Alice Openshaw
COMING FALL 2026 :
From Crooked Lane Press
Small town, big secrets.
Twenty-nine-year-old Penny Maclean is weary of school assemblies and chasing loose dogs as a police sergeant in Horton, Maine. So when the popular wife of a local doctor is found shot to death behind their barn, Penny jumps at the chance to investigate.
The lead detective thinks he has it all figured out, but is stymied by the lack of evidence. As Penny dives into the case, she is startled by the many similarities between the victim and herself. Her intuition tells her that she, Penny, is the only one who can solve the murder. Peeling back the layers of the victim’s “charmed life” leads her from a picturesque New England farm to a domestic violence shelter, to the fringes of their small community, and, ultimately, into the dark side of rural Maine. Everyone is keeping secrets and Penny needs to unravel them all to find the killer.
Fans of Liz Moore’s God of the Woods, Samantha Jayne Allen’s Pay Dirt Road, and Amity Gaige’s Heartwood will want to meet Sgt. Penny Maclean in ON THE KILLER’S TRAIL.
Tentative Title:
ON THE KILLER’S TRAIL
About Me
My love of mysteries began at the age of ten with Perry Mason books from the town library. I earned a B.A. from Middlebury College and an M.L.S. from Vanderbilt University. Before turning to writing, I instilled a love of books in others as a librarian and an adult education English teacher. I lived in rural Maine for thirty years where I raised three wonderful children and a variety of animals on a small farm. I now live near Cape Cod with my husband and tuxedo cat, Frankie. I am an active member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.
More About the Book and Author
The inspiration for ON THE KILLER’S TRAIL came from the years I lived on a farm in rural Maine. It was a wonderful time raising a family with horses, goats, cats, rabbits, even a llama! Here I am holding an Angora goat kid.
My first published piece, a horror short story in an upcoming anthology, also takes its inspiration from rural Maine farm life. Watch this space for details!
Currently Drafting
A reclusive museum worker dies the same night that a renowned author dies unexpectedly at his estate up the road. Penny joins forces with two birdwatchers in OVERLOOKED.
“The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious.”