The story “Fireplace with a Secret” is the winner of the “Criminal Forget-Me-Nots” competition, and received a lot of excellent reviews from readers and jury members. In a cozy family estate near a small town, the measured life of the baron, his mother and his young wife, Mary, takes place. The peace of the village is shaken by the brutal murder of the old baroness, Amelia. “Always look for a motive!” classic detective literature tells us. But what if there are no obvious motives? Who would want the death of a harmless old woman? Mary begins her own investigation. But as the details of the old baroness’s personal life are revealed to her, it becomes clear that everything is not as obvious as it seems from the outside. A hiding place behind the fireplace in the old baroness’s room can shed light on this mystery. The story turned out to be dynamic, the characters were bright and interesting, the ending was completely unexpected. Psychological portraits of the main characters appear before the reader, making it possible to get to know them well enough to identify the killer.