VanIsle Mysteries                                 

Lost and Foundling 101

Abandoned as a young child, Jodie Crooke grew up with unanswered questions that blossomed into a lifelong love of mysteries. Now a criminology professor with a freshly minted private investigator’s certificate and an unusual ability to see people’s auras, Jodie is more than ready for a little sleuthing on the side.

Her first case leaves her unpaid and deflated, sending her back to her day job. That changes when celebrated author and visiting professor Annabelle Keitch brings Jodie an old newspaper clipping about a marina explosion. Jodie is stunned to discover it’s dated the very day she was found abandoned. Suddenly, the past she never knew is calling her name… and her framed P.I. certificate goes back up on the wall.

Curiosity leads Jodie down a twisting trail of long-buried secrets and suspicious coincidences. But as she digs deeper, it becomes clear that someone else is keeping tabs on her progress, and they’d very much prefer this mystery remain unsolved.
With her keen mind and a determination she can’t ignore, Jodie sets out to uncover the truth about where she came from… before the past catches up with her.

Knife Skills 102

For criminology professor and private investigator Jodie Crooke, a relaxing getaway is never just a getaway.

Dragged to a couple’s cooking camp by her well-meaning partner, Josh, Jodie hopes for little more than decent food and a quiet getaway. Instead, she finds herself sharing spatulas with hosts whose cheerful, free-spirited act barely disguises a marriage on the brink. By the second day, the tension reaches a rolling boil… and ends in murder.

When the police step in, Jodie can’t help inserting herself into the investigation. Soon, she enlists her favourite unconventional ally: a sharp-witted mystery writer who happens to be imprisoned and terminally bored. Their unofficial collaboration marks the beginning of a partnership as unlikely as it is effective.

As secrets spill and loyalties blur, the case turns into a tangled web of infidelity, where a love triangle may actually be a square. With suspects multiplying and tempers flaring, Jodie’s unique ability to read auras proves more useful than ever. But someone is watching her a little too closely, and they’re determined to keep their recipe for murder a secret.

Strain Theory 103

Private investigator Jodie Crooke should be focusing on lesson plans and wedding favours, not murder.

Back at the university and deep in preparations for her mother’s wedding, Jodie is already juggling academic duties and an influx of opinionated relatives. Long-buried family tensions resurface as guests arrive from near and far, turning what should be a joyful celebration into an emotional minefield.

Then disaster strikes. During the wedding rehearsal, a family member is found dead, and the festivities come to a screeching halt. Was it a terrible accident, or did someone decide that this wedding should never happen? With jealousy, resentment, and old grudges simmering beneath the surface, nearly everyone has a motive.

Determined to uncover the truth, Jodie dives into the investigation, enlisting the help of her sharp-tongued, incarcerated mystery-writer ally. As clues twist and tempers flare, Jodie must balance family loyalties, her partner Josh, professional obligations, and a case that refuses to behave.

With time running short and the wedding day fast approaching, Jodie teams up with the police to untangle a mystery full of surprises… before another secret threatens to ruin more than just the

Past Lives and Repercussions 104

Criminology professor and part-time private investigator Jodie Crooke is more than ready for her next case. So when a friend drags her to a past-life regression session “for fun,” Jodie figures she has nothing to lose… until she finds herself vividly connected to a teenage girl from the 1930s. Things grow even stranger when, during a house viewing with her real estate agent, Jodie glimpses the very same apparition. Suddenly, curiosity turns to concern, and “fun” quietly exits the room.

Digging deeper, Jodie uncovers a long-buried crime hidden behind the house’s polished façade, and a respected family determined to keep its past firmly locked away. As old secrets claw their way into the present, a once-forgotten case heats up, tensions rise, and danger follows close behind.

Relying on her sharp instincts, growing aura-vision ability, and the help of her ever-resourceful mystery-writer ally, Annabelle Keitch, Jodie must untangle the truth before history repeats itself. She quickly learns that some warnings from the past don’t fade… they get louder.