Blackmail at Lantern Night
(2026)(The fourth book in the Gilded Pumpkin Bakehouse Mystery series)
A novel by Diana Beckett
The lanterns are supposed to make Bramblewick glow. Instead, they light the perfect stage for a killer.
Ivy Culver is finally back on her feet. The Gilded Pumpkin Bakehouse is open, the crowds are returning, and Winter Lantern Market might be the fresh start she needs. Until the town’s corporate sponsor drops dead after sampling a ‘safety-approved’ treat… and the whispers begin before the body is even cold.
Cross-contamination, they say. Careless vendor practices, they say.
And somehow, they keep saying Ivy’s name.
With her permits under threat, her bakehouse facing closure, and a polished compliance officer smiling a little too brightly while ‘helping,’ Ivy does what she does best: builds a timeline, tracks access, and follows the paper trail nobody wants her to see. Because this isn’t just murder. It’s leverage.
Detective Cal Mercer wants her safe and quiet. Bramblewick’s power players want her gone. And someone is using the lantern-lit charm of the market to hide a very old system of control… one that’s starting to circle Ivy’s property like a prize.
In Bramblewick, secrets don’t stay buried. They get filed, stamped, and weaponized.
A page-turning cozy mystery packed with small-town intrigue, sharp humor, clean clueing, and a sleuth who refuses to be owned.
Genre: Mystery
Ivy Culver is finally back on her feet. The Gilded Pumpkin Bakehouse is open, the crowds are returning, and Winter Lantern Market might be the fresh start she needs. Until the town’s corporate sponsor drops dead after sampling a ‘safety-approved’ treat… and the whispers begin before the body is even cold.
Cross-contamination, they say. Careless vendor practices, they say.
And somehow, they keep saying Ivy’s name.
With her permits under threat, her bakehouse facing closure, and a polished compliance officer smiling a little too brightly while ‘helping,’ Ivy does what she does best: builds a timeline, tracks access, and follows the paper trail nobody wants her to see. Because this isn’t just murder. It’s leverage.
Detective Cal Mercer wants her safe and quiet. Bramblewick’s power players want her gone. And someone is using the lantern-lit charm of the market to hide a very old system of control… one that’s starting to circle Ivy’s property like a prize.
In Bramblewick, secrets don’t stay buried. They get filed, stamped, and weaponized.
A page-turning cozy mystery packed with small-town intrigue, sharp humor, clean clueing, and a sleuth who refuses to be owned.
Genre: Mystery
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