Ashes & Alibis

Welcome to Willow Creek-a picture-perfect town where the scones are sweet, the gossip is sticky, and secrets refuse to stay buried.

Penelope Paxton knows all about cozy mysteries-she's read hundreds of them. Quiet days with her loyal German Shepherd, Max, and shelves lined with her favorite whodunits have always been enough to keep her content. Until now.

When a late-night fire reduces her best friend's beloved bookstore to ashes, Penelope's safe little world begins to unravel. The blaze doesn't just destroy books-it claims a life. And when the rumors start, pointing fingers at the very person Penelope trusts most, the whispers in this small town grow louder than the truth.

Armed with nothing more than a notebook, a sharp eye for details, and a lifetime of mystery novels, Penelope steps into the role she's only ever read about. But real-life investigations aren't as tidy as the ones in her paperbacks. The suspects are her neighbors. The stakes are deadly. And the killer? They might be closer than she thinks.

In a town full of secrets, can Penelope untangle the lies before the next chapter ends in tragedy?