Murder at Cottonwood Creek

Far from England and their beloved Morrington Hall, Viscount "Lyndy" Lyndhurst and his American wife, heiress and equestrian Stella Kendrick--now Lady Lyndhurst--find fossils and murder in Montana . . .

Led by his passion for paleontology, Lyndy's father, Lord Atherly, has traveled all the way to Montana, to explore the fossil-rich horse ranch owned by Stella's mother, Katherine, and her second husband, Ned Smith. Urged by Lady Atherly to look after her husband, Stella and Lyndy follow in his wake. Stella is excited to be reunited with her mother, and Lyndy is eager to experience the real "Wild West." Both are equally thrilled to participate in a fossil dig.

But when a local man who was guarding the dig site overnight is found the next morning dead in a creek bed, the couple fear his death may not have been an accident--especially when things get wilder still. The paleontologist on the dig has his notebook stolen, several fossil bones disappear, and a second body is found in the research tent.

No one is above suspicion--a rival paleontologist up to some skullduggery, members of their own crew, even Lord Atherly himself. Stella and Lyndy must keep digging to unearth the clues that will expose a killer in their midst--before more bones must be buried . . .

Author: Clara McKenna
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation
Published: 11/25/2025
Pages: 304
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.82lbs
Size: 8.48h x 5.78w x 1.06d
ISBN: 9781496748539


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 11/01/2025

About the Author
Clara McKenna is the author of the USA Today bestselling Stella and Lyndy Mystery Series as well as the Hattie Davish Mystery series. She is a member of Sisters in Crime and the founding member of Sleuths in Time, a cooperative group of historical mystery writers who encourage and promote each other's work. McKenna has spent most of her working life in academia and is an avid traveler, a vintage teacup collector, and a self-professed anglophile. She lives with her family in a Victorian farmhouse near Ames, Iowa, and can be found online at ClaraMckenna.com.