Coming Soon: Legacy of the Bluffs
A suspicious death rattles a quaint Cape Cod seaside village and the discovery of a long-buried secret leaves a prominent local family questioning their legacy.
This third Haunted Bluffs Mystery finds Cassie Mitchell juggling the responsibilities of new motherhood and the drama surrounding her sister’s return to Whale Rock while welcoming another tenant to the carriage house. Adding to her worries are the recently discovered letters revealing a stunning confession. Could one of her seven baby brothers, who supposedly died at childbirth, have survived?
Cassie begins unraveling this new family mystery with guidance from the ever-present spirits of her ancestors, the original residents of The Bluffs. However, the fog of pregnancy brain is impeding her deciphering of their messages.
Cassie’s husband, former FBI agent Daniel Benjamin, surprises her with an au pair to help with the baby. But there’s something unnerving about Abbigail Grant, and soon after her arrival, the community is shaken when a body is found sprawled on the rocks near The Bluffs. With the case ruled a homicide, Cassie becomes entangled in the investigation and butting heads with Chief Brooks Kincaid, who is under pressure to solve the case before tourist season begins. A prominent politician appears on the scene, with questions arising over his connection to the victim. And why has the mysterious new owner of the Red Herring estate been nosing around suspiciously?
Can this murder be solved in time to save the summer season? Will Cassie determine if her brother survived? And if he did, will it be a blessing or another curse on the Mitchell family?
Early Reviews for Legacy of the Bluffs:
“With a charming cast and a plot kissed by the paranormal, Legacy of the Bluffs seamlessly combines a murder and a decades-old family secret into an extremely compelling story. Loretta Marion develops engaging characters readers quickly grow attached to…Despite the murder at its center, the novel keeps a warm, comforting tone throughout, letting Whale Rock’s cozy charm shine even as the mystery deepens. With a plot full of unexpected turns that keeps readers hooked, Legacy of the Bluffs has everything cozy mystery fans look for.” Indies Today 5 Star Review
“An enticing double mystery with paranormal elements set in the New England summer. Loretta Marion’s Haunted Bluffs series…is now in its third instalment with Legacy of the Bluffs. It extends a warm welcome to first-time readers and a real pleasure to returning fans….It is evident that Loretta Marion’s writing flows with a ceaseless energy, one that tries to tell you what happens next with a certain breathlessness. It’s something you feel on the page. It comes with the type of surprise you only get when the author is having a blast writing. The book does a wonderful job of establishing the tone and settings as well, both Cape Cod as a whole and each specific scene…Mystery aficionados will have something unique and nutritious to chew on with Legacy of the Bluffs.” Independent Book Review
Storm of Secrets
A deadly storm, a missing three-year-old child, a suspicious death, and the eerie presence of the spirits of the dead set the stage for the second mesmerizing installment of Loretta Marion’s paranormal suspense series.
A powerful storm descends upon Cape Cod’s Whale Rock at the peak of tourist season–and the weekend Cassandra Mitchell’s and Daniel Benjamin’s wedding is set to take place at The Bluffs, the magnificent Victorian mansion Cassie inherited from her family. In the wake of the storm’s destruction, three-year-old Lucas Kleister goes missing–and the body of small-time drug dealer Lee Chambers is found in a restaurant dumpster. Now, the WRPD are faced with a murder to solve, a missing child to find, and the aftermath of one of the worst storms in recent memory.
While aiding with the clean-up and helping the displaced, Cassie has been receiving cryptic messages from the spirits of her great-grandparents, Percy and Celeste Mitchell, the original residents of The Bluffs. At first, the messages are benign, but soon, they begin to point to something more sinister. As Cassie works to decipher their meaning, the specter of a mysterious local legend surfaces. The tale of Barnacle Boy–and what happened to him during another destructive storm decades earlier–will weave through the desperate search to find Lucas and the identity of a killer.
“[A] gripping sequel…Marion seamlessly weaves the multiple story threads together. Fans of tales of regional intrigue will be satisfied.” —Publishers Weekly
“Modern and historic mysteries collide in Marion’s bittersweet storytelling.”—Kirkus Reviews
House of Ashes
Thirty-seven-year-old painter Cassandra Mitchell is fourth-generation to live in the majestic Battersea Bluffs, a brooding Queen Anne home originally built by her great-grandparents, Percy and Celeste Mitchell, and still standing despite tragedies that have swept the generations. Local lore has it that there was a curse placed on the family and the house is haunted, though opinions are divided on whether it’s by malicious or benevolent spirits. Cassie believes the latter—but now she stands to lose her beloved home to mounting debt and the machinations of her dream-weaving ex-husband.
Salvation seems to arrive when a nomadic young couple wanders onto the property with the promise of companionship and much-needed help—until they vanish without a trace, leaving behind no clue to their identities. Cassie is devastated, but determined to discover what’s happened to the young couple…even as digging into their disappearance starts to uncover family secrets of her own. Despite warnings from her childhood friend, now the local Chief of Police—as well as an FBI agent who pushes the boundaries of professionalism—Cassie can’t help following the trail of clues (and eerie signals from the old house itself) to unravel the mystery. But can she do so before her family’s dark curse destroys everything in its path?
“Enjoyable…a fine cast of well-rounded characters and some intriguing whiffs of ghostly presences.” —Publishers Weekly
IAN Book of the Year Awards 2017
Finalist in Two Categories: Mystery and Suspense
Gold Book Award 2017 Literary Titan
New England Book Festival Honorable Mention
The Fool’s Truth
On the run and desperate to flee the country with her toddler daughter, Cord Richmond can only turn to one person for help – lifelong friend and once lover, Ramon Alvarez. Their reunion reawakens long suppressed feelings, but once again their timing is off as they must hastily chart a course for her escape.
A reckless detour in those carefully laid plans leaves Cord stranded in the backwoods of Maine, hidden by a hermit weaver living off the grid. With no means of communicating with the outside world, the need to craft a new plan intensifies when the peculiar woman takes an obsessive interest in her daughter.
Complicating matters further are the local sheriff and a nosy reporter, both with ambitions for uncovering the truth, each with his own private reason for taking refuge in the remote rural village of Murphy, Maine. Cord’s folly is the catalyst for dark secrets unraveling, placing her and her daughter in grave danger. She deeply regrets having lied to the one person who might be searching for her. Meanwhile, Ramon seeks to resolve the unsettling truths Cord has concealed from him. If only he could find her.
THE FOOL’S TRUTH is a twisty page-turner, expertly blending mystery, danger and suspense with the alluring possibility of romance from a once unrequited love.
Loretta Marion’s debut novel is a twisty tale of mystery and suspense…with whispers of romance.
“Never a dull moment”
“The Fool’s Truth is an interesting page-turner—a mystery with just the right splash of romance that keeps the action and thrills going until the very end. Taking the reader on a detour to the backwoods of Maine, a million shadowy secrets come to light…Never a dull moment, it almost feels as if the reader is right by Cord’s side as she escapes from one devil just to find herself lost among many.”
-Suspense Magazine
An author of fiction, Loretta’s writing bridges the genres of women’s fiction, mystery and suspense, always with hints of romance and humor, sometimes delving into the psychological and paranormal. She creates strong but flawed and struggling characters as appealing as the rich atmospheric settings in which the stories take place.
Loretta has loved reading and creating with words since she was a young girl. And that affection for the written word followed her like a shadow throughout her life as she…..