Tag Archives: Raemi A. Ray

June’s Hottest Whodunits: New Mystery Releases to Add to Your TBR

June 1, 2026 · Posted by Tule Publishing

GIVEAWAY: Because who doesn’t love FREE books?

We will pick ONE winner to receive a digital book copy of one of our June 2026 releases!

Comment down below saying which book you’re looking most forward to reading! Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY. The winner will be randomly selected and announced at the end of the month.

Good luck and happy reading!

Deadly Tides

By Raemi A. Ray

His buried past is the key to finding a killer, but it may destroy them first…

Kyra Gibson, former London lawyer turned columnist, is having a tough summer. Her partner, forensic profiler Tarek Collins, barely survived his last case. He’s home and healing but is a ghost of the man he was.

When the mutilated body of a local hero is discovered in a Martha’s Vineyard lighthouse, the island turns to Tarek and Kyra for help. With Tarek pulling back, Kyra attempts to assist in the investigation without him, working instead with a local police officer, but nothing goes right. Evidence is lost. Witnesses disappear. An arsonist sets a fire. Without Tar, Kyra’s in over her head but too stubborn to quit.

Everywhere she turns, she’s ensnared by corruption, lies, and secrets—even Tarek is hiding something. Then Kyra is attacked and taken, forcing Tarek to confront his dark past and worst fear.

In this gripping fifth installment of the Martha’s Vineyard Murders series, Tarek’s demons could make Kyra pay the ultimate price.

Murder at Millmerran House

By Raven Corbin

A crumbling mansion. A ghost seeking justice. A mystery that someone will kill to keep buried.

In the abandoned gothic town of Bitterport, Tasmania, Millmerran House has been waiting. When London hotelier Aiden Bellingan inherits the neglected Victorian estate, he discovers the renovation comes with a resident ghost — Elvira Brown silenced in 1945, and furious about it.

Interior designer Marielle McGregor knows she shouldn’t take the job. The mansion already claimed her father, who vanished while uncovering its wartime secrets. But Elvira is surprisingly helpful for a dead woman, and Aiden is surprisingly hard to resist.

As hidden passages reveal decades of betrayal, conspiracy, and stolen justice, Marielle and Aiden race to uncover the truth before the killer still protecting those secrets claims their next victims.

In Millmerran House, the past isn’t dead. It’s just waiting to be restored.

The Body in the Bath House

By Suzanne Gilchrist

A fresh start. A gruesome discovery. And a killer with a dangerous obsession.

Mercy Galanis needs a new beginning. Inheriting a crumbling historic bathhouse in the remote Tasmanian ghost town of Bitterport seems like the universe delivering. Until she gets there.

The weather is brutal. The town is barely breathing. The bathhouse is in ruins. And Mercy can’t shake the feeling that something — or someone — is watching her every move.

Then her dog unearths a mummified body, and Bitterport’s silence takes on a darker meaning.

Determined to uncover the dead man’s identity — and her own unsettling connection to him — Mercy reluctantly teams up with Zac Alexander, the infuriatingly capable single-dad plumber with renovation plans of his own and zero interest in complications. Mercy, apparently, is nothing but.

As they dig deeper into Bitterport’s buried past, someone determined to protect their secret at all cost decides they have come too close.

In Bitterport, the ground always gives up its dead. The question is whether you survive the discovery.

Spooky Season Reads: The Classics Raemi A. Ray Returns to Every Fall

October 30, 2025 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Hi Friends,

My name is Raemi, the author of the Martha’s Vineyard Murders, mysteries set on the wealthy playground island of Martha’s Vineyard. Fall is the perfect time of year for mysteries and thrillers and everything spooky and I’ve popped by the Tule Blog to a chat a bit about my favorite autumnal reads (and rereads).

Every year around this time I reread three books: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare. It’s a YA historical fiction about a young woman from Barbados who travels to pre-Revolutionary Connecticut and how she, a British loyalist, acclimates to life in Puritan New England. It’s eerie enough to be perfect for a cold afternoon with a fire, but also light enough for younger readers. It also has the most adorable romance between Kit, our main character and Nat a sailor. In a more frightening turn of events, this book about the beginning of the Revolutionary War is a banned book for promoting witchcraft, of which, ironically, there is none.

The next book on my list, and probably on every mystery lover’s list with good reason, is Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca. There isn’t a greater villain in modern literature than Mrs. Danvers. She’s absolutely vile. The original mean girl, she lays our narrator bare with just a look. I want to write a character so hateable. I also love how Manderley, the gothic mansion at the heart of the story, is a character in the book. Rebecca wouldn’t have the same feel if it wasn’t set on the sprawling estate tarnished by tragedy. Manderley is actually the inspiration for the Hawthorn’s farm featured in my books. Like Manderley, Mander Lane (not a coincidence) is a great house, but it’s not a home. It offers no comfort to its occupants and is a stark reminder of the evil that lurks on Martha’s Vineyard.

My final fall-reread, one I read every year, between Thanksgiving and Christmas, is Jane Eyre. I’ve probably read it thirty times by now. I love this book so much. I love Thornfield Hall, another dark mysterious house, hiding dark mysterious secrets. I love how the heroine has her happy ending, but it’s on her terms. It a time when women didn’t have much autonomy, Jane was always true to herself and her beliefs. Her story still resonates even today, 178 years later. All the women in Jane Eyre have fascinating stories. I desperately want someone to write a sequel telling Bertha’s. I’d love to get the details of her upbringing in Jamaica, her descent into madness, her imprisonment, and subsequent escape. I want to know what happens to her after the fire. In my mind, she sails back to the West Indies, maybe to Jamaica, maybe elsewhere. Who knows? And who wants to write it? I volunteer to beta read.

Of course, my fall TBR isn’t complete without a few new reads. I’m looking forward to two of my colleagues’ titles: John David’s new release, The Bystander and John Dingle’s Wings of Madness, releasing this November. I know they’ll both be fantastic and I can’t wait to dive in. So many books, so little time.

I hope I’ve inspired you to check out some classics, perhaps see the references to them in my series, and pick up a new spooky season read. Tell us what’s on your TBR. I’d love to know.

Happy reading and Happy Halloween!

Behind the Veil: Halloween Q&A with Raemi A. Ray

October 19, 2025 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Today on the blog, we’re thrilled to welcome mystery author Raemi A. Ray—author of the delightful Martha’s Vineyard Murders series. With Halloween in the air and fall in full swing, we sat down with Raemi to talk haunted houses, guilty-pleasure snacks (looking at you, candy corn), and what’s next in her chillingly clever book series. From cults to corruption, and yes—even bat skeletons for the fireplace—Raemi’s answers are as sharp and unexpected as one of her plot twists. Let’s dive in!

1. If your book were a Halloween movie, what would it be called?

“Murder Island” sounds like a slasher movie, but I’ve always like the cutesy portmanteau titles like “Halloweentown” so perhaps, “Halloweenland?” Maybe the characters join in on a costume parade or something?

2. What’s your go-to fall treat or spooky-season snack?

Candy corn, in the candy corn shape and original color/flavor. I know it’s disgusting and I feel awful when I eat them, but the heart wants what the heart wants. The candy pumpkins are an abomination.

3. What are you currently working on? What inspired you to write this series/book?

I’m finishing up edits on Book 5 of the Martha’s Vineyard Murders series and working on Book 6. Truthfully, it’s a dull story about market research. There was nothing inspiring about the overall concept of writing mystery novels set on Martha’s Vineyard. However, the individual murder mystery stories are all unique and the ideas came from different places,
but mostly real life: Book 1 is about Cape Wind, an offshore windmill project, Book 2 is inspired by the story of the Whydah Galley, Book 3 is loosely based on a merger and acquisition I worked on (it was so boring), Book 4 is based on the unsolved Martha’s Vineyard murder of Clara Smith, Book 5 is about police corruption, and Book 6 will be about a cult.

4. Which character in your series would survive a haunted house—and who wouldn’t make
it out?

Gully would survive a haunted house. He’s unflappable and takes everything in stride. I haven’t told Gully’s story, yet, but it’s in the back of my mind. Despite being Dean Winchester-coded, Tarek wouldn’t make it. He’s too cynical and logical. He’d refuse to believe in ghosts even as they sucked out his soul. He also doesn’t believe in souls.

5. What’s one fall tradition you or your main character never skip?

Neither me nor my main character are much for traditions, but I have an unconventional tradition-by- convenience, I suppose. In the fall, I go shopping. My house is decorated with skulls and skeletons, and this time of year I can buy bone-themed things everywhere. As such, each autumn I shop for new house stuff matching my spooky year-round décor. This year I need new wine glasses, and I want a bat skeleton for my fireplace mantle.

About the author

Raemi A. Ray is the author of the Martha’s Vineyard Murders series. Her travels to the island and around the world inspire her stories. She lives with her family in Boston.

Photo Credit: L.A. Brown

May Flowers, Mystery Releases, + a Giveaway!

May 1, 2025 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Happy May fellow sleuths! We have some wonderful titles for you this month and we can’t wait for you to get into them! Plus, a GIVEAWAY: Because who doesn’t love FREE books?

We will pick ONE winner to receive a digital book of their choice from the May mystery releases. Comment down below saying which book you’re looking most forward to reading! Giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY. The winner will be randomly selected and announced at the end of the month.

Good luck and happy reading!

Dead in the Ditch

By: J.C. Kenney

Wild animal removal specialist Elmo Simpson needs to act fast before the good people of Paradise Springs decide to remove him!

Halloween has arrived, and all is well in Elmo Simpson’s life until his beloved cat Oscar wanders off and doesn’t return. While searching for Oscar, Elmo discovers a body in a ditch. A body that turns out to be Elmo’s former arch-nemesis, a man who Elmo believes stole intellectual property from him worth millions.

When word gets out who the victim is, the town becomes convinced Elmo is the murderer, intent on taking revenge. With nowhere to turn and the reputation of his recently purchased Sea Breeze Resort on the line, Elmo takes it upon himself to figure out who the real killer is. All the while, trying to assemble the threads that connect a dark time in his past with the equally perilous present.

A Wedding and A Murder

By: Vickie Carroll

No one invited a murderer to this wedding, and yet …

The announcement sounded innocent enough: five romance writers have chosen Peachtree Valley for their annual gathering. One of the writers is Kirk’s aunt Lily, and as one of Helen Rogers’s newest investigators at the PI firm, he’s eager to show off his new job.

Helen and her fiancé, Ted Morgan, are eager to show guests a good time at their wedding.

But then someone shows their true stripes and murders one of the visiting writers, and police have no witnesses or clues to work with. It’s an investigator’s nightmare, but the Rogers, Adams, and Brown agency isn’t daunted by hard cases. Their deep dive into the publishing world uncovers jealousy, resentment, and a boatload of motives. Including clues that the killer has their sights on Aunt Lily next.

Can the team pool their talents one more time to save their lives and the wedding too? Or will Helen have to turn the page on this new chapter in her life?

Double-Edged Reckoning

By: Nicole Helm

She seeks the truth, not revenge…

As a teenager, Samantha Price helped bruised and bloody classmate Nate Bennet disappear after his father’s violent attack. Fifteen years later and now a private investigator, she hunts Nate down in Tennessee, needing his help. Her father’s been unjustly accused of a murder that looks tied to a past murder on the Bennet ranch. Sam’s convinced Nate is the key to prove her father’s innocence.

After an injury ended his army career in Special Forces, Nate’s life is at a crossroads. Going home to Marietta, Montana, was never an option until Sam finds him. He’s not convinced his mercurial father is the real murderer, but maybe it’s time to finally unearth the truth. He knows the prodigal son role will rip open bitter wounds, but it’s long past time to face all he left. Including his brothers. Will they protect their father or face the past when he and Sam come asking difficult questions?

As new evidence is unearthed, both Sam and the Bennets are forced to question their long-held beliefs and discover that nothing is what it seems.

Vanilla and Vendettas

By: Lisa Siefert

Stolen sparkling bling. A shocking murder. Will her single-minded sleuthing free her from a sour situation?

Pastry chef Ava Decker is delighted to prepare a special cupcake for her BFF’s surprise engagement. But after the diamond ring disappears from its sugary hiding place, the empty-handed baker is suddenly suspect number one. So when a witness comes forward to the cops, Ava eagerly tracks him down… only to stumble across his dead body.

With the police insisting she mind her own business and an unhelpful psychic more worried about Ava’s stalled love life than useful clues, the amateur snoop might have bitten off more than she can chew. But when she’s arrested for possession of a poached Aston Martin, she’ll need more than her is-he-or-isn’t-he boyfriend and her impulsive bestie to extract herself from the gooey mess.

Can she turn the tables on a thief-turned-killer before she’s baking cakes behind bars?

Blackmail and Kitty Tails

By: DeAnna Drake

A glamorous gala, a cursed dagger, and a killer on the loose—Rebecca Cuthbert and her talking cat, Aneksi, face their most dangerous mystery yet.

When Rebecca Cuthbert volunteered to help with the Citrus Grove Women’s Club gala, she envisioned a night filled with elegant silk drapes, Egyptian-themed decorations, and tasty hors d’oeuvres—certainly not murder. But then the lights flicker out during the party setup, and club president Deborah Ralston is found dead, stabbed with an ancient dagger.

With Aneksi purring by her side and a murder weapon steeped in legend, Rebecca must unravel a twisted web of secrets, blackmail, and bitter rivalries behind this sinister murder. Everyone from suspicious club members to scorned lovers is a suspect, and time is running out as Rebecca’s own antique shop becomes linked to the deadly artifact.

Can Rebecca and her cat corner the killer before tragedy slashes her world again?

A cozy mystery perfect for fans of charming small towns, clever cats, and amateur sleuths!

Final Exit

By: Raemi A. Ray

Careful what you wish for…

Winter has settled over the island of Martha’s Vineyard, and newspaper columnist Kyra Gibson is relieved when her partner, forensic profiler Tarek Collins, returns home. As a birthday surprise, she arranges a meet and greet with the hosts of his favorite true-crime podcast while they’re on island to investigate a notorious cold case.

Forty years ago, a beautiful young actress was brutally murdered and her enigmatic bunkmate disappeared from the prestigious Oak Bluffs summer theater camp. Nothing about the podcasters’ attitude, their lack of preparation, or disdain for the island makes sense. When they disappear, leaving behind a bloody mess, Kyra and Tarek are ensnared in a decades-long web of intrigue. To find the podcasters, they must untangle the historic crime, but someone wants to keep the case cold. Someone willing to kill.

Every islander holds tight to their secrets, and each question leads down a dark and twisted path. When a lead draws Tarek off the island, Kyra embarks on a perilous rescue before the final curtain claims them both.

Tule Book Recommendations Based on Your Favorite Popular Mystery Tropes

November 13, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

With murder, secrets, lies, and suspense spilling off the page, it’s no wonder mystery novels are a tried-and-true fan-favorite to read. From slow-and-steady amateur sleuthing to nail-biting plot twists in isolated settings, popular mysteries have long since utilized a range of tropes to increase heart rates and goosebumps.

Whether you’re looking for your next classic Agatha Christie whodunit, female amateur-sleuth heroine like Pip in A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, or your next The Bourne Identity, check out these three popular mystery tropes and our best Tule book recommendations.

Mystery Trope #1: Isolation

Nothing quite spells intrigue like a secluded destination, a roomful of suspicious characters, and a sudden discovery of a dead body. As suspicion mounts and situations grow dire, will the gruesome details of these murders be revealed and the murderer finally caught? Or will they all be picked off one-by-one….

Add yourself to the guest list and join the hunt for the truth in these isolated settings. If you dare.

1. Widow’s Walk by Raemi A. Ray

Murder’s on the menu…

Attorney Kyra Gibson has a lot on her mind this Thanksgiving. She’s been working long hours on a multi-billion dollar corporate merger, her family is visiting from London, and her relationship with former police detective Tarek Collins is heating up. When she and her companions are invited by her aristocrat client to attend a formal gala at a historic mansion on Chappaquiddick, Kyra reluctantly agrees.

But Chappy is more than just a playground for the wealthy. It’s a wild, remote place cut off from civilization. When the first body is found, the occupants are worried. Was it an accident or murder? When a second guest is brutally killed and then a third, there’s no doubt and the guests fearfully turn on each other. They are locked in a house with a murderer picking them off one-by-one. Kyra, her best friend Chase Hawthorn, and Tarek must survive the night and find the killer, or one of them could be next.

Don’t wait until November 6, 2024 to get your hands on this eerie isolation mystery novel. Pre-order your copy of Widow’s Walk today!

2. Until Depths Do Us Part by K.B. Jackson

Sudden riches lead to a world of trouble…

Newly widowed Charlotte McLaughlin is adrift following the sudden death of her husband of twenty years and the shocking discovery of the lavish double life he’d lived while purportedly traveling for business.

When Charlotte’s only nephew and his fiancée are notified that their secluded wedding venue has flooded, her sister Jane suggests an alternative venue: a Thanksgiving week cruise from Seattle to Alaska aboard the private residence ship where Charlotte’s husband had purchased a two-bedroom unit without her knowledge.

What better way to get closer with her family and banish the memories Charlotte can’t bear to touch now?

But the bride is found dead less than twenty-four hours after departure, and the head of security holds the groom on suspicion of her murder. Charlotte and Jane must figure out who is responsible for the murder before their nephew goes to jail for a crime they’re adamant he couldn’t have committed. Then a second victim is discovered, and Charlotte becomes even more certain there’s a killer on the guest list.

Don’t let this mystery pass you by! Claim your copy of Until Depths Do Us Part today.

Mystery Trope #2: Amateur Detective

Don’t worry if you don’t have all the answers, never do these first-time amateur detectives who have thrown themselves into the thick of these dangerous murder investigations without any professional experience. With keen eyes, a sturdy gut, and a heavy penchant for justice, these civilians are determined to uncover the truth and solve the unsolvable—no matter how ugly it may be.

Dust off your adventurous side and your sleuthing skills and try your hand at solving these investigations. Who knows? You might just be a new amateur detective in the making!

1. Something Shady at Sunshine Haven by Kris Bock

She’s pursued the most dangerous news stories around the world. But can she survive going home?

Injured in a bombing, war correspondent Kate Tessler returns to her hometown in Arizona to recover. For the first time in her life, she’s starting to feel her age of nearly fifty despite living like a teenager again: staying in her childhood bedroom with only a cat for company, trying to understand why her sister resents her so much, and running into people who still refer to her as Kitty. The hardest part? Seeing her once-sharp and witty mother stuck in an Alzheimer’s unit.

When an old friend asks her to investigate suspicious deaths at the nursing home, Kate limps into action. Is a self- appointed “Angel of Mercy” killing patients to end their suffering? Are family members hastening their inheritance? Is an employee extorting money and removing the witnesses? Kate uses her journalism skills to track clues, but the puzzle pieces simply won’t fit.

If Kate can’t uncover the truth quickly, her mother could be next on the killer’s list.

If you love Murder, She Wrote, female heroines, and high stakes, then you’ll love Something Shady at Sunshine Haven. Order your copy here!

2. Room for Suspicion by Carol Light

It’s going to take more than carefully labeled boxes to sort through the clues of this homicide…

Professional organizer Crystal Ward knows she can make a success of her new business, Organizing Chicago. The extra income would allow her to renovate her own home, full of more cluttered spaces than she’d ever admit to her clients. But her life wasn’t always this disorganized. Five years ago her husband, Rick, a Chicago police detective, was shot while chasing a suspect. Now a paraplegic, he’s wary of her going into strangers’ homes…and for good reason.

When Crys discovers a dead man in a client’s living room, she refuses to accept that the murder is an open-and-shut case of domestic violence. If she can untangle this mess, she can prove her client’s innocence and ease Rick’s fears.

But the only witness to the murder is hospitalized in a catatonic state. And the lead detective is Rick’s former partner, the man Crys blames for his paralysis. Crys is on her own to save her client from jail and stop a murderer intent on tidying up loose ends.

Go on, Sherlock. Throw your tweed hat into the ring and try your luck in solving this mystery before Crys does! Your copy waits for you here…

Mystery Trope #3: Amnesia

Think solving a murder investigation is hard enough? Try adding a smoking-gun character that has no idea who they are, where they came from, or why everyone seems so damned familiar. Within these complex narratives, everyone is fighting for the truth—the problem is, what will happen when what’s been forgotten turns out to be better left buried?

There’s a reason this trope is such a classic—add these to your TBR and see what the hype is about before you forget!

1. Forgotten by C.J. Carmichael

Five unsolved murders. A shocking new discovery. He’s back for the truth but Jane Doe holds a deeper secret.

Sheriff Wade Mackay needed a break. Little did he know, a day of fishing would land him right into the aftermath of a deadly accident.

The only survivor is a woman who doesn’t remember her name and has no identification. Wade’s instincts ignite when he notices the telltale marks of old bruises on Jane Doe. What hidden truths lie beneath the layers of her forgotten past?

For true crime writer Dougal Lachlan, Twisted Cedars holds secrets that refuse to stay buried. The librarian murders, unsolved for decades, drew him back to town, but intuition tells him there’s more to Jane Doe than anyone suspects.

Teaming up with local librarian Charlotte Hammond, they uncover a chilling link between the past murders and the mysterious Jane Doe. Will their discovery of past and present colliding be enough to convince the sheriff that a serial killer has resurfaced in Twisted Cedars?

Order your copy of Forgotten by C.J. Carmichael here!

2. The Package by Kimberley Troutte

In the deadly future after the second civil war, the United States is divided and dangerous…

Agent Heather Slade is a beautiful well-crafted fake. A perfect lie. A highly-trained asset with no country, no memory, and no home. She spies for a secretive group of Revo agents from the democratic Free States and fights against the crushing power of the charismatic authoritarian leader who controls the militant Patriot regions. Risking her life, she infiltrates top levels of the brutal government and lives deeply under cover with her enemies.

Heather’s current mission is to smuggle a package from under the President’s nose onto a highly guarded golden train and bring it to safety in the Free States. Her partner on the perilous journey is a handsome but inexperienced foreign agent with secrets of his own. Why is Miguel Robles so hauntingly familiar? He might hold the key to finding the family she no longer remembers—if they survive the mission.

Kimberley Troutte’s The Package is perfect for fans of The Bourne Identity series. Pick up your copy here.

Written by Tule intern, Kristina Gaffney

The Spellbinding Mystery of Widow’s Walk: A New Literary Essential

November 2, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

It’s a new month, Tule Mystery readers–or should we say a Novel November? Whether you’re still shivering from the chills of October or you’re ready to feast on some new whodunits, Tule Mystery is here. And if you’re looking for a reason to be thankful, we’ve got a new release for you to mull over all the way until Thanksgiving.

Widow’s Walk

by Raemi A. Ray, Martha’s Vineyard Murders book 3

Murder’s on the menu…

Look for Widow’s Walk to keep you up through the night on November 6th.

As you prepare to hunker down, you’re going to need some reliable page turners to keep you company under your layers during the day and under the covers at night. Be sure to sign up for the Tule Mystery Newsletter today so the only thing you’ll be missing this winter is the sun.

Written by Tule intern, Mitchell Leung.

Author Raemi A. Ray Stops by The Tule Mystery Blog to Chat With Us About Author Life, Real Life, and Mysteries!

August 22, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Welcome to the Tule Blog. How have you been? What have you been up to?

Thank you for having me. Since A Chain of Pearls released in April, I’ve been kept very busy
working on marketing, and the release of book two, The Wraith’s Return and book three later this year. It’s been a rollercoaster in the best way.

That’s right, Book Two in your first series the Martha’s Vineyard Murders is releasing today, August 22! What’s this one about?

It’s another whodunnit. Kyra returns to the island from London and has to solve two mysteries: what happened to a centuries old lost pirate treasure ship, and the suspicious deaths of the people trying to find the treasure.

Oh, so the same characters are featured in Book Two, The Wraith’s Return. Do you have a favorite one you like to write? Why?

Yes, the same main characters all make appearances: Kyra Gibson our protagonist, her detective Tarek Collins and of course the cat, Cronkite return. The series is really about them – a sort of modern-day Nick and Nora Charles. Side characters you may recognize pop in and out, as well as some new faces. My favorite to write? Honestly, it’s probably Cronkite. He’s a quintessential cat. He’s not bound by morality or social mores. He’s hardly even bound by the laws of physics (as people who live with cats know). He can be an unrepentant little terror and still be lovable. Originally, he was intended as a plot device so Kyra wouldn’t have long internal monologues weighing down the narrative, but along the way he developed a devious personality and now he’s an integral part of the story.
It’s a bit of a spoiler, but I love how his primary human isn’t Kyra. She’s been relegated to spare and it irritates her to no end, as I’m sure anyone in similar shoes could relate.

But you didn’t write a book about fictional cats. You wrote a mystery series. There must be a reason you find the genre compelling?

I do. I like that mysteries in many cases invite the reader to participate. Often in books, and all consumptive media really, the audience is a spectator. Their role is one of passive observer. But in mysteries, the reader can be asked to solve the mystery alongside the main character. I try to craft my narratives, so the main characters learn with the reader. In some cases, the reader might be able to figure out the killer even before Kyra. The clues are all there. The reader can play the game as well.

That’s interesting. Do you have some past experience that makes you good at solving
mysteries? Are you able to incorporate that previous experience in your jobs/education in your writing?

Oh no. I’ve zero qualifications that would make me suited for actual detective or crime fighting work. I do occasionally use my own experiences as a quick and lazy fix. I gave Kyra my day job so I wouldn’t have to research a profession for her. Cronkite is a cat because I’ve always had cats and know their behaviors. The characters all drive cars that me or my family have owned over the years, so I didn’t need to research those either. My real life plays a very dull role in my books.

But you do research?

Oh yes, extensively. Especially because so much of my plots derive from real life events. In The Wraith’s Return the pirate ship Keres is based on the real-life shipwreck discovered off the coast of Wellfleet, MA, the Whydah Gally and its captain Black Sam Bellamy. I’ve also had to research lots of creative and complex ways to kill people and how one would cover it up. My Google search history is terrifying. I’m positive I’m on an FBI watch list at this point.

Really? What’s the strangest thing you’ve had to research for the Martha’s Vineyard Murders?

Strangest? When you deal in death, it’s all a little strange, I suppose. But the most obscure? Probably the deep dive I did on the Welsh whisky trade. It’s not particularly interesting, and there are few distilleries in Wales, less than ten, but I now know a lot about all of them. It was for a two-sentence anecdote in Book Three. It’s possible I went overboard there.

It sounds like it. Is that what you enjoy doing when you’re not writing, or do you have other pastimes?

I have a bad rabbit hole habit, but it’s not an intentional hobby. I don’t consider working my other job a ‘pastime’ and I suspect they wouldn’t either, but that does take up a fair amount of each week. I read a lot, too. But if I’m taking time off, I’m getting on a plane. I want to see the world. I’m always preparing or planning my next trip. I’ve been to some amazing and wild places, but there’s so much more to see.

Are you heading anywhere spectacular soon? Does it influence your stories?

I’ve a few trips planned in the near future and if you follow me on social media you’ll probably see photos. Traveling influences my stories in subtle ways. It gives me perspective, mostly.

That’s exciting and thank you for stopping by. It’s been nice chatting with you. We have one more bonus question. What is the one book that you consider to be your comfort read that you will always reach for?

Oh. It’s hard to pick just one since I’m a serial re-reader, but perhaps Jane Eyre. I read it every year between Thanksgiving and Christmas and have since I was a kid.

Thank you for having me Tule Mystery.

Congrats on your release of The Wraith’s Return, Raemi!

About the Author

Raemi A. Ray is the author of the Martha’s Vineyard Murders series. Her travels to the island and around the world inspire her stories. She lives with her family in Boston.

A month packed full of mysteries and cozies for our August release line up!

August 3, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Check out our August releases for Tule Mystery! If you haven’t already done so, be sure you’re subscribed to our Tule Mystery newsletter AND, if you’re interested in cozy mysteries, check out Tule’s Cozy Mystery Cafe and read up on our new cozy authors!

Release Date: August 5, 2024

Turning thirty can be murder!

When a body is discovered next to the Little Dog Diner on her milestone birthday, Dani Mackenzie finds herself scooping up a scandal instead of cutting cake.

The prime suspect is the new owner of the Blueberry Bay Grapevine, but the victim’s stepbrother and ex-girlfriend also have means, motive, and opportunity.

With this trio of suspects, it will take a good nose to uncover whodunnit. At least Dani has her best friend—her Jack Russell, Pip—at her side to help sniff out the killer! But in the meantime, her kick-off to her thirties is turning into more of an upside-down cake than a celebration as she uncovers money, a business scandal, and thwarted love at the core of this crime.

It will take the victim’s black Labrador and finding a winning lottery ticket to solve this mystery, but Dani never throws in the towel. Will she and Pip once again use their experience at solving mysteries to bring justice to Misty Harbor, Maine, or will they be caught in the crosshairs of the killer?

Release Date: August 12, 2024

What’s worse than a murder victim on your doorstep?

For Rebecca Cuthbert, it’s finding a cursed Egyptian charm tucked into the dead woman’s pocket. The ominous discovery propels the fearless shopkeeper and her immortal, chatty cat on a perilous hunt for the killer and another piece of the missing magical collection.

Unfortunately, Citrus Grove’s annual summer festival is tying up police department resources—including Rebecca’s new beau, Detective Nick Devon—which leaves Rebecca, her grandfather’s wisdom, and Aneksi’s mystical powers to crack the case.

As her investigation delves into the amulet’s eerie peculiarities and the deceased’s shocking connections with a menacing foe, as well as an unwelcome old flame from Rebecca’s past, Rebecca doesn’t know who to trust. Can she rely on her newfound friends in her adopted hometown, or will deadly revelations turn her into the killer’s next target?

Prepare to journey through unexpected twists, ancient mysteries, and a dash of romance in this cozy mystery that will keep you guessing till the very end!

Release Date: August 13, 2024

Inspired by the remarkable life of Dorothy Peto, the Metropolitan Police’s first female superintendent.

Even in war, your enemies can linger too close to home…

While war and revolution continue to ravage Europe, Dorothy Peto embraces her new role at Scotland Yard as she and several detectives investigate a series of jewel thefts. Then Dorothy is tasked with assisting the inscrutable Inspector Derwent and the charming Colonel Lamarchant to find a missing French aristocrat. Their enquiries take them to a country house in Yorkshire, that’s been converted to a hospital for wounded soldiers and was the last place the Frenchman visited. However, the more questions they ask, the more questions they have.

When the body of a man suspected of being the marquis is discovered, the investigative team returns to London, but the dead man is a stranger. Dorothy speculates that the death, the jewel thefts and the missing Frenchman may be connected. She finds herself tangled in a web of conscientious objectors, Irish republicans and communist agitators, and not everyone is who they appear to be.

Release Date: August 22, 2024

Some secrets are safer lost at sea…

London based lawyer Kyra Gibson returns to Martha’s Vineyard and the beach house she inherited for an extended summer holiday. Still reeling from her father’s brutal murder and the role she and the handsome detective, Tarek Collins played in uncovering it, Kyra is hopeful for some peace and quiet. But when a summer squall reveals the wreckage of the pirate ship, Keres, rich with rumored treasure, all hopes of peace are dashed. Conservationists and treasure hunters descend on the exclusive island to lay claim to the ship. When two of the salvagers are killed, Kyra and Tarek’s friend, pub owner and amateur historian, Gully Gould is arrested for murder.

Determined to prove Gully’s innocence, Kyra, Tarek, and reformed playboy Chase Hawthorn team up to clear their friend’s name. But someone wants the treasure for themselves. And with someone willing to kill for it, there is more than just danger lurking along the island’s caves and coves. There is death.

Release Date: August 28, 2024

Murder has twisted them together…

It’s bad enough that Kyrie Dawn had an affair and a son with Charlotte McLaughlin’s husband, then, following his death, sued Charlotte for the two-bedroom love nest he’d purchased on a private residence cruise ship. That cabin was Charlotte’s consolation prize, and she’s chosen to travel the world in luxury, with her sister Jane along for the ride.

But now Kyrie Dawn has taken a job onboard teaching yoga—and she’s brought her little boy, who looks just like his father, with her.

Charlotte considers jumping ship as they sail toward Yokohama, Japan. Then the head chef is found in the downward dead position in Kyrie Dawn’s yoga studio, and all evidence points to her as the killer. She begs Charlotte and Jane to look after this friendly toddler—permanently if she’s found guilty.

With a second chance at motherhood snuggled in her lap, Charlotte must decide which life path to follow. Can she even set aside her hurt and anger to help exonerate the woman who ruined her life?

Capturing the Uniqueness of Martha’s Vineyard: Release Day for A CHAIN OF PEARLS!

April 9, 2024 · Posted by Tule Publishing

Hi friends, my name is Raemi Ray. It’s pronounced like ‘Amy’ but with an ‘R’ or as my dad tells people, ‘Like the Sound of Music: do-RE-MI.’ Before you ask, no it’s not short for anything and has absolutely zero meaning. The parents just liked it, I suppose.

Awkward intros out of the way, hi again. I write murder mystery stories for Tule and I’m thrilled to be here to announce the first book in my brand new Martha’s Vineyard Murders series. A Chain of Pearls will be out April 9.

A little about the book:

The last thing she wants is to dig up the past…

When the body of a celebrated journalist is fished from the Edgartown Harbor, the official report rules his death accidental. But why was he alone on a senator’s yacht during a nor’easter? That’s only the first question London-based lawyer Kyra Gibson has when she arrives on the idyllic island of Martha’s Vineyard to settle her estranged father’s affairs.

She’s not looking for closure. She’s not seen him in decades since he left her with her aunt following her mother’s death. But as Kyra delves deeper into her father’s life, she learns he had many regrets and wasn’t as retired as she believed. The more Kyra discovers, the more questions she has. With the help of world-weary detective, Tarek Collins, they uncover a web of intrigue and corruption involving a powerful senator, a dubious energy company, and brutal murder.

As they chase down clues, Kyra and Tarek flirt with danger and race against time to solve the murders and uncover the dark secrets lurking beneath Martha’s Vineyard’s picturesque façade of old money wealth and privilege.

My books, as the series’ name suggests, are ‘whodunnit’ style murder mysteries set on the Massachusetts island of Martha’s Vineyard. I’ve been visiting the island year-round since college and it holds a special place in my heart. Over the years, I’ve fallen in love with the geography and its unique culture, so inherently New England, but with something else, that’s entirely its own.

It was important to me to capture that uniqueness in my books, and many of places I talk about are either real places, like the towns of Edgartown and Menemsha, or were inspired by the real-life places and businesses that I’ve patroned over the years. Of course, I’ve taken some liberties, so please don’t come for me, when you find out Kyra’s house doesn’t actually exist (but the silkie chickens do, iykyk).

In the first installment, my readers, like my main character Kyra Gibson, an expat visiting the island for the first time, get to explore Martha’s Vineyard through fresh eyes. I hope you enjoy visiting the island as much as I do and if you do, please continue to visit along with Kyra and her friends in books two (The Wraith’s Return) and three (Widow’s Walk) publishing later this year. The books all follow the same characters solving different island mysteries and can be read standalone, but if you read them in order you’ll discover some easter eggs.

Thanks for your time and follow me on my socials for giveaways, updates, and a general look into my travels to and from the island. Thanks again, Cheers!

About the Author.

Raemi Amanda Ray is the author of A Chain of Pearls, her debut and the first book in a Martha’s Vineyard Murders series set on Martha’s Vineyard. Her travels to the island and around the world inspire her stories. She lives in Boston.