Light the Dark: A Carolina Moon Christmas Novella Read online

  You haven’t seen desperate until you’ve met Laura Berry, a career-oriented city slicker turned suburbanite housewife. Well-trained in the big-city commandment, “mind your own business,” Laura is persuaded by her spunky seventy-year-old neighbor, Babe, to check on another neighbor who hasn’t been seen in days. She finds Candace Flynn, wife of the infamous “Couch King,” dead, and at last has a reason to get up in the morning. Someone is determined to stop her from digging deeper into the death of her neighbor, but Laura is just as determined to figure out who is behind the death-by-poisoned-pork-rinds.

  Imperfect

  Since the death of her fiancé two years ago, novelist Morgan Blake’s life has been in a holding pattern. She has a major case of writer’s block, and a book signing in the mountain town of Perfect sounds as perfect as its name. Her trip takes a wrong turn when she’s involved in a hit-and-run: She hit a man, and he ran from the scene. Before fleeing, he mouthed the word “Help.” First she must find him. In Perfect, she finds a small town that offers all she ever wanted. But is something sinister going on behind its cheery exterior? Was she invited as a guest of honor simply to do a book signing? Or was she lured to town for another purpose—a deadly purpose?

  The Gabby St. Claire Diaries:

  a tween mystery series

  The Curtain Call Caper (Book 1)

  Is a ghost haunting the Oceanside Middle School auditorium? What else could explain the disasters surrounding the play—everything from missing scripts to a falling spotlight and damaged props? Seventh-grader Gabby St. Claire has dreamed about being part of her school’s musical, but a series of unfortunate events threatens to shut down the production. While trying to uncover the culprit and save her fifteen minutes of fame, she also has to manage impossible teachers, cliques, her dysfunctional family, and a secret she can’t tell even her best friend. Will Gabby figure out who or what is sabotaging the show . . . or will it be curtains for her and the rest of the cast?

  The Disappearing Dog Dilemma (Book 2)

  Why are dogs disappearing around town? When two friends ask seventh-grader Gabby St. Claire for her help in finding their missing canines, Gabby decides to unleash her sleuthing skills to sniff out whoever is behind the act. But time management and relationships get tricky as worrisome weather, a part-time job, and a new crush interfere with Gabby’s investigation. Will her determination crack the case? Or will shadowy villains, a penchant for overcommitting, and even her own heart put her in the doghouse?

  The Bungled Bike Burglaries (Book 3)

  Stolen bikes and a long-forgotten time capsule leave one amateur sleuth baffled and busy. Seventh-grader Gabby St. Claire is determined to bring a bike burglar to justice—and not just because mean girl Donabell Bullock is strong-arming her. But each new clue brings its own set of trouble. As if that’s not enough, Gabby finds evidence of a decades-old murder within the contents of the time capsule, but no one seems to take her seriously. As her investigation heats up, will Gabby’s knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong people crack the case? Or will it prove hazardous to her health?

  Complete Book List:

  Squeaky Clean Mysteries:

  #1 Hazardous Duty

  #2 Suspicious Minds

  #2.5 It Came Upon a Midnight Crime (a novella)

  #3 Organized Grime

  #4 Dirty Deeds

  #5 The Scum of All Fears

  #6 To Love, Honor, and Perish

  #7 Mucky Streak

  #8 Foul Play

  #9 Broom and Gloom

  #10 Dust and Obey

  #11 Thrill Squeaker

  #11.5 Swept Away (a novella)

  #12 Cunning Attractions

  Squeaky Clean Companion Novella:

  While You Were Sweeping

  The Sierra Files:

  #1 Pounced

  #2 Hunted

  #2.5 Pranced (a Christmas novella)

  #3 Rattled

  #4 Caged (coming soon)

  The Gabby St. Claire Diaries (a Tween Mystery series):

  #1 The Curtain Call Caper

  #2 The Disappearing Dog Dilemma

  #3 The Bungled Bike Burglaries

  Holly Anna Paladin Mysteries:

  #1 Random Acts of Murder

  #2 Random Acts of Deceit

  #3 Random Acts of Malice

  #3.5 Random Acts of Scrooge

  #4 Random Acts of Greed

  #5 Random Acts of Fraud (coming soon)

  Carolina Moon Series:

  Home Before Dark

  Gone By Dark

  Wait Until Dark

  Light the Dark (a novella)

  Suburban Sleuth Mysteries:

  #1 Death of the Couch Potato’s Wife

  Standalone Romantic-Suspense:

  Keeping Guard

  The Last Target

  Race Against Time

  Ricochet

  Key Witness

  Lifeline

  High-Stakes Holiday Reunion

  Desperate Measures

  Hidden Agenda

  Mountain Hideaway

  Dark Harbor

  Shadow of Suspicion (coming soon)

  Cape Thomas Series:

  Dubiosity

  Disillusioned

  Distorted (coming in 2017)

  Standalone Romantic Mystery:

  The Good Girl

  Suspense:

  Imperfect

  Nonfiction:

  Changed: True Stories of Finding God through Christian Music

  The Novel in Me: The Beginner’s Guide to Writing and Publishing a Novel

  About the Author

  USA Today has called Christy Barritt's books “scary, funny, passionate, and quirky.”

  Christy writes both mystery and romantic suspense novels that are clean with underlying messages of faith. Her books have won the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Suspense and Mystery, have been twice nominated for the Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award, and have finaled for both a Carol Award and Foreword Magazine’s Book of the Year.

  She is married to her Prince Charming, a man who thinks she’s hilarious—but only when she's not trying to be. Christy is a self-proclaimed klutz, an avid music lover who’s known for spontaneously bursting into song, and a road trip aficionado.

  When she's not working or spending time with her family, she enjoys singing, playing the guitar, and exploring small, unsuspecting towns where people have no idea how accident-prone she is.

  Find Christy online at:

  www.christybarritt.com

  www.facebook.com/christybarritt

  www.twitter.com/cbarritt

  Sign up for Christy’s newsletter to get information on all of her latest releases here: www.christybarritt.com/newsletter-sign-up/

  If you enjoyed this book, please consider leaving a review.