Counting Night

Some towns keep secrets. She keeps the receipts.

When sharp-witted librarian Miri opens the map coffin in Briarwood's History Room, she doesn't expect to trip a century-old alarm. A brass bell with a stubborn clapper, a glowing microfiche reader, and a folder marked AFTER HOURS point to the long-buried Cutter & Norris files-receipts, petitions, and whispers that a powerful family quietly "misplaced" the town's promise to protect its creek.

Then the messages start: COUNT DOORS. COUNT LOCKS. Someone wants a show. Miri prefers evidence.

With a slow-burn spark from the town's unflappable deputy, a newsroom of nosy friends, and a parade of lemon-bar-baking conspirators, Miri follows paper trails and star charts, unbricks a forgotten door, and reads minutes men meant to erase. As timers tick and the bell dares to ring, she'll have one night to prove that Briarwood's past is filed under O-Ours, not S-Sold.

Smart, sexy, and cozy without the fluff, this is a mystery where the clues are catalogs, the weapons are records and resolve, and the big twist is a town remembering how to keep its word.

You'll love this if you crave:

• ✦ A brainy, alluring sleuth who solves crimes with microfiche, receipts, and nerve

• ✦ Found-family banter, civic drama, and small-town heat done slow-burn

• ✦ Puzzles that click-secret doors, star wheels, hidden rings, and a bell that only rings for the truth

• ✦ A feel-good finish that still leaves you hungry for the next case

Perfect for fans of Ellery Adams, Richard Osman, and anyone who thinks the sexiest scene in a mystery is a librarian saying, "I found the file."

Book One of The Briarwood Files-a sexy-smart cozy series where every case is paid in paper...and people.