murder

01
Oct
2022

Free Mystery Feature October 2022 | Tale of the Tape: A Kira Brightwell Short Novel

Tale of the Tape Kira Brightwell cover

A bootleg Nine Inch Nails cassette tape.

Weird thing for Kira to find abandoned by a sewer grate on her way to school.

The hand-drawn NIN logo in marker catches Kira’s eye. Who tossed the tape? And why?

Kira pockets it, of course. Seems a shame to leave it in the gutter. Who knows what kind of extra tracks she might find on it?

…Now she only needs to figure out a way to play the thing.

A twisting, short novel of Kira’s high school past from the Kira Brightwell mystery series by Jacquelyn Smith.

Now you can read it for free on this site for one month only. This short story also comes in ebook and paperback format–both on its own, and as part of the Down in the Fifth Kira Brightwell Collection.

Tale of the Tape: A Kira Brightwell Short Novel

Jacquelyn Smith

As of November 1st, 2022 the Free Mystery Feature is on hiatus. If/when the Free Mystery Feature returns, you can find new posts here.

Recommend, rate, and review:

Posted by Jacquelyn in Free Mystery Feature, 0 comments
19
Feb
2022

New Mackenzie Quinn Release: The Author of His Demise

So I’ve had a lot of balls in the air lately (which means I’m a little late posting about this), but the first full-length novel in the Mackenzie Quinn cozy mystery series is finally here! The Author of His Demise takes place after the short novel prequels Death Clause and By Book or by Crook. While you don’t need to have read those earlier books to enjoy the new novel, you’ll probably get the most out of The Author of His Demise if you do, since there are several recurring characters.

The Author of His Demise is available in ebook format from pretty much every retailer, as well as directly from this website. (Why buy direct? Click here to find out!) You can also grab it in paperback from Amazon. Links for all purchase options are available either beside or below this post, depending on your device.

About The Author of His Demise:

The Author of His Demise Mackenzie Quinn Mystery coverA fictional murder turns deadly…

Zee writes mysteries under a secret pen name. No one knows—except her best friend, Tara. (Aside from her two cats, that is.)

But the small town of Ashwood, Ontario has become home to more than one murderer in the months since Zee’s unplanned return. And while Zee has used the colourful characters of her childhood hometown as inspiration for her writing over the years, it seems a killer has become inspired by her books in turn…

Can she track down a murderer without exposing her secret?

Find out in this first full-length novel from the Mackenzie Quinn Canadian cozy mystery series by the author of the Kira Brightwell mysteries, Jacquelyn Smith. If you enjoy a fun mystery with a quirky heroine, grab this book. Continue reading →

Posted by Jacquelyn in Writing/Publishing Updates, 0 comments
17
Nov
2021

Mackenzie Quinn has arrived!

Well, Kira’s Canadian cousin is finally on the case. (Two cases, actually.) I’ve released two short novel adventures in the series, and I’m currently working on the first full-length novel, which takes place roughly three months after the second short. Both of these (mis)adventures were a lot of fun to write, and feature some quirky, small-town characters–plus, several cats. (And one adorable Chihuahua-Pomeranian, lol.)

The first short, Death Clause, tells the story of Zee’s unplanned return to her hometown, and is available to purchase from pretty much every ebook retailer and directly from this website. (It’s also available in paperback.) By Book or by Crook takes place a few weeks later, and is a newsletter exclusive. Continue reading →

Posted by Jacquelyn in Writing/Publishing Updates, 0 comments
13
Sep
2021

Meet Kira Brightwell’s Canadian Cousin: Mackenzie Quinn

Photo by Dominika Roseclay from Pexels

I wrote a lot of Kira Brightwell adventures last year during the first six months of the pandemic. (All shorts, but still.) Honestly, if I hadn’t had a set schedule already in place to write all those stories during that time, I probably would have got a bit crazy. (Crazier?)

I still love Kira, and I definitely have future plans for her, but I kinda got burned out. The difficulty in writing a mystery series is that the stories are very much tied to the lead detective. I did try to mix things up with all those Kira shorts as much as possible to have some kind of variety and keep things fun (different locations, character focus, themes, etc.), but it’s pretty much always going to be the same main character in the same timeline.

Then I thought, ‘What if Kira had an older, Canadian cousin?’ Continue reading →

Posted by Jacquelyn in Writing/Publishing Updates, 0 comments
26
Jul
2021

Kickstart Your Collection: Kira Brightwell deals, plus a new mystery series on the way

Update: This promotion is now over.

So I recently set up a deal on the first four Kira Brightwell novels, as well as the first four collections as a summer sale. Split Decision (Kira Brightwell Book 1) is currently available for free, Black and Blue (Book 2) is $0.99, Low Blow (Book 3) is $2.99, and Game Plan (Book 4) is $3.99. (The rest of the novels in the series are available for $4.99 each. You can find a complete listing here.) You can find links to all the various ebook retailers by clicking the link for each title, or you can add all four of the books to your cart at once and purchase them directly from me for $7.97 USD.

Continue reading →

Posted by Jacquelyn in Writing/Publishing Updates, 0 comments