Carefully Curated Murder
(2026)(The seventh book in the Pupcakes and Paws Cozy Mystery series)
A novel by Krista Sawyer
A flawless tasting. A fallen food mogul. A beagle who won’t stop sniffing the ‘safe’ ingredients.
Silverbrook runs on curated charm and careful control. When meticulous tastemaker Calvin Rusk collapses mid-sip at a private event, the town calls it tragic misfortune.
Dog trainer Maggie Harper calls it deliberate.
Blunt and razor-observant, Maggie notices the untouched drink, the faint smear of residue, the controlled way Calvin lowers himself to the floor. His final rasp—‘Don’t trust—’—won’t let her walk away.
With scent-driven beagle Scout, alerting to swapped ingredients and altered labels, Maggie uncovers quiet manipulation beneath Silverbrook’s polish. Suspicion circles Graham Lyle, a volatile rival who publicly feuded with Calvin, and Wendy Rusk, his sister-business partner poised to inherit everything. Both have motive. Both have access.
This wasn’t rage. It was precision.
When Maggie’s studio is broken into and another event nearly turns deadly, she realizes someone is eliminating threats to protect a carefully built system.
If she doesn’t expose the pattern soon, she’ll be the next controlled fall.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Silverbrook runs on curated charm and careful control. When meticulous tastemaker Calvin Rusk collapses mid-sip at a private event, the town calls it tragic misfortune.
Dog trainer Maggie Harper calls it deliberate.
Blunt and razor-observant, Maggie notices the untouched drink, the faint smear of residue, the controlled way Calvin lowers himself to the floor. His final rasp—‘Don’t trust—’—won’t let her walk away.
With scent-driven beagle Scout, alerting to swapped ingredients and altered labels, Maggie uncovers quiet manipulation beneath Silverbrook’s polish. Suspicion circles Graham Lyle, a volatile rival who publicly feuded with Calvin, and Wendy Rusk, his sister-business partner poised to inherit everything. Both have motive. Both have access.
This wasn’t rage. It was precision.
When Maggie’s studio is broken into and another event nearly turns deadly, she realizes someone is eliminating threats to protect a carefully built system.
If she doesn’t expose the pattern soon, she’ll be the next controlled fall.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
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