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Rigged for Murder (Gray Whale Inn Series #12)

Author: Series: Publication Date:
June 2026

Murder means all hands on deck in this charming coastal whodunit.

When innkeeper Natalie Barnes signs on as sous-chef aboard the historic schooner Margaret Stout, she expects a week of good food, ocean breezes, and smooth sailing with a group of Texas women. But the voyage gets off to a rocky start when one of the guests dies suddenly on the very first night. The Coast Guard declares the death natural causes, but Natalie isn't convinced. After all, the victim left behind a journal full of questions—and the Margaret Stout has a murky history of its own.

As Natalie kneads dough, tends the ship's wood stove, and keeps the hungry passengers fed, she finds herself navigating dangerous waters. Missing medications, mysterious connections between crew and guests, and whispers of a long-buried secret suggest someone aboard is determined to keep the truth below deck. When a second woman falls deathly ill during a lobster bake on a remote Maine island, Natalie realizes this mystery is far from adrift. With a killer hiding in plain sight and no way off the schooner, she'll need all hands on deck to uncover the truth—before she's the next one sent to Davy Jones's locker.