Critters and Crimes

 

 

A quaint riverside town holds many secrets ... 

and the only ones who’ve seen it all are the critters.

Critters and Crimes

Magical Cozy Mystery Book Club #11

by Elizabeth Pantley

Genre: Paranormal Cozy Mystery 

A quaint riverside town holds many secrets ... and the only ones who’ve seen it all are the critters.

This book club dives (literally!) into the pages of a cozy mystery. The quirky group must solve the mystery to get out of the book. It’s so much fun - you’ll wish you had a book club like this!

In this journey, they choose a book set in a lovely riverside town. They land in a charming neighborhood and find they are part of a local book club. They are having a great time – and then a dead body shows up. (Of course it does!)

The clues to what happened come to them in a unique way – via the critters in the house.

As usual, the club finds plenty of time to enjoy the unique setting of their journey, as they solve the mystery – one critter at a time.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~


This book is part of a magical cozy mystery series of 11 books and growing.

Each book can be read as a standalone, but are much more fun in order.

Available in eBook, paperback, Kindle Unlimited, and audiobook.

 

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Chapter 1

  

“Hey!” Frank shouted the word as he landed with a thump on the deck right in front of me.

“Ack!” I jumped and grabbed the pillow beside me for protection. I nearly fell off the porch swing. “Don’t do that!”

Frank snickered. His tail flicked back and forth and his ears twitched.

“You startled me!”

“Really? It was so hard to tell.” He snorted with laughter.

I peeked from behind the pillow and shook a finger at him. “Bad cat!”

That just made him laugh harder. He rolled over on his back and waved his paws in the air.

He looked so silly that I relaxed and began to laugh, too.

“Good morning to you,” I said, as I smoothed out the pillow that had been my so-called protection.

Frank finally caught his breath and sat up. “What’cha doing out here all alone, Paige-o-roonie?”

“I was having a quiet, reflective morning. Did you catch the definitive word there? I ‘was’ having a quiet morning.”

“Are you implying that I interrupted you?”

“Not implying. Stating a fact.”

“For good reason.” He chuckled. “I see you have some coffee there.” He pointed his nose at my cup. “Want to go get this kitty a bowlful?” He crossed his front feet, tipped his head to the side and widened his eyes. Then to up his cuteness quotient, he batted his lashes. “Please?”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake,” I laughed, getting up from the swing. “I’ll be right back.”

I went into the kitchen to exchange my coffee for a cup of tea. Frank had jump started my heart, so I didn’t need any more caffeine. I fixed Frank a bowl of his favorite morning beverage: half-coffee, half-creamer. Any normal cat would be sick from the brew, but our magical library cat was not anything resembling normal.

The house was quiet as I grabbed our drinks and returned to the porch. I set Frank’s bowl on the table and sat on the swing. I took a big sip from my cup.

Frank took a leap over to the table and inhaled the aroma wafting from his bowl. He slurped greedily then gave a moan of delight. He tipped his head at me. “What were these reflective thoughts that I interrupted?”

I tapped a finger to my lips in thought, and glanced at my book, which lay quietly on the table beside me. For once, I didn’t have my nose in a cozy mystery. Instead, I had been rocking back and forth on the porch swing, enjoying the sounds of the birds and the quiet whisper of the wind through the trees as I had let my mind wander, until Frank had disrupted me.

“I’d been cycling through many topics, one after the other.”

“Maybe you were clearing your mind’s way for the upcoming new book adventure?”

“That’s probably true. Once we get inside a book, I won’t have time to ponder anything but the mystery we need to solve.”

 

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Elizabeth Pantley is a bestselling author of fiction and non-fiction books. She writes two well-loved cozy mystery series: The Magical Mystery Book Club, and the Destiny Falls Mystery and Magic series. She has also written the international bestselling No-Cry Solution parenting book series that is available in over twenty languages.

Elizabeth lives in the majestic Pacific Northwest and spends winters in the sunny desert of Arizona. While neither location is home to any paranormal beings (that she knows of) the vastly different yet equally lovely locations are the inspiration for the settings in many of her books.

 

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Primal Destiny

 

Fate that refuses to be ignored

Primal Destiny

by Dania Voss

Genre: Steamy Paranormal Romance

The secret is out. Shifters exist and live among humans.

Humans fall into two camps: Those who consider shifters monsters but manage to co-exist with them, and those who want to get close to them, relishing their power.

Tessa Cooper, a single mother devoted to her three-year-old daughter, is firmly in the first camp, doing her best to keep her biases to herself. But one look at Dario Kingston Renzetti, a wealthy lion shifter, and she senses her life will never be the same.

The moment Dario sees Tessa in his bar, he knows he’s found his fated mate – age difference be damned. Learning she wants nothing to do with shifters – especially romantically – is another matter altogether. But nobody said he wasn't determined.

Can Dario’s persistence convince Tessa he’s not hiding dark secrets that would reinforce her opinion of shifters, or will she deny them their primal destiny?

Pick up this steamy, age gap, rejected mate paranormal romance today and find out.

 

 

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“And saving the best for last,” Fabrizio said, brows waggling, “Models Grace Mills and Amy Gray, and actress Paulina Brzezinski have agreed to be featured.”

Tessa rolled her eyes and continued taking notes, not saying a word.

“Problem, mate? Or rather, Tessa?”

Tessa’s irritation with Dario reignited. If she was smart, she’d keep her opinions to herself and her mouth shut. The challenge and arrogance in Dario’s gleaming blue eyes spurred Tessa on.

“Yes actually, since you asked. I have to wonder why the company hasn’t created a women’s edition. It’s the 21^st century. Sophisticated, contemporary women are interested in similar topics the men’s edition features. From a different perspective, but still. And women consider men’s bodies beautiful. Who among the ladies in this room wouldn’t mind admiring someone like Eric Nelson at least shirtless?”

Maya and a few other women in the room, including Legra all smiled in agreement, nodding enthusiastically.

Tessa couldn’t discern what Dario might have been thinking, but she wasn’t through. “It seems rather sexist to me considering women are over fifty percent of the population and seventy percent of the electorate in the U.S. Why not parlay the success and expand the brand of The Fundamental Gentleman to The Fundamental Woman?”

Tessa knew she was out of line, but Dario got on her nerves and played havoc with her emotions. It could be a “mate thing” or a “man thing” or a “Dario’s a cocky jerk thing” – she wasn’t sure which, but there it was. And there they were.

No one said a word, presumably waiting on Dario’s response to Tessa’s outburst.

He was going to fire her for sure.

How was Tessa going to explain that to Emelia?

Damn Dario and her big mouth.

Dario’s gaze turned fierce and possessive. “Tell me. Do you find my body beautiful?”

Tessa felt a flush slowly creep across her cheeks and squirmed in her chair. Of course she did. She’d dreamed about him and his beautiful body since Halloween night. The most sexy, erotic dreams she’d ever had. Not that she would admit it to him, especially in a room full of virtual strangers.

“God, they’re so cute.” Tessa heard Fabrizio whisper a little too loudly.

“You’re hopeless. Out of everything I just said – your takeaway is fishing for a compliment about your body?”

“Question answered. In the affirmative.” Dario’s chuckle served to piss Tessa off even more.

Int’l bestseller and award-winning author Dania Voss writes compelling, sexy romance with personality, heat, and heart. Born in Rome, Italy and raised in Chicagoland, she creates stories with authentic, engaging characters. She loves anything pink and is a huge fan of 80s hair bands.

A favorite with romance readers, her debut novel “On the Ropes,” the first in her Windy City Nights series, became an international bestseller. Dania’s books have won multiple awards, and her work has been highlighted on NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX. She has been featured in the Chicago Tribune, Southern Writers Magazine, and Chicago Entrepreneurs Magazine (selected as the #8 Top Chicago Author in 2021).

When she’s not writing, you can find Dania at a sporting event, a rock concert, or the movies (preferably a comedy).

 

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To Climb a Distant Mountain

 

One woman's inspirational tale about expressing joy amid loss and suffering.

To Climb a Distant Mountain:

A Daughter’s Tribute to Her Diabetic Mother

by Laurisa White Reyes

Genre: Historical True Memoir

In 1974, at the age of twenty-six, Cynthia Ball White was diagnosed with Juvenile Diabetes. Today, it is estimated that 1.25 million Americans suffer from what is now referred to as Type I diabetes, compared to 38 million who have Type 2 (adult onset) diabetes. It is a merciless disease that often leads to blindness, neuropathy, amputations, and a host of other ailments, including a shortened life span.

Despite battling diabetes for forty-five years, Cyndi beat the odds. Not only did she outlive the average Type I diabetic, but until her last week of life in 2021, she had all her “parts intact”. Her daughter often called her a walking miracle. But more impressive was Cyndi’s positive outlook on life, even in the midst of tremendous loss and suffering.

The author hopes that in sharing Cyndi’s story, others may be inspired to face their own struggles with the same faith, courage, and joy as her mother did.

 

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Growing up watching my mom suffer from neuropathy, glaucoma (damage to the eyes), and occasional insulin reactions and hospitalizations took its toll on me. Concern for my mother’s life was my constant companion.

One day, after I had walked the two miles home from school, I entered my unusually quiet house. Normally at that time, I’d come home to find Mom bustling about, but not today. I called for her but received no response. Finally, I stepped into her bedroom. The drapes were drawn, and the room was dark as night. Mom lay on her bed on her stomach, face turned against her pillow, an arm drooping over the side of the bed. For a moment, a spasm of fear shot through me. Was Mom dead? I stood frozen in place for what felt an eternity, though it was mere seconds before Mom stirred, waking from her nap. She noticed me, smiled, and asked how school was. I never told her what I’d thought, or how deeply that flash of fear traumatized me.

I remember one evening when we were all sitting around the dining table for dinner. The mood was lighthearted, relaxed, and we were all just gabbing about things and sharing jokes. My dad had a good one: “What do you find up an elephant’s trunk?” He paused, then answered, “An eight-foot booger!”

We all laughed, including Mom. But as most of our laughter died down, Mom’s didn’t. She kept on laughing. In fact, she couldn’t stop. Seeing her so consumed by laughter was funnier than the joke, and the rest of us continued laughing—at her. Mom was laughing so hard that tears fell down her cheeks. Then Dad realized what was happening.

Diabetics, when their glucose levels drop dangerously low, are often mistaken for being drunk. Some act belligerently, as depicted by Julia Roberts in the film Steel Magnolias. Others become “tipsy”, slurring their speech or becoming unbalanced. Still others are the “friendly” drunks, overly cheerful and humorous.

Another sign of a diabetic reaction is when the patient slows down. Long ago, there was a popular TV commercial with the Energizer Bunny. As its batteries died, the toy moved slower and slower until it finally stopped. Like a wind-up clock losing time, or that bunny decelerating, that’s what it was like for Mom as her glucose levels dropped, and that’s how Dad knew Mom was in danger. Mom could not control her laughter, and then her batteries started to die.

Dad did not even stop to test her blood. He ran for the kitchen and hurriedly poured a glass of orange juice, a constant staple in our house, then coaxed Mom to drink it. It wasn’t easy. She couldn’t focus on what needed to be done, to open her lips and swallow—all between ever-weakening guffaws. If Dad had hesitated even one more minute, she would have lost consciousness, been unable to drink the juice, and would have needed an ambulance. We knew. We’d seen it happen before. Fortunately, Dad saved the day—like he always did and always would. My dad is a real-life Superman.

As a family, we continued to retell that incident for decades. Repeating Dad’s joke always elicited chuckles from us all, including Mom, but in reality, it was one of many, many too close for comfort moments in our lives.

 

  

Last Summer in Algonac

by Laurisa White Reyes

Genre: Fictionalized Family Biography

From the Spark Award-winning author of The Storytellers & Petals...

The summer of 1938 is idyllic for fourteen-year-old Dorothy Ann Reid. She’s spent every summer of her life visiting her grandparent’s home on the banks of the St. Clair River in Algonac, Michigan. But unbeknownst to her, this will be her last. As Dorothy and her family pass their time swimming, fishing, and boating, they are blissfully unaware that tragedy lurks just around the corner.

Last Summer in Algonac is a fictionalized account of the author’s grandmother and her family’s final summer before her father’s suicide, which altered their lives forever. Inspired by real people and events, Laurisa Reyes has woven threads of truth with imagination, creating a “what if” tale. No one living today knows the details leading to Bertram Reid’s death, but thanks to decades of letters, personal interviews, historical research, and a visit to Algonac, Reyes attempts to resolve unanswered questions, and provide solace and closure to the Reid family at last.

 

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We all noticed the silver Cadillac when it first turned onto our street. Sleek and shiny as a brand new silver dollar. But when it parked in front of the house, even the men laid down their hands to look.

The driver’s side door opened, and out stepped a short, squat woman with hair all white, curled and set to perfection. She wore round silver spectacles on her nose and a lilac dress. She shut the car door with a confident slam and perched her fists on her hips, taking in several deep breaths.

“Well, I’m here now,” she said with a self-assured grin. “Which one of you fellers gonna fetch my luggage from the trunk?”

I felt Mother stiffen beside me and noted her fingers tighten around her lemonade. There was a distinctive moment of hesitation before she set down her glass on the stand beside her and stood, smoothing down her dress.

“Mother,” she said, giving Father ‘the look’ before heading down the steps to greet our unexpected visitor.

Father elbowed Charles, who then leapt up from his chair and bounded off the porch to the car. “Hello Grandma,” he said, planting a kiss on the older woman’s cheek.

Father took his time leaving the table, but also made his way to the car and kissed his mother-in-law.

Clara was born in 1864 in Henrietta, Ohio. Christened Clara Petronella Peabody, a name I’ve always been fond of, she was the seventh of thirteen children. “Smack dab in the middle,” I’d heard her say. She’d married her first of three husbands, Charles Noble, in 1882 and had three children, of whom Mother was the youngest. Her third husband’s name was Pratt, so even though they weren’t together anymore, we often called her Grandma Pratt.

In my favorite photo of her, taken later in the 1940s, she posed alongside her favorite dog and wore a full-length fur coat. She looked absolutely regal.

“Is that my little Dottie?” said Clara, coming up the porch steps. I flew into her outstretched arms and allowed her to swallow me in a tight embrace. She kissed the top of my head, then held me out from her by my shoulders.

“All grown up, I see,” she said happily. “Sprouted a good foot or two since I last seen you.”

“Grandma, I just saw you at Christmas!”

“I know it. I know it, but you look so darn tall these days, and ladylike. What have you been feeding this child, Dorothy May?”

Mother forced a smile. “She eats the same as everyone else,” she said. Charles lugged Clara’s two carpet bags into the house.

“I take it you’re planning on staying here with us?” asked Mother.

“Just give me the sofa,” said Clara. “I’m only staying for a few days. I just come from your sister Leila Grace’s in Mount Pleasant. Stayed on a few weeks there. And I promised to spend the 4^th with your brother’s widow, Lillian. Now that Frederick Jr. has gotten married, she’s all alone in that big old house of hers. Might as well we two ladies spend some time together.”

Clara spotted the card table and the two men sitting at it.

“John. Harry. Nice to see you both.”

“You two, Clara,” they both drawled.

“What are you playing?”

“Five Card Draw,” said John.

There was an uncomfortable silence as Clara regarded each man through narrowed eyes. “Got room for one more?” she asked.

John and Harry looked at each other, then shrugged and scooted their chairs closer together.

“Charles!” Clara called into the house. “Bring out another chair, and one of them cold glasses of lemonade.”

  

Laurisa White Reyes is the author of twenty-one books, including the SCBWI Spark Award-winning novel The Storytellers and the Spark Honor recipient Petals. She is also the Senior Editor at Skyrocket Press and an English instructor at College of the Canyons in Southern California. Her next release, a non-fiction book on the Old Testament, will be released in August 2026 with Cedar Fort Publishing.

 

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Levi

 

 

Will Diane finally find a man who can be there for her and her son, or will her brother chase Levi off before this relationship ever gets a chance?

Levi

Loving a Lancaster Book 3

by Stacy Eaton

Genre: Contemporary Small-Town Romance

Levi Lancaster is the youngest of the family, and while not as classy and outgoing as his older siblings, he works hard for his own HVAC company.

When a major snowstorm hits Lake Tahoe, Levi is enlisted to do a favor and finds himself quite taken with Diane Hampton. He’s heard of her through his sister, Luna, and Luna’s boyfriend, Trace, but he has never had the chance to meet them.

Diane loves her new life in Lake Tahoe, but she is not a fan of driving in the snow. When Levi comes to help her out, Diane may find herself finally ready to move on after the loss of her fiancée five years ago.

Life is about to change for these two, but will it be for the better?

Levi is the third book in the Loving a Lancaster Series, which consists of seven books. These books are steamy romances with adult language and steamy love scenes.

Loving a Lancaster Series:
Leo, Book 1
Luna, Book 2
Levi, Book 3
Lance, Book 4
Still to come: Lucas, Laney, and Lilly

The Loving a Lancaster Series Spins off of the Loving a Winston Series, which is five books: Cara, Evan, Candy, Carmen, and Coral. The Loving a Winston Series spins off of the Loving a Young Series: Wesley, Henley, Huntley, Riley, Kayley, and Bradley.

 

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Luna

Loving a Lancaster Book 2

While millionaire Luna Lancaster loves Lake Tahoe, she thrives in the outdoors near her home in Sedona, Arizona. When Luna’s good friend, Sadie, plans a visit and decides to bring a guest, Luna is excited to show them the sights of the beautiful Red Rocks around her home.

Unfortunately, Sadie can’t make it until later in the week, and Luna finds herself entertaining Trace Hampton alone for a few days. The chemistry between them sparks the moment they meet. The problem is that Luna thinks Trace and Sadie are a couple, and she does everything possible to hide her feelings and not act on them.

When Trace reveals that he is not involved with Sadie, Luna jumps at the chance to see what they could have, but when Sadie arrives, she tells Luna differently.

After running away from the heartbreak of his lies, Luna finally learns the truth, but only when Trace's life is in danger. Can Luna reach him before it's too late?

Luna is the second book in the Loving a Lancaster Series, which consists of seven books. These books are steamy romances with adult language and steamy love scenes.

 

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Leo

Loving a Lancaster Book 1

Leo Lancaster is coming home to Lake Tahoe. As a successful millionaire stockbroker and business owner, Leo has decided to open another office in Truckee and work out of that one instead of his Vegas office. Now, he must locate a house and get himself settled, and the last thing he expects to find on his return is love.

Heather McClain is a devoted mother of two teens, and a widow from Ohio. When her best friend encourages her to go on a girls trip to Lake Tahoe, she decides to take a break from the chaos at home and try to have fun. Only their antics are more than Heather bargained for.

Lucky for her, Leo is around to rescue her and the two of them quickly grow close, but is Heather ready to let go of her husband’s memory and move forward into a relationship, or more importantly, are her children prepared to accept a new man into their mother’s life when she surprises them with a trip to the lake?

Leo is the first book in the Loving a Lancaster Series, which will consist of seven books and is spin off of Coral, Loving a Winston, Book 5, in which Coral Winston meets the Lancaster family while on vacation in Lake Tahoe.

 

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Stacy Eaton is a USA Today Bestselling author and began her writing career in October of 2010. Stacy took early retirement from law enforcement after over fifteen years of service in 2016 due to a second serious concussion. Her last three years on the job were in investigations and crime scene investigation. She now writes full-time.

Stacy resides in southeastern Pennsylvania with her husband, who works in law enforcement. She has a daughter in college and a son who is currently serving in the United States Navy.

Stacy writes a variety of genres, but mostly romance. She enjoys writing real-life stories that people can relate to with real-life problems, emotions, and solutions.

Her favorites: Classic cars, photography, Disney, music, coffee, and her favorite sweatshirt that says, You are dangerously close to getting killed in my next novel.

 

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