A heartwarming cozy mystery series about losing everything, taking a chance, and starting again.
After suffering a personal tragedy Abby Sullivan buys a huge old seaside mansion she has never even seen, packs up her life in San Francisco, and moves to Holiday Bay Maine, where she is adopted, quite against her will, by a huge Maine Coon Cat named Rufus, a drifter with her own tragic past named Georgia, and a giant dog with an inferiority complex named Ramos. What Abby thought she needed was alone time to heal. What she ended up with was, an inn she never knew she wanted, a cat she couldn’t seem to convince to leave, and a new family she’d never be able to live without.
In book 11 in the series, there is a new murder to investigate when a friend of Nikki’s turns up dead. It seems that the death might be tied in with ghostly happenings at a new art gallery in town but there are problems with that theory as well.
Meanwhile, a whole new group of guests check in including a man in town to investigate a century old murder and a woman seeking answers to her past.
The Midnight Reader: A Leafwood Falls Quick-read A heartwarming cozy mystery with a touch of magic!
Can be read as a standalone or part of a the series!
What happens when someone’s been breaking into your bookstore… but all they leave behind is beautiful literary criticism?
Charlie Whitmore has finally found her rhythm as owner of Oak & Ink Bookshop in charming Leafwood Falls, Vermont. More than a year after leaving her high-powered Manhattan law career behind, she’s settled into small-town life with her boyfriend, her sharp-tongued assistant Mia, and Hemingway, the imperious orange cat who rules the shop with literary opinions and strategic hairballs.
But when Charlie discovers someone has been visiting Oak & Ink after hours, she expects the worst. Instead, she finds carefully penciled margin notes signed “R.W.”—thoughtful, insightful commentary that suggests someone who truly understands books, grief, and the healing power of stories.
With Mia’s investigative enthusiasm and help from Tom, the poetry-quoting blacksmith who makes Mia’s heart flutter in unexpected ways, Charlie sets out to solve the mystery. But the truth they uncover is more heartbreaking than any break-in: sometimes the people who need books most are the ones who can no longer afford to own them.
Set in the magical world of Leafwood Falls, The Midnight Reader delivers all the bookish charm, gentle humor, and small-town warmth that made readers fall in love with The Next Chapter Bookshop. This novella is perfect for an afternoon escape into a place where cats dispense wisdom, books have opinions, and good things happen.
Perfect for readers who loved THE BOOKSHOP ON THE CORNER, THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY, and THE LITTLE PARIS BOOKSHOP. A tender story about community, second chances, and the magic that happens when we approach each other’s mysteries with curiosity instead of fear.
A heartwarming cozy mystery series about losing everything, taking a chance, and starting again.
After suffering a personal tragedy Abby Sullivan buys a huge old seaside mansion she has never even seen, packs up her life in San Francisco, and moves to Holiday Bay Maine, where she is adopted, quite against her will, by a huge Maine Coon Cat named Rufus, a drifter with her own tragic past named Georgia, and a giant dog with an inferiority complex named Ramos. What Abby thought she needed was alone time to heal. What she ended up with was, an inn she never knew she wanted, a cat she couldn’t seem to convince to leave, and a new family she’d never be able to live without.
In book 10 in the series, Abby works with Lonnie and Lacy to uncover secrets long buried in the mansion on the bluff Lonnie is refurbishing, Georgia meets a mysterious woman with a secret of her own, and a new group of guests check into the inn each with a story of their own.
A comforting story of love, community, humor, and the magic of finding home!
What happens when a perfectionist chef who demands uniformity meets a stubborn organic farmer who believes imperfection has character?
Can be read as a standalone or part of a the series!
Olivia Mercer’s meticulously planned culinary career lies in ruins after her prestigious Boston restaurant collapses in scandal. With her reputation tarnished and job prospects nonexistent, she reluctantly returns to her hometown of Leafwood Falls to temporarily manage the town’s café, while family friend Maggie undergoes cancer treatment.
The Copper Kettle Cafe seems stuck in the past, from its ancient, temperamental espresso machine that seems to have opinions about who operates it, the mysteriously changing chalkboard quotes that appear each morning, to her grandmother’s recipe box that somehow always produces exactly the recipe she needs at exactly the right moment. And then there’s Hemingway, the cantankerous orange cat from the nearby bookshop, who has a mysterious talent for showing up precisely when Olivia needs guidance. Whether she wants it or not.
Olivia’s plan is simple: maintain the café for six months, then return to the culinary world where she belongs. But Leafwood Falls has other ideas.
When she clashes with local farmer James Foster over his “inconsistent” organic produce, sparks fly in more ways than one. James believes food should have soul. Olivia demands technical perfection. He grows vegetables with personality. She creates dishes with precision. They’re completely wrong for each other. Except for their undeniable chemistry and shared passion for creating something authentic.
As Olivia rediscovers her grandmother’s recipes and begins to reimagine the café’s future, she finds herself questioning everything she thought mattered in her career. But when a prestigious job offer arrives that could salvage her culinary reputation, Olivia must decide what truly satisfies her—the high-stakes restaurant world she’s always pursued, or the small-town connections and imperfect farmer who are showing her that the most delicious recipes are the ones that don’t follow the rules.
Perfect for fans of Emily Henry, Abby Jimenez, and Jenny Colgan, this delicious small-town romance serves up a perfect blend of witty banter, laugh-out-loud moments, heartfelt connections, and the special magic that happens when someone finally finds where they belong.
Return to the beloved town of Leafwood Falls, where a sprinkle of magic, a dash of community, and one opinionated bookshop cat make every story sweeter.
A heartwarming cozy mystery series about losing everything, taking a chance, and starting again.
After suffering a personal tragedy Abby Sullivan buys a huge old seaside mansion she has never even seen, packs up her life in San Francisco, and moves to Holiday Bay Maine, where she is adopted, quite against her will, by a huge Maine Coon Cat named Rufus, a drifter with her own tragic past named Georgia, and a giant dog with an inferiority complex named Ramos. What Abby thought she needed was alone time to heal. What she ended up with was, an inn she never knew she wanted, a cat she couldn’t seem to convince to leave, and a new family she’d never be able to live without.
In book 9 in the series, a newly engaged couple rents out the entire inn for their engagement party. As part of their ‘making memories’ theme they ask guests to take photos and share them with the group. Everyone is having a wonderful time until one of the guests turns up dead.
Book Reviews by the Reluctant Retiree 