Review: Paws of Justice (Crystal Beach #11) by Karen McSpade

Paws of Justice

Crystal Beach #11

by Karen McSpade

Published: October 28, 2025

Publisher: Newcastle Media Publishing

Genre: Animals, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Mystery, Psychics, Suspense, Paranormal, Witches, Magical

 

Blurb:

A cryptic warning from beyond the grave. A small town haunted by secrets. When evil bites, can this witch’s magic stop the deadly curse?

When part-time medium and full-time witch Sidney Grace agrees to help a widow contact her dearly departed husband, she expects a few ghostly complaints - not a cryptic message about murder. But when the widow is found dead days later, Sidney is drawn into a paranormal mystery far darker than she imagined.

A red-eyed seagull stalks the skies. Her shifter friend mysteriously vanishes. And when her grandmother’s closest companion turns up drained of life, whispers of vampire activity send panic through the magical town of Crystal Beach.

As dark forces close in, Sidney must rely on her psychic gifts, her magical pets, and a powerful circle of witches to stop a supernatural threat before it claims her grandmother…and the town for good.

Spellbinding, suspenseful, and packed with magic, Paws of Justice is a must-read for fans of:

• Witchy cozy mysteries

• Paranormal pets and magical animals

• Small-town supernatural suspense

• Female sleuths with psychic gifts

• Paranormal romance

• Lighthearted murder mysteries with a magical twist

Start reading Paws of Justice today—and discover the secrets that won’t stay buried.

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My Review:

Paws of Justice is an excellent addition to the Crystal Beach series by Karen McSpade. This novel is filled with suspense and is incredibly engaging, ensuring that you'll be captivated for several hours, just as I was. I was disheartened when I reached the final page because I wanted to continue exploring the adventures of Sidney Grace and her enchanted companions.

Sidney is a part-time medium and a full-time witch who is approached by a widow seeking to connect with her beloved late husband. Sidney anticipated only a few spectral exchanges, but instead, she uncovers a cryptic message regarding a person's demise.

Soon after, Sidney discovers the widow, Elspeth, lifeless on her porch. However, when she reaches out to the spirit world to communicate with Elspeth, it turns out that no one has encountered her in the afterlife. An unsettling and mysterious situation is unfolding in Crystal Beach. Where could Elspeth be? What has transpired? What secrets lie within Crystal Beach?

Paws of Justice offers an enchanting tale within the realm of magic and mystical creatures, packed with intriguing mysteries to unravel. If this piques your interest, be sure to get your hands on a copy of Paws of Justice today!

Check out all the books in the Crystal Beach Series I’ve read.

Dog Gone Troubles 0.5

Goodreads

Cat Scratch Murder #1

Goodreads

Amazon

BookBub

Witch Under Pressure #6

Goodreads

Amazon

BookBub

Paws of Justice #11

Goodreads

Amazon

BookBub

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Release Blitz + #Giveaway: Formula for Fate by Maya Tyler @mayatyerauthor @RABTBookTours

 

Fairy Godmothers, Incorporated Book 2

Contemporary Romance with a Dash of Magic

Date Published: 10-28-2025

Publisher: Tirgearr Publishing

Leighton Carter has sworn off romantic love to protect her heart, but she struggles with the challenges of single parenthood. Doctor Alexandros (Xander) Arvanitas lost his family in a tragic accident. Burying himself in work helps him cope with his grief. What happens when you add a fairy godmother who loves playing matchmaker into the equation? Does Rainy have a formula for fate?

 

About the Author

Maya Tyler is a multi-published romance author and an avid reader. She writes compelling stories with authentic characters and happily-ever-afters.

When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading, listening to music (alternative rock, especially from the 1990s), practicing yoga, and watching movies and TV.

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Virtual Book Tour + #Giveaway: The Misremembered Lighthouse by p.m.terrell @pmterrell @GoddessFish

THE MISREMEMBERED LIGHTHOUSE

p.m. terrell

GENRE: Mystery

Blurb:

While researching her next book, historian and author Hayley Hunter rents a lighthouse in Southeastern North Carolina. The modern lighthouse and vacation home replaced an original wood structure that only functioned during the Revolutionary War. The old lighthouse may be long gone, but the lightkeeper’s ghost remains.

Hayley becomes increasingly obsessed with finding why the spirit of Jonathan Corbyn lingers between realms. Joined by her lover Shay MacGregor, her search will take her into a world of spies, double agents, and espionage at the dawn of American democracy.

Purchase The Misremembered Lighthouse on Apple, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Smashwords

Excerpt:

I bolted upright and tapped on the latest alert. I found myself staring at the lantern room. The security camera encompassed nearly the entire circular room, save for the wall behind it. My eyes skimmed the walls, alighting briefly on each window. The moon was high and full, and for a moment, I thought the camera might have picked up the glow or perhaps even something flying against the window. But as I continued to stare into my phone, I spotted something moving along the top steps as if ascending.

I quietly tossed the covers off me and glided into my slippers as I grabbed my robe. I cautiously strode to the spiral stairs to peer upward into the stairwell. It was not as dark as I had expected, but a muted light from the moon struggled to illuminate it. I glanced downward to discover it was darker beneath me. Turning my attention again to the stairs leading upward, I remembered the curvature in the design prevented me from seeing to the top. How, then, my mind argued, could the moonlight find its way down?

I stepped onto the staircase. My right hand clenched the phone, while my eyes continually moved from the image on my screen to the steps above me. My naked eyes could see nothing out of the ordinary. The steps appeared just as they had a few hours earlier. But my phone displayed a shadow moving upward.

As I reached the uppermost stairs, I realized the image picked up by the security camera was not a human, but rather a human form. It was opaque, but I detected the outline of a man’s broad shoulders, his torso, arms, and legs. His legs were misshapen, as though he were wearing breeches that ballooned slightly from him. There was something else that extended beyond his body, like a waistcoat. I could see the outline of his head, but it was shadowy, with facial details absorbed into the darkness.

I froze on the step. I could see the image clearly on my phone’s security app. But when I used my naked eyes without the benefit of the phone, I could see nothing at all in the spot where it should have appeared. Shakily, I climbed to the next step and then the next.

The figure moved just beyond me as if to entice me to follow him. As my head topped the floor, it turned to me, as if he was looking straight at me, though I could see nothing but darkness where his face should have been.

Interview with p.m.terrell

What is your favorite part of the book?

I think my favorite part of the book is when the mother of the main character, Hayley Hunter, unexpectedly shows up at the lighthouse Hayley has rented. Her personality is completely the opposite of Hayley’s. She is very forceful and quirky, and she ends up becoming an important part of the story. I enjoyed writing about her so much that I plan to spin off a series with Hayley’s mom as the protagonist.

Does your book have a lesson? Moral?

It does. Hayley discovers a journal kept by the original lighthouse keeper. Jonathan Corbyn had fought in the Battle of Culloden and had immigrated to America soon after. He wants to live out his life in peace and is originally against the American Revolution. His struggles with both sides of the issue are lessons for today, and the high cost in lives and suffering that can ensue.

Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?

I am a persistent people-watcher, so each character embodies the physical, mental, and emotional traits of a variety of people. It is true that truth is often stranger than fiction, and some of the traits I couldn’t begin to dream up!

Of all the characters you have created, which is your favorite and why?

That’s a difficult question! When I am writing, I become very attached to the main characters, so they tend to be my favorites for the duration of the book as I watch them react to all the trials and tribulations I throw at them. However, my readers tell me their favorite character is Dylan Maguire from the Black Swamp Mysteries Series.

What character in your book are you least likely to get along with?

There are two characters, Argo and his son Beckett, who run the general store in the tiny village nearest the lighthouse. They are both very strange, and Argo goes on the offensive toward the end of the book when he decides that Hayley has been poking around too much. I think both of them would have had me running for the hills!

What would the main character in your book have to say about you?

I hope she would say that I am very thoughtful and methodical. And, although I put her in danger more than once, I sent others to help rescue her!

Do you want each book to stand on its own, or are you trying to build a body of work with connections between each book?

The Misremembered Lighthouse is the second in the Hayley Hunter Mystery Series. The first is April in the Back of Beyond, but the reader doesn’t need to read the first one to enjoy the second one. Fun fact: the main character is named after my grandchildren, Hayley and Hunter.

Author Bio and Links

My full name is Patricia McClelland Terrell, and I have been writing under the pen name p.m.terrell ever since a publisher presented me with my first fiction book cover. The graphic designer had also entered my name in lower-case letters; my editor hated it, and I loved it. It’s been p.m.terrell ever since.

I began writing when I was nine years old, inspired by a schoolteacher and elementary school principal. Scott-Foresman published my first book, a computer instructional for universities, in 1984. Scott-Foresman, Dow-Jones (Richard D. Irwin branch), Palari Publishing, Paralee Press, and Drake Valley Press have published 26 books to date.

Before embarking on a full-time writing career, I founded McClelland Enterprises, Inc. in the Washington, D.C. area in 1984, specializing in computer instruction for employees in the workplace. I opened another business, Continental Software Development Corporation, in 1994, which focused on custom application development, programming, website design and development, and computer crime.

I was honored to be the first female President of the Chesterfield County/Colonial Heights Crime Solvers. I also served as the Treasurer for the Virginia Crime Stoppers Association. Since moving to North Carolina, I served on the Robeson County Friends of the Library and Robeson County Arts Council.

I launched The Book ‘Em Foundation with Waynesboro, Virginia Police Officer Mark Kearney, and assisted in Virginia, New Hampshire, and South Carolina events before establishing the Annual Book ‘Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair, chairing it for several years before turning it over to Robeson Community College in Lumberton, NC.

Connect with p.m.terrell

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Giveaway:

$25 Amazon/BN GC

Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better your chances of winning.

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Release Blitz + #Giveaway: Corporate Almighty: 2098 by James Owens @RABTBookTours

 

Political Satire/Fiction

Date Published: October 28th, 2025

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

At the turn of the next century, a corporate oligarchy rules America with an iron fist. Commercial jingles have replaced the Top Forty, babies come from factories, and the race captivating the nation isn’t between political candidates. It’s the cutthroat competition to find the formula for No-Sog Stay-Crisp Cornflakes.

The battle pits cereal titan Todd Swindell, head of Flakes Alive Incorporated, against Chad Scandalman of the Great American Flake Company. When Scandalman hires a diminutive assassin named Twinkle to bump off his rival’s top chemist, it sparks a war of the flakes that makes the bloody feud of York and Lancaster look tame by comparison.

But not everyone in the Cornflake capital of Domino, Indiana, is happy with the status quo. Ziggie Wexler, an unemployed pipefitter and all-around average Joe, knows that something is deeply wrong with his country.

All history prior to 2040 has been banned, but old-timers whisper about the days when people still voted for their leaders. After Ziggie posts fiery polemics against the state to the Clandestine Journal, he becomes a marked man. But in a world built on lies, there’s one truth he’s sure of. Somebody needs to fight back.

 

About the Author

Retired IT professional, James Owens is a trained computer engineer and technical documentation specialist who earned an A.A.S. in computer programming and a B.A. in English from Purdue University.

Immensely curious about human behavior, James spent the 1970s hanging out on the streets to observe people, many of whom became inspirations for his fictional characters. Later, he worked in cube farms at conservative insurance companies, where the idiosyncrasies of corporate personalities sparked his imagination.

James has spent the last decade reading and writing offbeat fiction about bizarre protagonists. Corporate Almighty: 2098, a dystopian tale about the rise of the corporation and the fall of democracy, follows his first two novels, Animal Candy and Pods of Bubbledumb: A Study in Mass Depravity.

Born and raised in an industrial suburb on the south edge of Chicago, James lives with his wife Sue and four cats in Evansville, Indiana.

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Release Blitz + #Giveaway: Snoodles in Space: Escape from Zoodletraz by Steven Joseph @RABTBookTours

Children's Book

Date Published: October 28, 2025

Publisher: Enigami Publishing

Strap in, because the Snoodles are back and things are about to get… weird. In this third out-of-this-world adventure, Droodle the Poodle and Doo Doo Kidoodle are in big trouble. They’ve broken the one rule on planet Zoodle — no pets. Now Droodle and another poodle named Schmoodle are locked up in Zoodletraz, the most escape-proof prison, this side of the Milky Way. Think Alcatraz, but with more tentacles and fewer lawyers.

Enter a cast of brilliantly bonkers heroes: noodle-powered scientists, intergalactic musicians, talking cats with trash can drum kits, and a villain so cranky he reads self-help books about revenge. There’s also a Jalapeño Popadoodle Noodle, a flying Balloonadoodle, and something called a Cloakadoodle Swoodle Car. Don't ask, just roll with it.

This wackadoodle tale is packed with vibrant art, making it perfect for young and old readers who love silly stories, bold visuals, and absolutely zero boring parts.

Whether your kid’s obsessed with noodles, aliens, or saying the word “Groodle” over and over again, Snoodles in Space: Escape from Zoodletraz! is the laugh-out-loud ride you’ve been waiting for.

Time to get ready for your NEXT GREAT ESCAPE!

  

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Release Blitz: A Vicious Love Burns by Sophie Barnes @BarnesSophie @RABTBookTours

 

House of Croft, Book 5

 

Murder Mystery Romance

Date Published: October 28, 2025

Danger isn't just coming—it's personal…

 

Adrian Croft has sacrificed everything to protect his family. But when a brutal string of murders rock London, he's briefly distracted from the ruthless heir of an Irish crime lord—an enemy with ties to Adrian's darkest past. With Bow Street floundering and innocent lives at stake, Adrian steps back into the fray… and the cost is more than he ever expected.

Five months pregnant and desperate to be by her husband's side, Samantha Croft returns from her wintry retreat in the country—only to find herself in the crosshairs of the man determined to destroy her husband. Finn O'Leary doesn't care who he has to break to bring Adrian down, and Samantha may be his most valuable target.

 

House of Croft Series

A Vengeful King Rises

House of Croft, Book One

 

A Tainted Heart Bleeds

House of Croft, Book Two

 

A Ruthless Angel Weeps

House of Croft, Book Three

 

A Deceptive Game Ensues

House of Croft, Book Four

 

A Vicious Love Burns

House of Croft, Book Five

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CKHWD83L

 

 

About the Author

USA TODAY bestselling author Sophie Barnes writes historical romance novels in which the characters break away from social expectations in their quest for happiness and love. Having written for Avon, an imprint of Harper Collins, her books have been published internationally in numerous languages. With a fondness for travel, Sophie has lived in six countries, on three continents, and speaks English, Danish, French, Spanish, and Romanian with varying degrees of fluency. Ever the romantic, she married the same man three times—in three different countries and in three different dresses.

When she’s not busy dreaming up her next swoon worthy romance novel, Sophie enjoys spending time with her family, practicing yoga, baking, gardening, watching romantic comedies and, of course, reading.

 

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Cover Reveal: Alice Adrift by Susan Bacon @XpressoTours

Alice Adrift
Susan Bacon
Publication date: November 4th 2025
Genres: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction

Alice Adrift is an intimate human drama about loss and recovery, coupling and uncoupling, and a child caught in the turmoil.

It’s the 1990s. The Fishers—Alice, David and their two sons, Tobias and Jeremiah—live in the upper Northwest quadrant of Washington DC, home to an urbane mix of journalists, academics and professionals. Alice is a composer and music professor. Her husband is an architect of some note. The economy is booming. Life is good. But their seemingly perfect existence is shattered when Jeremiah, their youngest, dies suddenly of an unidentifiable illness.

In the years that follow, Alice and David seem to lose their bearings. When Toby appears to be struggling, they move him to an alternative school with a baffling curriculum (“They don’t even teach reading, Mom”) and a peculiar set of rules (“Absolutely no television!”). Alice doesn’t seem to fit in, but David is drawn to everything about the place including, Alice eventually realizes, one of Toby’s teachers, the striking woman with the long, tangled red hair.

Not long after David moves out of the house, a group of young men move in next door, ingratiating themselves to Alice. She finds herself attracted to one of them, which sets her further off-kilter. How will she find her way back? How will Toby emerge from all this disruption? And what on earth will happen to David?

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Author Bio:

Susan is best-known for her award-winning mysteries — THE HISTORY TEACHER and its sequel THE ART COLLECTOR. Her latest novel, ALICE ADRIFT, is a bit of a departure. An intimate human drama about loss and recovery, coupling and uncoupling, and a child caught in the turmoil, it is slated for release on November 4, 2025.

A graduate of Barnard College with a degree in history, Susan is a former journalist, copywriter and ghostwriter whose credits include an international best seller. She grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and has lived in New York City, Washington, DC, and Memphis, Tennessee, all of which serve as settings for her novels.

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