Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for A Murder and Maggie MacGill by Rebecca Lee Smith. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!

A Murder and Maggie MacGill

by Rebecca Lee Smith

A Murder and Maggie MacGill
Cozy Mystery
Stand Alone
Setting – A small southern mountain town called Wrenhaven, Tennessee.
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Wild Rose Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 27, 2025
Print length ‏ : ‎ 296 pages
Paperback

When elementary art teacher Maggie MacGill finds the richest, most despised woman in town dead, then inherits her estate, life in the sweet mountain town of Wrenhaven, Tennessee, takes a greased ride downhill.

No one knows why Mrs. Grayson left her fortune to Maggie, but once her death begins to look like murder, and a series of unexplained pranks directed at the MacGill family turn nasty, Maggie must untangle a web of secrets and discover who has it in for her before it’s too late. Even if it means accepting help from the victim’s grandson, a man she’s loathed since high school but whose devastating grin and quick wit can still make her heart race.

Author Guest Post: Writing a Mystery…How Hard Is That?

For me, the easy way to write a mystery is…oh, I’m sorry, there is no easy way. At least, not for me. But that sure hasn’t stopped me from trying to find one.

Some writers seem to possess that effortless gift for weaving storylines, themes, and character arcs together in just the right way until a plot emerges fully developed. Like magic. Some writers do this without breaking a sweat. I am not one of those writers. I am the writer who considers crafting a credible mystery plot only slightly easier than pulling teeth. My teeth. And without a feel-good hypodermic of Lidocaine standing by. 

I like making up things as I go along. I think it keeps my manuscript fresh. But the genre I’ve chosen to write in, and love, doesn’t allow me that freedom. Before I start writing a mystery, whether it’s cozy or suspenseful, I have to figure out how the crime was committed, who is guilty and why, who had those old standbys: motive, means, and opportunity, and an original plot that is both believable and surprising. Plotting can be a tricky business. The suspects must have valid reasons to suspect them. The clues have to be legitimate. The amateur sleuth must have a compelling reason to try and solve the murder. Plausible red herrings must be cunningly planted to misdirect the reader. And it all has to make sense in the end. If you decide to throw a little romance into the mix, where the couple has internal and external conflicts they must resolve while falling in love, staying alive, and solving a murder, then you have a nightmare. 

I’m still searching for that surefire, easy peasy way to write a mystery. I’ve read books and articles and blogs on how to plot. I’ve poured over charts and diagrams and spreadsheets. I even ordered a kit by a well-known writer promising a foolproof method for writing a cozy mystery (or any novel). I ripped open the Amazon box feeling giddy, but my heart fell as soon as I removed the contents: a tiny foldout instruction sheet, a pack of four-inch colored pencils, and a stack of 3 x 5 brightly colored notecards looped together with the words BUT, THEREFORE, and MEANWHILE printed on them. Which, I guess, was supposed to propel me through my manuscript, plotting and planning like a house afire. All it did was depress me. 

Where was the magic formula? Why hadn’t I read the Amazon product description more carefully? And what the heck were all those colored pencils for? Was I ever going to discover the secret of writing a mystery the easy way? In a word: no.

But that’s okay. If writing a mystery (or any book) was a piece of cake, I don’t think I would have such a gratifying sense of accomplishment when I finished a manuscript. To quote the great Nora Roberts (who knows a thing or two about writing mysteries as J. D. Robb), “No writing is ever easy, and I don’t think it should be. If it wasn’t hard, everybody would do it. 

In my latest rom-cozy mystery, A Murder and Maggie MacGill, elementary art teacher Maggie MacGill has always prided herself on facing reality. Whether it’s an attic full of seascapes no one wants to buy, a surgery scar on her chest that could clear a kiddie pool, having to be the financial rock her father and brother depend on, or realizing her new haircut makes her look like a hedgehog. When Maggie loses her job due to budget cuts proposed by former crush Eli Grayson, and Eric’s grandmother, the richest, most despised person in town, leaves her fortune to Maggie, and Mrs. Grayson’s housekeeper accuses Maggie of her murder, it’s a little more reality than our girl bargained for. The fact that Maggie is the green-thumbed volunteer who brought the Grayson House gardens back to life and seems to be the only person who could stand the old woman, is more than a little suspicious to the Grayson heirs. 

After a series of unexplained pranks directed at the MacGill family turn nasty, Maggie has no choice but to untangle the web of secrets surrounding Mrs. Grayson’s death and find out who wants her out of the picture before it’s too late. Even if it means accepting help from Eli, a man she’s hated for over twenty years but whose devastating grin and quick wit can still make her heart race. Eli, as it turns out, is pretty good at hiding a few secrets of his own. As the suspects pile up in the sleepy mountain town, and the undeniable attraction between Maggie and Eric grows, can they unmask the killer before he or she strikes again? Can Maggie let down her guard, open her heart, and trust a man she realizes she never really knew?

About Rebecca Lee Smith

Rebecca lives with her husband and a dog named Wilbur in the beautiful, misty mountains of East Tennessee, where the people are charming, soulful, and just a little bit crazy. She’s been everything from a tax collector to a stay-at-home-mom to a professional actor and director. She loves to travel the world but her Southern roots and the affectionate appreciation she has for the rural towns she lives near inspire the settings and characters she writes about.

Author Links

Website http://www.rebeccaleesmith.com

Facebook: (Rebecca Lee Smith): http://bit.ly/4lykxcF

Twitter/X: (Rebecca Lee Smith): https://x.com/rbeccaleesmith

Bluesky: http://bit.ly/467y7ih

Author Central on Amazon:  https://bit.ly/4lapGr3

Purchase Links –   Amazon​      Barnes & Noble      Kobo

Enter the Giveaway

A Murder and Maggie MacGill TOUR PARTICIPANTS

November 10 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 10 – Guatemala Paula Loves to Read – SPOTLIGHT

November 11 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT

November 12 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT

November 13 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT  

November 14 – Novels Alive – REVIEW

November 14 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT

November 15 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT

November 16 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT

November 17 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT

November 18 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST

November 18 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW

November 19 – Salty Inspirations – AUTHOR GUEST POST

November 20 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW

November 21 – Sarandipity’s – AUTHOR GUEST POST

November 21 – View from the Birdhouse – REVIEW

November 22 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – REVIEW

November 23 – Melina’s Book Blog – REVIEW

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