Maplewood Mysteries
Meet the Characters
Lovable, curious, and entirely too interesting for their own good. Welcome to Maplewood.
Lila, Bailey, and Amelia at Dottie’s Diner.
The Trio
Innkeeper, Author & Honorary Detective
Amelia Hartford
Innkeeper of the Maple Leaf Inn
Amelia Hartford inherited her grandmother’s bed and breakfast — the Maple Leaf Inn — and left her job as a law clerk at a large city firm to start over in Maplewood, Kansas. She completed law school and passed the bar, but she never practiced. The things she saw and heard in her father’s firm (where her brother still works as an attorney) convinced her that life was not for her. Now she pours coffee, welcomes guests, and — more often than she planned — follows a trail of clues the town would rather leave buried.
Lila Benson
Best friend · children’s book author
Lila Benson grew up in Maplewood and still lives in the house where she was raised; her parents now live out of the country. She was adopted, and she has a brother who was adopted too — he lives out of state and will turn up when the story needs him. Lila writes children’s books, was close to Amelia’s grandmother, and became Amelia’s friend during holiday and summer visits. Witty, loyal, and never short on chatter, she is always ready for the next adventure.
Bailey
Springer–Shepherd mix · honorary detective
Bailey belonged to Amelia’s grandmother, who took him in as a pup about eighteen months before she passed. Amelia inherited him along with the Inn. Half German Shepherd and half Springer Spaniel, he has a nose for trouble — and for muffins — and a habit of finding what Maplewood would rather keep hidden.