Book picks similar to
Dead Man's Hand by J.A. Ironside
lgbtqai
mystery
paranormal-supernatural
unlikely-heroines
Storm's Child
John Ortega - 2020
But after the mysterious death of one of his employees, Nathan finds himself suspecting the fae, an ancient and powerful race he would rather avoid. Nathan’s choice is clear; dive back into a world that thinks he is dead, or let a murderer go free.
Tracy the Fire Witch
P.G. Allison - 2019
government's special task force asks her to join the team they're sending to Germany. They're hoping to stir up those terrorists and make them scramble. The team already has one witch plus a couple of werewolves. Having Tracy along will provide them with some added firepower. When she asks her soulmate John if he's okay with going with her, he replies, "Germany? Werewolves? Maybe some terrorists? What's not to like?"
Earth Spells Are Easy
Renee George - 2021
At least that’s what I thought. I mean, starting over really does stink, but when it comes to magic, I have to rethink everything.I’ve spent the last year since my ex left me going through the motions. Get up. Work. Care for a grumpy teenager. Cook dinner. Go to bed. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.Nothing changes... Until it does.After bidding on a box of old books at an estate auction, I’m experiencing changes.And I’m not talking about menopause.My garden gnome Linda has come to life. No, really. Her name is Linda, and she never shuts up. A chonky cat with a few secrets of his own has adopted me. And a gorgeous professor of the occult tells me I’m a witch.Right now, I’m not sure who’s crazier—me, Linda or the hottie professor.If this is my new reality, it’s nature’s cruel midlife trick. I’m learning fast that earth spells might be easy, but they aren’t cheap. All magic exacts a toll, and if I don’t master the elements, the elements will be the death of me.Literally.
The Vanity Case (Sondra Blake, #1)
Niall Teasdale - 2018
Officer Sondra Blake of the NYPD went insane overnight and spent the next decade in a mental institution hastily set up to handle people like her, people afflicted by the magic which had suddenly appeared on Earth. In 2018, Sondra is the most senior detective in the NYPD’s Arcane Crimes Unit. Presented with a new partner, Sondra gets no time to train him as they are thrust into a new murder case with some worrying overtones. A young woman has aged to death in a few minutes while apparently collecting a barrage of disease symptoms she could not possibly have. Someone has used demonic magic to kill her, and the only suspect is the suave, handsome leading actor of an action movie being shot in New York, Dillan Archer. With tension rising toward riots in Orctown, Sondra and her partner, Clarke, must track down a serial killer who has remained undetected for decades before the current run of victims ends and the killer vanishes again for another seven years.
Immortal Merlin, Books 1-4: Ignition, Winded, Floodgates, Buried
Emma Shelford - 2020
Read the first four Musings of Merlin books here! "A marvelous modern take on the legendary Merlin... A definite must-read!" - Readers' Favorite "Ignition is... a unique take on [Merlin's] life without Arthur." - Bibliophilic Book Blog "Highly recommended for lovers of fantasy and the Merlin legends." - Amazon Reviewer Ignition, Book 1: Merlin, the legendary King Arthur’s mysterious magician, is immortal. As Arthur lay dying he promised to return. Merlin is holding him to his word. Forever young, forever waiting, Merlin lives an unassuming life in the city, keeping his identity and abilities secret from his friends. It's a long and lonely road, but Merlin is a patient man. It's now the 21st century and when the earth begins to groan with earthquakes, Merlin knows the situation is anything but natural. An eruption is imminent, but something—or someone—is forcing this volcano to erupt. Merlin must use his concealed talents and practiced charisma to save a town of innocent people before disaster strikes. He has the power to thwart a catastrophe—if time doesn’t run out first. Winded, Book 2: Merry Lytton, or Merlin as he was once known, has been waiting for the return of his friend King Arthur for centuries. It's an eventful wait: only weeks ago, he stopped a wicked plot to magically erupt a nearby volcano. Merry's latest worry is the revelation of his immortality—his modern-day friends are a little too curious. They do not need to know he has a history that could fill a library. Unknown to Merlin, the organization Potestas is furious at his geologic meddling, and an enraged member of the group is determined to wreak vengeance. For the first time in Merlin's ancient life, he must confront an enemy vastly more powerful than himself. Battling high in the skies and over mountain peaks, will Merlin's foe leave him breathless—forever? Floodgates, Book 3: Merlin the magician from centuries past now lives in Vancouver as an unremarkable young professor known as Merry Lytton. Merry keeps his secrets from friends and foes alike while infiltrating the nefarious organization known as Potestas, whose goal is to gain unimaginable power. Potestas' charismatic leader has welcomed Merry into the group, but for what purpose? Merry soon discovers that Potestas must recover King Arthur's holy grail to complete its plans, but the grail is firmly fused to the seafloor by magical means. As Merry is threatened by hostile spirits and hallucinations, will he succeed in stopping Potestas before they unleash the full fury of the ocean's power? Buried, Book 4: Immortal Merlin, known as Merry Lytton to his twenty-first century friends, is in a battle of wits with the powerful Potestas organization. Potestas is determined to gain unimaginable powers for its members, and Merry holds the key to unlocking this ambition. In exchange, Potestas promises to reveal crucial information on Merry’s heritage and answer questions he’s had for centuries. But when Merry learns that Potestas plans a human sacrifice, he is in a race against evil. Can he save an innocent life before a destructive new reality is thrust upon an unsuspecting world?
The Necromancer's House
Christopher Buehlman - 2013
We know where you are. And we are coming.”The man on the screen says this in Russian.“Who are you?”The man smiles, but it’s not a pleasant smile.The image freezes.The celluloid burns exactly where his mouth is, burns in the nearly flat U of his smile. His eyes burn, too.The man fades, leaving the burning smiley face smoldering on the screen.“Oh Christ,” Andrew says.The television catches fire.Andrew Ranulf Blankenship is a handsome, stylish nonconformist with wry wit, a classic Mustang, and a massive library. He is also a recovering alcoholic and a practicing warlock, able to speak with the dead through film. His house is a maze of sorcerous booby traps and escape tunnels, as yours might be if you were sitting on a treasury of Russian magic stolen from the Soviet Union thirty years ago. Andrew has long known that magic was a brutal game requiring blood sacrifice and a willingness to confront death, but his many years of peace and comfort have left him soft, more concerned with maintaining false youth than with seeing to his own defense. Now a monster straight from the pages of Russian folklore is coming for him, and frost and death are coming with her.
Mischief and Magic: A Collection of Cozy Witch Mysteries
Skylar Finn - 2019
Her grandmother teaches about the history of their coven in order to save them from the dark witch who threatens not only them but every witch in the world. WItch Myth Christmas Noelle Summers loves Christmas, but everything goes terribly wrong when someone casts a spell that makes every day a holiday. As the only one aware of the time loop, Noelle must find a way to reverse the mistake before Yew Hollow's festive cheer attracts the attention of dangerous magical visitors.
Necropolis PD
Nathan Sumsion - 2019
But three months ago, he ran through the wrong door and found himself trapped in the city of Meridian – a literal necropolis, concealed from the modern world, made up of forgotten places and populated entirely by the dead. As the only living, breathing resident, Jake has struggled to scrape out an existence while waiting for the Necropolis Police Department to decide his fate, and it’s not looking good. But when an unusual string of crimes hits the city, Jake’s overseer and tormentor, NPD Detective Marsh offers him a deal: Jake’s life in exchange for helping them solve the worst series of crimes in the necropolis’ history. Someone, or some thing is killing the dead, and if Jake can’t figure out who’s responsible, he could be next. Necropolis PD is a hidden world fantasy that combines mystery, horror, magic, and more than a little humor. This book is perfect for the living and recently-departed alike.
Witch Myth: A Yew Hollow Christmas- Book 1
Alexandria Clarke - 2018
With help of her two best friends and her cousin Morgan, Noelle discovers that an evil witch has plans to abduct all of the kids in town. Can she find her student in time to save him and the rest of Yew Hollow’s children?
The Wine of Angels
Phil Rickman - 1998
Merrily Watkins had never wanted a picture-perfect parish — or a huge and haunted vicarage. Nor had she wanted to walk straight into a local dispute over a controversial play about a strange 17th-century clergyman accused of witchcraft. But this is Ledwardine, steeped in cider and secrets. And, as Merrily and her daughter Jane discover, it is a village where horrific murder is an age-old tradition.
What the Hex
Constance Barker - 2019
Lucky me. Hey, I'm Lilith Blackward and when I was young and stupid I commandeered a spell that ripped a hole in time and took me to the worst day of my life. Actually, my life was over but, well, you get the drift. Now I'm saddled with my older self's ghost who is very irritating. Yes, I realize I'm talking about myself. Why is life so complicated? So now I must figure out how I was murdered. How do I know I was killed...because Older Lilith's Ghost can't remember how she died and the only way that happens is if I was murdered. At least that's what they tell me. But in the meantime I'm a witch private investigator hired by a Coven detective to find another missing Coven detective. She was sent undercover and hasn't checked in for months. She was to infiltrate a cult called the Cold Dawn. Funny, that name sounds somehow familiar. Speaking of familiar...my familiar is a little different. His name is Sir Kain and he was a knight in his former life. Now he is a living statue. Why couldn't I have gotten a little furball familiar? Oh well, Sir Kain has grown on me and I wouldn't trade him for the world now, especially since he's saved my life one or 20 times. So hold onto your hats kids...this will be a bumpy ride! ***This is the First Book in the Lilith Blackward Cozy Witch Series***
Spirelli Paranormal Investigations: Episodes 4-6
Kate Baray - 2020
Unexpected clients, deadly magical objects, and a disturbingly aware house lead the duo to the edge of catastrophe more than once in this collection.
The Twisted Ones
T. Kingfisher - 2019
After all, how bad could it be? Answer: pretty bad. Grandma was a hoarder, and her house is stuffed with useless rubbish. That would be horrific enough, but there’s more—Mouse stumbles across her step-grandfather’s journal, which at first seems to be filled with nonsensical rants…until Mouse encounters some of the terrifying things he described for herself. Alone in the woods with her dog, Mouse finds herself face to face with a series of impossible terrors—because sometimes the things that go bump in the night are real, and they’re looking for you. And if she doesn’t face them head on, she might not survive to tell the tale. From Hugo Award–winning author Ursula Vernon, writing as T. Kingfisher.
The Haret
Denise Daisy - 2011
How could she be pregnant when she is still a virgin, and how can she convince her father, the town’s most prominent Baptist minister, that she is innocent of any promiscuity? Felicitas vanishes on the evening she learns of her pregnancy. Unnerved by her mysterious disappearance, the small town unites and searches for their missing teen. During the investigation, news of her pregnancy surfaces along with a peculiar Nocturnal Journal found hidden in her bedroom. The journal reveals cryptic messages along with detailed encounters with an enticing nighttime visitor.A week later she is found roaming the woods, confused and unaware as to where she has spent the past seven days. With the help of her estranged grandmother, Felicitas finds the answers to the secrets shrouding her missing week, traces her roots back ten generations, and makes a startling discovery that someone very close to her is not who they seem.
Some Kind of Fairy Tale
Graham Joyce - 2012
It pulls him away from his wife and children and into a bewildering mystery.He arrives at his parents house and discovers that they have a visitor. His sister Tara. Not so unusual you might think, this is Christmas after all, a time when families get together. But twenty years ago Tara took a walk into the woods and never came back and as the years have gone by with no word from her the family have, unspoken, assumed that she was dead. Now she's back, tired, dirty, disheveled, but happy and full of stories about twenty years spent traveling the world, an epic odyssey taken on a whim.But her stories don't quite hang together and once she has cleaned herself up and got some sleep it becomes apparent that the intervening years have been very kind to Tara. She really does look no different from the young woman who walked out the door twenty years ago. Peter's parents are just delighted to have their little girl back, but Peter and his best friend Richie, Tara's one time boyfriend, are not so sure. Tara seems happy enough but there is something about her. A haunted, otherworldly quality. Some would say it's as if she's off with the fairies. And as the months go by Peter begins to suspect that the woods around their homes are not finished with Tara and his family...