Welcome back to the Skeleton Crew. Bring your knitting needles, a good strong brew, and plenty of snacks. You’re going to need them.
A Merry Murderous Midwinter
The Skeleton Crew Paranormal
Cozy Series Book 3
by Dahlia Donovan
Genre: Paranormal Romance,
Cozy Mystery
Gender-fluid, autistic vampire
Hyde Snodgrass is living their best life with their bookshop, cats, and witch
girlfriend, Teresa Vega. The colours of autumn are beginning to blend into
winter. An ordinarily joyous midwinter is spoiled by the arrival of their
estranged family.
When their murderous uncle is
found dead in front of their shop, Hyde finds themselves unwillingly dragged
into the investigation. Accusations swirl around South Myrddin. It takes a
village to untangle the mystery.
Can the true killer be
unmasked in time to save them?
Will there be anything to
celebrate in the coming Yuletide season?
Ah.
Our semiferal wandering bard.” Hyde frowned when he hopped up to sit on the
counter. “Bram.”
“Just
saying hello to the cats.” Bram had returned to the village a month back after
a lengthy absence. One of the oldest fae in Scotland, probably the world, he’d
been away dealing with the Seelie Court. He’d tamed his wild brown hair into a
loose bun. His guitar was, as always, strapped to his back. It only seemed to
highlight his lithe yet muscular form. “How is the morning treating you, mo
chridhe?”
“I
am not your heart. Stop it. Makes me feel like I’m this massive beating heart
just flopping around on the pavement.” Hyde knew he wouldn’t stop. He took it
as a personal mission to be as disruptive as possible. “What chaos are we
causing this morning?”
“Me?
Chaos?”
“It’s
in your veins. What have you done? You’re never usually this chipper so early
in the morning.” Hyde typically saw Bram dragging himself from his lighthouse
on the edge of the village no earlier than noon. “Well?”
“I
have a rock garden.”
Hyde
blinked several times. They glanced over at Mortar, who yawned before returning
to Bram. “A rock garden?”
“Aye.
In front of the lighthouse. I’ve arranged them along the windowsill.”
“Bram.”
Hyde spoke very slowly. “Bram. Why have you arranged pebbles along a windowsill
in the lighthouse?”
“Outside
the lighthouse. How else will they get sunlight?” Bram smiled brightly when
they rubbed their eyes tiredly. “You’ve missed me, haven’t you?”
“Do
the pebbles need sunlight?”
“Arthur
gets quite grumpy without it,” Bram said with a straight face, as if he hadn’t
named a random rock and claimed the thing needed sunlight to thrive. “Cernunnos
prefers the south-facing windows.”
“This
might be a silly question.”
“No
such thing.” He waved off their concern.
“A
complete lie. I’ve known you long enough to know there are definitely silly
questions. Ones you usually ask.” Hyde soldiered on, trying to make sense out
of the fae’s nonsense. “Have you named one of your rocks after the Celtic
horned god?”
“He
named himself. As did King Arthur.”
“First,
Arthur was mythical. Probably.” Hyde had read loads of contradictory material
on Camelot, the Round Table, and even Merlin. They’d been drawn to the legends
because of living in South Myrddin. “Second, and far more importantly, how
exactly did he name himself?”
“The
rocks are possessed.”
Hyde
bitterly regretted running out of blood wine. They did have a bottle of
non-alcoholic blood in the fridge upstairs in their flat above the shop, but it
wasn’t the same. As a vampire, they consumed both liquid and regular food.
“Your rock garden, which isn’t a garden, is filled with possessed rocks.”
“Correct.”
Hyde
eyed his mischievous smirk with suspicion. “You’re doing this to annoy Emrys,
aren’t you? Why else would you pick King Arthur and a Celtic god important to
druids?”
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A Fatal Autumnal Stew
The Skeleton Crew Paranormal
Cozy Series Book 2
Welcome back to the Skeleton Crew. Keep your knitting needles sharp and have a strong brew in hand for their next adventure.
Life for gender-fluid,
autistic vampire Hyde Snodgrass has never been better. Her cosy village
bookshop is thriving as is their new relationship with witch and taco bus
owner, Teresa Vega. Autumn is in full magical tilt in their corner of the
Scottish Highlands.
Everything is beautifully
perfect right up until a tainted meal ends with Hyde sick and someone dead.
The police immediately suspect
the restaurant owners. Hyde and Teresa find themselves drawn into yet another
investigation, trying to save their friends from arrest and themselves from a
murderer. The situation becomes even more complex when family feuds become
tangled in the midst.
Can they find the killer?
Or will everything Hyde loves
go up in flames?
“Do
not deface the cover.” Hyde narrowed their eyes at the ginger fluffy
marshmallow of a cat. Pestle stretched a paw out and set it on the book. “I’ll
give Mortar your last baked treat.”
Bright
yellow eyes glowered at them for the briefest second before he finally flounced
over to the fireplace in the bookshop. Mortar, the more sedate of the two cats,
a beautiful Persian with stunning blue eyes, barely acknowledged his presence.
They both settled down on the mound of blankets for a nap.
“You
are adorable menaces, and I love you.” Hyde gave both of them the lightest of
touches before going over to rescue the book in question. They grabbed the
bottle of blood on the counter and sipped the last of it. “Battista might try
roasting both of you over a slow fire after all the work I did to find this for
him and Amalia.”
Amalia
Bassani and Battista Sartor were a succubus and incubus who ran the local
Creole-Italian restaurant. Al Dente was one of Hyde’s favourite places to eat.
The two had asked them to hunt for an ancient Roman scroll on their species.
Hyde
Snodgrass, a vampire, autistic, and chubby ginger icon, was the proud owner of
Between the Leaves, the lone bookshop in South Myrddin, a small village in the
Scottish Highlands. They specialised in many things, including hunting down
rare books.
The
village had been their home since they were a small fanged child. South Myrddin
was the home of the foundling. Abandoned magical people of all varieties found
their way to the one place guaranteed to welcome them. It was why it had been
founded in the first place.
Picking
up the manuscript, Hyde wrapped it delicately in a paper that Battista had
given them for protection. The book was old, though not as old as the original.
They thought, however, it was a true translation of what had probably been a
scroll as opposed to a bound book.
From
their extensive research, nothing had been lost in translation. Hyde hoped
their incubus and succubus friends found the answers they were looking for. The
two had been tight-lipped about what they wanted to discover.
Hyde
didn’t mind. For them, the excitement of hunting down rare books was more than
enough satisfaction. They glanced first at the clock on the wall and then at
the bookshelves. “Time for a quick dust before I close up.”
For
most of the cleaning in the shop, Hyde relied on the three brownies who ran
Feather Duster, the village cleaners. Dusting was the one job they did
themselves, as they didn’t want to risk any damage to some of the older books.
Cleaning products tended to make their nose burn and their skin itch, so they
had gratefully handed off those duties to the Lyalls.
Between
the Leaves was the quintessential quaint village bookshop with a few
differences. One section at the back was set up with a selection of armchairs
around a coffee table. It was where their weekly knitting and crocheting group,
the Skeleton Crew, met at least once a week.
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Book Links:
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A Curse for
Samhain
The Skeleton
Crew Paranormal Cozy Series Book 1
Welcome to the Skeleton Crew. Bring your knitting needles and a good, strong brew.
Gender fluid, autistic vampire
Hyde Snodgrass runs Between the Leaves—a cosy village book store. Their life
revolves around books, all things autumnal, and the two cats who rule their
world. The shop also plays host to a weekly knitting group called the Skeleton
Crew.
When one of the leaders of the
village coven fails to show up for the weekly knitting meeting, Hyde finds
themselves investigating a horrific murder side by side with their long-term
crush, Teresa Vega.
Suspicion immediately falls on
other members of their group. Hyde and Teresa struggle to find answers to the
growing list of questions. It’s made all the more difficult when the killer has
them in their sights.
Can working together spark the
romantic flame within them?
Will they solve the mystery
before death comes too close?
“What
do you think, Mortar? Pestle?” Hyde finished adjusting their button-down collar
out of the blue sweater and glanced at the two cats observing them. One meowed
quite loudly while the other sniffed before licking a paw. “You’re both
remarkably unhelpful.”
The
outfit of the day was one of their favourites. A lovely blue sweater with a
well-worn button-down underneath. Jeans. A little boyish style from yesteryear
with their trousers tucked into their socks and a vintage pair of brown boots.
I am a chubby ginger icon. I can seize the day.
Or I can seize a book to read.
That sounds better.
I’ll seize a book.
A
particularly loud yowl caught their attention. The cats were definitely ready
for their breakfast. They both looked pitifully up at Hyde.
“All
right. Come on, you two.”
Mortar
was a stunningly beautiful Persian with startling blue eyes who’d definitely
been a queen in a previous life. Pestle, on the other hand, had probably been a
court jester. His long ginger fur and almost glowing yellow eyes certainly set
him apart, as did his sense of mischief.
They
were Hyde’s constant companions. They ruled the roost. And more often than not,
they kept the right people in the shop and the rest from overstaying their
welcome.
Between
the Leaves had been Hyde’s passion project for almost eighty years. The
building had been a gift from the woman who’d taken them in as a child. A
little shop with a comfortable flat on the second floor, it had once been a
place serving afternoon tea, but books had been more interesting to Hyde.
Returning
to stare at the mirror, Hyde attempted to corral their short, curly red hair
into some semblance of a style. It was going to be a hat day. A hat day.
It was a mostly nonverbal day. And a they day.
Being
a vampire had its perks; being almost a hundred yet having stopped ageing at
thirty was certainly a plus. Being an autistic one, though, had drawbacks.
Every sound and smell was amplified by what felt like a thousand. The world
could be an incredibly overwhelming place. It was Flossie who’d come up with
the idea for the signs.
Flossie
Vandermark was one of the three witches who ran The Spiked Cauldron, the
village pub. She also happened to be a proud member of the Skeleton Crew, a
weekly knitting group who met up at Hyde’s bookshop. Flossie had suggested a
sign for days when Hyde didn’t want to talk or when they felt more they
than she.
It
made Hyde feel accepted. Everyone wanted to do what made them comfortable. It
was part of the magic of their village.
Acceptance.
Everyone
knew about South Myrddin. The little village on a loch in the Scottish
Highlands was founded by Merlin himself, or so the lore went. It had a
reputation for taking in the abandoned.
Hyde
had come as a child when their family vampire coven had rejected them. South
Myrddin was the place for stragglers, odd ones, and outliers. A place to find
family if one wanted.
A
place to find home.
The
village had a healthy coven of witches. A few vampires. The odd werewolf. A
collection of naiads, dryads, and brownies. Druids and shifters. A stray
kelpie. An incubus and succubus, who were Italians who ran a restaurant. And
one lone fae who’d been in South Myrddin since the beginning, or so they
claimed.
The
eclectic bunch of magical beings had all made South Myrddin their home. Most of
the villagers came searching for a place to feel comfortable in their own skin.
Hyde considered themselves grateful to have been left there all those years
ago.
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About the Author
Dahlia Donovan wrote her first romance series after a crazy dream about shifters and damsels in distress. She prefers irreverent humour and unconventional characters. An autistic and occasional hermit, her life wouldn’t be complete without her husband and her massive collection of books and video games.
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