The Missing Chapter

A poisoned cup. A tell-all manuscript. And a retired mystery novelist who sees the pattern everyone else missed. Claire Hartley has settled into her quiet life in Ridgeline, Colorado—morning coffee at the dog park with her golden retriever Boone and her suspicious rescue Pepper, evenings at The Buzz with the enigmatic bartender Mick. She's done with mysteries. At least, that's what she keeps telling herself. But when acclaimed historian Thomas Brennan is found dead in his home office—killed slowly by arsenic in his daily coffee—Claire's novelist brain refuses to stay quiet. Especially when she learns that Thomas was about to publish a tell-all exposing the buried secrets of families throughout the mountain communities. Someone wanted him silenced before those secrets saw the light of day. Now Claire is drawn into a web of stolen research, bitter divorces, and carefully hidden scandals. An ex-wife fighting to protect her reputation. A rival historian whose career Thomas destroyed. A brother harboring a forty-year-old secret. And an editor whose small press was crumbling—until Thomas's death changed everything. As the evidence mounts, Claire discovers that Thomas Brennan didn't just write about other people's secrets—he collected them like weapons. Someone in this tight-knit mountain community finally decided to turn the tables. With suspects everywhere and the truth buried under layers of professional betrayal and personal desperation, Claire must untangle a lifetime of lies before the killer realizes she's asking too many questions. Perfect for fans of cozy mysteries with smart sleuths, loyal dogs, and small-town secrets. The Missing Chapter is the third book in the Ridgeline Dog Park Mysteries series. Each book features a standalone mystery with no cliffhangers.