Shane P Miller

Fiddle Creek has survived drought, taxes, and roosters with opinions, but one rotten egg nearly ruins the town. When respected egg seller Lenora Quade is blamed for a false basket of spoiled eggs, the county sends Hubert Fallow, a records clerk with a crooked badge and little chicken knowledge, to restore order. What he finds is worse than clucking: copied basket marks, missing hens, planted evidence, and a feed-store clerk selling fear back to people he frightened.
With Sheriff Marrow's dry patience, Lenora's practical wisdom, and Duchess, a hen with no respect for proceedings, Hubert learns that truth is not found by making louder rules. It is found by doing the work, naming harm plainly, and correcting rumor before it becomes law. The Official Frontier Chicken Inspector is a clean, family-friendly Western comedy mystery about stolen hens, bad eggs, public panic, public correction, and the slow beginning of trust between two people who know usefulness matters more than titles.