Tail of the Dragon

Astrologer Julie Bonatti finds herself temping briefly for the law firm for which she worked in the past. Her former boss David Meyers needs someone to cover for his vacationing secretary and since several new bills have popped up in her life, Julia decides to take the job. In Tail of the Dragon by Connie di Marco, there's palpable tension in the office among the other employees, but disaster awaits in the form of a dead partner found in his office.

David is an astrology client of Julia's and when doing his chart recently she saw some difficult transits in it. A few days later when a second attorney is found dead, Julia worries the problems may be more down to earth. Julie learns that these two attorneys and another have received threatening letters. The only common denominator among them is a long-ago insurance case involving a fire at the Bank of San Francisco.

Still grieving over the death of her fiance, Julia learns that an elderly neighbor may have seen the car that hit Michael. When she finally is able to find the man, he has passed away, but his children have photos he had taken for the day of the accident. With high hopes, she reviews the photos, but they don't really show anything.

Meanwhile at the law office Julia tries to speak with the widows of the lawyers, but finds them to be indifferent to the deaths. As she tries to unravel the connection with the insurance case, she finds herself in a dangerous situation in this thrilling book.

An excellent adventure in the Julia Bonatti series.

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It's in the Stars

As an astrologer Julia Bonatti knows she should trust what she sees in the stars, but serving as a bridesmaid for her friend Geneva diverts her attention. In All Signs Point to Murder by Connie DiMarco, Julia is torn by her desire to assist her friend and keeping quiet. This has catastrophic consequences.

On the wedding day the bride's sister is missing. After the ceremony, Moira is found slightly drunk and injured from a fall down stairs. She claims there was something wrong with the drink but everyone knows Moira. She is a drama queen.

When the wedding planner Sally Stark is found unconscious on the dance floor during the reception, Julia knows her evening is not going to end early. She agrees to stay at the wedding venue in hopes of calming down her friend. 

The next morning she is awakened by the sound of gunshots. As

she springs out of bed dashing toward the sounds, she encounters other family members and witnesses the groom coming out of the garage. Rob says he shot an intruder, but when they enter the garage, they find Moira bleeding on the floor. He claims he heard whispering in the garage and that someone fired at him first.

Pulling all the pieces together Julia works through the stars and digs deeper into family secrets to find the killer. 

As always Connie di Marco has written a gem. The first in the series is The Madness of Mercury. Check out my review here.

For other books by Connie Di Marco (or as Connie Archer) click here. 

Murder, Mystery and Astrology

As if it is not difficult enough to make a living as a astrologer in San Francisco, it becomes more difficult when Julia Bonnati makes an enemy of Reverend Roy of the Prophet's Tabernacle. In The Madness of Mercury, A Zodiac Mystery by Connie di Marco, Julie's troubles begin when she answers a question in her AskZodia newspaper column and calls out false prophets and people who martyr themselves. 

Soon she is receiving threatening emails and phone hangups. When a demonstration breaks out in front of her home and a brick is thrown through her window, Julia fears she may have started something she cannot finish. She also believes there is a leak at the newspaper because the emails are coming to an account only her editor knows and her home address is a secret as well. To add to the mayhem, her friend Cheryl's shop, The Mystic Eye, is firebombed. Julia decides to take herself away from the fray for a few days. 

She has been reading charts for a client named Dorothy who has been dealing with her elderly aunts

Evandra and Eunice and her estranged husband. Dorothy asks Julia to arrange a seance for her aunt so they can try to contact her long dead relative. Before the seance Julia learns that Eunice and her caregiver Gudrun do not plan to attend the seance because Gudrun is a follower of Reverend Roy. This sets alarm bells ringing for Julia, especially after they discover Eunice and Gudrun missing.

Julia sets out to rescue Eunice before she signs over her property and money to the Reverend. What transpires is a hair raising plan to rescue Eunice at the Reverend's compound. 

This is the first book in The Zodiac Mystery series and I look forward to the next one.