim! But most of all, thank you dear readers. Y’all have made my Book Barn Mysteries a fun and joyous adventure. Without you, there would be no Princess or Team Mateo.

      Chapter 1

      “Sugar did it.”

      Sugar’s mouth dropped open, and her eyes nearly popped out of her head at Reba Sue’s accusation.

      “Sugar didn’t kill anyone,” Leila argued. “The woman traps scorpions at the bar and releases them outside.” Leila shuddered, her round body jiggling from head to toe. “Stupid critters belong under a boot heel.”

      Reba Sue, however wasn’t backing down. “We’re not talking about Sugar killing a pest that could sting her,” she insisted. “We’re talking about a gold-diggin’ woman dying after she made a move on Sugar’s man. I’m telling you, any woman would kill Maddie after what that good for nothin’ tramp did. And Sugar is no different.”

      My best friend Scarlet joined the argument. “As usual, you’re barking up the wrong hemline, Reba Sue. Liza Twine killed her.” Scarlet ticked off the points of her argument on two well-manicured, red nails. “She had motive and opportunity.”

      Liza Twaine scoffed. Her purple nails drummed on the surface of the hand-milled, ten-foot-long table the women of the Mystery Moms Book Club were gathered around. It was like a personal nail war going on between the two of them. “What could I possibly have against Maddie?”

      The rest of the book club members in the loft of my family bookstore, the Book Barn Princess, began arguing back and forth. More names were thrown into the hat as potential suspects to the murder.

      Rolling my eyes, I put my index finger and thumb together, raised them to my lips, and let loose a whistle loud enough to bring the rafters down. The argument stopped cold turkey. All twelve women turned as one to look at me.

      “May I remind y’all that you’re talking about characters in a book—not our very own Sugar who is sitting right here.”

      Sugar’s lips pursed, and her chin bobbed toward her chest in a silent thank you for me giving her redemption.

      “And…” I raised my hand to Maddie sitting on the opposite side of the table.

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