It’s going to be a wild ride so strap in and hold on.
Moonlight Beach
Murder and Magic Book 1
by Yurie Kiri
Genre: Supernatural Murder Mystery, Paranormal Thriller
Winner of the 2020 Hollywood Book Festival’s award for Genre
Fiction.
Chick lit Café Awards First Place toMoonlight Beach: Murder and Magic by Yurie
Kirifor best Paranormal Thriller, Crime & Mystery - April 2023.
What Is Shattering The Idyllic, Seaside Community Of Rancho, California?
Grisly death. Bodies washing up on nearby
Moonlight Beach. It’s downright disconcerting to the privileged one percent
living in their gated communities in one of SoCal’s ritziest enclaves. Worse,
they have no idea what or who is behind the slaughter.
Is It Sharks? Something Supernatural? Greedy Venture
Capitalists?
Maneaters are known to inhabit the waters
off Moonlight Beach, but shark attacks are rare. What about black magic,
satanic rituals? A coven of witches lives nearby. Or could it be the venture
capitalists, whose latest company harvests human organs for transplant,
exploiting the vulnerable to save the wealthy elite?
The Violence Shows No Signs Of Ending
Two more people are killed on a cliff
overlooking the beach – and all their organs are missing. This bloody terror
isn’t slowing down. It’s accelerating. What the hell is going on? They better
figure all this out before more people get butchered or, God forbid, Rancho’s
inflated property values plummet.
Winner of the 2020 Hollywood Book Festival’s award for Genre
Fiction.
http://hollywoodbookfest.com
Chick lit Café Awards First Place to Moonlight Beach: Murder and Magic by Yurie Kiri for best Paranormal
Thriller, Crime & Mystery - April 2023.
https://chicklitcafe.com/2023/04/28/moonlight-beach-by-yurie-kiri/
Rancho California has been the scene of a series of either brutal murders or shark attacks. One night, four friends practice an ancient ceremony and contact the spirit of dead Native American woman then have to fight for their lives against her killer.
The second book in the series, where two of the surviving women of Rancho California take a trip to New Mexico, is called Moonlight Canyon. The third book, called Moonlight Rocks is about a battle over a meteorite that may herald the birth of a new Messiah. Besides the Moonlight series, Yurie Kiri has also written a series of books about Japan and virtual reality games; the first book is called Tokyo Games.
Moonlight
Beach won the 2020 Hollywood Book Festival’s award for Genre Fiction. It is a 309-page read (or an 11 hour listen) and
available in paperback, e-book or as an Audible edition on Amazon or Apple
Books, just let me know and I can send you a copy or an ACX review code to use
on Audible.
The story opens with another murder and introduces some of the diverse characters.
Anne, a successful real estate agent did the full moon ceremony because she wanted power for herself and for her best friend Susan but she never expected to meet the dead Indian witch Katomi through that ceremony.
Roy, an ancient Indian shaman knew all about Katomi because he’d killed her before and would continue to kill her every time she reappeared with the help of an ally like Anne.
Ike invested in start-up companies and hoped that the latest one, Human Engineering International could help him get a liver for his son provided they could get around the 1984 law that prevents the sale of human body parts. Ike’s brother-in-law Dicky was happy to rope Roy into any money-making scheme from drugs to human livers. Ike would buy a liver his son just to get his wife, Irene off his back while he pursued Susan the aerobics instructor.
John and Billy, the Rancho California policemen had lots of dead bodies but no suspects. There was the girl without a heart found on Moonlight Beach near the sleeping surfer, then there were the dead guys on the cliff who were missing various organs plus the astrologer Diane who’d been ritualistically scalped in her car around the same time that a young couple had been tortured and killed on the beach. Who was killing people and who was going to be the next victim? Anne, Susan, Mary and Devo (short for Devoted-to-God) were all targets for the mysterious killer.
Author’s
note: Please don’t think that this
strange story about a series of murders, organ donors, witchcraft and sex sprang
from my feverish brain all on its own. I
have a good imagination, but it’s not that good. The truth is, one night a few years back, I
was sitting in Bolero’s, a Rancho California, patio-style Mexican Restaurant,
nursing a margarita and waiting for an expensive Carne Asada taco plate when
two women came in and sat down at a nearby outdoor table.
I don’t usually eavesdrop on other
people’s conversations, but it was a slow night at Bolero’s and something about
these women grabbed my attention and made me turn my head slightly so that I
could hear them better. I think that the
part of the women’s conversation that really made me sit up went something like
this, “You were a close friend of hers, weren’t you? Tell me how she really died. No one deserved to be killed like what I
heard...”
As you can imagine, I took my time
with my food and margarita, all the while straining to hear and remember
exactly what they said. Like I often do,
I took a few notes on napkins and scraps of paper as discretely as
possible. However, the women decided to
move on, before the story was finished, since one of them had promised to meet
another friend at Jake’s by the beach. I
sadly watched them go but finished up and paid my bill as quickly as possible
then I arranged my notes and filled in some of the blanks with what I could
best remember.
After that I went to Jake’s looking for them but sadly I never found them again. The story that they told was not finished, however they had given me enough facts that I was able to fill in some of the remaining holes after some research. Although the following story was based upon the overheard conversation plus my research, it also contains assumptions that I’ve been forced to make. In some areas, the truth has been well covered up. As one of the women said that night, “You can’t believe how much money was paid to keep the details out of the local news...”
Excerpt from Moonlight Beach by Yurie Kiri,
copyright 2019
Roy Vasquez parked his Cadillac convertible at the edge of the beach, got out, slammed the door shut and walked towards the sound of the crashing surf. As he walked he concentrated upon breathing in all the natural scents of salt water, sea weed and the beach environment. Suddenly he caught a scent of expensive perfume and he looked around for the source. Roy smiled when he saw the young woman walking alone at the water’s edge. How had she gotten there? His was the only car parked along the deserted coast road. Maybe she was alone?
The large flat screen TV over the
back of the bar at the Rancho California Inn was playing the early evening news
showing an attractive young news woman standing in front of a rugged California
beach with waves crashing on a rocky shore.
“This is Monica Jones, Channel 7 News at 5. We’re continuing our coverage on the string of brutal murders plaguing our little community. Some people think that as many as five victims, all women have been killed over the last six months by the same person who left another battered body on Moonlight Beach just last week. Like the others, there’s been no progress with the recent victim, another young woman who is still unidentified…” The scene on the TV screen quickly shifted from Monica’s carefully made up face to a shot of a something lying on a deserted beach covered by a sheet and then it switched to a drawing of a young woman’s face. “Anyone with any information about the victim….”
“What?” Beverly said shocked,
staring at the screen. “There’s a serial
killer in this neighborhood?” She
put her drink down on the bar and stared at the man sitting next to her. He was a local she’d just met. “I never heard about that! I thought it was safe here…”
“Hey! Jose!” the man shouted at the bartender, a
slender young Latino. “Turn that shit
off! It’s disturbing the lady! She’s from back east and doesn’t need to hear
that crap! Everyone knows Monica is full
of shit! Remember that alien abduction
story? It went on for a whole week!”
“Sorry Mister Goldman,” the
bartender said glancing over at the compact, tough looking man with short
cropped, curly brown hair. He switched
the TV off and looked back at Dicky Goldman and at the startled attractive,
dark-haired woman sitting next to Dicky.
“Okay now? Or shall I put on some
sports?”
“I never watch the local news,”
Dicky said to the woman, he thought that her name was Beverly but he wasn’t
sure. “Monica always says such stupid
shit. You would have gotten a kick out
of her alien story… Hey, you okay,
baby? Want another drink?” She looked frightened but he wanted to get
her drunk and up to bed in her room as quickly as possible.
“I’m fine,” Beverly said wishing
that she’d never stopped at the bar after checking in. She didn’t think that she’d go to that beach
either after seeing the news. “Why do
you think Monica is wrong? What happened
out there?”
“She’s trying to turn a shark attack
into a murder,” Dicky said with a smirk.
“What a bunch of bullshit!
Another drink?”
“No thanks, I’m feeling a little
jet-lagged,“ Beverly said thinking that sharks were just as bad as human serial
killers. “I think that I’ll go back to
my room now. Can I call you tomorrow
after my meetings, when I’m free?” Dicky
was starting to creep her out and she was glad that she’d kept her room number
secret. She hoped that she could see
more of Monica’s news broadcast up in her room and a lot less of the local men,
one of whom could be a serial killer, if Monica was right.
“Sure baby,” Dicky said glaring at
Jose, the bartender again. He blamed the
bartender for screwing up his chances with the attractive out-of-towner. “You’ve got my number, right? Don’t worry about Monica’s wild stories,
she’s just trying to pump up her ratings.
Anyway, call me tomorrow when you’ve got more time. I’m going to be tied up later on tonight…”
"Tell me again,” the young
woman said. "I don't understand
what you mean...." She looked at
her host, a smiling, but intense and fit, brown-skinned man with a short black
pony-tail. She had just met him at
Moonlight Beach where he’d introduced himself as Roy and she hoped that he was
rich. He drove a nice car, he certainly
lived in a rich area and he had a big house but he looked sort of weird sitting
on the floor shirtless and shoeless, just wearing a pair of tight designer
jeans.
"You want to have a real
psychic experience, don't you?" Roy Vasquez asked looking closely at the
young, brown-haired woman he’d picked up on the beach. "You said that you did on the beach,
didn't you... Fay?" He hoped that
he got her name right. He went through a
lot of women and their stupid names like Tammy-Fay or Mary-Jane all kind of ran
together in his mind.
"Sure, what you told me before
at the beach sounded cool and trippy,” Fay said with a smile. "Nothing like I ever heard before....
but now that I'm here, you have to explain it to me all over again."
"Sure! What I do is based upon old Indian ways,” Roy
said with a knowing smile. "See
this house and land?" He waved his
hand at view out the window of the rolling hillsides that separated his house
from the vacant neighbor’s house. He
hoped they never sold it; he liked the privacy.
"Yes, your place is beautiful,”
Fay said. She felt a little out of place
however. She was barefooted and still
dressed for the beach. "And... this
big house, it’s all yours? You
live here, all by yourself?” She hoped
he wasn’t married. Meeting a rich,
single guy was her dream.
"Yes, but this land, all
of it used to be Indian land,” Roy said proudly. "The ancient ones explored this land and
discovered, then used the various hidden power places! Under the right conditions, in their sacred
spots, they met powerful spiritual guides..."
"Really?" Fay said. She was interested but she was also
hungry. She had skipped lunch and it was
almost dinner time.
"Really,” Roy said. "Do you want to try it? Meet a spiritual guide? Or an ancient Indian soul?"
"Sure,” Fay said. "You know I do. That's why I let you bring me here. I don’t usually go places with a stranger but
I studied American-Indian stuff in school.
And I do know a little about their religious practices... but didn't
they have to wait for the right time or something? You know, like a special moon rise?”
"Tonight’s the full moon, but
it's always the right time in my house,” Roy said with a grin. “You’re not from around here, are you? Where’d you go to school?”
"Back east. Anyway, why's your place so special?"
Fay asked glancing around at Roy's decorations.
His house was filled with Indian artifacts that looked fit for a museum. Maybe Roy was an Indian, she thought; he
looked like one at times, but she couldn't tell how old he was. Sometimes he looked old, and sometimes he
looked young, but he was certainly brown and strong looking, and almost devoid
of body hair. That was what had
impressed her when she met him at the beach.
He had been wearing nothing but a tight speedo-style swimsuit and his
bare, brown body had rippled with god-like power when she’d seen him walking
towards her among the deserted sand dunes.
“Tell me why.”
"Because this house was built,
with solid adobe bricks, right on top of one of the best of the old Indian
power places,” Roy said with a confident smile.
"Power is always available here, you just have to be open to
exploring it..."
"Cool,” Fay said staring at a
large stuffed rattlesnake in a lighted glass cabinet. "Where is it? Your power spot?”
"I'll show you in a moment,”
Roy said. "First you have to be
prepared... you know, like we discussed on the beach.”
"You mean take some magic
mushrooms?" Fay asked. "Sure,
give me some. I'll do it with you.” She shook her head affirmatively and
smiled. She liked drugs.
"You ever do mushrooms
before?" Roy asked looking into her innocent blue eyes.
"No, but I know it's a part of
the Indian religious experience,” Fay said smiling. "So, I want to try it. It’s a lot like pot, isn’t it? I smoke pot.”
"Sort of,” Roy said. He stood up and went into the kitchen. Young girls were so gullible and trusting, he
thought. Good thing she’d hitched a ride
to the beach alone, there’d been no one else to deal with when he’d scooped her
up.
"Got anything to eat in
there?" Fay called out. "Or
drink?"
"Wine and fruit okay?" Roy
asked loudly as he rummaged around gathering up the supplies. He knew that if she was hungry, her empty
stomach would let the mushrooms act quicker.
He carried a tray back towards the young woman and found her still
sitting cross-legged on the floor.
“Fruit sounds good,” Fay said
watching Roy come back into the room with a tray balanced on one hand like a
waiter.
"Wine too?" he asked,
looking at her. She looked good enough
to eat, he thought. She wore skimpy
shorts over a bikini and had tousled brown hair. Her firm young body was sunburned in some
places and pale in others.
"Wine is fine,” she said,
giggling in anticipation.
"Good,” Roy said setting the
tray down. He handed her a shriveled-up
piece of dried mushroom. "But take
this first. Wash it down with some
wine." He poured wine into a glass
and handed it to her.
"You taking one too?" she
asked as she tossed the dried mushroom into her mouth and started chewing.
"I already did,” Roy lied,
sipping wine and watching her. “You need
to catch up!” He saw that she had
swallowed the mushroom and chased it down with wine. He refilled her glass as she made a face at
the mushroom’s bitter taste.
"That was pretty nasty,” Fay
said. "How long until it kicks
in?"
"Not too long so don't worry,”
Roy said smiling. He picked up a piece
of fruit and nibbled on it. "Those
are good ones..."
"So, where's your Indian power
place?" Fay asked. She picked a
piece of apple off the dish Roy had sat on the floor and crunched upon it while
watching him. She wondered what the
mushrooms would feel like but then she wondered when Roy had taken his
piece. She didn't recall seeing him eat
one, but maybe he had done it in the kitchen.
"Outside by the fire pit,” Roy
said waving his arm towards the back yard.
"But let's wait until the moon starts to rise before we invoke any
power. That should make the spirits more
receptive to us, providing you do the right thing..."
"What kind of spirits are
there?" Fay said excited. "And
what else do I have to do to meet them?
I mean, I ate your mushroom, is there anything else I need to do to get
ready?”
"I'll help you,” Roy said
expansively. "I'll be your guide,
just do exactly what I tell you and everything will be fine...." He smiled at her.
"But what kind of spirits are
they?" Fay asked while chewing noisily on another piece of sweet, tasty
apple.
"Indian spirits of course. One in particular is the powerful
spirit of a departed Indian Shaman... killed on this very spot by a snake,” Roy
said with a wide grin pointing at the floor.
He watched Fay’s blue eyes widen in surprise and he smiled broader. Actually, the Shaman he’d described had been
killed outside but he wanted to impress Fay.
Her expressive face had a glow of anticipation.
"A snake?" Fay asked. "I didn't think that a powerful Shaman
could be killed by a snake. He must not
have been that strong..."
"It wasn't a he,” Roy said,
looking into Fay’s eyes. "According
to legend this powerful Shaman was a woman. You know, Indian women could be even more
powerful witches than men in those days.
Anyway, one day, this woman was walking through the grass when the snake
bit her. No matter what she did, she
couldn't shake that snake off and she couldn't get the poison out."
"It probably wasn't a
snake. Maybe it was another Shaman or a
medicine man who wanted to kill her,” Fay said.
"That's the kind of stories I’ve studied in college..."
"I'm sure it was,” Roy said
shaking his head affirmatively.
"Anyway, after the snake killed her, she vanished.... turned into
dust right," he pointed towards the outdoor fire pit like he knew exactly where
it had happened. "Out there."
"Wow..." Fay said
slowly. She suddenly felt rather weird
and detached. Maybe it was the wine on
an empty stomach or maybe it was the mushroom kicking in, she couldn't tell
which.
"Really wow?" Roy said amused by the look on Fay's innocent, expressive face. She looked dazed yet happy. In a little while he could do anything he wanted with her. But first he wanted to use her to contact that departed spirit. He had an ancient score to settle with that old witch and the spring full moon was the perfect time.
**On Sale Now for Only
.99cents!!**
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Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07RT7DYNP
Author’s Site: http://yuriekiri.com/ols/categories/moonlight-beach
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/moonlight-beach-murder-and-magic-by-yurie-kiri
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/165975931-moonlight-beach
Book Trailer:
Moonlight Canyon
Murder and Magic Book 2
"Moonlight Duology" has just been selected as the
winner in the "Sequels" category for the 2023 Los Angeles Book
Festival. Moonlight Canyon, the second half of Moonlight Duology is the sequel
to the award-winning book, Moonlight Beach.
Terrible Things Are Happening In Silver City
The rural paradise
of Silver City, just south of Moonlight Canyon, is under attack. Half-eaten,
mutilated bodies are showing up in public places. The peaceful residents of
Silver City are in a panic. Horrible murders shouldn’t happen here. Evil like
that is reserved for the big cities, right? Wrong.
Are Drug Smugglers To Blame?
A powerful, south
of the border, drug kingpin named Tito Ocotillo could be responsible. Tito’s
biker gang, the Coyotes, are very capable of murdering their enemies and
putting them on public display as a warning to others.
Could It Be Space Aliens? Or Ancient Native
American Dark Rituals?
Some people believe that space aliens are dismembering people to study us. Tito Ocotillo is using an old, mysterious Native American woman called Jane to try and open up a portal to the underworld. Whatever is terrorizing Silver City must be stopped and fast before this pastoral heaven becomes a living hell.
Amazon * Author’s Site * Bookbub * Goodreads
Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08P3R5HRD
Author’s Site: http://yuriekiri.com/ols/categories/moonlight-canyon
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/moonlight-canyon-murder-and-magic-by-yurie-kiri
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/165978699-moonlight-canyon
Book Trailer:
Moonlight Duology
Murder and Magic Books 1 & 2
Yurie Kiri's novel "Moonlight
Beach" won the 2020 Hollywood Book Festival's award for Genre Fiction is
packaged here in the "Moonlight Duology" with its sequel
"Moonlight Canyon". These two books have been described as something
like Carlos Castaneda's "The Teachings of Don Juan..." combined with
Jack Kerouac's "On the Road" only more intense.
Now "Moonlight Duology" has just been selected as the winner in the
"Sequels" category for the 2023 Los Angeles Book Festival.
Dive into the gripping 'Moonlight Duology' - a psychic thriller combination of
murder mystery and supernatural intrigue that will keep you on the edge of your
seat from the first page to the last.
The 'Moonlight Duology' is a classic psychic thriller that will captivate your
imagination, leaving you breathless and yearning for more with its series of
unfortunate events. A masterful blend of Carlos Castaneda's mystique and Jack
Kerouac's raw energy, this series will redefine your understanding of
intensity."
Moonlight Duology: Murder and Magic Books 1 and 2 by Yurie Kiri are both
awarded in the world of books that are captivating and filled with suspense
with a hint of masterful supernatural elements. Find out Kindle Unlimited today
and prepare yourself for a journey of violence, witchcraft, and crime.
Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BXYHNX2P
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/moonlight-duology-murder-and-magic-books-1-and-2-by-yurie-kiri
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123775275-moonlight-duology
Moonlight Rocks
Murder and Magic Book 3
"A Wild and Crazy Ride."
"... if you're not used to the writer, buckle up."
"This book has very great character development with a plot so great that
you can’t ignore nor get enough..."
"The author’s use of religion to push the plot forward and develop
characters is so masterfully crafted and unique – I’ve personally never seen in
done in a novel like it is portrayed in Moonlight Rocks."
Amazon 5-star Reviewers
What would you do if God fell into your lap?
Jessy Ascher and her friends set up camp near Moonlight Rocks in the California
desert to watch the Leonid meteor shower. After darkness falls, a stunningly
bright meteor suddenly flashes across the sky blinding the friends to the
approaching danger.
The meteorite blasts into their camp site knocking everyone unconscious but
Jessy quickly regains her senses. Her friends however, cannot be roused.
Instinctively she grabs the still smoking meteorite and stumbles downhill
toward the jeep she arrived in, desperate to get help for her friends...
But, Jessy isn't alone in that rough, cactus-filled landscape... two dark
figures who also saw the meteor flashing down to Earth are frantically
searching the same area and they are ready to do anything... even murder to get
their hands on a meteorite they could sell to the highest bidder.
And what about the meteorite? Others have been waiting for its arrival.
Cultists, fanatical members of nearby religious or supernatural factions - some
good, some evil - believe that the meteor heralds the birth of a new Messiah
and they, too, are ready to do anything to gain control of the blessed rock.
Jessy wants help for her friends, others want the meteorite for their own
end, but the Meteorite, it wants something too... Is this the dawn of a new
spiritual age, or just a bunch of psychos raging in the desert?
Amazon * Author’s Site * Bookbub * Goodreads
Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09CNT3F6G
Author’s Site: http://yuriekiri.com/ols/categories/moonlight-rocks
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/moonlight-rocks-murder-and-magic-by-yurie-kiri
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59012638-moonlight-rocks
Book Trailer:
Moonlight Rip Tide
Murder and Magic Book 4
Want to go for a ride in a classic car?
Park by the ocean? Sounds nice huh?
Mona found the man and his car, a beautiful, old Ferrari, very attractive.
Sure, she'd go for a ride with him to look at the ocean, the party was boring
anyway. Maybe by the time they got back things would liven up a bit...
She felt the bag tighten around her neck, cutting off her air supply. This
cannot be happening. She gasped and struggled, but it was no use. He was as
strong as he was classically handsome, a real Hollywood leading man type.
Everything went dark as she lost consciousness, her last thought was about the
mistake she'd made threatening to tell Danny's wife...
Susan felt that someone was stalking her. She'd gotten several strange calls
attempting to make appointments for private exercise and aerobics lessons.
Dicky and the cops had wrecked her apartment and she needed to work to get a
new place but she was afraid to take on an unknown client. What should she do?
"Get in the car or your pregnant friend is dead!" he said hoarsely.
Susan must save Anne, but how?
Book Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0CHHCH5Q8
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/moonlight-rip-tide-murder-and-magic-by-yurie-kiri
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198669287-moonlight-rip-tide
About the Author
Yurie Kiri speaks Japanese, English, French and has studied Chinese, Arabic, and Spanish and a smattering of other languages such as Korean and Russian along with binary and hexadecimal machine language. Why? Because if you really want to get to know someone, you need to speak their language no matter if they’re machine or human.
Yurie lived and worked in Asia for decades before recently coming to America. Yurie went on an extensive backroad journey all across the US and Canada. Yurie also sailed (single-handed) from Mexico to the Canadian border, retracing a well-traveled road journey by sea in a small, live-aboard sailboat.
Yurie has been traveling and gathering story ideas from Asia for the Game Series, which covers Japan and other Asian countries, and North America for the Murder and Mystery Series which covers the American Southwest.
And, yes, Yurie
does not use pronouns (for a reason). For one thing, it keeps the reader
guessing – is Yurie male, female, non-binary, or even a machine? No one really
knows for sure…
Website * Facebook * X * Instagram * Bookbub * Amazon * Goodreads
Author
Links
Website: http://yuriekiri.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yurie.kiri
X: https://twitter.com/yuriekiri
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yuriekiri
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/yurie-kiri
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B08NP4TPC4
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19290140.Yurie_Kiri
Giveaway
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