Keyes Videoshop Mysteries Book 1
Be Kind, Rewind, and DIE!
The tapes are missing. The movie buff is dead. And in Lake Edwina, some secrets are worth killing for.
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What is Be Kind, Rewind, and DIE! about?
It’s the fall of 1986, and twenty-year-old Samantha “Sam” Keyes has her hands full working the counter at her Uncle Al’s beloved video shop, which is a cozy haven of neon lights, plastic cassette cases, and the faint smell of popcorn that clings to every shelf. Life in Lake Edwina is quirky but comfortable, until the town’s most passionate horror enthusiast turns up dead under deeply suspicious circumstances.
When Mitch Caldwell—film fanatic, rare VHS collector, and one of the shop’s most loyal regulars—is found dead in a scene staged to look like a movie-obsessed accident, the town is quick to blame his love of horror films. But Sam knows better. Mitch was careful, kind, and sitting on something far more dangerous than a banned British horror flick.
With a missing collection of rare tapes, a town full of self-appointed moral crusaders, and threatening notes that read like bad movie dialogue, Sam finds herself drawn into an investigation that cuts straight to the heart of Lake Edwina’s darkest hypocrisies. Aided by her misfit crew including a tech-genius Radio Shack employee, a goth fashionista, and a gentle giant with a heart of gold, Sam is determined to clear Mitch’s name before the real killer rewrites the ending. But the closer she gets to the truth, the more dangerous the final act becomes.
Perfect for fans of cozy mysteries with a nostalgic twist, Be Kind, Rewind, and DIE! serves up big hair, bigger secrets, and the kind of small-town charm that hides a surprisingly sharp edge. Grab your VHS collection, settle into your beanbag chair, and be warned: in Lake Edwina, you’ll want to check what’s on the tape before you press play.
Read an excerpt from Be Kind, Rewind, and DIE!
From Chapter 1
The old brass key turned with its familiar click, and Samantha Keyes pushed open the glass door to Keyes Video, breathing in the comforting scent of plastic cases and stale popcorn. The faint electrical hum from the flickering fluorescent lights was mildly annoying but quickly faded to background noise as she closed the door behind her.
Uncle Al was already bustling around behind the counter, his graying hair sticking up at odd angles like he’d been full-body wrestling with the cash register again.
“Morning, Samantha,” he called cheerfully, untangling the cords that went with the rental machines. “Beautiful Saturday, isn’t it? Perfect weather for people to stay inside and watch movies.”
“That’s one way to look at it,” Sam replied, looking out at the gray, dingy weather hanging over the town. It was more “wet” than “autumnal,” but that was par for the course for late September in Lake Edwina. She put her denim jacket on the hook by the counter and glanced at the clock—11:02 AM. Right on schedule for what Uncle Al optimistically called their “grand opening hours,” though most of Lake Edwina wouldn’t think about renting movies until at least noon on a weekend.
Uncle Al had opened Keyes Video Shop just over a year ago, transforming the tired old space next to Curl Up & Dye into what he called “a temple to cinema.” Sam thought it looked more like a cheerful maze with rows of hand-built wooden shelves organized by Uncle Al’s unique cinephile logic, with shelf labels announcing “AL’S PICKS!” in his enthusiastic scrawl, and a counter dominated by an enormous bowl of mini candy bars that he insisted gave the place an authentic movie theater ambiance.
“I’ve got to run some errands this morning,” Uncle Al announced, patting down his pockets in search of his car keys. “Think you can handle the Saturday rush?”
Sam surveyed the empty store, where the only movement came from the tropical fish swimming lazily in the tank Uncle Al had installed because he thought it was soothing for customers making difficult movie choices.