The Case of the Misplaced Manuscript (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798309351725)

A priceless manuscript has vanished from Oakwood's biggest literary event.
And the missing pages may expose a secret someone has buried for decades.

When Oakwood's Literary Festival opens, Maddy Pierce expects crowded book tents, author drama, bad muffins, and plenty of small-town gossip. She does not expect Veronica Montgomery, Oakwood's most famous novelist, to summon her to Montgomery House with one furious request:

Find the stolen manuscript before the evening reading.

The draft was locked in a private study. The red leather case was left behind. The security logs point to a guest code that should never have worked. And the list of suspects is growing faster than festival rumors.

There's Lydia Sinclair, Veronica's assistant, who has access to the house and an old reason to resent her employer. Darian Cole, a jealous rival author, has a public grudge and a suspicious gap in his schedule. Evelyn Fairchild, the festival chair, has control of credentials and a scandal of her own to hide. And Richard Morrow, Veronica's polished former editor, knows far too much about the past everyone keeps stepping around.

As Maddy follows the clues from Montgomery House to the library archive, the old press museum, town hall, and The Quill & Cup, the mystery becomes larger than a missing manuscript. The stolen pages are tied to Emma Reed, a forgotten writer whose work may have been buried beneath another woman's fame.

Now someone is planting evidence, steering suspects, and trying to control the story before Maddy can read the ending.

Perfect for readers who enjoy:

• Small-town cozy mysteries with charm, wit, and secrets
• Bookish mysteries set around libraries, authors, archives, and literary festivals
• Amateur sleuths who notice what everyone else misses
• Low-violence mysteries with smart clues and satisfying reveals
• Warm community settings full of gossip, friendship, and repair
• A clever puzzle built around old letters, hidden pages, and one dangerous manuscript

Maddy will need help from her sharp-tongued friends, one very practical café owner, a tech-savvy ally, and a police chief who knows exactly how often she bends the rules.

But in Oakwood, every story has more than one version.

And this time, the wrong person has been editing the truth.

The Case of the Misplaced Manuscript is a warm, witty, book-filled cozy mystery in the Oakwood Mysteries series, featuring a charming town, a literary festival, a missing manuscript, and an amateur sleuth determined to find the truth hidden in the margins.