For charmed tea shop owner Shay Myers, getting steeped in Bray Harbor, California’s October festivities is spookier than she ever could have bargained for—especially when a bone-chilling murder mystery spells grave danger . . .
With Halloween around the corner, Shay Myers is brewing witchy seasonal sips at Crystals and CuriosiTEAS—while simultaneously steaming over pub owner Liam Madigan’s decision to take anybody but her to the town’s Monster Mash dance. Her romantic premonitions have missed the mark since she settled into coastal Bray Harbor, opening the door to questions about whether she’s really the gifted seer her late mother imagined. It’s why she second guesses the dark vision in her tea leaves about a local citizen and their obsession with genealogy, Irish folklore, and magic . . .
But when bad omens come true, Shay doesn’t have time for self-doubt. A woman’s body has been discovered, frozen in a strange pose with an eerie black butterfly on her forehead, leading to suspicions that the victim took a conjuring ritual too far due to limited experience—or was murdered by someone with too much. As an investigation stirs up a sinister connection to a boardwalk mystic shop, Shay, guided by her knowing dog, Spirit, finds herself tracking down a shady figure from her past, navigating the sudden reappearance of her ex-husband, and chasing down a wickedly perceptive criminal who might finally be her match!
My Thoughts
This is a pleasant afternoon read for those of you who like their mysteries cozy, uncomplicated, and with touches of the paranormal and romance.
There’s some information on teas and crystals included in the narrative, and a good dose of Irish folklore, which adds some appeal to the narrative. You’ll finish this one feeling like the characters are friends and you really want to be able to go visit the shop and hang out with them.
When a mysterious figure shows up in the photograph an architect takes of the derelict Seabrink Hotel, ghostly encounters and murder are unleashed.
Aubrey Spencer loves photographing classic old buildings and abandoned places that hold old secrets. The Hotel Seabrink, perched overlooking the sea, is one such place. Currently abandoned but scheduled for a major renovation, it has a torrid history. Back in the 1920s it hosted A-list celebrity clientele, and now the locals insist it is haunted by the ghosts of two young women who died there. When Aubrey goes to photograph the site before the renovation begins, she bumps into a man named Dimitri Petroff, a minor online celebrity who shares her fascination with old buildings, the Hotel Seabrink in particular.
When he is found dead the next day at the base of a cliff, the police are quick to close the investigation. But Aubrey feels unsettled by locals who claim he was murdered and that it’s not the first time someone interested in the hotel was killed. As she digs deeper into the property’s dark history (and its origins as an asylum) as well as Dimitri’s professional rivalries, she becomes mired in an unsolved murder case from several decades earlier, one with eerie parallels to the contemporary case. But someone is determined to keep her from discovering the truth—at any cost.
My Thoughts
I’ve been a fan of Juliet Blackwell’s books for a long time, beginning with her Lily Ivory series and expanding into her later forays in longer fiction. I confess, I was very disappointed to hear that the Lily Ivory series has sunsetted, but if giving up the LI series means Blackwell has time to write mysteries like this absolute STAR of a book, I’m good!
Turns out Blackwell’s earlier writing might have been practice for this full-blown mysterious, scary, imaginative story.
Everything here works seamlessly to deliver a taut, suspenseful, and very well written paranormal mystery. It’s just the right amount of scary blended with a well-plotted mystery, resulting in a startling and very satisfying conclusion. Blackwell steps into the circle with authors like Simone St. James and Sarah Rayne, delivering a story that will keep you turning pages, albeit with all the lights on.
So well done!
Publication Date: July 29, 2025 Published By: Berkley Publishing Group Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the review copy
A missing girl. A town full of secrets. A past that won’t stay buried.
Some families keep dark secrets. Some families *are* dark secrets.
When a young girl vanishes in rural Northern Ireland, Piety, a newly appointed Queen’s agent, must return to the same orphanage she grew up in to investigate.
Lissy isn’t just any child. She has magic in her blood, a power she doesn’t understand and can’t control. It’s been driving her father to madness. It may even have killed her mother.
As Piety digs deeper, she finds more than a missing girl. A dangerous artefact, steeped in ancient power, was left in Lissy’s bedroom. A warning, a weapon, or perhaps something worse. And Lissy isn’t the first girl to disappear.
The trail leads to a quiet family farm where generations of women protect a dark secret. They all share the same magical gift, and the same tragic history; taken in by their new mother, after their real parents mysteriously died. And now that mother has her eyes set on Lissy.
To uncover the final, terrifying truth hidden in Templepatrick, Piety must untangle decades of disappearances—and confront a past that wants to stay buried.
A chilling and atmospheric urban fantasy set in 1960s Northern Ireland, Piety’s Fury is a tale of magic, mystery, and the cost of uncovering the truth.
My Thoughts
What a wild story! I haven’t read such an un-put-downable adventure in ages, and am now mourning the end because I WANT MORE!
The second in the Agents by Royal Appointment series, Ragnarsson has written one of the best fantasy/adventure stories of the year. The characters leap off the pages with smart-ass dialog and heart-stopping action centered on Lissy, a young girl who is just learning about her gift of magic. The concept here is one I’ve not read often – a family of magical beings keeping their line going by “adopting” children gifted with magic. I suppose it’s a bit similar to Mother Malkin’s “family” in Joseph Delaney’s Last Apprentice series, but this story is just so well-developed it seems wholly original.
The action never stops, and Piety and Fitz are two of the most engaging lead characters out there. As I read, I kept imagining this as a movie or TV series. It would be fantastic!
Fans of witty, fast-paced, action-packed fantasy will slurp this one up.
Highly recommended.
Publication Date: April 20, 2025 Thanks to Book Sirens for the review copy
February 10 – March 7, 2025 Virtual Book Tour The Andi Wyndham Series
Description
Beware the Fisherman
Andi Wyndham has communicated with spirits since she was a kid. When a bone pendant carved into the likeness of a girl’s face calls to her at a gem show in Pennsylvania, she can’t resist buying it and a sister piece. When she discovers the girls are missing runaways and the pendants are made of human bone, Andi is drawn into a mystery that will force her to confront her gifts, her guilt, and the ghosts haunting her.
Pendant Girls Mariah and Bennie urge Andi to find a man they call “Fisherman,” a master of disguise. Teaming up with a handsome private eye and a South Carolina sheriff, Andi must find the girls’ bodies and put their souls to rest, before the Fisherman casts his deadly net to trap Andi.
My Thoughts
Bone Pendant Girls is a non-stop, nail-biting ride of story. While there are plenty of books out there about people who can talk to the dead, this one comes alive in the hands of this author. Spare prose focuses on the important elements of the story – Andi, the girls, and the Fisherman – and builds tension that ultimately snaps and builds again until you get to the stunning conclusion.
The story is well-paced and full of action. The author skillfully blends a murder mystery with the supernatural elements, which results in one of the most chilling climaxes I’ve read in awhile. The characters, especially Andi, are nicely developed and their relationships add to the success of the story.
As a jewelry artist and a frequent visitor to gem shows, I am always looking at carved stones. This story gives me a new perspective with which to handle and care for these kinds of objects. I will think long and hard about handling or buying any stones that are carved faces!
Recommended for fans of paranormal mysteries.
Book Details:
Genre: Paranormal Thriller, Suspense, Mystery, Southern Published by: CamCat Books Publication Date: February 25, 2025 Number of Pages: 496 ISBN: 9780744307931 (ISBN10: 0744307937) Series: Andi Wyndham, Book 1 Book Links:Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | CamCat Books | Goodreads | Audible
Author Bio
Terry Friedman is a writer and a rockhound. Her novel, BONE PENDANT GIRLS, a paranormal thriller, was published by CamCat January 30, 2024.
Terry began her writing career freelancing for a small newspaper outside Philadelphia. While raising her daughters Jessica and Chelie in West Chester, PA, she taught English for decades and traveled abroad with students. Terry earned an M.F.A. from Wilkes University and also graduated from the FBI Citizens Academy. Thirteen of her fiction and non-fiction pieces have been published, and she co-edited Delaware Valley Mystery Writers’ short stories anthology. DEATH KNELL V.
She is an award-winning author. In 2022 the Southeastern Writers Association awarded her first place in their writing contest for her humor piece, second place for BONE PENDANT GIRLS in a fiction category, and an honorable mention for THE BANSHEE’S WAIL, an unpublished Irish novel. She is a Killer Nashville Claymore Finalist in the Supernatural category.
A Pennwriters Board member and a member of Sisters in Crime, she currently writes thrillers from coastal South Carolina. Terry has traveled the world from Fiji to Delphi and brings to her writing a solid respect for things that go bump in the night.
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