Murder on the Campaign Trail
(2025)(A book in the Montana Cozy Art Mysteries series)
A Story by Mollie Mathews
★★★★★ ‘A beautifully written cozy mystery that paints with light and shadow.’
When small-town politics turn toxic, one artist discovers that beauty can’t always hide the truth.
When a local mayoral candidate’s billboards are repeatedly slashed and defaced, artist and amateur sleuth Cassandra Fairweather can’t help but notice the ugliness beneath Willow Hollow’s picture-perfect charm. But when that same candidate—Dawn Smoulders, a woman both admired and despised—is found dead at her campaign headquarters, Cassandra’s quiet Montana valley erupts with suspicion.
As Sheriff Tom Archer investigates, whispers ripple through town: jealous rivals, betrayed lovers, bitter artists, even a troubled teen prodigy with a sketchbook full of eerie drawings. Each clue pulls Cassandra deeper into a tangled web of secrets, ambition, and revenge.
Armed with intuition, compassion, and her artist’s eye for hidden patterns, Cassandra begins to see what others miss—the truth concealed in color, shadow, and brushstroke. But when she discovers fingerprints linking a beloved student to the murder, she must confront her deepest fear: what if innocence can be manipulated as easily as paint on a canvas?
Set against the sweeping beauty of Montana, Murder on the Campaign Trail is a story of art and empathy, redemption and ruin—a cozy mystery where every portrait hides a motive, and every heart carries a secret.
Genre: Mystery
When small-town politics turn toxic, one artist discovers that beauty can’t always hide the truth.
When a local mayoral candidate’s billboards are repeatedly slashed and defaced, artist and amateur sleuth Cassandra Fairweather can’t help but notice the ugliness beneath Willow Hollow’s picture-perfect charm. But when that same candidate—Dawn Smoulders, a woman both admired and despised—is found dead at her campaign headquarters, Cassandra’s quiet Montana valley erupts with suspicion.
As Sheriff Tom Archer investigates, whispers ripple through town: jealous rivals, betrayed lovers, bitter artists, even a troubled teen prodigy with a sketchbook full of eerie drawings. Each clue pulls Cassandra deeper into a tangled web of secrets, ambition, and revenge.
Armed with intuition, compassion, and her artist’s eye for hidden patterns, Cassandra begins to see what others miss—the truth concealed in color, shadow, and brushstroke. But when she discovers fingerprints linking a beloved student to the murder, she must confront her deepest fear: what if innocence can be manipulated as easily as paint on a canvas?
Set against the sweeping beauty of Montana, Murder on the Campaign Trail is a story of art and empathy, redemption and ruin—a cozy mystery where every portrait hides a motive, and every heart carries a secret.
Genre: Mystery
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