The Bitterness of Bad Apples: Magic and Mayhem Universe: A Cauldron Falls Mystery, #2

By C.S. Edwards

Hold on to your pointy hats! When another suspicious death rocks the normally uneventful town of Cauldron Falls, Inspector Roam O'Reilly and amateur sleuth Honey Hadwin grab their magnifying glasses and get to work. These supernatural super-sleuths question shady townsfolk like Sally Swanton, the swooning newspaper gossip whose addiction to pie may be her downfall. A dramatic herbologist's knowledge of poison also lands him high on the suspect list. And what's with the mysterious new professor who may have secrets of his own?

 

Honey and Roam untangle a wicked web of schemes, dreams, and overgrown veggies in their quest for the truth. As the intrepid investigators uncover clues from creepy, candlelit lairs to enchanted apple orchards, they must act fast to stop the bad apple. But will they be able to sniff out the culprit before anyone else gets poisoned? Get ready for twists, turns, and a hilarious troll as Honey and Roam crack the case in The Bitterness of Bad Apples!

• Language: English
• Publisher: C. S. Edwards
• Release date: Oct 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223343585

C.S. Edwards

I was born in Ashland, Kentucky, the youngest of three children, and grew up in the small Eastern Kentucky town of Inez. I moved to Lexington to finish high school. Attending Transylvania University for two years, before graduating from Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia - with a degree in Economics - go figure! After a stint in New York City, I moved back home to Kentucky and have since built my life around family.  Living just outside of Cincinnati with my husband, Sean, and our five amazing kids, and a precious goldendoodle, I work hard to find time to balance family, work, and writing.  My first passion is weaving mysteries and I'm working on several new fiction projects now. This past year, I also find great joy in creating useful journals, trackers, and planners. I have big plans for publishing more of these creative notebooks in the future! As always, I cannot wait to share my next novel with you. I hope you enjoy and welcome hearing from you! Be the first to know when my next book is available! Follow me on BookBub: http://bookbub.com/authors/c.s.edwards  Follow me on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15014243.C_S_Edwards Follow me on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/CSEdwardsauthor Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorcsedwards/ Follow me on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/authorcsedwards/

Book preview

The Bitterness of Bad Apples

A Cauldron Falls Mystery, Book Two

C.S. Edwards

Copyright © 2023 by C.S. Edwards

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is coincidental.

This book contains content that may not be suitable for young readers 17 and under.

The Author of this Book has been granted permission by Robyn Peterman to use the copyrighted characters and/or worlds created by Robyn Peterman in this book. All copyright protection to the original characters and/or worlds of the Magic and Mayhem series is retained by Robyn Peterman.

Contents

Dedication

Book Descriptions

Foreword

1.Cauldron Falls

2.A Long While Ago

3.FACTS & FIBS

4.The Professor

5.Goodbye at the Pub

6.Lovers' Secrets

7.The Orchardist

8.The Deadly Discovery

9.The Aftershock

10.The Scene of the Crime

11.The Investigation

12.The Herbologist

13.The Archives

14.Stalled Expectations

15.Visiting the High Priestess

16.The Suspects

17.Fire and Water

18.The Wandmaker

19.The Aftermath

20.October, A Year Later

21.Epilogue: What's Coming Next?

More From the Magic and Mayhem Universe

About C.S. Edwards

For my mother.

Book Descriptions

Hold on to your pointy hats! When a suspicious death rocks the normally uneventful town of Cauldron Falls, Inspector Roam O'Reilly and amateur sleuth Honey Hadwin grab their magnifying glasses and get to work. These supernatural super-sleuths question shady townsfolk like Sally Swanton, the swooning newspaper gossip whose addiction to pie may be her downfall. A dramatic herbologist's knowledge of poison also lands him high on the suspect list. And what's with the mysterious new professor who may have secrets of his own?

Honey and Roam untangle a wicked web of schemes, dreams, and overgrown veggies in their quest for the truth. As the intrepid investigators uncover clues from creepy, candlelit lairs to enchanted apple orchards, they must act fast to stop the bad apple. But will they be able to sniff out the culprit before anyone else gets poisoned? Get ready for twists, turns, and a hilarious troll as Honey and Roam crack the case in The Bitterness of Bad Apples!

Foreword

Blast Off with us into the Magic and Mayhem Universe!

I’m Robyn Peterman, the creator of the Magic and Mayhem Series and I’d like to invite you to my Magic and Mayhem Universe.

What is the Magic and Mayhem Universe, you may ask?

Well, let me explain…

It’s basically authorized fan fiction written by some amazing authors that I stalked and blackmailed! KIDDING! I was lucky and blessed to have some brilliant authors say yes! They have written brand new stories using my world and some of my characters. And let me tell you…the results are hilarious! So here it is! Blast off with us into the hilarious Magic and Mayhem Universe. Side splitting books by fantabulous authors! Check out each and every one. You will laugh your way to a magical HEA!

For all the stories, go to https://magicandmayhemuniverse.com/.

Grab your copy today! And if you would like to read the book that started all the madness, Switching Hour is FREE!

https://robynpeterman.com/switching-hour/

Cauldron Falls

The crest of the most secluded waterfall in the world cascades over a rocky ledge into a round pool below. It’s crystal blue water bubbles with a white foam where the two bodies of water crash together. As the plunge pool spreads out into its round bowl-like shape, the water stills and spills towards a series of stair-stepping rocks that go on for a mile, or so, until the creek bed sinks into the earth, and calms the ripples of the falls. That’s where the town begins; at the quiet crook of the creek. There the water inches along its banks and follows the goings-on of a place known only to its inhabitants as Cauldron Falls.

To visit Cauldron Falls one just has to find the waterfall, and cauldron-shaped crystal blue pool, then follow the rippling creek southward, traveling between the towering hills that hide it from the rest of the world. But alas, the waterfall is buried deep in the most treacherous, hard to reach, uninhabitable part of the Appalachian Mountains. No normal human would dare attempt to find it, if they knew it existed, much less try to live there. Of course, Cauldron Falls wasn’t settled by humans.

There in this shadowy place carved out by the rushing waters of a waterfall, lives a band of witches and warlocks, descendants of escapees from Transylvania, who ran from the ruling grasp of the wretched Vampires that control all the lands surrounding the Black Sea. While their liberation was centuries ago, the fear of the pale-skinned, sharp-fanged predator keeps Cauldron Falls residents content to exist in their safe and secret bubble, insulated from the rest of the world.

But as progress will do, Cauldron Falls is not truly and completely cut-off. The quaint town blossomed into a booming business many, many years ago. And is now the main manufacturer and supplier of magical goods to the world. They are the broom makers, crystal miners, herb growers, potions masters, wand turners, and book binders of all things magical, especially witchy things. Keeping the old traditions alive, every truly magical implement in the world is made in Cauldron Falls in the same manner as they were in the old country. Being keepers of the craft and all its secrets, is the blessing and curse of the witches and warlocks who live in this town. Their fate comes with great pressure and power, which each of the residents of Cauldron Falls takes very seriously, and protect with their very lives.

However, like the uncontrollable consequences of a waterfall on the very environment that makes it beautiful, it’s hard to see the erosion happening just under the surface of something so perfect. While most of the residents of Cauldron Falls will continue forever to go about their business, keeping the crafts and all its glory alive, there is something not so right creeping through the night and into the forest around the falls. Born from the power, the perfection, the isolation, and the secrets that dwell in every home hidden deep in the mountains, an evil is growing. Where will it strike? What will it do? Who will it take? One might never know these answers without making the trek to the most magical, mysterious, and now murderous place on earth. Welcome to Cauldron Falls.

A Long While Ago

Peering through the peephole in the old oak door, Rhoda saw nothing but the expanse of yard unfolding beyond the front porch. It was a beautiful yard full of lush green grass, thriving bushes, and a blanket of budding flowers lining the walkway to the porch. She blinked and strained to see beyond the murky woods past the perimeter of the property. It was impossible to see through the thicket even on clear nights such as this. The midnight black-blue sky twinkled with a million stars, and a full pink moon hung low, lighting the yard, but not the forest. She stepped back and scratched under the bundle of wavy red hair piled on top of her head.

I swear, Edgar, I heard a knock. She closed her left eye and raised up on her tip-toes to look through the eyehole again.

Edgar towered above his wife, even in sock feet. Drawing in a scant breath, he rocked back on his heels and slipped his hands in his pants pockets. Why don’t you try the mail slot? It’s more your size. The slow southern words dribbled out of his mouth as a wicked smile spread across his weathered tan face. 

Oh. Edgar Hadwin. You’re a bad warlock. Rhoda smirked and swatted in his direction, then squatted, to make herself eye level with the brass rectangle in the door. Before Rhoda could lift the flat brass flap, a soft rapping met their ears. Rhoda’s hand flew to her mouth, trapping any thought before it escaped. She searched her husband’s emerald eyes. 

Edgar raised an eyebrow and held out his hand to help Rhoda back away from the mail slot. He pulled the small witch behind him and took a step closer to the big front door. 

I told you, she whispered. 

Yes. Yes. You did say you heard a knock. Edgar inched forward, cupped his hand to his ear and took a listen on the cold wood of the paneled door.

"Maybe it’s a lost familiar,