The Well-Kept Secret (A Wishville Mystery) by Kari Lee Townsend
About The Well-Kept Secret
A Spring Festival. A Magical Murder. A Secret Buried Beneath the Well.
Wishville, Vermont looks like a storybook postcard — complete with forest festivals, quirky locals, and a centuries-old wishing well that allegedly grants one wish each season. But for Lyra Wells, the magic isn’t just folklore — it’s her full-time job. As the half-human, half-Dweller Guardian of the Well, Lyra must keep the peace between the mortal world and the magical realm of Elarion. That means overseeing every seasonal WishFest, keeping tourists entertained, and pretending her glowing cat sidekick isn’t judging everyone.
But when an all-too-nosy antique dealer is found mysteriously dead by the well — and a rare memory crystal is discovered at the scene — the fragile treaty between worlds begins to unravel, and the ethereal Dweller chief enforcer isn't happy. As the townsfolk whisper about curses and coincidences, something ancient stirs beneath the surface — and it’s not ready to stay hidden.
About the Character Guest Post
People often ask me what it’s like to be the Chair of WishFest. My usual answer? Busy. Very busy. On the surface, I look like any other thirty-year-old woman living in a quaint Vermont town. I run WishFest each season, making sure the vendors are set, the bands are tuned, the food trucks have power, and the Wellies haven’t hijacked the dunk tank. But my true job — the one no one knows about — is the Guardian of the Well. That involves keeping the treaty between humans and Dwellers intact. And that job is heavier than most people could ever imagine.
The well at the center of Wishville is no ordinary wishing well. It is a portal, a living entity that connects the human world with Elarion, the Dweller realm beneath our feet. Centuries ago, a treaty was struck to keep the peace: stay out of each other’s realms and one wish will be granted each season during WishFest. If the well ever fails to grant a wish, the treaty shatters, and war between humans and Dwellers could begin anew. My job is to make sure that doesn’t happen. No pressure, right?
What makes my situation unique is that I’m not fully human or fully Dweller. My mother, Serenna, was Dweller-born, and my father, Josiah, was a human chronicler. That makes me the only half-blood of my kind, and I age much more slowly than the people around me. While I look thirty, I’ve lived nearly three centuries. I’ve watched generations of Wishville residents grow, live, and pass on, while I remain. Loneliness comes with the territory, but so does perspective. I know more than most about how fragile peace really is.
Still, life in Wishville isn’t all doom and gloom. It’s impossible not to smile when the festival square is filled with laughter, the air rich with the scent of maple candy and fried dough. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t find comfort in the people around me. Holden Thorn, our police chief, may be grumpy and skeptical of magic, but his steady presence has saved me more than once. Calderis, the Dweller chief enforcer, reminds me that my mother’s world is still watching, and that its secrets are not as buried as they seem. And then there’s Vex, my half-mortal, half-Whispen cat, who insists on providing his own commentary inside my head. Between his sass and the Wellies’ gossip, I’m never short on advice...even if it’s not always helpful.
What I enjoyed most about telling my story in The Well-Kept Secret was finally being able to reveal just how much lies beneath the surface of Wishville. Yes, there’s a murder to solve, and plenty of suspects with motives to hide. But there’s also a deeper mystery, one tied to the well itself and to the night my mother vanished. Every clue I uncover brings me closer to the truth, but also closer to danger.
If you visit Wishville during one of our festivals, I’ll be the one passing out the wish tokens and making sure the music plays on time. But if you look a little closer, you’ll see me watching the well, waiting for its glow, guarding its secret. Because in Wishville, one wish can change everything — and one secret, if revealed, could destroy us all.
Stay tuned for The Well-Laid Trap (A Wishville Mystery #2) 1-20-26
About Kari Lee Townsend
National Bestselling Author, Agatha, RT Reviewers Choice & Golden Duck Award Nominee. Kari lives in Central New York with her husband & 3 Samoyeds. She's a lover of wine & travel (especially cruising), obsessed with reality TV, loves to try new things, and thinks there's nothing better than getting lost in a good book with at least some element of mystery, romance & humor. She writes cozy mysteries & upper middle grade as Kari Lee Townsend, as well as suspense, romance, romantic comedy & women's fiction as Kari Lee Harmon. She's most known for her Sunny Meadows Mysteries, Kalli Ballas Mysteries, and a crossover series featuring Sunny, Kalli, their detectives, and their crazy families! The Tasty Trio and Greek Mamas are her favorite characters to write about. Granny Gert is based on her late grandmother and Great Grandma Tootsie is based on her husband's late grandmother who lived to be nearly 109 years old!
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