A Spider Comes Calling Read online

  Fact: On 4 April, 1900, Jean-Baptiste Sipido attempted to assassinate the Prince of Wales, the future British King Edward VII, in Belgium in protest over the Boer war.

  Fact: The story of Jonas’ daughter, Wanjiru, is loosely based on a Kikuyu myth. In that myth, a young maid was sacrificed to the Underworld by a village in order to end a long drought. The villagers provided the dowry and, with each additional animal given, the girl sunk deeper into the ground until she vanished. A young warrior set out on a quest to rescue his beloved and eventually found and rescued her. In my version, Jonas replaced the warrior.

  Fiction: The young warrior of the myth was not a besotted Adze named Yao.

  Fact: Liongo was a King from the Kenyan Coast and lived as early as 1200 or as late as 1600. He was a great poet and warrior. His son later betrayed and killed him.

  Fiction: Liongo’s son was not the God of Lightning, as far as I know.

  Fact: According to Victorian laundry etiquette, salted water was an excellent solution for removing blood stains and cleaning handkerchiefs.

  Fiction: As Miss Knight points out, we are less certain of its efficacy in removing zombie guts from clothing.

  Fact: For the techies amongst us, a telegraph refers to the communication system. A telegram is a message sent via telegraph. Although both words are used as verbs meaning to send a telegram, telegraph is more common in this use.

  Fact: “Making the bed” was an expression that referred to more than just neatening the sheets and quilt. In fact, it required the removal of the mattress’ stuffing and allowing the stuffing to dry out. So the next time anyone complains about making their beds, tell them how it used to be done.

  Fact: Vered doesn’t ride a Rainbow Serpent to the grocery store. After all, she has to hunt for her food, not buy it.

  Fact: A big round of applause is owed to: Monica La Porta, a good friend, a great Beta reader and an awesome author (http://monicalaporta.com); Starla Huchton, cover designer extraordinaire (http://www.designedbystarla.com); and our beloved Adze Yao for braving the bridges of Nairobi and the Underworld.

  Fact: Subscribe to Vered’s blog at http://veredehsani.co.za and receive the prequel to this series as well as a book all about African paranormal and supernatural creatures. You’ll also receive other freebies along the way.

  Fact: Vered has other books you might want to read. Their descriptions are further on.

  Gifts for you

  DEAR READER

  THANKS so much for taking the time to read Case 6: A Spider Comes Calling. Beatrice Knight’s adventures continue in Case 7: Stones of Nairobi.

  In the meantime, sign up for the newsletter (http://veredehsani.co.za/free-books/), and receive FREE BOOKS. One you’ve signed up, ask me to send you the story about the Mantis - you’re going to love it!

  If you enjoyed this book, please recommend it to others. I deeply appreciate your support. Cheers until next time

  Vered

  from Africa… with a Bite

  Read More

  TO FIND SALES links for my books, visit here: http://veredehsani.co.za/my-books/

  SOCIETY FOR PARANORMALS: A series concerning dead husbands, African legends and the search for a perfect spot of tea, where African myth meets Victorian manners. For those readers who adore “Pride & Prejudice” and would love to experience a paranormal safari set in colonial Africa.

  Ghosts of Tsavo

  Armed with Victorian etiquette, a fully loaded walking stick and a dead husband, Beatrice Knight arrives in colonial Kenya desperate for a pot of tea and a pinch of cinnamon. But she’ll need more than that if she’s to unravel the mystery of the Ghosts of Tsavo without being eaten in the process. All this while surviving the machinations of her best friend’s dashing godfather and the efforts of her safari guide to feed her to any lion willing to drag her away. What is a ghost-chasing widow to do?

  The Automaton’s Wife

  Beatrice Knight has enough to contend with: a zebra is dead on her lawn, her horse is possessed and a gentleman has arrived with the temerity to propose to her. To top it off, her dead husband Gideon has absconded with an automaton, threatening to return for his wife. The wife in question however soon has other issues, for a killer has moved into town with a nasty habit of carving up the victims. As luck should dictate, who should be the next target but Mrs. Knight herself?

  Revenge of the Mantis

  All is going as it should for Beatrice Knight, until the Lightning God lands in her barn and announces that her old nemesis Koki is about to pay an unsolicited visit. While powdered cinnamon works well on many insects, the giant Praying Mantis won’t be so easily dissuaded from exacting revenge against the intrepid paranormal investigator. And let’s not forget that Mrs. Knight’s cousin is engaged to a bat man while her brother has returned from the dead as a werewolf. As if that isn’t complicated enough, Mr. Timmons presents a possibility too terrible to consider, yet too tempting to refuse. Now, if only she could survive long enough to make a decision…

  The Fourth Mandate

  Having offered her firm and unequivocal resignation, Beatrice Knight is certain she is clear of her former employer, the Society for Paranormals, and is now free to proceed with her life and a wedding. It all seems quite simple, until the Society’s Director Prof. Runal shows up at the train station, her cousin announces horrifying news and a ponytailed dwarf decides he needs her powers to eradicate all non-humanoid paranormals. At least one thing is certain: anything is manageable with a pot of tea and a fully loaded walking stick.

  Curse of the Nandi

  Mrs. Beatrice Knight is preparing to move into a life of marital bliss, or at least marital satisfaction, with her new husband who fortunately is very much alive and can’t float through walls. While she is no expert on honeymoons, she’s certain that they shouldn’t involve brainless heads, bloodsucking fireflies and Bubonic Plague. These however are mere inconveniences, for there’s another threat of greater significance: the Nandi are rising up against their colonial masters and are determined to rid the land of all things British. The intrepid Mrs. Knight faces all this with her usual aplomb, her hefty walking stick and, of course, a pot of tea.

  THE GHOST POST MYSTERIES: An Urban Fantasy Series in which the humor is darker, the characters more deadly

  Lethal Takeout

  When Axe Cooper is murdered while picking up Chinese takeaway, he’s pretty irritated about the loss of a good dinner, not to mention being dead. Not prepared to move on just yet, Axe decides to stick around and haunt his best friend, Lily Chan, while trying to figure out why anyone would kill a janitor. In the meantime, Axe is hired by The Ghost Post to track down recently deceased writers. As he learns more about his new phantom friends, Axe realises his murder is not an isolated event and that if he doesn’t learn to fly like Superman, Lily could be next.

  Fatal Secrets

  Just when Axe Cooper thinks he’s safe, guess again. His memory is fading and unless he wants to lose his mind, he has to figure out why he buried an old friend in a swamp. And let’s not forget the ghost-eating Deathmark that’s developed an unhealthy interest in Axe and his friends. Being dead is no protection from the secret that is about to crawl back into his life. But he’s not the only one with something to hide and some secrets are deadlier than others.

  DRAGON & MYTH: A Sci-Fi Adventure Series

  Dragon’s Mind

  Ten years ago, a human brain was installed into a computer system. To most people, it is a non-living entity operating in the background of their lives. Only a girl named Myth knows better: his name is Dragon and he is very much alive. And after ten bodiless years, Dragon has a dream that will change everything. The dream will put his mind and Myth’s life in mortal danger. There are powerful forces that don’t want the truth revealed and they’re coming for Dragon. But where do you run to when you’re already everywhere?

  Dragon’s War

  How do you stop a war you started? And should you, if your species’ safety and wellbe
ing depend on winning at all costs? These are the thoughts that plague Myth as she paces the fortress where she is being kept “for her own protection.” Meanwhile, Dragon is in hiding, hunted by the albino assassin and the city’s very systems that he once ran. As his backup reserves are depleted and the clock ticks down to the launch of a global virus, Myth must escape to save Dragon and together stop the war that they launched. But time is running out and the albino is watching.

  GHOSTS & SHADOWS: Fantasy Adventure Series with some Time Travel thrown in, just for fun

  Diary of a Part-Time Ghost

  Fifteen-year-old Ash wants nothing more than to be a normal kid and avoid trouble. Then his birthday gift transforms him into a ghost and zaps him back in time to the beginning of the American Revolution. If he thought that was bad, it’s about to get a whole lot worse. Ash must rescue his ancestor from one danger after another, including an implacable enemy who controls the very shadows. What starts out as a brief experiment in time travel rapidly changes into a race for his very survival, and Ash is running out of time.

  Where Shadows Dance

  Ash was looking forward to a summer of camping and time travelling. Then his Great Aunt fades away (literally) and his near-death nightmare gets even weirder. Juna isn’t having a great time of it either: having escaped from her parole officer, she barely survives falling out of an airplane. While Ash and Juna try to get out of the past and back home, events and dreams keep pointing them to the place where it all starts and ends, where shadows dance and time bends. If they can get there, they may be able to stop an implacable enemy from destroying their future. Of course, getting there means surviving first…

  About the Author

  VERED EHSANI HAS been a writer since she could hold pen to paper, which is a lot longer than she cares to admit. She lives in Kenya with her family and various other animals. When she isn’t writing, she pretends to work as an environmental consultant.

  Visit Vered and her world at http://veredehsani.co.za and get free books.

  Email her at vered(at)veredehsani.co.za — she loves to hear from her readers.

  Copyright © 2016 Vered Ehsani

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