Seattle Secrets

by Amy Briggs

When fiction becomes deadly reality, a mystery writer must solve her first real-life case...

Emma Prescott's writing career is at a breaking point. The bestselling mystery author faces relentless pressure from her ruthless literary agent, Victoria Sterling, who demands faster deadlines, bigger commercial hits, and an impossibly aggressive publishing schedule. Burned out from the constant demands, Emma reluctantly attends Seattle's glittering Literary Awards Gala, hoping to negotiate more reasonable terms—but the evening takes a deadly turn when Victoria is found murdered in the hotel's rare book archives the next morning.

With a vintage mystery novel placed ceremoniously on the victim's chest, the staged crime scene triggers every instinct Emma has honed through years of writing about murder. Despite Detective Ray Castellanos's reservations about civilian involvement, Emma finds herself drawn into an investigation that reveals the dark underbelly of the publishing world—blackmail, plagiarism, and revenge plots that have been simmering for years.

As Emma navigates Seattle's cutthroat literary scene alongside the pragmatic detective, she uncovers a web of enemies with motive to kill Victoria Sterling. From bitter former clients to rival agents and expose-hungry journalists, everyone had reason to want the powerful agent silenced. But when the clues point to an elaborate revenge scheme years in the making, Emma realizes the killer is someone who's been hiding in plain sight—and he's not finished yet.

Solving her first real-life mystery forces Emma to confront uncomfortable truths about her career and the toxic demands that have drained her passion for writing. With her love of storytelling reignited and her faith in her instincts restored, she makes a decision that will change it's time to go home to Cedarwood Hollow for Christmas... and maybe longer.

A page-turning prequel to the beloved Cedarwood Hollow Cozy Mystery Series, perfect for both new readers and devoted fans who want to discover how Emma Prescott's amateur detective career truly began.

84 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 13, 2025

About the author

Formerly a firefighter and EMT, Amy Briggs grew up next to a military base, which inspires many of her stories. Her love of fairy tales contrasted with suspense carries through each of her novels and she hopes to inspire readers to fall in love with love. Amy lives in Texas with her family and more cats than she can handle.

Amy loves to hear from readers and can be found on all the social media here: www.facebook.com/amybriggsauthor, Instagram @amybriggs23 & on Twitter at @amybriggs23. You can also email her at amy@amybriggsauthor.com

Find a full list of all of Amy Briggs books at www.amybriggsauthor.com

Reviews

[Becky Wise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seattle Secrets is a cute read. This is an introduction to the Cedarwood Hollow Mystery series. You will love getting to know Emma and the before she heads back home. Emma keeps you on your toes as she works to solve the how did it as she works with law enforcement on the case. She is a mystery writer using her talents in the real world when she stumbles upon a body. You are going to love this. I was sucked in from the beginning. I cannot wait to dive right into the Cedarwood Hollow Mystery series and see what troubles find Emma next.

[Kate Wells · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the interaction between protagonist and detective. Refreshingly not adversarial. However there was a lot of repetition which could have been more tightly edited and some aspects were slicked over when they would have benefited from further elucidation. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Anne Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much to her disgust Emma is having to attend an authors’ award event. Her agent insisted and she’s also nagging Emma to write more books quickly. Then, on her way to find a bathroom she finds her agent dead, with a book balanced on her. Sending a message. Things are very black in the publishing world she discovers.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a good start to a new series, one that I would be interested in reading. I thought the mystery was well written and the characters were so realistic. Recommend reading so future books may make more sense.

[Liza · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a literary reception, one of the agents is found murdered at the venue.

Emma shifts from writing about murders to solving one with a detective.

Fun book.

[Selena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery isn’t the type of book I read, I wanted to give this a try. The characters really got me into it. I really enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I’ll definitely be getting the first book in the series after reading this book.