A Word From Murphy

Good morning. My name is Murphy and I’m a dog. I used to live with Ben Ventris but for unforseen and gruesome reasons, I now live with Pat and Jasper Harris. Dogs don’t get credit for being the world’s smartest creatures. They should. Poor ol’ Jasper, the boy I’ve adopted, really needs me. He thinks owls are […]

Murder at the Pastorage

Murder at the Pastorage

  The weatherman had predicted a beautiful Tuesday and the morning proved him right. Sun shone on snowbanks, sparkling with crystalized jewels. The temperature climbed above freezing and melting snow dripped from trees and the eaves of Rose Chapel’s parsonage.      Pastor Williams’ small house sat only a few yards from the church. It looked […]

What Lay in the Murky Bog?

What Lay in the Murky Bog?

Mallory sank down on a rock, trying to catch her breath. The night was so dark she couldn’t see a foot in front of her. Wispy tendrils of fog, like bony, white fingers curled around leaning headstones . Far, far below her, the Irish Sea pounded relentlessly against the coast. She had no idea where […]

Ned’s Homecoming

Ned wanted nothing more than to spend Christmas with her uncle, Javin Granger, her last living relative. It had been forty years since she and her family left her hometown of Ednalee, Oklahoma; now, she was back, hiding from an experience in Atlanta and needing the peace and quiet of the old Victorian house her […]

The Discovery

The Discovery

Agnes descended step after slow step, gripping the side railing. Clara had a death grip on the back of Agnes’ shirt. Maybelle’s miserable howl sounded closer. Reaching the bottom, she shone her light around the basement. Where had the two animals gone? They had seemingly vanished.             She shivered. It was cold down here and […]

Secret of Singing Pines

Secret of Singing Pines

This is an excerpt from the fifth book in the Ned McNeil series, The Secret of Singing Pines. It is a work in progress.  The fourth one, Murder By Moonlight is on Amazon. Have you read it?   Strange house, strange bed—it was no wonder I had a tough time falling asleep that night. Of […]