All I want is a snowy mountain getaway, a crackling fire, and a few peaceful days with my rescue dachshund, Bella.

Naturally, I get murder instead.

A blizzard strands Bella and me at the Last Chance Roadside Café with a busload of prickly strangers, a bark-happy Chihuahua, and a blackmailer so thoroughly hated that no one seems sorry when he ends up dead.

I'm Joanna Holmes, a burned-out project manager who prefers color-coded lists to messy people. Solving murders was definitely not on my vacation agenda.

But Bella has a nose for trouble, and when cryptic notes appear, tempers flare, secrets spill, and a hidden blackmail ledger turns up, I can't ignore the clues piling up around me.

There is no shortage of suspects. There’s a gruff bus driver with a temper, a frightened waitress with secrets, and enough bad blood in one tiny café to melt a snowbank.

With the roads buried under snow and nowhere for the killer to run, this cozy little refuge is turning into a trap.

And someone has decided I know too much.

"Trapped With a Murderer: A Completely Compelling Cozy Mystery"

by Lana Hudson