Terms of Service
The service
Small-Town Secrets provides serialized interactive crime-fiction. Episodes and evidence are released on a schedule. Episode 1 of every case is free. While a case is running, a purchase follows the full-speed calendar and free readers receive episodes on a delay, stated on the pricing page. Once a case is archived, reading past Episode 1 requires a Case Pass.
Acceptable use
Case materials are for your personal enjoyment. You may not scrape, redistribute, resell, or publicly repost the evidence, documents, audio, or solutions. Attempting to bypass release timing or access controls is prohibited.
What you write stays yours
Your notes, your timeline, and your theories belong to you. We are not claiming ownership of them and we are not going to start selling them.
What we do ask for is narrow: permission to read your case work so we can see how the story is landing and write a better one next time, and to count it alongside everybody else’s. Our writers see it without your name attached. If we ever want to show something you wrote to other players, or quote it in our own marketing, we will ask you first. How this works in practice, and what happens when you delete your account, is set out in the privacy policy.
Billing
Pricing and renewal terms are shown clearly before you pay. A Case Pass is a one-time purchase; subscriptions renew until cancelled, and you can cancel anytime from your account. No surprise renewals.
Refunds
A Case Pass is refundable in full within 48 hours of purchase, no questions asked. We don’t ask why, we don’t count how much of the case you read, and we don’t make you argue for it. One email to support@smalltownsecrets.com from the address you bought with; no form, no ticket number. Refunds are issued to the original payment method and usually appear within 5–10 business days, depending on your bank.
When the refund goes through, paid access closes automatically. Episode 1 stays free forever, and your notebook and timeline stay exactly where you left them if you come back later.
All-Access subscriptions can be cancelled anytime from your account. Cancelling stops the next charge and your access runs to the end of the period you’ve already paid for; we don’t cut you off mid-month. If you were charged for a period you never meant to renew, email us and we’ll sort it out.
Past 48 hours we’re not obliged to refund a Case Pass, but we’d still rather hear from you than have you feel stung. Nothing here limits the refund rights your local consumer law gives you.
Fiction disclaimer
All characters, businesses, and events are fictional. Any resemblance to real persons or events is coincidental.