When an elderly Miracle Springs resident, Lucille Wynter, arranges for Nora to deliver an order of books to her creepy, crumbling Southern Gothic mansion on the outskirts of town, Nora doesn’t expect to be invited in. An agoraphobic, Lucille doesn’t leave Wynter House. Nor does she invite anyone inside. But when Lucille doesn’t come to the door to collect her books, Nora begins to worry.
Forcing her way into Lucille’s dilapidated home, Nora is shocked to find rooms packed to the ceiling with decaying books and a lifeless Lucille at the foot of her stairs. After reading a note left behind by Lucille, Nora wonders if her death was an accident. Did Lucille fall or was she pushed by someone seeking a valuable item hidden within Wynter House? Lucille’s children are clearly confident the house contains something of value, because they hire Nora to sift through the piles of books. As she digs, Nora can’t shake the feeling that hoarding didn’t cause Lucille’s fall.
Soon, Nora’s obsession with Lucille’s collection is cause for concern amongst her friends in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society—she’s even neglecting her bookshop! Then, Nora does find something valuable deep inside Wynter House—a revelation about Lucille’s terrible past . . . and a secret worth a small fortune. But there’s someone who’d do anything to keep the truth buried amid the moldering tomes. The odds against them are stacked as high as the books, but it’s up to Nora and her friends to track down a murderer with a literary lean before Wynter House’s lost library claims another victim . . .