Love and the Hidden Hockey Clues
Love and the Hidden Hockey Clues, is the first in a new series, Laugh-out-Loud Hockey Caper Romance. It’s about a doctor who finds a tin box hidden between the studs during renovations of her home. She thought the items were random hockey mementos but after a few close encounters realizes they are possible clues to a hidden treasure! She reluctantly enlists the help of the captain of the local pro hockey team to sort out where they lead.
I’ve always thought it would be cool to find a hidden treasure during renovations and that sparked the initial idea. I also love escape rooms with the challenge of clues to decipher and puzzles to solve. I thought I’d weave that type of white-collar crime mystery into a romance. Add in a smart, sassy doctor and a swoon-worthy professional hockey player, and the stage is set for a fun, clever hockey caper. This is the first book of the series and all of the (stand-alone) stories have an element of white-collar crime – like a cozy mystery without murder!
Here’s the blurb for Love and the Hidden Hockey Clues ~
When she was younger, Dr. Abigail Clark dreamed of playing professional hockey, but the world wasn’t ready for a female player. That stung. She skated as far away from hockey as possible – until she lands a job in the emergency department of a hockey-crazy town and buys the house of the late beloved Zamboni driver. A tin box is discovered during the renovation of her new home, and Abigail brushes it off as a time capsule left by the previous owner – that is until someone tries to steal it. Turns out, the odd collection is more than just sentimental hockey memorabilia.
Abigail inadvertently embroils Del Braebury, captain of the local pro hockey team, into helping her sort it out. Her history with hockey players is rocky at best, but he comes in handy when she needs to access parts of the rink that are off limits. Del is happy to be tangled up in the clues of the hidden hockey loot. In the process of solving the mystery, he hopes to win Abigail’s heart!
Enjoy an excerpt ~
The foreman looked up and grinned. “Look what we found.”
A tin box was wedged between two studs in the wall in the area where the fridge had been.
“What is it?”
Jack shrugged. “Not sure. Could’ve been here a while. When was the house built? Forty some odd years ago?”
Abigail nodded. “It’s like, a time capsule?”
“I don’t think it’s been there that long,” Phil said, hooking his thumbs in his pockets.
Jack looked at him. “What makes you say that?”
“The wall in front of it was patched. New drywall and painted a different colour.”
“Strange place to hide something,” Jack said with a shrug. He looked at Abigail. “What would you like us to do? Pull it out or leave it there?”
“A secret box. Are you kidding?” She’d die of curiosity not knowing what was inside. “Pull it out.”
Jack tugged on it, but it didn’t give. He took a hammer from his tool belt and pried it with a bit of force. It gave way with a pop, and Jack caught it before it hit the ground. “It has a bit of weight to it.” He handed it to Abigail. “Maybe it’ll contain enough gold to pay for your reno.”
Abigail took it with a grin. “I’m not that lucky.”
Jack waved a hand. “Excitement’s over, boys. Back to work,” he said to the other two workers who had joined them in the kitchen. Jack escorted her to the patio doors as the hammering and whirring of tools resumed. “We should have all the cabinets in by the end of the week and your water turned back on before the weekend.”
Abigail smiled. “Wonderful news.” She held up the box. “And more valuable than anything in this box, I’d bet.”
That was a bet she was destined to lose.
Buy link ~ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YJXZS7H/