Maggie's Missing Mojo

By Annie Reed

When you’re a private detective with an unreliable ability to see the future, a secret crush on your hunky elf partner, and a dog who’s not really a dog, life can get complicated. Add to the mix a masseuse whose mojo’s gone missing, and the complications—not to mention the twists and turns—are off the charts.

In this latest Diz & Dee Mystery, our favorite private detectives find themselves investigating why the free-spirited masseuse across the street can’t find the mojo that helps her give the world’s greatest massages. Did someone cast a spell on Maggie? Curse her? Or is her missing mojo the result of something far more devious?

“One of the best writers I’ve come across in years. Annie excels at whatever genre of fiction she chooses to write.” —Kristine Kathryn Rusch, award-winning editor and writer of The Retrieval Artist series

“The appearance of a new Annie Reed story is a treat. Try one and you’ll be hooked.” –David H. Hendrickson, award-winning author of “Death in the Serengeti

“Annie’s writing is magic, seriously.” –Robert J. McCarter, author of A Ghost’s Memoir series

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thunder Valley Press
• Release date: Aug 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005916381

Annie Reed

Award-winning author and editor Kristine Kathryn Rusch calls Annie Reed “one of the best writers I’ve come across in years.”Annie’s won recognition for her stellar writing across multiple genres. Her story “The Color of Guilt” originally published in Fiction River: Hidden in Crime, was selected as one of The Best Crime and Mystery Stories 2016. Her story “One Sun, No Waiting” was one of the first science fiction stories honored with a literary fellowship award by the Nevada Arts Foundation, and her novel PRETTY LITTLE HORSES was among the finalists in the Best First Private Eye Novel sponsored by St. Martin’s Press and the Private Eye Writers of America.A frequent contributor to the Fiction River anthologies and Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, Annie’s recent work includes the superhero origin novel FASTER, the near-future science fiction short novel IN DREAMS, and UNBROKEN FAMILIAR, a gritty urban fantasy mystery short novel. Annie’s also one of the founding members of the innovative Uncollected Anthology, a quarterly series of themed urban fantasy stories written by some of the best writers working today.Annie’s mystery novels include the Abby Maxon private investigator novels PRETTY LITTLE HORSES and PAPER BULLETS, the Jill Jordan mystery A DEATH IN CUMBERLAND, and the suspense novel SHADOW LIFE, written under the name Kris Sparks, as well as numerous other projects she can’t wait to get to. For more information about Annie, including news about upcoming bundles and publications, go to www.annie-reed.com.

Book preview

When you’re a private detective with an unreliable ability to see the future, a secret crush on your hunky elf partner, and a dog who’s not really a dog, life can get complicated. Add to the mix a masseuse whose mojo’s gone missing, and the complications—not to mention the twists and turns—are off the charts.

In this latest Diz & Dee Mystery, our favorite private detectives find themselves investigating why the free-spirited masseuse across the street can’t find the mojo that helps her give the world’s greatest massages. Did someone cast a spell on Maggie? Curse her? Or is her missing mojo the result of something far more devious?

One of the best writers I’ve come across in years.

Kristine Kathryn Rusch

_________________________________

Copyright Information

_________________________________

Maggie’s Missing Mojo

Copyright © 2021 by Annie Reed

Published by Thunder Valley Press

Cover and Layout copyright © 2021 Thunder Valley Press

Cover design by Allyson Longueira

Uncollected Anthology logo art © Tanya Borozenets/Dreamstime.com

Uncollected Anthology logo design © Stephanie Writt

Cover art copyright © Needle/depositphotos.com

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.

Start Reading

About the Uncollected Anthology

About the Author

Copyright Information

Full Table of Contents

_________________________________

Maggie’s Missing Mojo

_________________________________

Diz and I were in the middle of a conversation about the sorry state of our finances when the masseuse from across the street swept into our office. She gave me a wild-eyed look and said, I need your help.

My name is Dee. I’m a private investigator. My partner Diz and I run D & D Investigations out of a storefront that used to house a bakery. On a damp day—and it’s always damp in Moretown Bay—our office is haunted by the aroma of donuts past.

Magdalena the masseuse has been a fixture in the neighborhood for years. She opened her massage parlor long before Diz and I stopped investigating magic-related crimes for the police department to go private. She was one of the first to welcome us to the neighborhood with a batch of brownies that had a little extra added ingredient. I only had a few nibbles to be polite. Diz ate the rest. He’s an elf. The extra ingredient didn’t phase him.

She’s a genial woman about my age, as unique as her hand-embroidered hip-hugger jeans, wide-brimmed hats, and silky blouses that billow around her like those poet shirts men used to wear a couple of centuries ago. She always makes me think of fresh spring days and fields of wildflowers and soft breezes through tall pines. Although that could just be the aromatherapy oils she uses in her business.

If I could read auras (which I can’t), most days hers would be tinged a serene rose pink.

Not today though. Today serene was out the window.

That’s not all that unusual. People who need our services aren’t calm and collected. Diz and I specialize in looking for missing people. By the time someone comes to us, they’ve already gone to the police and the police haven’t been able to help. Our clients are frustrated and upset and frequently angry, and it’s my job to calm them down enough to have a conversation about whoever’s missing.

What’s wrong? I asked in my most calm, professional, you can tell me anything tone.

Diz always lets me take the lead when we interview new clients. Especially the ones who are visibly upset. He’s not exactly a calming influence.

When most people think elf, they envision Legolas from those movies. Or maybe Santa’s elves, the short ones who dress in red-and-green tunics and candy-cane striped leggings. That’s definitely not Diz. If Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock) ever starred in a