What happens when a Guardian goes dark — and the one person who can save her is a witch who still doesn’t fully trust her own magic?
Deep in the granite hills where Maine bleeds into New Hampshire, Stoneharbor smells of pine resin and cold river water. Its silence is heavy with something that has nothing to do with peace. Here, the magic runs through the bedrock itself — ancient, resonant, indifferent to the living.
Eight weeks after Saltwick, Sam Blackwood — retired homicide detective, reluctant witch, and the woman who keeps finding bodies in quiet places — receives a letter. No return address. Handwriting she recognizes. Sterling Vane is out of custody. And he has a name for her.
🪨 THE TEAM
Sam Blackwood — She solved murders at a lighthouse and a saltmarsh. Stoneharbor will be different. She already knows it.Ezra — The century-old ghost tied to Sam’s ring. Steady as granite, even when the signal grows faint across 120 miles.Moss — The dog who claimed the best table at a local café and was brought water without question. He approves of Stoneharbor.Rowan — Researcher, physician, the only person who can discuss ancient stone resonance and drive four hours without complaint.Diane Okafor — Owner of Granite & Grounds, the café at the center of every conversation in town. She doesn’t ask unnecessary questions. She already knows the answers.🔍 THE MYSTERY
The Guardian of Stoneharbor’s ancient node is Eleanor “Nell” Cray — retired geologist, former professor, and a woman who stopped answering the network’s calls three years ago. She isn’t missing. She’s simply decided she’s done.
But the Coastal Historical Foundation — the same organization that targeted Moonhaven and Saltwick — has Stoneharbor in its sights. This time, no visible agents. Just lawyers, land permits, and a local official who genuinely believes he’s saving his dying hometown.
When Sam descends into the abandoned Hale Quarry and feels the granite pulse under her feet — damaged, neglected, but still breathing — she understands the stakes. This isn’t just another case.
Someone has to protect what’s left. Even if it means reaching through 23 meters of solid rock to wake a woman who no longer wants to be found.
❓ Can Sam convince a Guardian who gave up on the network — before the killer strikes again, and the ancient node falls silent for good?
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “The granite setting gives this series a completely different feel — darker, more isolated. I read the last hundred pages in one sitting.” — ARC Reader
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Nell Cray is one of the best characters Van has written. Complicated, exhausted, and absolutely real.” — ARC Reader
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Ezra’s presence across the distance — readers of the series will feel it.” — ARC Reader
📚 Perfect for fans of Angie Fox, Jenna St. James, Nellie H. Steele, and Adele Abbott. If you love paranormal cozy mysteries with atmospheric small-town settings, a sharp detective protagonist, and a ghost who delivers the best lines — this series is for you.
Book 4 in the Moonhaven Mysteries series. Each mystery is self-contained; the series rewards reading in order.
🛒 Scroll up, grab your copy, and follow Sam into the granite dark.
