Ellie’s first night begins here—at the threshold of a house full of history, secrets, and two very watchful residents.

Read the excerpt from Moving is Murder:

Mac swung his car around, parking perpendicular to the entrance. Ellie pulled next to him and climbed from the car, staring up at the impressive Victorian structure. Five concrete steps led to a wide, covered porch. White pillars held the roof overhead and a decorative white railing trimmed it. The porch continued to the right, wrapping around the side of the house. 

Gray siding with red and white trim covered the sides of the house. Tall windows rose on both the first and second stories. A few windows peeked out from the gray roof and twin chimneys rose on the right. 

“Wow,” Ellie whispered. 

“She’s a beaut,” Mac said with a grin. “Come on, I’ll show you around. Can I grab your luggage?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I’ll grab it later.” 

They climbed the few short steps onto the porch and Ellie grabbed the keys Mac had given her earlier. 

“Uh, the gold one’s for the front door,” Mac said as she sorted through the keys. 

After a click of the lock, the front door swung in on creaky hinges. Dust motes floated in the setting sun’s glare. Thick, dark woods decorated the foyer. A staircase rose against the right wall, disappearing around a corner to the next level. Doors opened on the left and right to other spaces. A darkly stained door past the staircase led to another room. 

The tick-tick-ticking of animal claws clicked across the hardwood. A shin-height dog appeared from the room on the left. She stared up at Ellie and Mac, her tail causing her entire back-end to wag along with it. 

“Hey, there big Lol!” Mac said, darting past Ellie and dropping to a knee to ruffle the dog’s floppy ears. The dog balanced on her hind legs, resting her front paws on Mac’s shoulders. She offered Ellie a quizzical glance before returning her excited energy to Mac. 

Next to her, a black cat sashayed from the confines of the living room. With her tail standing straight in the air, she tilted her head and glanced at Ellie before she turned her attention to Mac, offering him a curt “meow” and rubbing against his leg.

“Hello, Cleo,” Mac said as he ran his hand down the cat’s back. He turned to Ellie, still standing in the doorway. “Well, come on in, don’t be shy. This is your home now.”

Ellie smiled as she took in the space again, stepping over the threshold and into Salem Falls Manor. The cat offered a sniff in her direction and Lola returned her gait to all fours to study Ellie. 

“Hey, girls,” Ellie said, squatting down to them. She held out her hand. Cleo gave it a tentative sniff before returning her attention to Mac. Lola ventured closer. Her tail wiggled tentatively. 

“Hi, girl,” Ellie said. “Hi, Lola.” A smile spread across Ellie’s face. The gesture eased the dog’s nerves and she approached Ellie, offering her hand a sniff. Ellie tickled her chin. The dog stepped closer and collapsed to her haunches to allow Ellie to continue the petting. 

“Making friends, eh, Lola? Good thing. She’s going to be your new owner,” Mac said as he rose to his feet. The dog cocked her head quizzically. “Come on, I’ll show you around. We can feed them while we’re in the kitchen. Then I’ll let Lola out.”

“Okay,” Ellie said, rising to her feet. 

With the dog and cat in tow, Ellie followed Mac through the various rooms on the first floor. A generously-sized living room led to an octagon-shaped breakfast nook with access to the porch and a covered patio. 

A central kitchen opened to a spacious east-facing sunroom. Mac pulled open the tab on a can of cat food and emptied it into a dish marked CLEO on the outside. He instructed Ellie on Lola’s feeding instructions. Ellie dumped the kibble into a pink bowl with LOLA printed on it and set it down for the dog. 

They left both animals happily consuming their dinner and wandered into the spacious dining room. It attached to a large library and a screened-in porch. 

As they rounded back to the foyer, Mac let a waiting Lola out the front door, then led Ellie up the main stairs. Double doors opened to the master suite at the top of the winding staircase. Ellie glanced inside.

“This was your aunt’s bedroom. It has the ensuite and a large sitting room overlooking the front property.”

Ellie nodded as she explored the other spaces upstairs.

“There are bathrooms attached to each bedroom,” Mac explained as Ellie stuck her head into a generously sized bedroom across the hall and down from the master suite. “Which makes it nice for a B&B. No one likes a shared bathroom.”

An octagonal-shaped bedroom stuck off the rear of the house. Ellie checked out the three other bedroom spaces on the second floor. Most of the furniture in them was now covered in white sheets. A third floor offered one additional bedroom, a reading room, and a small office. 

“Each bedroom has a name and a theme,” Mac said. “Your aunt kept notes somewhere around here. You know, in case you want to open up the B&B again. Of course, you can name them anything you’d like, but she’s already got the decor there if you want to keep with her ideas.”

Ellie smiled and nodded. “Well, everything still looks like it’s in good shape, so why change it?”

“Good thinking, Ellie,” Mac said with a grin. 

“Well, anyway, I stocked the fridge with a few necessities earlier. Milk, bread, cheese, some lunch meat, oatmeal, cereal, some OJ, eggs…” Mac ticked the items off on his fingers.

“Wow,” Ellie said. “That’s perfect. That’s more than enough to get me started.”

“Oh, great,” Mac said with a nod and a smile. “Well, I guess you’re all set then. I’ll let you settle in for your first night.”

“Thanks,” Ellie said as they descended the main stairs to the foyer. “I’ll walk you out and grab my luggage.”

“Okay,” Mac said as he palmed his car keys and pushed through the wooden screen door onto the porch. Lola hurried into the foyer past him. “If you could stop by tomorrow, I’ll get everything together to go over the particulars with you and collect a few signatures. No rush, I’ll be there all day, so take your time. Have a leisurely morning.”

“Okay, that’s perfect. I’ll see you tomorrow morning. Ah, probably later in the morning. I’m not much of an early bird.”

“Sounds perfect, Ellie. Well, you take care. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call. Have a great night.”

Ellie waved as his car disappeared down the driveway, a cloud of dust billowing behind him. With a light tap of the horn, he turned onto the road and disappeared toward town. Ellie blew out a long breath as she pulled her suitcase out of her trunk. She stared up at the house in front of her for a moment before she lugged the bag up the steps and into the foyer. A ticking grandfather clock was the only sound she heard as she stepped onto the hardwood floor and pushed the door shut behind her. 

Two sets of eyes stared up at her. “Well,” she said to them, tossing her arms out to the side, “should I take Aunt Susie’s old room or is that too weird?”

Keep reading Moving is Murder here.

Coffee’s hot, gossip’s fresh, and someone always knows more than they’re saying.

Pull up a seat and piece things together.

Click to play the jigsaw puzzle here!

Every mystery needs an ice cream break.
Take a moment to relax before the next clue.

Download the coloring page here.

Some answers aren’t hidden—they’re scattered.

See what you can find between the lines.

Play the Salem Falls Word Search here.

Every town has its characters—and Salem Falls is no exception.

Meet Ellie, Jake, Lola, and Cleo, four residents you’ll be seeing again as the mystery unfolds. Each card offers a glimpse into their personality, their role in town, and the energy they bring to the story.

Download the full set and keep them close—you never know who might matter most.

Download the Character Cards

Some characters walk onto the page fully formed.

Others come padding in from real life.

Lola and Cleo weren’t invented—they were inspired by my own pets. Their personalities, quirks, and undeniable opinions worked their way into Middle Age Is Murder almost on their own.

From Lola’s open-hearted loyalty to Cleo’s watchful, judgmental calm, these two bring comfort, humor, and a sense of home to Salem Falls Manor—on the page and off.

Because every good mystery needs a little heart.

Every mystery needs a few essentials.

As a thank-you for stopping by Salem Falls, enjoy 20% off your next visit to the shop. Whether you’re stocking up on stories, bundles, or cozy treats, consider this a little something on the house.

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From the Editor’s Desk

The idea for Middle Age Is Murder came to me while watching A Castle for Christmas and realizing how much I loved seeing an older heroine step into a new chapter of her life—one filled with possibility, courage, and unexpected twists.

I wanted to write a cozy mystery where the heroine isn’t starting over because she’s young and reckless, but because she’s lived, lost, learned… and still has plenty of fight left in her.

Ellie’s story is about second chances, found family, and discovering that it’s never too late to claim a place that feels like home—even when that place comes with secrets, suspects, and the occasional body.

Because mysteries don’t belong to the young alone.

This is where the cozy edges sharpen—and questions turn serious.

Ellie’s inheritance comes with more than a house and a new life. It comes with a death that wasn’t an accident… and a line of inquiry she never expected to be part of.

Read the excerpt from Moving is Murder:

“Sodium fluoroacetate was found in her bloodstream.”

“I’m sorry, what?” Ellie questioned.

Rick waved his hand in the air as he explained. “It was a pesticide years ago used to kill coyotes, rodents, and the like. You’ll sometimes hear it called 1080.”

Ellie grimaced. “Like rat poison?”

“Sort of, yeah,” the sheriff said with a nod. “It’s colorless and basically tasteless. Easy to slip into someone’s food or drink.”

“So, you think she was murdered?”

“I doubt Susie poisoned herself,” Rick answered.

Mac shook his head. “How quick moving is it?” he asked.

“Takes a couple of hours. Maddie puts the time of death around six to eight in the evening Monday night. Which means she could have ingested the poison anywhere from late morning to early afternoon.”

“So, likely with her lunch,” Mac said.

Rick nodded, jutting out his lower lip. “Yeah, I’d say that’s a good bet.”

“Do you know who she had lunch with?”

“Not at this time, but we’ll be launching a full investigation,” Rick answered.

“Will you keep me updated?” Ellie asked.

“Definitely,” Rick said. He bit his lower lip as he spun a pen on his desk. “Ms. Byrne…”

“Ellie, please,” Ellie said.

“Ellie,” he said with a grin. He paused again. “I hate to ask you this but, do you have an alibi for Monday?”

“Now, wait just a minute, Rick. You can’t be serious,” Mac said.

Nothing beats discovering a new mystery—especially when it’s free.

If you’d like to spend a little more time in Salem Falls, you can download Fall Is Murder, a cozy mystery filled with small-town secrets, unexpected twists, and a heroine who refuses to be underestimated.

Settle in, grab a cup of coffee, and enjoy your free read.

Get Your Free Book: Fall Is Murder

Sometimes the best way to think is to take a walk.
See what you notice while you wander through the park.

Can you find all the hidden objects?

Every good mystery needs a little heart.

Lola is the welcoming presence at Salem Falls Manor—always nearby, always paying attention, and always ready to offer comfort when things get complicated. Loyal, observant, and endlessly patient, she has a way of making the house feel like home.

Watch Lola introduce herself and get a glimpse of the quieter moments behind the mystery.

Watch the video

Some mysteries are solved by observation.

Cleo is the quiet presence at Salem Falls Manor, content to watch from the edges and notice what others overlook. Calm, composed, and deeply perceptive, she seems to understand far more than she lets on.

Watch Cleo introduce herself and see the world of Middle Age Is Murder through her watchful eyes.

Watch the video