Every nosy neighbor, gossipy friend, and meddling relative is just one good mystery away from becoming a detective. From behind locked doors or out in broad daylight, driven by chance or curiosity, amateur sleuths get in over their heads in these six hair-raising, hilarious stories.

Elle Cosimano is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of books for teens and adults, an International Thriller Award winner, and an Edgar Award nominee. Known for her witty Finlay Donovan mysteries, she has also written essays for HuffPost and Time. Elle lives in Virginia with her family.

Jesse Q. Sutanto is the Edgar Award–winning and USA Today bestselling author of books like Dial A for Aunties, which was purchased for film by Netflix, and Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, which was purchased for TV by Warner Bros., with Oprah Winfrey and Mindy Kaling attached as producers.

Emma Rosenblum, author of the novel Bad Summer People, is chief content officer at Bustle Digital Group. She was formerly the executive editor of Elle and a senior editor at Bloomberg Business-week and Glamour, after a start at New York Magazine. She lives in New York City with her husband and sons.

Nita Prose is the author of The Mystery Guest and The Maid, which has sold more than two million copies worldwide and was published in more than forty countries. A #1 New York Times bestseller and a Good Morning America Book Club pick, The Maid won the Ned Kelly Award for International Crime Fiction, the Fingerprint Award for Debut Novel of the Year, the Anthony Award for Best First Novel, and the Barry Award for Best First Mystery, and was an Edgar Award finalist for Best Novel. Visit Nita at www.nitaprose.com or on Instagram and X @nitaprose.

Kellye Garrett’s Edgar-nominated, Anthony-winning novel Like a Sister was featured on Today and Oxygen and chosen as a Book of the Month. Her Detective by Day mysteries have won Anthony, Agatha, Lefty, and IPPY awards. A cofounder of Crime Writers of Color, Garrett also received the 2023 Raven Award.

Alicia Thompson is the USA Today bestselling author of the romances Love in the Time of Serial Killers and With Love, from Cold World. She currently lives in Florida with her husband, two kids, and a black cat.