Grief taught Emma Chandler one brutal truth: people will swallow any clean story to avoid the mess.
When Henry Pike—quiet power broker and keeper of the marina's "community stabilization" deals—dies behind a locked door, the official answer lands too neat. But the room feels staged: a shifted drawer, a missing file, a shadow ledger of hush-money settlements bearing names from Emma's café regulars and town fundraisers.
As Emma digs, Detective Ethan Carter wrestles procedure against truth, his old respect for Pike twisting every suspicion. With Ollie's sharp tongue and back-room archives slicing through polite denials, Emma uncovers Cedar Harbor's real foundation: gentle lies that preserve calm by erasing anyone who doesn't fit.
Because here, peace comes at a price—and the town will pay anything to keep it tidy.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
When Henry Pike—quiet power broker and keeper of the marina's "community stabilization" deals—dies behind a locked door, the official answer lands too neat. But the room feels staged: a shifted drawer, a missing file, a shadow ledger of hush-money settlements bearing names from Emma's café regulars and town fundraisers.
As Emma digs, Detective Ethan Carter wrestles procedure against truth, his old respect for Pike twisting every suspicion. With Ollie's sharp tongue and back-room archives slicing through polite denials, Emma uncovers Cedar Harbor's real foundation: gentle lies that preserve calm by erasing anyone who doesn't fit.
Because here, peace comes at a price—and the town will pay anything to keep it tidy.
Genre: Cozy Mystery