Ledgers and Lies
(2026)(The second book in the Paws and Portholes Mysteries series)
A novel by Hailey Hartley
Forensic accountant Rachel Brennan thought auditing a cruise ship's entertainment budget would be the perfect working vacation—sunshine, ocean views, and her clever Yorkshire Terrier Hank by her side. But when the ship's entertainment coordinator goes overboard in the middle of the night, Rachel's routine financial review becomes anything but ordinary. Hank's talent for finding things leads them to shredded ledger pages scattered across the pool deck, and Rachel's trained eye spots something alarming: payments to performers who never existed. What started as budget discrepancies might just be a cover for murder.
The ship's security ruled it an accident, but the numbers tell a different story. Ghost performers, falsified contracts, and three years of systematic theft add up to over three hundred thousand reasons for someone to silence a whistleblower. As Rachel digs deeper into the entertainment department's finances, she uncovers a web of shell companies, forged approvals, and a killer who's willing to strike again to protect their secret. With Hank's help and a crew that's increasingly nervous about her questions, Rachel must follow the money trail before the ship reaches its final port—and before the evidence disappears forever.
But proving embezzlement is one thing. Proving murder on the high seas requires more than spreadsheets and bank records. Between crew members with secrets, threatening notes slipped under her door, and a suspect who seems to be one step ahead, Rachel must race against time to build a case that will hold up in court. Can a numbers-obsessed accountant and her evidence-sniffing Yorkshire Terrier connect the dots before a killer escapes justice? Or will Rachel's investigation end up in the same deep water as the last person who asked too many questions? One thing's for certain: this cruise is going to require an extended audit.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
The ship's security ruled it an accident, but the numbers tell a different story. Ghost performers, falsified contracts, and three years of systematic theft add up to over three hundred thousand reasons for someone to silence a whistleblower. As Rachel digs deeper into the entertainment department's finances, she uncovers a web of shell companies, forged approvals, and a killer who's willing to strike again to protect their secret. With Hank's help and a crew that's increasingly nervous about her questions, Rachel must follow the money trail before the ship reaches its final port—and before the evidence disappears forever.
But proving embezzlement is one thing. Proving murder on the high seas requires more than spreadsheets and bank records. Between crew members with secrets, threatening notes slipped under her door, and a suspect who seems to be one step ahead, Rachel must race against time to build a case that will hold up in court. Can a numbers-obsessed accountant and her evidence-sniffing Yorkshire Terrier connect the dots before a killer escapes justice? Or will Rachel's investigation end up in the same deep water as the last person who asked too many questions? One thing's for certain: this cruise is going to require an extended audit.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Used availability for Hailey Hartley's Ledgers and Lies