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Fog Harbor Mysteries #4
The Bell That Rang at Midnight
A chapel bell rings once at midnight. By morning, a retired choirmaster is dead inside a locked church.
St. Anselm’s Chapel has not rung its bell at midnight in years.
So when Elias Thorne hears a single bronze note crossing the fog, he knows it was not an accident. Detective Chief Silas Kane knows something a locked chapel, a bell rope pulled after dark, and a body beneath the choir loft rarely add up to a simple fall.
The victim is Thomas Bell, a retired choirmaster who recently came to Elias with a strange question about pencil marks in an old hymnal.
Now that hymnal lies near his body—closed, marked, and handled by someone who did not want its message read too soon.
As Elias and Silas follow the clues through chapel registers, choir records, hidden names, and old guilt, Fog Harbor’s latest mystery becomes a question no one at St. Anselm’s wants
Who made the bell ring after Thomas Bell could no longer speak?
And what old wrong was someone willing to kill to keep buried?
The Bell That Rang at Midnight is Book Four in the Fog Harbor Mysteries a cozy small-town mystery with coastal atmosphere, old records, a closed-case investigation, slow-burn MM romance, and two guarded men learning how to build a life together above The Curiosity Nook.
Each Fog Harbor mystery features a complete case, while Elias Thorne and Silas Kane’s relationship continues across the series.
St. Anselm’s Chapel has not rung its bell at midnight in years.
So when Elias Thorne hears a single bronze note crossing the fog, he knows it was not an accident. Detective Chief Silas Kane knows something a locked chapel, a bell rope pulled after dark, and a body beneath the choir loft rarely add up to a simple fall.
The victim is Thomas Bell, a retired choirmaster who recently came to Elias with a strange question about pencil marks in an old hymnal.
Now that hymnal lies near his body—closed, marked, and handled by someone who did not want its message read too soon.
As Elias and Silas follow the clues through chapel registers, choir records, hidden names, and old guilt, Fog Harbor’s latest mystery becomes a question no one at St. Anselm’s wants
Who made the bell ring after Thomas Bell could no longer speak?
And what old wrong was someone willing to kill to keep buried?
The Bell That Rang at Midnight is Book Four in the Fog Harbor Mysteries a cozy small-town mystery with coastal atmosphere, old records, a closed-case investigation, slow-burn MM romance, and two guarded men learning how to build a life together above The Curiosity Nook.
Each Fog Harbor mystery features a complete case, while Elias Thorne and Silas Kane’s relationship continues across the series.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 21, 2026
About the author
Sebastian Hart
34 books1 followerSebastian Hart writes small-town LGBTQ+ cozy mysteries about old records, quiet secrets, coastal weather, complicated townspeople, and the stubborn clues people leave behind on paper.
He is the author of The Fog Harbor Mysteries, a bookish cozy mystery series set in a misty harbor town where former archivist and bookseller Elias Thorne works alongside Police Chief Silas Kane to uncover the truth behind long-buried crimes. Each book features a complete mystery, a warm small-town setting, a slow-burn emotional bond, and Lord Byron, the cat who considers every investigation his personal business.
Readers who enjoy coastal towns, bookshops, archives, hidden messages, family secrets, and low-violence mysteries can start with Murder in the Curiosity Nook.
For the Fog Harbor reading order and reader extras, visit:
https://readers.fogharbormysteries.com/
He is the author of The Fog Harbor Mysteries, a bookish cozy mystery series set in a misty harbor town where former archivist and bookseller Elias Thorne works alongside Police Chief Silas Kane to uncover the truth behind long-buried crimes. Each book features a complete mystery, a warm small-town setting, a slow-burn emotional bond, and Lord Byron, the cat who considers every investigation his personal business.
Readers who enjoy coastal towns, bookshops, archives, hidden messages, family secrets, and low-violence mysteries can start with Murder in the Curiosity Nook.
For the Fog Harbor reading order and reader extras, visit:
https://readers.fogharbormysteries.com/
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 6, 2026
Enigmatic Verbiage
The Bell That Rang At Midnight: a cozy small twin mystery. Lol. Not true. There was zero coziness within this novel.
I enjoyed the first 2 novels in this series. The third started a less than stellar trend toward vocabulary regurgitation. This 4th novel, not only continued with the trend, but expanded on it exponentially.
No one talks this way to each other. Period. Every statement, question or comment does not need to be a riddle wrapped within a conundrum. It just reads as ridiculousness.
Plus, the ending with this novel is highly disappointing. So many open ended plot lines. Anna, the father(?), the consequences...etc.
Will I continue on with the series. I haven't completely decided yet. For me, there has been zero progression among the two main characters, Elias and Silas. I need a little more emotion between the two and, unfortunately, there is very very little. The best relationship thus far is between Silas and Lord Byron...the cat.
The Bell That Rang At Midnight: a cozy small twin mystery. Lol. Not true. There was zero coziness within this novel.
I enjoyed the first 2 novels in this series. The third started a less than stellar trend toward vocabulary regurgitation. This 4th novel, not only continued with the trend, but expanded on it exponentially.
No one talks this way to each other. Period. Every statement, question or comment does not need to be a riddle wrapped within a conundrum. It just reads as ridiculousness.
Plus, the ending with this novel is highly disappointing. So many open ended plot lines. Anna, the father(?), the consequences...etc.
Will I continue on with the series. I haven't completely decided yet. For me, there has been zero progression among the two main characters, Elias and Silas. I need a little more emotion between the two and, unfortunately, there is very very little. The best relationship thus far is between Silas and Lord Byron...the cat.
September 24, 2026
A delight for those who love words
As usual, Hart's dialogue and plotting draw me along Willy nilly. The repartee is witty and gay. But best of all is the steady growth of awareness between the two main characters, Solar and Elias. A series to be savored.
As usual, Hart's dialogue and plotting draw me along Willy nilly. The repartee is witty and gay. But best of all is the steady growth of awareness between the two main characters, Solar and Elias. A series to be savored.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews