Smalltownmystery Stories

In Coral Bay, everyone knows everyone. And everyone has something to hide. Eighteen-year-old Isla Bennett has spent most of her life believing her father abandoned her. Twelve years without a phone call. Twelve years without an explanation. Twelve years trying to convince herself she doesn't care why he left. Until one summer night, her phone rings. It's him. And he has only one warning: Stop looking for me. But Isla has never been very good at leaving things alone. With her cousin Harper, reckless best friend Brody, quiet and observant Theo, mysterious newcomer Sloane, and Noah Callahan-the infuriating boy from one of Coral Bay's wealthiest families-by her side, Isla begins searching for answers. Instead, they uncover a mystery the town has spent twenty years trying to bury. A nineteen-year-old girl who vanished without a trace. An old photograph connecting their families. A police investigation that was mysteriously shut down. And secrets that someone is willing to do anything to keep hidden. As Isla and Noah grow dangerously close and the six friends find themselves pulled deeper into Coral Bay's past, Isla begins to realise that her father may never have abandoned her at all. He may have been running. And whatever he was running from... is still in Coral Bay. Where the Waves Keep Secrets is a story of friendship, first love, buried truths and one unforgettable summer where six friends discover that some secrets don't stay buried forever.

Olivia, a 16-year-old girl reluctantly moves to a new town. She gets enchanted by the town's mysteries and boys. As the mystery uncovers she discovers more about herself.

When seventeen-year-old Delta Okafor loses her mother to cancer, she's forced to leave New York City and move across the country to live with her glamorous Aunt Helen-a beloved television personality in the picture-perfect town of Danbury, Tennessee. When Delta arrives, she knows almost nothing about her mother's life there. As far as she knows, Vera grew up in Illinois, studied art, moved to New York, met Delta's father, and built a life far away from the South. Her new life at Danbury circles around getting into media club to honour her mums journalism, The hot athlete Bruce Wellis who she definitely doesn't have a thing for and Getting into Brown her dream Ivy school. Until she goes across her Aunts attic and find a hate list. A list of names her mother had written twenty years ago. A list of eleven people that she believes were her late Mums classmates. What happens when someone from that list dies. A descendant of the class of 95'. Then another Kid who had a parent from that list. And another And another Eleven names: one which belongs to her new Best friends Dad and another The hot athlete she's still not into. Thrown into a wild goose chase against time. Her world is thrown apart as she races against time to find the serial Killer responsible for her mums revenge. But nothing is at it looks. And the more deep she goes the more she realizes her mums life was way more complicated than she thought and that this picture perfect town might be more sinister than she thought.

In the woods of Oakridge, hikers are disappearing left and right―even more so than usual. After much careful deducing, Evan Novak is positive that the locations where the vanishings occur follow a pattern, but when he sets out one night to see for himself, he doesn't return from those woods. The last thing he does before seemingly blipping from existence is send a garbled voicemail to his best friend-his emergency contact. Day Jha wants to get through high school with minimal mayhem. From elementary school, he's been a wallflower, blending in with the crowd-and he prefers it that way. In a town like Oakridge, where strange things are the norm, Day prides himself on being truly mundane. But when his best friend goes missing, and his only lead is a voicemail with nary a voice, the beginning of his freshman year is made up of poking into the odd history of his small town and unearthing disconcerting instances from its places, its people, and even himself. Day wants to be a typical high schooler. He wants to be on the swim team, even if one of its co-captains has a big head. He wants to go out with the new girl, Artie. He wants to slip by as he had in middle school―but mostly, he wants to do all that with his best friend by his side. But where on Earth is Evan, and what really is lurking in those woods? There's only one thing to do: see for himself. They're just trees; it's not like the legends, the tales, the monsters that have always surrounded their town are real, right? BOOK 1 of the Monsters series

Six Feet Deep Dish had me making my own pizza mid-audiobook. Great found family energy, a detective descended from Al Capone (yes, really), but the love triangle timing threw me off. 3 stars, and I'm still working my way to book 6 for an ARC review. 🍕🔪

New review on Views She Writes: Dug Up by Shari Marshall. A self-published urban fantasy about a detective hiding dangerous magic in a town that fears it. The mystery had promise, but unlabeled POV switches and a tangled timeline turned a 2 hour read into a 6-7 hour puzzle. Full thoughts on the blog.

Twelve hours. One steam train through New Zealand's lower North Island. One murder. Killer on the Kelvin Explorer is Milverton Mysteries book 5 and honestly the best one yet. Addison and Mabel back at it again, and this time there's nowhere to run. Full review on the blog. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

New review up: The Mystic and the Missing Girl by Vikki VanSickle. A reluctant psychic, a tarot deck, and a 20-year-old cold case in a small lakeside town. Loved the tarot chapter openers and the aunt/niece bond. Mark your calendar, it's out September 8! #cozymystery #NetGalley

A 17 year-old boy named Zachary Baker goes missing in the small town of Aileen, Ohio. It's up to his best friend Elliott Moore and two others named Reagan Lovejoy and Finn Louis to find him before its too late. Many plot twists! Loosely inspired by The Black Phone. chapters rotate between the 4 main characters' povs. give feedback and even leave predictions!

Book two of the Deep Dish Mystery series just won me over. 🍕🔪 Ashes to Ashes, Crust to Crust has a better mystery, better characters, and a twist that actually got me. ⭐⭐⭐⭐ review now live on Views She Writes. #CozyMystery #BookReview #DeepDishMystery #MindyQuigley

A gripping village mystery filled with secrets, suspicion, and quiet danger. When a stranger arrives in the Yorkshire village of Brackenford, Margaret Redfern senses something is terribly wrong. A missing woman, a silent witness, and a trail of lies lead her into a web of deception that threatens the peace of the entire community. Perfect for readers who enjoy atmospheric British mysteries, strong female sleuths, and small‑town secrets.

Four high school students. One small town. Hidden powers stirring. Asher, Kira, Bri, and Liam are nothing alike-until a school trip brings them together, and strange forces begin to creep into their lives. Shadows flicker at the edge of reality, abilities awaken without warning, and an unseen darkness threatens everything they know. To save their town, they'll have to learn to trust each other... and themselves. Friendship, danger, and powers beyond imagination await in Seeping Shadows. This is an original story. Please do not copy my work All characters and places are fiction

The seemingly idyllic town of Marrow Creek hides a web of secrets beneath its lantern-lit streets. Thirty years ago, a beloved girl named Eden Pearson disappeared during the annual Harvest Festival, and the town has been shaped by her absence ever since. Meanwhile, vigils, and traditions preserve her like a saint, and every October, the community gathers to remember the girl who never came home. This year, another teenager vanishes. As the festival lights are taken down and the search posters go up, the town doesn't panic - it performs. Old resentments surface, alliances tighten, and every neighbour watches the other with polite, unsettling interest. Everyone has something to hide - long simmering feuds, secret affairs, vanished records, and memories that don't match the official story. Friendships fracture, loyalties shift, and with every revelation the town grows more sinister. Because in Marrow Creek, tragedy isn't just remembered - it's worshipped.

Ten years ago, Delilah Peters walked into a diner with Blackwater's mayor. Hours later, she was dead. Or so they thought. The case went cold, filed away in the unsolved drawer like so many others in Blackwater-a city with a small-town feel and secrets running decades deep. But now, a young woman, Kass, eerily similar to Delilah in her relentless curiosity, is determined to uncover the truth. When she stumbles upon a hidden letter and a series of long-lost recordings, she realizes Delilah left more than just a mystery behind-she left a plan. As buried evidence resurfaces, exposing corrupt officials, power-hungry business owners, and a tangled web of betrayal, Blackwater is about to burn. Some will fight to keep their secrets buried. Others will kill for it. crimefiction #thriller #mystery #coldcase #drama #unsolvedmystery #conspiracy #darksecrets #smalltownmystery #corruption #foundfootage #murdermystery #tenyearsdelilah #blackwaterfiles

New mom Holly White just wants a peaceful first Christmas for baby Joy. Instead she finds a body among the reindeer. Jacqueline Frost's 7th Christmas Tree Farm Mystery is slower than usual, but Mistletoe is as cozy as ever. Out October 6.

When criminal psychologist Dr. Elara Vance is called to consult on a series of staged suicides, she believes she's hunting a manipulator. What she doesn't know? He's already chosen her. Each victim leaves behind the same message carved somewhere unseen: "She will remember." As Elara descends into the minds of the dead, she begins losing pieces of her own memory - fragments of a childhood accident, a missing girl, a boy with watchful eyes. The lead detective assigned to the case, Adrian Keller, is calm. Brilliant. Comforting. And always one step ahead. The deeper Elara digs, the clearer the horror becomes: This isn't a random killer. This is a carefully grown garden of trauma. And she was the first seed.

Monsters, curses, and talking trees weren't on Jack Mendez's to‑do list-until his dying mother's secret lights a flame that draws the ancient forest straight to his door.

In the tranquil town of Evergreen, the arrival of a mysterious new resident stirs up more than just curiosity. Lydia Parker, a spirited artist, finds her world turned upside down when she meets the enigmatic and captivating Hunter Blackwood. Little does she know, Hunter harbors a secret that could change everything she believes about the world. As the full moon rises, Lydia must navigate a world of hidden truths and forbidden love. Will she uncover the mysteries of Hunter's past, or will the dangers lurking in the shadows tear them apart?

In the idyllic town of Foxglove Grove, where brightly painted buildings and the scent of fresh coffee fill the air, two girls are about to discover a love that's as unexpected as it is undeniable. Cassie, a vintage-loving introvert, has always found solace in the quiet corners of town, from the local flower shop to the dusty shelves of the bookstore. Sable, the goth extrovert with a mysterious air, is the polar opposite, drawing attention wherever she goes. When they first met at the garden behind the flower shop at age fifteen, they were drawn together by an unspoken connection. Now, two years later, their bond is stronger than ever, and they're inseparable. But as their love deepens, they begin to uncover the mysteries of the town that have always lingered just beyond the surface. In a town full of secrets, can their love survive the strange pull of Foxglove, where the moon never seems to set, and mystery is woven into the very fabric of the place? Book 1/2

В Twinwood, people are disappearing. Six in six months - and not a single body. Detectives Avelune move to the town to investigate, enrolling their sixteen-year-old daughter Cassandra into the prestigious Gravington Institute of Arts. But Cassandra quickly realizes Gravington isn't just an elite school. It's a display window. And behind it hides a faculty no one dares to speak of out loud. Ashford. In this place, it's not only people who vanish - identities do too. Where do Twinwood's residents go? Who is hunting from inside Gravington? And what do you do when love turns out to be part of the trap?