Dark Bayou


Nancy K. Duplechain - 2010
    That was when we saw the cabin, far off in a corner on the west bank. It was as I had seen it in my dreams—rustic long-forgotten by the world, save for whatever occupied its malevolent little frame. And whatever it was, was nothing more than a black silhouette in a creaking rocking chair on the tiny porch. As I stared at the phantom rocker, it suddenly stopped in mid rock, picked up its head and turned to me, grinning, and started rocking away, never taking its yellow eyes off of me. And there, in the humid twilight of the swamp, a bitter chill washed over me, and my spine felt like ice.When Leigh Benoit returns home to Louisiana for the funeral of her brother and his wife, she becomes increasingly concerned about the welfare of her orphaned niece, Lyla. She is prompted by her grandmother, Clothilde, to move back to take care of her. Leigh has no desire to take on any responsibility, and being home again brings back painful memories. At the funeral, Leigh’s childhood friend, Detective Lucas Castille, tells her the mysterious details of the accident that killed her brother and his wife. Lucas’ young son has dreams of a Dark Man who wishes to harm Lyla. Leigh begins to have similar dreams. She struggles with her rational mind but vows to protect her niece. Soon, she finds out there is more to the story and more to her grandmother than she thought.

The Haunting of Towneley Manor


Jack Lewis - 2016
    Something happened to her in the manor when she was fourteen, but she can’t remember any of it. A whole month of her childhood is just blank, and nobody will tell her what caused it. Shortly after, her parents sent her to boarding school without any explanation and she thought she would never go back again. A decade on, Tamara can’t sleep. She has nightmares about the house and the brooding woods. She sees a dark place in her dreams, a place she knows she mustn’t go. Something is waiting in the woods of Towneley Manor, and the only thing Tamara can remember is the symbol she sees in her dreams. An eye surround by a black sun. Watching her. Never letting her go. The Towneley family keep dark secrets, and the manor holds the worst of them. Children dying in the walls, servants disappearing. As Tamara unwinds the secrets of her family, she starts to discover what happened to her all those years ago. When her memory unfolds and she finds out what haunts the halls of Towneley Manor, she soon wishes she had never gone back…

Her Dear and Loving Husband


Meredith Allard - 2011
    With elements of Twilight and The Crucible, Her Dear & Loving Husband is a story for anyone who believes that true love never dies. James Wentworth has a secret. He lives quietly in Salem, Massachusetts, making few ties anywhere. One night his private world is turned upside down when he meets Sarah Alexander, a dead ringer for his wife, Elizabeth. Though it has been years since Elizabeth's death, James cannot move on. Sarah also has a secret. She is haunted by nightmares about the Salem Witch Trials, and every night she is awakened by visions of hangings, being arrested, and dying in jail. Despite the obstacles of their secrets, James and Sarah fall in love. As James comes to terms with his feelings for Sarah, he must dodge accusations from a reporter desperate to prove that James is not who, or what, he seems to be. With the help of their friends, witches Jennifer and Olivia, James and Sarah piece their stories together and discover a mystery that may bind them in ways they never imagined. Will James make the ultimate sacrifice to protect Sarah and prevent a new hunt from bringing hysteria to Salem again?

The Casebook of Inspector Blackstone


Sally Spencer - 2017
    Yet to Inspector Sam Blackstone, the case is as puzzling as any he has ever come across. As his investigation proceeds, Blackstone finds himself entering the world of the aristocracy and tramping the dangerous streets of London's Little Russia, where English law and order are not welcome. So begins the illustrious career of the talented inspector, who earns the equal ire and respect of his superiors for his controversial tactics. Absorbing in their detailed depictions of the period, gripping in their ingenious plots, this trilogy of historical whodunnits is the perfect box set for any mystery-lover. Praise for Sally Spencer 'Spencer's finest hour: a tightly plotted puzzler with surprises at every turn' – Kirkus Reviews 'Spencer is an accomplished craftsman who serves up a good puzzle and deftly solves it with intelligence and insight' – Publishers Weekly Sally Spencer worked as a teacher both in England and Iran - where she witnessed the fall of the Shah. She now writes full time.

A Circle in the Woods


Winston Emerson - 2012
    What do you want from me? Why don't you just take it and leave me alone?"In a place where people have been disappearing for years, a little girl gets lost in the woods. Meet the man who saves her life.On a late summer morning in 1958, Phil Stapleton discovers and rescues five-year-old Brittany Duncan after she spends two days lost deep in the Kentucky woods. Two months later, when a tree branch crashes through the rickety trailer where Brittany lives, Phil takes the girl and her mother under his roof. What follows is a decade of mystery, terror, violence, and tragedy, with no escape in sight.A Circle in the Woods is a novel that lulls and charms its reader while quietly drawing a knife.

The Guest House Hauntings Boxset: A Riveting Haunted House Mystery


Hazel Holmes - 2021
    While its citizens have fallen on hard times, they've managed to survive decades of harsh, northern winters. But when drifter Sarah Pembrooke rolls into town looking for work, the frigid cold will be the least of their worries.

A Gift of Grace


Sarah Wynde - 2018
    And he’s driving them crazy, too. For Noah Blake, pretending to be normal is getting harder by the day. A brush with death in Iraq has left him suffering from chronic auditory hallucinations. Ignoring the voices he hears isn’t always easy, but Noah knows it’s better than the alternatives. Yet when a mysterious redhead hands him a seemingly innocuous business card, a new voice — that of a teenage boy — becomes too insistent to deny. It wants him to go to Tassamara. It swears he’ll find help there. It’s bad enough to have hallucinations, but doing what they say is bound to lead to disaster. Isn’t it? ***** In the quirky small town of Tassamara, Florida, everyone's got psychic abilities. Or almost everyone. Grace Latimer is the only one in her family who doesn't. But she doesn't need them: she's got compassion, common sense, and courage, and that's all it will take to help Noah, a handsome stranger with a serious ghost problem. Well, that, and a little assistance from the rest of the town. Featuring Dillon, Rose, Akira, and the rest of the Latimer family, plus the long-awaited return of Henry!

The Paragon Element


Lezlee Cheek Hale - 2012
    If the boy next door is secretly a sorcerer who hunts and kills nightmarish creatures the world doesn’t know exist. Aerick works for MAGE (Mind and Aetheric Government Enforcers), a centuries old organization that keeps humans oblivious to the existence of magic. It also protects the Barrier, a metaphysical wall that separates this realm from one of wild magic and things of dreams and darkness.But now the Barrier is failing. As Aerick is sent on his most dangerous assignment yet, he begins to suspect MAGE’s reasons for protecting the Barrier may not be all they seem. A partnership with an exiled fae princess and a visit from the legendary Merlin put Aerick on a path to discover he is more than what he knows.Aerick’s blood might very well be the key to the Barrier’s destruction. MAGE convinced him that protecting the Barrier was the only way to save the world. Now Aerick isn’t so sure. The only way to save the world may be to pull the Barrier down and hope humanity can survive the aftermath.Note: this book was previously published with Kindle under the same title. This is a 2nd Edition revision of that book.

Whisper


Michael Bray - 2013
    A place for Steve & Melody Samson to begin their new life together away from the noise and crime of the city. However, their new home – an idyllic cottage nestled deep within the dense solitude of Oakwell forest-has a disturbing history, hidden for generations by the locals. There is evil in Hope House, and the cursed forest that surrounds it. Evil that has awakened after lying dormant for decades, and has terrifying plans for the young couple.Once you hear the whispers, it may already be too late.

A Fine and Private Place


Peter S. Beagle - 1960
    Trapped in the dark limbo between life and death as a ghost, he searches for an escape. Instead, he discovers the beautiful Laura...and a love stronger than the boundaries of the grave and the spirit world.

Dark Entry


John B. Kachuba - 2012
    She finds refuge at her friend’s home nestled in the woods atop Coltsfoot Mountain in Connecticut. The house stands alone except for old cellar holes from the 18th century ghost-town called Dudleytown, formerly inhabited by charcoal makers. The isolation and the deep, dark woods surrounding the house relax her, but there is something sinister living in the woods. As a vindictive Kevin searches for her, Sandy meets Nathan Bishop, a descendant of one of the original Dudleytown settlers. He tells her about the curse that had been visited upon Dudleytown by the spirit of a murdered Indian sachem, resulting in murders, suicides, Indian massacres, shootings, and other forms of mayhem inflicted upon the villagers. What they are both about to discover is that the curse has returned . . . for them.Based on the true-life story of Dudleytown, Dark Entry is an engrossing and chilling tale that will have you reading with the lights on.

The Wishing House


Emma-Nicole Lewis - 2015
     Behind an old dilapidated cottage in a peaceful Shropshire village, is an ancient wishing well. Surrounded by superstition and folklore dating back to the civil war, the well and the house have been left untouched by the locals. When a stranger to the village buys the house, the well is disturbed…. Present Day - Unexpected circumstances lead Milly Lyle to move to The Wishing House, a quintessential country cottage recently restored and renovated by her lover. With its chocolate box looks, quaint location and the pretty well outside, it seems the perfect place for a fresh start. Then she hears of the legend of the Wishing Well Witch and the noises, dreams and strange events begin. 1642 – the turn of the civil war. Constance Yorke, the troubled wife of the parish Clergyman, finds herself turning to the wishing well behind her house for answers to her prayers. Plagued with visions portending a country torn in two by a bloody war waged by the King, it seems that Constance may have dabbled with things that she shouldn’t. Growing more isolated from her distant husband and the other villagers, she is left with nothing but her wishing well and the curious white dog that keeps appearing. When Prince Rupert and his Cavaliers ride through Sleepers Brook after a skirmish at Powick Bridge, it seems that Constance Yorke’s visions are coming true and that perhaps, she really is falling foul of witchcraft. As times collide, one woman’s quest for retribution becomes another’s peril in a chilling story of love, jealousy, betrayal and revenge.