The Dark Between Flashes

For fifty-three years, Janie Pettengill has watched the sea. Now the sea has something to tell her. And someone is determined to keep her from listening. At seventy-two, Janie Pettengill knows every creaking step of Hagstone Head Lighthouse, every shift of the tide, and every secret the Maine fog tries to hide. Twice a day, for fifty-three years, she has climbed eighty-seven iron steps to record what she sees. The Coast Guard automated the light decades ago, but Janie has never seen a good reason to stop keeping watch. To the islanders, she's simply poor Janie—a widowed old lighthouse keeper raising her twelve-year-old grandson, Toby, after her daughter mysteriously vanished during a winter crossing. A harmless eccentric who talks to a lamp and spends too much time looking out to sea. But Janie has spent a lifetime noticing things other people overlook. When the island's harbormaster is found dead beneath the little green beacon on the breakwater during Holy Week, the mainland detective calls it a tragic accident. Slippery rocks. Treacherous tides. An unfortunate fall. Janie isn't convinced. Someone extinguished the beacon that night. The dead man's boots are suspiciously clean. And Janie's meticulous lighthouse records tell a very different story from the one the police are willing to believe. With a reluctant old lobsterman, a sharp-tongued postmistress who has never been her friend, and a grandson who knows more about that fateful night than he's letting on, Janie begins an investigation that stirs up long-buried island secrets. But on a small island, everyone knows everyone—and someone is counting on Janie's age, reputation, and grief to make sure nobody takes her seriously. They've made one terrible mistake. Janie Pettengill has been watching this harbor for fifty-three years. And she hasn't missed a thing. The Dark Between Flashes is the captivating first book in The Hagstone Light Mysteries, a charming coastal cozy mystery series filled with atmospheric Maine scenery, quirky island characters, unexpected friendships, simmering secrets, and one wonderfully stubborn amateur sleuth. Perfect for readers who love clever, observant older heroines, traditional whodunits, and mysteries where every clue matters. A clean, feel-good cozy mystery with no graphic violence or profanity, a satisfying, fairly clued solution, and plenty of lighthouse charm, salty sea air, homemade chowder, and small-town intrigue. Each book features a complete, standalone mystery, while Janie's family relationships, unlikely friendships, and the haunting question of what really happened to her missing daughter unfold throughout the series. The light may be automated. But the keeper is still on duty.