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    Silence of the Ghost
    Once Upon A Ghost
    Gone with the Ghost
    Audiobook series7 titles

    Murder by Design Series

    Written by Erin McCarthy

    Narrated by Kristin Price and Elizabeth Klett

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this series

    Spring has sprung in Cleveland and home stager (and lousy spiritual medium) Bailey Burke is facing all kinds of major life changes. Both her grandmother and her boyfriend Jake Marner have moved in with her, she is contemplating a career change, and Marner’s mother needs her help planning a thirtieth birthday party for him.

    Party plans include dance lessons for Bailey and Jake. Which would be fun, except their instructor appears to have tangoed with the wrong partner. She’s found dead on the dance floor, a butchered ballroom teacher with multiple stab wounds.

    It’s a classic case of overkill, but there are no suspects and no ghosts hanging around to offer any insight. It’s time to call on Bailey’s old friend, Ryan, who happens to be a dead detective with a rude sense of humor.

    Can Bailey and her two favorite guys solve the case of the killer Cha Cha?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBryant Street Publishing
    Release dateFeb 22, 2022
    Silence of the Ghost
    Once Upon A Ghost
    Gone with the Ghost

    Titles in the series (7)

    • 1

      Gone with the Ghost
      Gone with the Ghost

      Gone with the Ghost

      Erin McCarthy
      4/5 - 429 ratings
      4/5 - 429 ratings

      Bailey Burke has had a rough six months—it’s not easy thinking your romantic overtures toward your best friend caused him to kill himself. Except that’s exactly what happened. Ryan is very much dead, having shot himself with his own police-issued gun. Guilt and grief shouldn’t cause hallucinations though, but six months after Ryan went into the ground, Bailey is freaking out and swearing his ghost is standing in her kitchen. Which he is… Ryan claims he didn’t commit suicide, but was murdered, and he needs Bailey to help him find his killer so he can earn his ticket out of purgatory. Ryan’s counting on a stairway to heaven, as opposed to wings, since that might be a little unmanly for a cop, even a dead one. An expert in home design, with her own staging business, Bailey can tell you where to place a couch to improve flow and comfort, but solving a crime? Not her area of expertise. But with help from Ryan’s former partner, Marner, she is unraveling the mystery of what happened to Ryan that day… and unwittingly putting herself in grave danger.

      Bailey Burke has had a rough six months—it’s not easy thinking your romantic overtures toward your best friend caused him to kill himself. Except that’s exactly what happened. Ryan is very much dead, having shot himself with his own police-issued gun. Guilt and grief shouldn’t cause hallucinations though, but six months after Ryan went into the ground, Bailey is freaking out and swearing his ghost is standing in her kitchen. Which he is… Ryan claims he didn’t commit suicide, but was murdered, and he needs Bailey to help him find his killer so he can earn his ticket out of purgatory. Ryan’s counting on a stairway to heaven, as opposed to wings, since that might be a little unmanly for a cop, even a dead one. An expert in home design, with her own staging business, Bailey can tell you where to place a couch to improve flow and comfort, but solving a crime? Not her area of expertise. But with help from Ryan’s former partner, Marner, she is unraveling the mystery of what happened to Ryan that day… and unwittingly putting herself in grave danger.

    • 2

      Silence of the Ghost
      Silence of the Ghost

      Silence of the Ghost

      Erin McCarthy
      4/5 - 394 ratings
      4/5 - 394 ratings

      Expert home stager Bailey Burke has come to terms with the fact that her friend, Ryan, is a ghost, but she thought after they solved his murder together, he would get sucked into the light. Instead he’s hanging around and interfering in her love life, and mocking her inability to drink Jameson. When a body is found near her historic neighborhood of Ohio City, mimicking the famous Torso Murders, and she starts hearing voices, Bailey thinks she’s really lost it now. Ryan’s ghost is one thing, but a whole gaggle of undead talking to her? No thanks. But Ryan informs Bailey she’s not nuts…she is a spiritual medium. And with him as middleman between the victims and the police, they can give the dead justice and he will finally get his one-way ticket to heaven. Considering Eliot Ness allegedly went to his grave bitter that it was the one case he couldn’t solve, Bailey doesn’t see how an uptight lightweight like herself can handle the modern equivalent. But now that Ryan has scared off every man she’s tried to date, including his former partner Marner, she has Saturday nights free for murder-mystery solving. Yet dealing with the dead is more difficult than de-cluttering a hoarder’s house. Bailey finds herself pulled in all directions… and possibly conned by a killer.

      Expert home stager Bailey Burke has come to terms with the fact that her friend, Ryan, is a ghost, but she thought after they solved his murder together, he would get sucked into the light. Instead he’s hanging around and interfering in her love life, and mocking her inability to drink Jameson. When a body is found near her historic neighborhood of Ohio City, mimicking the famous Torso Murders, and she starts hearing voices, Bailey thinks she’s really lost it now. Ryan’s ghost is one thing, but a whole gaggle of undead talking to her? No thanks. But Ryan informs Bailey she’s not nuts…she is a spiritual medium. And with him as middleman between the victims and the police, they can give the dead justice and he will finally get his one-way ticket to heaven. Considering Eliot Ness allegedly went to his grave bitter that it was the one case he couldn’t solve, Bailey doesn’t see how an uptight lightweight like herself can handle the modern equivalent. But now that Ryan has scared off every man she’s tried to date, including his former partner Marner, she has Saturday nights free for murder-mystery solving. Yet dealing with the dead is more difficult than de-cluttering a hoarder’s house. Bailey finds herself pulled in all directions… and possibly conned by a killer.

    • 3

      Once Upon A Ghost
      Once Upon A Ghost

      Once Upon A Ghost

      Erin McCarthy
      4/5 - 301 ratings
      4/5 - 301 ratings

      With Bailey Burke’s design and staging business booming- it turns out tangling with a serial killer is the best advertising ever- she has no time to lament her lack of love life, or wonder where her dead friend Ryan’s ghost has gone. She hasn’t seen him in months, but when she finds a body in a home she’s been hired to stage she’s hounded by the dead man’s ghost. Having been a medium before, this guy is by far the most irritating ghost she’s ever met, with his constant need to talk over her and flick pennies at her head. Without Ryan to guide her, she’s on her own to figure out what the dead man needs from her. On top of all that, cop Jake Marner is back in her life, ostensibly to protect her, but mostly to confuse her as to whether they are dating or not. Before she can say “Put It Where?” Bailey finds herself immersed in mob dealings, the secret world of male-only sweat baths, and double dealings. When another body turns up, there is no doubt that she’s in over her head… again.

      With Bailey Burke’s design and staging business booming- it turns out tangling with a serial killer is the best advertising ever- she has no time to lament her lack of love life, or wonder where her dead friend Ryan’s ghost has gone. She hasn’t seen him in months, but when she finds a body in a home she’s been hired to stage she’s hounded by the dead man’s ghost. Having been a medium before, this guy is by far the most irritating ghost she’s ever met, with his constant need to talk over her and flick pennies at her head. Without Ryan to guide her, she’s on her own to figure out what the dead man needs from her. On top of all that, cop Jake Marner is back in her life, ostensibly to protect her, but mostly to confuse her as to whether they are dating or not. Before she can say “Put It Where?” Bailey finds herself immersed in mob dealings, the secret world of male-only sweat baths, and double dealings. When another body turns up, there is no doubt that she’s in over her head… again.

    • 4

      How the Ghost Stole Christmas
      How the Ghost Stole Christmas

      How the Ghost Stole Christmas

      Erin McCarthy
      4/5 - 270 ratings
      4/5 - 270 ratings

      All Bailey Burke wants for Christmas is to stop seeing dead people. A reluctant spiritual medium, she craves a stress-free holiday with no ghosts popping in and out of her house. But when Bailey does the décor for a huge fundraising party featuring a replica slide from A Christmas Story, no one expects to find Santa’s dead body. In the slide. From three years ago. With the current Santa-for-hire and the dead Santa’s ghost harassing her, there isn’t enough eggnog in Cleveland to save Bailey’s night. Solving St. Nick’s murder is the only way to get back to cozy nights by the fire with her cop boyfriend Marner in time for some Christmas mistletoe…

      All Bailey Burke wants for Christmas is to stop seeing dead people. A reluctant spiritual medium, she craves a stress-free holiday with no ghosts popping in and out of her house. But when Bailey does the décor for a huge fundraising party featuring a replica slide from A Christmas Story, no one expects to find Santa’s dead body. In the slide. From three years ago. With the current Santa-for-hire and the dead Santa’s ghost harassing her, there isn’t enough eggnog in Cleveland to save Bailey’s night. Solving St. Nick’s murder is the only way to get back to cozy nights by the fire with her cop boyfriend Marner in time for some Christmas mistletoe…

    • 5

      It's a Ghost's Life
      It's a Ghost's Life

      It's a Ghost's Life

      Erin McCarthy
      4/5 - 273 ratings
      4/5 - 273 ratings

      When the bitterly cold days of January descend on Cleveland, Bailey Burke finds her “Put It Where?” home staging business is as frozen as her toes. The only bright spot is the return of her friend Ryan after his, ahem, eviction from heaven. Especially since no other dead people seem to be harassing her in recent weeks. Yet when her grandmother’s bingo buddy turns up frozen solid in a stranger’s back yard, Bailey is the only one who finds the death suspicious. Bailey knows fashion and she knows Vera, a one-time film star, would not be caught dead, literally, in a stained nightgown and cheetah-print boots. Determined it prove it is homicide and not dementia, she enlists Ryan’s help to investigate, despite his ghostly limitations. This time Bailey is ready to play it smart, solve the crime, have the bad guy do the time… only all is fair game when it comes to eccentric backstabbing biddies at bingo.

      When the bitterly cold days of January descend on Cleveland, Bailey Burke finds her “Put It Where?” home staging business is as frozen as her toes. The only bright spot is the return of her friend Ryan after his, ahem, eviction from heaven. Especially since no other dead people seem to be harassing her in recent weeks. Yet when her grandmother’s bingo buddy turns up frozen solid in a stranger’s back yard, Bailey is the only one who finds the death suspicious. Bailey knows fashion and she knows Vera, a one-time film star, would not be caught dead, literally, in a stained nightgown and cheetah-print boots. Determined it prove it is homicide and not dementia, she enlists Ryan’s help to investigate, despite his ghostly limitations. This time Bailey is ready to play it smart, solve the crime, have the bad guy do the time… only all is fair game when it comes to eccentric backstabbing biddies at bingo.

    • 6

      Ghosts Like it Hot
      Ghosts Like it Hot

      Ghosts Like it Hot

      Erin McCarthy
      4/5 - 234 ratings
      4/5 - 234 ratings

      Bailey Burke, reluctant spiritual medium, escapes the frozen winter with her boyfriend, Detective Jake Marner, and heads south. But in a city like Key West, murder and ghosts don’t take a vacation. A romantic sunset cruise turns not-so-romantic when a body floats by, followed by an abandoned yacht--the passengers missing. So much for searching for her lost shaker of salt. Instead she’s tracking down a killer who has left no clues. With ghosts harassing her at every turn, can Bailey solve the mystery of the floater and get back to sipping a piña colada and soaking up the sun? Book 6 in the Murder By Design series continues with Bailey’s hilarious adventures in mystery solving! 

      Bailey Burke, reluctant spiritual medium, escapes the frozen winter with her boyfriend, Detective Jake Marner, and heads south. But in a city like Key West, murder and ghosts don’t take a vacation. A romantic sunset cruise turns not-so-romantic when a body floats by, followed by an abandoned yacht--the passengers missing. So much for searching for her lost shaker of salt. Instead she’s tracking down a killer who has left no clues. With ghosts harassing her at every turn, can Bailey solve the mystery of the floater and get back to sipping a piña colada and soaking up the sun? Book 6 in the Murder By Design series continues with Bailey’s hilarious adventures in mystery solving! 

    • 7

      Dances With Ghosts
      Dances With Ghosts

      Dances With Ghosts

      Erin McCarthy
      5/5 - 78 ratings
      5/5 - 78 ratings

      Spring has sprung in Cleveland and home stager (and lousy spiritual medium) Bailey Burke is facing all kinds of major life changes. Both her grandmother and her boyfriend Jake Marner have moved in with her, she is contemplating a career change, and Marner’s mother needs her help planning a thirtieth birthday party for him. Party plans include dance lessons for Bailey and Jake. Which would be fun, except their instructor appears to have tangoed with the wrong partner. She’s found dead on the dance floor, a butchered ballroom teacher with multiple stab wounds. It’s a classic case of overkill, but there are no suspects and no ghosts hanging around to offer any insight. It’s time to call on Bailey’s old friend, Ryan, who happens to be a dead detective with a rude sense of humor. Can Bailey and her two favorite guys solve the case of the killer Cha Cha?

      Spring has sprung in Cleveland and home stager (and lousy spiritual medium) Bailey Burke is facing all kinds of major life changes. Both her grandmother and her boyfriend Jake Marner have moved in with her, she is contemplating a career change, and Marner’s mother needs her help planning a thirtieth birthday party for him. Party plans include dance lessons for Bailey and Jake. Which would be fun, except their instructor appears to have tangoed with the wrong partner. She’s found dead on the dance floor, a butchered ballroom teacher with multiple stab wounds. It’s a classic case of overkill, but there are no suspects and no ghosts hanging around to offer any insight. It’s time to call on Bailey’s old friend, Ryan, who happens to be a dead detective with a rude sense of humor. Can Bailey and her two favorite guys solve the case of the killer Cha Cha?

    Author

    Erin McCarthy

    USA Today and New York Times Bestselling author Erin McCarthy sold her first book in 2002 and has since written over seventy-five novels and novellas in the romance and mystery genres. Erin has a special weakness for high-heeled boots, martinis, and Frank Sinatra. She lives with her renovation-addicted husband (he built her a bar, so it’s all good!) and their blended family of kids

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    • 5/5
      Great plot, great characters, very tolerant, boyfriend. I’ll go together to make this delightful.