Roz and Alden are back!
Who are Roz and Alden, you may ask? They’re the rival reporters thrown together in the delicious romcozy Scoop and Scandal. (You can read more about the origins of Scoop and Scandal here.)
Romantic comedy meets cozy mystery in the Comet Cove Mysteries, set in a small beach town in Florida that’s full of cute space-themed businesses. It’s also become a draw for celebrities, making it a fantastic place for our journalists to find juicy stories.
They’re back on the job in Pen and Peril, and now they’re working together. The book publishes Nov. 25 and is up for preorder (links below). You can also add it to Goodreads or BookBub.
Why write about journalists? I come from that world. I spent many years working at newspapers large and small, and I worked with so many creative, ethical people dedicated to publishing the truth and helping their communities. These books have a lighter take on journalism, but those values are still at its heart.
Here’s more about the novel:
Pen and Peril
A new job, a new romance … a new murder?
Reporter Roz Melander has juggled more than enough chaos since she moved back to her quirky Florida hometown. After breaking the big story that led her to the reinvented Courier-Beacon, she has her hands full with work … and a hot-off-the-press romance with colleague Alden Knox. But when they stumble upon a disturbing death that looks like murder, she knows they have another explosive story to investigate.
Alden’s specialty is digging up celebrity dirt, but he’d rather not go through a grave to do it. The hapless movie producer who was killed behind Comet Cove’s bookstore — in the middle of a signing by Alden’s favorite author — had glittering connections and a gift for gab. It seems everyone at the event knew him. But who wanted him dead?
As Roz and Alden chase leads, secrets, and a decent cup of coffee through their star-studded beach town, their story takes a treacherous turn. Can they unravel the mystery before someone else dies — or, perish the thought, they miss deadline?
Pen and Peril is a low-spice funny romantic mystery. This novel contains mild cursing, unabashed longing and closed-door canoodling with lots of giggles. This is the second book in the Comet Cove Mysteries by Lucy Lakestone, author of the Bohemia Bartenders Mysteries.






