The Candy Cane Secret
(2026)(The first book in the Pine Grove Christmas Mystery series)
A novel by S F Baumgartner
A candy cane shipment. A decades-old photograph. A Christmas secret someone will do anything to keep buried.
Retired attorney and bookshop owner Mae Cassidy Reeves expects Pine Grove’s Christmas Market to bring author signings, gift wrapping, and the usual small-town bustle. Instead, a tampered candy cane delivery leaves her with an envelope addressed to her, an old photograph, and a mysterious brass key.
With former intelligence officer Cyrus Jagers and his watchful German shepherd at her side, Mae follows the clues to a beloved charity and some of Pine Grove’s most respected citizens. Their carefully worded answers point back to a Christmas Eve hit-and-run—and records someone has gone to considerable trouble to hide.
Then security footage reveals a woman who bears an unsettling resemblance to Mae’s sister-in-law, missing and presumed dead for twenty-five years.
As witnesses retreat behind polite denials and evidence goes missing, Mae must discover who is still protecting the old crime. But in a town where she knows almost everyone, recognizing a familiar face is no guarantee she knows whom to trust.
The Candy Cane Secret begins the Pine Grove Christmas Mysteries, a clean mystery series featuring small-town warmth, family secrets, gentle wit, and suspense under the Christmas lights.
Genre: Mystery
Retired attorney and bookshop owner Mae Cassidy Reeves expects Pine Grove’s Christmas Market to bring author signings, gift wrapping, and the usual small-town bustle. Instead, a tampered candy cane delivery leaves her with an envelope addressed to her, an old photograph, and a mysterious brass key.
With former intelligence officer Cyrus Jagers and his watchful German shepherd at her side, Mae follows the clues to a beloved charity and some of Pine Grove’s most respected citizens. Their carefully worded answers point back to a Christmas Eve hit-and-run—and records someone has gone to considerable trouble to hide.
Then security footage reveals a woman who bears an unsettling resemblance to Mae’s sister-in-law, missing and presumed dead for twenty-five years.
As witnesses retreat behind polite denials and evidence goes missing, Mae must discover who is still protecting the old crime. But in a town where she knows almost everyone, recognizing a familiar face is no guarantee she knows whom to trust.
The Candy Cane Secret begins the Pine Grove Christmas Mysteries, a clean mystery series featuring small-town warmth, family secrets, gentle wit, and suspense under the Christmas lights.
Genre: Mystery