A Grave Error: A Charlie Kingsley Cozy Novella, #1

By Michele PW (Pariza Wacek)

A Grave Error is Book 1 in The Charlie Kingsley Cozy Novella series by USA Today Bestselling author Michele PW (Pariza Wacek). Ideal for cozy mystery fans, especially readers who love clean, twisty and funny cozy mysteries that include tea, pets, baking, small towns and quirky side characters.

 

"Good ghost story without all the gore you usually get. Charlie is a woman with a mind all her own. She decides what she's going to do and listens to no one else's opinion. Of course, that doesn't mean she won't drag one of her many friends along with her. Well done Michele." Goodreads reviewer

 

"This was an enjoyable read." Goodreads reviewer

 

"Really cute short story about a graveyard in Redemption. Are gargoyles real? Hmmm, good question." Goodreads reviewer

 

There's no such thing as gargoyles ... right?

 

Charlie Kingsley is NOT a doctor. She is very clear about this to all her customers who purchase her teas and tinctures.

 

But, somehow that doesn't stop her customers from treating her like a doctor. Including calling her in the middle of the night to help with an emergency.

 

What's the emergency? Her customer's daughter, Cyndi, was attacked by a ... gargoyle?

 

But gargoyles aren't real!

 

Right?

 

So, who attacked Cyndi? And who's next?

 

Meet Charlie. Better known as "Aunt Charlie" from the award-winning Secrets of Redemption series. She's back, making teas and solving cases in this funny, twisty, cozy mystery series set in the 1990s in Redemption, Wisconsin.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Love-Based Publishing
• Release date: May 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781945363412

Michele PW (Pariza Wacek)

A USA Today Bestselling, award-winning author, Michele taught herself to read at 3 years old because she wanted to write stories so badly. It took some time (and some detours) but now she does spend much of her time writing stories. Mystery stories, to be exact. They're clean and twisty, and range from psychological thrillers to cozies, with a dash of romance and supernatural thrown into the mix. If that wasn't enough, she posts lots of fun things on her blog, including short stories, puzzles, recipes and more, at MPWNovels.com. Michele grew up in Wisconsin, (hence why all her books take place there), and still visits regularly, but she herself escaped the cold and now lives in the mountains of Prescott, Arizona with her husband and southern squirrel hunter Cassie. When she's not writing, she's usually reading, hanging out with her dog, or watching the Food Network and imagining she's an awesome cook. (Spoiler alert, she's not. Luckily for the whole family, Mr. PW is in charge of the cooking.)

Book preview

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A Grave Error

A Charlie Kingsley Novella

Other books by Michele Pariza Wacek

MPWNovels.com/books

Secrets of Redemption series:

It Began With a Lie (Book 1)

This Happened to Jessica (Book 2)

The Evil That Was Done (Book 3)

The Summoning (Book 4)

The Reckoning (Book 5)

The Girl Who Wasn’t There (Book 6)

The Room at the Top of the Stairs (Book 7)

The Search (Book 8)

The Secret Diary of Helen Blackstone (free novella)

Charlie Kingsley Mystery series:

A Grave Error (free prequel novella)

The Murder Before Christmas (Book 1)

Ice Cold Murder (Book 2)

Murder Next Door (Book 3)

Murder Among Friends (Book 4)

The Murder of Sleepy Hollow (Book 5)

Red Hot Murder (Book 6)

A Cornucopia of Murder (Book 7)

A Wedding to Murder For (novella)

Loch Ness Murder (novella)

Standalone books:

Today I’ll See Her (novella)

The Taking

The Third Nanny

Mirror Image

The Stolen Twin

A Grave Error

A Charley Kingsley Novella

by Michele Pariza Wacek

A Grave Error © 2022

by Michele Pariza Wacek.

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any manner or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, recording, retrieval system, without prior written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in a review. For more information, contact Michele Pariza Wacek,

PO Box 10430 Prescott, AZ 86304.

[e-mail].

ISBN 978-1-945363-41-2

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For my family, for always believing in me.

Chapter 1

The phone rang, jerking me out of sound sleep.

I fumbled for the receiver, the blood roaring in my ears, fighting the immediate panic. Was it Annabelle calling with some sort of terrible family news? Did something happen to my niece or nephews?

Charlie? It’s Dana.

I blinked in confusion, so sure I was going to hear the voice of my sister on the other end of the line that I didn’t know how to process the new information. Dana? I asked cautiously, my voice thick with sleep as I glanced at my clock radio. It’s two in the morning.

I know it’s late, but it’s an emergency.

Emergency? What kind of emergency?

It’s Cyndi. She was attacked ... Here, Dana paused. ... by a gargoyle.

"A gargoyle? I was searching my memories for anything gargoyle-related in Redemption, but the only thing coming to mind were the statues in the graveyard. How was she ‘attacked’ by a gargoyle? Did it fall on her?"

She breathed hard through her nose. It’s too complicated to explain. Just come over. And bring your bag.

My ... what are you talking about?

You know, your bag with all your medicines in it.

"My what? I don’t have medicine. I have teas."

Oh, you know what I mean. Just come over. Hurry!

Dana, I’m not a doctor, I said, but I was talking to a dial tone. She had hung up.

I replaced the receiver, trying to get my head around what just happened. I looked over at Midnight, my black cat, curled up next to me in bed. He stared back at me, his green eyes glowing faintly in the dark room.

I grow herbs and flowers, I said to Midnight. I make teas. Sometimes, I make tinctures. Since when do gardeners and tea and tincture makers get emergency middle-of-the-night phone calls?

Midnight’s tail twitched, disrupting the covers.

Am I really supposed to show up at my client’s house at two in the morning with a bag full of herbs?

His gaze didn’t waver.

This is ridiculous, I said. I should call her back and tell her I’m not coming. I can go see her and her daughter in the morning.

Midnight yawned, showing an impressive array of teeth. I could almost hear his response in my head.

But there are gargoyles, Charlie.

Gargoyles.

I sighed and flung the covers back.

I can’t believe I’m doing this, I muttered as I headed for the bathroom.

I splashed cold