Book record · Former Barking Rain Press title
Bluffing Is Murder
by Edith Maxwell (writing as Tace Baker)
Quaker linguistics professor Lauren Rousseau finds her insurance agent dead and becomes a suspect in a summer mystery set in coastal Massachusetts. Published by Barking Rain Press in 2014 under the name Tace Baker; reissued in 2020 as Murder on the Bluffs.
This book was once published by Barking Rain Press, which announced its closure in 2019. This site is not that publisher and does not sell books. See “Finding the book today” below.
Premise
It is summer in Ashford, Massachusetts, and Quaker linguistics professor Lauren Rousseau is on her own while her boyfriend visits his family in Haiti. Out running near the sea bluffs, she finds the body of her insurance agent, who was also a trustee of a local land trust. She had argued with him in public about her policy shortly before, so the police treat her as a suspect.
To clear her name, Lauren looks into the poorly run land trust, the dead man’s volatile sister, and a possible link to her father’s death more than a decade earlier. The Wickeds launch post and the Friends Journal notice both say that a run of threatening incidents soon makes her think she may be the next target.
Publication history
Barking Rain Press published Bluffing Is Murder in 2014 under Edith Maxwell’s pen name Tace Baker. The author’s 2019 book list dates it to November 2014 as the second Lauren Rousseau mystery, and The Wickeds marked its launch on November 11, 2014. Friends Journal, the Quaker magazine, included it in its Books in Brief section in April 2015. That notice names Barking Rain Press and lists the book at 177 pages in paperback and ebook. We could not confirm ISBNs for the 2014 editions.
The book is the sequel to Speaking of Murder (Barking Rain Press, 2012). According to the author’s site, it was a finalist for the 2015 Silver Falchion Award for Best Romantic Suspense Novel.
In August 2020 the novel was reissued under the Edith Maxwell name with the new title Murder on the Bluffs, published by Beyond the Page Publishing; NetGalley dates it August 11, 2020, with ebook ISBN 9781950461684, and notes a trade paperback the same day. The author’s site says both Lauren Rousseau books were re-edited and given new covers for the reissue. Her current book list gives ISBN 9781950461691 for the reissue, and an Open Library record lists a further Beyond the Page ISBN, 9781958384916. Because of the retitling, readers may find the same story under two titles.
Reading notes
These notes come from desk research of published descriptions. They are not a reading report.
The premise uses a common amateur-sleuth setup: the investigator is herself a suspect, so the stakes are personal from the start. The plot is built on land stewardship and local governance through the land trust, and on family history through the question about her father’s death, which suggests the mystery is rooted in the town rather than the campus that dominated the first book. Friends Journal called it a mystery thriller. The Silver Falchion nomination in a romantic suspense category, and the reviewer’s mention of an appealing martial arts teacher, point to a romantic thread alongside the danger.
As in the first book, the protagonist’s Quaker identity is part of how the series presents itself. That made the book of interest to a Quaker magazine, and readers interested in faith and fiction may want to look for it.
Finding the book today
Look for the 2020 reissue, Murder on the Bluffs by Edith Maxwell, which the author’s Lauren Rousseau page lists with the first book. In library catalogs and WorldCat, search under both titles and under both “Edith Maxwell” and “Tace Baker”. The 2014 Barking Rain Press edition is out of print, and this site does not sell the book.
Finding the book today
The book is now published as Murder on the Bluffs by Edith Maxwell (Beyond the Page, 2020), listed on the author's Lauren Rousseau page. Search library catalogs under both titles and both author names; the 2014 Barking Rain Press edition is out of print.
Discussion questions
- Lauren becomes a suspect after a public argument with the victim. How does being under suspicion change an amateur sleuth's motives and methods?
- A mismanaged land trust sits at the center of the premise. Why might land and conservation disputes produce strong motives in a small coastal town?
- The investigation may connect to Lauren's father's death years earlier. What does reopening a family loss add to a mystery plot?
- Lauren's partner is away in Haiti during the story. How might the absence of a close ally shape a protagonist who is also being targeted?
- The book is the second in a series. What do readers expect a sequel to carry over from the first book, and what should it leave behind?
- The series features a Quaker protagonist. How might her faith inform her response to suspicion and danger?
- The book was later retitled Murder on the Bluffs. What does each title emphasise, and which suits the premise better?
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Sources
- Bluffing Is Murder (Books in Brief), Friends Journal. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Happy Book Birthday Bluffing Is Murder, The Wickeds. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Lauren Rousseau Mysteries, Edith Maxwell (author website). Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Published/Contracted Book List for Edith Maxwell/Maddie Day/Tace Baker (Oct 2019), Edith Maxwell (author website). Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Published/Contracted Book List for Edith Maxwell/Maddie Day (September 2025), Edith Maxwell (author website). Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Murder on the Bluffs, NetGalley. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Open Library: Murder on the Bluffs, ISBN 9781958384916, Open Library. Accessed 2026-11-12.
- Welcome author Edith Maxwell with a Guest Post and Giveaway, Mystery Lovers' Kitchen. Accessed 2026-11-12.