A Pinch of Assault

Misty Simon

Aug 2026 · Sunny Side Up Mysteries Book 3 · Gemma Halliday Publishing

About this ebook

Welcome to the Sunny Side Up Diner, where the jukeboxes jive and the secrets thrive...

With things at her Sunny Side Up Diner sailing along smoothly for once, Jax Tapman has turned her attention to her personal life. It’s time to meet the boyfriend’s mother in person. And while Jax isn't totally certain she’s up to the challenge, she agrees to show Eliot’s mom around a local retirement home. It sounds innocent enough, and it shouldn’t be too difficult to sell the woman on the idea of moving to be closer to her son. But instead of making her case, when Jax enters the model apartment, she and her potential in-law find one dead body and a whole lot of secrets!

Suddenly it’s up to Jax to discover who the retirement home killer is—a task that only gets harder when someone from Eliot's past shows up and might know far more about the crime than she’s letting on.

The Sunny Side Up Diner is jumping with gossip, Jax and her best friend Dani are running interference, and Eliot’s mom is calling all the shots. But sorting out chaos and minimizing damage is something Jax has grown accustomed to, if she can only get a clue.

"This new series is off to a great start. Misty does an excellent job showing readers all the details of the small town, the diner, and a cast of entertaining characters."

~ Kings River Life Magazine

"Readers cannot help but fall in love with this first book!!! Simon has you laughing out loud... I, for one, look forward to more books in the series!!!!"

~ Cozy Mystery Book Reviews 

Ratings and reviews

This was my first in this series, and I was not disappointed. Jax and crew had me traipsing along with them, looking for clues, suspects, evidence with a little humor thrown in. I thought I had it figured out a couple of times, one of which was correct, but the journey to the answer was well worth the read. The romantic side was brief, but I was glad that Jax found happiness. I enjoyed this story immensely. I look forward to more in this series.

About the author

Misty Simon always wanted to be a storyteller…preferably behind a Muppet. Animal was number one on her list, followed closely by Sherlock Hemlock. Since that dream didn’t come true, she began writing stories to share her world with readers, one laugh at a time.

Touching people’s hearts and funny bones are two of her favorite things, and she hopes everyone at least snickers in the right places when reading her books. She lives with her husband in Central Pennsylvania where she is hard at work on her next novel or three. She loves to hear from readers so drop her a line at [e-mail].