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The Connor Hawthorne Mystery Series by Lauren Maddison
One of our absolute favorite authors is Lauren Maddison, creator of the Connor Hawthorne mystery series. This series, while indeed a true mystery series, also delves into the supernatural and mystical. Maddison's main character is Connor Hawthorne, former district attorney turned best-selling mystery novelist. Connor is surrounded by a bevy of well-rounded, eccentric characters, from her powerful and mysterious father who operates officially under a presidential advisor title, and Laura Nez, the Native American woman hired to protect her, to best buddy, D.C. cop Malcolm Jefferson, and her mystical and enchanting Grandmother who just happens to have gifts Connor can only imagine. One thing we love about Maddison's books is that they are fairly robust in length, which makes for an enjoyable read that lasts awhile. Here's a quick synopsis of three in the series:

Witchfire: No one knows what the grave robbers were looking for when they violated the grave of Connor Hawthorne's recently deceased grandmother, Gwendolyn. Whatever it was, they didn't find it, but they died trying. Two corpses and a casket full of stones are all that Connor has to go on as she leaves her home in Santa Fe,N.M. for Glastonbury, England, with Laura Nez, the courageous Navajo guide who saved her life in the high desert of New Mexico at the end of Deceptions, the first Connor Hawthorne Mystery. But Connor, an ex-district attorney turned crime novelist who is no stranger to mystery and danger, is scant prepared for the family secrets that come tumbling out of the past and threaten to engulf not only her, but everyone she loves. From modern England to the mists of ancient Avalon, Witchfire weaves a thoroughly contemporary tale of murder and danger tied to an ancient and powerful secret. As she did in Deceptions, Lauren Maddison once again blends thriller fiction with mythology and lets it build to a heart-pounding conclusion. Connor Hawthorne will face her ultimate enemy, and the outcome will require more than gunplay.

Epitaph for an Angel: Connor Hawthorne and Laura Nez travel to Boston to attend the funeral of Catherine Pettigrew, the mother of Connor's college friend and former lover, Grace. Before the funeral, Grace reveals to Connor that she is troubled over the manner of her mother's death, and Grace's concern is made graver by the sudden appearance of a sibling she never knew she had. Even worse, the mysterious -sibling appears to have inherited the lion's share of Catherine's sizable estate. Connor's attention, however, is diverted by the presence of her own mother, Amanda, with whom Connor has not spoken in years. Matters take a horrifying turn when the limousine carrying Amanda and Grace's aunt, Florence Earnhardt, is forced off the Fore River Bridge and plunges into the water, killing all the occupants. Joining forces to investigate the deaths of Catherine, Florence, and Amanda is the stalwart cast from the previous Connor Hawthorne mysteries, including Connor's father, Benjamin; FBI agent Ayalla Franklin; and Washington, D.C., police captain Malcolm Jefferson. Their investigation uncovers a Pettigrew family conspiracy dating from 17th-century America through Hitler's Third Reich into present day. What is the nature of the special gift of the Pettigrew family, and will Grace use it for good or for evil?

The Eleventh Hour: Connor Hawthorne and her lover, Laura Nez, are enjoying a quiet weekend at a women's resort in Palm Springs, but a poolside conversation soon has them neck-deep in a mystery with global ramifications. Soon, they are in England investigating a healer named Sister Sonia, who is toying with forces about which she has little understanding, which could have disastrous consequences. Then Connor's daughter, Katy, against her mother's wishes, goes undercover to investigate Sister Sonia and disappears.

Lauren Maddison is the author of four previous Connor Hawthorne mysteries: Deceptions, Witchfire, Death by Prophecy, and Epitaph for an Angel. She makes her home in Southern California.

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