The coffee was supposed to be the celebration. Instead, it became the crime scene.

Cross Roads Roastery has supplied The Purring Kettle's beans since Clara Whiskerton's very first week in business — a small, beloved cooperative built by founder Nathaniel Cross to help independent cafés across the region compete against the big chains. At the roastery's open house, Nathaniel hints to Clara that something's wrong with the cooperative's books. Hours later, a fire tears through the building, and Nathaniel is found dead in the wreckage.

The fire marshal's report changes everything: the blaze was deliberately set, and Nathaniel was already dead before it started. Someone wanted to destroy far more than a filing cabinet. With her own café's savings tied up in the same cooperative fund, Clara has deeply personal stakes in finding out who silenced a man for getting too close to the truth — before the whole community's trust, and money, goes up in smoke for good.

Grounds for Alarm is Book 5 in the Maple Hollow Mysteries, a clean, cozy series full of small-town charm, a lovable tabby cat, and a murder to solve before the coffee gets cold.