Clairvoyant and Present Danger - the third Bay Island Psychic Mystery

Nancy, Bess, and George....oops, wait...I mean, Cass, Bee, and Stephanie are back to solve yet another murder in the used-to-be quiet little town of Bay Island. Picking up this book was like reconnecting with old friends, and I literally smiled as I listened to the banter of the characters, and my heart melted when their relationships shined through the adversities thrown their way this time around. Author Lena Gregory has a magnificent way with words, and she knows how to bring her characters - ALL of them - to life in such a way that you get lost in their world and forget that it is just written words on a page.

Clairvoyant and Present Danger is the third Bay Island Psychic Mystery, and Gregory has certainly not lost any of her steam. It's springtime on Bay Island, and with the summer tourist season just around the corner, Cass's shop, along with all the other storefronts along the boardwalk, are gearing up for a busy time. Cass has already been having trouble sleeping, what with the voice that she keeps hearing crying out for help. But then a rather gruff man by the name of Artie Becker shows up and asks for her help.  (And yes, I too had to wonder if that name is a play on Corbin Bernsen's character from L.A. Law - Arnie Becker.)  His daughter has been missing, and the police are not accomplishing anything. A bit reluctant, Cass agrees to do a reading, but gets more than she bargained for when she starts to see the image of the woman she has been seeing in her dreams - is that his daughter? Did something happen to her?

Well, anyone who has read this series knows that Cass is going to fall into the middle of something, and sure enough, it's not long before she follows the vision of this woman out onto the sand dunes - where Beast (her oversized dog) brings her back a bone that he has dug up. A human bone. And thus starts Cass's latest foray into the world of murder and mystery. She tries to stay out of it, but the woman keeps appearing to her, crying out for help. And then Cass sees a portrait of the woman in the window display for the new art gallery on the boardwalk. It is the same woman with the old fashioned collared dress - but the painting has the woman wearing a necklace. The owner of the art gallery is somewhat reluctant to give her information on the painting, other than to tell her that someone posed for it and never came back to get it.

The mystery keeps the reader guessing, because there is so much going on around Cass that it is easy to get distracted. Stephanie seems to be having issues, but she doesn't want to talk about it. Luke and Cass have been finding it harder and harder to find time to spend together, and Cass is wondering if perhaps she needs to cut her losses while she can. Cass is also getting ready to open up the second floor of her shop for group readings. And Beast - dear, lovable, destructive Beast - has been causing more and more problems, and it's time that she get him into obedience school before someone really gets hurt. Oh, and then there's the small problem of the two gossip that has been spreading around that Cass led the police to the body because she saw a ghost that pointed her in that direction! And the fact that a second body was also found, not far from the first...

Cass really wants to stay out of it, but fate seems to have other plans. Arnie Becker pays her another visit, wanting to know more about the second body. And a young man comes into the shop wanting her to find a necklace for him - but when she steps away for a moment, she comes back to find him going through her appointment book. To make things stranger, when she begins to give him a reading, he becomes nervous and bolts out of there. Nothing makes sense, and the more she sees the ghostly visage of the mysterious woman, the more Cass realizes the only way she can get any peace is to figure out what's going on.

There is a lot of characterization for Cass, Stephanie, Bee, Luke, and Tank in this book, and that is part of the charm of this series. The more I get to know about these characters, the more I fall in love with them and want to know more. They have become like family, and it makes me long for more stories about them. The murder mystery this time is well-plotted, as there are several twists and turns, several red herrings, and a surprise confrontation at the end. Plus, I like the fact that Cass's psychic abilities have gone from merely intuition to actual "sightings" and more actual psychic powers - she's no longer Shawn from Psych, but a full-fledged Allison from Medium (so to speak).

Definitely looking forward to the next book!

RATING:  10 pieces of filmy blue lingerie out of 10 for keeping the mysteries unique and the characters developing, making each read a real treasure!