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A BELL TO DIE FOR: A HOLLOW POINT CLOCKTOWER MYSTERY
COMBINED IDEA Following a tumultuous divorce, librarian Clara Digby seeks solace in the serene town of Hollow Point, inheriting a charmingly cluttered bookstore from a grandmother she never knew existed. As she immerses herself in the dusty shelves, Clara discovers a cryptic letter hinting at the mysterious circumstances surrounding her grandmother’s death. Determined to uncover the truth, she launches into an amateur investigation steeped in secrets and suspicion.
Enter Dylan Browning, a lighthearted crime writer whose unexpected car trouble leaves him temporarily grounded in Hollow Point. Intrigued by the tales swirling around the small town, Dylan slides effortlessly into the role of Clara’s partner-in-crime-solving. Together, they navigate a world filled with quirky side characters and plausible suspects, all the while relying on Clara’s loyal Scottish terrier, Bessie, who seems to have a knack for sniffing out clues.
Amid the chaos, Clara and Dylan delve into family secrets that reveal layers of red herrings and surprising inheritance twists, all while unearthing Hollow Point's hidden scandals, including a suspicious gentleman gardener and a rival bookstore's enigmatic owner. Quirky shopkeepers and tight-knit community connections weave an intimate backdrop to their sleuthing adventures, adding humor to the unfolding drama.
As Clara and Dylan get closer to unraveling the mystery, their camaraderie deepens into romance. Together, they uncover a shocking revelation about Clara’s past, ultimately identifying the true antagonist behind her grandmother’s death. With the mystery resolved, Clara embraces her inherited legacy and newfound freedom, while Dylan finds inspiration for his next bestseller.
Celebrating their triumph over past personal tribulations and the solving of old family mysteries, Clara and Dylan look forward to a future filled not only with intrigue and romance but also the unbreakable community ties they’ve strengthened along the way. Their amateur sleuthing prowess transforms their lives, turning hollow endings into meaningful beginnings.
This story concludes with Clara and Dylan welcoming the unpredictable journey ahead, hand-in-hand, and ready to face any future twists, keeping the bookstore—and each other—at the heart of their shared adventure.
Feel free to modify or expand on this starting point! If you’d like additional adjustments or have any more ideas in mind, just let me know!
Enter Dylan Browning, a lighthearted crime writer whose unexpected car trouble leaves him temporarily grounded in Hollow Point. Intrigued by the tales swirling around the small town, Dylan slides effortlessly into the role of Clara’s partner-in-crime-solving. Together, they navigate a world filled with quirky side characters and plausible suspects, all the while relying on Clara’s loyal Scottish terrier, Bessie, who seems to have a knack for sniffing out clues.
Amid the chaos, Clara and Dylan delve into family secrets that reveal layers of red herrings and surprising inheritance twists, all while unearthing Hollow Point's hidden scandals, including a suspicious gentleman gardener and a rival bookstore's enigmatic owner. Quirky shopkeepers and tight-knit community connections weave an intimate backdrop to their sleuthing adventures, adding humor to the unfolding drama.
As Clara and Dylan get closer to unraveling the mystery, their camaraderie deepens into romance. Together, they uncover a shocking revelation about Clara’s past, ultimately identifying the true antagonist behind her grandmother’s death. With the mystery resolved, Clara embraces her inherited legacy and newfound freedom, while Dylan finds inspiration for his next bestseller.
Celebrating their triumph over past personal tribulations and the solving of old family mysteries, Clara and Dylan look forward to a future filled not only with intrigue and romance but also the unbreakable community ties they’ve strengthened along the way. Their amateur sleuthing prowess transforms their lives, turning hollow endings into meaningful beginnings.
This story concludes with Clara and Dylan welcoming the unpredictable journey ahead, hand-in-hand, and ready to face any future twists, keeping the bookstore—and each other—at the heart of their shared adventure.
Feel free to modify or expand on this starting point! If you’d like additional adjustments or have any more ideas in mind, just let me know!
50 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 30, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 11, 2026
Two and a half stars really and I wish I could honestly give it more but …
The premise of this short novella has so much potential to make an engaging mystery, and even a decent fully fledged novel. Sadly, that potential has not been realised. It’s as if the author tried to drop a trail of breadcrumbs to follow but left too many gaps between drops. If that info was in the author’s mind, it remains out of reach for readers, inducing confusion that tempts the reader to give up. Perhaps undue haste to publish left those tasty morsels languishing in Crowell’s neurological ether, which is a pity.
I did like the two main characters (even if Dylan did seem to drop into Clara’s life out of the blue) and I’d be keen to read a fully fleshed-out version should the author choose to make that effort. To be fair, I downloaded this as an email sign-up reader magnet freebie, so I’ve lost nothing in taking the time to read it. But I regret that the lost potential has lost the author any hoped for potential purchases from me at this point.
The premise of this short novella has so much potential to make an engaging mystery, and even a decent fully fledged novel. Sadly, that potential has not been realised. It’s as if the author tried to drop a trail of breadcrumbs to follow but left too many gaps between drops. If that info was in the author’s mind, it remains out of reach for readers, inducing confusion that tempts the reader to give up. Perhaps undue haste to publish left those tasty morsels languishing in Crowell’s neurological ether, which is a pity.
I did like the two main characters (even if Dylan did seem to drop into Clara’s life out of the blue) and I’d be keen to read a fully fleshed-out version should the author choose to make that effort. To be fair, I downloaded this as an email sign-up reader magnet freebie, so I’ve lost nothing in taking the time to read it. But I regret that the lost potential has lost the author any hoped for potential purchases from me at this point.
January 30, 2026
I found this book to be sorely lacking in editing as well quite a few pages that were duplicated.
There were several instances of very disjointed text including characters with no backstory.
I definitely would not recommend wasting your time on this book.
There were several instances of very disjointed text including characters with no backstory.
I definitely would not recommend wasting your time on this book.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews