The Book of Beloved

A summer house party in Mobile, Alabama seems the perfect answer to the loneliness and depression Raissa James endures in the summer of 1920. A WWI widow, Raissa is young, educated, and a lover of the ghostly tales of Poe, La Fanu, and others.

Caoin House, a sprawling estate in Mobile County, belongs to her uncle Brett Airley. Raissa is the guest of honor for the fete. Food, liquor, games, and laughter remind Raissa that life has only begun for her. She has lost a lot, but so much more remains.

When a guest plunges to his death from the roof of Caoin House, Raissa becomes aware that her uncle shares the houses with others. With the dead. An ability tamped down in childhood springs back to life, and Raissa is determined to figure out who, or what, played a role in a young man’s death. But it is dangerous work.

Raissa seeks the help of a world-renowned medium and a chain of events are set in motion that can’t be stopped. But assistance comes in the form of Reginald Proctor, a handsome young assistant to the medium. Raissa can see the dead, but Reginald can read the living.

Together they make up a detective duo that explores the secrets of the supernatural world. They are Pluto’s Snitch detective agency.

originally released in 2021 by Thomas & Mercer publishing