A once-beloved television sleuth finds herself far from Hollywood and witness to a murder during a small-town theatre production—and is convinced it’s up to her to solve the case. Introducing a new comedic crime series from the bestselling Ferguson brothers, in the vein of Richard Osman, Simon Brett, Alexander McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street Series, and Schitt’s Creek.
I ONLY READ MURDER
by Ian Ferguson & Will Ferguson
HarperCollins Canada, June 2023
Miranda Abbott, once known for the crime-solving, karate-chopping church pastor she played on network television, has hit hard times. Turned down for a role on a cable reality show, Miranda is facing ruin when a mysterious postcard arrives, summoning her to Happy Rock, a small town in the Pacific Northwest. But when she gets there, nothing is what she expected.
In dire straits, she signs up for an amateur production at the Happy Rock Little Theatre, competing against the local real estate agent for the lead role. On opening night, one of the actors is murdered, live, in front of the audience. But out of 100 witnesses, no one actually saw what happened. Now everyone is under a cloud of suspicion, including the sardonic town doctor, the local high-school drama teacher, an oil-stained car mechanic, an elderly gentleman who may or may not have been in the CIA—and Miranda herself. Clearly, the only way to solve this mystery is for Miranda to summon her skills as television’s Pastor Fran and draw on the help of her new sidekick, Susan, a shy bookstore clerk who seems to know everyone’s secrets. Because the show must go on!
Ian Ferguson won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour for Village of the Small Houses and is the co-author, with his brother, Will, of How to Be a Canadian, which was shortlisted for the Leacock Medal and won the CBA Libris Award for non-fiction. A writer and creative director in the film and television industry, he lives in Victoria.
Will Ferguson is a three-time winner of the Leacock Medal for Humour. His novels include his debut, HappinessTM, sold in twenty-three languages; 419, which won the Scotiabank Giller Prize; and The Finder, which won the 2021 Arthur Ellis Award for Crime Fiction. With his brother, Ian, he is the author of the mega-bestseller How to Be a Canadian. He lives in Calgary.
Maggie Hoyt is a quick-witted, house-sitting LA actress who’s dated one too many DJs. One night, while still grieving the death of her ex-boyfriend, she meets Rob, a charming tattoo artist who makes her feel like her best self—a feeling she hasn’t experienced in a long time. Their attraction for one another is electrifying and instantaneous. There’s just one problem: he’s married. Their precarious relationship forces Maggie to confront the love she’s been looking for, the guilt she’s been harboring, the grief she’s been hiding, and the woman she wants to be. 
Belleville 1860: Lavender Fitch is a twenty-eightyear-old spinster, whose station in life is diminished after the death of her father, the local apothecary. Her only inheritance is the family house along with its extensive gardens. To make ends meet, Lavender resorts to selling flowers at the local market.
When Alana Shropshire hears from her brothers, Teddy and Martin, complaining about Kelly, the 28-year-old “gold-digger” their 76-year-old father has taken up with, she ignores them. A single mom with a disabled daughter, Alana has more important things on her mind and has long since left her dysfunctional family behind. But her brothers persist, and eventually, she relents. In exchange for sorely needed payment, Alana flies to her father’s private island retreat to perform one tiny task in Teddy and Martin’s simple plan to make the gold-digger go away.