A Steep Independence

Red, white, and brewed for trouble. A priceless photograph has vanished, a soldier's century-old promise refuses to stay buried, and Ellie is about to discover that some family secrets come fully loaded.

When a priceless Ansel Adams photograph vanishes from a locked display during the July 4th fireworks, bookstore owner and ghost whisperer Ellie Read can't resist taking a closer look. Everyone connected to the charity auction seems to have a motive, a secret, and a picture-perfect story that doesn't quite add up.

Meanwhile, a World War I soldier walks into Spines & Steeps searching for a letter he entrusted to a friend more than a century ago. With Baxter, the sarcastic Victorian ghost offering advice, Hobbes, the judgmental shop cat supervising, and her friends steeping themselves in theories, Ellie must bring two mysteries into focus.

But the closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous the investigation becomes. Because some family secrets were meant to stay framed. But someone is determined to make sure Ellie never sees the whole picture.