Etiquette for Lovers and Killers

SHORTLISTED FOR THE CWA WHODUNNIT DAGGER 2026
LONGLISTED FOR THE ILP JOHN CREASEY FIRST NOVEL DAGGER 2026

Utterly delightful and crackling with wit, I could not put this down! KRISTIN PERRIN, New York Times bestselling author of HOW TO SOLVE YOUR OWN MURDER

Alluring and impressive . . . a powerful new voice to the genre ELLE COSIMANO, New York Times bestselling author of FINLAY DONOVAN IS KILLING IT

Billie McCadie is Nancy Drew, if Nancy had been raised by Emily Post and Dorothy Parker JULIA SEALES, bestselling author of A MOST AGREEABLE MURDER

Delightful . . . a nostalgic treat wrapped in the briny ocean breezes of MaineNEW YORK JOURNAL OF BOOKS

What are the chances of receiving a love letter and an engagement ring for a perfect stranger, only to see that same woman murdered the very next day?
Its 1964 in the tiny town of Eastport, Maine, and Billie McCadie is bored to death. Shes surrounded by dull people with more manners than sense, and no sign of the intrigue or romance that fills her beloved novels. That is, until an engagement ring and cryptic love letter turn up, addressed to Gertrude. Until she meets yacht-club handsome Avery Webster. Until the unsettling phone calls and visits from a man in a fedora begin. Until shes one of the last people to see Gertrude alive . . . and the first to see her dead.

What follows is an intoxicating cocktail of stalking, blackmail, Jell-O salads, and champagne secrets, all served along the rocky Maine coastline. Everyone is a suspect. Everyone has a secret. And (strangely) everyone has a boat. But who is willing to kiss and tell? As the body count rises and the danger nears, why does Billie feel like shes more than just a side character? And after yearning to be in the action for so long, would it be terribly unladylike to have some fun of her own?

A love letter to uncivilized behaviour, Etiquette for Lovers and Killers blends mystery and romance into a twisty, murderous delight that aches for better manners.