Once Upon a Crime
A British Cozy Mystery Full of Cake, Clues, and Countryside Charm
Will be published approx. on 22. September 2026
Book
Paperback/Softback
300 pages
978-1-0367-1409-3 (ISBN)
Description
A charming British cozy mystery full of cake, clues, and countryside secrets--perfect for fans of Agatha Raisin, The Thursday Murder Club and Laura Childs.
When Sandy Shaw swapped her high heels for homemade bakes and opened a cosy bookshop café in Waterfell Tweed, she never expected to be suspected of murder.
But when local show-off Reginald Halfman announces he's opening a rival bookstore across the village square--and then winds up dead--Sandy's small-town dream turns into a real-life whodunnit.
With her business under threat, the police on her doorstep, and a second shocking attack shaking the village, Sandy realises she'll have to take matters into her own hands. Good thing she's got a sharp mind (and a sharper lemon drizzle).
Can Sandy find the killer before they strike again? Or will she be next on the list?
Once Upon a Crime is the first in the Waterfell Tweed Cozy Mystery series, featuring a quaint English village, quirky characters, comforting cake, and one determined amateur sleuth.
When Sandy Shaw swapped her high heels for homemade bakes and opened a cosy bookshop café in Waterfell Tweed, she never expected to be suspected of murder.
But when local show-off Reginald Halfman announces he's opening a rival bookstore across the village square--and then winds up dead--Sandy's small-town dream turns into a real-life whodunnit.
With her business under threat, the police on her doorstep, and a second shocking attack shaking the village, Sandy realises she'll have to take matters into her own hands. Good thing she's got a sharp mind (and a sharper lemon drizzle).
Can Sandy find the killer before they strike again? Or will she be next on the list?
Once Upon a Crime is the first in the Waterfell Tweed Cozy Mystery series, featuring a quaint English village, quirky characters, comforting cake, and one determined amateur sleuth.
More details
Person
ONE PENNY A STORY, I called across the playground.
Entirely unusual, given how shy I was (and still am), for me to be shouting anything across a playground.
But there I was, a double-sided sheet of narrow ruled paper (I've always been kind of particular about the paper I like. Back then, narrow ruled. Now, grid.) in my hand, selling stories I hadn't yet wrote.
Every line featured a different title. I'd lay on my bed the night before thinking of them all, probably singing along to Boyzone songs as I did [hey, don't judge... I see you over there like you never thought you were destined to marry a boy band singer...].
My school friends could buy a Mona original for one penny. One penny!
They'd pick the title they liked, hand over their sweaty penny, and I'd write the story for them.
And I've never grown out of writing stories.
Now, I write cozy mystery stories from my den in the Peak District, and when I'm not writing them, I'm reading them.
Entirely unusual, given how shy I was (and still am), for me to be shouting anything across a playground.
But there I was, a double-sided sheet of narrow ruled paper (I've always been kind of particular about the paper I like. Back then, narrow ruled. Now, grid.) in my hand, selling stories I hadn't yet wrote.
Every line featured a different title. I'd lay on my bed the night before thinking of them all, probably singing along to Boyzone songs as I did [hey, don't judge... I see you over there like you never thought you were destined to marry a boy band singer...].
My school friends could buy a Mona original for one penny. One penny!
They'd pick the title they liked, hand over their sweaty penny, and I'd write the story for them.
And I've never grown out of writing stories.
Now, I write cozy mystery stories from my den in the Peak District, and when I'm not writing them, I'm reading them.