Today is August 21, 1925. It’s the day Negroes in Agate, Illinois celebrate the anniversary of our emancipation from slavery. There will be a big parade down Lincoln Avenue. Every Negro organization in the city contributes a marching band, a float or a drill team. Folks from all over Southern Illinois come to watch the festivities. As an employee of DeLuxe Catering, I’m going to have a front row seat. I’m helping my bosses, Minty and Edward Layton sell catfish sandwiches, red velvet cupcakes and fresh lemonade at the event.
Minty wants me at the parade grounds by 8am. Problem is, I was out with Ben Langford last night. Ben’s the current man in my life. He wears thick glasses, writes poetry and quotes Shakespeare. You wouldn’t think it to look at him, but Ben is also sexy as hell, which is why I didn’t get home till 3am.
It’s a good thing my Aunt Sarah is an early riser. If she hadn’t knocked on my door to wake me, I’d never have made it to work on time. My aunt is nearly eighty while I am just twenty-two. We are compatible roommates in spite of the age difference. Aunt Sarah has a frizzy halo of white hair and a crooked smile. She looks like a harmless old lady, but trust me – she’s the most dangerous person I know. She is a master psychic, skilled in the African practice of hoodoo. Aunt Sarah can tell your fortune, cure an illness, or stop an enemy dead in his tracks. She believes that psychic ability runs in the family. She’s teaching me the tricks of the trade, and hopes I’ll take over the family business one day.
When Aunt Sarah bangs on my door a second time, I roll out of bed, splash cold water on my face and throw on my DeLuxe Catering uniform. I gulp down a cup of coffee and arrive at the corner of Tenth and Lincoln in the nick of time.
This year’s parade is going to be amazing. I don’t want to miss a second of it.
I’m especially excited to see what the Temple of Righteous Revelation is going to do for the parade. The Revelators have only been in Agate a few months, but they’re already making waves. Their leader, Bishop Pius Amon Ra, considers himself a modern-day Moses. He wears gold jewelry, drives a purple Cadillac and is reputed to have magical powers. Negroes and whites worship side by side in his church, a practice that has raised more than a few eyebrows. In this town, segregation is the custom, if not the law.
The Klan has left the Revelators alone so far, but you never know. Everyone is hoping the parade goes off without a hitch. But I’ve been hearing a buzzing sound in my left ear all morning. It’s a sign the Spirits are trying to get my attention. There could be trouble ahead.
LET THE MURDERER SAY AMEN
Series: A Psychics and Soul Food Mystery, Book 2
Genre: Historical Mystery, 1920s
Release: July 2026
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
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As prosperity and great cultural changes sweep across 1920s America during the Jazz Age, Nola Ann Jackson learns more about developing her natural psychic talents from her aunt—talents that prove crucial when she investigates murder in her Black community.
The people of Agate, Illinois, have welcomed Bishop Pius Amun Ra with open arms, flocking to become congregants of his Temple of Righteous Revelation. He has won over the hearts not only of the Black churchgoers, but of the city’s white political and wealthy elite. Bishop Ra is more than a preacher of the good word, he is a faith healer, blessed with the gift on the banks of the Nile during his youth in Egypt. His worshippers believe he can cure cancer—and even raise the dead.
Sequoia LaMarche was saved by Bishop Ra, and the young white woman serves his church as a singer, receiving death threats for her efforts. Despite Ra’s protection, members of the Temple’s inner circle hold Sequoia in contempt, including bodyguard Sam Constant, who publicly accuses her of stealing money from the collection plate. After the confrontation, Sequoia’s murdered body is discovered, and Sam becomes the police’s number one suspect.
Nola is a good friend of Sam’s sister, believing he’s innocent. Guided by her psychic instincts, she conducts her own investigation, uncovering secrets about the Bishop and the people closest to him, including his wife. The leaders of the Temple are not as righteous as they claim. Their altruism masks sins they prefer buried. And when another murder occurs, Nola must unveil the killer before she becomes the next victim . . .
About the author
Carolyn Marie Wilkins is the author of Let the Murderer Say Amen and Murder at The Wham Bam Club, the first two books in her Psychics and Soul Food Mystery Series. Carolyn’s stories have appeared in Festive Mayhem and Wolfsbane: Best New England Short Stories of 2023.
She is a Professor at Berklee College of Music Online and has represented her country as a Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department. An initiated priestess of Yemaya, the African goddess of motherhood, Carolyn is also a psychic medium and Reiki Master. For more about Carolyn, visit her website at www.CarolynWilkins.com.