Nora Pawson writes cozy mysteries where the real detective has four legs, a good nose, and absolutely no patience for a lie. Her books are set in small coastal towns where everybody knows everybody, the bakery case is never quite empty, and trouble tends to show up right around festival season.

She believes a proper cozy needs three things: neighbors who actually act like neighbors, a puzzle a reader can solve right alongside the sleuth, and a dog who steals every scene she's in.

When she isn't plotting her next whodunit, Nora can usually be found on a long walk along the water — leash in one hand, notebook in the other, half a mystery already taking shape.