Sunny Side Down: A Hal's Diner Mystery

When a slick salesman drops dead in Booth #5 at Hal’s Diner, the town’s gossip mill turns into a murder investigation. Armed with nothing but her spiral notebook and a knack for overhearing secrets, teenage waitress Jessie Thompson leads a cast of quirky regulars in unraveling the town’s darkest deals. Sunny Side Down is a 65,000-word cozy mystery, perfect for fans of The Thursday Murder Club and The Maid, and the first in a planned series where every case starts with coffee, pie, and a side of scandal.

Think Murder She Wrote meets Happy Days! or Gilmore Girls Meets Knives out!

Hal’s Diner is the heart of a 1955 small Indiana town, equal parts community hub, rumor mill, and battlefield for egos, grudges, and grammar corrections. When a stranger dies mid-bite in the middle of breakfast rush, Jessie finds herself at the center of the investigation. The sheriff shrugs it off, the town council closes ranks, and suddenly the diner regulars, a pedantic retired teacher, a mechanic with a grudge, and a short-order cook who thinks he’s part magician, are Jessie’s only allies. As the investigation unravels, Jessie discovers that in a town where everyone knows everyone, secrets don’t stay buried for long.