New Release | Ghosts & Gowns by bestselling and award winning Lucinda Race #paranormalcozymystery #cozymystery #newrelease #bookboost
- N. N. Light
- Jun 4
- 8 min read
Title Ghosts & Gowns
Author Lucinda Race
Genre Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Book Blurb
Enjoy this humorous, small-town, psychic, cozy mystery by best-selling and award-winning Lucinda Race.
She didn’t want to talk to ghosts or investigate a murder.
Designer and reluctant ghost whisperer Claudia Grant has moved to the picturesque small town of Drakes Bay to reopen her late uncle’s dress shop. To her surprise, Uncle Herman didn’t die of natural causes, and an even bigger surprise, his ghost has taken up residence in her shop.
On Claudia’s first day in town, she meets Beth, a fellow shop owner. While cleaning fingerprint dust, Claudia receives a phone call from a local man claiming Herman planned to sell her shop to him. Curiosity piqued— she agrees to a meeting. The police burst in while she’s hovering over his dead body, holding a gun.
As the only suspect and the real killer on the loose, Claudia must follow the clues linking these two murders. With some help from her new friends, including a handsome cop, can she figure out whodunit before the police slap on the handcuffs and formally charge her with murder?
If you enjoyed a Bookstore Cozy Mystery Series, this spin-off series should be on your TBR. Ghosts & Gowns is the first book in A Paranormal Ghost Cozy Mystery Series. It's a light-hearted, small-town psychic cozy mystery that guarantees the culprit is caught. Although each book can be read as a standalone, it is best to read them in order. Enjoy!
This book is for you if you like:
Whimsical world building
Quirky characters
Small towns
A dash of romance
A loveable old-fashioned ghost
Excerpt
I pushed open the wood and glass door to what used to be my great-uncle’s dress shop. It connected with a thud to the wall, and I walked into a giant cobweb. I shrieked. Shaking my head, I ran a hand over my hair in case something with eight legs had dropped into it. Setting my tote bag on the wide window ledge, I stepped into the shadow-filled space. “It’ll take a miracle to get this place cleaned and ready to open by the first of next month.” I closed the door, shutting out the stiff March wind off the bay of the Atlantic Ocean, praying the heat would warm the place up fast.
Rubbing my chilled hands together, I shoved them into my coat pockets, my fingers grazing my gloves, I pulled them out and laughed. That’s where they were. I hurried to where my mom said the office was. As much as I wanted to keep my hands warm, I patted the wall for a light switch and then the thermostat. “And action!” Not that I liked the sound of my voice, but the silence was already grating on my nerves. The medium-sized workroom was filled with light, pushing away the late morning shadows. I spotted a thermostat on the opposite wall near another door. I turned the dial and paused. Relief washed over me when I heard the rumble of the furnace. A thick layer of dust covered the sewing machines, a large table perfect for cutting fabrics, and a small desk in the corner. More cobwebs hung from the racks where bolts of fabric were stored. I groaned.
“It’s not that bad.”
I jumped back to the doorway and scanned the room. “Show yourself right now, or I’ll…”
“What? Throw your gloves at me?” The deep voice sounded like it was coming from a poor phone connection.
“I’ve got a gun and I’m not afraid to use it.” Hopefully, whoever was in my shop wouldn’t call my bluff.
“Fat good that’ll do.”
Before my eyes, an older man materialized behind the table. His white-silver hair curled around his face. He sported a tidy mustache and goatee and wore an old-fashioned brocade vest complete with a pocket watch on a gold chain. I narrowed my eyes. “You look vaguely familiar.”
“I should. We’re family.” He grimaced. “About time someone showed up to help me.”
I swallowed hard. “You look like a picture my grandmother has on her mantel, her brother-in-law, Herman. I went to his funeral.”
His voice softened, “Erma has a picture of me?”
“Um. My great-uncle is dead. So, who are you, and what are you doing in my dress shop?” I did my best to keep my voice on an even keel. A river of cold sweat ran down my back. My mouth was parched like an old, withered sponge.
“Young lady, this is my dress shop. I opened this business over fifty years ago and have worked here ever since.” The man didn’t get up, which was a relief. I kept my hand in my pocket on my pretend gun.
“No. My Uncle Herman owned this shop, and he died here after a tragic accident.” I shifted from one foot to the other, wishing I’d kept my cell phone in my pocket instead of my tote bag. I glanced over my shoulder. Could I escape out the door before the old man caught me, or worse, was he a ghost? I hated when this happened.
With a snort, he asked, “Who said I died from an accident?”
I sighed. Dang, he’s a ghost. I’d have to give him some information, and maybe he’d move on. “Five months ago, the police contacted my grandmother. We held the funeral shortly after, but it took time to wrap up my job in New York City before I could move to Drakes Bay.”
“Why do you want to move to town if I’m not here?”
“Look. Enough with the questions and no answers. Are you going to leave, or must I call the ghost police and have them escort you out?”
He rubbed his hand over his head. More to himself than to me, he said, “I’m dead. You’re the only person who can see me.” He looked up, his blue eyes watery. “What’s your name?”
Ignoring his comment, I tried to appear taller than five feet five inches. I pulled back my shoulders and thrust my chin up. “Claudia Grant.”
“Your father was Alex Grant, and he was married to a sweet girl,” he said, shaking his finger. “Don’t tell me. I’ll remember. Dana. A beautiful girl.” He grinned and tapped his temple. “I’ve got the memory of an elephant.” His shoulders sagged. “Am I really dead? I don’t feel dead. You’re sure that Herman Grant, a dressmaker and all-around good guy, is pushing up daisies?”
The poor man, was visibly distraught. Not making quick moves, I crept around the table. The closer I got, the more transparent the man seemed. I rounded the corner, and my hand flew to my mouth. His feet hovered six inches from the ground!
Stumbling back, my foot hit the rolling stool, shooting it across the room. “Ghost.”
He spun around—well, his torso and head spun— his legs stayed in the same space. “Where?”
I pointed a trembling finger in his direction. “You’re the ghost.” Reminding myself there must be a simple explanation, I hurried from the room, flung the front door open, and gulped air into my lungs. I squeezed my eyes tight and muttered, “It’s just your overactive imagination. You don’t talk to ghosts; you just see them.” I glanced over my shoulder. The apparition hovered in the center of the main room. I wasn’t about to refer to him as Herman. But if he was, why hadn’t he crossed over? Isn’t that what happened to most people when they passed on? I clenched and unclenched my hands before turning back to enter the store. I stared him down, and he drifted from the center of the room and perched on the edge of a low-slung chaise lounge, although I could see the entire furniture cushion through his form.
I left the door ajar in case I needed to escape. I crossed my arms over my chest and moved closer to the chaise. “If you’re Herman Grant, as you claim, you’re dead. I attended your funeral, and there was an open casket. How can you be a ghost and why would you want to haunt the shop?”
“Would you sit down? I can assure you I’m in no position to harm you, nor would I if I still breathed air.”
I jerked a small side chair to where I was within two steps of the door and, more importantly, the street.
He nodded. “That’s better. Now, we need to establish some facts. The first, my name is Herman Grant. You’re Claudia Grant, and we’re related. A little-known fact in our family is that we have had a long line of psychics with the ability to talk to spirits that haven’t crossed over. It’s not a stretch to surmise you’ve inherited that gift. Especially as you’re the first person I’ve talked to in months.”
I wanted to protest that I was a normal person who wanted to create beautiful clothes, not talk to ghosts. When I didn’t respond, he continued.
“That must be disconcerting, but tell me, haven’t you had a sixth sense about things or seen people others didn’t know were in the same room?”
I shifted in my chair. “We don’t need to discuss my vivid imagination. What’s your story? If you are the ghost of my great-uncle Herman, which is possible by your looks, why are you here? Were you waiting for me to arrive? If that’s the case, you can go beyond the veil now. Or whatever happens.”
“Claudia, that’s a lot of questions. If I’m earthbound, I have unfinished business.”
“Is there a gown you need to finish?”
He shook his head. “No, my dear. My death wasn’t an accident, and until I know what happened, I’m stuck here. At least now I’ve got company. You.”
I rocked the chair on the back legs. “Are you saying someone murdered you?”
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Author Biography
Award-winning and best-selling author Lucinda Race is an avid fan of fiction. As a young girl, she spent hours reading cozy mystery and romance novels and getting lost in the fun and hope they represent. While her friends dreamed of becoming doctors and engineers, her dream was to become an expert at crafting a captivating novel.
As life twisted and turned, she found herself writing nonfiction but longed to return to her true passion. After developing the storylines for the McKenna Family Romance series and the Paranormal Cozy Nook Bookstore Series, she decided it was time to start living her dream. Her fingers practically fly over computer keys. She weaves paranormal cozy mystery stories and romance with guaranteed happily ever afters.
Lucinda lives with her two little dogs, a miniature long hair dachshund and a shitzu mix rescue, in the rolling hills of western Massachusetts. When she's not immersed in her fictional worlds, writing mystery, suspense, or romance novels, she’s reading everything she can get her hands on.
Social Media Links
Goodreads – Lucinda Race- https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10174985.Lucinda_Race
Youtube Lucinda Race https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=lucinda+race+author
Universal Link https://books2read.com/ap/xyYO2g/Lucinda-Race
Bookbub Lucinda Race https://www.bookbub.com/profile/lucinda-race
Amazon Author Page https://www.amazon.com/Lucinda-Race/e/B00Q0MMNUM
Lucinda’s Heart Racers Reader Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/118597305361578
