Bound for Trouble

When former investigative journalist Ivy Wells traded breaking news for broken spines at her charming secondhand bookshop "Chapter & Verse" in the misty mountain town of Spruce Valley, she expected a quieter life. But the annual Literary Festival takes a deadly turn when bestselling mystery author Nathaniel Price dramatically collapses during a reception at her shop. With the evidence mysteriously pointing to Ivy, she must dust off her investigative skills to clear her name before she's booked for a crime she didn't commit.

Aided by her retired librarian neighbor Florence, tech-savvy teenage assistant Tyler, and her golden retriever Marlowe's uncanny ability to find hidden clues, Ivy delves into a web of literary rivalries, publishing secrets, and small-town scandals. Price's announcement about a controversial new book and TV deal based on Spruce Valley seems to have given several prominent citizens a motive for murder. Between the rival author with a long-standing grudge, the protective personal assistant, and the mayor who fears his secrets becoming fiction, everyone has a story to hide.

As Ivy uncovers startling connections between Price's novels and her own past, she realizes the solution to the murder might be hidden within the pages of the author's work. Racing against time to solve the mystery before the killer writes her final chapter, Ivy must navigate small-town politics and literary egos to reveal the truth. "Bound for Trouble" delivers a clever bibliophile's dream where books provide both the motive for murder and the path to justice, proving that in Spruce Valley, the most dangerous stories aren't always found on the mystery shelf.