Blankets, Wishes, and Murder

Every August, Tilda Hart hosts Hilltop Ridge's beloved Meteor Shower Watch, an evening of wool blankets, blackberry hand pies, whispered wishes, and strangers becoming neighbors under a sky full of falling stars. This year's gathering should be her easiest yet: the lantern paths are hung, the cider is mulled, and the forecast promises a perfect view of the Perseids. Then, at the height of the shower, one of her guests collapses on the ridge. What first looks like a medical emergency soon begins to trouble Tilda. A cup has been moved. A blanket lies where it should not. Sightlines across the ridge reveal that someone had both the opportunity to strike unnoticed and the certainty that darkness, distance, and distraction would do the rest. As gossip ripples through the close-knit town below, Tilda finds herself tracing feuds, secret romances, and old disappointments hidden beneath Hilltop Ridge's soft summer rituals.