Josh Aterovis

“Killian, are you okay?” Judy called. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied. I’d almost forgotten she was there. A trickle of sweat dropped into my eye and I swiped at it, then wiped my hand on my shorts. Now that I knew I was in a graveyard, I looked for the headstone. I spotted it a few feet away, not far from the statue I’d been so intent on. I moved closer and pulled the vines away. The top of the marker was dome-shaped, with a relief carving of a ship at full sail in a circle. The insc

The beach house stays.

Thank you!

I think a lot of us have more patience for our loved ones than ourselves. Or maybe that's just me...

All will be revealed! This is a short one, more of a novella, with five chapters (and an epilogue). Judy plays a major role. Micah does as well. I don't believe Jake shows up in this story, but he is central to the next book, The Truth of Yesterday.

Thank you!

Or will he??

You'll find out who is in the cemetery... And Killian has gotten much more cautious since his fender bender!

Are you volunteering for the job? Or should we leave that to Micah? And thank you for reading! And commenting!! I do not take that for granted, and it is much appreciated. And you are correct, this mystery is very much of the supernatural variety.

Mine too! Which is why I kept it in here with the rewrite. I just adore it.

And, you are correct!

Too true!

“Where do you want this?” I asked. “I’m a little busy here, Killian.” Steve said around a nail he was holding in his mouth. He was on a ladder in the parlor, carefully measuring to find the exact center of the wall over the fireplace. “You should ask Adam or Judy, anyway. I’m just doing what they tell me.” I put down the heavy wooden side table I was carrying. “What’s going there?” “Amalie’s portrait. I thought she deserved a place of honor.” “You already named the place afte

When Killian Kendall helps his family prepare a historic mansion for its new life as a bed-and-breakfast, he expects dust, paint, and sore muscles—not the chilling cries of an unseen infant or the mournful gaze of a ghost. Drawn into the tragic past of Amalie Marnien, the sea captain’s young wife who died more than a century ago, Killian must face the unsettling truth about his own supernatural gifts and uncover the secrets buried within the house’s walls. In the Angels’ Keeping is a haunting journey where the past refuses to rest until its story is told.

The music will return. It's what sustains us through the darkest of days.

I wouldn't count on him getting disciplined. They care more about keeping their funding than helping the kids. And Killian is in good hands with Novak.

Do cops ever get fired in the US? Seems to never matter how incompetent, corrupt or murderous they are... Killian and crew will return soon, Kane included!

Thank you! In the Angel's Keeping should start next week as long as life doesn't get in the way. (I'm in the middle of buying a house, plus I have a show opening in two weeks, plus a huge work event the week after that, so I have a lot of plates spinning currently...)

Thank you for the reminder! I just did. And thank for you reading and being such an important part of our Armchair Detectives Club! I appreciate you!

“I’ll get it,” I announced when the doorbell chimed. “No, you stay there,” Adam ordered, jumping to his feet. “I’ll go.” “Adam! For God’s sake, I’m not an invalid. I’ve been home for six days and I feel fine. I think I can open the front door.” “The doctor said seven days,” he insisted stubbornly, although he did sit down. I threw him a grateful smile as I escaped from the room to answer the door. I was beginning to feel like a prisoner. After a night of observation, the

They'd rather spend that money on military occupations of American cities and bombs to kill brown kids.

Always! The Killian series is no longer in print. It's a very long story, but I've had terrible luck with publishers over the years (I'm on my seventh publisher in 25 years), and when the last one went out of business, I found no one wanted to pick up a 25-year old series that was six books in. I considered self-publishing them (and still might), but decided to put them out there for free first, just to reconnect with readers. I'm also still exploring alternatives, like a Patreon or Ko-Fi model. I have a Ko-Fi if anyone would like to make a donation to sustain my writing, but I haven't taken the time to build a sustainable, level-based model yet. That may be coming...

This is all sadly far too true, far too often. The system is stretched thin with too little funding and too much corruption. The caseworkers out in the field are underpaid with too many cases to really give any of them the attention they deserve. This is a story you hear over and over. Even the ones who still care, who haven't had their compassion beaten out of them yet, just don't have the resources to do these kids justice. And yeah, I've heard very few positive stories about the group homes. It's rampant with abuse and neglect. I'm sure there are good ones, but they seem to be few and far between. A sad reality, especially in a country that likes to claim they care so much about the unborn, but then stop caring entirely once they are born. I could go on, but I'll leave the soapbox for someone else.

The aunt and the mother were just herrings of the reddest hue. The aunt lied in an effort to protect her beloved niece, and Rachel ran (and tried to lie) because she's spineless but has been living with the guilt of abandoning her child for a long time, and was not ready to be confronted with the realities of what she caused. Micah will be okay. I promise.

Killian does have a one-track mind when it comes to catching the killer, often to the detriment of his own safety. Not sure he ever fully outgrows that. LOL At 18, he'd still be on his Mom's insurance, I assume, since Adam has never legally adopted him. Serious answer for a joke comment. 🤣 As @Philippe notes below, Caleb was getting beat up at the group home. They just didn't believe him. A lot of systems and people failed Caleb. He's a psychopath, almost certainly, but was he born one or made one? I think of him as a bit of a tragic villain. This book was inspired by a real story I read in the news many years ago about an abused kid snapping and killing his family. It was really sad and I couldn't get it out of my head. And All Lost Things was born. Finn is just a weirdo. 😆