Nora Bellamy came back to Maple Hollow for her aunt’s funeral, not a fresh start.

But Hazel left her more than Bellamy & Brew. She left a tea shop with a leaking ceiling, a town full of watchful neighbors, and a trail of notes tucked into drawers, tins, and old paperwork. Nora tells herself she only needs to reopen the shop, settle the estate, and survive the town’s sympathy without saying something unforgivable.

Then developer Colin Pierce turns up dead behind Bellamy & Brew.

Colin had been pressuring Main Street businesses to sell, and almost everyone in town had a reason to resent him: the florist next door, the baker across the street, the hardware store owner with a public temper, and Hazel herself, who may have known more about Colin’s plans than anyone realized.

As Nora follows the clues her aunt left behind, she uncovers old leases, missing records, altered signatures, and a quiet history Maple Hollow would rather keep buried. But Nora’s sharp instincts have hurt people before, and one wrong accusation could destroy someone Hazel was trying to protect.

To find the truth, Nora will have to stop running from the town she left behind and listen to what Hazel was trying to tell her.

A Bitter Homecoming is a cozy small-town mystery about old grudges, found family, tea shop secrets, and a sleuth learning that coming home can be more dangerous than leaving.