A Chapter of Suspects

A NOVEL ESCAPE: A CHAPTER OF SUSPECTS Cozy Mystery • Appalachian Atmosphere • Community SecretsOctober settles over Franklin, North Carolina like a secret-fog on the ridge, festival banners on Main Street, and just enough chaos to keep A Novel Escape bookstore humming. Liz Whitaker, former therapist turned bookseller, begins each morning with her chalkboard ritual and the quiet hope that the day will stay simple. But the Scottish Highlands Festival is arriving, and Franklin never stays simple for long.When celebrated thriller author Douglas Farr appears two days early, his charm fits the town a little too easily-and his presence unsettles more than just Liz’s golden retriever, Gus. Festival committees are already sparking drama, Robin’s herbal shop is brewing questionable remedies, and Deputy Noah Caldwell seems to sense trouble in the air even before the first bagpipe sounds.At Beer Church-the mountain’s unofficial sanctuary for hikers and storytellers-Liz witnesses a moment that cracks open a twenty‑year secret between Farr and another visiting author. By the time the room settles, one thing is clear: someone in Franklin is carrying a story they desperately don’t want told.As festival week unfolds, Liz is drawn into a web of old wounds, new rivalries, and the kind of quiet danger that hides inside small‑town kindness. With Gus’s instincts, Noah’s steady presence, and her mother’s uncanny ability to be everywhere at once, Liz must decide whether to stay safely behind the counter or step into the mystery rising around her.Warm, witty, and steeped in Smoky Mountain atmosphere, A Chapter of Suspects invites readers into a community where stories bind people together-and where the truth has a way of insisting on being found.