Police Chief Delaney Becker took an oath to serve and protect; only in her world it's usually serving pasta and protecting the town mascot, a chicken named Bella, from getting stepped on by camera toting tourists. There is virtually no crime in tiny Celestino Village, and Becker is more than a little bored.
Until, that is, Becker's estranged sister returns to the Eastern Shore of Maryland with a book about a gruesome murder. Alyssa is looking for forgiveness for the Stupid Thing she did in high school, and Death by Dagger, the novel she found, is her tool to get back in Becker's good graces.
Convinced the novel is based on a real murder, Becker gathers a group of wannabe detectives (including a former mobster, a retired ship captain, and a forensic scientist who keeps a sugar glider in her bra) to investigate and solve the cold case, identifying the killer as one of their own.