Overview

Three women, grieving the loss of loved ones, are guests in a charming bed and breakfast inn in Lily Dale, a historic spiritualist community in upstate New York.

Tree Haven is owned by an eccentric ninety-year-old former actress who adores animals, bakes delicious lemon butter cookies, and entertains her guests with colorful stories of her days in theater. Shortly after the women’s arrival, a series of horrific murders befall the scenic lakeside community.

The Victims

The victims are an aging astrologer named Lady Moon; a woman who believes she is the reincarnated soul of Madame Petrona Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society; and a nonagenarian who communes with trees and animal spirits.

The Investigation

Inspectors Robert McLeod and Tara Flanagan are in charge of the investigation, but shortly after learning that his old friends, semi-retired inspector Pequod Dyxx and his clairvoyant wife Evangeline, are in town, McLeod persuades them to help with the case.

The Suspects

The suspects include a drifter who believes he is a messenger of God; a priest who terrorizes altar boys and condemns psychics as satanic; blind twin brothers who are members of a self-mortification group; and an unscrupulous real estate man who wants to build a development in the town’s center.

The Book

The Long Road Home is a philosophical mystery that is suspenseful, thought-provoking, and satiric from start to finish, featuring multiple plots and unconventional characters.