The Light Beside the Sea (A Zodiac Mystery)
Traditional Mystery
5th in Series
Setting – San Francisco, California
Publisher – CMA Literary (May 6, 2024)
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 341 pages

Synopsis

San Francisco astrologer Julia Bonatti has been haunted for years by the hit and run death of her fiancé, Michael Sefton. The driver of the vehicle was never apprehended. The lone witness to the accident spoke to no one and now is dead. Even the cold case detective assigned to the case died before any resolution was found. Every time Julia thought she might be getting close to an answer, each clue led only to a dead end.

Michael, a graduate student, had just returned from an archeological dig in Guatemala when he was killed. But why did he mail his journal to Julia for safekeeping before his return home? What was he afraid of? Why did another graduate student fall to his death on that trip? And now, another man connected with that journey has been murdered closer to home. And the murderer hasn’t finished.

When Julia finally finds the courage to delve into the journal Michael sent to her years before, she learns of the undercurrents, jealousies and anger between members of the group. She begins to understand the pressure and fear her fiancé was coping with and his suspicions of their University mentor who was most likely engaged in unethical and illegal behavior.
But events soon take a darker turn when Julia finds a likeness of the Maya god Hunhau, god of death and the underworld, on her doorstep. A strange man covered with markings and tattoos keeps appearing to her but no one else seems to see him. With guidance from another professor she’s introduced to a world she never knew existed.

Is the man she sees human? And is he under the sway of the Maya god of death?

Will he unleash evil or is he here to right a wrong done to his people?

Julia must move quickly or her death will be the next.

Amazon

Guest Post

The Mystical Ask Zodia

In the Zodiac Mysteries, my San Francisco astrologer, Julia Bonatti, has a private clientele that keeps her quite busy, but she also writes an astrological advice column for the Chronicle.  Julia’s column was a very handy device for launching this first story.  In fact, in this first book, The Madness of Mercury, it’s this very column that lands her in hot water with a megalomaniac preacher who controls a religious cult.

Now, I’ve posted about Julia’s Ask Zodia column before, but in light of more recent events, I think it’s worth a revisit.  Julia spends time in every book responding to questions sent by the desperate, the heartbroken, and the confused.  She keeps her true identity a secret because she prefers to stay out of the limelight, especially after becoming a target of dangerous people in the first book!

Here’s one example from Serpent’s Doom (Zodiac #4) of a query to Ask Zodia:

Dear Zodia,
I have been having an affair for the past eight months.  Problem is, I’m married and I’d like to stay that way.  The woman I’ve been seeing is now making more and more demands.  She’s very angry and I’m afraid she might confront my wife.  I love my wife but I don’t want to break off this affair.  I just can’t seem to decide.  What should I do?  What’s the best way to handle this?  I was born December 15, 1967 in New York City.
~ Torn in Two

And here’s Zodia’s answer to Torn in Two:

Dear Torn in Two,
You’re right to be worried.  Your lover is a Scorpio, someone should have warned you!  And your wife is a Capricorn, she’s long-suffering but not stupid.  I wish I could tell you that you’ll be able to work through this situation with no damage done, but things will be coming to a head soon.  Uranus by transit is approaching an opposition to your natal Venus and Pluto and Saturn are close to your wife’s Sun sign.  She may have had enough.  Make a decision or it will be made for you.  You might be able to save your marriage when the truth comes out, but no matter what, I highly recommend therapy to get at the cause of why you think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.  Good luck to you.
~ Zodia

Needless to say, I have a lot of fun dreaming up these questions and answers.  But in real life, if a big city newspaper publishes an astrological column it consists of a few sentences of advice for the week based on Sun signs.  However, Julia’s lucky.  Her hometown newspaper allows her what might be called a “Dear Abby” column.

Now, these Sun sign columns are fairly general.  They are created by placing a Sun sign, let’s say Gemini, on the Ascendant or first house cusp and making a prediction for the upcoming week based on the location of transiting planets in this “solar” chart.  In fact, if you’re lucky enough to know the zodiac sign on your Ascendant, you’re better off reading the prediction for that sign.  So, if you’re a Gemini and you’re born around midnight, then, the sign at your Ascendant is most likely Pisces.  That’s the snippet you should read to predict your upcoming week.

Once I had established Julia’s column in the series, I really never gave it further thought.  But one day I was in San Francisco at a street fair and picked up a free Chronicle newspaper.  What a surprise!  The Chronicle STILL publishes an astrological Sun sign column.  And it finally dawned on my mystery-addled brain that there was a REAL Ask Zodia.

His name is Christopher Renstrom!  Who is he?  I had to know more, so I went online and did what any good astrologer would do.  I consulted the Google.  And he was kind enough to respond.  When I explained that a wrote a mystery series featuring an astrological newspaper column, Christopher laughed.  He thought it was a hoot.  But not only that.  This very kind man agreed to offer a blurb for Serpent’s Doom, and I was beyond thrilled!

Connie di Marco’s twin loves of Astrology and the detective fiction genre are on full display in her latest installment of the Zodiac Mysteries: Serpent’s Doom. . . . It’s also a delight to see Astrology driving the plot forward rather than employed as a mere gimmick. This adds dimension and suspense to how the mystery plays out, and di Marco’s wonderfully cinematic prose keeps you turning the pages in increasing anticipation. ~ Christopher Renstrom, astrologer for the San Francisco Chronicle. SF Gate and Astrology Hub

Thank you again, Christopher!  I follow you on X/Twitter, on Facebook and anywhere you appear.

If you’d like to know a little more about this excellent astrologer and generous man, he’s the author of:  Ruling Planets-An Astrological Guide to Life’s Ups and Downs
The Cosmic Calendar-Using Astrology to Get in Sync with Your Best Life, and Rise and Shine-An Astrology Guide to How You Show Up in the World. 

You can find him at rulingplanets.com, X/Twitter @ruling planets, and Facebook too.

And he even kindly granted me permission to use his fabulous artwork for Sagittarius.

Don’t forget, Julia Bonatti is a Sagittarian!  Always ready for a new adventure!

About the Author

Connie di Marco is the author of the Zodiac Mysteries featuring San Francisco astrologer Julia Bonatti, a woman who never thought murder would be part of her practice.  The fifth book in this series, The Light Beside the Sea, has just been released.

Writing as Connie Archer, she is also the author of the national bestselling Soup Lover’s Mysteries from Berkley Prime Crime.  You can find her excerpts and recipes in The Cozy Cookbook and The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook.  Connie is a member of Mystery Writers of America, Crime Writers Association, International Thriller Writers and Sisters in Crime.

Blog * Facebook * X (Twitter) * Instagram * Goodreads

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