First published 2026
Merrick McGee's life has turned upside down. Her sick grandmother moved in, forcing the family to pull Merrick from private school. Now she sits in the back room of her mother's bookstore inn, homeschooled and missing her friends desperately. Then an ice storm traps her three best friends at the inn with her. Merrick feels thrilled to reunite with them until someone turns up dead, face first in a birthday cake at her own desk. The police cart away the body and claim the victim died from old age. Merrick suspects murder. She convinces her mystery-loving friends to investigate while all the suspects remain trapped by the storm. They form the Secret Bookstore Sleuth Society and start hunting for clues. As they dig deeper, more puzzling questions surface. Merrick discovers that her own grandmother Ida might hold the crucial information needed to crack the case.
Genres: fiction, adventure, mystery, contemporary, childrens, cozy-mystery
Vibes: cozy, engaging, fast-paced, suspenseful, whimsical
Tropes: amateur-detective-group, found-family, friends-to-sleuths, locked-in-mystery
Setting: bookstore inn
288 pages · Hardcover · Sourcebooks Young Readers
Content warnings: death, murder