A tightly knit mystery that’s guaranteed to keep the reader dangling in a web of suspense and deception and bewilderment.

Can Maddy solve the case, confront her past demons, and finally find peace?

Deputy Detective Madeline (Maddy) Dawson returns home to take a new job with Magnolia Bluff’s Sheriff’s Department.

But when she discovers the body of a family friend in Miller Creek, Maddy finds her life turned upside down.

While navigating a tough case offering little evidence, Maddy becomes a target.

As she and fellow detective Clay Monroe set out to investigate, she is confronted with dead ends, relationship issues, attempts on her life, and demons from her past.

Can Maddy overcome the war raging inside as she desperately searches for answers in this challenging and dangerous case?

Review by Caleb Pirtle III:

Lilly Paine was a lovely young lady, popular in high school, a cheerleader, a prom queen, everybody’s sweetheart.

So who wanted to kill her?

Who wanted to hide her body in a ravine alongside Miller’s Creek?

Who wanted to leave the whole town of Magnolia Bluff in fear?

A killer strikes once. Will he strike again?

K.D. Niven, in her first book for the Magnolia Bluff Crime Chronicles, has proven once again that she can weave a tightly knit mystery that’s guaranteed to keep the reader dangling in a web of suspense and deception and bewilderment.

Almost everyone in town has a secret.

Almost everyone in town has a motive.

Almost everyone in town appears guilty.

K.D. captures you early with the strength of her writing: “Maddy leaned forward, narrowing her eyes even more. Suddenly, bile pooled in her throat as she realized what she’d seen. A body. The disturbing figure of arms, legs, and golden strands of hair flagged like sea kelp in an ocean current. For an instant, she lost her breath.”

It’s up to Maddy Dawson, a young Deputy Detective for the Sheriff’s office to chase down rabbit trails that lead to nowhere, follow up on leads that lead to dead ends, to sort out a strange array of clues to find the answer.

She’s come back home.

She’s pretty much a loner.

She has trust issues.

She’s estranged from her old friends.

She’s facing torment and demons from her past. She has her own twisted and distant secret.

And someone is out kill her as well.

But she doesn’t know who or why.

The characters are strong, well-defined, and unforgettable. You root for the weak. You fear the strong.

You cry for the families, the survivors where the death of the young leaves broken hearts scattered all over town.

But wait.

Are you grieving for the pain felt by the bereaved or the guilty? Is one any different from the other?

Who Killed Lilly Paine is a mystery written the way great mysteries are always written with warmth, empathy, and tenacity, possessing even a touch of romance along the way.

Please click HERE to find Who Killed Lilly Paine on Amazon.