I’m delighted to welcome award-winning author, Michele Pariza Wacek, to my blog today to discuss the themes of her new novel, the third in The Redemption Detective Agency series. Michele joins me as part of her book tour with Bittersweet Book Tours.
The Mysterious Case of the Missing Ghost is book 3 in The Redemption Detective Agency, and it’s what I call a romcom cozy mystery.
It features Emily Hildebrandt, who is a fish-out-of-water sleuth. She is a planner and likes everything in her life to be neat and tidy, but despite dotting all of her i’s and crossing every t, her life implodes and she has no choice but to move in with her Aunt Tilde, who despite her heart of gold is basically Emily’s complete opposite.
Emily also is given a job in her aunt’s “detective agency,” which is less of a business and more of an excuse for her and her friends to get together and solve mysteries. Needless to say, this is all very frustrating for Emily as there is nothing about the agency that is neat and tidy, including and especially the cases.
The Mysterious Case of the Missing Ghost is yet another nutty, chaotic case that Emily is forced to deal with. Ruth, one of Aunt Tilde’s friends, calls the agency because her husband is missing.
Sure, her husband died ten years ago, (actually he was murdered in a very compromising situation) so never mind that. No, his body isn’t missing, it’s his ghost. Apparently his ghost has been living with Ruth for the past ten years, but has recently “left.”
How do you find a missing ghost? Good question, and much to Emily’s chagrin, Aunt Tilde is sure Emily will figure it out.
Of course, everything is more complicated once you start digging into it, and in this case, Ruth is about to lose her home because she was scammed. So Emily has no choice but to work with attorney Nick Stewart, who she definitely is NOT interested in as he’s the exact opposite of what she wants in a relationship. He also has a girlfriend, and for that matter she also just started dating someone, someone far more suitable for her.
But, of course opposites attract for a reason, even if Emily isn’t happy about it.
Along with the human detectives, there is also a pack of pet detectives who also help solve cases, including Emily’s dog Scout. Emily wasn’t much of a pet person before she came to Redemption (animals are not terribly neat and tidy) but a stray yellow lab mix ended up adopting Emily, so now she has a dog in her life. A large dog that sheds a lot.
Not anything that she ever dreamed she would be dealing with.
One final major theme of the series is found family, specifically Emily’s Aunt Tilde and the gang of misfit senior sleuths who are a part of The Redemption Detective Agency. Much like real families, they all drive Emily nuts, but when the chips are down, they always have Emily’s back. Which is very different from what Emily is used to.
But, despite everything, Emily has found a true home and her place in the world. And, at the end of the day, isn’t that what all of us are truly looking for?
About the Author:
A USA Today Bestselling, award-winning author, Michele taught herself to read at 3 years old because she wanted to write stories so badly. It took some time (and some detours) but now she does spend much of her time writing stories. Mystery stories, to be exact. They’re clean and twisty, and range from psychological thrillers to cozies, with a dash of romance and supernatural thrown into the mix.
Michele grew up in Wisconsin, (hence why all her books take place there), and currently lives there after spending nearly 30 years living in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona, with her husband and southern squirrel hunter Cassie.
When she’s not writing, she’s usually reading, hanging out with her dog, or watching the Food Network and imagining she’s an awesome cook. (Spoiler alert, she’s not. Luckily for the whole family, Mr. PW is in charge of the cooking.)
Blurb for The Mysterious Case of the Missing Ghost:
Emily Hildebrandt is learning to settle into some of the very strange cases that come through The Redemption Detective Agency’s door.
Like Aunt Tilde’s friend Ruth who claims she’s lost a ghost.
How does one lose a ghost? Apparently when the ghost decides to walk out the door.
But, to make matters more complicated, it’s not just any ghost but the ghost of Ruth’s dead husband. Who was murdered decades ago under very suspicious circumstances.
Emily has no choice but to go back in time and figure out what really happened to Ruth’s husband, in order for everyone to rest in peace.
Links:
Website: MPWNovels.com
Book link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJ7WTMS2
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/michelepw
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/michelepw
Facebook: https://facebook.com/michelepwauthor
Instagram: https://instagram.com/themichelepw
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MichelePW
