Amateurdetective Stories

Cassandra Blake thought the biggest challenge at Willowcombe's Harvest Festival would be beating the reigning baking champion. She was wrong. A renowned historian staggers into the village hall, warns everyone not to eat her lemon tarts... and dies seconds later. When an ancient parchment found in his hand bears the chilling words "Blake Knows the Truth," Cassandra becomes the center of a murder investigation she never saw coming. With a handsome but frustrating academic determined to uncover Willowcombe's hidden past, anonymous threats arriving at her bakery, and secrets buried for centuries beneath the picturesque seaside village, Cassandra must discover why someone believes she holds the key to a deadly mystery. Because the killer isn't finished. And the closer Cassandra gets to the truth, the more certain she becomes that the next victim will be her. Cozy Mystery | Dark Academia | Slow Burn Romance | Amateur Sleuth | British Village Mystery

When Aarika Rao, a broke 24-year-old graphic designer, rants on social media about a viral kidnapping case, she never expects the internet to take her seriously- especially not when her sarcastic "theory" accidentally turns out to be 100% true. Overnight, she becomes an online sensation. People start begging her to solve their cheating spouses, stolen pets, missing phones... even a haunted house. To manage the chaos, Aarika reluctantly opens "The Accidental Detective Agency" with her two equally unhinged best friends: Mira - an aspiring actress who can lie better than she can breathe Shanaya - a hacker who claims she's "not hacking, just borrowing information" But the fun ends when a real criminal begins leaving clues specifically for Aarika, challenging her with twisted mysteries she never asked for. As the cases grow darker and the city grows obsessed with her "abilities," Aarika realizes someone is watching her... learning her patterns... and turning her jokes into deadly games. She started this by accident. But escaping it won't be that easy. ⚠️ Notice to Readers This story is now available in full on Amazon Kindle. Only the first 3 chapters are available here as a preview.

More Alianna Winter one chapter stories, tales of Allie and all of her friends and enemies, filling in gaps and what happened afters, all because I'm a sad human being who just can't let go. Spoilers for the original series are, sadly, inevitable. THE ALIANNA WINTER SERIES: 1.Death At Scarlet Leaf 2.The Merryweather Jewel Thefts 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 D.I. TOBY SMART SPINOFFS: What Makes A Detective What Breaks A Detective AUTHOR'S NOTE: THIS BOOK HAS NO SET SCHEDULE. I COULD UPDATE TWICE IN A YEAR AND THEN TWICE IN TWO HOURS. YOU WILL NEVER KNOW!

Thornhill was a small town filled with secrets. People have gone missing and found dead, mysteriously. The secrets of the town were guarded until............... *************************** Catherine Keller was sent to Thornhill boarding school, in the town full of secrets. Surviving was her only goal, but weird events started taking place the moment she placed foot in there. "She tried to kill me once..." Problems with tour guide "We can't find him" Disappearances of best friends. Now throw in some boys. William 'Will' Jones, raven haired musician. Fredrick 'Fred' Andrews, best friends since forever, green eyed hot nerd. Drama, romance, friendship and dissaperences makes the perfect storm! Will Catherine and her friends survive the storm? ***************** #32 in teen life. #1 in amateur detective on 11th July 2020

A murder occurs at the most unexpected times - at a party, perhaps. Helen Macey and her twin and best friend, Nina are at their aunt and uncle's house for a couple of weeks. At their cousin Janice's birthday party, horrible things happen. A night set for fun has turned to a night for - murder.

The Saturday market in Mellow Reach smells like warm bread and fresh basil-the kind of place where neighbors argue about tomato prices and mean nothing by it. Sticky cobblestones. Chipped enamel mugs. Nothing much goes wrong here. Then Thomas Reed's display collapses, and suddenly everyone's an expert. Most people saw the argument. Most people made up their minds before the pole stopped swinging. Officer Harper poked at the wreckage, called it an accident, and snapped his notebook shut. Done. Margaret Ellison wasn't there. Didn't matter. Thirty years as Mellow Reach's librarian teaches you things-how to go unnoticed while noticing everything. The angle of a fallen pole. A timeline with a loose thread nobody pulled. The particular way someone's hands flutter when they're hiding something embarrassing rather than something dangerous. She knows the difference. Always has. She knows Thomas, too. Helped him find his footing here fifteen years ago, back when this town was still deciding whether to let him in. Watched him build something worth keeping. So when the whispers calcify into verdicts-when old friendships crack along old fault lines and the harvest festival her late husband spent a decade building is suddenly up for debate-her stomach drops like a stone in cold water. Staying out of it is a choice. She's made enough of those. Semi-Retired. Not blind. Not yet done. This is an early draft shared for feedback. I'd love to know: - Would you continue reading? - Does it feel cozy? - Where did your interest drop?

A 16-year-old girl. A deadly case. A city full of secrets. Kathrine Night isn't your average teenager-she's Barcelona's youngest armed detective, chaotic by nature, calm under pressure, and always ready to throw the first punch. Working under Cipher Nox, an elite international agency, Kathrine fights crime with a crooked grin and a fire in her fists. When a teenage photographer plummets to his death during a prestigious art contest, Kathrine and her calm, tech-savvy partner Liam are pulled into a tangled mystery: a missing camera, a photo someone is willing to kill for, and a trail of secrets buried deep in Barcelona's sunlit streets. With pressure from Cipher Nox's masked and eccentric leader Viktor Zorin, and help from Marko-their lazy hacker who just might have a crush on her-Kathrine must navigate betrayals, lies, and hidden doors... all while keeping her fists clean and her smile sharp. One case could shatter everything. And this time, the game is personal.

The Ta family, one of the Wealthiest families in Japan. They have five wonderful children. They seem nice on camera... until junior detective Aravan finds a unfinished recording that went "Missing". Aravan finds a dark side to this happy family but how will she prove it to everyone?

When Cecilia Allanson is invited to her friend Lizzie's family estate for their annual summer costume party she never imagined she'd be investigating a murder. But when the maid of one of the other guests is found murdered on the eve of the party, and one of the housemaids is accused of the crime that's exactly what happens. With the help of Lizzie's older brother Freddie, Cecilia must uncover the identity of the read murderer without arousing their suspicions. Or she could be next!

A murder on stage is all part of the act... until a real one takes place. The Theatrical Murder follows a young detective, new to town, as they dive into a mystery that blurs the line between performance and reality. Can they solve the case before the final curtain falls?

Thelma is heading to her first week of a summer internship at local shipping giant, Shipsinaminute. She's gung-ho and ready to impress, but little things like extortion and drug-running are getting in the way. And oh, can she have that copier fixed in time for her manager's meeting?

Noa Drury isn't your average teenager. She passes messages on from the "other side" to the living, but when she gets a cryptic message to deliver to someone about to be convicted of a murder he might not have committed, she and her best friend/spirit guide, Max, must race to save Jake Burchell from a lifetime of imprisonment by solving the original crime. But can she believe everything Jake says?

Former detective Buchanan thought retirement meant leaving mysteries behind. Then an anonymous package appears on his doorstep. Inside is an old brass compass with a simple note: This is a gift for you, and may come in handy. The compass has only one extraordinary ability. Twice each day, it will answer a single question by pointing the way. When a wealthy widow's priceless sapphire necklace vanishes from a locked room, Buchanan is drawn into a case filled with hidden motives, careful lies, and suspects who all seem equally innocent. The compass can point him toward the truth-but it can never explain it. Every answer raises new questions, and every clue must still be uncovered the old-fashioned way. To solve the mystery, Buchanan will need more than magic. He'll need every lesson he learned during twenty-six years as a detective. Because even a magical compass cannot tell him whom to trust.

When Jade recieves an invitation to visit the famous Ferrenhoy Castle from her grandmother . She calls upon her best friends - Kate and Cierra with a promise of a remarkable adventure but does she know it will turn deadly? Would you like to embark on this journey together?

Sutton Vale is a broke college student with zero detective skills. until a staged mystery for a YouTube video accidentally makes her internet famous as a private investigator. Now, real clients are showing up, expecting her to solve their problems. With the help of her best friend, a grumpy law student, and a conspiracy-obsessed hacker, Sutton must fake her way through missing cats, blackmail schemes, and actual crimes. But when a real mystery turns deadly, she'll have to decide if she's in over her head... or if she just might be good at this detective thing after all. Main Characters Sutton Vale (20): A broke, sarcastic, and slightly chaotic college student who accidentally becomes a detective. She's smart but relies mostly on bluffing and luck. Ivy Calloway (21): Sutton's best friend and a media studies major. Runs a YouTube channel and is the mastermind behind the original fake mystery. Lennox "Knox" Mercer (22): A grumpy but brilliant law student who unwillingly becomes Sutton's legal consultant. Archer Flynn (24): A real private investigator who is amused by Sutton's antics and occasionally helps her out. Mila Vesper (19): A hacker and conspiracy theorist who insists on helping Sutton solve cases. Professor Orion Wolfe (50s): A mysterious criminology professor who seems to know more than he lets on. Detective Easton Rhys (30s): A local cop who keeps running into Sutton and is suspicious of her "detective" skills. Cassian "Cass" Reyes (22): Sutton's ex-boyfriend, now a journalist, who keeps trying to get the inside scoop on her cases. ***New update on every Friday*** Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction. Any references to real-life brands, celebrities, or media are purely for creative purposes and do not imply any affiliation, endorsement, or factual accuracy. All characters and events are fictional, and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. No copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Adam Roth, a seasoned journalist, and Solomon Brooks, a brilliant and abrasive detective, make an odd but effective team. For more than a decade, Adam has reported on Brooks' most fascinating cases, content to observe from the sidelines while Brooks gets all-or at least most-of the glory. But when their investigation into the death of Anna Flynn, a local housekeeper, takes a deadly turn, Adam finds himself thrust from passive observer to prime suspect. With Brooks murdered and the police convinced of Adam's guilt, the writer must become the detective. Armed with only his notebook and years of observing Brooks' methods, Adam dives into a web of secrets connecting two seemingly unrelated deaths. As he unravels the truth, Adam discovers a plot more twisted than any story he's ever written. Can he crack the case before becoming the killer's next victim?

Sunnie never expected a geocaching adventure to lead her to a crime scene. When she discovers a hidden clue that doesn't belong to the game, the police dismiss it as coincidence-until the clues start appearing again. And again. Determined to prove she's not imagining things, Sunnie turns her travel vlog into a true-crime investigation. The only person willing to help? A charming small-town deputy who seems to know exactly where to look. But as the danger grows closer and the clues become personal, Sunny realizes someone is watching her every move. Some games aren't meant to be solved- and trusting the wrong person could cost her everything. © 2026 Zoe Rodriguez. All rights reserved.