The last question from the student, had Cynthia filling the chalkboard with equations as she explained the alternative trajectory the rocket could have taken if it pivoted at a slightly acute angle. Because she had ran out of space, she hovered a few feet in the air on her broomstick, to obtain the reach she needed.

“It’s a matter of math instead of magic,” Cynthia concluded as she drew a circle around the solution. “And preparing for the worst. While I can’t always predict the effect malfunctioning enchantments have on a rocket, I can give mission control a range of what to expect.”

She twisted around on her broomstick to find the 23 students she had been originally speaking to had ballooned to 76, filling every chair, with overflow holding up the classroom’s wall in the back or even sitting on the floor.

Enough eyes stared out from this unexpected crowd that a dull panic roared in the back of her mind. But then, Professor Theodore Danner cleared his throat, and Cynthia’s eyes desperately latched onto the familiar face of her friend who had invited her here in the first place.

“Any last questions for Dr. Rhodes?” Theo asked as he stepped forward.

One student sitting in the fourth row, third from the left , and with her eyes round as saucers, slowly raised her hand. “Is this what we’ll do at NASA?”

“Not every day,” Cynthia managed to say. “But magical research is one of the main things I focus on each day at Ainsworth. I enjoy the work for there’s always a new problem to solve, or a mystery to sniff out. Not every mystery can be solved, but for the most peculiar ones, I like to think I’m the perfect person to solve them.”

That was perhaps the truest thing Cynthia had said all that evening.

A number of reasons had brought Cynthia to NASA and its premiere magical research lab, but a good mystery always got her attention. It didn’t always have to involve a murder or two, but just needed enough intrigue to keep her wondering.

After some applause for her, Theo dismissed the students. As they trickled out, Cynthia tapped out the star sigil for Canis Minor. The constellation flashed at once on the back of the eraser. Animated, the eraser, skated across the chalkboard, the calculations vanishing in clouds of chalk dust.

“Thanks again,” Theo said to her, “for doing this talk.”

“Well you asked me and didn’t leave much choice to say no,” Cynthia pretended to grumble, as she fought the shiver of pleasure the sight of his smile caused. As much as she liked recruiting bright young minds for NASA, she came here tonight for the sight of that smile alone.

“I had a reason for it,” He said. “Tonight proves you’ll do well hosting the magical educational show with me.”

Knowing she couldn’t refuse now, Cynthia just laughed, “Who am I to argue with such sound evidence!”

THE STARSEEKERS
Series Name: A Murder & Magic Mystery, Book 4
Genre: Historical Fantasy Mystery
Release: January 2026
Format: Print, Digital, Audio
Purchase Link

Indiana Jones meets Hidden Figures in this brand-new stand-alone historical fantasy set in the world of The Conductors, in which the space race of the mid-20th century will be determined by magic…if not murder.

In the 1960s, the world was caught up in reaching beyond our planet and into the cosmos. It felt impossible—but there was nothing science, math…and magic couldn’t make possible. The race to space was on, and the Moon was what everyone had their eyes on.

Including Cynthia Rhodes, a brilliant arcane engineer at NASA’s Ainsworth Research Labs. Talented in math and magic, she hosts a magical educational show… a job she took mostly for a chance to regularly see the dashing Theodore Danner, a professor of arcane archeology.

She is also an amateur sleuth—something that has run in her family for generations.

When a cursed museum curator nearly interrupts a broadcast of their show, Cynthia finds an eager sleuthing partner in Theo. Pairing up, they begin investigating the strange behavior of the curator and a mysterious theft at the arcane history museum—until one of Cynthia’s own coworkers perishes right in front of her in a major lab accident that endangers Ainsworth’s role in the space race.

Certain it was murder instead of an accident, Cynthia sees this as a separate case at first. However the more she and Theo investigate, Cynthia uncovers a surprising link between the two incidents. The museum theft and murder are part of a larger equation—one that includes deadly enchantments, rumored pirate treasure, a peculiar plant, and a dire threat to the space program as well as everything she holds dear.

The Starseekers is another rip-roaring adventure for the Rhodes family, who have been using magic to aid their community and solve mysteries since before the Civil War. The times may have changed, but a Rhodes once again finds themselves thrust into a world of murders, theft, sabotage, and curses, and this time the stakes extend to the stars themselves.

About the author
Nicole Glover is the author of the acclaimed historical fantasy series, Murder and Magic, which includes The Starseekers. Her books have received rave starred reviews for their unique blend of mystery, history, and fantasy and have been featured in NPR, En Forme, and The Virginian-Pilot. She’s been a Library Reads pick, made the Locus bestseller list, and most recently won The Webster Award. She lives and works in Virginia plotting her next fictional murder.