Beneath the Ice
(2026)(The fourth book in the Fur on the Ice Mystery series)
A novel by Hailey Hartley
Sarah Monroe runs the Ashford Community Ice Arena with meticulous precision, managing everything from equipment maintenance to program schedules with her aging beagle Bailey by her side. But when she arrives early Monday morning and discovers beloved Zamboni driver Frank Hollis crushed beneath his machine, Sarah's orderly world is thrown into chaos. The police quickly rule it a tragic workplace accident, but Bailey's persistent alerts and Sarah's knowledge of Frank's obsessive safety habits suggest the truth is far more sinister than anyone wants to believe.
As Sarah digs deeper into the circumstances surrounding Frank's death, she uncovers systematic theft at the arena—fraudulent equipment orders, padded invoices, and stolen goods worth tens of thousands of dollars. Frank had discovered the conspiracy and documented everything carefully, giving the thieves multiple chances to confess before planning to report them to the board. Every clue points to someone with full access to the facility, someone who knew Frank's routines well enough to stage a convincing accident, someone desperate enough to kill rather than face consequences. With Bailey's keen instincts leading her to hidden evidence and her own systematic approach connecting the pieces, Sarah races to expose the truth before the killer strikes again.
In the close-knit world of community ice arenas, trust and familiarity can mask deadly intentions. Sarah must use all her managerial skills and rely on Bailey's nose to navigate a maze of betrayal and greed, because in Ashford, sometimes the people you've worked beside for years are the ones with the most to hide. When the final evidence surfaces, Sarah will discover that some are willing to sacrifice everything—including a good man's life—to protect their secrets.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
As Sarah digs deeper into the circumstances surrounding Frank's death, she uncovers systematic theft at the arena—fraudulent equipment orders, padded invoices, and stolen goods worth tens of thousands of dollars. Frank had discovered the conspiracy and documented everything carefully, giving the thieves multiple chances to confess before planning to report them to the board. Every clue points to someone with full access to the facility, someone who knew Frank's routines well enough to stage a convincing accident, someone desperate enough to kill rather than face consequences. With Bailey's keen instincts leading her to hidden evidence and her own systematic approach connecting the pieces, Sarah races to expose the truth before the killer strikes again.
In the close-knit world of community ice arenas, trust and familiarity can mask deadly intentions. Sarah must use all her managerial skills and rely on Bailey's nose to navigate a maze of betrayal and greed, because in Ashford, sometimes the people you've worked beside for years are the ones with the most to hide. When the final evidence surfaces, Sarah will discover that some are willing to sacrifice everything—including a good man's life—to protect their secrets.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Used availability for Hailey Hartley's Beneath the Ice