Murder in the Reflection: A Maggie Wright Cozy Mystery

by Tessa Aura

Some mysteries are found in the water. Others, in the mirror.
The truth was there all along… hiding in the reflection.

When a woman is discovered dead beneath the willow trees at Ashford Crossing’s scenic pond trail, private investigator Maggie Wright expects secrets.

She just doesn’t expect half the town to have them.

Elaine Marsh quietly helped troubled locals carry burdens too heavy to face alone—meeting them on a park bench far from curious eyes. A grieving widower. A struggling addict. A respected professional barely holding things together.

Every one of them had something to hide.

With her loyal canine partner, Biscuit, and PI partner Harper Rhodes at her side, Maggie follows a trail of private meetings, cryptic notes, and uneasy lies. But the deeper she digs, the more the case reflects something she didn’t

After finally putting old ghosts to rest, Maggie is beginning to realize solving the past and building a future aren’t the same thing.

But someone in town is watching.

Waiting.

And willing to kill again to keep the truth buried.

Genres: Mystery

177 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 24, 2026

About the author

Hello! I'm Tessa Aura, author of cozy mystery series that whisk you away to charming settings with lovable characters, clever puzzles, and plenty of laughs.

With 21 published books across multiple series, I've built a reputation for combining humor with mystery, always featuring loyal dog sidekicks and guaranteed happy endings. My Simply Scrumptious Italian Culinary Mysteries take you to the sun-soaked towns of Italy where amateur sleuth chefs solve murders between preparing pasta and pouring wine.

I grew up loving puzzles and animals—which is why every book features a four-legged detective helping crack the case. From beagles and chihuahuas to labs and pitbull/mix, these pups steal scenes (and hearts!).

Travel is my passion, and it shows in my settings. Whether it's Italy's Cinque Terre or cozy American small towns, I love taking readers on adventures alongside my female detectives.

If you love clean, lighthearted mysteries with humor, heart, and happy endings, you're in the right place. Start with Book 1 of any series and prepare to binge!

Follow me on Amazon to never miss a new release: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/...

Happy sleuthing!

Reviews

[Bethany Bryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder in the Reflection by Tessa Aura Book Review

“Someone had planted wildflowers along the north bank a few years back. They'd gone native now spreading where they wanted.” “A contrast to “the woman in the pond.” Very sudden, dramatic and built with tension.” It was very well executed. Whodunnit? 

Shout out to Edmund and Biscuits are canine detectives for sniffing this one out. 

A Bench. Book Club. A Ledger. How does it all connect? 

Secrets. 

I had no idea who the culprit was. It's so well written and will have you going in circles. It will not disappoint. 

“Something you were disappearing from had a way of learning your new address.” But what exactly? 

Such an emotional read. Some people die without many people having known them and then when they are gone people regret not knowing them. It's also what they left behind. The lives they built for themselves. The flowers they planted, the people they did know and their routines. Tessa has made sure all these emotions come through. It's sure to hit readers. 

Someone is watching. 

A Journal. 

A Twist no one saw coming. It's brilliant. I'm Gobsmacked by the truth. A Fire. It's so intense. Will all survive? Can they catch the killer in time? 

Hints of Romance make this story even more heartwarming. 

Tessa also brings to the surface more of Maggie's past and her character. It gives her more depth. We come to understand her so much more. The uncertainty, the grief, how she is finding herself again, rebuilding her life. I love the moment it begins to soften for her. I really feel for what she went through. How it has impacted her life and relationships.Tessa has done an excellent job at making you feel so many emotions with this book. She should be proud of it. 

Tessa highlights how Therapy can help a person feel lighter and maybe even learn how to slowly move on. 

[Willow Poteet · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the town of Ashford Crossing, the scenic trail is busy with dog walkers and joggers enjoying the beautiful June day.
Maggie Wright, PI and co-owner of Missing Link Investigations, and her canine companion, Biscuit, are enjoying the morning with their usual loop on the trail when Biscuit alerts to a sound at the water’s edge.
A walker and her dog have stumbled upon the body of a woman face down in the pond.
Maggie doesn't recognize the woman and, when she is finally identified, Maggie is drawn into the life, and eventual death, of someone who was quietly helping others while she had been in hiding for five years.
Maggie, Biscuit and her partner in crime, Harper Rhodes, must unravel secrets and lies while the whole town watches, made harder by the fact that all those the victim helped had
something to hide.
This is another wonderful addition to the Maggie Wright Cozy Mystery series! I’ve loved every book and this one is no exception!
The characters are believable and the plot twists are plentiful! Once I started reading I couldn't put it down! I must recommend this book!
I was honored to be on the advanced reader team for this book and I am happy to leave this voluntary review.

[Merry Chapman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder in the reflection is the 11th book in the Maggie Wright Cozy Mystery series and it is a great addition to the entire series. It's a nice day and Maggie is taking her smart, intuitive dog, Biscuit for their usual walk around Ashford Crossings Pond when Biscuit finds a dead woman's body face down in the pond. The woman was Elaine Marsh, a newer resident in town who loved to sit on the bench and listen to the townspeople's problems and seemed to be very empathetic and seemed to keep people's secrets well, due to her profession. Is that what got her killer? But who killer her. Well, Maggie Wright, PI and co-owner of Missing Link Investigations with her partner, Harper Rhodes, and their amazing sleuthing, Biscuit are on the case. What was the background of the deceased? Did it have something to do with her murder or was it someone who wanted their secrets kept hidden? This is a great, fast-paced book that keeps you guessing until the end! Not only do I highly recommend this book, but I highly recommend the entire series. I received an ARC of this book but the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been reading this series for quite a while, and I’ve enjoyed every installment. This one, in particular, immediately captured my attention. The plot was exceptionally well developed, especially for a shorter cozy mystery.

In this installment, a woman is found dead along the scenic pond trail, a popular spot frequented by many residents of Ashford Crossing, including Maggie. Never one to shy away from an investigation, Maggie soon discovers that the victim had numerous—and somewhat secretive—connections to people throughout the town.

What are these connections, and why did this resident seem to have such a mysterious past? Is this an isolated murder, or should the residents of Ashford Crossing fear that more danger lies ahead?

I thoroughly enjoyed following Maggie as she unraveled the clues, with each revelation leading naturally to a satisfying conclusion. This was another excellent addition to the series and an easy 5 out of 5 stars for me.

[Jeanette Waters · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first chapter of "Murder in the Reflection", the author has the reader's attention. It's a quiet morning in early June and Maggie Wright is taking doggie, Biscuit, on their daily walk on the looped trail around Ashford Crossing's pond. The easy going cadence of that summer day is interrupted by Biscuit finding a body in the pond beneath the willows.
This is only the second cozy mystery from Tessa Aura I've read. And I really enjoyed the prose and relationships found in "Reflection" with empathetic characters, a nicely paced worldbuild and a mystery that kept me guessing. Lots of twists and turns. Biscuit and his good friend Edmund made a fine investigative team.
This was book eleven in the Maggie Wright Cozy Mystery series. A lot of fun reading ahead.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Margery · Rating 5 out of 5]

ELAINE ran into a situation where it became apparent she was loosing her license as a psychologist. She tried to run away from a patient who managed to get another psychologist's license pulled and now his legal team are targeting her. She landed in Ashford Crossing. Enjoying the park and the view of the water, she found herself sitting on the same bench each visit. Small friendly town as people passed they would say hello and some over seeing each other often, they began sitting and chatting. Soon she found they were off loading painful secrets knowing she would never reveal anything. The number of people who chatted with her grew. Alas, she is found murdered at her bench. Now Maggie and friends have to crack thru the vaults of secrets to reveal the killer.

[Chere Gruver · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one is a bit different!

Oh, we still have a murder to be solved, but there’s more to the story than just that. Not only does Maggie work on solving the murder, but she sees the similarities between herself and the victim. And that makes this story, in my opinion, the best one yet of the series. There is a lot of growth in this one on Maggie’s part. Growth and acceptance. I really do enjoy the Maggie Wright Cozy Mystery series. They’re all well written, the plots are so well thought out and the relationships just keep developing into more than what they were before. Honestly, I highly recommend anything by Tessa Aura.

I received a free advanced reader’s copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Lynda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie and Biscuit go for their morning walk around the lake and hear a lady yell. When they get to where she is they find a lady face down in the water. Maggie calls Sheriff Briggs and he knows who she is. Maggie calls Harper her partner and now they are doing their PI thing and investigating the lady. It's strange, she's lived in the town for five years and no one really knows much about her. Maggie goes to look at her house and feels a kinship with her as she hasn't really but much of herself in the house kind of like the Maggie lives. Between Harper, Maggie, and Biscuit they found what caused her to come to their town and who would want to kill her. This is another great Maggie and Biscuit story and the ending might fool you!
I received and arc and this is my review.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murder in the Reflection: A Maggie Wright Cozy Mystery (A Maggie Wright Cozy Mystery Series Book 11), my twenty-eighth enjoyable read from author Tessa Aura. There are so many cozy mysteries out there and so many authors writing them, but they're popular, I enjoy them & read more than my share of them. In every sense of the word, this is a cozy mystery, with offstage violence, amateur sleuths, and a dog. “I received a complimentary Kindle copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving a review." The gifting of this book did not affect my opinion of it. I'll read more from this author as they're published. Next up is Knit Happens...then Murder: A Penelope Sinclair Cozy Murder Mystery, due out next month. (RIP Marley January 20, 2014 - July 24, 2018.

[Javon50 · Rating 4 out of 5]

On her morning walk, Maggie Wright and her dog Biscuit meet a woman and her dog who has found the body of a woman in a few inches of water. The victim had been helping several residents with the burdens they felt were too hard to carry alone. Along with her business partner Harper Rhodes, Maggie is working alongside the local police to investigate and find the killer. Soon Maggie and Harper uncover secrets that residents never wanted to come to life. Secrets seem to come to the surface during a murder investigation and Maggie and Harper are quite good at solving mysteries including murders. A review of this book was sent to me by the author. All of the above opinions are my own.

[Melanboog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall this is a great story; the character development was well done, it drew your attention where the author wanted it. Sometimes it felt repetitive because the same everts were brought up frequently. I understand that were clues, but they were too repetitive for me. This books links up well with the others in the series, but I feel like there’s enough information given that it could definitely be read as a stand alone. It’s been great to watch this authors writing style grow and continue to get better.
4.5 starts but rounded up.

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie and her dog, Biscuit, have gotten into the habit of taking a morning walk around the pond where they often greet the other people who also walk around the pond. One morning Biscuit alerts to something in the water under the willow tree. That's where they find the body of Elaine Marsh. Elaine had only been in town a few years, but she was often seen sitting on a bench along the trail where several people would stop and talk to her. Was one of them responsible for her death? Maggie and Harper investigate to try and figure out what led to her death.
Another great book in the series.

[Mrs K.Bryant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murder in the Reflection is a Superb story and series about Maggie Wright her dog Biscuit and Harper Rhodes are Private Investigators. A Therapist was found dead on the scenic pond trail. Maggie, Biscuit and Harper start to look into the mystery. They follow a trail of clues and some hidden secrets. But what will they be able to uncover and can the truth be discovered?
I enjoyed reading this story very much and I highly recommend that you read this story and series.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this small town cozy mystery about a lady who most people knew about but didn’t really know was found dead and it was decided it wasn’t an accident but murder. Maggie, Harper and her furry detective Biscuit worked together with the police to piece the clues together and figure out who the guilty party was. I was actually surprised who ended up being guilty because it was the last person I would have thought of. This was another great suspenseful story from this author.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

PI Maggie Wright and her dog, Biscuit, are on a walk along a scenic pond trail when they encounter a woman who had just discovered a body lying in the water face down. Maggie didn’t know the deceased woman but as she investigates the crime, she realizes that the woman helped a lot of the town’s residents and that they all had secrets they were hiding. To keep their secret safe, did one of them want her dead, or was it someone not associated with Ashford Crossing?

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Jessica Forbes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this one hit extra for me. I'm not sure if it was the victim herself, a former psychiatrist who quietly started helping people again, never quite giving herself permission to fully settle into her life, or if it's how much Maggie related to that sentiment, but this one hit deep. The mystery itself was intriguing and honestly a little bit creepy when you think about it, but either way, great addition to the series!.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Cathy Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maggie and Biscuit are taking a morning walk on the popular town trail around the pond when Biscuit discovers a body in the pond. With Harper they start following clues to find who killed the lady who'd lived there 5 years but people barely knew. Several suspects are found but they miss the one from her past. In catching the killer Maggie learns something about herself and her past. Good story. As always Biscuit is great. I recieved an ARC and this is my voluntary review.

[Dot Morrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read another excellent addition to this series. I am loving Biscuit he is such a HAM!!!! With another murder and so many suspects, who could have killed the lady that no one really knew. Maggie has had a time trying to find out who did it with all thew questioning, secrets and unraveling of clues she did it, but you'll have read and wait to see who it was. zit had me hooked all the way to the end.

I received a free copy of this book via BookFunnel and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great addition to this series. The author did a great job of keeping me guessing. That makes a wonderful cozy mystery.
Maggie has a dead body now she must find the killer. She never imagined all the suspects she would find.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Brenda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A woman is dead but who killed her? It could have been any number of people who were seeking her council. But which one was the killer?
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author. This in no way affects my opinion of this book

[Nancy (The Avid Reader) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Murder in the Reflection! The story kicks off with a beautifully established routine: Maggie and her loyal dog sidekick, Biscuit, are out for their morning walk on the trail. They exchange polite smiles, nods, and quick hellos with the other daily dog walkers—a charming small-town touch that I loved.

However, the peace shatters when a woman named Elaine Marsh is found dead right by the pond. Elaine hadn't been living in Ashford Crossing long, but she had already become a fixture on that trail, sitting on her bench every single morning. Passersby had quickly learned she was a wonderful listener who could keep their secrets because of her profession. With so many regulars passing by that very bench, Maggie and Biscuit realize the list of suspects is long.

Did someone panic and silence her to protect their secrets? Who was it? A random stranger on the trail? An unknown figure from her past? Or did Elaine have dangerous secrets of her own?

Eleven books in, and this series is as fresh and engrossing as ever. The way Tessa Aura weaves the small-town secrets of Ashford Crossing around scenic pond trails is incredibly atmospheric.

Wow! So many questions kept popping up in my head, which made me unable to turn the pages as fast as I wanted. The suspense had me hanging on every word as I waited patiently for everything to be revealed. Tessa Aura hides the truth perfectly in plain sight, making the mystery ingenious, unpredictable, and an absolutely stellar cozy mystery!

[Carla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great mystery. The story drew me in right away and kept me turning the pages. I really liked the characters and couldn't wait to see how things turned out. I received an advanced reader copy via Booksprout and am leaving an honest review.