Kristen Brand

What happens when the most annoying man you know gets murdered—and then won’t stop texting you about it?

Ghostly Group Chat is a cozy mystery about Sydney Farina, a baker with very strong opinions about Brett Epworth (none of them good), who finds herself pulled into solving his murder whether she likes it or not. The ghost, apparently, has her number.

Chapter One drops you right into sisters’ night: pizza, movies, and the first signs that Brett is about to become everyone’s problem. The book releases late next month, but you can start reading right now.

Chapter 1

“Have you seen what Brett’s been posting online?” Alex asked.

Sydney scowled as she opened the oven in her apartment’s kitchen, releasing a wave of heat along with a garlicky scent.

“No,” she said. “I can think of about five thousand things I’d rather do on the internet than read Brett’s posts.”

She surveyed the pizza on the top rack. Bubbly mozzarella cheese and a crispy brown crust—it was done.

“Every other day he’s writing about what a tough time he’s having after the divorce.” Sitting on a barstool at the kitchen counter, Alex wore a pinched expression on her normally sweet face. An oversized sweater engulfed her tall, thin frame, and she had dirty blond hair cut in a short, shaggy style. “He’s all, ‘Woe is me. I’m in such a bad place mentally.’”

“Painting himself as the victim despite him cheating on her.” Sydney put on her oven mitts and pulled out the pizza. “Why am I not surprised?”

“I don’t know if he’s trying to get back together with Savannah or just wants her to feel guilty for leaving him,” Alex said.

Sydney pulled off her oven mitts, which were black with a skeleton hand design, and placed them next to a dish towel decorated with skulls. Yes, she’d bought the set during Halloween, and yes, she used them year-round. Dressed from head to toe in black, her long hair dyed bright blue, and bearing a collection of tattoos and piercings, Sydney had very specific tastes in home decor.

“You think he’s writing the posts for Savannah specifically?” Sydney asked. “He could just be wanting attention in general. The guy’s a narcissist.”

Alex took a knowing sip from her wineglass. “Yeah, but he sent her a text about how depressed he’s been feeling lately. Then he backtracked and said he meant to send it to someone else, but you know that’s BS.”

The thought briefly crossed Sydney’s mind that maybe Brett was depressed and needed help, but she dismissed it quickly. In all the years Brett had been married to her sister, Sydney had never seen any sign that he truly cared for her. But he did know how to manipulate her.

“She needs to block his number,” Sydney said, slicing the pizza with much more force than necessary.

Alex rolled her eyes. “She says she’s afraid he won’t be able to reach her if there’s an emergency.”

“What kind of emergency? He falls out of bed and breaks a leg while sleeping with yet another woman?”

Before Alex could reply, a knock came at the door. Savannah let herself in a second later, scraping her boots against the doormat to shake loose snow and salt. Her skin was as pale as Sydney’s, and she had bags under her eyes from staring at a computer screen too late into the night, her brown hair pulled back into a messy ponytail.

(“You’d be so much prettier if you put a little effort into your appearance,” Brett had told her in front of Sydney once. When Sydney had torn into him, he’d insisted he was just trying to help.)

“It smells good in here.” Savannah unwound her scarf and shrugged out of her coat. “What’s cooking?”

“Pizza,” Sydney said.

“You know you can get that delivered, right?” Savannah asked. “It’s some of the cheapest and easiest food in the world.”

“This is better.” Sydney put a slice on a plate, garnished it with fresh basil, and handed it to her. “Trust me.”

The three sisters settled on the couch and chatted as they ate. The weekly dinner was a tradition Sydney and Alex had been keeping up for years, and it was only after her divorce that Savannah had joined in. Sydney was glad to have her older sister back, though Savannah herself seemed conflicted. She missed Brett despite his affair, so it was Sydney and Alex’s job to keep her busy so she wouldn’t wallow.

“A yurt?” Sydney repeated, listening to Alex’s getaway plans. “That’s seriously your idea of a good vacation?”

“It’s going to be amazing,” Alex gushed. “It’s a half-mile hike from the parking lot to get there—totally surrounded by nature. And the park is full of trails. Lakes, waterfalls, overlooks—you name it.”

“But is there electricity?” Savannah asked.

“Nope.” Alex beamed like that was a positive. “It uses a wood-burning stove for heat.”

“Running water?” Savannah pressed. “A bathroom?”

“No again,” Alex replied. “There’s an outhouse.”

Sydney shook her head. “And Heidi agreed to go? She must really love you.”

Alex sighed contentedly. “Yeah…” She snapped out of the goofy, lovesick grin she always got while talking about her girlfriend and looked at Savannah. “Any progress on the house-hunting front?”

Savannah’s shoulders slumped. “No. I’ve looked at a few condos, but they were really old and needed too much work for the price the owners were asking.” She picked at her pizza crust. “There’s just not a lot on the market right now. And I’m grateful to Dad for letting me stay with him—really—but I need to get my own place soon or I’m going to lose my mind.”

“You could always rent a yurt,” Sydney said with a smirk.

“Oh, hush.” Alex gave Sydney a light shove. “And hey, couldn’t you sublease your apartment to her?”

“Not with how they’re jacking up the rent. That’s why I’m moving out.”

She gestured at the half-packed boxes around her living room.

“Oh,” said Alex. “And here I thought it was because you were finally moving in with your boyfriend. So you’re motivated by money, not love.”

Sydney threw a pillow at her.

She and Logan had been talking about moving in together for a while. They’d just pushed up the timeline a little with her lease running out.

“Is he going to propose soon?” Alex asked. “I can’t plan your wedding until you get engaged.”

“That’s a lie,” Savannah said. “She’s already planning your wedding. She texts me pictures of bridesmaid dresses she thinks you’d like.”

Sydney refilled her wineglass. She wasn’t blushing. She wasn’t. “When are you leaving for your vacation again?”

Alex rolled her eyes but went along with the subject change. “The day after tomorrow. We’re heading out early. It’s a long drive to the Upper Peninsula.”

“Text me when you get to the yurt,” Sydney said. “Winter hikes can be dangerous. I don’t want you getting lost and freezing to death.”

Although if Alex kept teasing her about Logan, Sydney might revise that opinion.

“I will,” Alex promised.

Sydney pulled out the chocolate marshmallow cookies she’d brought home from the bakery for them to share, and they started their usual argument over what movie to watch. For three people who’d been raised in the same household, they had startlingly different tastes. Eventually, they settled on Alien, which satisfied Sydney’s love of horror, Savannah’s sci-fi obsession, and Alex’s celebrity crush on Sigourney Weaver.

They were fifteen minutes into the movie when Savannah’s phone dinged with a text. She picked it up and frowned, worry lines deepening around her eyes as she read the message.

“Who is it?” Sydney asked, leaning over nosily and seeing the answer for herself.

“Brett,” Savannah said, her cheeks flushing.

Alex groaned. “What does he want now?”

“He found some of my stuff at the house and wants me to pick it up tomorrow.”

Sydney paused the movie. “It’s probably a box of junk he’s using as an excuse to see you.”

Savannah fiddled with a strand of hair that had come loose from her ponytail. “I don’t know. I haven’t been able to find my Star Trek phaser pistol or any of my models since I moved out. What if I left them?”

“Leave them,” Alex said. “You can always hit a toy store and buy new ones.”

“They’re not toys. They’re collectibles.” Savannah huffed. “And the phaser was used in an episode of Enterprise, so technically it’s an official prop. I should drive down and get it.”

“You don’t know that’s what Brett found,” Sydney pointed out.

“Yeah,” Alex agreed. “It’s probably in a box in Dad’s garage with your other stuff.”

Savannah looked at her phone instead of replying. She typed a message and sent it. A few seconds later, the reply came.

“He’s not saying what he found.” Savannah hunched, shoulders climbing toward her ears. “Just that he’ll throw it away if I don’t come get it by tomorrow.”

“That spiteful, slimy toad,” Alex muttered.

Savannah’s glare didn’t have any actual force behind it. “There’s no need for name-calling.”

“Yeah.” Sydney’s lips quirked. “Don’t insult toads by comparing them to Brett.”

Alex snickered, but she quickly sobered when Savannah sent another text.

“What’d you say?” Alex asked.

“That I’ll be there at eight,” Savannah replied.

Sydney and Alex exchanged a look over Savannah’s head as their sister chugged wine, oblivious.

“I’ll go for you,” Sydney said. “Tomorrow’s my day off.”

Savannah jerked and wiped away the wine that splattered onto her chin. “I can’t ask you to do that. It’s too much trouble.”

“I was planning on going to Ann Arbor anyway,” Sydney lied. “I want to hit the bookstores.”

Ann Arbor had an amazing variety of independent bookstores. Sydney always found an interesting horror paperback or old gothic novel when she browsed them.

“I don’t know…” Savannah fidgeted with her phone. “It’s my problem…”

“But it’s no problem for me to stop by and pick it up,” Sydney argued. “It won’t take long. It’s not like Brett will want to talk to me.”

Whereas he would want to talk to Savannah. His texts were probably a ploy to see her face-to-face. Either he wanted to guilt-trip her or—worse—convince her to get back together with him. Savannah was finally starting to settle into life away from that self-absorbed butthole. Sydney didn’t want to give him the chance to get his claws into her sister again.

Savannah shifted on the couch cushion. “Well, if you’re sure…”

“I’m sure,” Sydney said firmly, and she resumed the movie to cut off any further argument.

As Savannah’s worried gaze drifted to the television screen, Alex shot Sydney an appreciative smile. Sydney nodded back, reassured that she’d done the right thing.

She would rather eat worms than spend time with Brett Epworth, but for Savannah…

Well, she’d be there at eight.

---

So! Sydney has volunteered to deal with Brett so her sister doesn’t have to — a decision that’s about to get a lot more complicated. If you’re already rolling your eyes at Brett along with her, you’re going to love (hate) him even more before this is over.

Ghostly Group Chat releases late next month. Add it to your TBR so you don’t miss it!