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Gone
Daddy Blues
Grace
Street Mysteries Book 7
by
Jane Tesh
Genre: Paranormal Mystery
Discouraged
by a recent deadbeat dad case, PI David Randall wonders if he should
close the detective agency he operates from his psychic friend
Camden's boarding house at 302 Grace Street in Parkland, North
Carolina. But Doreen Padgett, a scrappy teen, convinces him to find
her useless father, Arliss. Arliss and Doreen's mother have
divorced, and Doreen wants the man to pay what he owes her family.
It's another deadbeat dad, but Randall agrees to take the case.
When
policeman Jordan Finley comes to Grace Street with a blouse he wants
Camden to touch, a blouse that belongs to the victim of a suspected
serial killer, a man with a bizarre fondness for blond hair. Camden
has a serious reaction to the blouse, but can't see anything that
will lead to the killer except a hatred for a woman named Margaret.
Despite
Cam using an accident as an excuse not to be psychic, Randall finds a
connection to Margaret, Arliss, and the serial killer. All of them
plan to attend an upcoming high school reunion, the same reunion
Cam’s wife Ellin is looking forward to. Randall has to find the
killer, especially since he realizes that except for himself,
everyone who lives at 302 Grace Street is blond.
Gone
Daddy Blues is the seventh in the Grace Street Mysteries, the
continuing adventures of the family and friends who live at 302 Grace
Street.
As I got out of the car, Tom grabbed his food and a can of Coke, ready to run.
“It’s okay,” Camden said. “It’s Randall. You remember him.”
Tom’s eyes beamed small and dark from his forest of hair. He said something that sounded like “Urrrhh,” and scurried across the yard to hide behind a tree.
“Nice to see you again, Tom,” I said.
“He’s been helping me rake the leaves,” Camden said. Tom wouldn’t take food unless he did a chore to pay for it.
“Haven’t seen him lately. Been visiting his relatives in Sasquatch Town?”
“He’s been at the shelter in Tranquil Grove, but he didn’t like it. I’ve been trying to explain that he can’t catch a ride with the trains the way he used to. Come have a seat. He’ll be okay.”
Camden sat down in the porch swing, and I sat down in one of the rocking chairs.
Tom peered around the tree like Bigfoot deciding which camper to eat.
There were several cans of soda and a pile of sandwiches on the wicker table between the rocking chairs.
“Can I have one of these, or are they all for Tom?”
“Help yourself.”
“Does he know how to share?”
I got a dark look for a reply. With Tom watching my every move, I chose a sandwich and a Coke, expecting him to hurl himself at the porch to defend his food supply. When he stayed put, I raised my sandwich in salute.
“Come up and join us, Tom.”
To my surprise, he came around the tree and slowly walked up to the porch steps, where he sat down, his eyes still wary, and finished his lunch.
“Is anyone else here?” I asked Camden.
“Kary went down town to the South Avenue Clinic, and Lottie’s rewriting something she calls the windmill scene.” He stopped eating and gave me a power stare. “What’s happened?”
“You were right about something bad happening. There’s been another murder, one of Doreen’s neighbors.”
“The same killer?”
“I think so. It could very well be Arliss Padgett. Don’t be surprised if Jordan comes by with another piece of something for you to hold.”
As I said this, Jordan’s patrol car pulled up. Tom took off, a hairy blur disappearing around the house.
Jordan got out. “What the hell was that?”
“Camden’s werewolf,” I said.
“Save it, Randall.” He took a worn brown shoe from a paper bag. “Cam, if you don’t mind. We’ve got another murder victim.”
I could tell Camden did mind, but he got up and set his Coke aside. He touched the shoe and immediately zoned out. He turned three shades whiter and started breathing hard quick breaths. When I reached over to take the shoe, he shook his head.
“Wait. A few more minutes. I can’t—” He dropped the shoe, groped for the porch swing, and sat down. “Good lord.”
Jordan and I both asked if he was okay. He nodded. He took a drink and caught his breath.
“My God. Her head.”
“Is it the same man you saw before?” Jordan asked.
He took a few more moments before he could reply. “Yes, but there was something different about him this time. Much more violent. Almost as if he were trying to prove something. I still can’t see his face.” He rubbed his eyes. “Sorry. The images were so sudden.”
Jordan took the shoe. “Maybe later?”
I could tell Camden didn’t want to have anything more to do with Pauline Raterman’s shoe. “Maybe.”
“We’ll call you,” I said to Jordan.
He caught my eye and correctly interpreted the message: Enough for now. He thanked Camden for his assistance, got in his car, and drove off. A few minutes later, Tom came around the corner of the house and stood looking at the sandwiches. Camden didn’t seem to notice him, so I handed Tom the plate. He frowned a hairy frown as if I’d committed a social faux pas and carefully picked one sandwich from the pile.
“Pardon me,” I said. “I’m not up on hobo etiquette.”
He frowned another frown at Camden and then glared up the road after Jordan. Probably remembering an unpleasant run-in with the law.
“You okay?” I asked Camden.
He took another drink of Coke. “Add one more unforgettable image to my repertoire.”
“I saw her, too. What did you mean about this one being different?”
“It was the same guy, but not for the same purpose. He didn’t need her hair, he just took it.”
“Compulsively, you mean?”
“I don’t know. He’s using all the hair he’s collected for something. I can’t tell what. But he killed this poor woman just for the hell of it.”
“Because he could, maybe?”
Camden looked off into space. I knew he was seeing Pauline’s badly skinned head because I was, too. “Something else.” He sighed in exasperation. “If I’m not going to get a clear picture, then why get a picture, at all?”
Death
By Dragonfly
Grace
Street Mysteries Book 6
"The
mystery plot is convincing and motives abound, but the vivid
characters are the main draw, in particular the wryly observant
Randall, who narrates the story with verve. Fans of cozies with a
paranormal twist will be rewarded." —Publishers
Weekly
Flamboyant
actor Leo Pierson's Art Nouveau treasures have been stolen, including
a one-of-a-kind Lalique glass dragonfly he claims is cursed. David
Randall, 302 Grace Street's private eye, agrees to recover the
valuables before he realizes murder has raised its ugly head in the
Parkland art community. Samuel Gallant of the museum board is
missing, until Randall and his landlord/consultant Camden find
Gallant's body stuffed in a museum closet. When another board member
suffers a fatal accident and the art critic for the Parkland
Herald is
attacked, Randall suspects the stolen dragonfly is indeed cursed. He
investigates Richard Mason, curator of the Little Gallery, whose
artwork consists of ugly mechanical sculptures, and Nancy Piper,
finance manager at the Parkland Art Museum.
Meanwhile,
Camden struggles against psychic visions he's had since birth, taking
pills to limit sudden intense visions. His wife, Ellin, fends off
Matt Grabber, a television celebrity healer threatening to take over
her Psychic Service Network and using his two large pythons to
emphasize his bid. The pythons take a liking to Camden, upping his
stress level, while he takes more pills hoping his visions—and the
snakes—disappear. Kit, a new tenant at Grace Street, is a young
rock star who is also psychic. As Camden becomes more addicted, Kit
becomes an early warning system, alerting Randall to the next attack.
Randall
works to solve the murders, find the jeweled collection, help Cam,
deter Grabber and his pythons, romance the young lovely Kary, and
avoid stray curses. A spirit on the Other Side surprisingly requests
his help, a spirit with ties to the stolen pieces of Art Nouveau.
Baby,
Take a Bow
Grace
Street Mysteries Book 5
"...readers
seeking a cozy, feel-good mystery will enjoy this outing to Grace
Street. The delightful characters navigate their worldly and
otherworldly challenges with affection and humor, and Tesh maintains
a whimsical tone that doesn't detract from the serious subject
matter."
—Publishers
Weekly
Camden's
friend Rufus Jackson receives a letter from his ex-wife, Bobbi, and
he's surprised to learn he's the father of a baby. When Bobbi is
found murdered in her home and her baby stolen, Rufus becomes suspect
number one. PI David Randall immediately takes the case.
But
Randall is almost sidetracked from the case by a series of what
appears to be never-ending favors. When he takes his friend Cam to
the Carlyle House to sing for a concert, Cam encounters Delores
Carlyle, a troubled spirit trapped inside a huge mirror, who wants to
see her daughter, Beverly, one last time. Beverly Carlyle will come
to the house on one condition: that Randall find a home for her surly
teenage son, Kit, and a band for her obnoxious daughter, Frieda. Kit
is welcome at 302 Grace, but to secure a spot for Frieda, Randall has
to get a local girl group a gig at a local nightclub. The owner
agrees, if Cam will pose as a teenager and spy on a rival club. Cam
agrees if Randall will take him to Green Valley to answer some
questions about his past. And another ghost is haunting the hot dog
restaurant, refusing to talk to Cam.
In
addition to the tangle of deals, Randall has to contend with Rufus
being hell-bent on revenge, the return of Cam's telekinesis, and
growing concern that if the baby—a girl named Mary Rose, as it
turns out—is found, Rufus, might not want to keep her.
But
where is Mary Rose?
Just
You Wait
Grace
Street Mysteries Book 4
David
Randall, a private detective short of work, invites his psychic
friend Camden into a case. Miss Viola Mitchell, an aging local
actress, has recently been reported missing. The Parkland PD's Jordan
Finley objects to the pair inspecting Viola's home, claiming the
police don't need their help. Moments later, despite the array of
birds and cats perfuming the residence, Cam advises Finley, "Check
the basement."
Viola
is neatly planted there in a square of dirt. Who would kill her? Why?
Are others targeted? Is a local performer twisted by jealousy? Could
a role in a Parkland Little Theatre production have caused her death?
Cam goes undercover at the theater while rejecting demands from his
fiancée that they marry this month. His psychic gifts have expanded
to levitate objects. He fears for their children. She wants to put
him on television.
Meanwhile,
a new Grace Street client, owner of popular BeautiQueen Cosmetics, is
searching for her arrogant, absconding partner. Randall tracks him to
Clearwater, Florida, and soon finds himself chasing shoplifters
stealing pharmaceuticals and helping a jazz musician woo his woman
while failing to woo his own love, Kary. Will Randall and Cam piece
all this together?
Now
You See It
Grace
Street Mysteries Book 3
Who
is audacious enough to steal an antique box once owned by Harry
Houdini? This collector’s treasure, skillfully hidden in the local
Magic Club— a nightclub where magicians perform—is not merely an
old theatrical prop. It is the prize in a contest that promises to
jump start a magician’s career. At least that’s what Taft and
Lucas Finch hoped before their prized possession was stolen. Private
investigator David Randall is already busy searching for socialite
Sandy Olaf’s missing diamond bracelet when he begins the search for
Houdini’s box. But instead of finding the valuable box, Randall
finds Taft murdered, his body locked in a backstage trunk. The
magical world is brimming with jealous suspects, less successful
magical competitors, romantic rivals, business conflicts, and
festering hurts from long ago. Randall’s friend Camden is concerned
with losing his voice, his girlfriend Kary insists on being a
magician’s assistant, and Cam’s girlfriend Ellin has to deal with
the overbearing Sheila Kirk, wife of a potential sponsor, who insists
on hosting the Psychic Service Network’s programs.
Warned
away from interfering in a police homicide investigation, Randall
focuses on finding the box, searching for a missing diamond bracelet,
and handling the crises embroiling his unique housemates in their
rambling home on Grace Street. It will take a stroke of magic to
connect the interlocking circles of these crimes.
Mixed
Signals
Grace
Street Mysteries Book 2
"A
solid mystery with a plethora of suspects and quirky
regulars."—Kirkus
Reviews
It's
Christmas in Parkland, North Carolina, and PI David Randall is
looking forward to his mother's visit, even though he knows she'll
want to talk about his daughter, Lindsey, who died in a car accident.
Further dampening the season's cheer, his psychic friend Camden has
harrowing flashbacks to a murder: Randall and Camden found Camden's
friend Jared Hunter brutally stabbed. Among the suspects is Boyd
Taylor, Randall's client. Jared had served time for breaking into the
Parkland Museum of History. Bert Galvin, son of the editor of the
Parkland Herald, was also involved.
And
what of the inept superhero, the Parkland Avenger? The Superhero
Society of Parkland insists the Avenger isn't one of them. Are these
things all somehow related?
Stolen
Hearts
Grace
Street Mysteries Book 1
2018
– ALA Book Club October Pick, Things that Go Bump:
Paranormal Mysteries
David
Randall's perfect family life came derailed when his little daughter
Lindsey died in a car crash. Thrown out by his second wife and
wanting to leave a dead-end detective agency to start his own, he
reluctantly accepts his psychic friend Camden's invitation to stay in
Camden's boarding house in Parkland, North Carolina.
Meanwhile,
working the case of the murder of Albert Bennett, Randall's only clue
is a notebook filled with odd musical notation. When another client,
Melanie Gentry, hires him to prove her great-grandmother was murdered
by her lover, composer John Burrows Ashford, over authorship of
"Patchwork Melodies," Randall sets out to find a connection
to Bennett's murder, as well as to the murder of a Smithsonian
director, who was preparing a new PBS documentary on early American
music.
Randall's
investigations lead him to another notebook, where he finds not only
"Two Hearts Singing," Ashford's most famous song, but a
valuable early copy of Stephen Foster's "Oh! Susanna,"
hidden in the cover. But things become more complicated when
Ashford's spirit parks itself in Cam...and refuses to leave until
Randall proves Ashford's innocence.
Jane
Tesh lives and works in Mt. Airy, North Carolina, Andy Griffith's
home town, a real life Mayberry. She is a retired media specialist
and the author of ten mystery novels, three fantasy novels, and over
thirty plays for children. When not writing, Jane plays the piano for
productions at the Andy Griffith Playhouse.
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