Death in the Details

A Novel

By: Katie Tietjen

Narrated by: EJ Lavery

Maple Bishop is ready to put WWII and the grief of losing her husband, Bill, behind her. But when she discovers that Bill left her penniless, Maple realizes she could lose her Vermont home next and sets out to make money the only way she knows how: by selling her intricately crafted dollhouses. Business is off to a good start—until Maple discovers her first customer dead, his body hanging precariously in his own barn.

Something about the supposed suicide rubs Maple the wrong way, but local authorities brush off her concerns. Determined to help them see "what's big in what's small," Maple turns to what she knows best, painstakingly recreating the gruesome scene in miniature: death in a nutshell.

With the help of a rookie officer named Kenny, Maple uses her macabre miniature to dig into the dark undercurrents of her sleepy town, where everyone seems to have a secret-and a grudge. But when her nosy neighbor goes missing and she herself becomes a suspect, it'll be up to Maple to find the devil in the details-and put him behind bars.

Drawing inspiration from true crime and offering listeners a smartly plotted puzzle of a mystery, Death in the Details is a stunning debut.

©2024 Katherine Tietjen (P)2024 Tantor

Listen to Maple!

Maple is certainly the one you want on your team when it comes to fact-finding and details, because not much escapes her purview. She and Kenny make a great team, too.

Meticulously crafted and delightful to read!

Delighted to discover this new author and can’t wait to read the next instalment about a widow, trained in law, who builds dollhouses and also helps the town sheriff solve cases. Yum!

Excellent debut novel

This debut novel of Katie Tietjen’s is a perfect mix of historical fiction and cozy mystery!

A very fresh story

I really enjoyed Death in the Details as a lover of mysteries, but also as someone who craves characters that I can respect and enjoy getting to know. I hope this is the first book in a long successful series.

Priggish protagonist.. Anachronistic.

The writing is cliched, With a main character brought up in Boston, and every other character a native Vermonter, why not get a narrator who could do those accents?