Welcome to Lily Dale, the upstate New York birthplace of modern spiritualism and a town entirely populated by psychic mediums to this day—with one notable exception, of course, but we’ll get to her in a moment.

Do come in, and we’ll get acquainted over a cup of proper tea. I, of course, am Pandora Feeney—yes, that Pandora Feeney, renowned psychic medium, formerly of the London Feeneys who were thick as thieves with the London Dickenses back in the day. Yes, yes, Charles included. That’s why I’ve chosen “A Tale of Two Cities” as this month’s book club read. I’ve spent the morning re-reading it, such a splendid tale about the best of times. . .

Oh, that reminds me of the good old days when Orville and I owned Valley View Manor, before that strumpet Jillian Jessup came to town trying to get in touch with her dead father and stole my husband. Now Orville’s run off to Hollywood to become Psychic to the Stars, leaving me penniless and living in this dreary little cottage.

That’s Valley View just across the way, do you see it? The Queen Anne Victorian with turrets and a gingerbread porch? My, you’re eagle-eyed–that is a Vacancy sign out front. The place is now a guesthouse managed by Isabella Jordan—or Bella, as you Americans insist upon calling her. She’s the only skeptic in town–recently widowed, poor dear, and insistent that she’ll only believe if her late husband sends a message. To date, I’ve received several, but Isabella only sees and hears what she expects to see and hear. Why yes, it is quite ironic that she says the same about all of us.

She and the young lad arrived here last summer in rather a roundabout manner. You see, they’d come across Leona Gatto’s cat as they were on the road from New York City to Chicago, and were attempting to return the creature to her owner, unaware that Leona had, as we say here in the Dale, Crossed Over. They were stranded in a storm, and Isabella discerned that Leona’s fatal mishap was no accident. Perhaps you heard about the case? Isabella got all the credit in the press for solving the murder, without mention of those of us who channeled Leona’s spirit in an effort uncover the truth.

Now then, let’s go round to Valley View, shall we? I’ve got some splendid news to share with Isabella, and a wee favor to ask. You see, my beloved aunt and her new gentleman friend are sailing from England, unaware that I no longer reside at Valley View. I’ll need Isabella to play along with the charade and put us all up while they’re here. Just three of us, Auntie Eudora, Nigel, and myself. Oh, and of course Lady Pippa as well. Goodness, no, she’s my cat—a purebred Scottish Fold. I do hope that she’ll get on with Chance and Spidey, Isabella’s strays. They’re a little rough around the edges, as is the young lad. Come along now, don’t dawdle. Auntie Eudora and Nigel will be here any minute. . .

Prose and Cons, A Lily Dale Mystery #4
Genre: Suspense
Release: December 2021
Purchase Link

Young widow Bella Jordan investigates a mystery with a literary twist in this charming, magical small-town cozy mystery from New York Times bestseller Wendy Corsi Staub.

It’s been nine months since widowed mom Bella Jordan and her young son Max moved to Lily Dale, the quirky, close-knit New York community populated by people who can speak to the dead . . . if one believes in that kind of thing. Now she counts Valley View, the guesthouse she runs, as home and her psychic medium neighbors as friends. Even haughty, British Pandora, who used to own Valley View before her difficult divorce.

So when Pandora sweeps in, requesting an urgent tete-a-tete, Bella expects it to be another complaint about book club. It isn’t. Pandora airily reveals her elderly Auntie Eudora is taking a last-minute cruise from London to New York with her gentleman friend Nigel – and minutes later Bella is bemused to find she’s agreed to host them at Valley View free of charge.

Bella has enough on her plate: her son Max, their two kitties, a budding relationship with local vet Drew . . . not to mention this month’s book club pick to read. But when she begins to have suspicions about one of her new guests, she’s determined to uncover the truth for Pandora’s sake – even if it kills her first.

About the author 
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub has published more than 90 novels over a 28-year career, under her own name and various pseudonyms including Wendy Markham. Her latest releases are Prose and Cons, Lily Dale Mysteries Book 4 (Severn House) and the upcoming psychological suspense novel The Other Family (William Morrow). She’s been honored five times with the Westchester Library Association Washington Irving Prize for Fiction; has won an RWA Rita Award, an RT Award for Career Achievement in Suspense, and the 2007 RWA-NYC Golden Apple Award for Lifetime Achievement; and is a three-time finalist for the Mary Higgins Clark Award. She lives in the New York City suburbs with her husband, sons, and cats.

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