Books in series
#1
Caught Dead Handed
2014
She's not a psychic—she just plays one on TV.
Most folks associate the city of Salem, Massachusetts with witches, but for Lee Barrett, it's home. This October she's returned to her hometown—where her beloved Aunt Ibby still lives—to interview for a job as a reporter at WICH-TV. But the only opening is for a call-in psychic to host the late night horror movies. It seems the previous host, Ariel Constellation, never saw her own murder coming.
Lee reluctantly takes the job, but when she starts seeing real events in the obsidian ball she's using as a prop, she wonders if she might really have psychic abilities. To make things even spookier, it's starting to look like Ariel may have been an actual practicing witch—especially when O'Ryan, the cat Lee and Aunt Ibby inherited from her, exhibits some strange powers of his own. With Halloween fast approaching, Lee must focus on unmasking a killer—or her career as a psychic may be very short lived. . .
#2
Tails, You Lose
2015
After losing her job as a TV psychic, Lee Barrett has decided to volunteer her talents as an instructor at the Tabitha Trumbull Academy of the Arts-known as "The Tabby"-in her hometown of Salem, Massachusetts. But when the school's handyman turns up dead under seemingly inexplicable circumstances on Christmas night, Lee's clairvoyant capabilities begin bubbling to the surface once again. The Tabby is housed in the long-vacant Trumbull's Department Store. As Lee and her intrepid students begin work on a documentary charting the store's history, they unravel a century of family secrets, deathbed whispers-and a mysterious labyrinth of tunnels hidden right below the streets of Salem. Even the witches in town are spooked, and when Lee begins seeing visions in the large black patent leather pump in her classroom, she's certain that something evil is afoot. But ghosts in the store's attic are the least of her worries with a killer on the loose . . .
#3
Look Both Ways
2015
In Salem, Massachusetts, there are secret everywhere—even in the furniture. . .
When Lee Barrett spots the same style oak bureau she once had as a child on the WICH-TV show, Shopping Salem, she rushes to the antiques shop and buys the piece. Just like the beloved bureau she lost in a fire, this one has secret compartments. It also comes with an intriguing history—it was purchased in an estate sale from a home where a famous local murder took place.
The day after the bureau is delivered, Lee returns to the antiques shop and finds the owner dead. The police suspect the shop owner's unscrupulous business partner, but Lee wonders if the murder is connected to her new furniture. At least part of the answer may be revealed through a mirror in the bureau, tarnished and blackened, allowing Lee to tap into her psychic visions. Using this bureau of investigation, Lee may be able to furnish her policeman beau with the evidence needed to catch the killer—before the next one to be shut up is her. . .
#4
Murder Go Round
2017
Lee Barrett has agreed to attend a storage auction with Aunt Ibby-even though she suspects the forgotten rooms will yield more junk than treasure. Her skepticism vanishes once the two win a bid on an overlooked locker and uncover a trove of beautiful curiosities, including a stunning wooden carousel horse with gentle eyes and fading paint. But just before Lee leaves the fairground relic at a local repair shop, the sight of a silver samovar awakens her psychic abilities and conjures visions of murder. Lee prays the intrusive ESP episode was just a glimpse into the past-until her policeman boyfriend reports a dead man outside the repair shop. Apparently, the unknown victim had been hot on Lee's trail since the auction. And with the horse found dismantled, it looks like he was up to no good. What's the story behind the antique equine, and could a strange bubblegum-chewing woman with fiery hair have something to do with the crime? Guided by her gift and O'Ryan, her wise tabby cat, Lee's set on catching the murderer . . . before she's sent on the darkest ride of her life.
#5
Grave Errors
2017
Whose funeral will be next? For residents of Salem, Massachusetts, the day after Halloween brings empty candy wrappers, sagging pumpkins, and a community-wide identity crisis. That is, until Lee Barrett s TV production class suggests extending the spooky season with the traditional Mexican celebration Dia de Los Muertos. But when the students discover not all of Salem’s dead are resting in peace, the post-October blues don’t seem so bad after all . . .
As if a series of haunting graveyard visits isn’t disturbing enough, Lee and her policeman boyfriend connect the crime to an unsolved missing person case. Driven by a series of chilling psychic visions, Lee calls on her cleverest allies, including her shrewd cat, O Ryan, to go underground and dig up the evidence needed to put a lid on a cold case forever . . . before the latest headstone in town has her name on it!
#6
It Takes a Coven
2018
There’s a new witch-hunt in Salem, Massachusetts . . . When Lee Barrett joins a former student’s bridal party as maid of honor, she expects cake tastings and dress fittings. But wedding planning becomes more peculiar than Lee’s scrying talents could ever predict. There’s a magical baker, a best man with a checkered past, and a talking crow named Poe as the ring bearer. There’s also a kindly old man dead under his apple tree—one of a series of unexplained deaths hanging over the Wiccan community . . .
With witches dropping dead before they even come out of the proverbial broom closet, Lee’s best friend, River, fears she might have somehow unleashed a terrible curse on the city. Now, aided by Poe and her clairvoyant cat, Lee sets out to investigate. Are lives being claimed by vengeful supernatural forces—or by something more shocking? She soon discovers, casting light on the wicked truth can be one killer commitment . . .
#7
Bells, Spells, and Murders
2018
Someone's spreading deadly holiday cheer through Salem, Mass . . .
Lee Barrett has landed her dream job at Salem's WICH-TV. As the new field reporter, she'll be covering events live as they're unfolding. Next on her holiday checklist is an interview with the beloved chairman of a popular walking tour through Salem's historic districts. But it may be his ghost walking this snowy Noel season after Lee finds him murdered in his stately offices, bloody Santa hat askew.
With her police detective boyfriend working the case and a witch's brew of suspects—including some bell-ringing Santas—Lee chases down leads aided and abetted by her wise cat O'Ryan and some unsettling psychic visions of her own. When a revealing clue leads to another dead body, not even a monster blizzard can stop Lee from inching closer to the truth . . . and a scoop that could spell her own demise this killer Christmas.
Praise for the Witch City Mysteries
#8
Final Exam
2019
A cold case update in Salem, Massachusetts . . .
Life at the house on Winter Street is abuzz with preparations for Aunt Ibby's 45th high school reunion, and Lee Barrett is happy to pitch in, tracking down addresses and licking envelopes. But as a field reporter for Salem's WICH-TV, her priority is to be on top of the town's latest news before for anyone else.
When the local police dredge up a vintage sports car containing human remains, Lee is thrilled to be the first reporter on the scene. Once she learns the car is connected to the cold case her boyfriend Pete happens to be investigating, her powers of investigation are quickly alerted. But it's her Aunt Libby's emotional reaction to Lee's TV report that puts her on the case. With the help of O'Ryan, her psychic feline sidekick, she'll have to unravel a tangled past of secrets and promises to stop a killer from making history again . . .
#9
Late Checkout
2019
A dead ballplayer means foul play in Salem . . .
Field reporter Lee Barrett is not happy that her hours are being cut back at WICH-TV, although it is nice to spend more time volunteering with Aunt Ibby, a research librarian at Salem's main branch. But Lee's least favorite task is going up to the stacks, a spooky, seldom-frequented upper section of the library. On this day she has good reason to be afraid—she finds a dead man, surrounded by hundreds of scattered books and torn-out pages.
Her police detective beau, Pete Mondello, is soon on the scene, and the deceased is identified as a former minor league baseball player—and ex-con—named Wee Willie Wallace, who hasn't been seen in Salem for twenty years. With help from her friend River's Tarot reading, her clairvoyant cat O'Ryan, and Lee's own psychic gifts, she steps up to the plate to catch the killer who took the old ballplayer out of the game . . .
Praise for the Witch City Mysteries
“Perfectly relaxing and readable.”
— Kirkus Reviews
“This rewarding paranormal cozy series debut will have Victoria Laurie fans lining up to follow.”
— Library Journal
“An entertaining story that keeps readers guessing until the very twisted and eerie end.”
— RT Book Reviews
#10
Murder, Take Two
2020
When a copycat killer has reporter Lee Barrett brushing up on ancient history, it’s a test where failure could be lethal . . .
As a Salem, Massachusetts, native, WICH-TV field reporter and amateur sleuth Lee Barrett is well versed in the region’s lore. So when the murder of revered local professor Samuel Bond resembles a killing from almost two centuries ago, everyone is on edge. Especially assistant professor Cody McGinnis . . .
Not only did Cody have differences with Bond, he even taught a course on the historic murder. And when his fingerprints and ladder are found at the crime scene, the police are certain of his guilt. Cody’s family, however, believes otherwise and asks Lee for assistance. Now, with the help of her clairvoyant cat, O’Ryan, her tech-savvy librarian aunt and housemate Ibby, and Pete Mondello, her handsome detective beau, Lee will delve deeper than ever into Salem’s past—and into her own psychic gifts—to find the real killer—before someone else is history . . .
Praise for the Witch City Mysteries
“Perfectly relaxing and readable.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“This rewarding paranormal cozy series debut will have Victoria Laurie fans lining up to follow.”
—Library Journal
“An entertaining story that keeps readers guessing until the very twisted and eerie end.”
—RT Book Reviews
#11
See Something
2021
Salem's WICH-TV program director Lee Barrett is about to discover no good deed goes unpunished...
Lee has been promoted from field reporter to program director. Keeping track of all the shows and managing the local TV personalities—including a cowboy, a clown, and a performing dog—has her head spinning. Perhaps that's what makes her take pity on the distraught woman she finds sitting alone on a bench on the Salem common. When she realizes that the poor woman doesn't even know her own name, Lee takes her into the warmth of the home she shares with her Aunt Ibby and their clairvoyant gentleman cat, O'Ryan. Maybe Lee can use her own psychic gifts to divine the woman's identity.
Lee's detective beau Pete Mondello wants to talk to the "Jane Doe," but before he can investigate, he's called to a crime scene. A body has been found washed up in a narrow harbor cove. As harmless as her new houseguest seems, Lee can't help but wonder if she may be harboring a killer...
#12
'Til Death
2022
After finally tying the knot in their bewitching hometown of Salem, Massachusetts, psychic sleuth Lee Barrett and her police detective fiancée are ready to enjoy a romantic honeymoon in Maine…despite the presence of an uninvited ghost (or two)!
The staff at Salem, Massachusetts’s local station, WICH-TV, is looking forward to the wedding of their program director, Lee Barrett. But when Lee heads off on her Maine honeymoon, she’ll be haunted by the ghosts of her own past . . .
Lee and Detective Sergeant Pete Mondello are finally tying the knot—and Lee is tying up loose ends before the big day. It’ll be an adjustment moving out of Aunt Ibby’s house, but the couple will stay nearby—after all, they have to share custody of O’Ryan, their clairvoyant cat. And Aunt Ibby will be renting out Lee’s old apartment . . . though she’s getting some bad vibes from her current prospective tenant.
After the celebration, complete with a cake made by the station magician, there should be time to relax—but the Maine island happens to be near the site of the crash that long ago killed Lee’s parents, a mystery she’s never been able to solve. Soon she’ll be putting wedding gifts aside and turning to her psychic gifts instead, to wrap up crimes both past and present . . .
#13
Halloween Cupcake Murder
2023
A trio of sweet-toothed Halloween cozy mystery tales by nationally bestselling authors.
HALLOWEEN CUPCAKE MURDER by CARLENE O'CONNOR
With Galway’s Halloween Mystery Tour only a few days away, Tara Meehan is scouring the town’s curiosity shops for spooky decorations to draw tourists into her architectural salvage store. But when a stranger appears in her shop bearing a cryptic cupcake and an ominous message, Tara suddenly finds herself tangled in a mystery with ancient Gaelic roots, but very modern—and very deadly—consequences . . .
MRS. CLAUS AND THE CANDY CORN CAPER by LIZ IRELAND
Christmastown is pulling out all the stops for their Halloween celebration, planning a huge carnival with rides, games, and a candy corn-themed bake-off! But the sweet theme stokes the bitterest of rivalries amongst the elves, until tragedy strikes at Santaland’s newest bakery. The only clue is a cupcake, leaving Mrs. Claus to sort through tricks and treats as she races to unmask a Halloween fiend . . .
A TRIPLE LAYER HALLOWEEN MURDER by CAROL J. PERRY
Every October, Salem plunges into a month-long celebration of Halloween and WICH-TV’s Lee Barrett can’t wait to cover the festivities. But rumors swirl after a wealthy bakery owner goes missing—and his beloved cat, Cupcake, is found—under mysterious circumstances. Now, amid Salem’s wicked revelry, Lee must conjure clues to reveal the missing millionaire . . . or the truth about his disappearance . . .
Authors
Liz Ireland
Author · 23 books
Liz was born in Texas and credits a rural upbringing in a houseful of books for her lifelong love of stories. After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, she moved to New York and worked various jobs (book clerk, world’s slowest professional typist, substitute teacher) before landing a job in publishing. Since then, she’s made her home in Austin, Portland (Oregon), Ottawa, Montreal, and now Vancouver Island in British Columbia. In her free time, she enjoys playing in local concert bands, watching classic films, and—of course—reading. In addition to her writing career, Liz has worked for two decades as a fiction editor. She’s a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and has served as a regional representative for Crime Writers of Canada. Under the pen name Liz Freeland, Liz writes the Louise Faulk historical mystery series. She also writes women's fiction as Elizabeth Bass.
Carol J. Perry
Author · 16 books
Carol J. Perry is the author of the Witch City Mystery series and the Haunted Haven series, both from Kensington Publishers. The Witch City stories take place in the magical city of Salem, Massachusetts—the "Witch City." Carol was actually born in Salem (on Halloween eve!) and knows the city well. The Haunted Haven books take place in Carol's adopted home state of Florida. As an experienced travel writer for magazines and newspapers, Carol knows her way around the Sunshine State too. The Salem books are based of course on a real city but Haven, Florida is made up of bits and pieces of some of the Sunshine State's charming older towns—bypassed by the theme parks. Readers of the Witch City books have come to know O'Ryan, a most remarkable cat. The new series introduces Finn, a lovable Golden Retriever. Carol lives in the Tampa Bay area of Florida with her husband Dan. Librarian’s note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Carlene O'Connor
Author · 19 books
Carlene O’Connor is the USA Today Bestselling author of The Irish Village Mystery Series, (8 books so far), The Home to Ireland Series (2-books), and the upcoming (2022) County Kerry Mystery series. She comes from a long line of Irish storytellers. Her great-grandmother emigrated from Ireland to America and the stories have been flowing ever since. Of all the places across the pond she’s wandered, she fell most in love with a walled town in County Limerick and was inspired to create the town of Kilbane, County Cork. https://carleneoconnor.net/
