Discover new authors (or revisit old favorites) with The Poisoned Martini ‘s Recommended Reads. Perhaps these suggested titles will expand your reading list.
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Paranormal Mysteries!
With Halloween approaching, now is the perfect time to try one of the growing number of supernatural-tinged mysteries. Such genre defying stories are often hard to categorize as they tend to blend elements of traditional mysteries, fantasy, and romance. Witches are perhaps the most popular would-be sleuths with psychic mediums, or those who speak with spirits, being a strong second. These nine stories harken back to the genre’s beginnings when Edgar Allan Poe, Wilkie Collins, and others added preternatural occurrences to their tales.
Haunting Jordan by P. J. Alderman (2009) – Port Chatham on the Pacific Northwest coast is the quaint setting for this new mystery series. Jordan Marsh solves both present day and past mysteries involving the living and the dead. In her first outing, Jordan must clear her name in her ex-husband’s murder and settle the affairs of two ghosts who are connected to a century old crime. Ghost Ship (2011) is the second and most recent entry in the series.
The Trouble with Magic by Madelyn Alt (2006) – In her debut adventure, Maggie O’Neill’s discovers her new boss, Felicity Dow, is a witch. When Felicity is suspected of murdering her estranged sister, Maggie determines to find the real killer with the help of some wiccan friends. To date, there are 7 books in Alt’s Bewitching Series. The most recent title is Home for a Spell (2012) while the forthcoming book eight, In Charm’s Way, appears to have been delayed.
Secondhand Spirits by Juliet Blackwell (2009) – The owner of a vintage clothing store, Lily Ivory tries surreptitiously to solve the murder of a client and the disappearance of children in the Bay Area. Bu this witch may have a tough time keeping her secret sleuthing from a mythbuster and another witch. The fifth and most recent book is Tarnished and Torn (2013). Blackwell also writes the Haunted Home Renovation mystery series, featuring a building contractor/ghost buster.
Witch Way to Murder by Shirley Damsgaard (2005) – In the first book of this cozy series, Librarian Ophelia Jensen, a reluctant psychic, and her grandmother Abby, who’s also a witch, team up to solve a murder. A handsome man tells Ophelia he’s investigating a local drug ring. Then a dead body turns up in Ophelia’s backyard. The seventh and most recent book in the Ophelia and Abby series is The Seventh Witch (2010).
What’s a Witch to Do? by Jennifer Harlow (2013) – More paranormal than mystery, Mona McGregor heads a coven and runs a magic shop in not so sleepy town. Things are about to take a turn for the worse when the local Alpha werewolf shows up wounded on Mona’s front steps. First in the Midnight Magic Mystery series. Harlow also write the F.R.E.A.K.S. Squad Investigation series featuring telekinetic Beatrice Alexander.
Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris (2006) – Being struck by lightning at a young age gave Harper Connelly the near-magical ability to locate dead people and discover how they died. Together with her stepbrother, Tolliver, Harper will track down a teenage girl who went missing when a socialite’s son was shot dead in the woods. The fourth and most recent book is Grave Secret (2010). By the author of the Sookie Stackhouse series.
Ghost at Work by Carolyn Hart (20–) – Bailey Ruth Raeburn is a ghost, and in her first case, she helps a rector’s wife solve the murder of a man left on the back porch. Unfortunately, she may have to break the rules, the Precepts for Earthly Visitations, in order to do so. In the fourth and latest title in the series, Ghost Gone Wild (2013), Bailey saves a young man from being shot. From the author of the Death on Demand and Henry O. series.
Murder in Vein by Sue Ann Jaffarian (2010) – Bobby Piper targets waitress Madison Rose, but then she’s luckily rescued by a vampire? Madison’s savior is indeed a vampire and he and an in-the-know LAPD detective convince Madison to help them track down the vamp behind Bobby’s serial murders. First in the Fang-in-Cheek mystery series. The second and most recent title is Baited Blood (2011). Jaffarian also writes the Ghost of Granny Apples mystery series, featuring a sleuth who can communicate with ghosts.
Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye by Victoria Laurie (2004) – Psychic intuitive Abby works with her spirit guides to solve cases. In her first outing, Abby investigates the death of one of her clients. Lethal Outlook (2013) is the tenth and latest title in the Psychic Eye series by real-life clairvoyant and police psychic Victoria Laurie.
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Have you read these or other books in the series? Comment on your favorite paranormal mysteries.