Brenna Wickham Haunted Mystery

Even the quietest neighborhood can harbor dark secrets. Brenna Wickham's life is in turmoil after the death of her husband and the loss of her job. She moves in with her cousin who has inherited their grandmother's old house, a place where Brenna used to spend happy summers visiting and playing with the children next door. Now she is confronted with the tragic news that the girl next door, Brenna's childhood friend, disappeared twenty-five years ago without a trace. Despite an extensive search, the little girl was never found. The missing girl's agoraphobic older sister still lives next door and carries an appalling secret, and two doors down lives an aging ex-con with a grievous past. Brenna also becomes reacquainted with the girls' handsome brother. She remembers him as a mischievous, fun-loving boy on whom she once had a crush. Now she finds that he's grown sullen and ill-tempered, harboring deep resentments. And most alarming of all is the random appearance of the little girl's ghost.

If a ghost calls, should you answer? In the course of her new job as legal assistant for Attorney Ross Cavendish, Brenna is given an antique telephone as a thank you from the daughter of a client for helping her sort through her father's estate after his sudden accidental death. But it turns out there's more to the old phone than its cool vintage quality. To Brenna's surprise, it rings without warning, and a cryptic message leads Brenna to wonder if the man's death really was an accident. But if it wasn't, then that means there's a killer close by. Meanwhile, it's Thanksgiving and Brenna's parents and two brothers come from Phoenix for a visit. She soon finds herself juggling family, a neighborhood craft fair, an eccentric old lady, and a possible murderer at large. Between raccoons, ghosts, an impromptu séance, and two jealous suitors, Brenna's long weekend is anything but relaxing.

Beware what lurks in the forest . . . With the discovery of Brenna's biological father comes the unexpected unveiling of another whole branch of the family tree, including a cousin Brenna's age with similar traits and characteristics. They hit it off immediately and before long they realize they have more in common than hair and eye color. It seems that ghost sighting runs in the family. A casual stroll in the woods turns hair-raising when they encounter a ghoulish spirit, but the mystery really begins when the murdered body of an unknown man is uncovered partially buried in the underbrush. Who is this man, who killed him, and how did he get there? The forest lies in an acre of undeveloped land in Brenna's neighborhood that was once part of an early homestead. The more time she spends there, the more secrets the trees reveal. "Easley presents a lighthearted series mystery featuring ghostly apparitions and complex family ties . . . It's springtime, the sun shines, and flowers bloom; the characters are likable, and the story moves along briskly, with enough surprises to keep readers' interest . . . and the mystery is neatly wrapped up to everyone's satisfaction. A pleasantly sweet cozy whodunit with supernatural elements." -Kirkus Reviews