With a Spirit of Vengeance (A Bay Island Psychic Mystery #7)

Author:    Lena Gregory

Genre:     Mystery/Paranormal

Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781958384046

Beyond the Page Publishing

199 Pages

$13.99; $4.99 Amazon

June 28, 2022

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When the spirit of Ophelia Wilson turned to clairvoyant Cass Donovan for help, Cass was able to prove Ophelia's innocence in the century-old murders of her family members -- and solve a contemporary murder in the process.  But Ophelia's spirit has returned, this time angrily demanding that Cass expose the identity of whoever did kill her family.  And then eerily, two descendants from the Wilson family tree are murdered, suggesting that Ophelia has the power to meddle in modern-day events to satisfy her rage.

As Cass struggles to solve the two recent murders and unravel the sparse clues about murders from a hundred years ago, she and those around her begin to suffer Ophelia's wrath -- including an attempt on the life of one of Cass's closest friends.  Relying on all of her own psychic powers, CAss has to confront the spirit's hunger for vengeance and track down a merciless killer before she becomes the next victim of both...

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Cass Donovan is a clairvoyant who lives peacefully in the home she grew up in on Bay Island.  Most of the time, that is.  She has a full life, with a best friend named Bee, her dog Beast, and a romantic relationship with Luke, a police detective.  But one morning she walks into her shop and sees a vision that shakes her to her core.  She knows she needs to decipher what it means, but then she learns that a new tour group is coming to the island, and they want to keep the old insane asylum standing -- the one where Cass recently had a bad experience, and both she and the owner want it torn down.

But how far will these people go to keep it standing?  When there are two murders -- and Cass discovers that they are descendants of Ophelia Wilson, whom she proved innocent of killing her family members a century ago, she has to wonder if both are connected, and how.  Now it seems Ophelia has a new mission for her -- find out who killed her family members or more people might die...

This is the seventh book in the series and I have read them all.  I love the characters and how they interact with one another,  I do love that in this book Bee shows his love, in more ways than one, for Cass.  There are heartwarming scenes between the two of them that are worth the read alone.  

When Cass and Bee decide to visit relatives of Ophelia's they get a huge surprise, and in Bee's research he discovers things that neither he nor Cass do, and can completely change everything.  But in learning this, they have to figure something else out, too; it is this that brings the meat of the story into play and kept me reading this in one session.  Finding a killer is difficult; but when the killer is keeping secrets of their own, it proves nearly impossible.

The book was wonderful; the story highly intriguing, and the secrets well-kept.  It is only the purposefulness of both Cass and Bee that finally brings everything to light.  In the end, when the killer is revealed, we come across a ruthless person who has their own line of vengeance to follow.  Murder is never pretty, never worth it, never understood.  But the story is told well, and I cannot wait to read the next in the series.  Highly recommended.

I received an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review.

https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Vengeance-Island-Psychic-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0B3GG5P68/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4795546409

More on Lena Gregory's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/lena-gregory/

A Spirit Seeks Asylum (A Bay Island Psychic Mystery Book 6)

Author:    Lena Gregory

Genre:     Mystery/Paranormal

Trade Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:    9781954717442

Beyond the Page Publishing

202 Pages

$13.99; $4.99 Amazon

July 13, 2021

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Cass Donovan is confronted by ghoulish crimes both old and new when a defunct asylum is the site of a fresh murder and a long-hidden injustice...

The old abandoned buildings of the Twin Forks Lunatic Asylum have always fascinated and frightened clairvoyant Cass Donovan, but she never dreamed her psychic abilities would be put to the test there.  Then the new owner of the site tells her he plans to renovate it and turn it into a boarding school, and he'll pay Cass handsomely to determine whether the place is haunted!  Cass accepts his offer, but her search for hints of old ghosts soon has her looking for clues among the living when the man who hired her turns up dead.

Returning to the shuttered asylum looking for evidence of who may have wanted her client out of the way, Cass stumbles upon signs of yet another murder, even as she's besieged by an onslaught of haunting voices from the past.  When it comes to light that rival real estate developers have been hatching plans of their own for the property, Cass sees no shortage of motives for the murders, but she'll have to find a way to quiet the disturbing voices from long ago and focus on the here and now, because whoever's behind the killings has targeted Cass as their next victim...

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Cass Donovan is an ex-psychiatrist who moved to Bay Island when one of her patients died, and her marriage fell apart.  She discovered that she has strong psychic abilities, and has since opened a shop where not only does she sell items that help others, but gives both private and group readings.

Her best friend Bee is trying to get Cass to start a vlog where she shows people what she does, and he's sure it will increase business for her.  But Cass can't get a solid reading, and so when the weather turns, he packs up his equipment and they head back home, where Cass is slated to do a group reading that evening.

It's at this popular group reading that she discovers she still can't get a full grip, like something is blocking her.  She feels as if  she's having trouble allowing her mind to truly open up.  But Bee insists she'll be fine, and so she proceeds.  During the reading however, a woman stands up and insists that 'sometimes the dead need to be left alone.'  With this cryptic statement, she leaves.  After the reading, a man tells Cass that he owns the old closed Twin Forks Lunatic Asylum and wants to open it as a boarding school for children.  Others who are on his board, and especially his wife, want him to sell it and leave it alone.  But he will only do so if Cass investigates the asylum and tell him whether it's truly haunted or not.  If it is, he'll give up his plans.  He tells her that he will pay her well to do so, and writes her a check.

Bee thinks it will be perfect for their vlog, and so the next day they venture out.  But while there, Cass definitely senses and hears something, and it's not long before they hear a shot, and look outside to see a man lying on the ground.  When she discovers it's her client, she wonders why he was there in the first place.  But even then her new visions don't leave, and Cass thinks she can find the murderer.  But first she needs to find out who had the best motive, and if they're going to kill again...

This is the sixth book in the series and I have read every one of them.  I do believe that they keep getting better and better, as Cass's psychic ability gets stronger with each book.  Each time I read one I declare that it is my favorite, and here we go again.  This one is definitely my favorite.  Cass not only finds herself investigating a murder once again, she finds herself in the protective 'custody' of Bee, her six-foot-plus best friend, who gives up working in his shop on his own schedule to watch over her.  We also get to meet Simone again, whom I took a definitely liking to in the last book and am glad to see that she's back once more.

But we also have the subplots involving her other friend Stephanie's new adopted son, Aiden, who is autistic; and a newcomer named Thea, who is a link to Cass's investigation, although you will have to read the book to see how.  

The plot was indeed suspenseful, and it kept me reading in one sitting, which is a very good sign.  It means that the book kept me interested enough where I didn't want to veer into anything else.  There were secrets long held, ghosts both old and new who wanted justice, and a cunning murderer who so far had been able to escape the eyes of police.  But when the ending comes, the climax is gripping and when it all ends, you wish that the book would go on.  I definitely loved this book and await eagerly for the next in the series.

https://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Asylum-Island-Psychic-Mystery/dp/195471744X/ref

Goodreads:    https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4092954261

More on Lena Gregory's Books:    https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/lena-gregory/

Spirited Away (A Bay Island Psychic Mystery #4)

Author:  Lena Gregory

Genre:   Mystery

Trade Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:  9781950461066

Beyond the Page Publishing

218 Pages

$14.99; $4.99 Amazon

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With the summer tourist season on Bay Island in full swing, shop owner Cass Donovan barely has a minute to breath, and things at Mystical Musings become even more hectic when a fight breaks out at one of her psychic readings.  Shaken by the fracas and discouraged that her sixth sense seems to be on the blink, Cass is even more dispirited to leasrn that one of the men involved in the altercation was later found dead...and that a close friend of hers is the main suspect.  Desperate to help her friend prove his innocence and consumed by haunting visions, Cass follows the clues from one possible culprit to the next, including some very mysterious tourists and not a few questionable locals.  And when the police turn to Cass to help them find out who committed the ghoulish deed, she knows she'll have to tread carefully, because her next grim premonition may be her last...

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Cass Donovan is an ex-psychiatrist who gave up her practice and her husband back in Manhattan and moved home to Bay Island to open a psychic shop that sells gifts and items that help people.  She has her two best friends -- Bee, a clothing designer who lives down the street, and Stephanie, an accountant who does her books and is married to Tank, a police detective.  She's also recently learned that her boyfriend Luke, another police detective, has moved to the island; but they aren't spending a lot of time together due to the fact that he's hot in the middle of art thieves who are hiding their treasures.

But Cass is tense and worried, partly because she doesn't know what's happening with her.  While she's always depended upon her intuition to help her out, lately she's felt 'otherworldly' forces at work and visions that come to her which are unsettling, to say the least.  She doesn't know what to make of it, and not knowing why has put her on edge.

It's the middle of the tourist season, and she's not happy that her air conditioning is on the fritz and can't get fixed until the next day, especially since she has a group reading to do that evening.  Still, she carries on even with the oppressing heat in the room but can't seem to get a read on anyone, being unable to concentrate.  When she finally does and blurts out something she normally wouldn't have done, not only do people get upset, it nearly causes a fight to break out between her handyman and mechanic Emmett and and another man she doesn't know.

When the second man, later identified at Dirk Brinkman, is found dead in the trunk of a car at Emmett's shop, he's suspected of the murder.  But Cass knows that Emmett wouldn't kill anyone, and while she's vowed to stay out the investigation, something -- or someone -- is urging her to get involved.  When the stakes turn higher than anyone expected, Cass has to decide whether to stay or put her own life on the line...

This is the fourth book in the series and I do believe that they are getting better as they progress.  Cass is discovering that her psychic powers are growing, and visions are beginning to appear to her, and she doesn't know what to make of it.  This time, she's only given a bit of information to work with and she tries to figure out what it means, all the while with Bee by her side, trying to help her but making no bones that he doesn't believe any of it, not does he believe in ghosts (but we the reader know otherwise).  

I love Bee.  He's brave, strong, and the best friend that Cass could have, sticking by her no matter what.  He's also funny and has no problem making fun of himself, which shows that he has enough self-esteem not to worry about other people.  It gives him an edge that's great.  Cass is gentle, kind, fiercely loyal to her friends, and opening up her abilities and allowing them to guide her, and I do like the fact that Chief Rawlins believes in her and is becoming a friend.  

Watching the story come together slowly is quite interesting, and when Cass starts to realize that the pieces are falling together, it's almost too late.  But she uses her own strength and intuition to give her the answers she's looking for, and the climax is definitely worth waiting for.  When the murderer is revealed it all makes sense, and we find that the motive is one as old as time itself.

When all is said and done, the ending was satisfying and gives us something to look forward to in the next book.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Spirited-Away-Island-Psychic-Mystery/dp/1950461068/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3407493060

More on Lena Gregory's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/lena-gregory/

Clairvoyant and Present Danger (A Bay Island Psychic Mystery #3)

Author:  Lena Gregory

Genre:   Mystery

Mass Market Paperback; Digital Book

ISBN #:  9780425282779

Berkley Publishing

293 Pages

$7.99; $7.99 Amazon

February 6, 2018

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Cass has always relied on her abilities to guide her, but after communications with a ghost land her in the middle of a murder investigation, she has to wonder if her gift is really more of a curse.

Cass knows she is meant to help track down the killer -- much to the chagrin of local law enforcement -- when the apparition leads her to a dead body on the beach near her psychic shop, Mystical Musings.  But the police are not the only ones who wish Cass would stick to reading palms.  Someone is trying to scare her off, and it will take all her powers of premonition to catch the killer before Cass herself becomes the next victim...

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Cass Donovan left her psychiatry practice in Manhattan after one of her patients committed suicide, and she found her husband cheating with her best friend -- a double whammy.  She's since used her powerful intuition and the fact that she notices small details to open a psychic shop, where she sells items to help people, and also gives group and private readings to people.

But Cass is also discovering that her psychic power is growing -- she's been able to see ghosts - or a form thereof - starting recently, and now she's beginning to have nightmares of a young woman who's asking for her help.  When an angry man shows up wanting her help, she does her best, but she's knows there's more to his story.

While walking on the beach with her dog Beast, he brings her a bone that appears to be human.  After finding the rest of the skeleton, she calls her police detective friend Tank, and he tells her to forget it and go home.  But then the news crews and lookie-loos start arriving; and a second body is found buried in the sand.  Things are escalating, and while Cass is really trying to stay out of it, she sees a portrait of a young woman in the window of a new art shop, and knows it's the woman from her dreams.  But when she returns to the shop, the owner says the portrait isn't for sale and has removed it.  Bringing her best friends Bee and Stephanie into the equation should bring her calm, but it doesn't.  After her shop is is searched and she's injured, Cass is determined to find out what's going on...if she doesn't get killed first...

This is the third book in the series and I have to say that they keep getting better.  While I wasn't impressed with the first, I definitely like the direction the stories are going.  Cass is learning that she really does have a bit of psychic abilities, and ghosts are appearing to her; but she's not sure what she's supposed to do with that information yet.  She's finding her way, much as the ghosts are finding theirs.  I love the fact that these are not poltergeists, but spirits that need help or are there to help her. 

She also has the eternal friendship of Bee, whom, while he doesn't believe in ghosts and doesn't want to hear anything about them (but I think he's just a tad afraid of them) still stands by her side no matter what's happening.  He's a true friend, and I think that he's one of my favorite characters in the books.  Stephanie, for her part, is a bit sad in this book and won't open up to Cass, although she really should have done so; yet it all becomes understandable.

The plot is nicely done, with the police trying to figure out who the two - one skeleton and one body - on the beach belong to, and Cass is becoming more positive she knows who at least one of the people that were found is a young woman who went missing not too long ago.  But being asked not to say anything to anyone is harder than she imagines, and Cass is wondering what is going on, but trying to get on with her life, as much as she can.  Interwoven into the story is Cass doing what she does best -- helping people who are in need of it.  These small side journeys show us the type of person she is, and one can't help wonder how her ex-husband could have been such a dolt in doing what he did (sorry; I had to throw that in).

When the story starts to come to a close, we figure it out close to the time that Cass does herself; even though the clues are there, they are hidden well enough that we don't really put it together until then, and I enjoyed that very much.  At the end, it all comes together nicely, with hints of what is to come in the next story in this series.  Highly recommended.

https://www.amazon.com/Clairvoyant-Present-Danger-Psychic-Mystery/dp/0425282775/ref

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3393305347

More on Lena Gregory's Books:  https://www.fantasticfiction.com/g/lena-gregory/