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The Starter's Secret: A Brookdale Mystery
Paperback
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Dec 9 2025
Pages: 110
Weight: 0.35
Height: 0.26 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
When a 76-year-old sourdough starter bubbles up century-old secrets, one baker must knead truth from lies before Brookdale crumbles.
Ella Oak returns to fog-shrouded Brookdale, Oregon, expecting to revive her late grandmother Mae's coastal bakery amid the scent of sea salt and fresh loaves. Instead, she inherits Agnes-a feisty family starter since 1968-and a recipe box etched with waterwheel codes, whispering of the abandoned mill where her ancestors ground more than grain.
As Ella deciphers Mae's cryptic notes, threats rise like overproofed dough: a shadowy watcher at dawn's lamppost, a brick shattering her window with a chilling warning, and ledgers revealing a 1924 Prohibition murder buried in the foundation-bones and all. The Calloway Foundation feeds hundreds on blood money philanthropy. Her own kin profited from silence. And now, someone will kill to reseal the vault.
In this Pacific Northwest cozy with historical grit, Ella confronts inherited guilt: shield the town's facade, or let revelations tear it apart? Perfect for fans of Louise Penny's moral mazes and Richard Osman's community whodunits, where flour-dusted clues meet stubborn courage.
- Mysteries blending cozy charm with ethical dilemmas
- Small-town PNW secrets rooted in bootlegging lore
- Culinary hooks that drive the plot (recipes included!)
- Women sleuths doubting their way to justice
- Atmospheric coasts where truth ferments slowly
- Standalone series starter-complete with twists that linger
Some secrets eat through their jars and poison everything. But truths? They rise like bread-whether you're ready or not.
Book 1 in the Brookdale Mysteries. Read now and join the rise.
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