The Swedish Days Swindle: A Mac and Millie Mystery

By JB Michaels

It is Summertime in Geneva and the living’s easy.
Millie and Mac return to Third street to enjoy the simmering season’s marquis event, Swedish Days.
Will our dynamic duo get to enjoy this Geneva event?
Or, will the day’s fun lessen with murderous detriment?
At this point, you know the answer.
When a body bobs in the Fox River, Mac and Millie set aside their date to help solve the case of the deathly swimmer. As they examine the body, multiple downtown Geneva businesses report theft of their daily earnings.
A coincidence? Perhaps.
The unique shopping, delectable ice cream snacks, carnival rides, and concert vibes do little to lessen the impact when someone dies. As the evening fireworks are set to kindle, the Geneva Chamber of Commerce falls victim to the Swedish Days Swindle.

FIVE STARS: This is the mark of an intelligent mystery writer who has crafted an excellently paced story. The central characters Mac and Millie are well-considered and fleshed out as heroes that readers will find endearing to follow through their exploits. Overall, I would definitely recommend The Swedish Days Swindle to mystery readers seeking an immersive story from an accomplished writer.- KC Finn for Readers' Favorite.

FIVE STARS: I appreciated how the author allowed Millie, her friends, and family to shine a bit more fully in the first half of the book and loved how that expansion brought zing and dimension to the story. Michaels’ characters are complex and relatable, and his plot is a lot of fun to follow. Heck, he even manages to have a leprechaun involved in the action -- and it works a treat. The Swedish Days Swindle: A Mac and Millie Mystery, Book 3 is well-written and fun to read. It’s most highly recommended.- Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite

FIVE STARS: The story was so well-written that I could clearly picture everything that was happening with every page I turned. This book is surely an excellent piece of work. Well done! - Trisha Dawn for Readers' Favorite

FIVE STARS: What a magical book is The Swedish Days Swindle by JB Michaels. There’s a lot to love about a cozy mystery that is fast-paced, fun, and touched by the supernatural. Lovers of mysteries will appreciate how the caper unravels bit by tantalizing bit and how the super-couple of Mac and Millie combine their unique abilities to solve it. - Stacie Haas for Readers' Favorite.

FIVE STARS: J.B. Michaels excels in writing supernatural novels; The Swedish Days Swindle is no exception to his talents. The author combines suspense with a touch of witchcraft in the lives of an adorable couple. Both Mac and Millie are well rounded and have strong deductive skills that are used to unravel this web of mystery. The author uses a bit of irony as Millie, the good witch, works at the Salem Bank. Overall, the author skillfully moves the story along at a breathtaking rate as the plot twists into an intriguing finale. It is cozy as the characters look after each other, but unusual kinks in their plans keep the reader engaged. This is a dynamic duo that takes murder seriously but each would do anything to support their partner. - Peggy Jo Wipf for Readers' Favorite

• Language: English
• Publisher: JB Michaels
• Release date: Nov 9, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005372125

JB Michaels

I have spent my life in the study of story from riveting novels to the slam-bang action-packed world of comics to the examination of film history, I have spent a lifetime learning and examining the elements that make a story incredible. This steadfast dedication has led me to write stories of my own.I am married and with a son, I have a great love of family. I hope that you enjoy my bestselling books that mash genres from thrillers to science fiction to fantasy!

Book preview

Chapter One

Mac O’Malley, retired cop and prospective author, stepped out of his car and into the seemingly gelatinous, humid air that often dominated the clime of said midwestern small towns like Geneva, Illinois in late June. His usual parking spot at his favorite local retail palace, The Tiny Wanderer, was next to the yellow awning covered side entrance. Today it was taken up by the employees. All hands on deck in preparation for the week’s festivities: the annual summer gala, Swedish Days. Many towns, provinces, neighborhoods in the Chicagoland area named their festivities after the founding ethnicities of said areas. The far southside of Chicago held their very own Southside Irish Parade, African Americans had the Bud Billiken parade along King drive, again on the Southside, and the 26 th Street Mexican Independence parade, among many other ethno-centric fests.

In Geneva around 1892, the Swedes along with the Irish and later Italians, helped swell the village’s population and thus the etymology of the Swedish Days festival. It was usually held over five days with a parade, special food items, carnival rides, and, of course retail tents like the one that Edith and company were setting up in front of the Wanderer.

Mac hobbled over with his cane. What is happening here, Edith?

We are setting up for Swedish Days. Juan should have your breakfast all ready. Edith carried a box of labels and tag guns. Just go ahead in.

Do you guys need help? Mac asked.

No. We really have this. Debbie, will you make sure those are put out in their own section of the table? Edith nodded toward a box of plastic water bottles with fans attached to them.

Mac said, I will eat and come back and help. Why not?

Thanks, but you still have not finished that manuscript. Get it done. I am so sick of asking you about it. I may need your help tomorrow or the next day when we have an important delivery scheduled to arrive. I will call you about that later. Just get your book done! Edith walked away and to the tent.

Mac’s eyes were wide. She was right: he’d put it off enough. He and Millie had helped solve two local murders and those did nothing but distract him from the actual work he needed to get done. Mac was very-nearly-almost-completely-for real-done with his very first manuscript on his heroics in preventing a bombing at the Chicago marathon. Now, the last murder he’d solved was in February, but after that, Millie decided to move to upstate New York. He’d spent a great deal of time supporting her through those couple months and visiting her for the weekends—sometimes longer.

Ultimately, she’d decided to come back to her old position at Geneva’s Salem Bank. He didn’t influence her career choices directly. Millie missed her family and frankly, she did help with the transition of the newly acquired upstate banking branches to Salem Bank’s way of doing things. Now, there really wasn’t much else for her to do but monitor and manage—and that she had decided someone else could do. Her boss, Gerald, was fine with that and approved the transfer back to Geneva.

Mac was relieved. The long distance was taxing even though Millie’s use of magic made the distance issue, frankly, a non-issue. She used instantaneous travel magic. The distance mattered not. It was the continuity issues and having to explain where he was to everyone and how he’d got there that was a problem. Keeping the lies straight to keep Millie’s magical ways a secret proved a bothersome and stressful task. Still, the fast travel magic absolutely captivated Mac, among many other spells, potions, rituals, etcetera, that came with dating a witch.

One other problem with using magic for any extended amount of time was the attention it merits from other magic-users. Millie needed a steady supply of essence of hummingbird to keep the travel magic flowing and to be used at her beck and call. Other witches and wizards started talking and poking their noses into who bought up all the essence powder over those two months. So yes, there were those issues as well.

But, it didn’t matter anymore. Millie was back home.

Mac entered the Tiny Wanderer through the side entrance and the welcome respite of cool air relieved his sweat glands. To the café he went. A day of finishing up his manuscript seemed possible and his very first Swedish Days with his sweetheart lay ahead.

Chapter Two

Millie settled back into her office chair at Salem Bank of Geneva, or as most people referred to it, Salem Bank. The last few months were hectic, strange, and challenging, but she loved that she had moved and experienced someplace new. She’d established herself in a new community, even with a built-in safety net of instantaneous traveling to her hometown via magic powder.

She smiled. It was good to be home.

Welcome back Millie! I’ll be honest. I know you did a great job out there, but I’m really glad you are back here. Gerald gave her a rather soft hug, obviously trying not overstep his bounds.

Aww, thanks Gerald. She hugged him back and then pulled away.

He let her go without any awkward pauses and then walked into his office. Very good. Have a good day!

Thanks everyone. So happy to be back! Mille felt the love in the bank lobby and felt good about her decision to move back. The tellers were happy to see her as well. A box of chocolates with a big welcome back card lay on her keyboard.

Her desk phone rang. Salem Bank, how may I help you?

Millie Paderson. A raspy, older male voice wheezed through the receiver.

Yes, this is she. How may I help you? Need an appointment? You’re in luck, I have zero on the schedule for today. Millie laughed.

Then, it is true.

What? Millie’s mood shifted from her happy contentment to a rising measure of anxiety. Sir?

She heard shuffling and then the buzz of the dial tone. The mysterious man had abruptly ended the call. Millie quickly examined the small LED screen on her desk phone for a caller ID, but he’d blocked his number.

Not the best first customer interaction to have upon coming back home.

She decided to brush it off and open her card or, perhaps indulge in piece of chocolate from Geneva’s own world-renowned Cocoa Kitchen. Today would be a good day and a fun night with Mac at Swedish Days.

Mac labored at his keyboard all day. It was nearly 3pm and he had deleted and rewritten the last chapter five times. One would think the final chapter would be thrilling, exacting, and compelling, yet Mac struggled with it. His reluctance tapped into his insecurity and, frankly, post-traumatic stress. His leg injury hurt more intensely with each keystroke, each memory. Reliving a moment that forever changed his life for both the good and the bad didn’t come easy. It was not like playing a movie, or putting on a VR helmet, or even opening the pages of your favorite book. This was real. Palpable pain. He needed to convey his feelings just right so that his editor wouldn’t send the chapter back to him with too many notes. This chapter needed that genuine feeling, that authentic experience. The actual honest truth was oft times the hardest to write without coming off as preachy and forced.

He sighed and leaned back in the café chair. He’d gone through two meals, four cups of coffee, and three cokes. Was writer’s block an actual thing? Mac didn’t know and didn’t want to ruminate on the possibility it might be the reason for his laborious day of writing. He just needed some grit, to just power through and finish. He would meet Millie soon for dinner and their inaugural Swedish Days date.

Chapter Three

Mac and Millie walked down Third Street with considerable vigor, given that the heat index inched ever closer to the ninety-five degree mark. The crowds filled the sidewalk in front of them. Lots of laughter could be heard. Kids informing their parents of what flavor ice cream they wanted. The usual complaints about the heat but still, positive energy abounded.

Dinner was good: pub food at Stockholmens. A well-done cheeseburger and ice cold beer did much to satisfy the rather simple, albeit plain, taste of retired Officer Mac O’Malley. Millie took it a little easier on her digestive system with a steak salad. Leafy greens were something that Mac needed to incorporate more into his diet. He just didn’t see much point, but did applaud the fact that Millie ate much healthier than him. He wanted to be better—some