Below the Landscape

A tragic accident, a missing fiancé… and a buried truth that refuses to stay hidden.

When a high-school band trip ends in tragedy, Sue Jaworski steps in to comfort her friend and fellow garden-club member, Ruth, whose nephew was among the victims. But while visiting Ruth's home, something unusual catches Sue's attention: a set of oil paintings identical to ones she recently bought at Trinkets and Treasures. The artist? Ruth's fiancé, who vanished without a trace forty years ago.

Intrigued, Sue shares the discovery with her granddaughter Jessica, who insists on showing her the actual landscape that inspired the artwork. But the picturesque setting hides a dangerous secret—it rests atop an unstable, long-abandoned coal mine.

As Sue and her husband Alan, Aspen Notch's police chief, dig into the past, they uncover a decades-old cover-up involving the town's shady bylaws, a powerful mining company, and a silence bought at great cost. Then Jessica goes missing… and Sue realizes some secrets were never meant to stay buried.

Below the Landscape is a wholesome cozy mystery full of small-town charm, long-buried secrets, and an amateur sleuth with a sharp eye for the truth. Fans of Murder, She Wrote, Betty Rowlands, and the timeless appeal of Nancy Drew will feel right at home in Aspen Notch.