Secrets of the Castleton Manor Library

Series · 17

books · 2017-2023

By Elizabeth Penney, Sandra Orchard, Margaret Welch, and more

Books in series

A Novel Murder

2017

Faith Newberry and her cat Watson in the town of Lighthouse Bay on Cape Cod. She lands her dream job of librarian at Castleton Manor an upscale literary retreat. Faith is forced to read between the lines and solve the mysteries she finds among the stacks of books.

Bitter Words

2017

Join Faith Newberry and her cat, Watson, in the quaint town of Lighthouse Bay on Cape Cod in Massachusetts as she marries her love of books to a penchant for sleuthing. After landing her dream job as librarian at Castleton Manor, an upscale literary retreat, Faith is forced to read between the lines and solve the mysteries she finds among the stacks. Faith, Watson, and the lively members of the Candle House Book Club set out to unravel whodunits that might have stumped even Sherlock Holmes. Enjoy the thrill of the hunt with Faith and her friends as they solve shocking crimes, discover dark secrets, and embrace heartwarming truths that have long been hidden in the voluminous pages of the Castleton Manor library.

The Grim Reader

2017

It's simmering Suspense week at the Castleton Manor literary retreat in Lighthouse Bay, MA. Faith has her hands full with a weeks worth of author talks and signings. The guest of honor clears out of her suite and disappears without a trace. Cause of this she has her hands full trying to keep her other guests and her boss satisfied.

A Deadly Chapter

2019

Christmas is no humbug affair in Lighthouse Bay, Massachusetts. The merry festivities are well underway in the quaint seaside village, and the halls of the posh Castleton Manor literary retreat are decked out in full Victorian décor. This year, the manor is hosting the Charles Dickens Society's annual gala, compete with parlor games and dramatic readings of A Christmas Carol, and culminating in a costume ball. Faith Newberry, Castleton's private librarian and archivist, loves being part of the holiday hustle and bustle while catering to the eccentric guests' bookish whims. When a thief nicks some valuable antique jewelry from one of the suites, Faith is more than happy to leave the investigating to the Lighthouse Bay police. But then the obnoxious president of the society, Charles Huffam, is found dead as a doornail beneath the village's 50-foot Christmas tree, and Faith's personal Scrooge, her boss Marlene Russell, is suspected of the crime. Faith has no choice but to make the unkind man's death her business. Marlene's not the only person who has a bit of undigested beef with Huffam. The murder weapon was a length of chain which had been brandished by the seemingly mild-mannered gentleman playing Marley's ghost during the reading. And what about the overbearing woman whose romantic advances Huffam spurned, and her daughter, for whom Huffam had more than a passing fancy? Even Brooke Milner, Faith's friend and fellow Candle House Book Club member, might have wanted to see a stake of holly driven through Huffam's dark heart. Faith will need all the help she can get from her friends, and especially from her fearless feline, Watson, to unmask the assailant - or is that wassailant? - before Castleton Manor's surplus population is decreased by yet one more.

An Autographed Mystery

2017

A winter storm is brewing in Lighthouse Bay, Massachusetts. But it's not just wind and snow swirling through the opulent halls of Castleton Manor. Eleven members of the Drelincourt family have booked the literary retreat for a private gathering. It's librarian Faith Newberry's job to convince the family patriarch, Max Drelincourt, and his nieces and nephews to sell their ancestor's complete, autographed collection of valuable Agatha Christie first editions. Trapped like mice when the roads in and out of the grounds become impassable, the Drelincourts squabble amongst themselves, and Faith despairs of them ever coming to an agreement. Worse, the first editions, which had been divided up among the family, begin to disappear until there are none.

Second Edition Death

2017

It's late March in Lighthouse Bay, and Castleton Manor is undergoing spring-cleaning. Librarian and archivist, Faith Newberry, envisions a little downtime while the manor is closed to guests. But her reverie is cut short when she is pressed into service for the organizers of the Gothic Studies Conference, who are meeting in a nearby seaside home. Though reluctant to leave her cozy cottage on the Castleton estate, Faith agrees, especially since her faithful cat, Watson, is invited along. No sooner has Faith arrived at Wintersea than she realizes all is not as it seems at the creepy mansion. Her hostess, Gothic scholar Ava Winterbourne, is experiencing eerie phenomena: lost objects, somnambulism, and a constant feeling of being watched. Is she mad? Or is someone mad at her? Ava's husband, Winslow, seems loving and attentive, and yet Ava lives in the deep shadows of his first wife, Regina, who committed suicide. Faith finds herself getting caught up in Ava's delusions. But she can't help wondering if Ava truly is a dreaming damsel in distress - or if she's a dark, dangerous dame. Meanwhile, Faith's boss, Wolfe Jaxon, is being haunted by a nightmare of his own. Years ago, his fiancée drowned when she fell overboard from Wolfe's yacht. Now someone's been possessed to blackmail him, claiming that Valentina's watery death was no freak accident. He needs Faith's help. But is he putting her in peril, too? Solving the mysteries of Wintersea will take all of Faith's sleuthing skills, but fortunately she'll have the support of the members of the Candle House Book Club and her preternatural pet, Watson. Can she reveal the secrets...before the veil descends on another victim?

A Crime Well Versed

2017

As librarian at Castleton Manor, the upscale literary retreat in Lighthouse Bay, Massachusetts, Faith Newberry cheerfully hosts various events for book lovers while accommodating the mansion's quirky guests. But during a poetry retreat, Faith's patience is tested by Emilie Smythe, an ill-mannered lecturer with an uncanny resemblance to Emily Dickinson. Emilie not only looks like Dickinson, but she dresses like her and also owns a Newfoundland named Carlo. Even stranger, Emilie claims to be Dickinson's great-great-granddaughter. No one believes her far-fetched story, but Emilie insists she has letters and documents to prove it. Faith is stunned when Emilie gives her a Victorian beaded bag containing the papers and instructs her to determine their authenticity. But the next morning tragedy strikes . . . Faith and her friends discover Emilie's body washed up on a desolate beach. It was widely known that Emilie was wealthy and eccentric and possibly even mad. Did she take her own life on the deserted beach? Or was she murdered? Even though an apparent suicide note is found, the list of suspects grows: The man walking on the beach the morning Emilie's body was discovered. Emilie's charming older brother and guardian. Her estranged half-sister who was left out of the family estate. And the poet at the retreat who publicly disparaged Emilie. As Faith and her friends in the Candle House Book Club seek answers, a string of break-ins occurs around town. Is someone searching for Emilie's letters and documents? Can Faith and her friends—including her protective feline companion, Watson—finally close the book on this mystery?

A Murder Unscripted

2017

It's lights, camera, action at Castleton Manor, the exclusive literary retreat in Lighthouse Bay, Massachusetts. Faith Newberry's role as librarian expands to include assisting the producer in filming a remake of Alice in Wonderland. Faith and her friends in the Candle House Book Club thrill in the behind-the-scenes drama, and even Faith's loyal cat, Watson, eagerly pursues his big-screen debut. But the production falls down the rabbit hole when the star playing Alice enters the maze to shoot a scene, then vanishes. The actress has a history of disappearing, and some claim she's mad as a hatter. Did she leave of her own volition? Or is there something more sinister going on? The situation gets curiouser and curiouser when more trouble and turmoil occur on the set, culminating in a serious crime. Faiths friend Midge is found at the scene, and she's hardly grinning like a Cheshire cat when she becomes the prime suspect. Faith vows to find the real culprit, but as she attempts to solve the great puzzle, she realizes the task is easier said than done. It's up to Faith and the rest of her friends in the book club - along with Watson who shows up right on cue to make a startling discovery - to clear Midge's name. But will they be able to pull a white

Pride and Publishing

2018

When bestselling Regency novelist Camilla Courtenay comes to Castleton Manor to judge the final round of a writing contest, Faith Newberry looks forward to meeting one of her favorite authors and to dancing at the grand Regency ball scheduled for the evening the winner is announced. But in the days leading up to the ball, a number of suspicious incidents make her wonder if someone is trying to put a permanent end to Camilla's career. When every contestant is a suspect, can Faith figure out what's really going on before tragedy strikes?

#10

A Literary Offense

2018

It's Gatsby week and the roaring 20s are in full swing. One of the guests starts to receive threatening letters. When Avis is involved in an incident at the manor and then a mishap at the county club the plot thickens.

#11

Up to Noir Good

2018

It's a heat wave on Cape Cod, but you wouldn't know it by the way some people at the Manor are dressed. People are dressed as their favorite fictional private eye. Faith agrees to do a lecture on the detective code. Oscar falls from his balcony and dies. His death is ruled a homicide.

#12

For Letter or Worse

2018

The Nancy Drew Clue Colloquium converges on the manor. Fans and scholars are dressed as their favorite detective and drive up in their 1930 roadsters. Soon Nancy A and Nancy Z start their pranks. Soon a letter arrives and mysteries from the Nancy Drew series leap out into real lie. Soon one of the guests is found dead. They keep coming up with more questions than answers. Soon Watson gets involved and sends them in the right direction.

#13

On Pens and Needles

2018

The mansion plays host to a retreat for horror writers and fans. Faith feels a bit uneasy about the event and talk of superstitions and bad omens. The retreat organizer devises a series of stunts and one turns deadly.

#15

Tell No Tales

2018

It's Christmastime on Cape Cod, and the magnificent Castleton Manor in Lighthouse Bay, Massachusetts, resembles a winter wonderland straight out of a fairy tale. Librarian Faith Newberry feels her spirits buoyed as she eagerly anticipates the upcoming retreat for children's book authors and illustrators. The retreat is cast adrift when someone is murdered....

#16

Page Fright

2018

Librarian Faith Newberry and her friends at Castleton Manor in Lighthouse Bay, Massachusetts, ring in the New Year with pomp and circumstance. The lively festivities usher in the Everything Shakespeare event, showcasing the performances of a boisterous theater troupe. Something wicked this way comes when one of the guests is murdered.

#19

From Fable to Grave

2023

Librarian Faith Newberry eagerly anticipates the retreat honoring American literature from the nineteenth century. But when one of the guests drops dead, Faith and her friends in the Candle House Book Club launch their own investigation, uncovering bitter rivalries and surprising secrets. Will Faith and her friends, along with her cat, Watson, identify the murderer before there is another victim?

#24

A Scary Tale Wedding

2023

Wedding bells will soon be ringing at the magnificent Castleton Manor in Lighthouse Bay, Massachusetts. Librarian Faith Newberry is head over heels in love with Wolfe Jaxon, co-owner of the manor, and she anxiously prepares to tie the knot with him. As the ceremony nears, their friends and family arrive, and the staff transforms the manor into the perfect setting for a fairy-tale wedding. But before Faith can say "I do," chaos ensues when someone breaks into her cottage and destroys her beautiful wedding gown. Faith is shocked when she finds her dress in tatters. With the wedding only a few days away, the designer begins making a brand-new gown. Then another shock occurs when someone is murdered. Faith vows to investigate the crime before she walks down the aisle. As she and her friends in the Candle House Book Club search for clues, they discover stunning secrets and veiled threats. Will they - along with Faith's loyal cat, Watson - close the book on this murder before the big day? Or will the killer strike again, threatening Faith and Wolfe's happily ever after?

Authors

Sandra leaps off the garden trails of her herbal-researcher-turned-amateur-sleuth (Port Aster Secrets) series, to the museum corridors of her plucky FBI art crime agent Serena Jones, in A Fool and His Monet. When not plotting crimes, Sandra plays make-believe with her grandchildren or hikes with her hubby along the escarpment, near their home in Niagara, Canada. Her novels have garnered numerous awards, including the National Readers' Choice Award, a Holt Medallion Award of Merit, an RT Book Reviews Reviewers' Choice Award, the Daphne DuMaurier Award of Excellence and five national Canadian Awards. Learn more about Sandra’s books and fun bonus features at www.sandraorchard.com

Margaret Welch

Author · 3 books

Pseudonym for Molly MacRae. Bio Molly MacRae spent twenty years in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Upper East Tennessee, where she managed The Book Place, an independent bookstore; may it rest in peace. Before the lure of books hooked her, she was curator of the history museum in Jonesborough, Tennessee’s oldest town. MacRae lives with her family in Champaign, Illinois, where she recently retired from connecting children with books at the public library. Bibliography and Awards Novels Argyles and Arsenic, Pegasus Books, March 2022 Heather and Homicide, Pegasus Books, December 2020 Thistles and Thieves, Pegasus Books, January 2020 Crewel and Unusual, Pegasus Books, January 2019 For Letter or Worse (writing as Margaret Welch), Annie’s Fiction, 2018 Scones and Scoundrels, Pegasus Books, January 2018 The Grim Reader (writing as Margaret Welch), Annie’s Fiction, 2017 Plaid and Plagiarism, Pegasus Books, December 2016 Knot the Usual Suspects, NAL/Obsidian, September 2015 Plagued by Quilt, NAL/Obsidian, November 2014 Spinning in Her Grave, NAL/Obsidian, March 2014 Dyeing Wishes, NAL/Obsidian, July 2013 Last Wool and Testament, NAL/Obsidian, September 2012 Lawn Order, Five Star Mysteries/Cengage, December 2010 Wilder Rumors, Five Star Mysteries/Cengage, May 2007 Short Stories “Junk Food,” in Cooked to Death, Nodin Press, July 2016 My Troubles (collection of Margaret & Bitsy stories) Darkhouse Books, December 2014 “Cookies,” Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine (AHMM) June 2008 “A Walk in the Park,” Hardluck Stories, Summer 2007 “Wilder Dancing,” Mysterical-E, Summer 2007 “Practically Perfect,” Doses of Death, Lulu, 2005 “Fandango by Flashlight,” AHMM, December 2005 “It Takes Two,” AHMM, February 2002 “No Can Do,” AHMM, July/August 2001 “Ah, Paradise,” AHMM, November 2000 “Missing Something,” AHMM, May 2000 “Speaking Terms,” AHMM, April 1991 “My Trouble,” January 1990 Nonfiction “Buzzing with Stories: A Visit with Author, Librarian, Teacher Janice N. Harrington,” Children and Libraries, Vol 19, No 4 (2021) “Wilder Rumors,” an essay in the “New Books” section of Mystery Scene, issue 100, 2007 “Book Pusher: My Life in and out of Fiction,” Mystery Readers Journal, Fall 2005 Humor, Rumor, and Romance in Old Jonesborough, Overmountain Press, 1991 (editor) Mystery Theater Interactive dinner plays available through Positive Solutions Through Stories and Tours “The Dead of Winter Murder Mystery” “Daggers and Old Lace” “Murder in Little Chicago” Awards 2015 Lovey Award for Best Paranormal for Plagued by Quilt 2013 Lovey Award for Best Paranormal for Last Wool and Testament 2012 Suspense Magazine’s Best of 2012 for Last Wool and Testament 2001 Virginia Highlands Creative Writing Contest, first prize for novel, Wilder Rumors 2000 Sherwood Anderson Award for short fiction for “More or Less”

Also writes as Sydney Hope Archer. K.D. McCrite was raised on a small dairy farm in the Ozarks. She has a degree in psychology from Drury University and has worked as a librarian and as a mental health caseworker. She currently resides in Arkansas.

DeAnna Julie Dodson has always been an avid reader and a lover of storytelling, whether on the page, the screen or the stage. This, along with her keen interest in history and her Christian faith, shows in her tales of love, forgiveness and triumph over adversity. A fifth-generation Texan, she makes her home north of Dallas with four spoiled cats and, when not writing, spends her free time quilting, cross stitching and watching NHL hockey. Her first books, In Honor Bound, By Love Redeemed and To Grace Surrendered, are a trilogy of medieval romances and have just been redesigned and freshly edited for Kindle. She is also the author of the contemporary mystery, Letters in the Attic, and has recently signed on to write another Annie's Attic Mystery: The Key in the Attic, due out in 2012. Her newest books, yet to be released, are A Dinner of Herbs, a Civil War drama, and a 1930s English mystery, Rules of Murder. Civil as an Orange, her current work in progress, is the sequel to Rules of Murder. You can find out more about DeAnna and her books, including sample chapters, at her website: http://www.deannajuliedodson.com/