Thin Ice

A frozen body. A disabled safety release. And a retired mystery novelist who knows this was no accident.

Claire Hartley has settled into life in Ridgeline, Colorado—morning coffee at the dog park with her golden retriever Boone and her suspicious rescue Pepper, evenings at The Buzz with the enigmatic bartender Mick. She's not looking for another mystery. But mysteries have a way of finding her.

When ice rink owner Robert Finch is discovered frozen in his own industrial freezer the night before the skating season opening, the town is shocked. But Claire notices what others miss: the safety release that should have saved him was deliberately disabled. Someone wanted Robert Finch dead—and made sure he had hours to know it was coming.

As the first snow dusts the mountains, Claire is drawn into a web of financial desperation, broken promises, and a lifetime of family resentment. A rink manager whose embezzlement was about to be exposed. A skating coach whose championship program was being cut. A developer who lost a fortune when Robert backed out of a deal. And a sister who'd spent twenty years living on borrowed ground—never knowing when her brother might decide to sell it out from under her.

Someone met Robert at that rink in the dark. Someone who knew exactly how to trap him in the cold.

With the town looking sideways at each neighbor and the truth buried under decades of fear, Claire must untangle what home really means—and what someone was willing to destroy to keep theirs.

Perfect for fans of cozy mysteries with smart sleuths, loyal dogs, and small-town secrets.

Thin Ice is the sixth book in the Ridgeline Dog Park Mysteries series. Each book features a standalone mystery with no cliffhangers.