Find out the latest indie author news. For FREE.

ADVERTISEMENT

Formats
Ebook Details
  • 11/2024
  • 9781956270075 B0DHTK92M2
  • 427 pages
  • $6.99
Paperback Details
  • 11/2024
  • 9781956270112
  • 427 pages
  • $19.99
Hardcover Details
  • 11/2024
  • 9781956270129
  • 427 pages
  • $31.99
Audio Details
  • 01/2025
  • 9781956270136
  • 427 pages
  • $17.99
Kathleen Bailey
Author
When the Carnival Came
A mysterious murder at an abandoned military base. A carnival has rolled into town. The shocking connection forces her to choose between a dear friend and her new love. Spring is blooming in Apple Station, Virginia, and Olivia Penn's new romance is heating up. With love in the air and the carnival in town, life seems picture-perfect—until a stranger arrives at her door with carnations and a cryptic message for her friend. When Olivia follows the trail and finds her friend standing over a dead body, she discovers there’s more to the carnival than just fun and games. Compelled to keep an impossible secret from both her new love and the police, Olivia is recruited to go undercover and investigate who among the quirky carnival crew had a motive for murder. In a race to protect her friend and solve the crime, she must trust a man she never expected to see again. Together, they execute a daring plan to bring a killer to justice and save the lives of thirty very precious, valuable feathered friends. With the killer on the verge of vanishing without a trace, justice—and her life—hinge on quick thinking and a bold move. Will she and her new love survive to see another day? When the Carnival Came is the fourth book in the award-winning The Olivia Penn Mystery Series. When the Carnival Came is a small-town, cozy mystery brimming with heart and humor, featuring a charming cast of characters and a fast-paced, twisty plot. Action-packed and full of suspense, this clean, cozy thrill ride will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Reviews
Bailey's Olivia Penn Mystery series returns full force with a fourth installment blending small-town charm with high-stakes crime fueled by themes of love and betrayal. At the start, this entry finds advice columnist Olivia sharing a tender moment with her detective boyfriend, Preston, while reflecting on her traumatic past and anticipating two exciting arrivals to Apple Station, Virginia: her father and a carnival. Peace is short-lived, though, as on a routine plant-watering visit to the home of her out-of-town friend Sam, she discovers a pair of mysterious phones stashed in a drawer, one of them ringing. Then, the discovery of a dead carnival worker pushes Olivia back into the role of amateur sleuth—and into the uncomfortable position of keeping a secret.

As always, Bailey offers both small-town charm and smoothly escalating tension as Olivia faces a menacing stranger, a cryptic message, and a request to keep Preston in the dark about key events. The mystery will test Olivia’s new relationship as she goes undercover, pretending to write a feel-good piece on carnival life but actually trying to crack the nostalgic facade of Klein Amusements to expose a sordid truth. Tenacious and engaging as always, Olivia must work with sharply drawn tech-savvy friends, newspaper editors, and carnival workers, all while walking a tightrope between her truths and lies.

The high-stakes plot pits an ordinary columnist against a criminal organization with tendrils up and down the east coast, but Olivia's investigative work remains both credible and entertaining, revealing surprises about carnival life, the business of exotic animals, and more. Bailey's writing radiates compassion: "Everybody thinks we're a bunch of dirty carnies,” declares carnival lifer Aunt Bea. “But the people who work here are family.” That encapsulates Bailey's resistance to caricature, though she never lets her warm humanity come at the expense of danger and surprise—or this entry’s pointed moral indictment of exploitation and how justice gets easily trampled in favor of money and power.

Takeaway: Small-town columnist uncovers deadly carnival secrets in memorable mystery.

Comparable Titles: Dianne Scott’s Final Look, Patricia McLinn’s Caught Dead in Wyoming series.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A

Formats
Ebook Details
  • 11/2024
  • 9781956270075 B0DHTK92M2
  • 427 pages
  • $6.99
Paperback Details
  • 11/2024
  • 9781956270112
  • 427 pages
  • $19.99
Hardcover Details
  • 11/2024
  • 9781956270129
  • 427 pages
  • $31.99
Audio Details
  • 01/2025
  • 9781956270136
  • 427 pages
  • $17.99
ADVERTISEMENT

Loading...