A mysterious note leads Parker Hayes to Winslow Manor. What she finds is a dead body—and trouble she thought was behind her.

Parker is trying to keep things calm at Catch You Latte with Blueberry Bliss Lattes and a firm commitment to staying out of trouble. But when a cryptic note turns up inside an old jewelry box from the Winslow estate sale, that quiet season disappears fast.

When Parker heads to Winslow Manor looking for answers, she finds a dead body—and Deputy Colton Watkins, just shy of retirement, standing over it. Suddenly, she's pulled into a tangled brew of family secrets, buried betrayals, and an increasingly hostile State Bureau investigator who wants her far away from the case.

Then the anonymous texts start. Eerily familiar ones. The stalker who drove Parker from her podcast and city life may not be as far behind her as she thought.

As Parker digs into a growing list of suspects, the danger only deepens. Is the murder tied to the mysterious note … or is someone using old wounds to cover up a brand-new crime?

In Magnolia Grove, old wounds can come with a pinch of peril.

A Pinch of Peril is a humorous cozy mystery with coffee shop charm, small-town secrets, and a sharp amateur sleuth with a true-crime past.

Perfect for fans of Cleo Coyle, Ellie Alexander, and Tonya Kappes.

All books in the series can be enjoyed as standalones.

Welcome to Magnolia Grove, where the coffee is hot, the gossip is fresh, and every visit feels a little like coming home.

Love the small-town charm of Magnolia Grove? Head to the coast for more mystery in Simone Stier's Cape Fear Bookshop Mysteries, starting with Stacked in Suspicion.