Sea Salt & Secrets

A reclusive aunt. A poisoned cup of tea. A small-town newcomer who notices everything.

When Amy Davenport leaves Seattle behind for a fresh start in the coastal town of Rockport, Massachusetts, she's expecting wisteria, sea air, and the quiet rhythm of running her own seaside boutique. What she gets is a mysterious cat named Coco, a cryptic note from a dead woman, and the slowly dawning realization that the previous owner of her cottage didn't die of natural causes.

Vivian Crane was a recluse, a gardener, and - Amy is starting to suspect - an investigator. Tucked behind cabinet panels and under garden stones, Vivian left a trail of evidence: a vial of crystals that isn't salt. A brass key to a hidden lockbox. A notebook full of names with question marks beside them. And one of those names belongs to the warmest woman in town.

As Amy follows Vivian's trail, she finds herself drawn into a small-town conspiracy that includes a smiling developer, a gossiping baker, a guarded sheriff with a complicated past, and a flower-shop owner with a tight, slanted hand. She'll have to decide whom to trust, whom to lie to, and whether she has the nerve to finish the case Vivian started - before the killer comes for her too.

• A cozy New England seaside setting full of bakeries, boutiques, and harbor fog
• A smart, observant heroine who outthinks everyone - including the killer
• A swoony slow-burn romance with a sheriff who respects her brain
• A misdirection mystery you can solve along with Amy
• Coco the cat: small queen, professional supervisor, judge of character