"A master of the mystery & suspense genre." -Midwest Book Review

Delia Dickens's mother has set up a four-day writers' retreat on Dickens Island for her Zoom writing group. Gillian and four women from Manhattan will be staying in a cottage next to the Hathaway Inn. Wayne, Delia's brother, who's a best-selling author, will give a talk the first evening. Gillian has also arranged to have a surprise guest speaker?Wilbur (Will) Torrington?an author known equally for his gritty novels and bad behavior.

Despite Delia's and Wayne's warnings, Gillian is flattered when Will praises her manuscript and accepts his offer to give her private writing instructions. They aren't the only ones wishing Will would find his own retreat far from Dickens Island. One of the four Manhattanites is a long ago-lover of Will's and detests him for how he'd treated her. Another woman suddenly disappears, while a third is secretly enthralled by an offer she's received in an email to publish her manuscript.

To complicate matters, Will's estranged wife arrives, determined to finish their last argument. Shortly after, Will is found murdered in the cottage and Gillian is the last person who saw him. Delia must clear her mother's name and find the murderer ASAP.

Fans of Merryn Allingham, Deany Ray, Ellen Byron, and Jacqueline Winspear will enjoy Allison Brooks.