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It’s always a treat to welcome characters who seem to carry a little mystery with them wherever they go! Today I’m excited to feature Cindy Quayle and share a special character guest post that introduces readers to Claire O’Keefe from her cozy mystery Lies are Better at the Lake. Pour yourself a warm drink, settle in somewhere comfy, and enjoy getting to know Claire a little better.
When Something Doesn’t Add Up
A Guest Post from Claire O’Keefe
Hi, everyone! It’s Claire O’Keefe. Yes, that Claire. The one who seems to attract mysteries. I promise I never mean for trouble to find me, but it just has a habit of showing up.
But before we get into that, let me introduce myself properly.
I’m an English teacher who has spent years traveling the world teaching English as a Foreign Language. I’ve taught in classrooms overlooking busy city streets, in quiet coastal towns, and once in a school where the students insisted I try every homemade snack their families could send in. I didn’t mind. I love trying new foods. Teaching abroad gave me a deep appreciation for different cultures, languages, and ways of seeing the world.
It also taught me something else. People are people everywhere. They laugh, they gossip, they worry about their families, and occasionally they keep secrets. Sometimes very big ones.
These days, I’m back in the United States teaching high school students about Shakespeare. At least, that was the plan.
What I thought would be a relatively easy subbing job has turned out to be… less straightforward.
When the regular English teacher, a friend from high school, took maternity leave, she needed someone to step in for the semester. I figured it would be a nice change of pace after years of teaching overseas, and it would give me a chance to work while staying home to help with my dad’s recovery. A few months in one place and a steady paycheck sounded appealing. Plus, I thought it couldn’t be too difficult to convince a few teenagers that Shakespeare is more than confusing old language.
Instead, I’ve discovered that teaching high school students about tragic heroes requires a surprising amount of patience, creativity, and classroom management. On most days, my biggest challenge is keeping students from antagonizing each other.
Outside the classroom, my boyfriend Aidan helps keep my life balanced. Aidan is the calm, steady presence who somehow manages to stay levelheaded even when things around us start getting complicated.
And things do tend to get complicated.
Aidan likes to point out that I have a habit of inserting myself into situations that technically do not involve me. His argument is that when something suspicious happens, most people step back and let the authorities handle it.
I, apparently, do the opposite.
In my defense, I never set out to investigate anything. Usually, it starts with a small detail that doesn’t quite make sense. A comment that contradicts something I heard earlier. A timeline that feels off. Or a reaction that seems just a little too rehearsed.
Once I notice those things, it’s hard to ignore them.
Part of that instinct probably comes from my upbringing. My father, a retired law professor, always encouraged curiosity. He believed that asking questions was the best way to understand the world. Dinner conversations in our house often turned into lively debates about motives, evidence, and human behavior.
My mother balanced that intellectual curiosity with a strong sense of compassion. She taught me to pay attention to people and to care about what happens to them. To her, community meant looking out for one another.
Somewhere between those two influences, I developed a habit of paying close attention when something feels wrong.
The truth is, when a crime happens, the victim often becomes just a headline or a passing mention in conversation. A name people stop saying after a few days. But that person had a life. Friends. Family. Plans that suddenly ended without explanation.
Even if I didn’t know them well, that matters to me.
When questions start to surface and people begin whispering about what really happened, I feel a responsibility to keep asking those questions. Not because I think I’m smarter than the police or because I’m chasing excitement.
It’s because unanswered questions feel like unfinished stories.
And as someone who loves stories, I’ve never been very good at walking away before the ending.
Of course, Aidan would prefer if my curiosity didn’t occasionally place us in awkward situations. But to his credit, he rarely tries to stop me. More often, he acts as the voice of reason when I get carried away with a theory.
He reminds me to slow down, think things through, and maybe avoid accusing someone of murder before we have actual proof.
Which, according to him, is always a good rule to follow.
Still, even he admits that sometimes asking the uncomfortable questions leads to the truth.
And once you start looking for the truth, it has a funny way of revealing things people thought would stay hidden forever.
In fact, the last time Aidan and I thought we were simply enjoying a quiet getaway at the lake, things didn’t stay peaceful for very long. Let’s just say that sometimes lies are better at the lake… at least until someone starts asking questions.
So, for now, I’ll keep teaching Shakespeare, paying attention to the details most people overlook, and trying not to worry Aidan too much.
After all, trouble has a way of appearing when you least expect it.
And somehow, I always seem to be nearby when it does.
What would you do if you stumbled across something suspicious? Ask questions… or mind your own business?
Lies Are Better At The Lake: A Claire O’Keefe Mystery by Cindy QuayleAbout Lies Are Better At The Lake
Lies Are Better At The Lake: A Claire O’Keefe Mystery
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – Arkansas
Independently Published
Publication date : February 24, 2026
Print length : 242 pages
Digital
ASIN : B0GF38FDVD
Welcome to Osage Springs, where small-town charm meets big trouble.
When Claire O’Keefe’s father suffers a stroke, she puts her plans to teach overseas on hold and returns home to Osage Springs, Arkansas. Between caring for her parents and reconnecting with her roots, she expects a quiet few months—until a chance encounter at the grocery store changes everything.
An old high school classmate, now an English teacher at Lakeside High, asks Claire to fill in during her maternity leave. It sounds simple enough—grading essays, managing teenagers, and maybe sneaking in a lakeside walk or two. But when a fellow teacher is found dead in Beaver Lake, the sleepy Ozark town turns tense, and Claire once again finds herself drawn into a mystery she can’t ignore.
This time, the sheriff’s department is asking for volunteers to aid the search, and Claire can’t resist lending a hand. But as secrets rise to the surface, she begins to wonder if the lake is hiding more than just one deadly truth.
Can Claire help solve the case before the next body surfaces… or will she be the one caught beneath the calm, cold water?
About Cindy Quayle
Cindy Quayle is the author of the Claire O’Keefe Mystery series, cozy whodunits set in a variety of scuba diving destinations. After years of teaching students, Cindy took the plunge into fiction with her debut novel, Death on Cozumel Island, inspired by a family scuba diving vacation to Cozumel.
When she is not writing, Cindy teaches ESL part-time and draws inspiration from her love of travel and the underwater world. An avid scuba diver, she enjoys exploring new dive sites and weaving the sights, culture, and atmosphere of each location into her stories. Cindy enjoys connecting with readers and is active on social media, where she shares updates on her writing life, travel adventures, and upcoming Claire O’Keefe mysteries.
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- March 16 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
- March 17 – Jody’s Bookish Haven – SPOTLIGHT
- March 18 – Caboodle of Cozies – CHARACTER GUEST POST
- March 19 – Sarandipity’s – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
- March 19 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
- March 20 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
- March 20 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – AUTHOR GUEST POST
- March 21 – StoreyBook Reviews – AUTHOR GUEST POST
- March 21 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
- March 22 – Boys’ Mom Reads! – SPOTLIGHT
- March 22 – deal sharing aunt – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
- March 23 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – CHARACTER INTERVIEW
- March 23 – Rebecca M. Douglass, Author – REVIEW, AUTHOR INTERVIEW
- March 23 – Salty Inspirations – CHARACTER GUEST POST
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A big thank you to Cindy for visiting Salty Inspirations and giving readers the chance to meet Claire. If you enjoy cozy mysteries filled with curiosity, secrets, and small details that refuse to be ignored, be sure to add Lies are Better at the Lake to your TBR list. And while you’re here, take a moment to browse around the blog for more cozy reads, author features, and bookish inspiration.
As always, thanks for stopping by for some Salty Inspirations! —Michelle❤️
