A Murder In The Ledger: A Moonlight Bay Cozy Mystery

by C.L. Harrow

A Moonlight Bay Cozy Mystery

When the body of the town’s most disliked fair chairman is found inside her antique bookshop, Grace Hastings is thrown from quiet shopkeeper to reluctant sleuth overnight.

With her loyal dog Murphy and sharp-eyed journalist Tom Barlow at her side, Grace digs into a trail of antique ledgers, town rivalries, and long-held grudges. Leonard Bragg had no shortage of enemies among Moonlight Bay’s residents—and someone finally snapped.

But the deeper Grace gets, the clearer it she’s not just solving a mystery. She’s walking straight into danger—and the killer may be closer than she thinks.

A Murder in The Ledger delivers charm, clues, and a clever canine in this small-town cozy with bite.

51 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 11, 2025

Reviews

[Wendy]

Bookstore owner Grace Hastings becomes involved in a murder when the Annual Antiques and Arts Fair coordinator is murdered. Along with her dog, Murphy and ex-cop turned reporter Tom Barlow, Grace is determined to find the killer. This book has a pretty good premise but there seems to be some holes in the plot. I was gifted an advanced copy, so some of these holes were hopefully fixed in the final edit. Since it is a novella, there is not much time for character development, but the two main characters seem to work well together. And Murphy is a great dog detective, finds several important clues to help solve the mystery. Overall, I think this author has potential and look forward to reading more installments in this series.

[GinaB.]

A Murder in the Ledger is a nice start for this series with Grace Hastings & Murphy, her black Labrador. Grace knew her Hastings & Bindery antique bookshop in Moonlight Bay would be busy because of the Annual Antique & Arts Fair. The Festival Chairman visited to accuse her of things, slips & falls when he turns to leave, hits his head & dies in her shop. Her journalist friend Tom Barlow, retired detective, shows up to talk to her & other vendors and works with her & Murphy to solve the mystery. I got this quick read from Book Funnel & am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Linda Whitenight]

Grace, Murphy and Tom begin to investigate the Fair Chairman's suspicious death. Leonard Bragg, probably the most disliked person in Moonlight Bay falls to his death in Grace's office. Can they figure out the strange clues that are popping up, Murphy keeps finding strange things. Can they clear Grace's name as the rumor mill is going full tilt. A Moonlight Bay Cozy by C. L. Harrow, that kept me page turning to find out what happened next, I can't wait until the next book.

[Jean Hall]

Interesting cozy mystery with a clue-finding dog and great descriptions.

[Jo Anne]

I really enjoyed this story. It's a quick read, and takes place in a small town with interesting characters. I loved the clue-sniffing dog!

[Rachelle Bachiu]

Quick read full of twists and turns and a very interesting dog who can sniff out what humans cannot. First time reading this author and will be looking forward to the next book.