All is calm. All is bright. All is not what it seems.
Snow is falling on Maple Ridge, the shops are trimmed with twinkling lights, and bookstore owner Tess Holloway has everything she needs for a perfect Christmas: a warm fire at The Book Mark, a teetering stack of holiday reads, and her faithful chocolate Lab, Cocoa, snoring by the hearth. So when the town's wealthy new arrival throws a lavish costume party at the grand old carriage house, Tess squeezes into the most ridiculous outfit of her life and braces for an evening of mulled wine and merriment.But as a blizzard howls in and the power flickers out, the guests gather by candlelight to sing Silent Night — and by the final verse, the host playing Santa is found dead beneath the fairy lights, snow already settling over the scene.
With the roads buried, the phone lines down, and no help coming until morning, one chilling fact can't be ignored: the killer is still inside the house, dressed for the party like everyone else.
As the storm seals Maple Ridge's finest under one roof, Tess discovers her charming host had more enemies than ornaments — and a past buried as deep as the snowdrifts. With the maddeningly protective Sheriff Maddox insisting she leave the detecting to him, and Cocoa following every scent through the candlelit halls, Tess must unwrap the truth before the longest night of the year claims another victim. And somewhere between the snowbanks and the suspects, the frost that's grown between her and a certain stubborn sheriff just might begin to thaw.
Because in Maple Ridge, the season of giving has a way of bringing old secrets home — and some gifts come with a deadly twist.
Perfect for fans of small-town cozy mysteries, snowed-in whodunits, and a clever dog who's always one sniff ahead, Silent Bite is the cozy fourth installment of The Tails of Maple Ridge — where the snow is deep, the cocoa is hot, and every clue comes gift-wrapped.
Genre: Mystery
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