Holly Pierce comes back to Cranberry Coast for what’s supposed to be a simple favor: cover her grandmother’s beloved bookshop for one month while Gran finally takes her dream trip to Paris. The Saltmarsh Shelf is exactly as Holly remembers it, creaky floors, handwritten staff picks, sea glass charms in the window, and the comfort of familiar faces. Then the town’s favorite baker, Tamsy Quinn, is found dead in the oven room of her tiny scone shop. The case is treated like an unfortunate tragedy that needs a quick, tidy ending. Tourist season is on the horizon, and bad headlines cost money. But Holly can’t ignore what she hears in the whispers around Main Street: too practiced, too eager to settle on a convenient suspect. When Brisket, her rescue beagle mix, noses out a flour dusted key from beneath a stack of delivery crates, Holly realizes Tamsy wasn’t just stressed. She was hiding something on purpose. As Holly follows the paper trail, Cranberry Coast’s cozy routines start to fray. A rival café owner with a public grudge. A supplier with an unpaid bill. A merchants guild “helper” who keeps steering the town toward silence. A charming newcomer selling waterfront redevelopment like it’s a miracle cure. And behind it all, one question that will not let Holly go: What was Tamsy about to reveal, and who profits from her disappearing? With a calm, no nonsense detective watching her every move and a town that would rather keep its secrets buried, Holly’s “temporary month” turns into a dangerous crash course in small town politics, hidden power, and the price of telling the truth. Because in Cranberry Coast, everyone knows your name… and somebody always knows what you would rather keep hidden.