Welcome to my stop on the Great Escapes Virtual Book Tour for Murder on Mulberry Lane (Mildred Wiggins Cozy Mysteries) by Lori Soard. Stop by each blog on the tour for interviews, guest posts, spotlights, reviews and more!
Murder on Mulberry Lane (Mildred Wiggins Cozy Mysteries) by Lori Soard
Murder on Mulberry Lane (Mildred Wiggins Cozy Mysteries)
Cozy Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Fictional town of Maple Hollow, Indiana
Publisher : Independently Published
Publication date : July 8, 2026
Print length : 211 pages
Paperback
Small town. Big secrets. One woman who refuses to mind her own business.
Mildred Wiggins isn’t nosy․
She just… pays attention․
It’s been fifty years since Mildred moved to the small Indiana town of Maple Hollow․ She knows her neighbors by name‚ their habits‚ and when something isn’t right․ The man living near her on Mulberry Lane has been setting off every alarm she has․
He’s rude․ Secretive․ Always in trouble with someone. When he’s found dead at the bottom of his porch steps‚ most of the neighbors are not surprised․
The police deem it an accident․
Mildred calls it suspicious․
Armed with her surprising powers of observation‚ her keen sense of justice‚ and her exceedingly opinionated rooster‚ Sir Alphonse Beauregard Clucksworth III‚ Mildred sets out to solve the case․ Because in a town like Maple Hollow, everyone knows everyone… which means anyone could be hiding something.
The deeper Mildred digs‚ the more she believes his death was not an accident․
It was murder․
But it will take more than curiosity to prove it. Will Mildred be the only one brave enough to ask the questions no one else dares?
After all, in Maple Hollow‚ secrets don’t disappear․
They wait․
Character Guest Post: If You Took a Wrong Turn and Ended Up in Maple Hollow, Indiana
If you took a wrong turn off an Indiana highway and wound up in Maple Hollow, you might not realize right away that you’d found someplace special. It looks very much like any other small town in the Hoosier state.
You’d probably notice the older houses. Many have wide front porches where people sit in the evenings and wave when someone drives by. Flower baskets hang from lampposts downtown, American flags line the main street and, in July, everything is green and growing.
Roll down your window, and you’ll probably hear cicadas buzzing from the trees and a lawn mower running somewhere in the distance. The children playing tag are the same ones who trampled your zinnias last week.
Maple Hollow isn’t a real Indiana town, but I’ve lived in Indiana most of my life. I’ve driven through plenty of little towns, wandered their shops and taken the back roads that connect one place to another. Bits and pieces of those places worked their way into Maple Hollow. I put a little of myself into each story, and the ones in the Mildred Wiggins mystery series are no different.
I wanted to create the kind of town you might stumble across on a scenic Indiana route.
Exploring Maple Hollow
Your first stop should be the Cattywampus Cafe. Darla Pruitt runs the place, and she’ll probably figure out you’re from out of town before you find a seat. One of my good friends likes the word Cattywampus, so I had to name the café as a nod to her.
Darla will make you feel welcome as soon as you step into the diner. The food is comforting but the conversations are something to eavesdrop on. Someone might mention who’s getting married, whose tomatoes are coming in early or why Etta Mae Harlan hasn’t spoken to Helen since last Christmas.
You may even hear something about Mildred Wiggins.
If Mildred walks through the door, you’ll know soon enough. She’s 52, stylish, curious and not particularly good at minding her own business. Depending on who you ask, that last quality is either one of her biggest faults or the reason a murderer might eventually wind up behind bars. Most people love Mildred, but there are a few who can’t stand her. Mildred doesn’t worry over it. She just keeps doing her thing.
People Show Up
People in small towns bicker like siblings, but if you need them, they will show up. They’ll arrive carrying casseroles and check in to see what you need. They notice everything.
Someone will notice an unfamiliar car in a driveway. They’ll wonder why the person who never misses church hasn’t shown up for two Sundays. They’ll remember who dated whom in high school and which two families haven’t gotten along since an argument twenty years ago.
For a mystery writer, that’s where things get interesting.
A person might disappear into a crowd in a big city. Try disappearing in Maple Hollow without someone noticing you haven’t picked up your mail or watered your flowers. If you act weird, half the town will know it before dinner.
Someone always knows something. The trick is getting them to tell Mildred.
Take the Back Roads
Before you leave Maple Hollow, skip the quickest route out of town and take a back road instead. You’ll learn what I adore about this state.
The backroads are where Indiana feels most like home to me. You’ll pass fields stretching toward the tree line, old barns that have survived decades of Indiana winters, and houses sitting at the end of long gravel driveways. In the summer, you might spot a roadside stand selling tomatoes or sweet corn with a handwritten sign and a box for your money.
When I created Maple Hollow, I wanted readers to picture more than a dot on a fictional map. I wanted them to know where Mildred gets a cup of coffee, which roads she drives and where she’s likely to run into someone she knows. By the time you’ve spent a few books there, I hope you’ll recognize the town almost as well as Mildred does.
Of course, Maple Hollow has one problem that most small Indiana towns don’t. People have an unfortunate habit of turning up dead.
Luckily, Mildred Wiggins has an equally unfortunate habit of asking questions until she gets an answer.
So, if you ever take a wrong turn and find yourself in Maple Hollow, stop at the Cattywampus Cafe. Grab something to eat and talk to the locals. Stay awhile if you’d like.
Be careful what you say around Mildred. She’ll remember it.
About Lori Soard
Lori Soard has a PhD in Journalism and Creative Writing, but she’s hardly the stuffy professor type. She loves nothing better than a good romantic comedy and thinks the good guy should always win, and the ending should always be happy.
From an early age, Lori started honing her storytelling skills. As a kid, she was rarely seen without a book in her hand, even walking and reading at the same time. Her first stories were about the world around her. At twenty she wrote her first novel, which she admits was horrible. At twenty-one, she sold her first article to a local newspaper. Once she got that taste of having others read her work and realizing that she could reach others and touch their hearts, there was no turning back for this natural-born writer.
“If I can make someone’s day just a tiny bit better,” Lori says, “if I can make them smile even though they are sad, make them think things could be better, make them understand how much God loves them, then I have accomplished something. I write my stories, articles, and books with that one person in mind who really needs the message. If I can change one person’s perspective, then I’ve succeeded.”
Lori is a lifelong Hoosier and lives in southern Indiana with her high school sweetheart turned husband. They have two grown daughters and two granddaughters. She always has her critters surrounding her, including a couple of miniature dachshunds and several rescue cats. “During the extreme low points in life, it has been my animals that have seen me through. There is nothing like the deep devotion of a dog or the unconditional love of a cat.” Lori adores animals, and while some of her dear friends have crossed over the Rainbow Bridge, she will always stand by her belief that animals make the world a better place.
She loves to hear from her readers and blogs regularly.
Author Links
Website https://lorisoard.com, Facebook https://facebook.com/AuthorLoriSoard, Newsletter https://lorisoard.substack.com/p/get-your-free-bonus-novella
Purchase Link – Amazon
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Murder on Mulberry Lane TOUR PARTICIPANTS
September 28 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
September 28 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
September 28 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
September 29 – Baroness Book Trove – REVIEW
September 29 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
September 30 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – CHARACTER GUEST POST
September 30 – Ruff Drafts – AUTHOR GUEST POST
September 30 – deal sharing aunt – SPOTLIGHT
October 1 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
October 1 – Romance Novel Giveaways – AUTHOR GUEST POST
October 1 – Sarcastically Yours, Jen – SPOTLIGHT
October 2 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
October 2 – Sarandipity’s – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
October 3 – Socrates Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
October 3 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
October 4 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT
October 4 – Books1987 – SPOTLIGHT
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