A Free Dickens Station Mystery Short Story

This repost in honor of Easter offers a link to the very first Dianna Mattson, Dickens Station mystery. I am reposting this short story again this year for my new readers, those who may not have read it last year, or those who may wish to read it again. “A Sugarbush Easter” is short enough to read in less than one hour.

Please enjoy this gift of a short mystery set in the fictional little town of Dickens Station, Vermont. Dickens Station is a tiny tourist village offering a Victorian Christmas experience to its visitors. Though Easter is the off-season for Dickens Station, the wonderfully quirky cast of characters who live there still celebrate the holiday with their own brand of mystery, excitement, and maybe even murder.  I hope you enjoy “A Sugarbush Easter.”

“My new life in Dickens Station began the day I murdered the man who, years later, became my husband.”

Dianna Norris Mattson

A Sugarbush Easter

The game is afoot as Dianna Norris, a newcomer to Dickens Station, unravels what’s happening to Charlie Mattson during her adventure to a sugarbush. As Dianna explains, “My new life in Dickens Station began the day I murdered the man who, years later, became my husband.”

A snowbound train strands Dianna and an eclectic cast of characters in Dickens Station. Amelia Dickens opens Dickens Manor to the stranded passengers for the night. At dinner, Amelia offers the castaways an opportunity for an adventure helping local Maple Farmer, Evan Marley, bring in his crop from the sugarbush. A little trickery by a Scottish doctor, and a twist of fate (or rather, an ankle) place Dianna and the sick, or dying, Charlie Mattson alone in a sugar shack overnight. Charlie teaches Dianna how to make maple syrup while Dianna figures out what is really happening with Charlie’s illness and his self-proclaimed fiancée, Auriel. Will Dianna solve the mystery and save her future husband?