Cataloged in Crime: Simone Stier’s Cape Fear Bookshop Mysteries Continue With Book Six

There are few settings that fit a cozy mystery quite as naturally as a small independent bookshop.

Shelves packed with old books, regular customers who know everyone else’s business, a little coffee, a resident cat, and inevitably, a murder somewhere nearby.

Simone Stier has taken all those familiar ingredients and given them a coastal North Carolina setting in her Cape Fear Bookshop Mysteries, a fast-growing series that has already reached its sixth book.

The latest, Cataloged in Crime, was released on August 17th, 2026, bringing readers back to Page’s Bookshop and amateur sleuth Libby Page for another mystery involving books, buried secrets, and murder.

And for readers who somehow missed the series when it began earlier this year, this may be a very good time to start from book one.

Meet Libby Page and Page’s Bookshop

The Cape Fear Bookshop Mysteries are set in Southport, North Carolina, with former New York book editor Libby Page at the center of the stories.

Libby returns to her hometown looking for a fresh start and opens Page’s Bookshop. Unfortunately, anyone familiar with cozy mysteries will know that opening a lovely small-town business almost guarantees that a dead body will turn up sooner or later!

It happens rather quickly, and in the first book, Stacked in Suspicion, Libby’s grand opening garden party goes badly wrong when a local resident collapses and dies in her garden.

Suddenly, her new business is connected to a murder investigation before she has really had the chance to get it established.

So, Libby dons her amateur sleuth hat and begins asking questions with help from her sharp-witted assistant Gracie Jean, members of her book club, The Plot Thickens, and Cali, the calico kitten who becomes another regular part of life around the bookshop.

There is also Detective Carter McCrae, who would rather Libby leave police work to the police, which naturally does very little to stop her. Adding another layer to their relationship is a slow-building romantic connection between the pair.

The murder may provide the mystery, but the bookshop, friendships and familiar faces are what make a series feel like somewhere we want to return to.

What Is Cataloged in Crime About?

And that brings us nicely to the latest installment, Cataloged in Crime, where we find Libby still dealing with a major revelation that has changed how she looks at events around her. But before she has much time to process it, another mystery arrives.

A strange card connected to a rare book puts Libby on the trail of what initially appears to be a questionable book appraisal, and as she investigates with Carter and Gracie Jean, it becomes clear that there is far more going on.

Secrets begin to emerge, lies start to fall apart, and naturally, murder becomes part of the case. At the same time, Libby finally receives a possible break in the bigger mystery that has been hanging over her for three years.

That continuing story has been running through the first six Cape Fear books, giving the series an added reason to read them in order even though each novel has its own central mystery.

The Cape Fear Bookshop Mystery Books In Order

Simone Stier has released the books at an impressive rate during 2026. The series begins with Stacked in Suspicion, followed by Drafted in Deceit, Shelved in Secrets, Covered in Clues, Booked in Betrayal, and now Cataloged in Crime.

There is more to come, too. A seventh Cape Fear Bookshop Mystery, Inked in Intrigue, is currently scheduled for December 14th, 2026.

Although each book gives Libby a mystery that can be solved within that story, Stier has also connected the first six novels through a larger plot, and for that reason, newcomers will probably get much more from Cataloged in Crime if they begin with Stacked in Suspicion rather than jumping directly into book six.

Since the whole series appeared in 2026, it is also an unusually easy series to catch up on.

You Can Listen to the Series Too

If you prefer cozy mysteries on audio, you also have another way into the series.

The audio editions are narrated by Cassandra Campbell, whose long list of narration credits includes Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing. The audiobook edition of Stacked in Suspicion was released in August 2026, with Simon & Schuster listing a running time of six hours and 23 minutes.

Bookshop mysteries can work particularly well as audiobooks because so much of their appeal comes from spending time with recurring characters and getting to know a town over several stories.

With six mysteries already available in the main series, Cape Fear is becoming a good option for anyone searching for a cozy series they can settle into for more than a single book.

I should also mention that all of the books, including the upcoming seventh book, are available on Kindle Unlimited.

What Else Has Simone Stier Written?

If you recognize the name, then it could be from Stier’s Cafe Crimes Cozy Mystery series, which began with A Shot of Scandal in 2024 and has grown into a whopping 22-book series.

Her Cafe Crimes Cozy Mystery series follows Parker Hayes, a former true-crime podcaster who gives up investigating crimes for an altogether quieter plan by opening her own coffee shop.

At least, that is the idea. Parker moves to the small Southern town of Magnolia Grove, where she sets about renovating and opening her cafe, Catch You Latte.

The series begins with A Shot of Scandal, published in October 2024. Parker hasn’t even opened her cafe yet when she attends a gala at the historic Beauregard Mansion.

The evening ends with a murder and the disappearance of the valuable Magnolia Rose necklace, giving Parker her first local case while she is still trying to get her new business ready.

Things get even more personal in book two, A Drizzle of Danger. Catch You Latte finally opens its doors, only for someone connected to Parker’s former life as a true-crime podcaster to turn up dead behind the cafe. Parker becomes a suspect herself, forcing her to use some of those old investigative skills to clear her name.

From there, Catch You Latte becomes the main meeting place for a growing group of recurring characters. Parker is joined by her Boston Terrier, Major, as well as friends including Whit, who becomes an increasingly important part of both her investigations and her personal life.

So if you’re looking for a new cozy mystery series, and one with plenty of books, either the Cape Fear Bookshop Mysteries or the Cafe Crimes Cozy Mystery series, from Simone Stier, should do the trick!