Synopsis
These were only the beginning of Fawn Malero’s problems, but they coincided with a vampire wedding-of-the-century coming to town and that made them a top priority. And as Logan began to take on more duties as pack Alpha, her loyalties were being tested by everyone. Could she run part of the city and part of the pack?
Then the burglaries started… of human homes, threatening exposure!
Being pulled in so many directions, Fawn feared she was failing her father and the supernaturals of Seattle leaving them open for challengers to their authority. Will Fawn’s ability to enlist the help of other supernaturals be enough? Or will they finally see that she doesn’t have what it takes to keep Seattle safe and its supernaturals hidden?
Praise
A Life With Beasts (The Fawn Malero Mysteries Book 1)
“A Life with Beasts is a story of intrigue and attraction that is especially recommended for mystery readers who enjoy more than a light dose of paranormal encounters and a touch of romance.”-D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review
“a fun adventure/mystery. Courtney Davis brings a fresh perspective to the supernatural creatures we are all familiar with without sacrificing the original ideas associated with them. She creates an exciting world of werewolves, vampires, witches/warlocks, magicians, trolls, and many others.
The book is easy to read and fast-paced. It’s a great read for the summer holidays or when you want a light, fun read. Can’t wait for the sequel!
Also, there is a healthy dose of romance, which can tend to be a bit much for those who don’t read romance (like me). However, Davis has done a great job of making the romance central to the plot, so I found it quite enjoyable.”- Writa Bhattacharjee, GoodReads
“This was a fast read and I really enjoyed it. It gave me some high school Twilight memories but brought more supernatural beings into play. There were several mysteries and problems being solved but they didn’t feel. I found the characters likeable and funny.”-Sara, GoodReads
Supernatural P.I. (The Fawn Malero Mysteries Book 2)
“a must read for all paranormal fantasy fans. From werewolves to vampires, to elves and witches this book has it all. My curiosity grew with each page. The plot has a lot of twists and turns. Magic, mayhem, romance issues, and so much more are included. Courtney Davis writes well. Her characters leap off the pages.
There was never a dull moment. I love that I could read this and dive right into this magical world. It is the second book in the series. Courtney Davis and her mystery series are now added to my favorites.”-Urban Book Reviews
a fantastic paranormal mystery/romance with a compelling and fun protagonist, and brilliant world building. Davis’ writing is impeccable, and I enjoyed the way that she balanced the mystery, romance and comedy aspects of the novel. I also loved the way it ended! This is what all paranormal mysteries should be! _”-Bee, Book Pleasures.com
“This was a great read and one that I cannot stop thinking about! This is a madcap adventure that you are bound to have fun reading! Five stars for Fawn Malero!”-Nora, Storeybook Reviews
Guest Post – Deleted Scenes
The story of getting this book written is a frustrating one. The whole series has a kind of journey though. In 2020 when I decided, after nine years to get back to writing I wanted to do something fun, urban fantasy and mainstream. So I thought up Fawn Malero, a magician born with supernatural powers living in Seattle where there were supernatural creatures living lives all around, of course humans know nothing of them.
If I am recalling events right, I wrote the first two books in the series then started trying to get it published and while I was doing that I wrote, A Werewolf in Women’s Clothes which is an urban fantasy werewolf romance. I did find a small print publisher willing to give Fawn a shot and I was so excited! So I sent it to them saying I wanted it to be a whole series and already had the second one written. While they had that in que, I wrote up numbers three and four of the series and shopped around A Werewolf in Women’s Clothes.
Then the publisher shut down… no book published.
I had already had A Werewolf in Women’s Clothes published with DXVaros by then, so I asked them if they wanted to take on the series, four written and ready to go! Lucky for me they wanted it and I was once again ready to publish this fun series, and with all four written, what a great deal.
Then a few months later I discovered that number four had disappeared into the internet void. I was going to have to rewrite it.
I put it off because I knew I could but I didn’t want to. Starting completely over felt beyond frustrating.
I had no choice though, not only was it contracted, but I love Fawn and her story so I wanted to write more of it. So I rewrote #4, changing the title from Hexes and Bows which featured a Cupid, to Lucky Rabbit’s Foot featuring a rabbit problem and some weather issues. I got about 6K words in and didn’t like it, I scrapped it, and started again. This time I didn’t change the plot, just the details, so here is a bit of the second original beginning of Fawn Malero #4, unedited of course so keep that in mind.
Deleted Scene
Bunnies started showing up in my yard about a week ago and I may be the most animal friendly supernatural in Seattle, but I had no interest in running a bunny rescue sanctuary.
“You can’t take care of all of them,” Logan snapped for the hundredth time.
“And what do you want me to do? Eat them?” I snapped back because I knew he ate bunnies, at least when he was in his Werewolf form and me, I was a vegetarian.
“You’re a Magician who communicates with animals, can’t you just tell them to go away?”
“No,” I said between gritted teeth. “I can’t, because they won’t talk to me.” I’d tried endlessly but they were all mute, I didn’t know where they were coming from or why!
We’d had this conversation every morning for the last four days. I had never run into such a problem before but no matter what little noises they made, it gave me nothing and even my empathetic drive wasn’t tingling, they weren’t in need of help, at least according to my supernatural abilities.
“Twenty, Fawn, there are twenty god damn bunnies in the yard.”
I crossed my arms and glared at Logan, he’d been extra edgy since Jasmine had shown up a couple weeks ago and kissed me as if we were still sixteen and could continue our relationship where we’d left off. She was on the run from her husband and pregnant with no money and nowhere to go. I didn’t want to date her, but I couldn’t tell her to leave, she had nowhere to go. Logan thought I should send her to my parents’, but I didn’t feel right about that either, she did need my help and my empathetic drive was screaming to give her what she needed. Right now that was a place to stay and a part time job at my yoga studio.
I glared at Logan, refusing to let him intimidate me with his alpha male bullshit. “I’ll gather them up and take them to the pet store, okay?”
He gave me a hard look, a quick kiss, then left, off to work and I needed more coffee.
“I’m sorry about the bunnies,” Jasmine said, coming out of Betina’s room in a robe, obviously she hadn’t wanted to face Logan’s grumpiness this morning, I didn’t blame her.
I had done a late-night class at my twenty-four-hour yoga studio, and I was dragging, but Logan yelling about more bunnies this morning had gotten me out of bed. “Not your fault,” I reassured her around a yawn.
“I don’t think so either, but—”
“But nothing, unless you developed a new ability, animal attraction isn’t your fault.”
She laughed, “No, nothing that cool.” She wiggled her fingers, and I could see a pulse of electricity spark between her fingers. She had a very good defensive ability, and I envied her that. She could also hold her breath for like thirty minutes and had perfect balance, she should have been a ballerina. She was pretty enough to be one too, slim, and blonde with big eyes and flawless skin. It was no wonder I’d fallen in love with her at sixteen. She was everything I wasn’t.
Evie popped in then, dressed for morning in a robe as well, apparently everyone was taking today at a slow pace. “I don’t think you should get rid of the bunnies, Fawn, they are so cute.”
“I had to save three from Jasper and Sophia yesterday,” I grumbled. My cats were happy little hunters with the bunnies all around, some of which were still fairly small. Pumpkin didn’t really care, but she was more of a lay around and nap kind of cat. Jasper and Sophia liked to go out and play at being wild animals.
Chester, my parakeet flew in tweeting a happy good morning. He landed on Jasmine and she patted him a little too hard, gaining a peck on her finger before he flew off to perch on top of the cabinets. She watched him go with an offended tilt to her mouth.
I sat at the table with my coffee and stared out the window. Bunnies hopped around and ate grass. It was late October and I had no idea how well bunnies could survive a Seattle winter outside. “Why won’t they talk to me?”
“Maybe they don’t want to, not everyone needs to go on and on about their problems,” Evie said with a sigh.
I glared at her as I sipped my coffee. Evie was a judgmental old ghost, but she wasn’t wrong. There’d been a lot of complaining about life around here lately. Jasmine wasn’t sure what she was going to do, how long before her husband found her, and what to do with a baby apparently. Betina was unhappy because her boyfriend was visiting his sister at Brakemoor and Logan was made about jasmine but complained about the bunnies as a cover.
The damn bunnies. “I can’t help them if I don’t know why they’re here.”
“How are they getting in, your yard is fully fenced?” Jasmine asked as she made a cup of herbal tea, something Annabel had left to help her with morning sickness. I wouldn’t normally trust anything a Witch made, but Annabel was half Elf and one of my best friends, so I knew it was safe, and besides, I wasn’t the one drinking it.
“I’m not sure, there must be a hole somewhere.”
“Maybe one of the dogs—” Evie started then stopped, gasped, and popped out.
My stomach clenched at the reminder that my dogs were gone, buried in the back yard because of Ben. Luckily Ben was also dead and buried, but it still hurt. I missed them.
“I’ll check the fence for holes later, but that still doesn’t explain why they are here or tell me what to do with them.”
“Sell them,” Jasmine suggested happily.
“To who?”
“Farmers, little kids… too bad it’s not spring they’d make great Easter presents. Maybe you can give them out to trick-or-treaters,” she laughed.
I couldn’t help smiling, imagining the look on parents’ faces as I handed their little ghosts and goblins a live bunny instead of a mars bar.
“Maybe the zoo wants them.” I really hated to do that though, I knew how those animals felt about being in there, it wasn’t good.
“So what’s on the agenda today? I told Betina I would come into the yoga studio this morning so she could show me how to work the computer.”
“Great, I need to check out a couple of leads on that weird weather happening near Olympia and I guess I’ll call a few pet shops.”
Jasmine headed back to her room, well, Betina’s room and I stared out at the bunnies. I wasn’t going to go out there until I finished my coffee.
An hour later I had found a pet store willing to take in the bunnies and was on my hands and knees at the back of my property. I’d definitely found a hole and it was easy to fix. I shoved a few rocks in it and felt very satisfied. Rounding them up was not so easy. I got out my dog carriers and threw some carrots in and waited and waited.
“Get in the damn cage,” I hissed but they just hopped around like I was an idiot and maybe I was for thinking the stupid things would listen to me, they wouldn’t even talk to me!
I gave up after only corralling ten of the damn things, but at least it was a start. My car was still at Tony’s shop getting a scratch removed so I had to put the cage in the back of Cole’s car. I’d stolen it after he kidnapped me, but then he ended up dead, so I guess it all worked out. It was a bit creepy to drive it, but I didn’t have much choice. I didn’t want to keep driving my car with the word Bitch, scratched into the side, people gave me weird looks. I hoped Tony would be back from Brakemoor soon and finish up the repaint though, driving Cole’s car was creepy.
I threw my hair into a ponytail and pulled a sweater over my t-shirt. There was dirt on my jeans, but I didn’t care at the moment. I wanted to take care of at least part of this bunny problem.
When I walked into the pet store, I was assaulted by hopeful pleas from most of the animals. Unlike the zoo, these animals knew there was something better coming, they’d likely get adopted and have a good life. I still felt bad for them all, I wish I could take them all home with me and I thought for the first time since my dogs passed away that perhaps I could adopt a new dog, when I was sure the bunny problem was taken care of anyway.
All my animals had been strays that found their way to my home though, as if they’d known I was the right human to take care of them and I was sort of holding out hope that another dog would show up at the right time for me to bring into my life. Adopting one from a shop didn’t quite seem right.
I approached the young woman behind the counter and gave her a big smile. “I have some bunnies to drop off. I talked to Charlie on the phone.” She looked like she was still in high school and barely cared about the job. She’d barely looked up when I walked in.
“I’ll get him,” she said with a heavy sigh then yelled. “Charlie, bunnies are here!”
I cringed at the shrill yell, and so did the parrot that was perched behind her.
“Thanks,” I hissed and crouched down to make sure the bunnies all looked okay. “How’s it going guys, you will all find homes soon, I’m sure.” I looked at the fuzzy little things as I whispered sweetly to them.
Nothing, they just stared at me and moved their tiny noses. They said nothing and it was really weirding me out.
“Fawn?” A Voice asked and I stood and turned to meet a friendly face I vaguely recognized. “Fawn Malero?”
“Um, yeah,” I said cautiously. I couldn’t remember if I had given my last name over the phone or not and I was suddenly on edge.
“We had some vet classes together, remember?” He held out his hand and a fuzzy memory surfaced.
“Charlie Stone?”
His eyes lit up and he grasped my hand tightly. “Yep! How’s it going, you stopped coming.”
“Oh, yeah I decided I was better off concentrating on my yoga studio.”
“Yoga!” he said brightly, and his eyes slid down my body making me thankful I’d dressed in jeans and had a jacket on. I remembered him now, he was always staring at the girls in class, if I’d had to bet on someone being a psychotic serial killer, my money would have been on him and not Ben, obviously I was a terrible judge.
“So I have these bunnies,” I said to distract him and stepped back, glancing at the girl behind the counter who was glaring at Charlie and me. I really hoped he wasn’t sleeping with her.
“Yeah, I cleaned out a cage for them in the front window, bunnies go fast, every little kid thinks they make a great pet. They don’t.” He started walking, not offering to carry the cage.
I frowned, wondering if I was making a mistake bringing them here, I didn’t want them to end up in unhappy homes. But I was sure I didn’t have a better solution, so I grabbed the cage and followed him to the front of the store. The cages were set against the big front window and would draw the attention of everyone who passed. They may not all find forever homes right away, but I was sure they wouldn’t be here long.
“In fact I’ve gotten several calls this week from families asking for bunnies to replace theirs that have run away. It’s been weird, but now I can tell them I have replacements on hand.” He paused and looked at me guiltily. “I uh, can pay you for them of course.”
“No, don’t worry about it, you’re doing me a favor, really. I’ll bring more too if I can catch them in my yard.”
He nodded and started taking the bunnies out and putting them in the cage. “Wow ten and you have more in your yard? What did you do, plant a carrot garden?” He laughed and I gave him a strained smile.
“I wish I knew,” I said honestly. But at least I plugged the hole, so hopefully I wouldn’t be seeing any more. When he pulled the last one out, he didn’t immediately put it in the cage, he held it and pet it absently as he stared at me expectantly.
“So, I’ll see you again soon then?”
“If I can catch them.” I tried to sound casual, but I was feeling creeped and slammed the carrier shut. Apparently, it was too aggressive for the little white rabbit in Charlie’s hands, because it freaked and bit him. Charlie screamed, the bunny was dropped and started running. The girl behind the counter shrieked as the furry bunny ran under her feet and the Parrot squawked angrily for everyone to be quiet.
“Damnit Sharon, get it,” Charlie yelled as he held his bleeding hand. The bunny had gotten him good. Blood was hitting the floor and I was about to the limit of what I wanted to handle. I grabbed the cage and waved as I quickly headed out the door. I heard a crash before the door closed fully behind me and Charlie started yelling. Damn, maybe I should find a different pet store to bring the next batch to.
A woman was leaning against the car when I got to it, a Witch I could tell when I got close. She had an air of crazy about her, and a smell of herbs drifted to me on the wind. She was dressed in black skinny jeans and a purple corset top under a jean jacket. Her makeup was dark and heavily applied, and her blonde hair was in twin braids down her back.
At first she just looked at me with mild curiosity but when it became obvious that I was heading toward her and the car, her eyes narrowed, and the corners of her mouth turned down.
“Who the fuck are you?” she demanded when I stopped at the car.
“Fawn Malero, can I help you with something?”
“Shit, no way!” She slumped. “I guess that means Cole’s dead or run off again?”
“Yeah.” I wasn’t sure I wanted to give this woman the news, she didn’t seem like an upset girlfriend, but she knew enough about Cole to know my name, that meant they’d been close.
“I haven’t heard from him in a while so when I saw his car I thought I’d wait him out.” She looked at me and tilted her head. “He’s dead, isn’t he?”
“Yeah.”
She nodded and a glimpse of grief passed over her face. “Dumbass didn’t know when to give up. I told him his jealousy was going to be the end of him.”
“Jealousy?”
“Yeah, apparently he always felt like his parents favored his little brother over him, made all the worse when his brother took your side of things recently.”
I couldn’t deny the logic of that so I just nodded.
“I’m Riva by the way.” She held out her hand and I shook it cautiously. “I wasn’t his girlfriend,” she said quickly. “Just a friend.”
“You aren’t from here,” I pointed out. I knew the faces of every witch in the local coven and this was definitely not one of them.
“No, just passing through. My husband and I actually.” She looked uncomfortable and took a step away from me. “I probably won’t see you around, Fawn,” she said with a small wave then turned and hurried down the street.
“Weird,” I muttered as I unlocked the car door and shoved the kennel in the backseat. I was going to have to warn Logan, and maybe Annabel too. A strange Witch in town could be cause for concern.
Guest Review by Nora
A madcap adventure of supernatural fun and drama! I devoured this book, reading it in one sitting overnight and I get the feeling a lot fans of this series can say the same.
If you were anticipating the new Fawn Malero book, you won’t be disappointed in this installment. If you haven’t read any of the books in the series, you are in for a treat! You don’t even need to start with the first book. However, after reading just one book in the series, I am sure you will want to read them all!
The characters in this series are always my favorite part. I love the different species and all of the different ways that they interact with each other. Courtney Davis has written a world where elves, vampires, trolls, witches and just about every supernatural being you can think of live together, keeping themselves secret from the human, and, of course, there are clashes.
In this book, those clashes get pretty serious.
See, there is a big vampire wedding that is going to be happening soon and, in order for it to go off without a hitch, a few problems have to be solved first. Mostly, Fawn has to figure out what is causing the strange weather that has been hovering over Seattle for weeks.
Going from blistering hot one minute to blizzard and freezing temperatures the next, the weather swiftly goes from perplexing, to downright dangerous– and all of it seems to be centered around the iconic Space Needle. Little by little, and with the help of her friends, Fawn begins to uncover who is behind the mysteries that have taken over the city.
As I said, the magic of this story (besides all of the literal magic, of course) lies in the characters. Fawn and her friends are so fun, lively and downright interesting that I can’t imagine any reader won’t care about them from page one, I know I did!
My favorite book of the year, by far. ‘Lucky Rabbit’s Foot (The Fawn Malero Mysteries Book 4),’ is definitely worth the read for any lovers of supernatural mysteries!
About the Author
Courtney Davis is a mother, wife and teacher who has always loved to find time to escape into a good story. She’s been in love with reading and writing since she was a child and dreams of a life where she can devote herself fully to creating worlds and exploring relationships. To give someone else enjoyment through her words is the ultimate thrill.
Joyce Proell is the award-winning author of Amaryllis, Eliza and the Cady Delafield mysteries: A Deadly Truth, A Burning Truth and A Wicked Truth. Along with her husband and little dog, Nellie, she lives in Minnesota in her very own little house on the prairie. She loves to hear from readers.
Brenda Whiteside is the award-winning author of romantic suspense, romance, and cozy mystery. After living in six states and two countries—so far—she and her husband have settled in Central Arizona. They admit to being gypsies at heart and won’t discount the possibility of another move. They share their home with a rescue dog named Amigo. While FDW fishes, Brenda writes.
Betty Hechtman is the national bestselling author of the Crochet Mysteries, the Yarn Retreat Mysteries, and the Writer for Hire Mysteries. Handicraft and writing are her passions and she is thrilled to be able to combine them in all of her series. Betty grew up on the South Side of Chicago and has a degree in Fine Art. Since College, she has studied everything from improv comedy to magic. She has had an assortment of professions, including volunteer farm worker picking fruit on a kibbutz tucked between Lebanon and Syria, nanny at a summer resort, waitress at a coffee house, telephone operator, office worker at the Writer’s Guild, public relations assistant at a firm with celebrity clients, and newsletter editor at a Waldorf school. She has written newspaper and magazine pieces, short stories, screenplays, and a middle-grade mystery, Stolen Treasure. She lives with her family and stash of yarn in Southern California. See BettyHechtman.com for more information, excerpts from all her books, and photos of all the projects of the patterns included in her books.
Felicity Koerber’s bean to bar chocolate shop on Galveston’s historic Strand is hosting the friends and family coming into town for her best friend Autumn’s wedding. As matron of honor, Felicity has a ton of tasks to complete – including making chocolates for the gift bags. She doesn’t have time to solve another murder. But when one of the bridesmaids becomes a prime suspect in the death of a visiting real estate agent, Felicity has to put her detecting skills to use again to keep the wedding plans from getting derailed.
Amber Royer writes the Chocoverse comic telenovela-style foodie-inspired space opera series and the Bean to Bar Mysteries. She is also the author of Story Like a Journalist: a Workbook for Novelists, which boils down her writing knowledge into an actionable plan involving over 100 worksheets to build a comprehensive story plan for your novel. She also teaches creative writing and is an author coach.
Katherine Brown is a wife, mom, Texas author, and unreformed bookaholic. From childhood, Katherine has devoured books for fun, for escape, for inspiration. As an author, it is Katherine’s goal to provide that same fun escape for others and encourage a love of reading in any age group. Clean cozy mysteries with sass and good Southern manners are her specialty, though recently Katherine has taken the jump into the steampunk world with a fun twist on Mary Poppins inspired characters. When not writing, Katherine enjoys weekly trips to the library with her toddler, teaching yoga workouts, and spending time with family.
CAROLYN ARNOLD is an internationally bestselling and award-winning author, as well as a speaker, teacher, and inspirational mentor. She has several continuing fiction series and has many published books. Her genre diversity offers readers police procedurals, hard-boiled and cozy mysteries, thrillers, and action adventures. Her crime fiction series have been praised by those in law enforcement as being accurate and entertaining. This led to her adopting the trademark: POLICE PROCEDURALS RESPECTED BY LAW ENFORCEMENT™.
Jen Collins Moore transports readers to Rome in the Roman Holiday Mysteries. Her short fiction has appeared in Mystery Weekly and Masthead: The Best New England Crime Stories. She is president of Sisters in Crime Chicagoland and a founding member of Sleuths and Sidekicks. A transplanted New Englander, she lives in Chicago with her husband and two boys.
