About the Book
Book: Mabel and the Unholy Night (Mysteries of Medicine Spring Book Four)
Author: Susan Kimmel Wright
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Release date: November 5, 2024
Faithful dog Barnacle has run off into a snowstorm, disrupting Mabel’s fun outing at the Christmas tree farm. Things don’t improve much when he reappears…with a human skull.
Since Mabel moved into her late grandma’s house, the sleepy village of Medicine Spring has provided clean air, a close-knit community, and charming small-town shops. To her surprise, it’s also offered up several murders—and romance with a handsome private investigator. Now, Barnacle’s discovery plunges Mabel into the mystery surrounding a decades-old unsolved murder and the disappearance of her friend Nita’s great uncle.
Before Mabel, boyfriend John, and her friends can find answers and bring justice for Nita and her family, more complications develop. Incredibly, a sixty-year-old Christmas card arrives, bearing Mabel’s name and address and containing a plea for help. Are the mysteries related?
While Mabel tries to get to the bottom of these strange events, a second suspicious death casts suspicion on Nita. Can Mabel find the real killer in time? Or will her Christmas season end on an unholy night?
Book Excerpt
“Come here, boy.” She stopped, afraid he might grab his treasure and carry it off if he suspected she planned to take it from him.
“Treats.” Mabel dug a leftover packet of saltines out of her coat pocket. She ripped it open and held out her hand.
Unable to resist the food, the dog frolicked up to her and sat. While she fed him with her right hand, Mabel grabbed his collar with her left. “Gotcha.”
Snow had begun to coat the ground, not to mention Mabel’s clothing. She peered at the solid mass of dark clouds smudging the sky. “Looks like the storm’s ahead of schedule. We better get our trees and hit the road.”
“What is that?” Lisa wandered closer to Barnacle’s find, leaning forward for a better look.
John frowned and held out an arm, keeping her a few steps back. “Better leave it right where it is.”
Her dog now securely leashed, Mabel ventured nearer.
Barnacle made a lunge for his find, but she pulled him back. “What—?”
Tim stepped next to John and squinted through the snow. They exchanged a narrowed look. “Is that what I think I’m seeing?”
John nodded. “If you think you’re looking at a human skull, I’d have to agree.”
About the Author
Susan Kimmel Wright began her life of mystery in childhood, with reading. That led to writing kids’ mysteries and eventually to Medicine Spring with Mabel. A longtime member of Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime, Susan’s also a prolific writer of personal experience stories, many for Chicken Soup for the Soul. She shares an 1875 farmhouse in southwestern PA with her husband, several dogs and cats, and an allegedly excessive stockpile of coffee and tea mugs.