A Museum Mystery

Sheila Connolly

When the Fireman’s Museum is destroyed in a devastating blaze, museum trustee Nell Pratt notices that one of the surviving photographs is not the image that once hung on display. Her discovery raises unsettling questions about what else may have been hidden among the ashes—and who had reason to replace it. As Nell investigates the museum’s collection and the people connected to it, she is drawn into a dangerous mystery where local history, deception, and murder collide. This engaging cozy mystery combines a vividly rooted community setting with sharp amateur sleuthing and a heroine whose curiosity puts her directly in harm’s way.

Sheila Connolly

As president of Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Antiquarian Society, Nell Pratt is accustomed to preserving the past—but not to finding a corpse floating in a pond. When a developer asks her to assess an old dairy farm before construction begins, Nell uncovers a murder tied to the property’s buried history and the secrets an amateur historian may have unearthed. With FBI agent James Morrison at her side, she must navigate conflicting agendas, historical intrigue, and mounting danger to discover who wanted the past—and its investigator—silenced. This engaging mystery blends archaeological clues, Philadelphia history, and a compelling investigation with the evolving personal stakes of its determined heroine.

Sheila Connolly

When a series of beloved Philadelphia philanthropists die under suspicious circumstances, Nell Pratt is baffled by the apparent targeting of people known for their generosity. As she investigates the victims’ shared connections, she uncovers hidden resentments and long-buried secrets beneath the city’s charitable institutions. With another benefactor potentially in danger, Nell must piece together the killer’s motive before the next act of kindness becomes a death sentence.