The Mystery of the Starlet's Shadow

In the quiet, high-altitude village of Duck Creek, Utah, the most exciting part of Finn's day is usually checking trail conditions-until a lightning strike splits an ancient ponderosa pine to reveal a rusted film canister hidden for seventy years. The label reads: Reel One: The Starlet's Shadow (1954).

Chloe, an aspiring filmmaker with a penchant for vintage sweaters and dramatic timing, is certain they've stumbled onto a Hollywood legend. Rumors have long swirled about Evelyn St. Claire, a starlet who vanished from a local movie set in the fifties, leaving behind a trail of whispers and unanswered questions.

But Finn and Chloe aren't the only ones looking for the past. As a high-powered developer arrives in town with plans to pave paradise, the duo realizes the lost film is more than a relic-it's a key to the town's future.

From the flour-dusted counters of the Ground + Toasted bakery to the shadowed bluffs of the Dixie National Forest, Finn and Chloe must piece together a decades-old puzzle before the bulldozers move in. In a place where the bread remembers and the mountains hold their breath, some stories are too big to stay buried.

Part of The Duck Creek Mysteries series.