Puzzles, Paws & Peril
(2026)(The fifth book in the Maggie Nelson Cozy Mystery series)
A novel by Bonnie Reed
When eccentric puzzle author Desmond Cresswell bursts into the Wheatfield Public Library with a cryptic crossword and a town-wide scavenger hunt, librarian Maggie Nelson expects a little harmless excitement. What she doesn't expect is a dead body, a fifty-year-old cover-up, and a killer who has been hiding in plain sight all along.
With her loyal terrier Watson at her heels, her best friend Lucy armed with baked goods, and reporter Brett filling notebooks as fast as events unfold, Maggie follows a trail of puzzles, property records, and buried secrets that reaches back to Wheatfield's darkest chapter.
But someone knows how close she's getting. And with threatening texts, shadowy figures, and her best friend held captive, Maggie is learning that some secrets fight back.
Some puzzles are meant to stay unsolved. But with the threats hitting closer to home, Maggie has no choice but to keep pushing — and solve it before whoever buried the truth decides to bury her with it.
Genre: Mystery
With her loyal terrier Watson at her heels, her best friend Lucy armed with baked goods, and reporter Brett filling notebooks as fast as events unfold, Maggie follows a trail of puzzles, property records, and buried secrets that reaches back to Wheatfield's darkest chapter.
But someone knows how close she's getting. And with threatening texts, shadowy figures, and her best friend held captive, Maggie is learning that some secrets fight back.
Some puzzles are meant to stay unsolved. But with the threats hitting closer to home, Maggie has no choice but to keep pushing — and solve it before whoever buried the truth decides to bury her with it.
Genre: Mystery
Used availability for Bonnie Reed's Puzzles, Paws & Peril