Amateur-sleuth Stories

When small-town mystery writer Jade Reed is kidnapped in broad daylight, she never imagines it will lead to murder, a smuggling ring, and a conspiracy stretching through the heart of Maple Glade. With nothing but her instincts, a multi-tool, and a knack for stumbling into trouble, Jade finds herself tangled in a web of secrets that someone is willing to kill to protect. As the body count rises and the whispers grow louder, Jade must team up with grumpy-but-dashing Detective Axel Ford, her fiercely loyal best friends, and a town full of eccentrics-some helpful, some hiding something. Welcome to Maple Glade: a place where everyone knows your business... and someone knows too much. Book 1 of the MAPLE GLADE MYSTERIES

When a celebrated art dealer is found dead on the eve of Maple Glade's most anticipated gallery opening, local author Jade Reed stumbles onto more than just a missing painting. "The Glade by Moonlight" was meant to be the town's cultural crown jewel, instead, its disappearance unearths whispers of a priceless masterpiece hidden beneath its surface, stolen during World War II. As Jade digs into the painting's shadowy past, she crosses paths with dangerous international treasure hunters, coded clues, and a killer who's willing to strike again. With Detective Axel Ford torn between protecting her and solving the case, Jade must outwit enemies who will stop at nothing to keep old secrets buried, before she becomes the next victim.

Ava's first day of work at Celebrity Cupcakes and Coffee goes horribly awry when television star Penelope Rose drops dead after eating the first cupcake. Horrified that she might be at the top of the list of suspects, Ava and her totally hot co-worker Easton set out to investigate what happened. Will they be able to solve the mystery or will Ava's first day of work be her last? Celebrity Cupcakes Cozy Mysteries: #1 - Killer Cupcakes #2 - Murderous Muffins #3 - Death by Chocolate

My name is Meredith Gray, but I go by "Merry", and usually I love the holidays...but not this year. With divorce papers to sign and bills to pay, I'll take whatever job I can get this close to Christmas - even if that means dressing up as an elf for my town's annual Christmas Market. But when our Santa - former Silver Brook "Man of the Year" Bill Barraclough is found bludgeoned to death I'm not going to stand by and let a murderer ruin Christmas...

When a jinn dragged Glasgow science teacher, Tavish MacBruce, to a Scotland where dragons and unicorns are real, he took on the role of a wizard. After a princess is murdered, he's asked to be a detective. When he finds a second body, he realizes it'll take more than a knowledge of BBC crime shows and the know-how to make a crab apple battery if he wants to survive.

It's Nancy's twentieth birthday, and among the numerous gifts she received, the best one was a ticket to Thomas & Co. Cruise with the Hardys, for a few days. But a sudden murder and a kidnap turns the trip into a new leaf. Nancy, along with the Hardys are determined to solve a case full of trust, betrayal and suspense. Will she be able to solve it in time? While love blooms between Nancy and the elder Hardy, mystery blooms double the amount. Will they be able to cope up with the dangers that lay ahead? Find out now in Cruise & Bruise ✨✨ ************* A/N:- The description might sound.... simple or not very appealing but trust me, give the story a chance, and I'm sure you'll like it :)

A body is found by an old man with his dog in an old, dilapidated barn. She is identified as Jessie Raegan, the head cheerleader of Cape Hill High who had been missing for almost a week after going out Friday night. Bloodied and naked, the police are baffled as to who killed Jessie Raegan. Indie "Red" McAdams, an aspiring detective, is especially interested in the case. With her cunning wits and master sleuthing, Red is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and find the killer. But time is of the essence. With the police wrapping up the case and a killer still on the loose, Red must solve the murder before it's too late. Copyright 2020

February 8th, 2018 is yet another ordinary day in the isolated residence of Pearl Manor. Everything's been sailing smoothly in the supernatural household...well, until a wounded stranger comes knocking on the front door. Set in the fictional country of Henwrich, Into The World is a SFF mystery-thriller, mainly following twenty-two-year-old Elizabeth Banks, owner of Pearl Manor, as she's tossed into a world that ultimately questions her existence. Featured on WattpadUrbanFantasy - Futuristic Magical Worlds

Living in a cozy, small town, tucked away in the south of England, unremarkable average guy Alfie Bowman has been heard to describe himself as a refugee from a failed life. In his own words he’s ordinary looking, starting to lose his hair, a little bit shorter than average, a little bit heavier than he should be, and a lot less fit than he really ought to be. Most definitely an unlikely hero! At the ripe old age of 50, he’s escaped an unhappy marriage and just wants to re-start his life, relax and have some fun, and maybe do some writing - if only he could find something to write about! So when he stops in the pub for a couple of pints on the way home one night, the last thing he expects to have to do is save a stunning young woman half his age from a fracas with an enormous thug with huge fists! But that’s exactly what he does do, because, as far as Alfie’s concerned, there are some things you can’t just stand by and ignore. Waking up in hospital later that night he wonders if maybe getting involved hadn’t been the best decision he’d ever made after all! But he soon learns that the beating he’d been given had nothing to do with events in the pub... So who beat him up, and why? Who is the stunning young woman and what’s she doing in town?

Can a diamond ring really disappear from a table into thin air? How can it be possible for an emerald necklace to vanish from a locked safe, the code of which only the owner knows? And how on earth does a ruby bracelet disappear from a lady's wrist while she is eating dinner? These are all questions Alianna Winter must answer, if she is to solve the mystery of the Merryweather Jewel Thefts. But, as Allie fully knows, nothing is ever as straightforward as it first appears. -The second book in the Alianna Winter series. Her earlier cases: 1.Death At Scarlet Leaf Her later cases: 3.A House On The Hill 4.Murder Is At Hand 5. The Incident Concerning The Alsatian Dog 6. At The Plaza Majestic 7.Madame Juror 8.A Murder Shall Commence 9.The Impossible Poisoning 10.The Final Endgame The Toby Smart Spin-offs: What Makes A Detective What Breaks A Detective

Lila Monroe, a smart, awkward, and observant 17 year old is thrown out of her comfort zone when Mason Reed, her former middle school best friend, goes missing. Police say that he ran away. But Lila isn't so sure. Why? Because the night he left, at 1:13 am, he called her. 'Lila-listen. Don't trust them. Especially not the one closest to you.' That's it. That was all he left for her before the storm cut the line. Now Lila is left with questions that can only be answered if she finds Mason Reed.

A monster is running down Main Street! An old mountain hermit, dressed as Death, drops dead at a Halloween festival in Hope Rock County. Nobody knows why. But mysterious forces are at work on the Appalachian ridges. Granny witches and the Ancients. Black witches and sin eaters. Most folks think the old ways and traditions are a thing of the past. But the past rears up its aged head, and there's more going on here than meets the eye. A lovely tract of land is threatened by developers. Will life in the sleepy little town be forever changed? Can Hadley Pell solve the murder and keep Paradise from being lost forever? The Hadley Pell Cozy Mystery Series: 1. Nobody's Sorry You're Dead 2. Nobody Knows Your Secret 3. Nobody Can Say It's You 4. Nobody's Fool Y'all 5. Nobody Says It's Easy

Excalibur is Missing. A Killer is on the Loose. One Reporter is Determined to Uncover the Truth. James has a nose for trouble. But that's nothing new. This time, things are different... ...his life is on the line. James is the chief editor of a small newspaper. It's hardly captivating work. He's bored. But all of that is about to change. Late one evening, he returns home to discover his long-time girlfriend and journalist, Valentine, has left. Early the next morning, James fails to reallocate her assigned story. To avoid blank space in the culture section and losing his job, he decides to write the story on the local museum's latest acquisition, Excalibur. But, there's one thing he didn't count on... ....Excalibur is missing, and a dead body is at the crime scene. As his investigations commence, James unravels a tangled web of betrayal, kidnapping, and murder. But his fact-finding hasn't gone unrecognised. The wrong people have started to notice. And there will be consequences...dire consequences. If you love gripping cloak-and-dagger mysteries with twists and turns, then you'll love this first instalment in the James Lalonde Amateur Sleuth Mystery series. Get it now. Please note: this is a re-edited edition of the previously published novella, Missing.

Retired octogenarian schoolteacher Myrtle Clover is fit to be tied when her book club votes to change to a supper club. Who wants chips and dip when they can have Dickens and Twain? The first supper club is a progressive dinner...where Myrtle loses interest during the hors d'oeuvres. But when a body is discovered during the main course, the evening quickly gets interesting. Myrtle pits her sleuthing skills against her police chief son's to find the killer....if the killer doesn't find her first.

"Two bodies in a car at the bottom of a ravine - one is a stranger, frozen solid; the other is her brother-in-law. Country girl Kaelynn Barrows has a compulsive need to understand what happened, and no respect for secrets. The police suspect her brother-in-law is a murderer and that his car accident was suicide. She can't agree but after a young girl arrives with a note saying she'd his daughter, everything is open to question. When Kaelynn and her sister stumble upon a third body, the questions won't stop and now it's not just the police paying attention. As she digs, threats hit too close to home, but she can't stop. At this rate, he'll be guilty, and she'll be dead. " Am hoping you'll be willing to rate each section with: 1) I really want to know what happens next 2) Interesting, but not worried about what's next 3) Couldn't finish this (Please say why.)

|| Summer of 1985 || Anthony and Thomas Banks, brothers with scarce in common, must set aside their differences when a corpse is discovered in their new home; in order to not fall back into the clutches of their evil guardian. +++ 12-year-old Anthony Banks is everything his brother is not. Short. Plain. Timid. And not a single ounce of superpowers. However, he's elated when they move in to the home of his dreams this summer: no more bullies and fiery nuns. And no more evil Diselhock. Well, until he finds a corpse embedded in the living room wall. Wrapped in dark, slimy ivy. 16-year-old Thomas Banks has not yet gotten over the arson that had killed his parents five years ago. Not when their guardian Keith Diselhock's been hanging it over his head like the sword of Damocles. But not anymore, at least. He's managed to secure a deal; all they have to do is not cause trouble. Piece of cake, right? With the ghastly corpse in their new home, reemerging friends & foes, and a sinister ice cream truck that keeps the neighbors out of sight, will Tony and Tom live peacefully in this "pristine" neighborhood? Rating: PG (13+) AMBYS 2023 WINNER (SCI-FI) || Featured on many RLs, including @Action's Superheroes RL XD

Robin's life is in freefall over one weekend in April. On Friday, her fiancé Dustin calls off their wedding, on Saturday, she and her best friend Callie have a bonfire to burn everything but the dress, and on Sunday she moves from Dustin's apartment to her 80-year-old grandmother's house in the country. She's looking forward to returning to work and normalcy as a massage therapist at Rejuvenate, a popular day spa in a Miami suburb, but when she arrives Monday morning, a shirtless dead body has been discovered in the salt therapy room. The body belongs to one of her former clients. Six months ago, he'd been so obnoxious, she had to call the police on him, and because he's never worked with anyone else at the spa, it means Robin is the number one suspect. Quickly, Robin decides she needs to figure out who murdered him. Being sent to prison makes Robin's disastrous weekend seem as trivial as a bad pedicure. The only bright spot in this increasingly dark picture is that Robin's favorite clien

Zelda wants to teach children English and 'find herself' in Kathmandu. Ian wants to get stoned and trek the Himalayas. Tommy wants to get rich by smuggling diamonds. How their stories collide will leave you on the edge of your seat!

A woman with too many pets and a knack for going unnoticed is summoned for jury duty in a dusty desert town. What begins as an ordinary civic obligation quickly unravels into something strange. As she navigates courtroom drama, questionable characters, and an increasingly unsettling series of events, our narrator must rely on sharp instincts, a few disguises, and a stubborn streak of curiosity to make it out unscathed.