by: Rebecca Lee Smith
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release Date: August 27, 2025
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
When elementary art teacher Maggie MacGill finds the richest, most despised woman in town dead, then inherits her estate, life in the sweet mountain town of Wrenhaven, Tennessee, takes a greased ride downhill.
No one knows why Mrs. Grayson left her fortune to Maggie, but once her death begins to look like murder, and a series of unexplained pranks directed at the MacGill family turn nasty, Maggie must untangle a web of secrets and discover who has it in for her before it’s too late. Even if it means accepting help from the victim’s grandson, a man she’s loathed since high school but whose devastating grin and quick wit can still make her heart race.
Hi, Kim. I’m great! Thanks so much for having me.
You’re welcome. Congratulations on the release of A Murder and Maggie MacGill. What can you tell me about the book, and is it the start of a series?
A Murder and Maggie MacGill, is a standalone mystery, although I’ve got to admit that I miss the characters more than I thought I would, so making it into a series is a definite possibility.
The title character, Maggie MacGill, is a thirty-two-year-old elementary art teacher with an annoying green thumb (her words) who lives in an attic apartment attached to her father’s house. Maggie has been fiercely protective of Pop and her younger brother Jesse since their mother walked out over fifteen years ago. When she loses her teaching job due to budget cuts, she worries she won’t be able to keep Pop’s house painting company and Jesse’s fledgling restaurant from going under. Maggie is passionate about volunteering at The Art Factory, a children’s art center her mother founded. She is desperate for it to survive and in her spare time works in Constance Grayson’s garden, the richest, most despised woman in town, hoping the elderly woman will donate some much needed funds to The Art Factory. When Mrs. Grayson dies, and Maggie unexpectedly inherits her estate, it seems like the answer to Maggie’s prayers.
No one in the sweet mountain town of Wrenhaven, Tennessee knows why Mrs. Grayson left her fortune to Maggie, but once her death begins to look like murder, and a series of unexplained pranks directed at the MacGill family turn nasty, Maggie must untangle a web of secrets and discover who has it in for her before it’s too late. Even if it means accepting help from the victim’s grandson, Eli Grayson, a man she’s loathed since high school, but whose devastating grin and quick wit can still make her heart race.
Is Wrenhaven, Tennessee, based on a real town? What was your inspiration for creating it?
Wrenhaven, Tennessee, is completely fictional, although it does, in many ways, resemble a small, charming Tennessee town nearby called Jonesborough. Jonesborough is the oldest town in Tennessee and, I’ve always said, could double for any and all towns in a Hallmark movie. I love small town settings featuring unforgettable characters with secrets to hide, especially for rom-cozy mysteries.
Tell me about some of the characters we’ll meet in the book and series.
Besides Eli Grayson, the romantic interest Maggie can’t bring herself to trust, suspects include the Grayson heirs who were left out of the will, including Eli’s cousin Stephen (Maggie’s ex-boyfriend), Eli’s deceased brother’s widow, an Eastern European beauty called Irena, who is also the neglectful mother of his deaf five-year-old nephew Alex, Irena’s hunky boyfriend Luke, Pop’s twenty-five-year-old girlfriend Trude, and Trude’s mother, Florence, who just happens to be Mrs. Grayson’s housekeeper. Sheriff Conley, Mayor Nash, and a high school student out for revenge also have a few secrets they don’t want revealed.
When you started writing A Murder and Maggie MacGill, did you know who the killer was, or was it a surprise to you as the story progressed?
At the beginning, I thought I knew who the killer was, but about one-third of the way in, it changed to someone else. This has happened to me in most of the mysteries I’ve written. Once the motives start revealing themselves, things can take a different turn. I kind of love that.
Final question. What’s your favorite part of the writing process?
Typing the words, THE END.
But seriously, I think it’s those days where you sit down to write, and you don’t really want to be there, and out of the blue, some character will surprise you or a plot twist will jump into your head, and you look at the clock and two hours have passed. That’s magic.
Rebecca, thank you so much for taking the time to answer some questions for me.
You are so welcome. It was my pleasure.
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