When the body of a visitor is found in the woods by the local Shaker community, suspicion immediately falls on them. Rees is reluctant to believe anyone in this peaceful community committed murder. And Hans Bergin arrived with his wife, his brother-in-law and sister-in-law. They had their own reasons to want Bergin dead. But as Rees investigates, he discovers everyone, including a recent Shaker convert, have secrets of their own, some stretching all the way back to the Revolutionary War. Who, among the many suspects, decided to take matters in their own hands? Bergin's wife and other family? The new Shaker? Or someone else entirely? Book Links: Amazon | Kindle Unlimited | Goodreads | BookBub Music Credits: DADA https://uppbeat.io/t/dada/alter License code: SLUZLGG2QHFFVOS3 Find Books to the Ceiling at teresatrent.blog
This week we're headed to Savannah Georgia to a quaint little Magic Candle Shop. In this paranormal cozy mystery Tabby Quigsley has her hands full as she is asked to investigate the murder of a man who fell down the doomed Stone Stairs of Death. Purchase Links - Amazon Nook Kobo Apple iBook Teresa's Blog TeresaTrent.blog Music Credits: Ineffable Mysteries https://uppbeat.io/t/aaron-paul-low/ineffable-mysteries License code: G4SUOSV6GHTAZ86N L'Intrigue https://uppbeat.io/t/gerald-olivieri/lintrigue License code: W6YNAHCY5ULWD2SY
This week we’re headed to Georgia to spend some time with Martha, who after a stint in a mental ward is still hearing voices in her head. Not good, but it definitely creates a wonderful backdrop for the thriller, The Girl in the Maze.
Gordon Stone is an investigator assigned to the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force. He’s given an insignificant case—a charity scam out of Africa—and ordered to close it. For Gordon, it’s not that simple. Gordon has high-functioning autism. He’s socially awkward, but blessed with a superpower—extraordinary focus and attention to detail. That superpower allows Gordon to piece together a disparate puzzle: a Hunter-Killer drone; an illicit drug shipment; a Special Forces operation gone wrong; and illegal immigration linked to 9/11. When these pieces align, national security is at risk and hundreds of lives hang in the balance. Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Down & Out Books Music Credits: Blank Light by Adi Goldstein https://uppbeat.io/t/adi-goldstein/blank-light License code: PLIJPHP63DUWAF0P Sign up for my email newsletter: https://teresatrent.blog/newsletter-2/ Sign up for the Books to the Ceiling Substack: https://bookstotheceiling.substack.com/about
The Rain Will Wash Away The Blood An action-packed thriller, Mild Mannered Men explores how a simple mistake can change the lives of countless people. An honest mistake leads to the accidental exchange of a disc that holds top-secret information which can threaten the socioeconomic fate of the world as we know it. The novel follows Sergei, an ex-KGB freelancer who’s dealing with the Cartel and China’s technology leader. Happy Camper, sister of George Camper, a cybersecurity expert, is putting together a venture deal of her own during a VTC. John Nord is the man helping set up the international video teleconference with Sergei and Happy, unaware of how a simple meeting could change his life and the lives of many. As the Russian kidnaps John’s fiancée for a barter, an FBI agent is hot on the trail, desperate to find closure of his own. Peter Holland, a reporter chasing a story, finds himself in the middle of the chaos after having accidentally left his phone in Happy’s car. Murder, espionage, and an international conspiracy bring together five people from different walks of life who find themselves entrapped in an adventure beyond their grasp. How much could possibly go wrong in just four days? Book Links: Amazon | KindleUnlimited | Goodreads | BookBub | Audible Music Credits Mudstone by Reakt Music https://uppbeat.io/t/reakt-music/mudstone License code: YTXKFVDMSZGQAIUP True Grit by Soundroll https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/true-grit License code: ICYLYJYCCQY2390N
In the five years since the fateful and horrific night that changed her life, Sandra Leigh has kept herself sequestered at the Compound, a trauma recovery/survival skill camp that helped her process her past and feel safe in the world again. Now, the time has come for her to face life outside the Compound, and that starts with a family road trip to rebuild the relationship she once had with her young niece. A weekend at a rented cabin in the woods sounds idyllic, but Sandra begins to notice that things are off. Strange sounds and shadows, combined with a less-than-welcoming atmosphere at the nearby small town, put Sandra quickly on edge. Is it all just her paranoia coming into play, or is there something truly dangerous happening? When her niece discovers a cryptic message hidden in the cabin's guest book--THEY CAME AT NIGHT--Sandra realizes that her family is caught in the crosshairs of a heinously sinister plot, and she will need to call on all the skills she learned at the Compound to save them... if she can. Book Details: Genre: Psychological Thriller/Action Hybrid Published by: Watertower Hill Publishing Publication Date: May 27, 2025 Number of Pages: 336 Book Links: Amazon | KindleUnlimited | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Watertower Hill Publishing Music Credits For the Forests https://uppbeat.io/t/all:ambient/for-the-forests-antarctic-wastelands License code: P6C34FD7TKTLOTA8 Dark Skies, Fading https://uppbeat.io/t/all:ambient/dark-skies-fading-antarctic-wastelands License code: DLPFRUABXFBVXQYM Check out the archive of all the podcasts at TeresaTrent.blog Find out about Teresa's mystery series at TeresaTrent.com
A Tale of Madness, Betrayal, and Revenge With the page-turning suspense of Ava Strong’s FBI thriller Not Like He Seemed and gritty realism of Douglas and Olshaker’s New York Times Bestseller MindHunter, Whispers promises readers a nail-biting journey into the search for a serial killer and a window into the troubled mind of the agent who pursues him. "They’re killing all the shrinks!" cries Nicola Kitts, now a special agent with the FBI’s storied Behavioral Assessment Unit. But why are prominent psychiatrists being targeted, and what secrets did they share? In this sequel to Tears Are Only Water, Special Agent Kitts leads the hunt for a serial killer who leaves obscure mathematical formulas and twisted poems of retribution by the bodies. The FBI thinks they’ve figured it out, pointing to Raevyn Nevenmoore, a former gymnastic champion with a history of mania and delusions. But Raevyn hints that her twin brother Finch is involved in the killings. The only problem is, Finch died years earlier. Is Raevyn clinically insane or a clever psychopath? Haunted by her own traumas and hidden scars, Kitts struggles to piece together the clues and separate Raevyn’s madness from an even more troubling reality. Can she silence her own demons long enough to find the killer … and save herself? What if one phone call could change your entire life? Book Links: Amazon | Kindle Unlimited | Goodreads Music Credits: Anemone https://uppbeat.io/t/brock-hewitt-stories-in-sound/anemone License code: MSD42KXUBKSZPZFZ Back and Forth https://uppbeat.io/t/greenhouse/back-and-forth License code: PNRFJM3NBW46L4Z8
Javier Jimenez is on a glide path to college while his brother, Alex, has done a 180 and is heading for trouble. Neither, however, have any idea what's coming their way when George Jones sets in motion his plan for their neighborhood. It's a cataclysmic vision of urban renewal replete with manmade disasters, civil unrest, and a tsunami of ambitious Zoomers. Meanwhile, Alex and Javier's feud quickly escalates, even as Alex finds himself in way over his head with Denker Street, the local gang. The bodies start falling, and Javier soon realizes Jones has put a target on his back. It's time to go to ground. Can he keep Alex from falling further into the streets? Can he outplay Jones at his own game? All this and his own hopes, once so bright, now fading like a smog-shrouded LA skyline. Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | Black Rose Writing Music Credits Acalantando https://uppbeat.io/t/dan-costa/acalantando License code: KNIALRANPP5EKEMP Books to the Ceiling is a part of author, Teresa Trent's blog, https://teresatrent.blog
Beatrix Patterson has faced monsters before, but in a world teetering on the edge of social change, she comes up against her most complicated case yet. In one chaotic morning, her friend has been arrested following a fight during a strike at the railroad, the railroad owner was found murdered, and another close friend admits to being blackmailed. Amid growing tensions between the Union Pacific Railroad and workers' strikes, Beatrix must go undercover before more people are killed or injured. But as she dives into this investigation, she finds one consistent group at the center. Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | BookBub | TorchFlame Books Music Credit: Morning Light https://uppbeat.io/t/jonny-easton/warming-light License code: IWXAHWODISOSZD75 Visit the home of Books to the Ceiling at https://teresatrent.blog
For fans of Julia Keller and Sheena Kamal, All We Buried disturbs the long-sleeping secrets of a small Washington State mountain town. Interim sheriff Elizabeth “Bet” Rivers has always had one repeat nightmare: a shadowy figure throwing a suspicious object into her hometown lake in Collier, Washington. For the longest time, she chalked it up to an overactive imagination as a kid. Then the report arrives. In the woods of the Cascade mountain range, right in her jurisdiction, a body floats to the surface of Lake Collier. When the body is extricated and revealed, no one can identify Jane Doe. But someone must know the woman, so why aren’t they coming forward? Bet has been sitting as the interim sheriff of this tiny town in the ill-fitting shoes of her late father and predecessor. With the nightmare on her heels, Bet decided to build a life for herself in Los Angeles, but now it’s time to confront the tragic history of Collier. The more she learns, the more Bet realizes she doesn’t know the townspeople of Collier as well as she thought, and nothing can prepare her for what she is about to discover. Purchase Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound | Goodreads Music Credit Uneasy Street https://uppbeat.io/t/jacob-taylor-armerding/uneasy-st License code: JVYHGIYXULTT8R3Y Visit the author blog of Teresa Trent- The home of Books to the Ceiling https://teresatrent.blog
Six months after the events in Death in the Ozarks, Sally Witherspoon is trying to put that terrible time behind her. She books a river cruise down the Mississippi to get away and relax. Unfortunately relaxation is not to be as as she's called on to get to the bottom of a mysterious death that occurs on board. A combination of Cheers bartender and Miss Marple, Sally Witherspoon is as determined as ever to solve it. Available at Amazon | Goodreads Music Credits: Smile with Me https://uppbeat.io/t/kite-flight/smile-with-me License code: V0OIHUABYO8YCHBX Old Romantic https://uppbeat.io/t/kite-flight/old-romantic License code: RLMM41LDHVWRUMDK Visit Teresa's blog at https://teresatrent.blog
Marlowe “Lowe” Curran was once a freelance intelligence operative swashbuckling around the world—until Greece—until the Voula Beach Road. There, he lost everything and nearly his life. Now, he’s a luckless, aging PI living on guilt and nightmares—barely paying his rent if not for Tommy Astor, a well-connected Washington powerbroker. Curran becomes a suspect in the murder of a philandering husband. He has an alibi—but that will get him arrested. Is committing crimes trying to resolve other crimes still a crime? For Curran it is, especially after he’s a suspect in two murders. Chasing the real killer, Curran is haunted by his demons from the Voula Beach Road, and something called Whisper. On his trail is an angry, vengeful US Deputy Marshal, gun-happy assassins, and a shadowy figure thwarting Curran’s every success. For each step forward, there’s another threat, another roadblock, another piece of evidence stacking up against him. Whisper is at the center of his nightmares—whatever Whisper is. Is Whisper why Charlie Cantrell had to die? Why bodies are dropping across Washington? Why the President’s short list for running mates is getting shorter? Faced with old foes and aided by his last surviving Voula Beach friend, Curran must stay ahead of the assassins, rescue a kidnapped little girl, and find the deadly secrets hidden within The Whisper Legacy. Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | Goodreads | BookBub Music Credits Blank Light https://uppbeat.io/t/adi-goldstein/blank-light License code: ZMLNIRJXAR8TALRJ Find more podcasts in the archive at TeresaTrent.blog
A high-profile homicide of a former ambassador’s son in the nightlife district of the nation’s capital gets connected to an assassination market on the dark web. When political elites panic upon finding their names listed on the online dead pool, entrepreneurial siblings Karen and Yemi Uzunma see a business opportunity for their DC area-based executive protection firm, RAPTOR. Their first major client becomes the ex-diplomat himself, Chiedu Attah, but to guarantee his safety, they realize they are going to have to go to war in the streets with an inventive contract killer who will not stop attacking until Attah suffers the same fate as his son. Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Kobo | Google Play (Audio) | Goodreads | Smashwords Music Credits: Burned Agent https://uppbeat.io/t/benjamin-botkin/burned-agent License code: AMKFTURMIBRN9GAA Turn it Up https://uppbeat.io/t/barry-dallas/turn-it-up License code: AH3QWQDPJGX036EZ Rising Sun https://uppbeat.io/t/aaron-paul-low/rising-sun License code: LBWEBJZA1AVMHJMP Books to the Ceiling is a part of the Teresa Trent Author Blog https://teresatrent.blog
In Calypso Blue, Brian Silverman crafts a gripping tale of mystery, revenge, and redemption set against the backdrop of New York and the Caribbean. The novel follows John Saint John, a man torn between his faith, past, and responsibilities as a father, as he grapples with a life-altering decision driven by a desire for justice. As his story unfolds in the shadow of a significant historical event, another narrative emerges—one centered on Leonard Buonfiglio, an American expatriate running a bar on the island of St. Pierre. When a legendary calypso singer, Lord Ram, dies under suspicious circumstances, Leonard is reluctantly pulled into an investigation at the behest of the island’s police superintendent. Blending elements of crime, culture, and personal reckoning, Calypso Blue explores themes of loss, second chances, and the ghosts of the past that refuse to be forgotten. With vivid storytelling and rich atmospheric detail, Silverman transports readers into a world where music, memory, and mystery intertwine. Calypso Blue can be purchased at Amazon | Goodreads Music Credits Symbiosis https://uppbeat.io/t/cedric-vermue/symbiosis License code: IKH8S4T7TJYY6I8W Teresa Trent's Author Blog https://www.teresatrent.blog
Cleo Cooper left ocean-dipping weekends as a psychology professor in Hawaii to sample life in the high desert of Santa Fe for her sabbatical. With her romantic relationship on the rocks in Hawaii, Cleo falls for Luc, a charming international expert in her field and is tempted to make the change permanent. She enjoys the people, the work, and the sparkling conversations, even if they come with a bite. But, when a wealthy backer of her project is killed, the snarky scientists, artists, and a Saudi ex-pat, who Cleo thought were her new friends, are now at the top of the suspect list. And with a killer on the loose, Cleo finds her life, and her love, in danger. Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads | The Wild Rose Press Music Credit Brock Hewitt: Stories in Sound Anemone https://uppbeat.io/t/brock-hewitt-stories-in-sound/anemone License code: 80JAOHNUEKQH1BEM Books to the Ceiling is a part of the author blog of Teresa Trent. https://teresatrent.blog Check out Teresa's latest novel: I Can't Get no Satisfaction, a historical cozy mystery set in the 1960s.
Len Buonfiglio is a former New York bar owner and family man. He has the perfect life until he yearns for more—for something he knows will destroy everything he had, but something he can’t resist. He makes his choice and that, along with a traumatic event, shatters his world. His life and what he had now broken, his only choice is to leave the city and his family. His flight takes him to the remote Caribbean island of St. Pierre where he opens a sports bar that he runs with his friend and partner, a young local islander named Tubby Levett. In Freedom Drop, a genial tour guide, Rawle “Big Tree” Johns is a suspect in an American woman’s fall from a cliff and held in custody. John’s mother enlists Buonfiglio to help free her son and to prove that he had nothing to do with the woman’s death. Conflicted by the need to spend time with his sixteen-year-old daughter who he hasn’t seen in two years, Mr. Len as he’s known on the island, reluctantly agrees to help. Buonfiglio’s search for the truth reveals that there are other, much more powerful forces involved in the woman’s death that threaten both his life and his family. In the course of his investigation, he confronts a high-ranking island politician, the local superintendent of police, the dead girl’s mother, and, ultimately, a shady yet powerful outsider investor. Was the girl’s death an accident or did Johns cause that accident? Or was she murdered? The lack of clarity—the mystery of what really happened to the girl—he realizes, reflects the enigma that is St. Pierre. It’s a riddle that, despite living on the island for several years, he still cannot solve. Find Freedom Drop at Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Freedom-Drop-Buonfiglio-Caribbean-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0DTJ8TSMW Music Credits: Carribbean Beach https://uppbeat.io/t/vocalista/caribbean-beach License code: UTVBEGNYYMXGFGGX Mango Moon Reggae https://uppbeat.io/t/vocalista/mango-moon-reggae License code: 7AMQOHQMAOVPDCDE Oahu https://uppbeat.io/t/northwestern/oahu License code: OUFBSNUCHJDZHWSW Books to the Ceiling is a part of the author blog of Teresa Trent. https://teresatrent.blog
After a mysterious stranger appears at his isolated cabin door, Jack’s life is forever changed. The stranger’s cryptic message sets off a chain of events that lead Jack on a harrowing journey to uncover the true meaning of his own existence. As a series of unexplained fires threaten to consume everything he holds dear, Jack is forced to confront his deepest fears and question everything he thought he knew about himself. Set in the aftermath of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing, Jack’s search for the truth takes him to the edge of sanity and puts him on a collision course with a dark and powerful force that has been lurking in the shadows. Join Jack on a gripping and thought-provoking quest for answers in this thrilling and suspenseful tale of self-discovery and redemption. Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads Music Credits: Blank Light https://uppbeat.io/t/adi-goldstein/blank-light License code: 7RVUIQZ90GTX0DQG
THE JAMES BUTLER MYSTERIESSome cases never let you go. Reeling from the sudden death of a close friend, James Butler and Erica Walsh are pulled back into the shadow world of Mexican cartels and the CIA. Seeking to avenge the murder of their friend with only his haphazard notes to guide them, they puzzle through the possible connections searching for anything concrete. As they investigate his murder, and his notes, they find unsettling links between drug trafficking, American gangs, the CIA, and the opioid epidemic. Determined to find the truth hidden among cases they thought were long closed, Butler and Walsh call on friends and colleagues to help them survive the crosshairs that got their friend killed. With the threat spreading across more of their contacts, they must uncover the truth before they are buried in lies. The James Butler mysteries from Jack Luellen seamlessly weave fact with fiction, introducing nonfiction material in the midst of fast-paced murder mysteries. Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | Torchflame Books Music Credits 34 by AK https://uppbeat.io/t/ak/34 License code: I0IT94O6FLF7OGXF Groovin on Gold by Konstantin Garbuzyuk https://uppbeat.io/t/konstantin-garbuzyuk/groovin-on-gold License code: 0DO2QA3PQZZUMCQO Books to the Ceiling is a part of the author blog of Teresa Trent. https://teresatrent.blog Giveaways! Podcast Archive with over 100 episodes featuring cozy mysteries, thrillers, traditional and historical mysteries.
The annual Buckeye Trail Town Festival. A trail construction site. And one dead naturalist. The charming town of Hawthorn Heights is celebrating its connection to the Buckeye Trail with a weekend-long town festival. When a local naturalist is found dead at the bottom of a ravine off the trail, amateur sleuth and garden center manager Molly Green finds herself tangled in a murder investigation - again. As the Trail Festival concludes, Molly unearths unexpected secrets about the bird-obsessed naturalist’s life along with other people in her small community. When the police focus on who Molly knows is the wrong suspect, she starts her own investigation with her flock of fellow amateur detectives. Will Molly and her team identify the killer or will they fly away free? Secrets, Songbirds, and Succulents is a heartwarming and suspenseful cozy mystery that will keep readers guessing until the very end. Perfect for fans of small-town mysteries and amateur sleuths with both birding and eco-friendly themes. Click Here to Find Secrets, Songbirds and Succulents at These Online Retailers Music Credits Hopeful Horizons by Justin Lee https://uppbeat.io/t/justin-lee/hopeful-horizons License code: NEHXWBWV8ZT0FRCE Books to the Ceiling is a part is a part of https://teresatrent.blog
A Nicholas Bishop Mystery1942. War rages in Europe. Pearl Harbor still smolders. And alcoholic private eye Nicholas Bishop wakes up on a hotel room floor with two slugs missing from his .38 revolver. The cops think he’s murdered lounge singer Pearl DuGaye, mobsters think he saw something he shouldn’t have, and Bishop remembers nothing… Together with his indomitable assistant Gia Alessi, who he may or may not have fired, a WWI vet who often flashes back to 1918, and a one-eyed female dog named Jake, Bishop tries to piece together the events that took place during his disastrous five-day bender. Along the way, he stumbles across a dirty politician, a socialite and her unfaithful husband, and a cabal of American Nazis who are undoubtedly up to no good. Written in the spirit of classic noir, Eoannou adds his own unique voice and flair to the genre in this, the first action-packed outing of the Nicholas Bishop Mysteries… Book Links: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookShop.org | Goodreads | Talking Leaves Books Music Credits Prophet by Brandon Hopkins https://uppbeat.io/t/brandon-hopkins/prophet License code: ZCHZMGEFLGOROY1R Books to the Ceiling is part of the author blog of Teresa Trent. https://teresatrent.blog