The White Magic Five and Dime

Book excerpt: Much to Alanis McLachlan's surprise, her estranged con-woman mother has left her an inheritance: The White Magic Five & Dime, a shop in tiny Berdache, Arizona. Reluctantly traveling to Berdache to claim her new property, Alanis decides to stay and pick up her mother's tarot business in an attempt to find out how she died. With help from a hunky cop and her mother's live-in teenage apprentice, Alanis begins faking her way through tarot readings in order to win the confidence of her mother's clients. But the more she uses the tarot deck, the more Alanis begins to find real meaning in the cards ... and the secrets surrounding her mother's demise. Praise: 2015 IPPY Award Bronze Medal Winner in Mystery/Cozy/Noir 2014 ForeWord IndieFab Gold Winner for Mystery "Cozy readers with a taste for humor will welcome this hilarious series debut . . . [and] will eagerly await the next installment."—Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Hockensmith...and coauthor Falco deliver a charming comic mystery, which one hopes is the beginning of a series."—Booklist "[A] clever and compelling tale filled with colorful and engaging characters and a whodunit plot." —Foreword Reviews "From the unique title to the cool cover, this book has it all . . . A+ across the board!"—Suspense Magazine "Fun and light."—Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine