False Start

When fifty-eight-year-old Margaret Gaines arrives at the Waterford Haven Community Pool for her regular 5:30 AM swim, she expects the same peaceful routine she's enjoyed for twenty years. What she doesn't expect is to find her longtime rival floating face-down in Lane Four. The police call it an accident, but Margaret knows those starting blocks better than anyone—and she knows what she saw. A loose bolt. A slick surface. Someone wanted Brenda Hollister dead, and Margaret isn't about to let the killer get away with it.

Armed with sharp instincts, a loyal black Lab named Freestyle, and a network of friends who know every secret in this small lakeside town, Margaret dives headfirst into an investigation that will uncover decades of buried scandals. From the gossiping stylists at Snip & Style Salon to the dusty archives of the local library, she follows a trail of whispered conversations and nervous glances that leads to a shocking truth someone will do anything to protect.

With its charming setting, witty banter, and a cast of unforgettable characters, False Start is a delightful cozy mystery perfect for fans of clean whodunits and amateur sleuths who refuse to look the other way. Grab your goggles and join Margaret Gaines as she proves that in Waterford Haven, nothing stays submerged forever.