Paper Cuts

Miracle Springs, North Carolina, is known for its healing springs, but bookstore owner Nora Pennington tends to find herself in a different sort of hot water. At Miracle Books she practises bibliotherapy, matching customers with the right books while they confide their secrets. She also enjoys a bit of local crime reading now and then.

Nora left her past behind a decade ago, so it feels like a visit from another world when Kelly Walsh walks into the shop with her son. Kelly is the woman Nora's ex-husband left her for. She hasn't come to gloat, however. She has been dumped too, she is seriously ill, and all she wants from Nora is forgiveness. Then, shockingly, this woman who has suffered so much misfortune is murdered.

Nora would never have done it, but gossip and suspicion follow anyway, especially once Kelly's brother says he saw the two women arguing. Seeking justice for Kelly, The Secret, Book, and Scone Society teams up with the sheriff's department. They have barely started investigating when another complication arrives. Estella's father comes back to Miracle Springs after serving a twenty-year sentence, and when his past catches up with him, the four friends may face more than they can handle.