Showing results by author "Jeannie Wycherley" in All Categories

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. Unless you’re Alfhild Daemonne that is! Can’t a witch ever catch a break? Will there ever be a crisis free and merry Christmas at Whittle Inn? Probably not. That’s what makes life wonky after all! As warm and satisfying as mulled wine, this Wonky Inn Christmas Cozy Mystery Collection draws together the first three previously published paranormal Christmas specials in one volume.

Murder, magic, and mayhem—with a side of cake and a hooting owl. Welcome to Whittlecombe, a village so quaint even the ghosts can’t bear to leave. At the heart of it sits the Wonky Inn—a crumbling, magical haven inherited by one Alfhild Daemonne, a witch with spectacularly unpredictable powers and an owl familiar named Mr Hoo who thinks he knows best (and often does). In The Wonkiest Witch, Alf’s plans to quietly settle in are rudely interrupted by a corpse on the patio, a nosey village full of secrets and a sudden need to remember how magic actually works. Spoiler: it doesn’t go well.

Toby dog suddenly has plenty to say for himself. The only witness to the brutal murder of his owner, Toby is hexed by a woman with evil intentions. “Speak to none but me”, she tells him. Wretched and misunderstood, he’s incarcerated in the local pound. With a death sentence hanging over his head, Toby has almost given up hope. But then he meets Clarissa. Not only is she a witch, she’s a local investigative journalist, and - amazingly - she can understand what he says too. Finally, he’s found somebody who believes his story.

Toby's been building up quite a reputation for himself. Well, he likes to think so. It's therefore no surprise that when things go wrong for any of his canine friends, he’s called in to help them out. But this time, it’s Toby who needs assistance. The Pointy Woman is back and our talented spellbound hound has a bone to pick with her! The problem is, first he has to find a way to get to her. Cue a helpful fox, a plucky hedgehog, a "bithycle" made for one, a balloon ride never to be forgotten and the usual shenanigans. But when the fun and games are over, it’s time to get serious.

An eight-year-old boy with his whole life ahead of him. A disgraced police officer. An artistic witch who lost her career and her freedom thanks to police corruption. What do they all have in common? They’re dead. Three lives ruined. And for what? That’s what Zilla Chaplin needs to find out. It’s not that she’s particularly keen to do so. Zilla has her comfort zone—you know, books, plants, tea and biscuits—and quite frankly, murder doesn’t float her boat.

Toby is a pooch in need of a short back and sides. Unfortunately, an unscheduled appointment at Toby's local poodle parlor proves particularly perilous for the poor proprietor in more ways than one. Her poor poodle is left pining. But when you have a spellbound hound on the case, it turns out murder can be stylish after all!

When journalist and part-time witch Clarissa Page first meets Toby, she thinks she’s getting a quiet companion. What she gets is a furball with opinions, secrets and more than a touch of magic. Together, they form the least conventional (but most adorable) crime-fighting duo the West Country has ever seen.

When a zombie infection begins to spread around town, anyone with half a brain would stay indoors. Right? But Toby, a dog with a brain the size of a small planet, has been summoned to assist a Yorkshire terrier friend whose owner appears to be the source of the outbreak. Toby can’t turn his back on an old mate, even if that means putting his own favorite human at risk of infection.

Alfhild Daemonne has inherited an inn. And a dead body. Estranged from her witch mother, and having committed to little in her 30 years, Alf surprises herself when she decides to start a new life. She heads deep into the English countryside, intent on making a success of the once popular inn. However, discovering the murder throws her a curve ball. Especially when she suspects dark magick. Additionally, a less than warm welcome from several locals persuades her that a variety of folk - of both the mortal and magickal persuasions - have it in for her.

A brand new bakery has opened in Sun Valley. Cue a frenzy of excitement among the locals as they snap up the much heralded baker’s marshmallow muffins, terrific treacle tarts and berry spectacular Bakewells. Toby, our beloved spellbound hound, is first in the queue to taste test the freshly prepared sammiches! But when a spate of fatal poisonings shakes the local community to its core, it transpires Devon splits and Dorset knobs might be deadlier on the waistline than first thought.

Yip! Yip! Yoo-ray! Toby’s back for a new adventure! It’s not everyday that a dog launches his own criminal investigation. But Toby’s not an everyday kind of dog. When he’s alerted to a local case of puppynapping, Toby tries to get his humans to take action. Unfortunately, the local police aren’t overly concerned about one missing pooch, and Clarissa, Toby’s witch owner, is rather preoccupied with her new job and an ex-boyfriend. When one missing puppy becomes two … and then three and four … Toby recognises the need for urgent action.

After hosting a diabolical vampire wedding last Halloween, Alf had imagined that Whittle Inn had seen the last of those long-toothed monsters. She’d pointedly barred them from ever setting foot or fang in her part of the English countryside again. But since then, one thing has continued to bother our favourite wonkiest witch. Who killed the handsome young vampire Thaddeus? And why?

Take a pair of ballet shoes, a faery queen, and a disgruntled mage and what do you get? A grim time in the Kingdom of Sweets. Or so says the owner of the Magical Emporium, Mister Magigi, a monkey wizard long renowned for spinning a good yarn. In Sugar Plum Scary, he recounts the story of a beautiful, intelligent, and benevolent queen, adored by all of her subjects. Except for one. And as Mister Magigi explains, while Queen Sugar Plum imagines she’ll live happily ever after, that one man is determined to make her life a misery.

Heather Keynes’ teenage son died in a tragic car accident. Or so she thinks. However, deep in the countryside, an ancient evil has awoken...intent on hunting local residents. No-one is safe. When Heather takes a closer look at a series of coincidental deaths, she is drawn reluctantly into the company of an odd group of elderly Guardians.

The pointy woman gave him a voice. Now, she wants to shut him up. Permanently. Would-be investigative journalist, Clarissa Page, and her sammich-obsessed spellbound hound, Toby, are making little headway in their hunt for the nasty witch, Miranda Dervish. And they’re having no luck finding the magickal four stone either. No matter which way they turn, who they ask, or where they search, they’re thwarted.

Since giving up the booze—bar a small hiccup here and there—ex-Ministry of Witches Detective Elise Liddell hasn’t had much call to hang out in bars. So, imagine her surprise when the generally antagonistic landlord of the Pig and Pepper calls on her for assistance. It seems Charles Lynch’s regulars are being scared away by mysterious specters. It’s hitting him where it hurts: right in the pocket. Elise agrees to help. After all, the pub is her local, and she isn’t generally spooked by the paranormal. However, the apparitions turn out to be monks. Malevolent monks!

Lisa’s mother is dying. But Lisa doesn’t care.... Now in her early 40s, and with her life disintegrating around her, she’s been forced to return to her childhood home where the memories of her father and brother have long been repressed. When the Victorian villa across the road goes up for sale, Lisa is naturally curious. One old woman has owned the property her whole life, and Lisa has never been allowed to step into the grounds before. Now an odd young stranger invites her to explore the garden...but only after midnight.

Without Zilla, there'd be no witches zooming around on their broomsticks and nobody would be allowed an exotic animal as a familiar. She grants permits for a living. Okay, it's not riveting stuff but it's important. The day a cute but pushy pussycat arrives at her apartment complex, so does a grotty old journal full of blank pages. Until now Zilla has enjoyed a simple life: her clean, quiet apartment; a couple of potted plants that she struggles to keep alive. She's not an exceptional woman. She doesn't have many friends. She's never owned a pet … and she most certainly does not want a cat.

Whittle Inn is up and running and gaining in popularity. Proud owner Alfhild Daemonne can afford to relax, can’t she? Apparently not. When her neighboring inn decides to host the southwest region’s largest ever Psychic and Holistic Convention, you’d think that would allow Alf the opportunity to make lots of new friends. Think of it! Dozens and dozens of fortune tellers, mediums, diviners, psychics, rune-tellers, witch doctors, and even a voodoo priestess from New Orleans - all gathered together in one big field.

Alf has tried to banish her demons. And her ghosts. But memories of her recent past linger and keep her awake. Every night it’s the same. Insomnia. When she does eventually drift off, she’s woken almost immediately by a sobbing spirit. He says he's lost. And worse than that, someone is trying to kill him. Who is this sad specimen of a spirit? And where does he belong? And how do you kill someone...who is already dead? Find out what Alf gets up to next as the Wonky Inn adventures continue. Listen to The Ghosts of Wonky Inn today.