by Sunny Frazier

At the end of this post are details on how to win copies of some past Coming Attractions featured books- Better Homes & Corpses by Kathleen Bridge, Just Another Termination by Linda Thorne, and an ebook copy of Children of Noah by Neil Plakcy.

There’s magic in the air, as well as mystical felines, tarot cards, psychic mirrors, magic potions, retired witches—and murder. Read on if you dare!

When a special art exhibit comes to the Mayville Heights Library in Minnesota, librarian Kathleen Paulson has to deal with an overbearing curator and a high-tech security system. What could possibly go wrong? Well, the curator is found dead and an important piece of art goes missing. It’s up to magical cats Owen and Hercules to help their mistress find the killer. Faux Paw is the seventh in the Magical Cat Mysteries by Sofie Kelly.

It’s all about the Big Easy and tarot in Laura Childs’s Parchment and Old Lace. An obnoxious bride-to-be is found in the Lafayette Cemetery strangled with vintage lace. The victim’s sister, who reads tarot cards at Juju Voodoo, asks Carmela Bertrand and her detective boyfriend to do the sleuthing. This is lucky number 13 in the Scrapbooking Mystery series—and tips are included.

The antique oak bureau looks just like the one Lee Barrett lost in a fire as a child. It has secret compartments and a legacy of previous owners’ murders. It’s a great find—until the antique dealer is found dead. Lee uses the bureau’s tarnished mirror to tap into psychic visions. Look Both Ways is number three in the Witch City Mysteries by Carol J. Perry. (You guessed that Witch City refers to Salem, Massachusetts, right?)

Carly is so over Halloween! She’s got enough ghosts in her life on a regular basis in Hitching Post, Alabama. She agrees reluctantly to go to a costume ball held by her boyfriend’s mother. The town architect has a big announcement, but before he can speak, he’s found dead—with the hostess standing over him holding a weapon! Now ghosts are haunting Carly to help them, including the late architect’s spirit. Ghost of a Potion is Magic Potion Mystery number three by Heather Blake.

It’s not just sharks patrolling the North Carolina coastline in Looking For Mr. Good Witch. Bodies show up on the shore as a sea witch trolls for the perfect male witch with whom to mate so she can live another century. Retired witches Molly and Elsie recruit ghosts Olivia and Dorothy, a cream puff-craving mermaid and a selkie, to put a stop to the dating ritual. This is the second in the Retired Witches Mysteries from the writing team of Joyce and Jim Lavene.

It’s tough enough being a newlywed without in-laws pushing for offspring. New Chapel florist Abby Knight has even more stress when a former banker bites the dust and the window-washer is the prime suspect. Solving the crime makes this florist grumpy in Florist Grump, number 17 in the Florist Shop Mysteries by Kate Collins.

A man who spent 25 years behind bars for a tragic fire suddenly shows up in Granford, Masschusetts, just as orchard owner Meg Corely is planning her wedding. He claims he’s innocent and wants Meg to find the real criminal. You not only get a fun mystery but apple recipes in A Gala Event, Orchard Mystery number nine by Sheila Connolly.

The Country Store Mysteries is a new series launched by Maddie Day. Robbie Jordan has traded the West Coast for South Lick, Indiana. Before long, she opens Pans ‘n Pancakes in an old country store. But when the mayor’s assistant is found dead at the reopening, Robbie has to clear her name by solving the murder. You’ll be Flipped For Murder with this mystery!

On a more serious note, and close to today’s headlines: when a Kenilworth PD officer mistakenly shoots a pregnant teen, the community is up in arms. Police psychologist Dot Meyerhoff ignores the chief’s orders to back off and jeopardizes her career to investigate. The Right Wrong Thing, the second Dot Meyerhoff Mystery, is penned by Ellen Kirschman, Ph.D, herself a police psychologist for over 30 years.

To enter to win a copy of Better Homes & Corpses by Kathleen Bridge, Just Another Termination by Linda Thorne, and an ebook copy of Children of Noah by Neil Plakcy , simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “haunted” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen after October 3, 2015. U.S. residents only.

Check out other mystery articles, reviews, book giveaways & short stories in our mystery section. Check back every month for Coming Attractions!

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Sunny Frazier worked with an undercover narcotics team in Fresno County for 17 years before turning her energies to writing the Christy Bristol Astrology Mysteries. Based in the San Joaquin Valley of California, the novels are inspired by real cases and 35 years of casting horoscopes.