Amelia Stark is just trying to get by as a single mother in the small town of Madison, Indiana, balancing her job at a furnace company, her precocious 12-year-old son, and her sobriety. But her already complicated life takes a darkly comedic turn when her sleazy boss, Larry Reece, is found dead at his desk—pants undone, bottle of lotion nearby, and two black eyes courtesy of Amelia’s well-placed punch after an inappropriate advance. Naturally, the police—and the town—consider her the prime suspect.

As more people with grudges against Amelia turn up dead, she begins to worry that clearing her name might be harder than it looks. With nosy neighbors gossiping, a persistent (and attractive) detective on her tail, and her son offering unhelpful advice about Roman emperors and murder motives, Amelia must juggle the chaos of her life while staying one step ahead of scandal and suspicion.

Throw in a budding romance with her high school admirer turned town doctor, a surprise visit from her enigmatic private-investigator uncle, and a string of increasingly bizarre funerals, and Amelia’s quiet life becomes a recipe for disaster. Now, she has to rely on her wit, resilience, and maybe even her famous chili recipe to prove she’s not Madison’s newest serial killer.