Check out the 2026 Book Club Line Up!

---

Behind the Writing of Turnover My Dead Body

Tell us about the background for the theme, what inspired it or why you wanted to write in this setting, or with play with these tropes?

I write one book per month and release it for that month. In October, I tend to write a Halloween-themed book but have tried to vary how I do that. This is the third Halloween book in this series. The first book was about a haunted hike up a popular trail in my hometown. (The series is based around the lake I grew up on!) Second, I wrote a book about the Bristol Witches: a group of women who paddleboard across the lake on a foggy morning each fall. Third, I needed to come up with another approach to Halloween, so I made it about adults going to a dress-up Halloween party. It was fun to write!

Are any of your characters based on real people you know?

I’ll never tell!

Tell us about character traits that were fun or hard for you to include in the book.

I feel like the main character, Rebecca, is based on me… if I were a librarian. She gets to live a much more interesting life than I do.

Create a playlist with 5 to 10 songs with the below in mind:

Rebecca listens to a little bit of everything: 80s hair bands, 90s boy bands, 70s hits from when she rode in the car as a child, current hits the kids share with her in the library, country music and pop.

Were there any alternate endings you considered?

I’m a pantster; I write from the seat of my pants, so I didn’t know my ending until I was over 80% of the way through writing the story. I’ve never been able to plot out a book in advance.

Which scene, character or plotline changed the most from first draft to published book?

Not much! I did need to edit a lot of make sure the characters in costume stayed consistent.

Which of the side characters would you love to explore more, or turn into a main character in another series?

I’m excited to someday write one book from her husband’s POV!

What special knowledge or research was required to write this book?

I dug deep into my childhood cartoons! It will make sense when you read the story.

What’s the strangest thing you had to do to create this story?

Lots and lots of notes/research from the eighties!

What do you hope readers will take away from this story?

That I can write a good mystery in a small package. I have a whole series of novellas to enjoy!

Was there something major that happened in your personal life while writing this?

I always seem to have something major happening. I’d really rather I had a boring month to write!

A Recipe to go with the read:

When I begin writing a book for the Newfound Lake series, I don’t always start in the same place. On this particular book, I had decided that I wanted ‘Turnover’ to be in the title, as I was making a lot of them at the time. Once I decided on the title, I had to work it into the book and made that my recipe! Sometimes, I start with the plot and the title is the last thing to come, but not this time!

Pumpkin Turnovers
Ingredients:

• 2/3 cups pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 sheet of puff pastry (Jus-Rol)
• 6 tsp of cream cheese (or more)
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 tsp milk
• 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Roll out the puff pastry onto parchment paper and cut into six squares.
• In a small bowl, combine the 2/3 cups pumpkin puree, brown sugar, vanilla and 1/2 tsp of pumpkin pie spice. To the middle of each square of puff pastry, spread cream cheese. On top of the spread, scoop one TBSP of pumpkin puree mixture.
• Gently fold over the pastry to make a triangle. Make sure to line up the edges and seal with the back of a fork. Poke holes on the top of the turnovers.
• Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.
• Place on a cooling rack and mix the glaze together with a whisk in a small bowl including powdered sugar, milk and pumpkin pie spice. Once turnovers are cooled, generously glaze them.

---

Synopsis:

When the town librarian is an avid mystery and true-crime reader, the local law enforcement must need a book-smart assistant like her, right?

Regardless of age, Halloween holds a special place in the minds of most. Do you have a favorite costume from childhood or a terrifying memory you’d like to forget? For the residents of the Newfound Lake area, recent fame on social media occurs around this spooky holiday due to the viral videos of the Bristol Witches.

Rebecca Towne, resident librarian, has a blended family that plans to enjoy every ounce of the holiday from trick-or-treating to the not-so-surprise flash mob to the Halloween party at Once Inn a Lifetime. This will be the first time she and her husband, Chief Kenny Towne, have attended a costume party together. When their evening of fun and frivolity ends abruptly, both members of the high-profile couple spring into action, attempting to solve a murder with a mystery weapon.

Will the unique injury trick the sleuthing couple into following a dark and sinister path, or will they discover a skeleton in someone’s closet?

---