Would you ever climb into that box magician's have and then let them saw you in half? It's just an illusion, right? Or is it? This week we're heading to New Jersey for a little magic on Halloween in Zig Zag Girl. A person could really get sawed in half in one of those boxes, you're thinking. fuggedaboutit already. This week's podcast is all about a haunted magic show.

Synopsis

Zigzag Girl, by Ruth Knafo Setton, is a twisty contemporary mystery with a touch of magic, set in Atlantic City and the eerie New Jersey Pine Barrens. Lucy Moon, a brilliant young magician with a mysterious past, works in the town’s theatre, staging performances of enchantment and conjure. But one night, during the ‘Sawing a Woman in Half’ trick, Lucy discovers her friend’s body in the box, dead. As Lucy digs deeper, she uncovers a trail of murders and suspects. With the help of a fierce group of female magicians and mystics, she must expose the truth before she becomes the final act.

Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | The Black Spring Press Group

Music Credits:

Open Up

https://uppbeat.io/t/euchmad/open-up

License code: XLFZAKI2QXIMI57C

Books to the Ceiling is part of the Teresa Trent Author Blog

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This week we are headed to the world of art collecting. Matisse, Monet, and a little art forgery that makes you wonder what is authentic and what isn't? Let's find out more in Artist, Lover, Forger, Thief by Sheila Sharpe.

Artist, Lover, Forger, Thief is a riveting, wildly entertaining, complex, and adrenaline-fueled art crime novel that is as intriguing as it is satisfying. Nick McCoy wants out of the art forgery business but not until he exacts revenge on the man who murdered his family years ago. Kate O’Dade, McCoy’s former therapist, comes to him for help after mysteriously receiving a painting of Matisse’s Open Window from an unknown benefactor. This seemingly innocent meeting to determine its authenticity sets off a chain of events that will take McCoy, O’Dade, Cromwell and his new team of investigators from San Diego to England, and from art forgery to murder.

Rarely do you find such complex characters, intricate plot, compelling subject, and cunning psychological jousting woven throughout such a memorable story like Sharpe does in Artist, Lover, Forger, Thief.

Book Links: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub

Music Credits:

Blank Light

https://uppbeat.io/t/adi-goldstein/blank-light

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This week we're heading to Winchester, Virginia to do a little historical research while we hang out with the dead detective, Oliver Tucker. Get ready for helpful spirits, child psychics, and a man in love with an angel. All good stuff in Dying With a Secret by TJ O'Connor.

Oliver “Tuck” Tucker, the dead detective, is back—not just for another case, but from the dead—or vice versa. It all starts when a Federal Agent is killed by a mysterious force in front of dozens of witnesses—including Angel, his historian wife, and Tuck. Among the many suspects is a dark, clandestine Federal agency responsible for advanced research and weaponry, a university doctoral candidate who won’t stay dead, and the leader of a secret southern society bent on rekindling the Civil War. With the aid of a ten-year-old psychic and the spirit of Tuck’s Civil War grandmother—Sally Elizabeth Mosby—Tuck has to stay one step ahead of the Feds who are hellbent on capturing him—alive? But through all this, what’s a two-hundred-year-old lost fortune in gold got to do with dead agents, secret death rays, and rogue policemen?

Genre: Paranormal Mystery, PI Cozy Mystery Published by: Level Best Books Publication Date: December 9, 2025 Number of Pages: 324 ISBN: 979-8898201111 (pbk) Series: The Dead Detective Casefiles, Book 4 Book Links: Amazon | Kindle | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub

Music Credits

Soft Landing

https://uppbeat.io/t/peter-lainson/soft-landing

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Internal Investigation

https://uppbeat.io/t/benjamin-botkin/internal-investigation

License code: T2MMNSQ0DSCNR0II

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This week we're traveling back in time, I mean way back to ancient Crete. A murder mystery set in the Bronze Age? Listen and find out in A Murder of Furies.

When Tinos, the High Priestess's consort, asks Martis to search for his missing daughter, Martis becomes involved in the dangerous politics between Crete and Egypt. A minor Egyptian prince is courting Hele, the High Priestess's daughter, despite her persistent refusals. And despite the lobbying by Hele's brother, Khoranos, who seeks the Cretan throne for himself.

Then the High Priestess is found murdered, savagely stabbed multiple times. Martis discovers plans to kidnap Hele and she has to be spirited away to safety. Egyptian soldiers occupy Knossos and Khoranos installs his ally as the High Priestess.

Can Martis rescue the High Priestess's daughters and identify the murderer before Khoranos, with Egypt's help, takes the throne? Martis must embark on several dangerous quests to succeed.

Series: An Ancient Crete Mystery, Book 3 Book Links: Amazon | Kindle | Goodreads | BookBub

Music Credits:

Halls of Abaddon

https://uppbeat.io/t/aaron-paul-low/halls-of-abaddon

License code: W0FAZDX8HZAAPZ8N

Awakening

https://uppbeat.io/t/simon-folwar/awakening

License code: GEH8MJ8ARPPZUTE3

Visit Teresa's blog- Books to the Ceiling

A decorated military hero is found hanging from a rope. Two young boys vanish without a trace. And private investigator JD Wolfe’s world begins to unravel.

The deeper she digs, the closer the danger creeps–not just to her, but to the family that saved her and the career that keeps her sane. JD knows these crimes aren’t random. They’re a message. And she might be the target.

Once called Diamond in a grim orphanage, the Wolfe family adopted JD, but she’s never felt like she truly belonged. She harbors secrets too dark to speak. Secrets that landed her in an asylum. Secrets tied to a ghost that’s haunted her since the night her mother died in a fire.

This ghost doesn’t sleep. It invades JD’s cases, her dreams, and even her heart. She’s kept it buried for years. But now, with lives on the line, JD must do the unthinkable.

She must let the ghost in.

Book Links: Amazon | KindleUnlimited | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub

Dusk Light

https://uppbeat.io/t/all-ambient/dusklight

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The Longest Night

https://uppbeat.io/t/all-ambient/the-longest-night

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Books to the Ceiling is a part of the author blog of Teresa Trent at https://teresatrent.blog.

Sheriff Jax Turner is worried about going off-grid and leaving his young team of deputies behind. But while his getaway with his ex is meant to help them reconnect, Jax is distracted by signs of a break-in at their rented lookout.

After a string of unsettling events and an approaching wildfire turn their isolated retreat into a danger zone, he’s stunned to find a dead body with marks tying it to a killer he put away a decade ago.

Terrified that his attempt at reconciliation has led them both into a fatal setup, Jax rushes back to his estranged wife before she joins the list of victims. But his dedication to serving and protecting could become an Achilles heel as other players join them among the darkening trees.

Can he fight his way out of the woods before the flames of revenge consume everything?

"Keliikoa is the Queen of immersive small-town mystery. Killer Tracks is cleverly plotted with deftly drawn relatable characters who face off with a deadly threat from the past." ~ James L’Etoile, award winning author of River of Lies and the Detective Nathan Parker series

"Mary Keliikoa’s Killer Tracks is a wonderful addition to the Misty Pines mystery series. Great pacing, strong plotting, and compelling characters. Highly recommended!" ~ Bruce Robert Coffin, international bestselling coauthor of The Turner and Mosley Files

Book Links: Amazon | Goodreads | BookBub

Music Credits:

Zero Pulse

https://uppbeat.io/t/iros-young/zero-pulse

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Wait

https://uppbeat.io/t/greenhouse/wait

License code: RUPPIRTPCTYNEDFX

Behind the enchanting façade of the North Pole–the fantastical winter wonderland where sugary delights and candy canes reign supreme–exists a world of surprises and hidden secrets. When Jangles van Hoosen Keebler Frosten McFlurry, executive director of Santa Co. Limited, is discovered “wrapped up” in a deadly predicament, suspicion falls upon his mischievous brother.

Enter Ruddiger...just Ruddiger, the North Pole’s one and only private detective, to solve the mystery. As he delves into the investigation, he finds himself surrounded by a cast of colorful characters, including a vivacious showgirl from the Red Ribbon District, the ever-watchful Elftenant Blinker of the North Pole Constabulary, and Big LeRoy, the formidable leader of the elf union.

Can Ruddiger prove his client is as innocent as a snowflake and unmask the true culprit? Venture into the whimsical world of North Pole Noir to uncover the truth hidden beneath the snowy veneer.

Book Links: Amazon | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | BookBub

Music Credits:

Christmas Mischief

https://uppbeat.io/t/floor-model/christmas-mischief

License code: KPFGFFIZCTA0DQL5

Snowy Road

https://uppbeat.io/t/ra/snowy-road

License code: 06Z5S9D9Y06KLAZJ

Have yourself a merry little . . . murder?

Ricki James-Diaz gets the best present ever when her parents arrive in New Orleans for the holidays. Not only is it a chance to catch up, it’s also an opportunity to jog her mom Josepha’s memory about Ricki’s adoption. The details have always been shrouded in mystery. And Ricki understands why when she learns her mother was blackmailed for years, simply for not wanting to lose her precious daughter.

But digging into the past soon lands the James-Diaz clan in water hotter than a big pot of gumbo! When the woman who extorted Ricki’s mom is found dead at her home, Josepha becomes the primary suspect. Now Ricki has another murder to solve, and tracking down a killer in Crescent City is going to take a miracle.

Luckily, ‘tis the season! And Ricki has all the staff at the Bon Vee Culinary House Museum on hand to help. Can she prove her mother’s innocence and have the case wrapped up in time for Christmas?

Series: A Vintage Cookbook Mystery, #4 • Learn More at Amazon & Goodreads Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Kobo | Google Play | Apple Books | Severn House

Music Credits

Golden Moments of Christmas

https://uppbeat.io/t/vocalista/golden-moments-of-christmas

License code: MWYNNSUGASMNC3SG

Fireplace Ballad

https://uppbeat.io/t/avbe/fireplace-ballad

License code: OZKHKWOK4FDGQA2C

Visit Teresa’s blog, and the home of Books to the Ceiling at teresatrent.blog