Independent publisher of award-winning books by Kelly Brakenhoff
Cassandra Sato Mysteries
Cozy mystery series set on a college campus
Smart, funny, small-town mysteries.
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, which is mostly budget meetings and telling students they can’t have a llama in the dorms. Nobody mentioned the Nebraska winters, 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 a while. You’ll meet a found family of colleagues, students, neighbors, and recurring Deaf characters, plus a dog with zero chill. Expect laugh-out-loud moments, a few shivers, and the feeling that you’ve joined a new circle of friends at Morton College.
Think Only Murders in the Building if it were set at a Midwestern college with less podcasting and more paperwork. These PG-rated clever mysteries deliver warm humor and binge-worthy fun without gore or swearing.
Where campus drama meets cozy mystery.
Two continents. One deadline.
When Cassandra Sato’s study abroad students are kidnapped in Paris, she’s already neck-deep in a campus construction project that someone powerful very much wants finished before Veterans Day, questions and all.
She’ll have to hold together a spin-obsessed president, a federal hostage response, and secrets in the foundation of Morton’s shiniest new project, all while her dog judges her from the kitchen. Morton College has never met a crisis it couldn’t make worse.
Good thing Cassandra has coffee. Probably not enough, but still.
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.