Zwent — new stories https://zwent.net/stories/ Cozy mysteries and second-act dramas, free to read. en-us Wed, 07 Oct 2026 03:00:58 GMT I Bought the Town Vet’s Clinic for $210,000 — Then I Found Why His Prized Horses Kept Dying https://zwent.net/story/where-the-creek-runs-dry/ https://zwent.net/story/where-the-creek-runs-dry/ Wed, 07 Oct 2026 03:00:58 GMT A veterinarian starts over in a small Arizona town, only to find the practice she bought is hiding a devastating secret. A free serial fiction story. I Inherited a Failing Chocolate Shop in Washington — Then I Recognized My Missing Mentor’s Handwriting https://zwent.net/story/the-truffle-makers-ledger/ https://zwent.net/story/the-truffle-makers-ledger/ Tue, 22 Sep 2026 03:00:23 GMT A disgraced chocolatier inherits a small-town Washington shop and a ledger that proves a famous career was built on a decades-old lie. A free serial. The Town’s Most Respected Lawyer Demanded My Library Archives — Because of Page 47 in an 1888 Ledger https://zwent.net/story/the-sparrows-index/ https://zwent.net/story/the-sparrows-index/ Mon, 21 Sep 2026 03:00:22 GMT A widowed genealogist starts over in a Virginia town and uncovers a library secret that could rewrite local history. A new free serial. I Found the 1924 Lighthouse Log That Exposed Our Town’s Greatest Hero as a Coward https://zwent.net/story/the-lighthouse-keepers-diary/ https://zwent.net/story/the-lighthouse-keepers-diary/ Fri, 18 Sep 2026 03:00:25 GMT A divorced archivist starts over at a Michigan maritime museum and uncovers a century-old secret that could rewrite town history. A free serial. My Mentor Left Me Her Victorian House — And a Quilt That Proved Who Truly Caused the 1994 Drowning https://zwent.net/story/what-the-threads-remember/ https://zwent.net/story/what-the-threads-remember/ Fri, 11 Sep 2026 06:46:31 GMT A textile expert deciphers a secret quilt left by her mentor, unraveling a 30-year-old disappearance in a small New York town. A free cozy mystery serial. I Bought a Ruined Coastal Cottage for $85,000 — Then I Found What Was Hidden Behind the Stone Hearth https://zwent.net/story/the-salt-spray-cottage/ https://zwent.net/story/the-salt-spray-cottage/ Fri, 11 Sep 2026 01:57:14 GMT A woman rebuilding her life restores a historic Maine cottage and uncovers a dangerous secret. A free seaside serial about small-town lies. I Found the 1993 Land Survey the Town's Richest Family Paid to Bury 30 Years Ago https://zwent.net/story/the-ledger-of-lost-acres/ https://zwent.net/story/the-ledger-of-lost-acres/ Tue, 08 Sep 2026 03:00:23 GMT A retired surveyor mapping old homesteads finds a decades-old lie hidden in the land records of a small North Carolina town. A free cozy mystery serial. The New Town Manager Tried to Evict Our History Museum — Until I Pulled the 1824 Town Minutes https://zwent.net/story/the-clerk-of-havenwood/ https://zwent.net/story/the-clerk-of-havenwood/ Mon, 07 Sep 2026 03:00:26 GMT A Vermont town clerk uses her procedural knowledge to fight a new manager's plan to sell off historic land. A free serial about small-town secrets. I Managed the Town’s Historic Gardens for 30 Years — Until One Letter Proved Our Founder Never Existed https://zwent.net/story/the-gardeners-lie/ https://zwent.net/story/the-gardeners-lie/ Mon, 10 Aug 2026 14:29:29 GMT The director of a Virginia heritage garden learns its revered founder was a con artist, just as the founder's heirs push to sell the land. A free serial. I Kept My Husband’s Books for 24 Years — Then I Found Whose Name Was on His Secret $180,000 LLC https://zwent.net/story/i-kept-his-books-for-24-years/ https://zwent.net/story/i-kept-his-books-for-24-years/ Fri, 07 Aug 2026 18:09:09 GMT An Ohio bookkeeper discovers her husband is giving the family business to his affair. Quietly and legally, she unwinds him in this free revenge serial. The Sheriff Said the Antique Appraiser Fell Down the Cellar — But He Was Wearing His Reading Glasses https://zwent.net/story/the-last-sale-at-thistle-and-vine/ https://zwent.net/story/the-last-sale-at-thistle-and-vine/ Fri, 07 Aug 2026 18:09:05 GMT A paralegal comes to sell her aunt's Maine bookshop but suspects the appraiser's death in the cellar was murder. A free small-town cozy mystery serial. The Town Called the Supper Club Owner’s Death Peaceful — Until I Checked His Heart Pills https://zwent.net/story/last-call-at-the-wagon-wheel/ https://zwent.net/story/last-call-at-the-wagon-wheel/ Fri, 07 Aug 2026 14:58:37 GMT A retired investigator suspects murder when her town's beloved supper club owner dies. A free cozy mystery serial set in small-town Wisconsin.