Charm City Spouse’s Club by Pamela Kyel is a Salute Military Bookish Event pick #mystery #salutemilitary #giveaway
- N. N. Light
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
Title: Charm City Spouse’s Club
Author: Pamela Kyel
Genre: Mystery
Book Blurb:
Special Agent Laci Duvall, AFOSI, thought it was supposed to be a lighthearted baseball game between the Air Force and Army Special Investigative Teams. But things took a deadly turn when the president of the local military spouse’s club was found dead in the women’s bathroom—stabbed with a plastic pink flamingo. Now, Laci will work with the Army Criminal Investigative Division to find who hated the woman enough to leave her in a public restroom. Was it the spouse who ran against her for the presidency or a fellow club officer sick of her cruelty? The list of suspects increases by the minute, and Laci learns there is no loyalty when it comes to social climbing—military spouse’s style.
Excerpt:
“That is one fine man, right there,” Cassy said.
“Who?” I craned my neck to see where she was looking.
“That third baseman. What’s his name?”
“I don’t know him—he’s Army. Besides, don’t you already have a tall, dark, and handsome man in your clubhouse?” When she turned toward me, the confusion was evident on her face. “Hello—Amaré?”
She let out her great guffaw of a laugh and the people in front of us turned around, but we didn’t care.
“Naw, man, Amaré and me just friends. We’re just friends.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Whatchu mean, why?” she asked. “I don’t see him that way, and he definitely don’t see me that way.”
“I think he does sees you that way and you don’t see it,” I said.
“Naw, man, it ain’t like that,” Cassy said.
I chose not to argue with her, because today was about softball and sunshine—sweet tea and even sweeter friends. It meant taking some much-needed time with my two-favorite people, yelling at the umps when they got a call wrong, and cheering on my co-workers.
This was the friendly rivalry game held every summer between the Air Force Office of Special Investigation (OSI) and the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) based at Aberdeen Proving Ground. It was my first time attending since I moved back to Maryland this past winter.
As Special Agent Laci Duvall for Air Force OSI it was my job to solve cases involving members of the military. Many times, we also assisted the local police in their investigations. Speaking of local police, I swiveled my head back and forth looking for Baltimore Police Detective (BPD) Antonio Desio. We recently reconnected after twenty-plus years, and I was waiting for him to ask me out again. Our first attempt failed after we wrapped up my ex-husband’s murder a month or so ago, and he may have given up on me when that fell through.
“You see Antonio anywhere?” I asked.
Cassy Davis was one of my roommates and also a former BPD officer. Sammie Wheaton was my other roommate. She and I recently met while investigating the murder of my ex-husband and her current one, Zach Wheaton.
“Nuh-unh,” Cassy said.
“Well, don’t that beat all?” Sammie came back from the bathroom with her and Zach’s twins in tow. When she reached us she sent a “mom” look behind her to the crowd. It didn’t bode well for whatever upset her.
“Wha’s wrong?” Cassy asked.
“There’s only one working stall in the lady’s restroom and the person in the working one is taking their own sweet time. I gave up and took the twins into the men’s room. I swanny the men act like they’ve never seen a woman in a bathroom before.”
Ana climbed up to me and I leaned my elbows back on the seat behind me, so she could settle on my lap. Ryan clung to Sammie while she maneuvered the bleachers to take her spot on my other side.
It was a gorgeous day in Edgewood. It was the half-way point between Aberdeen and our office in Golden Ring. The fields sat next to a new center called Edgewood Neighbor Space, but it was a separate entity. Some major calisthenics were performed to get this which raised our blood pressures in more ways than one.
Colonel Waters served as the OSI coach. He took it pretty seriously and voiced his disappointment in me for sitting this one out. I couldn’t even pretend to play softball. I tried in high school, but my coaches wrote me off as hopeless when I kept getting hit by, instead of catching, the balls. This meant I was resigned to right field where I admired Desio playing baseball on the field behind us.
“So, wha’s happening with you and Desio?” Cassy asked.
“You know as much as I do,” I said.
“He ask you out, yet?” Cassy asked.
“Not since our failed attempt last month,” I said. “I’m waiting to see if he tries again.”
Cassy tipped her head back and laughed and Sammie leaned around me to see what she was laughing about.
“You gonna be waitin’ forever if it’s up to him. You gotta ask him. Whatchu think Sammie?”
“You think it’s okay for the girl to ask out the guy?” Sammie asked.
“Sure. Why not? This here the Twenty-First Century. I seen the videos on social media where the girl ask the guy out all the time. Don’ bother them any—why should it bother you? I betchu he asks you out before the week is up though.”
It was my turn to tip my head back and laugh. “Yeah, like that’ll happen.”
“How much you wanna bet? Fifty?”
I whistled. “That’s steep. But then I could stand to take your money.”
We shook on it and Cassy hopped up from her seat. “I’mma try and use the can.”
I took the opportunity to stand and swung myself, and Ana, off the bleachers. I put Ana on the seat in front of me and she covered her ears when the whistle blew for the middle of the third inning. The Army came in for their turn at bat and our newest OSI member jogged out to short stop. Captain Wesley Hanscom knew one end of the softball bat from the other and it showed. She wasn’t afraid to get dirty and frequently dove and jumped her way into catching the uncatchable balls hit by the Army. Which is why it was strange when she suddenly missed a practice throw less than an arm’s length from her right side.
She stood staring at something behind me, and I turned and immediately brought my fist back to release it on someone dumb enough to sneak up on me. Antonio caught it with agility, just like he did the last time I took a swing at him.
“Oh, good,” I said, “it’s you.”
He grinned with my fist secured in his hand.
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What makes your featured book a must-read?
It’s a must-read because it’s funny, smart, and has a heroine who can disarm a suspect without spilling her sweet tea. It’s for those who love humor in uniform, found family, and a hint of slow-burn romance—Major Duvall’s got your six.
Giveaway –
Enter to win a $20 Amazon gift card:
Open Internationally.
Runs May 20 – May 28, 2025.
Winner will be drawn on May 29, 2025.
Author Biography:
Award-winning Pamela Kyel was born and raised in Edgewood, Maryland—north of Charm City. It’s a running joke when you live near a large, well-known city—you tell people that’s where you’re from. So, unofficially, she’s from Baltimore! Since her spouse’s retirement from the military, they call Wisconsin home, where they have two daughters and two cats, Daisy and Ernie. You can follow along with her on her website, www.pamelakyel.com.
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