The Well-Hidden Clue

A buried clue. A forgotten crime. A fall festival hiding one deadly truth.

Lyra Wells hopes Fall WishFest will bring calm after a turbulent summer-pumpkins, cider, and a town ready to believe in joy again. But when renovations beneath the library uncover a sealed time capsule containing a notebook with frayed edges, a folded map, a tiny glass jar of soil, and a craved stone fragment the size of a plum etched with lines too smooth and too deliberate to be human-made, Lyra is pulled into a cold-case that never truly ended.

Maggie Winslow, a beloved teacher vanished in 1984. Her daughter Clara, now fully grown, demands answers-unaware that someone who helped bury the truth is still watching, still protecting what was done.

As Holden Thorn struggles to keep panic from spreading and Calderis senses dangerous movement in the tunnels below, Lyra follows a trail of new clues and hidden passageways that intersect with her mother's past. In this tense, character-driven unraveling of secrets, Lyra discovers the truth was buried for a reason-and exposing it could destabilize both realms.

Some secrets survive because they're protected.

Others wait until the cost of truth is unbearable.

And then they hunt.

With its autumnal setting, layered mysteries, and gentle paranormal undercurrent, The Well-Hidden Clue delivers a richly atmospheric cozy mystery that rewards readers who love small towns with deep histories and heroines brave enough to uncover them. Kari Lee Townsend blends suspense, heart, and supernatural intrigue into a story where every secret has a cost-and every clue matters.