In this all-new novella, New York Times
bestselling author Juliet Blackwell’s popular characters from her
Witchcraft Mysteries and Haunted Home Renovation Mysteries find
themselves joining forces to solve a supernatural dilemma…
When
Mel Turner is hired to rehab an old Victorian mansion to act as the
eerie setting for a Halloween bash, she’s expecting the normal
challenges—old wiring, bad plumbing, maybe a ghostly specter or two. But
when a young man is killed after spending the night in the house, and
the mannequins in the attic start to come to life, it’s clear that this
is serious paranormal activity. Maybe this time, a real witch is needed.
Recommended
by a mutual friend, vintage clothes expert Lily Ivory arrives to offer
her help with the mannequins. Armed with Lily’s spells and Mel’s
know-how, the two women must figure out the cause of all of the ghostly
commotion—before Mel’s renovation project turns into even more of a
deadly haunt.
Juliet Blackwell (aka Julie
Goodson-Lawes, aka Hailey Lind) started out life in Palo Alto,
California, born of a Texan mother and a Yankee father. The family soon
moved to what were, at the time, the sticks of Cupertino, an hour south
of San Francisco. Walking to and from kindergarten every day she would
indulge in her earliest larcenous activity: stealing walnuts and
apricots from surrounding orchards.
By the time she graduated
middle school, the orchards were disappearing and the valley at the
southern tip of the San Francisco Bay had become the cradle of the
silicon semi-conductor. A man named Steve Jobs was working in his garage
in Cupertino, just down the street. Juliet's father advised his
daughters to enter the lucrative and soon-to-flourish field of
computers.
"Bah" said Juliet, as she went on to major in Latin
American Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz (they had,
by far, the best parties of any department). Rather than making scads of
money in computers, she read, painted, learned Spanish and a little
French and Vietnamese, lived in Spain and traveled through Europe,
Mexico, and Central America. She had a very good time.
Juliet
pursued graduate degrees in Anthropology and Social Work at the State
University of New York at Albany, where she published several
non-fiction articles on immigration as well as one book-length
translation. Fascinated with other cultural systems, she studied the
religions, folklore and medical beliefs of peoples around the world,
especially in Latin America. Juliet taught the anthropology of health
and health care at SUNY-Albany, and worked as an elementary school
social worker in upstate New York. She also did field projects in Mexico
and Cuba, studied in Spain, Italy, and France, worked on a BBC
production in the Philippines, taught English as a second language in
San Jose, and learned how to faux finish walls in Princeton, New Jersey.
After having a son, moving back to California, and abandoning her
half-written dissertation in cultural anthropology, Juliet started
painting murals and portraits for a living. She has run her own
mural/faux finish design studio in Oakland, across the bay from San
Francisco, for more than a decade. She specializes in the aesthetic
renovation of historic homes.
Finally, to round out her tour of
lucrative careers, Juliet turned to writing. Under the pseudonym of
Hailey Lind, Juliet penned the Art Lover's Mystery Series with her
sister Carolyn, about an ex-art forger trying to go straight by working
as a muralist and faux finisher in San Francisco. The first of these,
Feint of Art, was nominated for an Agatha Award; Shooting Gallery and
Brush with Death were both IMBA bestsellers, and Arsenic and Old Paint
is now available from Perseverance Press.
Juliet's Witchcraft
Mystery series, about a witch who finally finds a place to fit in when
she opens a vintage clothes shop on Haight Street in San Francisco,
allows Juliet to indulge yet another interest—the world of witchcraft
and the supernatural. Ever since her favorite aunt taught her about
reading cards and tea leaves, Juliet has been fascinated with seers,
conjurers, and covens from many different cultures and historic
traditions. As an anthropologist, the author studied and taught about
systems of spirituality, magic, and medicine throughout the world,
especially in Latin America. Halloween is by far her favorite holiday.
When
not writing, painting, or haranguing her funny but cynical teenaged
son, Juliet spends a lot of time restoring her happily haunted house and
gardening with Oscar the cat, who ostensibly belongs to the neighbors
but won't leave her alone. He started hanging around when Juliet started
writing about witches...funny coincidence.
Yay! I love both of these series and to see them join forces in such a fun and exciting way made my whole month! :) Mel and Lily have perfect chemistry as partners in crime trying to manage quite the ghostly scenario. Their personalities just work well together, and it was a real treat to see them as a pair. The story itself is fascinating and thrilling, and it's honestly just a fantastic story. I certainly hope Ms. Blackwell will treat us to another pairing again in the future!
Rating: 5 stars
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All conclusions reached are my own.
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