


Books in series

#1
Voodoo Blues
2022
Curiosity. It’s going to get more than just the cat killed.
Sacramento has its share of spooky, crazy, and unexplained, just like everywhere else, but most other places don’t have a self-appointed paranormal investigator to really stir things up.
There are good reasons to fear the night. August Watson is about to kick them in the pants.
With an oversized sidekick, a school-skipping apprentice, and too many bad habits to count, August aims to drag the truth into the light. Kicking and screaming if necessary.

#2
Doppelganger Danger
2022
‘It’s like Jack Reacher got trapped inside an episode of Scooby-Doo!’
Investigate a murderous ghost, do battle with a shapeshifting demon, get ready for a date … it’s all in a day’s work for Sacramento’s only paranormal detective.
The ghost of a man’s wife come to avenge her untimely death, a woman caught on camera stealing drugs from work when she wasn’t even in town, and a family with a secret no one can ever know.
When August Watson takes on all three cases at the same time, it’s not because he is short of work, but due to the worrying connection between them – they all point to impossible doubles.
Is there a shapeshifting doppelganger at work? It seems like the only explanation for the craziness ensuing, but as he gets closer to the truth, the long-hidden lies he disturbs come with a price.
His own life.
In a race to stop more deaths, August Watson will risk it all.
If only work was his biggest worry.

#3
Nightmare Scare
2022
There are good reasons to fear the night. August Watson is about to kick them in the pants.
Kids getting hurt by a figure in their nightmares might sound like the makings for a bad slasher movie, but for August Watson, Sacramento’s only paranormal detective, it’s a very real case.
He’s heading to the coast for a well-deserved break, but he’s soon gonna wish he’d stayed at home. That could be because his assistant sneakily invited August’s entire family and the two women he is struggling to pick between.
Recovering from injuries sustained solving his last case – something he might have omitted to tell his mom – August figured the dream demon case would be easy to solve.
Not only is it anything but, all too soon he has multiple cases to juggle, and they are coming to him whether he wants them or not.
Flocks of birds attacking people, and a ghostly apparition on the coastal highway prove to be the tip of the iceberg, for lurking in the background, a self-appointed nemesis is pulling the strings.

#4
Undead Dread
2023
Sacramento native, August Watson is angry. No, strike that. August in filled with the kind of incandescent rage only the righteous can possess.
Someone killed his girl. Not just any someone, but an enigma of a man called Daniel Quinn. Quinn wants to destroy August and is willing to target everyone in the paranormal investigator's life to achieve his aim.
Why?
No one knows. Not even August.
Until he can locate the object of his murderous intent, August focuses his fury on another – the so-called Vampire of Sacramento.
Hiding in the shadows, California's latest serial killer is stalking their next victim. It’s not August’s job to stop them, but he’s going to do it anyway.
He needs someone to pound on. Someone he won’t feel bad about hurting. Whatever you do, don’t get in his way.

#5
Monster Haunter
2023
No one said being Sacramento’s only paranormal P.I. was going to be easy.
Face your fears. It’s such a tired cliché. Yet that’s what August Watson must do if he is to survive.
His self-appointed nemesis, a ghost of a man called Daniel Quinn, has taken Glacia and August must play Quinn’s deadly games if he is to stand any chance of getting her back.
On the run from the police, forced to do it all alone, August must face his greatest nightmares. He will triumph or he will die. But if he dies, it won’t be only his life that is forfeit.
Out of options, out of time, the rage within might keep him alive, but will it also consume him?

#6
Possession Obsession
2023
Who would call if your family were not the only ones occupying your house? The cops? Sure. But you already know the ‘thing’ living with you isn’t bound by mortal laws.
August Watson specialises in all things spooky and weird; it’s his niche in the P.I. market, but this case might just be a little too far into left field even for him.
But how can he turn down a family in distress? Too terrified to return to their home and convinced their little girl has been possessed by a demonic entity, they beg for his help.
He’s faced his past. He’s faced his demons. Now it’s time he faced the truth.
Get ready for your spine to shudder, August Watson has a case to crack.

#7
Mermaid Charade
2024
Beware the voices in the mist. Their promises are lies.
On a research trip to Alaska, Maya Adler has no business investigating a mysterious ghost ship, but she’s not the kind of person who listens to reasonable advice and one of her best friends is a paranormal detective after all.
However, what started with innocent curiosity soon becomes a quest for the truth when five strangers arrive in town claiming to be survivors from the ship. What happened to them? Why do they all remember the incident so differently.
Did they kill the rest of the crew?
Alone, unprotected, and embroiled in a case she should have left alone, Maya would love to walk away, but when she spies a glimpse of the truth, a new threat emerges, and now she has no choice but to see it through.
Will she be able to send the terrible menace back to the depth of the cold, dark sea, or is there a simpler explanation for the strange mystery?
Either way, they all should have heeded the voices in the mist.

#8
Abduction Destruction
2025
People are going missing in rural California. That might not make it onto August’s radar, but their sudden reappearance with tales of alien abduction sure does.
It’s not just some wilderness bumpkins with too much moonshine in their bloodstream though, a US Airforce pilot had to ditch his plane in the wake of a close encounter and that’s much harder to ignore.
Just what is going on in the desert? Can it really be something not of this world?
Dragged into the investigation, August Watson expects to discover a rational explanation, but when one of his own team goes missing the stakes change and now nothing is going to stop him from uncovering the truth.
If only it were that easy.

#9
Roanoke Hoax
2024
Maya is missing. All August has to go on is a note she left behind.
A note that suggests she is a really deep trouble.
Never one to play it safe, Maya was investigating a doomsday cult when she vanished. But was the note even from her, or is it a lure to draw August into their web?
With only the faintest hint of a breadcrumb trail to follow, August must use all his cunning to locate not just Maya, but the cult itself. They are like smoke, hiding in the shadows.
But the clock is ticking, and if August is reading things right, they have a big event planned for New Year’s Eve. An event that almost certainly requires a human sacrifice …

#10
Loch Ness Distress
2025
Everyone knows the Loch Ness Monster is not real, right?
Right?
Hired by a wealthy developer, August finds himself in Scotland where the mythical beastie is manifesting in physical form. Numerous sightings, together with claw marks and other physical evidence, are causing costly construction delays.
Suspecting local objectors, August knows there will be more to the mystery than first meets the eyes, but when things get deadly, he isn’t above calling in a little help.
Tempest always says it’s just an idiot in a suit, but that’s clearly not the case this time. Is the Loch Ness Monster really real?
Can August and Tempest combine their talents to uncover the truth behind the monster sightings? Or are they being walked into a trap?
Find out in Loch Ness Distress!
Authors

Alex Gates
Author · 15 books
A product of Small Town, California, Alex Gates is a loving husband, skilled educator, true Gryffindor, dragon-slayer, wizard of the highest order, defender of the realm, Cowboys fan, and connoisseur of cheap beer. He spent four years at California State University, Sacramento studying literature, watching football, and day drinking before obtaining a Masters Degree in Education from the University of Southern California.