Hello, Edna Harridan here. I’m Lieutenant Colonel Tessa Treslow’s favorite aunt and nowadays, her roommate. She’s busy under a truck at the moment, so I’m here to tell you about what our days are like.

We live in an old farmhouse out in the sticks of Idaho. Well, the rolling hills of the Palouse region, to be more accurate, so more fields than sticks. It is such a beautiful place. The house is smack dab between two towns—one, the larger Moscow, Idaho, a university town that is the county seat, and our tiny town of New Oslo, population 852. New Oslo is a small logging town, established by (unsurprisingly) Scandinavians about two hundred years ago. It’s three blocks of vintage buildings and vintage people.

So, our day. Tessa is up with the sun—she’s still not quite over being active duty in the US Army. She’s only been retired for a few months now, but still seems to follow that old recruiting motto they used back in the days when she signed herself up at eighteen years old: “We do more before 9am than most people do all day.” I never understood how a teenager would even be mildly interested in being up before nine, let alone doing more than everyone else!

That recruiting ad sure did work on her though. She and her best friend, Freddie, both answered the call. Those two girls ran off quicker than you could say “New Oslo.” Her boyfriend at the time, Joe Eriksson, didn’t fall for it though, and didn’t appreciate being left.

I understood though the girls’ urge for freedom from our small town, the yearning for adventure. I did my own running off to the military when I was young. I joined the WAC and spent some time in Vietnam, but I don’t like to talk about that. The biggest thing I learned was that New Oslo was not at all a bad place to lay your head at night. Now I just have to convince Tessa of that! I’m real glad she’s here with me in New Oslo, and I’m hoping she’ll stay.

Well, back to our day. I sleep in a bit longer while she goes for a run with her dog, Vince. I’m usually up in time to hand her a hot cup of coffee when she gets back. If we’re lucky, after that we’re working on a vehicle that needs some love. We’re both mechanics, and there’s nothing better than hearing an engine roar to life and know we fixed it! The bigger the challenge, the better. We love solving mysteries under the hood.

Unless, of course, there’s a real life murder mystery to solve!

We recently got tied up in one since the man had the gall to get himself murdered in my auto shop in town. The police—including that big stud of an ex-boyfriend, who is now the county sheriff—thought I had something to do with it. And of course, Tessa had to prove them wrong. She took quite a risk protecting us, but it all worked out in the end. Well, sort of. . .

Welcome Home to Murder, A Hometown Mystery #1
Genre: Cozy
Release: June 2022
Purchase Link

From author Rosalie Spielman comes a heartfelt cozy mystery that proves sometimes coming home again can be murder. . .

Tessa Treslow never wanted a small town life. As soon as she graduated high school, she happily escaped her tiny town to join the U.S. Army, leaving New Oslo, Idaho, population 852, firmly behind her. Twenty years later, the hometown hero is finally ready to come back—even if she has just a visit with loved ones in mind while her family is hoping to convince her to stay for good.

With her fawn boxer dog, Vince, in tow, Tessa falls into the unsettlingly familiar small town life, helping out in her family’s general store and her feisty Aunt Edna’s auto body shop. But her peaceful homecoming is suddenly shattered when the dead body of a crooked con man turns up in her aunt’s shop, and the police have some serious questions for the family. To make matters worse, the sheriff in charge just happens to be Tessa’s ex-boyfriend. . . and things did not end well between them all those years ago. When it comes out that the con man was trying to get his hands on the family business, Tessa knows they’re in trouble.

With her family in danger of being dragged away in handcuffs, Tessa becomes a woman on a mission to find the con man’s killer. Between a slew of suspects, a meandering moose, and a handsome newcomer with his eye on Tessa, she has her work cut out for her. But when the killer changes tactics—putting everything her family holds dear in jeopardy—Tessa begins to realize what home really means to her. Can she be the hero for her hometown once again. . . before it’s too late?

Note: A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to support U.S. Veterans!

About the author 
Originally from a tiny town in the Palouse region of Idaho, as a military brat, veteran, and military spouse (retired), Rosalie Spielman has moved more times than she has fingers to count on. Somewhere along the way, Rosalie discovered that she could make other people laugh with her writing. She enjoys reading to escape from the real world and hopes to give you the same with her stories.

Welcome Home to Murder was released on June 7, 2022 and is available now in e-book and paperback.

All comments are welcomed.