The Crow's Nest Cantina & Curios

The circus has come to town.

I'm Sam Quinn: werewolf, book nerd, and owner of The Slaughtered Lamb Bookstore & Bar. My husband Clive, a Master vampire, has recently taken a leadership position with the Guild as the North American counselor. Vampires, by and large, don't ask for help. They deal with problems in immediate and bloody ways. When and if they need a hand, at least in this part of the world, Clive is the one they call.

We've only recently returned from the Underworld. Clive and I would rather not be separated again, so when he gets a call from a supernaturals-only village about dead hitchhikers and fingers being pointed at the lone vampire in the community, we decide to go together and camp along the way.

What we weren't prepared for was a circus. For decades, the supernatural villagers, who used to be a traveling circus troupe, have run a Halloween event in the woods near their hidden home. Part of me is thrilled about funnel cakes and corn dogs. The other part, though, is deeply disturbed by paranormal clowns.

Fergus will help me investigate during the day. When the sun goes down and the midway lights up, I will thankfully have a vampire at my back as we search for a killer.

Ooh, cotton candy…