Lana Malloy Paranormal Mystery Series
Lana Malloy Paranormal Mystery Series
Haunted
Hearts – Book 1
Blurb:
“Twists and turns abound in
this suspenseful novel having the reader on the edge of their seat until the
climatic conclusion.” – Nancy Carty Lepri, Freelance Editor, Reviewer, and Author
of Tommy’s Amigo and Tiny Angel“Haunted Hearts by Kim Cox is a charming . . . ghost story . . . The ghost characters and their living relatives were all delightful and fun. And of course . . . there is romance as well as the mystery.” – Fallen Angel Reviews
Will Lana Malloy solve the twenty-year-old double murder of her great aunt and her great aunt’s fiancé by Memorial Day? If she can, they’ll spend eternity together; if she can’t, they’ll be stuck as Haunted Hearts for another year.
Scheduled Releases:
Book 2: Get Out or Die - July
2015
Book 3: The Wedding Crasher -
September 2015
Book 4: Christmas Cruise -
November 2015
Buy
Links
$2.99 at Amazon
Excerpt:
Chapter One
“How do you
like it?” Lucy Ann Malloy, stood at the top of the stairs, turned to the right
then to the left as she modeled the blue and green pastel dress. “I found it in
the attic with some of my old things.” She lingered in the doorway of the main
floor. “Well?”
Lana Malloy
looked up from editing the ad for her new PI business. “Nice,” she said and
returned to her work.
Lucy moved
to Lana’s side and gazed over her shoulder. “What are you working on?
“The ad for
the local newspapers and a few magazines. I’ve got to figure out how to attract
some business or I’ll never make it through the first month.”
A chill
filled the air surrounding Lana and she shivered, pulling her wrap tightly
around her.
“I have an
idea and it’s actually a pretty good one. I know who your first client can be.”
Without
glancing away from her paper, Lana asked, “And who would that be?”
“Me.”
“You” Her
interest piqued, Lana shifted in her seat to face her aunt. “What are you
talking about?”
Lucy’s white
hair shone with blue highlights as if she’d just had it rinsed. She was very
well preserved for someone who’d been dead twenty years. “Find my murderer so I
can rest in peace. How about it?” Lana’s great-aunt had been with her since she
moved into the old beach house in Charleston, South Carolina, five years ago.
“But I need
cash. Who would be paying for my services?” Lana smiled, pulling her reading
glasses off and laying them on her desk. She loved her great-aunt, but she
could be a card. Lucy had always been a rebel, always trying to be different
from everyone else. “Besides, you died over twenty years ago. That’s a cold
trail for sure.”
“I got
money, smarty—a lot of money that no one has found . . .” Lucy covered her
mouth with both hands then removed them. “Oh well, the cat’s out of the bag now.
I can’t spend it anyway.”
“But you
died more than—”
“Let me
finish. Shows how much you or any of those cops know.” She glided back and
forth across the room as if she were dancing at her coming-out ball.
“Well?”
“Get out
your pencil and pad and take notes.”
“Not until
I’m sure what you’re telling me is the truth.” Lucy sometimes changed details
to suit herself and the moment, but she’d never talked about her death before
today. Lana never questioned her because she thought it may be too painful for
her aunt to relive.
“Have I ever
lied to you? Never mind, don’t answer that.” Lucy laughed as she stopped in
midair, lowered herself down to the desk and hovered in a sitting position just
above the surface. Then she crossed her legs. “It was late May. The last thing
I remember, I was helping David eat his supper. He had been sick the last few
days and I went over to visit. He didn’t eat much of his potato soup and I love
potato soup on a cool night. You know that kind your mother used to whip up?”
Lucy licked her lips. “I miss food more than anything else since I’ve been
dead. There’s no need to eat anymore…no appetite.”
“Get on with
your murder case, please.”
“Oh yeah. I
tend to get sidetracked now and then,” she said, smiling, her eyes twinkling.
“Anyway, I never left that room. Then I woke up in my own house dead and
floating above my own body lying on the living room floor, right there in front
of the sofa. The next morning, your mother came to see me and found me…I mean,
my body. That’s it.”
“Right. You
were poisoned, but your murderer was never caught,” Lana mused.
“You call
yourself a private investigator? Elementary, my dear Lana. Use some logic. How
did I get from Davide’s to my house?”
Lana nibbled
the eraser on the end of her pencil then flipped the paper over on her spiral
notebook. She jotted down a couple of notes. “So…you believe you were poisoned
at Davide’s home, but someone brought you back here either just before or after
you died?”
“By golly, I
believe she’s got it.”
“Are you
sure you didn’t just forget going home?”
“I didn’t
forget. I was only sixty-five and not senile. Someone must’ve moved me while I
was unconscious or after I died. Can’t you see that?”
Lana stood
and paced the room. “It’s a possibility, I guess. What did the police say?”
“They said,
‘The old broad croaked. No suspects.’ And they investigated no further.” Lucy
moved up behind Lana. “Clue number two, I’ve been reading up on my ghostly
position as well. Did you know there are specific reasons why ghosts haunt
places?”
“No. What are
they?”
“According
to this, my reason is…” Lucy took out a book, brushed the air above it until it
opened to the bookmark, and then she started to read. “When someone is murdered
and the murder goes unsolved, their spirit must wait around until the mystery
is solved, usually around the anniversary of their death.”
“Where did
you get that book?”
“Here, in
this house.”
Lana
sauntered into the library and fingered through the books on the shelves. “I
didn’t know we had all these books on ghosts and hauntings.” Lana smiled until
she saw the woeful expression on Lucy’s face. She was serious about this and
Lana felt badly she hadn’t realized it sooner. She loved the woman dearly, but
often, Lucy kidded around so much it was hard to tell when her aunt was genuine.
“Where did these come from?”
“I found
them in the attic, dusted them off and put them on the shelf last night. You
believe me now?”
“I don’t
know. I’ll read over some of these today and see what’s what.” Lana brought a
book back to her desk as Lucy followed. “What exactly did you figure out? And
if you’ve solved it, why do you need me?”
“Not
everything. Just what I need to do to get to my resting place. I was killed on
May 26, 1994, two weeks before Davide and I were to be married.”
“So?”
“I need to
find my murderer by Memorial Day this year, or I’ll be stuck here until next
year, same time.”
“Why?”
“Because
that’s when I died.” Lucy placed her hands on her hips. “Haven’t you been
listening? Anyway, the book says it’s the only time I’ll have the opportunity
this year to claim my eternity.” She pointed to the book Lana held. “It’s on
page fifty-two.”
“Do you have
any suspects?” Lana flipped through the pages. “This is interesting.”
“That old
buzzard I was trying to help.”
“Davide?
Your fiancé?” Lana lifted her head.
Lucy shook
her head in agreement. “That’s the buzzard.”
“You two
were going to be married in a few weeks. Why would he want you dead?”
“That, I
don’t know. But I think he’s as good a place to start our search as any. If it
wasn’t him, it was someone in his family. They were all against us marrying.
Especially his son, Anthony.”
“Our search?
But you can’t—”
“But I can.”
Displaying a sneaky grin, she said, “I read about it in that book. I can leave
anytime I want. I just haven’t wanted to badly enough until now. Plus, I need
to attach myself to something in order to leave. That something, or rather
someone, is you.” She laughed.
A couple of
hours later, Lana regarded Lucy as she drifted into her office with a tray of
food—a tuna fish sandwich with pickles and chips. She had been reading The
Mysterious Hauntings.
“I thought
you could use some nourishment. Seafood is brain food, you know.”
When Lucy
floated back across the room, Lana glimpsed a terrified face in the window
nearest the side door leading to the carport. It was her neighbor, Roxie
Thomas, with curlers in her strawberry blonde hair and cold cream still
covering her horrified face. When the dress glided toward a filing cabinet,
Roxie’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped. The closed window muffled her
screams.
Other
Books in the Lana Malloy Series
Get
Out or Die – Book 2 – Release Date: July 1, 2015
Blurb:
Since the news of her first case, Lana Malloy’s Private
Investigating/Mediator business is booming. At one pro-bono job, Lana helps a
widow communicate with her late husband and learns of a frightening new ability
she wasn’t aware she possessed-an ability that could give the spirit the upper
hand if she’s not careful. Lana struggles for control when she encounters the
angry ghost who doesn’t want to leave and who doesn’t want the occupants of the
house to stay.
Will Lana be able to control the situation or will the ghost
sense he can overtake her? Does she have other abilities she can rely on to
save her?
“Haunting tales of mystery and love that transcend time and
death . . . In GET OUT OR DIE . . . Lana Malloy helps restless spirits, and the
families they are haunting, find peace. The murder mystery aspect adds a nice
touch of intrigue . . . a page turner . . .” ~ Paranormal Romance Reviews
” . . . showcase of the vivid imaginations . . . a
delightfully stimulating read.” ~ The Romance Studio
“. . . outstanding . . .” ~ Coffee Time Romance
The
Wedding Crasher – Book 3 – Release Date: September, 2015
Lana Malloy is getting ready to marry the love of her life,
Tony Calabria. The night before they marry, she has a vision of a disturbing
wedding and wonders if it’s a premonition of her own. Feeling silly for
thinking that, she proceeds with her plans as scheduled.
During their honeymoon in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Lana has
visions of a young woman abducted by a madman, who will be forced to marry him
if he isn’t stopped. She senses marriage isn’t the worst thing that could
happen to this woman as she feels the threads of death circling her. She
believes this isn’t the first woman the man has abducted and murdered; he’s
killed before.
Lana can’t ignore her visions. Will Tony understand this
isn’t an obsession, but a calling, and Lana has to do what she can for this
young woman? Will she find the victim in time? If she doesn’t, life will never
be the same.
Christmas
Cruise – Book 4 – Release Date: November, 2015
Lana Malloy and Tony Calabria are ready for a much needed vacation.
The first time they met, they’d talked about taking a cruise together but have
never had the chance, so they decide to take a Christmas Cruise.
As Lana boards the cruise ship, she has an eerie feeling of death
surrounding them. She ignores it at first thinking it’s her fear of the large
ship since this her first cruise after all. The first night she has a vision of
one woman’s rape and murder. It’s not long before she is confronted by the
spirits of young women who had also been raped and then murdered. Now it’s up
to her to find their murderer, someone who could be one of the crew members.
Can she help these women find the justice they deserve?
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