Trailbreaker: A Prairie Nightingale Mystery

Knox and Mare’s effervescent sequel to Homemaker melds mystery and light romance as divorced Midwestern mom Prairie Nightingale launches her own PI agency. Fresh off solving her first murder, Prairie recruits three friends—podcaster Emma Cornelius, forensic genealogist Joyce Ozmanski, and office manager Marion Banks—to help make mystery solving her official business. The group’s first case, brought to them by local gossip blogger Bernie Dubicki, involves a series of unexplained deaths in Door County, Wis. Bernie’s convinced there’s a serial killer on the loose, and though at first glance the victims seem random, the subsequent disappearance of a female college student in the area raises alarm bells for Prarie and her team. Aided by FBI agent Foster Rosemare, Prairie’s love interest, they races to connect the dots before another person turns up dead. Despite the heavy subject matter, Knox and Mare maintain a witty tone that helps them straddle the line between cheeky cozy and full-blown thriller. With rich cast dynamics and a sweet central love story, this series shows promise. Agents: (for Knox) Pamela Harty, Knight Agency; (for Mare) Tara Gelsomino, One Track Literary. (Feb.)