Tallowed Ground - Guest Post - Binge Reading Books

Tallowed Ground: A Magic Candle Shop Mystery
by Valona Jones

About Tallowed Ground

Tallowed Ground: A Magic Candle Shop Mystery
Paranormal Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – Georgia
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Muddle House Publishing (September 10, 2024)
Digital Print length ‏ : ‎ 269 pages
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0D9HLPS2W

When a killer props his third and latest victim against the double tombstone of Tabby and Sage Winslow’s grandparents’ grave in Savannah, Georgia, the psychic twins are stunned. Even worse, the victim is the very man they filed a restraining order against a few months ago for trashing their book and candle shop. Coincidence…or a connection? Then a clue about the murders points to Tabby’s career as a candlemaker. Now, she is the number one suspect in the killing spree.

The twins investigate all three victims, finding little that might tie the cases together besides where the bodies were found—in or near Bonaventure Cemetery, a beautiful 100-acre historic graveyard with a storied past. Then Tabby’s Medical Examiner boyfriend is mysteriously pulled from the case, with his dream job in jeopardy. The situation reaches a flashpoint when new evidence points to Tabby. With her freedom and the family business in jeopardy, Tabby and Sage match their wits and psychic abilities against the wily killer.

That is, until Tabby’s spirited inquiry lands her in the worst kind of trouble. Can Tabby clear her name before the fiend snuffs her flame…for good?

Guest Post

What is Tallow?

By Valona Jones, author of Tallowed Ground

Unless you are very much into candles, it is likely you don’tthink about what they are made of. However, many people are drawn to the scent of a candle. Within our life experiences, certain aromas trigger memories or make us feel good. Others may select a candle based on what color matches their décor. Lucky for them, candles come in every hue of a rainbow.

In regard to tallow, this rendered animal fat product has historically been used as an ingredient in candles, though many candles today are made of paraffin, soy, or beeswax. Tallow is used in the production of shortening, and many fast food places made their mark by frying food in tallow for many years. It is used in Native American pemmican and in aviation fuel. It also has had uses in heavy machinery lubrication, textile production, soap, and beauty products.

With such a wide degree of applications, one might think that finding tallow on murder victims would have law enforcement baffled. Instead, they turned their sights on the candlemaker and soap-maker they knew in Savannah—Tabby Winslow, a co-owner and operator of The Book and Candle Shop. Tabby makes the shops candles and soaps. Not that her career makes her guilty, but still she’s a bird in hand. They decide to approach her as an expert in the field and see how it goes.

At first, they grill her for ideas about tallow, particularly where to get it. She says as far as she knows it is still sold in meat markets and farmers’ markets in Savannah, among other stores. Then they ask her if she uses tallow in her candles or soaps. She tells them she uses soy, paraffin, or beeswax for candles, depending on the air temperature. They noticed she omitted soaps, so they asked her again. She admits there is tallow in the soap base she buys that is premixed. They demand to see it, so she shows them a sample. They ask if they can have it. She agrees because to disagree would make her look guilty.

Tabby has been in this particular suspect hotseat before where she’s no longer a subject expert but suddenly a person of interest. She knows they will likely get a court-ordered search warrant for her shop. Since she isn’t the shop’s first candlemaker, she decides she should check every nook and cranny of the shop. No telling what her aunt used when she made candles.

Good thing she looked high and low. In the bottom of the storage closet, she finds a dusty half-gallon plastic container of tallow. The very sight of the printed word “Tallow” on the tub gives her chills. She knows she didn’t kill anyone or rub tallow in their hair. But the police might jump to that very conclusion if they found this here. She must get rid of it.

To make matters worse, the cops are watching her shop, waiting for her to make a mistake. She can’t throw the container in the dumpster out back. They’d search that. She is frantic to make it disappear, frantic to save herself from countless hours in that small and cold interview room at the police station.

She devises a clever way to get rid of the tallow in a way that can’t be traced back to her or her shop. When the police come, the outcome isn’t what Tabby wants. Despite the fact there is absolutely no tallow in her shop, they also search the apartment above the shop and seize her bow, leftover from a college archery class. She always intended to give the bow back to the girl who lent it to her, but she lost contact with that person.

Unfortunately for Tabby, a bow and arrow was used for one of the recent killings by Savannah’s serial killer. Tabby can’t win for losing. She is hauled down to the police station for questioning. Even though she explains the history of the bow and shares how many other candlemakers live in Savannah, they detain her for hours.

Tabby has never cared for the scent of tallow, and she thinks even less of the product now. If you don’t want your ears blistered, don’t ask her what she thinks of Detectives Nowry and Belfor doing their jobs.

About Valona Jones

Valona Jones, aka Maggie Toussaint, writes paranormal cozies set in coastal Georgia, Her latest release, TALLOWED GROUND, book 3 in the A Magic Candle Shop Mysteries, came out September 10, 2024. Under the name of Maggie Toussaint, she also publishes cozy mysteries and romantic suspense. Her pen name for a three-book science fiction ecothriller is Rigel Carson. In total, she has published more than 27 works of fiction and won multiple awards. She lives in coastal Georgia, where time and tide wait for no one. Visit her sites: https://valonajones.com and https://maggietoussaint.com

Author Links

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