Paranormal & Supernatural Mystery Stories

 I never thought I liked mystery stories, but they are growing on me; especially if they contain witches, wizards, shape shifters or ghosts!   I am keeping this list to actual mysteries with a detective or PI trying to solve a case, rather than thriller/suspense stories (which I also love); just to keep the list to "authentic mystery books".  

If you want to listen to the podcast, here is the link    alchemy of genres

Jon is a psychic who works with the police, or on cases taken on through the agency he works with.  He reads auras so well it's scary; but the cost is that anything electronic near him is quickly fried.  Because he works so closely with law enforcement, he is sometimes threatened by criminals and so his agency hires a partner to help watch out for him.  Donovan is the perfect partner, and the more the get to know each other.....the more perfect he seems.  Donovan and Jon have their work cut out for them, as they try to help the police find a serial killer and help a Chinese exchange student who has been shot and wrongfully accused of blackmail prove his innocence.  

I love this series so much and have read & listened to it multiple times.  The cases are always quirky, and the ongoing love story between Jon and Donovan is sweet.

Thomas is odd because he sees ghosts.  He sees them so well, they don't seem dead, until they can't talk; but because he can see and touch the dead, they come to him for help after they die.  Thomas loves being in his small town of Pico Mundo, cooking at a diner and planning his future with his girlfriend.  He works unofficially with the local police, who cut him a break when he is first on the scene, even in murder scenes because the chief knows about his talent.  

Then comes the day Thomas sees a stranger accompanied by a horde of shades (a type of precursor for major disasters).  Thomas needs to figure out what is coming and stop it; along with helping find out about a rash of local murders.

I haven't finished this series, but one day I will.  This is a perfect mix of mystery, suspense and ghost story and will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Alice is a private investigator specializing in cases involving the supernatural.  She is a magic user in hiding, trying to atone for the wrongs she did while imprisoned by her family and forced to do terrible things.  She killed and tortured for them from the age of 6 until she managed to fake her own death in the last few years.  Now she is investigating the disappearance of a mysterious object of power and along the way acquires a ghost mage, a werewolf companion and a lot of trouble.  The kind of trouble which threatens her safety, secrets and her life. 

I haven't finished this series yet, but it is really good.  There is an undercurrent of a love story with her and the sexy werewolf.  He runs a security company which gives her extra help on cases.

This is one of my teen selections and the first of the Curse Workers series.  It is set in an alternate universe where magic exists as curses, but is illegal to use thus forcing magic users to give up their magic or work through illegal agencies (think mob type groups).  Cassel is powerless in a family of powerful curse workers, so he has honed his knowledge of all local crime  as well as how they are done.  He also has an unwanted memory of killing his best friend.  Lately he has been having weird dreams which also involve sleepwalking, so when he finds himself on top of the dorm building at his private school in Princeton, NJ; he is frustrated but not surprised.  The surprise happens when the school sends him home for attempting suicide, Cassel decides it is an opportunity to investigate these dreams with a white cat......and figuring out what really happened to his best friend on that day so long ago.

The Diane Tregarde books are old, and in print only in a 3-in-1 edition; though I have recently found them available on Kindle Unlimited.  Recently Lackey wrote a series of prequel stories in the Diane Tregarde Trio.

Due to the age of the books, not everyone knows about them, but trust me, you should look into them.  They are solidly set in the 90's (and the prequels in the 80's) so for the younger set, it will feel like historical fiction.  Diane is a witch and a guardian, required to help all who ask for it.  She hides her magic from the world, but uses it to help others.  In the main adventures she works unofficially with a police detective to find criminal magic users.

Lucien returns from his 20 year exile in China to England.  He never planned to, but when his father and brother die, he is the only one left to inherit the Earldom. Magician Stephen is called when Lucien finds a curse determined to kill him, and even though Stephen hates Lucien's family but he breaks the curse and agrees to help find out who is trying to kill him.  

This is a mystery that has investigation, but also a lot of suspense and a bit of romance as Stephen & Lucien fall for each other.  It is part of a trilogy that is fun to read; and feels very steampunk due to the setting in 1800's England.

Iron & Velvet is the first book in the Kate Kane Paranormal Investigator series.  Kate is human, with magical abilities and uses them to solve cases.  She reluctantly agrees to investigate the unusual death of a werewolf outside a vampire club set to tear the supernatural community apart.  She knows it will not go well, but needs the money.....now if she could just keep her eyes (and hands) off of the sexy Vampire Prince.  

I haven't finished this series, just this book but I really loved it.  The main story is the investigation and suspense connected to that; but the lesbian romantic undercurrent was a nice counterpoint to all the action.  Cannot wait to read the rest of the trilogy.

This is one of two of "Oberon's Meaty Mysteries", which are separate from but related to the Iron Druid books.  Hearne wrote these as fun and funny side adventures.  Oberon is an Irish Wolfhound and he is the narrator and the investigator.  He is trying to figure out who is kidnapping dogs, especially the beautiful prize winning poodle he had been pursuing.  Oberon knows it is up to him to track down the culprits and reunite the dogs with their humans....for justice! For gravy!  His human, druid Atticus gives him a hand with the investigation as they travel throughout Oregon and Washington to solve the case.

So fun!  No knowledge of the Iron Druid books is needed, though it adds to the story if you know the background.

August is a detective in Sydney who is out of favor and focused on cold cases. One of the cases he is obsessed with is one that he knows is a serial killer targeting gay men; but that his superiors refuse to believe are anything more than tragic suicides. Then Jacob, a senior constable in Tallowwood, out in the boondocks near New South Wales, stumbles upon a body in the ancient forest and asks August for help. As the two work together, they begin to uncover more and just maybe a conspiracy that will get them killed. 
This is a subtle paranormal story, as the supernatural elements concern the spirits of Jacob's ancestors which the author leaves up to you to believe in or not.  I believe, and really loved the extra little bit of otherwordly deus ex machina.  This is an adult story, with a growing relationship between Jacob and August, which is not the main focus of the story but is a part of it nonetheless.

Victor is the psychic half of a PsyCop team.  He is a medium, although he hates his power and takes a lot of drugs to subdue.  Victor just wants to stay under the radar, both as a gay man and as a medium, even though his powers are part of his job.  Being able to speak to the dead makes it very helpful when investigating murders, but now they have a serial killer who isn't leaving spirits behind and who seems to be able to change his appearance at will.  The odds are against him, and now that he has to work with a new sexy partner, who is distracting him....it isn't getting any easier.  

This is a quick, suspenseful read and I'm looking forward to reading more in the series.

Percival Whyborne is a scholar adept at languages and hiding his "unnatural tendencies"(he is gay) while working at a museum.  Handsome investigator and ex-Pinkerton agent, Griffin Flaherty needs his help translating a book that he thinks will help him find a murderous cult.  Working together they find not only are they both attracted to each other, but also that magic is real and the murderous cult has magical abilities they plan to use to call up monsters.  They need to find the cult members and figure out a way to stop them before they destroy the world.

This is a really good series, which I am still reading.  It is set in the 1800's  and is realistic but with the additional elements of magic.  

Rain Christiansen is an FBI special agent, and is good at his job.  Until, that is, he, in a moment of weakness, listens to a ghost and acts on it.  Now he is a pariah, labeled crazy and barely tolerated, and his last chance to regain his good name is to help solve a cold case of a missing girl and never speak to a ghost again.  Unfortunately, he has to go back to his hometown for the case and work with his ex-boyfriend who is the lead detective for the case.  Rain is starting to wonder if becoming an FBI agent was a mistake.  Maybe he never should have left Daniel.  He is also wondering if ignoring ghosts is even an option now that they know he can hear them.  Can Rain and Daniel find out what happened to the missing girl?  And what happens after that?

I really like this trilogy as it explores Rain's medium abilities to solve cold cases while exploring the romance as well.

When August was 16, he discovered that he could find people....just walk in the direction that "feels right" and find them....victims of murder, suicide, kidnapping, accidents, rape....doesn't matter, he will find them.  Usually they are dead, but every so often they are still alive.  Nine years later August is volunteering his finding ability to the police, and this time he is trying to help them find a serial killer.  His personal life is a mess, but maybe it won't always be that way as he and the handsome detective Luke get to know each other better as they work to find the killer.  Unfortunately, the killer may be stalking August......

This was a really cool story, with lots of sad moments, so trigger warnings in effect for abuse issues as well as a warning for sexy men having love scenes with each other if that bothers you.

After being fired from her dream job as a fashion designer intern due to finding that she has a degenerative eye condition, Mina Wilde decides to return home to England to reevaluate her life.  When she returns to the quaint village she grew up in, she finds a job in her favorite bookshop while hoping to figure out where to go from here.  Turns out that the bookshop has a weird curse on it, which causes some of the fictional characters in the books to come to life, randomly and without warning.  She is now working with Poe (a raven/man), Heathcliff (yup, THAT Heathcliff, from before the crazy) and James Moriarty (who isn't as evil as you'd think)....and....well.....frankly they are all interesting and sexy in very different ways.  Just as she is starting to wrap her head around this, her ex-best friend turns up dead in the bookshop and she is the prime suspect in the murder....and the guys are her only hope to find the real killer.  

Such a cool story, unique idea and a fun way to allow a gal to explore being sexy with more than one guy.  Oh, and the mystery solving is definitely fun and funny as well.  

Shade is a witch in a world that doesn't believe in magic.  So when an FBI agent contacts her to consult on a possible haunting in a missing person case, and she is determined to help.  Things turn even more complicated when someone steals a vampire's book of secrets and a rogue sorceress is also involved.  Can she and her pixie familiar figure out all the disparate parts and solve this?  Will Shade survive her first case as a magical private eye?

Shade is a really interesting character, strong and focused but not perfect.  I have only read a few books in the series, but am looking forward to reading more.

Wes Cooper is dead, but not.  A witch's spell brought him back to life but he is not really alive so he can "go ghost" and step across to the other side.  This ability makes him the perfect thief.  For the last 70 years he has made a living returning items to their rightful owners and is doing well, until he witnesses a murder while in his ghost state.  As a ghost he can't see faces, only auras....but he reports it anyway.  In trying to help, he finds himself forced to cooperate with the man he never got over 20 years ago, Detective Hudson Rojas.  He is as devastating as he ever was, and is using Wes's ghost abilities to find the murderer.  But Hudson has his own secrets, and some of those will affect the search; and when Wes finds what they are, things really get interesting.

A really cool idea for a series, and the killer isn't who you think it is.....this trilogy explores so many supernatural angles while retaining the essence of a mystery story, with added elements of a spicy love story.

Abigails Rook has just arrived in New Fiddleham, New England.  It is 1892 and that means it is very difficult for a woman to find a job, but she feels very lucky to find a position as assistant to RF Jackaby, an investigator of the unexplained.  On her first day Abigail finds herself in the midst of  of a thrilling case, a serial killer is on the loose.  Police are convinced it is an ordinary human but Jackaby knows it's a nonhuman creature.  Can they find and stop the creature without being implicated in the murders or being killed by the monster?

This Sherlock-y steampunk mystery is written for teens, but is so fun to read, I recommend it to anyone of any age.

Alexia Tarabotti is caught up in a mystery involving rogue vampires and werewolves.  The mystery forces her to work with Lord Maccon, the alpha werewolf in charge of investigating supernatural crimes.  Alexia is no feeble woman, she has power over supernatural creatures due to her soulless state, if they touch her, they become human.  She is smart and fearless, definitely not "a proper female" according to her mother.  Together Alexia and Maccon may find the culprit but only if they can stop bickering.

This series is full of fun, a light mystery to read when you're looking for some escapist reading.

Janette used to be a bodyguard, living on the edge and using her blood magic to its full potential.  Then she sustains some crippling injuries in an accident and decides to disappear into a new life as a librarian in NYC.  Her physical issues don't affect her ability to do a good job in a library, and no one is looking for her here; until a politician is dramatically murdered on the front steps of the library branch she works in.  When her former boss (the one she used to bodyguard & drive for) shows up to investigate, he recognizes her.  She needs to work with him to solve this murder before more die and before her friends & coworkers are framed for the crime.  However, working with him means acknowledging old bonds and giving up her cover.  

I really enjoyed this story aside from one HUGE issue.....which is the trope of the main character wandering into a library talking about how much they love books and immediately being hired as a librarian.  Sigh.  Really?  You couldn't even research HOW to become a librarian?  Or how a library works?  Sigh.  Really do like the story & the characters and the interesting twist on magic; in spite of the personal issue I have with the trope of my job being something anyone can do off the street.

Midnight Riot is the first Peter Grant mystery in the Rivers of London series.  Peter is a junior constable and on his last night while he is guarding a murder scene, he talks to a ghost who witnessed the crime.  When he shares who his source was, instead of being laughed out of the precinct, he is made an apprentice to the secret magical police division.  He and his superior are frantically searching for the murderer and Peter is slowly learning to use magic and meeting London supernaturals; but how does one catch a supernatural entity/spirit who can jump from body to body?

I found this on Hoopla and have really loved the narrator.  I can't wait to read more.

Harry Dresden is a wizard private investigator for hire but being brought in to catch a black mage means more danger than any amount of money can cover.  After all, dead men don't need money.

This long standing series started in the 90's and is still continuing to this day. Even though this series isn't a favorite of mine, it IS a classic paranormal mystery and needs to be mentioned.  It reads like a classic noir style movie, with the mouthy detective, the femme fatale and all that goes with it.  Unfortunately, it does include the original misogynistic ideas that go with the genre (though maybe they cease further into the series?).  Anyway, if you enjoy noir style classic detective stories, give this series a shot.

Harper Blaine was an average private investigator until she died for two minutes.  Now she is a greywalker, able to move between the human world and the crossover zone where other things exist.  If she can tap into this power she can use it to solve this weird case she is working on.....or it could kill her.

Another original idea of how supernatural things work and an interesting idea of magic.  I have only read a few of these, but Harper is a very interesting character and I can't wait to find out more about her.

When a magical plague is released in a Depression era NY soup kitchen, private detective Alex Lockerby finds himself in a desperate hunt to catch a madman and murderer before they can strike again.  This series is set in the 40's but a magical one; so things are the same but different.  While this may come across as another noir, it is more historical...but with differences, especially as Lockerby is definitely not a misogynist and also actively works against racist ideology as well.  This series is well written and I love that while there is magic (Lockerby uses rune magic), there is also an emphasis on regular detective work in the style of Sherlock Holmes.  Highly recommended.

Dead Djinn in Cairo is technically a prequel (.5 in the Fatma el Sha-arawi series).  While there have only been prequel novellas published thus far, they are both getting lots of accolades.  The first book in the series is due out soon.  So, the series is set in Cairo, Egypt 1912, in an alternate world where magic exists.  Fatma works for the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments & Supernatural entities.  What starts off as an odd suicide case leads the special investigator through the city's underbelly as she encounters rampaging ghouls, saucy assassins, clockwork angels and a plot that could unravel time itself.  

I love this book and am so excited for the true first book.  Clark's book is such a cool mix of so many things, that I can't wait to see where it goes.

While Krentz is known as a romance author, this is a prime example of crossing genres as she combines a romantic suspense story with a paranormal mystery.  40 years ago in the small town of Fogg Lake, "the incident" happened:  an explosion in the cave system that released unknown gases, causing peculiar effects on its residents, such as strange visions and hearing voices.  Everyone ignored the strangeness little knowing these effects would linger and grow through the generations.

In the current day, Catalina and Olivia have been best friends for years and own an investigation firm together.  They use their "other sight" to help their business.  When Olivia goes missing, Cat is frantic to find her and is forced to accept help from scientist Slate Trevelyan.  They find that someone is hunting witnesses to a murder 14 years ago and both Olivia and Catalina are in danger.  Can they figure it out before it's too late?

Asylum is written in a similar style to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, using old photos with the text.  16 year-old Dan Crawford is excited to attend New Hampshire's college prep summer program, but when he arrives he learns that his dorm used to be a sanitorium (more commonly known as an asylum).  And not just any asylum, but one for the criminally insane.  As Dan and his new friends explore their creepy summer home, they find that someone brought them here for a reason....but can they figure it out before it's too late?  This is a book written for teens but could be enjoyed by anyone who loves a creepy mix of horror/mystery/ghost story.