The Spirits of South Drive, released May 20, 2023,  is the second in the Virginia Blythe Mysteries series. Like the first book, Virginia’s Ghost, it was inspired by my previous career working as an auction house appraiser and cataloguer in Toronto.  I brought other elements of my past into Spirits as well. For example, in portraying the classroom experience of the four ghostly artists, I drew upon my time as a young art student. I have treasured memories of the life drawing classes I took for two years at a community college as part of a graphic design program. We had an extraordinary teacher who had a gift for bringing out the best in her students. At home, I used to try to get a rise out of my parents by putting my drawings of the nude models we sketched in class on the fridge, but they refused to be shocked (which was so disappointing)! I pursued figure drawing in various groups well into my thirties, and then it seemed that life got too busy.

So aside from auction houses and art classes, what is The Spirits of South Drive all about? Do read on . . .

When antiques appraiser Virginia Blythe finds a murdered woman in the art studio of a gloomy mansion, she’s stunned to realize that she recognizes the victim. Who would have strangled eccentric but harmless Alice Aberfoyle, and why? Virginia’s boss, George Schlegel, and Detective Joe Hanratty are determined to find the killer, but the investigation is going nowhere.

Then Virginia meets a quartet of frustrated ghosts who attended an art class in the studio in 1928 and still gather there to this day. As one of them, Lillian Throckmorton, spins a mesmerizing tale of their time together, Virginia suspects that they hold the key to solving the murder. But getting to the truth is trickier than she ever imagined—and more dangerous too.

Set in posh Jazz Age Toronto, The Spirits of South Drive weaves together a taut present-day murder investigation with an unforgettable tragedy. It is the sequel to Virginia’s Ghost.

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The Spirits of South Drive is available as both a paperback and an e-book and can be found on the following sites: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indigo, and Kobo.

For all things related to both The Spirits of South Drive and Virginia’s Ghost, please see my Facebook author page.