HOMEPLACE by Rickie Zayne Ashby

CLAIRE CONSIDERS Stacey Horan’s “Old City Mysteries” Beguiling Series

Podcaster and award-winning YA author Stacey Horan has added something new to her talent-latent repertoire with her three-book series of captivating “Old City Mysteries.” These well-written books—"A Place for Good and Evil (2024);” “City of Innocent Monsters (2024);” and “There Will Be Pirates” (2025)—spin beguiling tales that are just flat-out, plain fun to read. Set in St. Augustine, Florida’s oldest city (actually the oldest city in the entire USA), the novels brim with atmosphere, charm, suspense, remarkable characters, and, of course, danger and mystery. It’s a tribute to Stacey’s talent that the novels manage to be chilling and charming at the same time.

They also have something special—an endearing teenager named Leo Roberts, who can communicate with the spirits of the dead. That he sees and can communicate with spirits often terrifies him. Yet, as the series develops, he learns to better handle this phenomenon and comes to accept it as a kind of gift.

Leo is 15 years old, so it’s a bit redundant to say he is moody and often confused. However, he is also smart, sweet-natured, and a good guy. In book one (A Place for Good and Evil), Leo’s mother abandons him with his grandfather during a sweltering St. Augustine summer, after his father dies. The whys and wherefores of the father’s death are not initially revealed but become a central focus of City of Innocent Monsters.

One of Leo’s great blessings in being dumped in St. Augustine is his grandfather, Burt Roberts. Burt is not some doddering old curmudgeon but rather a lively, fully engaged, and astoundingly wise elder gentleman who restores old homes and plays in a rock band called Recent Geezers. Burt also understands that both his tenant, Sidney Stone, and Leo need help. As Sidney is a fledgling private eye, Burt engineers a partnership between her and Leo, which both resent at first. Yet, despite a rocky beginning, they might just be what the other needs.

Sidney’s central role in the three books is cemented early when she further develops her private eye business from the garage apartment she rents from Burt. Sidney is a mess when readers first meet her—she doesn’t shower often enough, dresses in messy yoga pants, and can be unfriendly. Turns out, she has a good reason, and one that compelled Burt to intervene. Sidney’s husband and her only child, a young daughter, were killed in a suspicious car accident. In her state of grief and depression, Sidney can hardly function. Though she does not accept the official finding of accidental deaths, she is too stunned and grief-stricken to act on her doubts. Enter Burt and Leo.

Thus, in “A Place for Good and Evil,” the ultimate mystery facing Leo and Sidney is what really happened to Sidney’s husband and child. While working as private eyes on another case, they stumble across random clues that support Sidney’s suspicions about the deaths. As clues and dangers ratchet upward, Leo must face his fear of spirits and confront the one spirit who really knows what happened.

Author Stacey Horan takes her time getting into the real mystery in “A Place for Good and Evil,” but this is a wise step. Instead of jumping right into the action—as she does in the subsequent two books—she spends some time establishing Leo, Burt, and Sidney as characters readers will want to spend three books with. This strategy works wonderfully well to enhance the stories that follow.

In “City of Innocent Monsters,” a prestigious country club hires Sidney and Leo to conduct surveillance when the club’s board of directors suspects vandalism and other misdeeds on its golf course. On their first night on the job, Sidney and Leo hear a desperate scream, but they find nothing. The next day, however, a woman walking her dog finds the body of a young man submerged in the waterways around the golf course. He is half-eaten by the alligators that live in those waters.

Not long after the first body, a second body is found, also damaged by alligators. The two dead men are cousins, and one was a rising star of the PGA. Both have ties to a nefarious man who also threatens Sidney. At first, the alligators are blamed for the deaths, as the reptiles are a source of grave controversy within the community and give rise to the use of “innocent monsters” in the title. Autopsies soon provide a deeper level of mystery and foreboding.

In “There Will Be Pirates,” Sidney is now an established private eye, Leo still her faithful partner, and the novel jumps right into a case and the action. A client hires Sidney to find some missing jewels once belonging to a deceased woman. Seems simple enough. However, nothing at all is simple in this third book in the series. The case quickly becomes thorny, complex—and dangerous. Mafia, mysteries, a dead woman’s secrets, a city full of pirates living and dead, and murder soon spill out of the exciting pages of the novel.

The role of ghosts and spirits in these three books adds an entertaining richness to the plotlines, and they are woven into the stories in an entirely plausible manner. When asked if she believed in spirits and ghosts, author Stacey Horan answered: “I’m going to say yes, I believe, because I have had some experiences that I cannot explain. I also know some mediums and people who have a touch of the gift, and I know enough to know that I don’t have all of the answers. So, since there is so much that is unexplained in this world, I am willing to concede that ghosts and spirits are certainly a possibility, one I’m not willing to dismiss outright.”

Private Eye Sidney declares in City of Innocent Monsters that “ghosts are a lot like unruly first graders.” Hattie, a medium who is a strong supporting cast member, also explains the difference between ghosts and spirits. “Ghosts don’t play by the same rules as spirits. They are darker, especially the ones who like to haunt places. …”

Author Stacey does an excellent job of capturing the allure and mystery—and the gators, pirates, and history—of St. Augustine, as well she might as a resident of the area. She’s lived in St. Johns County, where St. Augustine is located, for ten years and is a long-time resident of the state of Florida. She was in kindergarten when she first came to live in Florida and went to school, college, and law school in the state. Stacey says she has “lived most of my life, on and off, in Florida, although not in the same town. I’ve lived in south, central, and north Florida, so I feel like I’ve seen and experienced quite a lot of the state.” Her knowledge of the state infuses her books with a strong sense of place and realism that makes the stories all the more enjoyable.

All in all, these are just delightful books—well plotted, gripping, and peopled with characters readers will wish to know. Even the spirits and ghosts have strong personalities! “A Place for Good and Evil” has been named a “Foreword Reviews’ INDIES Book of the Year Award” finalist, and no doubt other honors will soon follow this series. Hopefully, a fourth book will be forthcoming.

One last thing—it is best to read the three books in order, starting with “A Place for Good and Evil.” That promises no plot spoilers and a firm grip on the characters. Also, it is best to read all three for maximum reading pleasure.