This week we're heading to Winchester, Virginia to do a little historical research while we hang out with the dead detective, Oliver Tucker. Get ready for helpful spirits, child psychics, and a man in love with an angel. All good stuff in Dying With a Secret by TJ O'Connor. 

Oliver “Tuck” Tucker, the dead detective, is back—not just for another case, but from the dead—or vice versa. It all starts when a Federal Agent is killed by a mysterious force in front of dozens of witnesses—including Angel, his historian wife, and Tuck. Among the many suspects is a dark, clandestine Federal agency responsible for advanced research and weaponry, a university doctoral candidate who won’t stay dead, and the leader of a secret southern society bent on rekindling the Civil War. With the aid of a ten-year-old psychic and the spirit of Tuck’s Civil War grandmother—Sally Elizabeth Mosby—Tuck has to stay one step ahead of the Feds who are hellbent on capturing him—alive? But through all this, what’s a two-hundred-year-old lost fortune in gold got to do with dead agents, secret death rays, and rogue policemen?

Genre: Paranormal Mystery, PI Cozy Mystery

Music Credits

Soft Landing

https://uppbeat.io/t/peter-lainson/soft-landing

License code: EV45YPBKFJWCTQBF

Internal Investigation

https://uppbeat.io/t/benjamin-botkin/internal-investigation

License code: T2MMNSQ0DSCNR0II

If you enjoyed this podcast take a minute to subscribe!

Teresa Trent's blog

This week we're traveling back in time, I mean way back to ancient Crete. A murder mystery set in the Bronze Age? Listen and find out in A Murder of Furies.

When Tinos, the High Priestess's consort, asks Martis to search for his missing daughter, Martis becomes involved in the dangerous politics between Crete and Egypt. A minor Egyptian prince is courting Hele, the High Priestess's daughter, despite her persistent refusals. And despite the lobbying by Hele's brother, Khoranos, who seeks the Cretan throne for himself.

Then the High Priestess is found murdered, savagely stabbed multiple times. Martis discovers plans to kidnap Hele and she has to be spirited away to safety. Egyptian soldiers occupy Knossos and Khoranos installs his ally as the High Priestess.

Can Martis rescue the High Priestess's daughters and identify the murderer before Khoranos, with Egypt's help, takes the throne? Martis must embark on several dangerous quests to succeed.

Series: An Ancient Crete Mystery, Book 3

Music Credits:

Halls of Abaddon

https://uppbeat.io/t/aaron-paul-low/halls-of-abaddon

License code: W0FAZDX8HZAAPZ8N

Awakening

https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/awakening

License code: GEH8MJ8ARPPZUTE3

Visit Teresa's blog- Books to the Ceiling

A decorated military hero is found hanging from a rope. Two young boys vanish without a trace. And private investigator JD Wolfe’s world begins to unravel.

The deeper she digs, the closer the danger creeps–not just to her, but to the family that saved her and the career that keeps her sane. JD knows these crimes aren’t random. They’re a message. And she might be the target.

Once called Diamond in a grim orphanage, the Wolfe family adopted JD, but she’s never felt like she truly belonged. She harbors secrets too dark to speak. Secrets that landed her in an asylum. Secrets tied to a ghost that’s haunted her since the night her mother died in a fire.

This ghost doesn’t sleep. It invades JD’s cases, her dreams, and even her heart. She’s kept it buried for years. But now, with lives on the line, JD must do the unthinkable.

She must let the ghost in.

Book Links: Amazon | KindleUnlimited | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub

Dusk Light

https://uppbeat.io/t/all-ambient/dusklight

License code: F3JDTQO1UL0GCXYQ

The Longest Night

https://uppbeat.io/t/all-ambient/the-longest-night

License code: MFPJ1LEGHHT8VE9G

Books to the Ceiling is a part of the author blog of Teresa Trent at https://teresatrent.blog. 

Sheriff Jax Turner is worried about going off-grid and leaving his young team of deputies behind. But while his getaway with his ex is meant to help them reconnect, Jax is distracted by signs of a break-in at their rented lookout.

After a string of unsettling events and an approaching wildfire turn their isolated retreat into a danger zone, he’s stunned to find a dead body with marks tying it to a killer he put away a decade ago.

Terrified that his attempt at reconciliation has led them both into a fatal setup, Jax rushes back to his estranged wife before she joins the list of victims. But his dedication to serving and protecting could become an Achilles heel as other players join them among the darkening trees.

Can he fight his way out of the woods before the flames of revenge consume everything?

"Keliikoa is the Queen of immersive small-town mystery. Killer Tracks is cleverly plotted with deftly drawn relatable characters who face off with a deadly threat from the past."

"Mary Keliikoa’s Killer Tracks is a wonderful addition to the Misty Pines mystery series. Great pacing, strong plotting, and compelling characters. Highly recommended!"

Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads | BookBub

Music Credits:

Zero Pulse

https://uppbeat.io/t/iros-young/zero-pulse

License code: KT1IH621LC5BKDXE

Wait

https://uppbeat.io/t/greenhouse/wait

License code: RUPPIRTPCTYNEDFX

Behind the enchanting façade of the North Pole–the fantastical winter wonderland where sugary delights and candy canes reign supreme–exists a world of surprises and hidden secrets. When Jangles van Hoosen Keebler Frosten McFlurry, executive director of Santa Co. Limited, is discovered “wrapped up” in a deadly predicament, suspicion falls upon his mischievous brother.

Enter Ruddiger...just Ruddiger, the North Pole’s one and only private detective, to solve the mystery. As he delves into the investigation, he finds himself surrounded by a cast of colorful characters, including a vivacious showgirl from the Red Ribbon District, the ever-watchful Elftenant Blinker of the North Pole Constabulary, and Big LeRoy, the formidable leader of the elf union.

Can Ruddiger prove his client is as innocent as a snowflake and unmask the true culprit? Venture into the whimsical world of North Pole Noir to uncover the truth hidden beneath the snowy veneer.

Book Links: Amazon | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | BookBub

Music Credits:

Christmas Mischief

https://uppbeat.io/t/floor-model/christmas-mischief

License code: KPFGFFIZCTA0DQL5

Snowy Road

https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/snowy-road

License code: 06Z5S9D9Y06KLAZJ

Have yourself a merry little . . . murder?

Ricki James-Diaz gets the best present ever when her parents arrive in New Orleans for the holidays. Not only is it a chance to catch up, it’s also an opportunity to jog her mom Josepha’s memory about Ricki’s adoption. The details have always been shrouded in mystery. And Ricki understands why when she learns her mother was blackmailed for years, simply for not wanting to lose her precious daughter.

But digging into the past soon lands the James-Diaz clan in water hotter than a big pot of gumbo! When the woman who extorted Ricki’s mom is found dead at her home, Josepha becomes the primary suspect. Now Ricki has another murder to solve, and tracking down a killer in Crescent City is going to take a miracle.

Luckily, ‘tis the season! And Ricki has all the staff at the Bon Vee Culinary House Museum on hand to help. Can she prove her mother’s innocence and have the case wrapped up in time for Christmas?

Series: A Vintage Cookbook Mystery, #4 • Learn More at Amazon & Goodreads

Music Credits

Golden Moments of Christmas

https://uppbeat.io/t/vocalista/golden-moments-of-christmas

License code: MWYNNSUGASMNC3SG

Fireplace Ballad

https://uppbeat.io/t/avbe/fireplace-ballad

License code: OZKHKWOK4FDGQA2C

Visit Teresa’s blog, and the home of Books to the Ceiling at teresatrent.blog

It's 1978, and Jennifer Morgan, a sassy New Yorker, has escaped to the counterculture village of Flanders, Massachusetts. Her peaceful life is disrupted when one of her customers at the Café Galadriel is found dead. Everyone is a suspect—including the gentle artisan woodworker, the Yeats-wannabe poet, the town's anti-war hero, the peace-loving Episcopalian minister, and the local organic farmer who can hold a grudge.

Book Links: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Torchflame Books

Music Credits:

Firmament by Kevin Macleod

https://uppbeat.io/t/kevin-macleod/firmament

License code: K9LTLRTFGBRMRIKB

Drowning in grief, Emily Grace has lost everything: her home, her friends, her career. Only one lifeline remains—a job working for an eccentric millionaire. Along with his wife, he’s been building a mansion on a secluded island surrounded by a harsh and unforgiving sea. But when she disappears under mysterious circumstances, Emily Grace is hired to finish the project.

Locals believe the house is cursed, but their warnings go unheeded as Emily Grace works to rebuild her life. After what she’s been through, nothing can scare her—except perhaps the attention of a handsome man offering more than friendship. And yet, there’s something strange about this solitary fortress. Accidents. Mishaps. Ghostly whispers through the surrounding forest, footsteps when she’s completely alone . . .

Is there truly a curse or is the ethereal specter in the window an omen of something more sinister?

Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Severn House

Music Credits:

Below the Surface

https://uppbeat.io/t/all-ambient/below-the-surface

License code: XUWEA2ZSWOWPI1WF

Private eye One the Gun and his right-hand dame Two the True Blue are on the trail of the killer of Five the No Longer Alive. But as the numbers and the clues stack up, One the Gun realizes that today is exactly like yesterday—in fact maybe actually is yesterday—and he’s pretty sure that at the end of yesterday he was shot to death. It’s a dilly of a pickle as time continues to loop back on itself, one murder case becomes two, and the gumshoe races against the clock to smoke out his own killer—before that killer can stop his clock for keeps. Gigi Little’s noir-soaked and delightfully surreal debut pays homage to the radio classics of the forties and fifties while investigating themes of greed, sexism, and the consequences of unchecked power.

Book Links: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | Forest Avenue Press

Music Credits

Noir as the Night by Albert Behar

https://uppbeat.io/t/albert-behar/noir-as-the-night

License code: YN57S001GY12IAYL

Visit the home of Books to the Ceiling. Teresa Trent's blog at https://teresatrent.blog

When the body of a visitor is found in the woods by the local Shaker community, suspicion immediately falls on them. Rees is reluctant to believe anyone in this peaceful community committed murder. And Hans Bergin arrived with his wife, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law. They had their own reasons to want Bergin dead.

But as Rees investigates, he discovers everyone, including a recent Shaker convert, have secrets of their own, some stretching all the way back to the Revolutionary War.

Who, among the many suspects, decided to take matters in their own hands? Bergin's wife and other family? The new Shaker? Or someone else entirely?

Book Links: Amazon | Kindle Unlimited | Goodreads | BookBub

Music Credits:

DADA

https://uppbeat.io/t/dada/alter

License code: SLUZLGG2QHFFVOS3

Find Books to the Ceiling at teresatrent.blog