Everything You (Might) Want to Know About A CUTE LITTLE MURDER

Here's some fun facts about my new release, A CUTE LITTLE MURDER. It's my second-ever murder mystery, released by Berkley/Penguin Random House in April 2026, in print, eBook and audio.

THE STORY:

As teens, Harlow Drake and Lainey Piper built an online fandom solving small-town crimes. Harlow was the star, Lainey the behind-the-scenes genius (and often, Harlow’s scapegoat). Years later, Harlow’s hosting a hit true crime tv show. Lainey? She’s working in forensics. Well, forensic accounting . . . from home. In pajamas. With her cat.

When Harlow faces significant backlash over fumbling a case, she needs a quick win—like a special investigation into the decades-old disappearance of a starlet from a once-glamorous, now decrepit island hotel. The catch? It’s bankrolled by long-time fans, who have one requirement for their funding: Lainey has to play the sidekick again.

With sabotage, hidden staircases, and a killer in their midst, Lainey steps into the spotlight and takes charge of the investigation. It’s up to her to crack the case—as long as she can stay alive.

This is also the second book I've written based on my childhood obsession with Scooby Doo Cartoons. The first was BETTER HOMES AND HAUNTINGS, which was my "Scooby Doo, but the ghost is real" story.

Whenever I get involved in a fandom, I'm always drawn to the sidekick. I adored Willow Rosenberg. I am willing to fight someone in defense of Samwise Gamgee. Dustin Henderson is one of the best TV characters of the last decade. (Although, Steve might be the sidekick there. I'm not sure.) Sidekicks define the competence and empathy of a universe. Lainey is a sidekick that is getting what she deserves.

In a non-threatening way.

There's also a dash of the HH Holmes Murder Castle in the Crossings Hotel. But every way I described it in the infographic made it sound like I had a childhood obsession with the HH Holmes Murder Castle... which I did not.

I enjoy making cocktails involving weird liqueurs. That lent itself to some really fun experiments, when I was trying to design a good murder weapon for the story. I tried Chartreuse for the first time. I tried ginger cordial. I tried creme de violette, which I'd only heard of in a Hercule Poirot story. The Chartreuse, I found I could drink in a traditional apres ski drink called verte chaud. It's basically hot chocolate with a shot of Chartreuse. It's delicious, but also reminds me of those scratch and sniff stickers from my childhood. (In a good way.)

I keep a research library (detailed here), which includes a poison shelf and a monster shelf. I put the poison shelf to work with A CUTE LITTLE MURDER. And just in case you can't see the title/author on the covers, the most helpful selections were

*Poison: A History of Powders, Potions and Murderous Practitioners by Ben Hubbard

*The League of Lady Poisoners by Lisa Perrin

*Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart

And I just realized I needed to update my research library post!

Be sure to check out A CUTE LITTLE MURDER, available wherever books are sold. Amanda Ronconi will narrate the audiobook. You can pre-order it by clicking here.