Nancy Robards Thompson

It’s one thing to write a mystery, but when your daughter is the suspect — you solve it.

Wedding planner Jenna Bell doesn’t panic when the groom is a no-show to the ceremony – even though he is her former high school sweetheart and this wedding is the small town’s event of the year. However, when he turns up dead and she is falsely accused… well, yeah, now it’s the time to panic.

Jenna’s mother, Maddie, puts her cozy mystery writing skills to use to try to clear her daughter’s name, stepping on by-the-book Chief of Police Jackson Bradley’s toes in the process. No matter how enticing he finds her, he doesn’t want this writer-turned-amateur-sleuth interfering with his murder investigation.

With nearly all of Hemlock, North Carolina, picking sides and the town’s own Gossip Brigade churning out the rumors, Maddie discovers the mystery isn’t very cozy when it hits this close to home.

When a murder mystery-themed fashion show is struck by a real murder, there are enough suspects to line the runway

Bridal boutique owner and cozy mystery writer Maddie Bell and her daughter, Jenna, are hard at work planning Hemlock, North Carolina’s, annual 4th of July charity fashion show. When the show’s hometown star, bestselling mystery author Kellen Corsi, turns up dead, the mother-daughter pair find themselves playing detective...again.

Kellen’s death, which has been staged to mimic a murder from the book that launched her career, leaves the whole town reeling. The violence feels shockingly personal—Kellen was a founding member of the local writing group, Hemlock Homicide Heroines, before success swept her away to the big city.

Soon, it becomes clear not everyone was thrilled with Kellen’s success. As suspects multiply faster than designer knockoffs, Maddie and Jenna are determined to figure out who was resentful enough to kill over it.

All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely killers…

Everybody’s talking about Hemlock’s annual fall festival’s headliner band, ShakesPierre. Everyone but Tess Harrison, whose breakup with Pierre, the lead singer, left them both singing the blues years ago. And now that Pierre is back, he’s publicly putting his feelings for Tess in the spotlight.

So when Pierre ends up stabbed in the alley outside Tess’s bakery, she’s the number one suspect—especially since she’s famously known for her quality kitchen knives. But the evidence strikes a false note with Maddie and Jenna Bell, who are determined to clear their friend’s name and make sure the real murderer plays…uh, pays for his crime.

The clues lead them out of Hemlock and into danger far outside of Sheriff Jackson Bradley’s jurisdiction. Can Maddie save everyone before the real killer strikes back and Tess goes down for a crime she didn’t commit?

RELEASE DATE: Jul 18, 2024

Instead of walking down the aisle, the bride is suspected of murder…. 

Maddie Bell’s life and career have hit peak stride. She’s sold her cozy mystery series and is contracted for two more books; she’s engaged to Hemlock’s chief of police; and her mother has purchased and restored the beautiful historic mansion, Gracewood Hall, in their hometown of Hemlock, North Carolina. Three generations—Gigi, Maddie, and Jenna–are now happily engaged in the wedding and special event business.

But their highly scrutinized inaugural event—the wedding of an A-List social media influencer—becomes a murder scene before the rehearsal dinner. Kate Archer, the professional bridesmaid Jenna hired, is found bludgeoned by a bottle of Veuve Clicquot, not only threatening their new business, but also sending Jenna into a tailspin of guilt. She knew Kate from college and had begged her to fill in as the maid of honor.

Even as the police warn Maddie not to interfere with the investigation, mother and daughter set out to discover who killed Kate and dispel the growing rumors that Gracewood Hall is cursed.