Book

The Lighthouse Keeper’s Secret

by Riley Lockwood

When a storm-tossed shipwreck washes ashore in the quiet fishing village of Pelican Cove, lighthouse keeper Clara Whittaker finds something wedged among the wreckage that her family has quietly guarded for generations. A brass key, a whispered legend, and a truth the sea has been holding for decades finally surface at her feet. Clara has spent her life tending Saltwind Lighthouse and listening to the tides. Now she cannot look away. Pulled into a tangle of maritime smuggling, old village lies, and long-buried family secrets, Clara follows each thread from foggy lanes to windswept piers. She trades careful questions for cups of chowder at Mira Sandoval's café, pores over ledgers with Edith Marlowe at the historical society, and leans on the steady company of her neighbor Gus Halloran and the cautious help of Sheriff Linnea Ortiz. Every conversation peels back another layer of Pelican Cove's polished reputation. As the Founders' Day Festival approaches and Deputy Pete Halloran keeps a watchful eye on the proceedings, Clara pieces together a puzzle that reaches back to a lost captain and a museum founder whose names still shape the cove. With her lantern lit and her neighbors close, she listens, asks, and watches until the truth breaks the surface. The answers she uncovers will change what Pelican Cove remembers, and what it finally chooses to forgive. This warm standalone cozy mystery pairs a charming seaside setting with vivid local color, gentle puzzles, and a satisfying ending. Perfect for readers who love amateur sleuth stories, small-town secrets, and the kind of village where everyone has a story and the lighthouse always finds its way home.