My life looks quite different these days. Up until recently, I’d been working in Washington, D.C. with the Library of Congress as a rare books librarian. Now I’m staying with my sister Azalea in Rose Mallow, a small town on the Chesapeake Bay. We used to spend every summer here as teenagers, so it’s always been a special place to us.

Azalea converted our late grandmother’s Victorian mansion into the Wildflower Inn. I’m proud of her for pursuing her dreams. She’s done an amazing job of restoring the home and is working hard to make it a successful business. I wish I could help her more, but somehow I always seem to make a bigger mess when I attempt cleaning. We won’t talk about my horrible baking skills.

What do I do on a typical day? My rescue dog Clove and I wake up in the Carriage House out back. Clover is best friends with my almost four-year-old niece Violet. They love playing together. Meanwhile Azalea has whipped up another one of our grandmother’s traditional Jewish recipes.

The Wildflower Inn backs to a public boardwalk looking over the Chesapeake Bay. Clover and I enjoy heading up and down the walk, running into new friends, and chasing birds. At one end of the walk are shops, including the Purple Oyster Coffeehouse. They have the best scones and doggie treats.

Meanwhile I’m trying to decide if I want to return to D.C. or not. I never thought I’d want to stay in a small town like Rose Mallow. After school, I traveled much of the world. Eventually I discovered I could continue my travels through books. I returned home to become a librarian. While I’m proud of my work at the Library of Congress, coming back here has shown me how much I’ve missed my family. Life in D.C. is so fast paced, while Rose Mallow has a more leisurely feel. I thought it might be boring here, but boy, I’m wrong!

Plus, there’s a new guy in my life: Leo Calverton. Yes, he’s of that Calverton family – the one that runs all those multinational businesses. There’s rich and then there’s uber-rich. Leo is different from the rest of his family. Although he’s the oldest of the Calverton kids, he’s not interested in taking over any of the family businesses. Instead, he’s inherited his grandparents’ passion for archaeology. He came back from searching for a lost king’s treasure in Italy. We love discussing history and travel. I’m not sure how I feel about dating a billionaire, but honestly, he seems incredible. Should I explore this more?

What brought me back to Rose Mallow, you ask? I’d been putting off returning here ever since our grandmother “Nana Z” passed away. Recently, my brother-in-law Rory – Azalea’s estranged husband – called me. He claimed there’s an ancient Celtic manuscript in a local cemetery. My curiosity was greater than my grief, so I high-tailed it down here with Clover in my vintage Karmann-Ghia roadster.

When I got to the cemetery, neither Rory nor the book was anywhere to be found. Another body was. Being a librarian, I have an insatiable curiosity. I knew I had to find out what happened to Rory, the book, and the victim – especially before the killer killed again.

Crime and Parchment, A Rare Books Mystery Book #1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release: November 2023
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

Rare books librarian Juniper Blume knows this much… an ancient Celtic manuscript shouldn’t be in a Maryland cemetery.

But that’s exactly what her brother-in-law claims.

Last year, Juniper saw the 1,200-year-old Book of Kells in Ireland. She learned how their bejeweled covers were stolen centuries ago, never to be seen again. So how could they have ended up in Rose Mallow, a small Chesapeake Bay town? Being Jewish, the Book of Kells might not be her sacred text, but as a rare books librarian, the ancient book is still sacred to her, making it important to Juniper to find out the truth.

Rose Mallow is the same place where Juniper used to summer with her sister Azalea and their grandmother Zinnia, known as Nana Z. Ever since Nana Z passed away, Juniper’s avoided returning, but her curiosity is greater than her grief, so she heads down in her vintage convertible with her rescue dog Clover.

Juniper discovers that her sister Azalea has transformed their grandmother’s Queen Anne style mansion into the Wildflower Inn, backing up to the Chesapeake Bay. Although Juniper isn’t much of a cook, Azalea has kept their grandmother’s legacy alive, filling the house with the smells of East European Jewish treats, like sweet kugels and tzimmes cake. Will coming back here feel like returning home or fill Juniper with a deeper sorrow? Can she apologize to her sister for not being there when she was needed most?

Meet the author
Daphne Silver is the author of the Rare Books Cozy Mystery series starting with Crime and Parchment. She is also the author of three local history books under her legal name Lauren R. Silberman, including Wild Women of Maryland (History Press, 2015), Wicked Baltimore (History Press, 2011), and The Jewish Community of Baltimore (Arcadia Publishing, 2008). When not writing, she is the Director of Development for the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra. Sign up for her e-newsletter and get the free short story “A Midsummer’s Night Scheme” at daphnesilver.com.