Autumn Leaves and Alibis
(2025)(A book in the Hayrides and Homicides series)
An omnibus of novels by Maisy Marple
Stella Montgomery has spent eighteen years serving coffee and maple pecan pie at The Wandering Spoon, her cozy café in the mountain town of Riverbend Valley. She knows everyone's favorite order, listens to their troubles, and watches the rhythm of small-town life unfold from behind her counter. When the annual Maple Sugar Festival arrives each October, Stella expects the usual chaos of hayrides, craft vendors, and leaf peepers enjoying the spectacular fall colors. What she doesn't expect is murder.
Preston Calloway, the wealthy and controlling owner of Calloway Maple Works, is found dead at the base of the scenic observation deck overlooking the Clearwater River. The influential businessman had just announced plans to sell his family's company to a corporation that would eliminate most of the town's jobs, and he'd made enemies everywhere he went. His betrayed wife, his fired employee, his controlled daughter, his desperate neighbor, and his scorned mistress all had reasons to want him gone. When the police focus on the wrong suspect, Stella finds herself noticing details others miss and asking questions that lead to dangerous answers.
With her observant nature and her basset hound Clover by her side, Stella pieces together a puzzle involving blackmail, secret affairs, financial desperation, and a cleverly planned ambush beneath the observation deck. But uncovering the truth means understanding that sometimes the quietest people harbor the darkest secrets, and that in a small town where everyone knows everyone, a killer can hide in plain sight. As autumn leaves fall and the first snow approaches, Stella must use all her small-town wisdom to ensure justice is served before someone else pays the ultimate price.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Preston Calloway, the wealthy and controlling owner of Calloway Maple Works, is found dead at the base of the scenic observation deck overlooking the Clearwater River. The influential businessman had just announced plans to sell his family's company to a corporation that would eliminate most of the town's jobs, and he'd made enemies everywhere he went. His betrayed wife, his fired employee, his controlled daughter, his desperate neighbor, and his scorned mistress all had reasons to want him gone. When the police focus on the wrong suspect, Stella finds herself noticing details others miss and asking questions that lead to dangerous answers.
With her observant nature and her basset hound Clover by her side, Stella pieces together a puzzle involving blackmail, secret affairs, financial desperation, and a cleverly planned ambush beneath the observation deck. But uncovering the truth means understanding that sometimes the quietest people harbor the darkest secrets, and that in a small town where everyone knows everyone, a killer can hide in plain sight. As autumn leaves fall and the first snow approaches, Stella must use all her small-town wisdom to ensure justice is served before someone else pays the ultimate price.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Used availability for Maisy Marple's Autumn Leaves and Alibis