The Red Hoodie

In The Red Hoodie, the second installment in the Amber McNeil Mystery series, my psychic sleuth investigates another cold case tinged with a fairy-tale element.

Amber is shocked to discover that circumstances surrounding the disappearance of eight-year-old Marie Troy decades ago hints of Little Red Riding Hood. Marie dropped off a jar of soup at her grandmother’s one morning, then walked to school but never got there. The red hoodie she wore that day was her favorite, but it—along with Marie—vanished.

Sergeant Ryan Baxter, Amber’s partner in the new Montreal Police Services cold case unit, determines that evidence in the case is scant. They need to start the investigation from scratch. Under pressure to solve a quota of unsolved cold cases with limited time and resources, they must trust each other to find Marie’s abductor. Worse yet, their jobs—and the unit—could be eliminated if they don’t produce results soon.

Gifted with the ability to sense details about people and things that are hidden to others, Amber shares her insights from recent findings in Marie’s case with Ryan. He listens with respect and an open mind, but as a seasoned homicide detective and criminal profiler, he prefers to rely on solid evidence.

Their jobs come with other challenges too. Amber’s psychic gift—and the mutual attraction between her and Ryan—are secrets they must keep.

Ambers struggles with disturbing images she perceives from new physical evidence in Marie’s case. Even the amethyst crystal she hides in her pocket isn’t enough to calm her emotional reactions—reactions that other colleagues in the small office are noticing. Although Amber makes up excuses when they question her, she can’t maintain the pretense much longer. Can she trust them with her secret?

Desperate to find more evidence, Amber digs into the darkness of her past to bring the elusive killer to justice—even if it means confronting her worst nightmare.

Visit the Amber McNeil Mystery Books page on this website to find out how you can join my sleuths in their adventures.

The Missing Slipper

My inspiration for the Amber McNeil Mystery series came from a pairing of intriguing topics: cold case investigations and the paranormal. After researching the current book market, I discovered that my new series would fill a niche for readers who were captivated by the same subjects.

So I created Amber McNeil, a twenty-five-year-old consultant with psychic abilities who came highly recommended to work with police investigators on cold cases. Gifted with the ability to sense facts about individuals and things that are imperceptible to others, Amber is careful to share her secret only with the people she trusts.

Weaving a fairy-tale element through the plotline in The Missing Slipper, the first book in the series, was an instinctive choice. Who wouldn’t be captivated by a fairy-tale cold case that police investigators had nicknamed the Cinderella file? If you haven’t read the book yet, be advised that there are no fairy godmothers or magic pumpkins in this one.

As for the setting in my story, I adopted certain aspects of it from the Montreal Police Services. It established its first dedicated cold case unit to investigate unsolved crimes three years ago. A handful of investigators were assigned to the unit to review 800 cases of unsolved homicides and disappearances that had occurred since 1980. The goal was to re-examine case details to ensure that nothing was missed and to use modern technology where possible to help solve cases.

In The Missing Slipper, Amber McNeil joins Sergeant Ryan Baxter, a homicide detective and criminal profiler, to jumpstart the new cold case unit of the Montreal Police Services. With budget and time constraints threatening the permanence of their jobs, they face a formidable challenge in solving the Cinderella case.

The story focuses on the investigation of a fictitious child abduction case that occurred decades earlier in Montreal. As in real life, advanced forensics tools weren’t available back then, making police investigations difficult—if not impossible—and many cases remained unsolved. With rising crime rates and frequent budget cuts over subsequent years, police resources were redistributed to active investigations and hundreds of old cases went cold.

Amber and Ryan’s challenge on the job extends to their personal relationship. Since they approach the case using their own specific methods, intuition and logic are at odds. Ryan insists on solid evidence to back his suspicions, while Amber believes that her insights can guide them to the real perpetrator. When Ryan questions her abilities, self-doubts gnaw at Amber, and she knows she must overcome them to prove her worth. As you can imagine, their different points of view breed conflict between them, and conflict leads to....

Well, you’ll have to read the story to find out what awaits this young investigative couple in their quest to locate an elusive abductor. You can be sure that The Missing Slipper is only the beginning of their thrilling adventures together.

Visit the Amber McNeil Books page on this website to learn more.

Listening to Audiobooks

After my six novels in the Megan Scott/Michael Elliott Mystery series were published in paperback and eBook formats, I welcomed the opportunity to diversify. Armed with an equal dose of determination and curiosity, I looked into the production of audiobooks for my novels.

Data from retail bookstores and public libraries indicated that the number of people listening to the audiobook format of storytelling was steadily increasing. Since audiobooks allowed speedy download access and easy portability, you could listen to them on your iPod, tablet, or other device while multitasking, exercising, or relaxing at home.

Through Audible, a subsidiary of Amazon, I took the plunge into this new venture. I listened to sample submissions from narrators who auditioned for False Impressions, book 1 in my mystery series. Most candidates had years of experience in narrating books. Others had also performed on stage and in film and had done voice-overs for commercials. I was in awe of their extensive expertise and the diversification of their accomplishments.

Since my books are told in the first-person point of view of Megan Scott, my thirty-something main character, I wanted a narrator whose voice reflected her age and personality. The same person would have to narrate every character’s voice in False Impressions, including the male voices, and then refine the entire performance with the assistance of a studio engineer. When we’re talking about narrating a three-hundred-page novel, it translates to weeks of studio time—or longer. I commend narrators for their diligence and the long hours they spend in recording sessions.

After I’d listened to brief sample auditions from potential candidates, I dwindled my choices to a short list of narrators, then made my final decision. Selecting only one was the difficult part, but Kelli Tager’s smooth voice and experience simplified my decision. As soon as we’d agreed on the schedule and finalized the legal paperwork, Kelli began to work on the project.

A few months later, I received the finalized version of my audiobook. Goosebumps rose along my arms as I listened to it. Thanks to Kelli, I could hear all the characters I’d created in False Impressions, from the private thoughts voiced by an emotional Megan Scott to the blunt comments uttered by Detective Moreau and emphasized by his French-Canadian accent. Not only had Kelli enriched their personalities by giving each character a unique voice, but she’d also enhanced the original image I’d had of them.

If you’ve never listened to an audiobook, you’re in for a thrill. It’s the next best thing to watching a movie or TV show because it helps you to visualize the characters as they speak and interact. Their voices draw you deeper into the story, and you can’t help but feel as if you’re actually there with them.

Audiobooks for the other novels in my mystery series are scheduled for production over the following year. To keep things consistent, Kelli will be narrating them. You can bet they’ll be just as exciting!

To listen to an audio sample of False Impressions and find out where you can get the audiobook, visit this page on my website.

Icy Silence: Setting

Memories of winter storms, snowbound homes, and inaccessible roads came to mind when I sat down to write Icy Silence, book 3 in the Megan Scott/Michael Elliott Mystery series. With so many images to draw from, it was easy to paint the weather as a formidable adversary in the story.

An isolated private collage school during an ice storm offered the perfect setting for Icy Silence—one that I created based on the actual 1998 Canadian ice storm that affected millions of people and killed dozens. The massive storm system damaged ice-encrusted trees, buildings, and electrical infrastructure, and resulted in widespread power outages and road closures. Lasting up to several weeks in some areas, it meant no communication with the outside world and limited means of travel in Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritimes, and New York and Maine in the US.

In Icy Silence, Megan and Michael visit the fictitious Verdell College School located in a rural area about an hour’s drive from the closest city. They’re prevented from leaving the next day when the ice storm hits. That teens from affluent families attend the elite boarding school exacerbates the situation once everyone realizes their cell phones no longer work. And if they thought that was bad...

In a previous blog, I highlighted the cascading events that led to a “do or die” situation at Verdell College School: lack of heat and electricity, shortage of food and water, and no help from the outside world. Not to mention two dead students and an elusive murderer in their midst!

Here are several passages from the viewpoint of main character Megan Scott as she describes the ongoing storm effects: 

“Clusters of majestic fir trees lined the road, their branches glistening with ice as they huddled against the biting wind.”

“A thunderous crash outdoors startled me, and I ran to the window. Branches of a gigantic maple tree had split off and fallen, blocking the road in front of the dorm... I slipped under the covers and finally fell asleep to the rhythmic sound of ice pellets hitting the window.”

“Long spikes of ice dangled from towering tree branches and threatened to fall at any moment. I steered clear and walked along a narrow path between the trees, taking care to avoid shards of ice scattered on the ground.”

“Even the hazy light entering the ice-frosted windows couldn’t soften the students’ anxious expressions as they huddled in groups in the atrium... With little food and no heat, Verdell was fast approaching a desperate situation.”

Here’s a peek at another setting in Icy Silence—one that is no less daunting—as Megan discovers an abandoned mine beneath the private school:

“Seconds later I heard a sound above me.

What was that? A bird?

Impossible. Birds don’t live in abandoned mines this far below ground.

Clicking sounds.

Crickets?

A beam aimed at the ceiling revealed the source.

Bats in hibernation. Hundreds—maybe thousands—of them bunched on the ceiling and walls.”

Icy Silence has received favorable reviews, including a five-star review from Readers’ Favorite, a professional book review site. If you haven’t yet read it, visit my Books page to find out where you can get your copy.

A Perplexing Victim

In Fatal Whispers, book 2 in the Megan Scott/Michael Elliott Mystery series, my sleuths investigate three unexplained deaths in Portland, Maine, including that of a millionaire’s beautiful young wife. With George Gray’s approval, they dig deeper into the late Tiffany Gray’s life but discover little background about the former beauty queen who had married a man twice her age.

As Megan and Michael search for the truth, people close to Tiffany share their experiences—good and bad. But contradictory statements from witnesses thwart their attempts to understand the woman who had mysteriously collapsed in the kitchen of her sprawling mansion.

In the vein of a modern-day Downton Abbey, certain characters in the Grays’ elite circle don’t hesitate to reveal their dislike of Tiffany, while others choose to mislead instead. Here are their testimonies:

From an employee at Bianca’s Gardens, a flower shop that Tiffany Gray had frequented: “The whole town knows what a tramp she was, hitting on anything that wore pants, including their live-in personal trainer.”

Megan makes this observation as she waits to interview George Gray in his spacious living room: “Framed pictures crammed the wall... Chronological glimpses into George’s life included photos of him as a child through to his university graduation...and later, with George and Tiffany. Of notable exclusion were photos of Tiffany with George’s parents. Had they chosen not to be photographed with her, or had someone deliberately removed the photos?”

“Tiffany came into my life like a breath of fresh air,” George Gray said later. “She was a beautiful, kindhearted person.”

Testimony from Josephine, George’s mother: “Tiffany wasn’t what one would call cultured... She didn’t fit into our practice of marrying into a proper family, if you know what I mean.”

Testimony from Stanley, George’s father, as he spoke to Josephine: “You know very well what that poor girl was up against. She didn’t have a chance in hell with you and your circle of chatty... We have to give the girl some credit, Josie... Raising funds for charities...building a new wing for the hospital...”

From Tyler, George’s personal live-in trainer: “Take my word for it. It was a marriage of convenience... She was his trophy wife.”

A statement from Mrs. Nolan, George’s live-in cook, when asked if Tiffany Gray might have had an extramarital affair: “I can’t imagine what would possess her to seek out other men when she was married to such a fine gentleman like Mr. Gray. She was mad about him, she was.”

Lori, the young live-in maid at the Gray residence, shared her feelings about Tiffany: “She was like an older sister to me. She’d often knock at my door at night...bring me leftover sandwiches or cupcakes from her fancy lunches with the rich women she invited here. We’d watch TV or chat for a bit... She cried a lot during our last visits.”

A private comment from one of the well-heeled women at a committee meeting held at the exclusive Birchwood Club: “A lot of good George’s money did her. She croaked before she could spend it.”

Yes, Tiffany Gray had her quota of friends and foes. The mystery behind her sudden death represented a clear challenge for Megan and Michael. That is, until they uncovered stunning evidence that shook the investigation to its core.

If you haven’t yet read Fatal Whispers, visit the Books page on my website to find out where you can get your copy. 

5-star review of Fatal Whispers from Readers’ Favorite:

“The author strings readers along with clever clues, mild humour, and a cast of thought-provoking characters. She introduces two very likeable crime solvers who are as interesting as the mystery itself.”