Book Beginnings + Friday 56: No Filter (Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery #1) by Heather Day Gilbert

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading. Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice and asks you to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your ereader and share a non-spoilery sentence or two. I'm also linking up with Carrie at Reading is My Superpower for First Line Friday.

This week I'm featuring No Filter (Barks & Beans Cafe Cozy Mystery #1) by Heather Day Gilbert. I've been meaning to read this book for a while now and am so happy to finally get to it. It's so good!

My new desktop came in a couple days ago and it seems like it's gonna be a really good one. I'm still getting everything set up and my games downloaded and all that. (That takes forever, lol!) I did have an issue when we were first hooking it up though. My monitor wouldn't work! We tried a different one and it works, but the brightness/contrast and all that stuff is so much different than my old one, so that's taking some adjusting. Any kind of big visual change like that has always been a migraine trigger for me, so I've been struggling with that. 

Here's the weird thing though. My old monitor works on other computers perfectly, just not this new one. We can't figure out why. Any techies out there who might know what the issue could be? We've ordered a different adapter and are gonna try that and see if that works. I'm praying it does, but I think I might just have to get used to this new set up.

About the Book

Welcome to the Barks & Beans Cafe, a quaint place where folks pet shelter dogs while enjoying a cup of java...and where murder sometimes pays a visit.

Fed up with her go-nowhere job, newly single Macy Hatfield moves back to her small hometown in West Virginia. She joins forces with her brother Bo in his crazy new venture—the Barks & Beans Cafe, which caters to dog lovers and coffee drinkers alike.

When a golf instructor is murdered at the nearby spiritual center, Macy winds up adopting his Great Dane. Just after Macy finds a mysterious message sewn under the dog's collar, her Dane is dognapped. She launches into a relentless search for her newfound canine friend, but along the way, she digs up a cruel and confident killer.

Join siblings Macy and Bo Hatfield as they sniff out crimes in their hometown...with plenty of dogs along for the ride! The Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series features a small town, an amateur sleuth, and no swearing or graphic scenes.

Book Beginnings / First Line Friday

My nail polish matched the dirt outside my patio. I downed a long sip of sweet iced tea and wiggled my freshly painted toes. What had possessed me to pick up this "Burnt Mesa" shade anyway?

Friday 56

I walked outside the building and into a frantic hubbub. Police officers were taking guests' names and numbers before requesting they clear out. The oyster fire had died down, and guests were clustered in groups, murmuring about the murder. News had spread quickly.

What have you been reading lately?