Wuthering Spite

A beachside bookshop. A body in the sand. And two old rivals who are about to become Spoonbill Bay's most unlikely detective duo.

Bertie Hirsch came back to Spoonbill Bay for a fresh start.

Recently divorced and ready to build a life that finally belongs to her, Bertie has her eye on a charming little coastal storefront and a dream she's carried for years: opening a bookshop filled with secondhand treasures, salty breezes, local gossip, and the kind of quirky regulars only a small Texas beach town can provide.

Unfortunately, Joan Burns is back in town too.

For decades, Bertie and Joan spent summers in neighboring beach houses, perfecting the art of driving each other crazy. Joan is opinionated, impossible, and far too pleased with herself, with a talent for getting under Bertie's skin before either of them has finished a cup of coffee. Now they're both divorced, both starting over, and somehow once again stuck next door to each other.

Then a dead body turns up in the sand.

Suddenly, Spoonbill Bay doesn't feel quite so peaceful. Joan may know more than she's saying, Bertie's new chapter is looking more dangerous by the minute, and the murder investigation she absolutely did not ask for is getting harder to ignore.

Even worse? Joan might be the only person stubborn enough, nosy enough, and shameless enough to help her solve it.

Full of sharp banter, beach-town charm, bookish coziness, and two seventy-something frenemies who prove it's never too late for a fresh start...or a little amateur sleuthing, Wuthering Spite is the first Bertie and Joan Mystery.