About the Book

Title:Written in Secret
Series: The Art of Love and Danger #1
Author: Crystal Caudill
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Release Date: March 11, 2025
Genre: Christian Mystery & Suspense Romance
What happens when fiction becomes reality? In the corruption-infested Queen City, danger lurks in every shadow, but Lydia Pelton refuses to stay silent. She writes under a pseudonym, E. A. Dupin, crafting crime novels to exact justice and right the wrongs she sees in society. When a serial killer decides to be the sword to her pen, Lydia is confronted with the consequences of her words. Four men are dead, and the city blames her.
With murders on the rise, Officer Abraham Hall’s only lead is Lydia’s fiction, and he is thrust into an investigation with the “Killer Queen of Romance.” Despite his misgivings about the woman, he realizes that even with his reputation for catching elusive criminals, he needs her help. But his unexpected attraction to Lydia proves as difficult to manage as the woman herself.
As the mystery unfolds, Abraham and Lydia race to rewrite the ending, not only for Cincinnati’s citizens, but for their own hearts too.

ENJOY AN EXCERPT

FOUR MURDERS, E. A. DUPIN SUSPECTED

Nausea swept over her, and she sagged against the doorframe.

Four murders? And Dupin was the suspect for every one? But how could they possibly suspect someone who didn’t exist?

She stepped inside the foyer and devoured every word of the article.

All four victims were from cases that had inspired her Detective Billy Poe novels. More than inspired. She’d researched and studied each victim’s case with a fervor that allowed her to create stories that were unmistakably fictionalized versions of their crimes. She’d even dragged Theresa, Nora, and Flossie with her to the various locations of the crimes just so she could get the tiniest details correct.

Now her stories were being brought to life—or rather, death—by someone professing to be her Detective Billy Poe. That someone, the paper claimed, was E. A. Dupin. Who else would be so passionate as to have each man’s real-life death mimic their fictional one? But the newspaper missed one very important fact. Never once had the criminals died at the hands of Detective Billy Poe. He was always grieved by their deaths and attributed them to God’s hand of justice.

Her stomach churned as she reread the full-page article.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Kregel Publications | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook | Bookshop
Also Available

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About the Author

Crystal Caudill is the Christy Award–winning author of “dangerously good romance,” including the Hidden Hearts of the Gilded Age series. She is a stay-at-home mom and caregiver, and when she isn’t writing, Caudill can be found playing board games with her family, drinking hot tea, or reading other great books at her home outside Cincinnati, Ohio.
Connect with Crystal by visiting crystalcaudill.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.
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Tour Giveaway
(1) winner will receive a signed copy of Written in Secrets and a $25 Amazon gift card!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight March 12, 2025 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on March 19, 2025. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.
Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.
Enter Giveaway
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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!