Murder in Cormyr

Murder in Cormyr involves a wizard Benelaius and Jasper a half-halfling servant investigating a murder mystery in a village surrounded by a swamp.

The book starts with the introduction of Jasper, a village urchin who, due to circumstances, tries to steal from the home of a wizard who recently moved nearby, as part of retirement from the Cormyr war wizard council.

Jasper gets caught by Benelaius and as way of repayment, agrees to the proposition of becoming a servant of the wizard for one year. During that time, a mysterious murder takes place with Jasper, under directions of Benelaius, untangling the dark plot. 

The story is told with a first-person point-of-view—a comparative rarity in D&D novels—in the form of an account written by the protagonist Jasper following the events of the novel. The style is light and humorous and, as one would expect for a murder mystery, it focuses on conversation and investigation, with few battles and little-to-no magic.

The result is a story that explores small-town life, ordinary people, and intrigues in Faerûn rather than epic adventures and the affairs of great mages and gods.