Before I tell you what sent me to the small town of Ravens Valley, let me confess that I have three burdens in my life. My first burden is my neighbor, Mrs. Ginny Wilkens or Mrs. Wilkens for short. She’s eighty-something and tends to get me into trouble. Second is a cat named Goldie. I agreed to take her for three days. That was two years ago. We tolerate each other. I feed her and she purrs—for Mrs. Wilkens.
My third burden is more difficult to describe. It’s my twin Charlee, except Charlee died when I was three. She pops into my head at odd times to “advise” me. My psychiatrist once told me Charlee was a figment of my imagination who tended to show up in moments of stress. Charlee doesn’t agree.
On a fateful summer afternoon, Mrs. Wilkens roared into my apartment with the news that Fannie Porter, librarian for Ravens Valley was found dead on the side of a lonely rural road. Fannie was mentoring me for a summer graduate class in communications. She was also in a headlong fight with a group of local parents over book banning.
As soon as Mrs. Wilkens said we had to go to the funeral and we had to investigate, I knew the rest of my summer was ruined. Worse, Charlee showed up. Go, Liza. You know you have to.
How do you tell a figment to mind her own business?
And with Charlee’s words of advice, Mrs. Wilkens, Goldie and I began a journey to a place that appeared to be an ideal version of a rural small town complete with a town square and an annual Chicken Wing Festival. However, it didn’t take us long to find the undercurrent of fear and secrecy.
THE SECRET OF RAVENS VALLEY
Series: A Liza and Mrs. Wilkens Mystery, Book 2
Genre: Traditional Mystery
Release: May 2026
Format: Print, Digital
Purchase Link
Fanny Porter, besieged rural community librarian, ends a video call with her friend Liza Johnson with the cryptic words “You know I’m in deep, and it’s scaring me.” Several days later, she is found dead on a lonely county road near the town of Ravens Valley.
At the funeral, Liza and her neighbor, Mrs. Wilkens, discover a town cloaked in fear. People are afraid to attend the funeral because Fanny was embroiled with a powerful group trying to ban books in the library. But the fear goes deeper in a community dependent upon the Santos Brothers Farm for its survival. When Goldie, Liza’s cat, is poisoned, Liza and Mrs. Wilkens race against time to discover the secret of Ravens Valley.
About the author
Linda Norlander is the author of The Secret of Ravens Valley, A Liza and Mrs. Wilkens mystery. In addition, she has two other mystery series, Sheriff Red and A Cabin by the Lake Mysteries. All are set in Minnesota. The fourth book in her Sheriff Red mysteries, Only the River Knows will be published in September 2026. Norlander has also published award winning short stories, op-ed pieces and short humor. Before taking up the pen to write murder mysteries, she worked in end-of-life care and hospice. Norlander resides in Seattle.
Linda can be reached at www.lindanorlander.com, on Facebook, and you can sign up for her newsletter here.