Book Title: Breakfast at Timothy’s
Author and Publisher: Richard Tyler Jordan
Cover Artist: Darlene Dixon
Release Date: September 9, 2023
Genres: Mystery, Rom-com, Contemporary M/M Romance, Comedy
Tropes: Wide-eyed innocent, Fanboy, Fish out of water, Amateur sleuth
Themes: Innocence vs. experience, allure of fame, trust & betrayal, ambition and aspiration, complexity of human nature.
Heat Rating: 2 flames
Length: 85 000 words/ 311 pages
It is a standalone book and does not end on a cliffhanger.
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In a city of stars, who cast the shadow of death?
Blurb
Fresh-out-of-college aspiring novelist Timothy Trousdale can hardly believe his good luck when he lands a job in New York City as a live-in assistant to his all-time favorite showbiz diva, Mercedes Ford. He’s seen all her movies. Spent oodles on tickets to her Broadway shows. And now, he gets to live and work in her swanky Tribeca penthouse. Surely, he’ll be leading the glamorous life rubbing elbows with A-Listers, who may even be able to help him fulfill his lifelong dream of becoming a famous writer. But rats … after just a few days on the job, Mercedes’ odious manager, Jared Evans, is found dead. Murdered, actually. And Timothy is a suspect!
Timothy had better find the real killer, and fast; otherwise, it’s bye-bye to ever seeing his name on the New York Times Bestsellers List and hello to a stretch of 25-to-life in the slammer. And that great guy he’s just started dating? Who’d ever want to get involved with someone whose address is The New York Penitentiary for Blood-thirsty Killers and Maniacs for crying out loud? Desperate to keep his life from completely shattering into a gazillion shards, Timothy sets out to worm the truth from an oddball cast of characters—including a sourpuss housekeeper, a vindictive former employee, a wacko Brit with delusions of grandeur, and even Mercedes’ unfaithful toy boy husband. Each of them may hold the keys to unlocking the mystery. Timothy is caught in a seemingly inescapable trap and must fight to save himself—and his favorite movie star, too.
As Timothy approached the bank of elevators, the doors of the middle car parted without him even pushing a call button. Stepping inside, he was super impressed by the high-tech look of the interior: lots of colors, LED lights, and mirrors. He scanned the tiny room for the panel of buttons to select the penthouse floor but found only the hand outline and a smaller version of the retina-scanning machine. Patting himself on the back for catching on so quickly, Timothy followed the security procedure, and the doors closed. Then a sweet voice that sounded like an angel with a British accent said, “Please state your desired destination.”
Timothy wanted to say, “Buckingham Palace.” Instead, he said, “Penthouse-A, please.”
“With pleasure.”
In only a moment, the doors parted again, and Timothy gasped in awe at the scene before him. He was suddenly Dorothy Gale from black and white Kansas, entering Technicolor Oz. Dumbstruck, he stepped out of the elevator and into the foyer. For a moment, he just stood there and stared. It could be a movie set, or where he imagined someone super-rich, like that Tesla car inventor/X owner, lives. A round, Lalique crystal glass pedestal table holding a massive arrangement of Casablanca lilies occupied the center of the entranceway.
Timothy gingerly moved farther into the condo, and his eyes were drawn across the sweeping expanse of high-tech open-plan living space to an entire wall of windows two floors high. To his immediate left a curved acrylic glass staircase ascended to another level. Presumably, it led to the bedrooms. Further to the left of the staircase was a dining room with a long marble-top table set with two ornate gold candelabras. Looking ahead again, Timothy could see a wide terrace beyond glass doors.
As he slowly walked into the main room, the view beckoned him, and he could see that one of the doors leading to the terrace hung open. Timothy had a curious nature—useful for writing stories but sometimes detrimental to his health and safety. Still, he wanted to step outside to view the cityscape. It was utterly breathtaking, with a long terrace appointed with wrought iron furniture and a fire pit bordered by a colorful collection of blooming stacked potted plants and flowers against a barrier of more acrylic glass. The muted sounds of car horns and emergency response vehicles wafted up the 45 stories, but rather than the irritation he usually felt from all the noise in the city, he had a sense of calmness and serenity. He became almost hypnotized as he looked out at the other ritzy buildings in the neighborhood. In the distance way beyond, he could see the Empire State
Building and Central Park. His heart pounded joyfully from the thrill of it all. This is where I get to live, he thought.
Timothy forced himself to step back inside the penthouse. He wandered around the living room as if he were visiting a museum. It was nearly as quiet as an exhibit hall, too. Rooms make a definite sound, even when they appear silent, and this place had an almost audible vibration. Although Timothy had seen fancy brownstones and apartments on Million Dollar Listing, this was off the charts in terms of elegance and size. Absolutely massive! With contemporary furniture—but not the cold steel and leather some designers use to insinuate modern sterility. Neo Art Deco, Timothy said to himself, wondering if that was even a real decorating style.
Spotlighted on the wall to his right, over a Lalique console table, hung an immense painting of a Black woman with a white gardenia over her left ear. Remembering an interview with Mercedes Ford in which she said she was a fan of Diana Ross; he realized it was a painting of Miss Ross as Billie Holiday in the old movie Lady Sings the Blues.
RICHARD TYLER JORDAN is a novelist and nonfiction writer. His books include Breakfast at Timothy’s and the Polly Pepper Mysteries series: Final Curtain, A Talent for Murder, Set Sail for Murder, and Naughty or Nice. Writing as Mike Melbourne, Kensington Publishing Corp. published Tricks of the Trade, Hunk House, Gay Blades (each of which was #1 on the InsightOut Book Club Bestsellers Lists), and One Night Stand. He has also contributed novellas to the Kensington anthologies Summer Share, and All I Want for Christmas (both of which earned Lambda Literary Award nominations), and Man of My Dreams. Jordan is also the author of But Darling, I’m Your Auntie Mame, a history of the fictional icon created by Patrick Dennis. As a senior publicist and staff writer with The Walt Disney Studios for thirty years, Jordan worked on the marketing campaigns of over 500 live-action and animated feature films. An expat from America, Richard now lives in England in a 16th-century cottage (with his husband and a definitely not scary ghost).
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