Independent publisher of award-winning books by Kelly Brakenhoff
Cassandra Sato Mysteries
Small College. Big Secrets. Occasional Corpses.
Morton College has never met a crisis it couldn’t make worse.
Meet Cassandra Sato. Hawaiian transplant. Campus chaos magnet.
She didn’t dream of saving anyone. She signed up to be VP of Student Affairs at a small Nebraska college, where the biggest problems were supposed to be budget meetings and explaining why students can’t have a llama on campus.
Nobody mentioned the Nebraska winters. Or the campus emergencies. Or the corpses.
Her résumé did not include murder investigation. Morton College didn’t care.
Welcome to Student Affairs. It’s fine. Everything’s fine.
Stick around awhile, and you’ll meet a found family of colleagues, students, neighbors, recurring Deaf characters, and a foster dog with zero-tolerance for nonsense. Expect laugh-out-loud moments, a few shivers, and the feeling that you’ve joined a new circle of friends.
Think Only Murders in the Building if it were set at a Midwestern college with less podcasting, more paperwork, and a lot more committee meetings.
These PG-rated mysteries deliver clever puzzles, warm humor, and binge-worthy fun without gore or swearing.
Where donor politics, academic bureaucracy, and international diplomacy collide.
When Dr. Cassandra Sato waves goodbye to the Morton College study abroad group of nine students, a Deaf Studies professor, and her best friend, she does what any reasonable campus administrator would do. She returns to her desk expecting ten blissfully quiet days.
She is spectacularly wrong.
On campus, Morton’s president has decided this is the time to fast-track a garden construction project that certain powerful donors want finished by Veterans Day. Questions, as usual, are not invited.
Then the call comes from Paris.
Study abroad is supposed to broaden students’ horizons, not trigger an international crisis.
Très inconvenient.
Suddenly Cassandra is fielding calls from diplomats and parents already pricing flights to France. Worse, she’s growing more convinced that even the people she trusts most have something to hide.
Can she do right by the people she has grown to love? Probably. Possibly. With enough coffee and denial. Good thing Cassandra has both.
Deadly Curriculum is perfect for fans of campus dramas, international suspense, and heroines who get more done with a spreadsheet than a sidearm.
Grab your beret and a hot beverage, mes amis. Things are about to get educational.
Invite me to your book club meeting to talk about the mysteries and writing. I’ll join virtually or in-person if you are close by. Comes with free discussion questions and bookmarks. Email: kelly@kellybrakenhoff.com
Series Novels
Morton College promised a fresh start… but campus life isn’t exactly textbook. A Deaf student turns up dead, the administration wants damage control,
…and Cassandra wants answers.
Deaf students demand justice. Administration demands silence. Finals are coming. They’re supposed to be studying.
Instead, they’re planning a revolution.
All she wanted was cocoa and a nap. Instead she has a dead boss, an impaled roof, and her dog isn’t housebroken. This is not the holiday break she ordered.
Cassandra’s first Nebraska Christmas might be her last.
Sword fights? Check. Budget cuts? Check. Crime solving? Check. Murphy the dog? Judgmental as ever.
Unfortunately, the blood is real and failure is not an option.
Most Hawaiian homecomings start with a lei. Dr. Cassandra Sato’s begins with a cold case, a hidden map, and a parrot with no filter.
Knives Out meets Moana, but with more mayhem and better snacks. Start your fictional vacation today.
Short Stories & Novella
A tsunami’s coming.
Traffic is gridlocked.
The dorms are full.
Her boss says it’s fine.
It is absolutely NOT fine.
Before the murder mysteries came the natural disaster. Cassandra’s story starts here.
Two kids. One cemetery. Zero ghost insurance.
Chaperoning them should be easy…
unless they bring home a cursed Hawaiian lava rock that could get Cassandra fired.
Charity 5K. Civic drama. Someone’s sabotaging the snacks.
And Cassandra’s regretting every bran muffin she’s ever eaten.
A rare Hemingway letter.
A five-alarm chili disaster.
Marcus is just here to fix the HVAC.
Not solve forgery and sabotage.
Facilities director, not detective.
Guess who’s solving it anyway?
Primary Source, the short mystery where things get messy.