Carved in Crime
(2025)(A book in the Small Town Halloween Cozy Mystery with Dog series)
A Story by Maisy Marple
Grace Wellington loves everything about her job as the town librarian in Harvest Glen—the smell of old books, her Halloween reading programs, and the annual Pumpkin Carving Championship that brings the whole community together. This October, she's hosting the championship registration in the library's community room, surrounded by elaborate carved pumpkins and the excitement of friendly competition. But when Grace arrives early Saturday morning to prepare for the event, she discovers Trevor Ashford, the town's most successful and most disliked pumpkin farmer, dead among the Halloween decorations.
With the championship postponed and the library transformed into a crime scene, Grace finds herself caught in an investigation that touches everyone she knows. Trevor had spent years making enemies through aggressive business tactics, threatening lawsuits, and ruthless competition, leaving half the town with motives for murder. As Detective Lisa Chen sorts through farmers facing financial ruin, rival carvers accused of sabotage, and business partners with secrets to hide, Grace can't help but notice the patterns emerging from her library's own records. Between comforting worried patrons and preparing for the community's healing, she discovers that the killer knew her library intimately and planned the crime with careful precision.
With her friends Owen and Ramona at her side and Maple the therapy dog occasionally nosing out helpful clues, Grace pieces together a puzzle that's far more complicated than it first appears. As she navigates small-town relationships and questions that seem too convenient, she realizes that sometimes the most dangerous person is the one everyone overlooks. When Grace understands how library records and a forgotten security camera connect to reveal the truth, she must work with Detective Chen to expose a killer before an innocent person pays for a crime they didn't commit. Carved in Crime is a delightful cozy mystery perfect for readers who love small-town libraries, Halloween celebrations, and observant amateur sleuths who prove that sometimes the quietest people notice the most important details.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
With the championship postponed and the library transformed into a crime scene, Grace finds herself caught in an investigation that touches everyone she knows. Trevor had spent years making enemies through aggressive business tactics, threatening lawsuits, and ruthless competition, leaving half the town with motives for murder. As Detective Lisa Chen sorts through farmers facing financial ruin, rival carvers accused of sabotage, and business partners with secrets to hide, Grace can't help but notice the patterns emerging from her library's own records. Between comforting worried patrons and preparing for the community's healing, she discovers that the killer knew her library intimately and planned the crime with careful precision.
With her friends Owen and Ramona at her side and Maple the therapy dog occasionally nosing out helpful clues, Grace pieces together a puzzle that's far more complicated than it first appears. As she navigates small-town relationships and questions that seem too convenient, she realizes that sometimes the most dangerous person is the one everyone overlooks. When Grace understands how library records and a forgotten security camera connect to reveal the truth, she must work with Detective Chen to expose a killer before an innocent person pays for a crime they didn't commit. Carved in Crime is a delightful cozy mystery perfect for readers who love small-town libraries, Halloween celebrations, and observant amateur sleuths who prove that sometimes the quietest people notice the most important details.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
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Used availability for Maisy Marple's Carved in Crime