The Abracadabra Mysteries
Magick & Mayhem (Book One)
What's in a murderer's bag of tricks?
Twenty-something Kailyn Wilde has learned to embrace her unpredictable life as a descendant of small-town New Camel's most magickal family. She just didn't expect to inherit her mother and grandmother's centuries-old shop, Abracadabra, so suddenly.
The surprises keep coming when Kailyn goes to finalize the estate at the local attorney's office—and stumbles over the body of her best friend Elise's husband . . . As a brash detective casts the blame on Elise, Kailyn summons her deepest powers to find answers and start an investigation of her own.
What with running a business, perfecting ancient spells, and keeping up with an uninvited guest of fabled origins, Kailyn has her hands full. But with the help of her uncanny black cat Sashkatu and her muumuu-clad Aunt Tilly, she's closing in on a killer—who will do anything to make sure she never tests her supernatural skills again!
That Olde White Magick (Book Two)
It's time to work her crime-solving magic again...
Kailyn Wilde enjoys running her shop, Abracadabra, in the quaint New York hamlet of New Camel, where she lives with her six cats. Her family's been here for centuries, and she'd like to keep up the tradition. But the place may never be the same if a new hotel is built, so she does her civic duty and attends a town meeting along with her aunt Tilly . . . and Merlin. Yes, that Merlin—though he gets introduced to folks as her "distant English cousin." The wizard is pretty grumpy about being transported here, but there are things about the modern world he doesn't mind—like pizza and ice cream.
Kailyn is prepared for a heated debate about the hotel, but she isn't expecting murder. When Tilly finds the body of a board member outside the schoolhouse, Kailyn doesn't want any suspicion cast on the wrong person. She plans to crack this case, even if she has to talk to every living soul in town—plus a few departed ones . . .
Magick Run Amok (Book Three)
The answer to whodunit may lie beyond the veil . . .
November in upstate New York can be chilly, but Kailyn Wilde’s shop, Abracadabra, is a cozy respite where you can find lotions, potions, and plenty of warm, feline company. But what customers don’t know is that the proprietor has some unusual powers—and unusual friends, including the renowned magician Merlin, who’s been transported into the modern world. All of which comes in handy when there’s a murder to be solved . . .
Investigative journalist Ryan Cutler has perished in a car accident in New Camel, and his friend, Travis, suspects foul play—especially when the reporter’s notes reveal a mysterious list of dead men’s names. Kailyn wants to help, but she’s also got her hands full with the curmudgeonly Merlin, who’s not exactly maintaining a low profile. Between keeping the wizard under wraps and mixing up cold remedies that work like magic, she’ll have to tap into her many talents to figure out a killer’s fatal formula . . .
Magickal Mystery Lore (Book Four)
This spells trouble . . .
The New Camel Day Fair is a fun-filled event for residents of this upstate New York town. Kailyn Wilde, a witch of ancient lineage, leaves her potion shop, Abracadabra—and her feline familiar, Sashkatu—to attend with her fortune-telling Aunt Tilly. Joining them is legendary wizard Merlin, who’s discovering new pleasures of time-traveling to the modern world, including curly fries and kettle corn –- but the appeal of the Tilt-a-Wheel is beyond his mystical imagination.
The real wild ride begins when neighboring sweet shop owner Lolly rushes into Abracadabra with news about a dead body. The victim has one of Lolly’s fudge knives in her back, so Kailyn has to defend her elderly friend in the face of some sticky evidence. Meanwhile, Merlin’s research into old family scrolls and electromagnetic ley lines is causing some unusual mix-ups. As the two investigations collide, Kailyn will have to do everything in her power to prevent disaster…
This Magick Marmot (Book Five)
A fatal case of school spirit . . .
Kailyn Wilde, owner of the Abracadabra potion shop, feels some dread anticipating her ten-year high school reunion at the new hotel in New Camel—but it turns out even worse than she feared. Running into her very first boyfriend is pleasant enough. Chatting with Ashley—who still can’t let go of a tragedy that happened on prom night—is a bit more uncomfortable. But the worst part comes when one of Kailyn’s oldest friends is found dead in the ladies’ room.
Soon this upstate New York town is in an uproar. And with some help from time-traveling wizard Merlin—who has adopted an unusual and alluring creature as his familiar—it’s up to Kailyn to identify the alumnus most likely to commit murder . . .
A Portrait of Crime Mysteries
Sketch Me If You Can
She's a police sketch artist. He's a dead lawman. Together, they put a face on murder.
When her uncle dies, police sketch artist Rory McCain get's a list of clients from his private detective business and a beautiful, old house with a ghostly inhabitant: Federal Marshal Ezekiel Drummond, aka Zeke.
Having a ghost as a housemate is bad enough, but as Rory's drawn into one of her uncle's unsolved cases and faces a cold-blooded killer, she may need the marshal's supernatural help to stay alive.
To Sketch a Thief
Former police sketch artist Rory McCain never needed a partner to create a likeness of a suspect. But now, working as a sleuth, she's got a partner who's been dead for over a century...
Ghosts are supposed to be frightening, not exasperating. But Federal Marshal Ezekiel Drummond, aka Zeke, is one spirit who seems to specialize in fraying Rory's nerves. Although it helps to have a lawman as part of her private detective business -- even one who was shot in 1878 -- Rory often wishes she had a silent partner, instead of a dead one.
After a stray dog named Hobo leads Rory back to his murdered owner's corpse, she finds herself involved in another homicide case -- not to mention the new owner of a lovable pooch. Unfortunately the spirit who haunts her house doesn't get along with dogs. Despite this bone of contention, Rory, Zeke, and Hobo are soon on the trail of some deadly dognappers and a missing Maltese...
Sketch a Falling Star
When the “Way Off Broadway Players” get swept up in a flash flood while sightseeing in Arizona, Rory McCain’s aunt Helene and her fellow amateur thespians survive—with the exception of Preston Wright.
The victim was actually a womanizing scam-artist who duped nearly everyone in the troupe, as well as an ex-con who operated under various aliases. While Preston’s death was deemed to be an “act of nature,” Rory can’t discount the possibility that human nature may have contributed to his drowning.
But even as she investigates the cast of characters to find out which one played the villain, Rory is finally on the verge of solving a cold case -- the murder of her ghost partner, Zeke.
Sketcher In The Rye
Trouble has sprouted at Harper Farms. Top secret info has been leaked to the competition, and now there's serious sabotage cropping up. So the farm's beleaguered owner, Gil Harper, has called on Rory to dig up some dirt. But what Rory discovers raises a new field of questions…
Someone shucked Harper's accountant and left his body in the farm's corn maze. While Gil is quick to hire Rory to solve now not one but two crimes, the sketching sleuth isn't so sure why the farmer wants her to focus her attention on his own family.
Regardless, Rory and Zeke will need to put their hands to the plow and solve this case before someone else is planted six feet under…
Other Books
'Tis The Season
Four holiday short stories - quick reads for the busiest time of year, including a bit of Christmas magic.
For Everything A Season
Not all the witch trials took place in Salem. And there are people in nearby Rachael Crossing who believe the abandoned old house in their midst has roots going back to those awful times.
Determined not to be spooked by vague rumors, Deborah Colby leases that house for the summer and when she meets Ethan Burke, she's certain she's made the right decision - certain her whole life has been leading her there to him.