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Featured release cover of The Just Judges
⭐ FeaturedCozy Mystery

A Heather Richards Mystery · Book 1

The Just Judges

"Retired. Abroad. Framed for murder. Wrong women to underestimate."

Heather Richards, a retired Canadian accountant who thinks in ledgers and cooks when the numbers won't settle, arrives in Ghent with her best friend Jane for art, good food, and a quiet holiday. Instead they find Professor Henri Dumont dead in St. Bavo's Cathedral — a puncture wound in his neck, Heather's knitting needle the perfect match. He believed he was hours from recovering the Just Judges, the panel stolen from Jan van Eyck's 1432 Ghent Altarpiece. Someone made sure he never reached it. In 1934, Arsène Goedertier stole that panel and died without telling the Bishop of Ghent where he hid it. Ninety years later, witnesses saw Heather and Jane talking with Henri that morning. Their passports are confiscated. An obstinate inspector wants them for murder — while a killer still loose knows they are looking. Can two retired Canadians clear their names and bring the Just Judges home before forty-eight hours run out?

Available in Paperback & Kindle eBook:
At the desk: Pour-over coffee, published mysteries, and new drafts brewing

Stories across worlds.
Cozy whodunits, deep space, & mythic lore.

Welcome to the official home of d.c.dear. Whether you crave a cozy mystery with a fine craft cocktail, an art theft puzzle in European cathedrals, or a journey into deep space—your next read is waiting.

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