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Welcome to Calder House: A New Cozy Mystery Series Begins

Some houses seem to hold their breath when you open the door. Calder House is one of them.

The hallway is quiet. The floorboards remember footsteps.

A guest ledger sits beneath a layer of dust. Someone has left a cup of tea half finished.

You can’t help wondering who stayed there… and why they never came back.

Calder House is one of those places.

Perched above the fictional New England harbor town of Brindle Harbor, Calder House Inn has seen winter storms, Christmas gatherings, family celebrations, old romances, quiet betrayals, and more than a few secrets no one ever meant to uncover.

It is elegant, weathered, warm, and just mysterious enough to make you wonder what might be waiting behind the next locked door.

And now, it is the heart of a new cozy mystery series: The Calder House Mysteries

A seaside inn, a snowy harbor, and secrets waiting to be found

The series begins with Murder at Mistletoe Cove, a warm Christmas mystery set in Brindle Harbor, where holiday lights glow along the waterfront, a lighthouse keeps watch over the coast, and Calder House Inn sits grandly above the town. At the center of the series is Simon Calder, a former stage actor and travel host who returns to Brindle Harbor to restore his family’s historic inn. Simon is not a detective, at least not officially. But years spent on stage have taught him how to read people — their pauses, their gestures, their timing, their exits, and the little performances they give when they think no one is watching. That makes him unusually good at noticing what others miss. Unfortunately for Simon, Brindle Harbor has plenty for him to notice. Police Chief Hannah Mercer would prefer that Simon leave investigations to the professionals. She is practical, sharp, and not easily impressed by theatrical instincts. But Simon’s way of seeing people may prove useful when charm, Christmas tradition, and small-town respectability begin to hide something far more dangerous

Cozy mystery with heart

If you enjoy mysteries that are clever, atmospheric, and warm rather than dark, The Calder House Mysteries may be for you.

These stories are written for readers who love:

  • historic inns
  • coastal towns
  • Christmas atmosphere
  • old secrets
  • amateur sleuths
  • small-town relationships
  • gentle suspense
  • recurring characters
  • a touch of wit
  • mysteries without graphic violence or horror

The world of Calder House is not meant to be bleak. It is meant to be a place readers can return to — a place of candlelit rooms, snowy windows, harbor bells, old guest ledgers, brass keys, and secrets hidden in plain sight.

There will be mysteries, of course. There will be suspects, clues, lies, old grudges, and long-buried truths. But there will also be warmth, humor, friendship, second chances, and the feeling that even after a storm, someone will light the fire and put the kettle on

Before the first murder, there was Room Seven

Before the first full Calder House mystery arrives, readers are invited to begin with The Secret in Room Seven, a free Calder House Mystery Short.

In this prequel story, Simon has only just begun restoring Calder House when he discovers that Room Seven has been locked for years. Inside, he finds an old Christmas card, a missing brass key, and clues connected to a decades-old secret the inn has quietly kept.

This is not a murder mystery. It is a gentler mystery about memory, reputation, and the power of the truth to matter even after many years have passed.

It is also the perfect first step into the world of Calder House

Join the Calder House Reader Circle

Readers who join the Calder House Reader Circle will receive The Secret in Room Seven free, along with updates about Murder at Mistletoe Cove, audiobook news, behind-the-scenes notes, and first looks at future Brindle Harbor mysteries. The Reader Circle is where I will share the things that do not always belong on a public website: early glimpses, character notes, story updates, and the occasional secret from inside Calder House. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, Christmas atmosphere, and stories where old houses remember more than they should, I hope you will step inside.

Welcome to Calder House.

Every room has a view.

Some have secrets.

Join the Calder House Reader Circle! Receive The Secret in Room Seven, a free Calder House Mystery Short, and be first to hear about Murder at Mistletoe Cove

About The Author

Paul Shearman is an actor, writer, playwright, and theatre artist whose work explores performance, identity, memory, reinvention, and second chances.
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