Small Town Mystery Books

by J.D. Rivers

A cryptic message written in red ink sets off a chain of events that no one saw coming. Fay Marlowe thought she'd left the secrets of Willowbrook behind — until a letter arrives bearing her mother's handwriting, twelve years after her death. As Fay unravels the message, she discovers that the quiet town she grew up in hides a web of lies, betrayal, and a truth that someone will kill to protect. When the past refuses to stay buried, the truth becomes the most dangerous weapon of all.

by J.D. Rivers

Lily Greene's best friend vanished three weeks ago. The police say she left voluntarily. Lily knows better. Returning to the rain-soaked streets where they grew up, Lily discovers that her friend's disappearance is connected to a string of unsolved cases stretching back decades. The deeper she goes, the more she realizes that some truths are better left in the dark — and someone is watching every move she makes.

by J.D. Rivers

In the fog-shrouded coastal town of Harrow Point, whispers carry more than words — they carry warnings. When journalist Nora Blackwell arrives to cover a local festival, she stumbles onto a decades-old secret the town has conspired to keep hidden. As the fog rolls in thicker each night, Nora realizes the whispers aren't just metaphorical. Something is out there. And it knows she's listening.

by J.D. Rivers

A weekend gathering at the grand Dewberry Manor turns deadly when the host, eccentric millionaire Harold Pemberton, is found dead in the library with a cryptic note clutched in his hand. With a winter storm trapping all twelve guests inside, amateur sleuth Penelope Marsh must sort through old rivalries, hidden affairs, and long-buried grudges to find the killer — before they strike again. A classic whodunit with charm, wit, and a twist you won't see coming.

by J.D. Rivers

Four friends meet every Wednesday for wine and gossip at their favorite bistro — until one of them, the seemingly perfect Claire Bennett, vanishes without a trace. As the remaining three dig into Claire's life, they discover she was living a double life none of them suspected. What started as a cozy tradition becomes a desperate search for the truth, and the closer they get, the more dangerous the secrets become. Sometimes the people you trust most are hiding the darkest secrets.

by J.D. Rivers

In the quiet town of Brookhaven, debts don't stay buried — they come collecting. When real estate developer Marcus Cole returns to his hometown to demolish a historic building, he awakens something that has been waiting beneath the foundation for over a century. Locals who owed debts to the original owner start dying in impossible ways. Marcus must confront his own family's connection to the hollow debt before it consumes everyone he loves. Some debts can only be paid in blood.

by J.D. Rivers

In the small town of Redwood Falls, twelve jurors gather to decide the fate of a young man accused of murdering a beloved local teacher. The evidence seems clear and the verdict all but certain — until the deliberation room becomes something else entirely. As the doors close, Emily and her fellow jurors find themselves trapped in a waking nightmare of dreams, visions, and a cold, disembodied voice that seems to know their every secret. The line between deliberation and damnation blurs, and Emily comes to realize the trial was never really about the accused. To escape, they must survive a game none of them agreed to play — one where the verdict was never meant to be theirs to give.

by Xander Steele

Liberty Falls • Book 1

Ethan Cross is a self-made billionaire returning to Liberty Falls to sponsor the nation's biggest 250th Anniversary celebration. He has the money, the power, and a plan to prove he's more than the boy who left with nothing. The woman running the event is Olivia Bennett — the one he never forgot. The one whose father destroyed every letter he sent. She thinks he abandoned her. He knows the truth will change everything. Forced to work together for six months, the chemistry between them is immediate and explosive. Small-town whispers, meddling families, and buried secrets threaten to tear them apart before the fireworks even begin. But when the truth about her father's betrayal finally surfaces, Olivia must decide: hold onto twenty years of anger — or trust the man who never stopped loving her. An 86,000-word enemies-to-lovers billionaire romance with small-town charm, buried secrets, and a guaranteed happily ever after.

by Xander Steele

Liberty Falls • Book 2

Twenty-two years ago, Jake Sullivan left Liberty Falls to enlist in the Army — and left Emma Parker, the girl he swore he'd love forever, standing in the town square as his truck disappeared down Main Street. Now Captain Jake Sullivan of the U.S. Army Special Forces is back, assigned to lead the military honor guard for the biggest event in the town's history: Liberty Falls' 250th Anniversary Fourth of July celebration. But the girl he left behind isn't a girl anymore. Emma is the town's mayor — poised, guarded, and still grieving the husband she lost. She has fifty-two days to pull off a celebration the whole country will be watching, and the last thing she needs is the man who broke her heart walking back into her office as if no time had passed. As duty forces them together, the walls Emma has spent years building begin to crack, and Jake discovers that the hardest mission of his life is earning back the only woman he ever loved. Small-town gossip, meddling neighbors, old wounds, and one unforgettable Independence Day force them to decide whether some second chances are worth the wait. A 77,000-word contemporary military second-chance romance with heart, heat, and a hard-won happily ever after.

by Xander Steele

Liberty Falls • Book 3

Boston, 1775. Elizabeth Hawthorne is the privileged daughter of one of the city's wealthiest Loyalist merchants — raised to believe in King and country, groomed to marry well, and forbidden from questioning the world her father built. But Elizabeth has secrets. A hidden journal. A restless mind. And a growing sympathy for the Patriot cause she was taught to despise. Captain Nathaniel Hart is a Continental Army officer with nothing left to lose — a man forged in grief and driven by duty, fighting for a nation that doesn't yet exist. When a chance encounter throws them together on the eve of revolution, the attraction is immediate, dangerous, and impossible to ignore. As war engulfs the colonies — from the siege of Boston to the brutal winter at Valley Forge, from the daring crossing of the Delaware to the final triumph at Yorktown — Elizabeth and Nathaniel are drawn deeper into a forbidden love that could cost them everything. She risks her family, her fortune, and her life. He risks his mission, his men, and his heart. In a world tearing itself apart, they must decide: Is love worth treason? An 80,000-word Revolutionary War romance blending epic historical drama with breathtaking passion, dangerous spy networks, and a love that burns bright enough to forge a new nation.