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Chapter One, Dead: A book-club cozy about rival authors, secret manuscripts, and a fair-play puzzle you can solve
Author feud night at my library book club was supposed to be cookies, gossip, and a Q&A. Then a “lost” first chapter appeared, the desk bell rang for order, and the wrong writer hit the floor. By page two, the bell is a weapon.
I moderate. I notice things. Two versions of the chapter with different footers. Watermarks that only match the library copier. A dimmed-lights window that lasts just long enough for a clapper swap. An editor’s margin note that uses “stet” the wrong way. A fan assistant with a shrine. A rival author with a leak. A ghostwriter who talks like a brand manager and knows too much about schedule.
Chief Hart wants me to keep out. I want to know who printed v2 at 6:42 and why the bell’s inside edges glow under UV. My cat Mo wants the plate of cookies. We all have motives.
I moderate. I notice things. Two versions of the chapter with different footers. Watermarks that only match the library copier. A dimmed-lights window that lasts just long enough for a clapper swap. An editor’s margin note that uses “stet” the wrong way. A fan assistant with a shrine. A rival author with a leak. A ghostwriter who talks like a brand manager and knows too much about schedule.
Chief Hart wants me to keep out. I want to know who printed v2 at 6:42 and why the bell’s inside edges glow under UV. My cat Mo wants the plate of cookies. We all have motives.
250 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 6, 2025
2 people want to read
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