Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Lies Are Better At The Lake: A Claire O’Keefe Mystery by Cindy Quayle. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Lies Are Better At The Lake: A Claire O’Keefe Mystery
by Cindy Quayle
Lies Are Better At The Lake: A Claire O’Keefe Mystery
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – Arkansas
Independently Published
Publication date : February 24, 2026
Print length : 242 pages
Welcome to Osage Springs, where small-town charm meets big trouble.
When Claire O’Keefe’s father suffers a stroke, she puts her plans to teach overseas on hold and returns home to Osage Springs, Arkansas. Between caring for her parents and reconnecting with her roots, she expects a quiet few months—until a chance encounter at the grocery store changes everything.
An old high school classmate, now an English teacher at Lakeside High, asks Claire to fill in during her maternity leave. It sounds simple enough—grading essays, managing teenagers, and maybe sneaking in a lakeside walk or two. But when a fellow teacher is found dead in Beaver Lake, the sleepy Ozark town turns tense, and Claire once again finds herself drawn into a mystery she can’t ignore.
This time, the sheriff’s department is asking for volunteers to aid the search, and Claire can’t resist lending a hand. But as secrets rise to the surface, she begins to wonder if the lake is hiding more than just one deadly truth.
Can Claire help solve the case before the next body surfaces… or will she be the one caught beneath the calm, cold water?
Author Guest Post: How Travel Inspired the Claire O’Keefe Mysteries
Guest Post by Cindy Quayle
Some vacations leave you with great memories.
Others leave you with a murder mystery.
That is exactly what happens to Claire O’Keefe, the amateur sleuth in my cozy mystery series. Claire never sets out looking for trouble, but her curiosity and sense of justice have a way of pulling her into mysteries wherever she goes.
One of the things I love most about the cozy mystery community is how much readers enjoy becoming armchair detectives. Cozy readers are wonderfully observant. They notice clues, suspect everyone, and try to solve the mystery before the sleuth does. As a writer, that makes creating the story even more fun because I know readers are paying close attention and looking for every hint I leave along the way.
Claire is an English as a Foreign Language teacher who loves to travel. Her sleuthing journey begins during what is supposed to be a carefree trip to Cozumel, Mexico for her best friend Julia’s bachelorette party. The plan is simple. Enjoy the sunshine, go scuba diving, and celebrate before Julia’s wedding.
But things do not stay simple for long.
When a death disrupts the trip, Claire’s natural curiosity kicks in. She begins noticing small details that others overlook and asking questions that some people would prefer to avoid. That unexpected vacation becomes the moment Claire discovers she might have a talent for solving mysteries.
The inspiration for that first book came from a real scuba diving vacation my family took to Cozumel. The island is beautiful, the water is crystal clear, and the diving community is filled with fascinating personalities. While I was there, I remember thinking that it would make the perfect setting for a mystery.
Travel has continued to play a big role in the Claire O’Keefe Mysteries. Each location brings its own atmosphere, culture, and cast of characters. Travel naturally brings together people from different backgrounds, and when you mix different personalities, secrets, and motives, it creates the perfect ingredients for a mystery.
In my newest book, Lies Are Better At The Lake, Claire finds herself closer to home in Northwest Arkansas. What begins as a relaxing getaway at Beaver Lake quickly turns complicated when secrets from the past begin to surface.
Writing this story was especially fun because I live in Northwest Arkansas, and I enjoyed weaving the beauty of the area into the mystery.
For me, travel is one of the best sources of inspiration as a writer. Visiting new places allows me to notice the small details that make a setting feel real. Those details help create the immersive atmosphere that cozy mystery readers love.
And that is one of the joys of the genre. Cozy mysteries allow readers to explore new places, meet memorable characters, and solve a puzzle along the way.
Thank you to Christy and the readers of Christy’s Cozy Corners for welcoming me today. If you enjoy cozy mysteries that combine travel, secrets, and an amateur sleuth who cannot resist asking questions, I hope you will enjoy spending time with Claire.
Just like Claire discovered on that trip to Cozumel, sometimes the most unexpected vacations lead to the most interesting mysteries. Have you ever taken a vacation that turned out very differently than you expected?
About Cindy Quayle
Cindy Quayle is the author of the Claire O’Keefe Mystery series, cozy whodunits set in a variety of scuba diving destinations. After years of teaching students, Cindy took the plunge into fiction with her debut novel, Death on Cozumel Island, inspired by a family scuba diving vacation to Cozumel.
When she is not writing, Cindy teaches ESL part-time and draws inspiration from her love of travel and the underwater world. An avid scuba diver, she enjoys exploring new dive sites and weaving the sights, culture, and atmosphere of each location into her stories. Cindy enjoys connecting with readers and is active on social media, where she shares updates on her writing life, travel adventures, and upcoming Claire O’Keefe mysteries.
Author Links
Website: www.cindyquayleauthor.com
Facebook: @authorcindyquayle
Instagram: @authorcindyquayle
TikTok: @authorcindyquayle
Purchase Link – Amazon
Enter the Giveaway
Lies Are Better At The Lake Tour PARTICIPANTS
March 16 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
March 17 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
March 18 – Caboodle of Cozies – CHARACTER GUEST POST
March 19 – Sarandipity’s – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
March 19 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
March 20 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
March 20 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST
March 21 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST
March 21 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
March 22 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT
March 22 – deal sharing aunt – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 23 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
March 23 – Rebecca M. Douglass, Author – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
March 23 – Salty Inspirations – CHARACTER GUEST POST
Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
Want to Book a Tour?
Click Here
Leave a Reply