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Something Old, Something New, Someone Buried in the Briny Blue

Imogene Lynch, mortician-in-training, is ready to marry the man of her dreams. But wedding planning takes a grim turn when she and her grandmother find their planner dead on the floor. A failed attempt at CPR makes the cause of death clear, and Imogene’s unlucky brush with the woman’s hair means she’s picked up another ghostly hitchhiker.

Suddenly, she’s compelled to turn funerals into weddings and play matchmaker for anyone with a pulse and even some without one. As if that isn’t disruptive enough, she’s still haunted by her last spirit, a displaced pet psychic, who shows up every time she looks in a mirror. How is a bride supposed to perfect her updo when the afterlife won’t leave her alone?

The only way to banish the willful wedding planner is to solve her murder. The only way to clear the psychic from her reflection is to track down her missing skull and bury it properly. With a killer on the loose, a skull to find, burials at sea to attend, and the dangerous Lazerite cult closing in, Imogene has to pull off the ultimate balancing act: catch the culprit, lay spirits to rest, dodge the deadly sect, and find the perfect wedding venue—all before someone else ends up in the briny deep.

For fans of reluctant heroes, ghostly mysteries, and murder with a side of dark humor.

 

book cover, paneled wood door with small window splashed by waves against a dark gloomy sky

Welcome to Murders Under the Sun, a podcast that takes a trip to the dark side of sunny Southern California. I’m Molly Shure, your host.

Our journey begins on the stunning cliffs of Laguna Beach, the bright sun shining on the turquoise water below. But this idyllic setting quickly becomes a nightmare for real estate agent Gwen Bishop. 

She has just landed her dream listing, a multimillion-dollar beachfront property. The home has a dark past, however. Three months ago, another agent was found dead in one of the upstairs bedrooms.

Gwen believes the unsolved murder was random. When unsettling things occur, she tells herself the menace she feels is her imagination. When even stranger things happen—things that throw a wrench in her plans to get the home on the market—she brushes off the icy dread creeping through her. 

The house itself couldn’t be evil…could it? 

Gwen’s story is the first of seven linked by an almost invisible thread across five years. A thread I noticed while working as a crime journalist. In Season One, I pull that thread to see what unravels. 

Travel with me to The Cliff House to learn what lay beyond its door.

(Portions of this story previously appeared in A Margin of Lust by Greta Boris.)

book cover, weathered blue paneled door with christmas wreath splashed by waves against a dark gloomy sky

Welcome to Murders Under the Sun, a podcast that pulls back the curtain on the dark side of sunny Southern California. I’m Molly Shure, and last March, I stumbled upon a chilling pattern—seven crimes, all linked, but their connection buried in the shadows. Each season, we’ll peel back the layers of one case, exposing secrets no one was meant to find. 

A white Christmas. A cozy cabin. The perfect family getaway—until it turns into a nightmare.

Fiona is eager to join her husband and almost four-year-old at a remote Big Bear cabin for the holidays. But when her half-brother—the infamous Real Estate Killer—escapes prison, she stays behind, gun in hand. He’s coming for her, and she won’t risk leading him to her son.

Meanwhile, Devon faces a chilling dilemma. A stranger appears at the cabin door, pleading for shelter from the blizzard. He’s taught his son about stranger danger—but how can he leave a man stranded in the cold? Too late, he realizes he’s let a monster inside.

Snow falls. The storm rages. And a family’s worst nightmare unfolds. Fiona and Devon must both fight to protect their son. But how can they, when they don’t know the other is in danger?

Step inside The Cabin—where survival is the only option.

Ruby-red lips. Long black hair. Why did this corpse look suspiciously familiar?

Imogene knows exactly where she’s seen that face: staring back at her from the Rusty Scupper’s bathroom mirror. What she didn’t realize at the time? The woman was already dead.

Ghosts have made Imogene sad, mad, itchy, tipsy, and once, a compulsive shoplifter. But seeing them? That’s a new one—unless you count that one Christmas Eve, which she doesn’t. Now, it seems mirrors have turned into portals to an alternate reality.

To make matters worse, the dead woman was a pet psychic. Now every cat, dog, and squirrel has an opinion—and they’re all sharing it loudly in her head.

If Imogene wants her sanity—and her eyeliner—back, she’ll have to solve this murder. Preferably before the animals unionize.

For fans of reluctant heroes, ghostly mysteries, and murder with a side of dark humor.

She’ll be home for Christmas, but only in her nightmares.

On a stormy Christmas Eve, Imogene, mortician in training, finds herself alone and glum. The mortuary freezer is full, but her friends and family have left town and so has the festive spirit. After a near miss with a falling tree on the way home, she retreats to her apartment with her cat and a bottle of wine. 

Imogene drifts off to sleep only to be awakened by three ghosts. Two of them are familiar faces from her past; victims she helped find justice for. But the third is a stranger, and he arrives with a chilling proposition.

As the boundaries between dream and reality blur, Imogene must learn the lessons of her past and present to solve a dilemma in her future. Will she awaken on Christmas morning, or has she plunged into a neverending nightmare?

Perfect for fans of dark humor and holiday tales with a twist, O Hairy Night invites you to explore the eerie intersections of life, death, and redemption.

 

book cover, wrought iron garden gate between two stone pillars splashed by waves against a dark gloomy sky

Welcome to Season Two of Murders Under the Sun, a podcast that takes a trip to the dark side of sunny Southern California. I’m your host, Molly Shure.

We met Olivia Richards in Season One—a single mother struggling to care for her son after a terrible accident. She is determined to get Brian back to his pre-trauma self and create a new life for them. With a new job, a new boyfriend, and a new beginning, Olivia is finally starting to see the light of a new day.

But just as things seem to be looking up, a figure from her past resurfaces, threatening to destroy everything she’s worked for. As past and present collide, Olivia fights to save her son from the evil growing from seeds sown in the past.

Olivia's story is just one of seven interconnected tales that span five years. As a crime journalist, I've noticed a subtle link between these stories, and in Season One, I began to unravel the truth. But the deeper I dig, the more twisted and sinister the truth becomes.

 

Join me in discovering what lies beyond the gates of The Garden and who will pay the ultimate price for the sins of the past.

 

**Portions of this story previously appeared in The Scent of Wrath by Greta Boris**

 

book cover, old carved wooden door with two door knobs splashed by waves against a dark gloomy sky

Welcome to Murders Under the Sun, a podcast that pulls back the curtain on the dark side of sunny Southern California. I’m Molly Shure, and last March, I stumbled upon a chilling pattern—seven crimes, all linked, but their connection buried in the shadows. Each season, we’ll peel back the layers of one case, exposing secrets no one was meant to find. 

When Willow elopes with Jonathan, she’s ushered into a fairytale—a prince, a grand estate, a seemingly perfect life. But something is wrong at Sunset House. 

Jonathan’s bond with his twin sister unsettles her, and the family’s secrets whisper from empty rooms. Three deaths in three weeks push her from concern to fear. When she discovers a hidden journal filled with tales of abuse and captivity, the fear becomes terror. 

As the walls close in, Willow realizes she’s not part of the family—she’s prey. Trapped in a gilded cage, she must play the role of a lifetime to survive, protect her unborn child, and escape before she becomes the next tragedy.

Join me in Season Six and we’ll explore the dark halls of The Manor together.

book cover, old iron prison cell door splashed by waves against a dark gloomy sky

Welcome to Season Five of Murders Under the Sun, a podcast that takes a trip to the dark side of sunny Southern California. I’m your host, Molly Shure.

Honey Wells wanted her first hike of the year to change her life. Exercise, eat right, and reduce stress—it was all to start with a simple hike in Black Star Canyon. But her New Year’s resolution didn’t include finding a dead body half-buried in the mud.

Honey’s world unravels. Her brother-in-law has stolen her savings. Her business is struggling. And now she’s caught in a police investigation. As panic attacks begin to destroy her, Honey hires a new assistant, only to discover the woman may be the victim of an abusive cult. Meanwhile, threatening e-mails from her brother-in-law promise more trouble.

A bullet-riddled sign warns the uninvited to stay away from the cult compound in Black Star Canyon. But Honey Wells has questions, and she knows the answers are hiding at the end of the long road behind that locked gate.

Unlock The Keep to reveal its mysteries.

book cover, old iron door with knocker splashed by waves against a dark gloomy sky

Welcome to Season Four of Murders Under the Sun, a podcast that takes a trip to the dark side of sunny Southern California. I’m your host, Molly Shure.

The large house perched on the cliffs over the beach has tantalized Rosie Ring for years. It seemed a dream come true when a chance encounter resulted in landing a contract to decorate for the new owner.

But the dream quickly devolved into a nightmare of gruesome deaths, disturbing artwork, and red-soled shoes. Everyone close to Rosie is hiding something, and one of those secrets is murder.

Open the door to The Tower and take a step into the terror.

 

**Portions of this story previously appeared in The Color of Envy by Greta Boris**

 

 

book cover, weathered and beaten wooden door with padlock splashed by waves against a dark gloomy sky

Welcome to Season Three of Murders Under the Sun, a podcast that takes a trip to the dark side of sunny Southern California. I’m your host, Molly Shure.

A dying girl is dropped over the wall at the historic mission of San Juan Capistrano. In the dark and quiet night, Abby Travers is the only one to see it happen, yet she is powerless to help.

Trapped in the liminal space between research and publicity stunt, Abby is locked inside a hidden cell near the ruins of the Great Stone Church. When she finally escapes her self-imposed prison, she finds herself at the center of a mystery that threatens to demolish her life as surely as the 1812 earthquake demolished the mission’s cathedral.

That is the startling beginning of the third—and most bizarre—crime of the seven interconnected tales I began sharing in the first two seasons of the podcast.

 

Enter The Hiding Place with me now and we’ll explore its secrets together.