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Book #1 of The Hermit Detective Series, arrived January 2026!

DEATH & THE ROMANTICIZED LIFE, the debut cozy mystery novel by J.F. Delisi, is finally here!

Paris, 1700s. Desperate and destitute, a man accepts the strangest job of his life: be the garden hermit to a wealthy estate. The rules of his new life are simple. Live in the ornamental garden, be seen but never heard, and above all, never speak.

It's his last chance to reclaim his lost birthright.

But after the grandest ball of the season, he wakes to find a bloody murder weapon hidden in his grotto home. A body lies cold in the manor's laundry room. And he—the silent witness to the estate's darkest secrets—is the perfect suspect.

To clear his name, he must solve a murder he cannot discuss. His only confidants? A chaotic squirrel and an ominous crow. His only human ally? The handsome doctor investigating the death.

One wrong move could cost him everything. One word could cost him his life.

At least there will be free wine.