Trailbreaker

Prairie Nightingale, Book 2

By: Ruthie Knox, Annie Mare

Narrated by: Mia Hutchinson-Shaw

Suspicions that a serial killer is terrorizing a pristine tourist spot draw a single mom and budding private investigator into a twisting and deepening mystery of secrets and murder.

Single mom and newly minted private investigator Prairie Nightingale has opened the doors of her Green Bay, Wisconsin, agency and is ready for work. She and her crew aren’t quite prepared for their first client, though: Bernie Dubicki, a notorious online journalist and not-altogether-reliable provocateur, who claims the idyllic vacation destination of nearby Door County is home to a serial killer.

She’s pinpointed four seemingly unrelated deaths that haven’t raised suspicions for anyone else. But when a college student vanishes, Bernie’s sizable retainer convinces Prairie to help connect the dots. And trusted, flirty FBI agent Foster Rosemare thinks Bernie might be onto something. Prairie never expected her first investigation to be so big—like Dateline big—but she does have an inquiring mind and a knack for seeing things no one else can.

In this case she’ll have to look deep—not only into the secrets of strangers, but into Door County’s woods—to solve a mystery decades in the making.

©2026 by Ruthie Knox and Annie Mare. (P)2025 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Knox and Mare’s effervescent sequel to Homemaker melds mystery and light romance…Despite the heavy subject matter, Knox and Mare maintain a witty tone that helps them straddle the line between cheeky cozy and full-blown thriller. With rich cast dynamics and a sweet central love story, this series shows promise.” —Publishers Weekly

Fantastic!

I enjoyed the second book of Prairie Nightingale every bit as much if not more than the first one. I love how all the details are woven together throughtout the investigation. The characters are excellent and this had all the elements of a great story: humor, romance, mystery. I can't wait for book number three! And I really loved the narrator for this audio version.

Give me more

I absolutely love this series. The characters are incredibly likable. Plot isn’t too heavy but has enough depth to keep it interesting. There’s just the right touch of mystery, humor, and romance. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and truly hope the authors continue the series.

Even better than the first!

📚 Trailbreaker
✍️ Ruthie Know & Annie Mare
🎙️Mia Hutchinson-Shaw
Series: Prairie Nightingale, Book 2
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

Another enjoyable installment of the Prairie Nightingale series. I actually enjoyed this book even more than the first! It had more neurodivergent rep, highlighted the pressures of having a career and being a mom, included more romance, and the mystery was even more engaging.

In this book, the Prairie-Hawk Investigation Agency is in full swing and the ladies are hired by Bernie to investigate some seemingly unrelated cases and find a potential serial killer.

Needless to say, Prairie and her team do the investigation their way and discover there is so much more to this case.

Definitely give this series a chance - Book 3 is coming to audiobook very soon!!

good but

When you stop and think why the book is a let down, it is because there was no interaction with the people the book was about. The people who were taken and killed and the people who caused it all to happen we don't interact with. There are a few lines and that is it. The emotion comes from Prairie. While it is a nice book about Prairie, it just wasn't what I was looking for in a book.

Not like the first book

The narrator was overly dramatic & the storyline was weak. I finished it hoping for something that would make it worth the while. Nope.