Murder on Founders Quay
(2026)(The fifth book in the Dead Letter House Cozy Mystery series)
A novel by Diana Beckett
Founders Week was supposed to save Blackbird Quay.
The harbor is dressed for celebration, the town’s oldest papers are finally going on display, and the charter exhibition at Founders Quay promises to settle years of rumor, rivalry, and redevelopment fights in one glittering weekend.
Then the chair of the Harbor Trust is found murdered inside the customs-house chart room.
For Elsie Harrow, the case is more than another body in the middle of a public event. Every clue points back to the hidden trail her late aunt Quinn died trying to protect. False notices. Altered family records. Secret packet routes. And now the oldest documents in Blackbird Quay may be the most dangerous lies of all.
As panic spreads through the town, the evidence threatens to drag Dead Letter House into scandal once again. Powerful families are desperate to protect their claims. The redevelopment vote is hanging by a thread. And someone inside Blackbird Quay’s respectable civic machine is willing to kill to keep the truth locked away.
To solve the murder, Elsie will have to untangle forged charters, buried custody records, and the final secret behind the initials that have haunted every case she’s faced.
Because this time, exposing the killer will not just ruin a reputation.
It could rewrite the whole town.
Perfect for readers who love atmospheric seaside cozies, clever fair-play mysteries, small-town secrets, slow-burn tension, and a satisfying series payoff with heart, charm, and danger.
Genre: Mystery
The harbor is dressed for celebration, the town’s oldest papers are finally going on display, and the charter exhibition at Founders Quay promises to settle years of rumor, rivalry, and redevelopment fights in one glittering weekend.
Then the chair of the Harbor Trust is found murdered inside the customs-house chart room.
For Elsie Harrow, the case is more than another body in the middle of a public event. Every clue points back to the hidden trail her late aunt Quinn died trying to protect. False notices. Altered family records. Secret packet routes. And now the oldest documents in Blackbird Quay may be the most dangerous lies of all.
As panic spreads through the town, the evidence threatens to drag Dead Letter House into scandal once again. Powerful families are desperate to protect their claims. The redevelopment vote is hanging by a thread. And someone inside Blackbird Quay’s respectable civic machine is willing to kill to keep the truth locked away.
To solve the murder, Elsie will have to untangle forged charters, buried custody records, and the final secret behind the initials that have haunted every case she’s faced.
Because this time, exposing the killer will not just ruin a reputation.
It could rewrite the whole town.
Perfect for readers who love atmospheric seaside cozies, clever fair-play mysteries, small-town secrets, slow-burn tension, and a satisfying series payoff with heart, charm, and danger.
Genre: Mystery
Used availability for Diana Beckett's Murder on Founders Quay