Mystery Series Synopses

Here are short synopses for the first three books in the Issy Castillo mystery series.

Scent of Murder: Synopsis

Isabel (Issy) Castillo, fresh from East Coast graduate school, is overjoyed to land her first job teaching Spanish at a small university in her Boulder, Colorado hometown where she can climb the academic ladder, reconnect with her Hispanic roots, and—who knows?—find true love. Her enthusiasm soon wanes when she discovers seething jealousies and rivalries among faculty and students alike, not to mention illegal activities, that roil beneath the tranquil surface.

Issy’s life takes a decided downturn when she discovers her chief romantic interest strangled with her scarf and she becomes a prime suspect in the murder. Driven to clear her name and ferret out the killer’s identity, she becomes entangled in a sticky web woven from the threads of passion, vice, and pundonor—the Latino interpretation of honor and integrity. Issy speeds into overdrive to discover the killer when a second victim, her prime suspect for the first murder, is found dead in his bed and her prints are discovered at the scene.

Issy gets help from family and new friends, alive and dead—the last in the form of her proverb-spouting spirit granny, who adds a touch of Latino magical realism and humor to the story. But mostly, Issy’s own ingenuity and interest in aromatherapy solve the crimes.

Without giving away the ending, I can say that Issy brings down the murderer, but not without first enduring a hair-raising finale, which includes confronting and overcoming two of her worst phobias as well as escaping from death by fragrance poisoning. Although Issy doesn’t meet her soul mate in this first book, she gains the respect of her students, colleagues, and family, develops a group of like-minded sleuth friends, dubbed The Boulder Women Detective Team, learns how aromatherapy can enhance her life, and gets a boost along the path of spiritual enlightenment from her long departed Native ancestor.

A Whiff of Murder: Synopsis

In Whiff of Murder, Issy Castillo is still exploring her roots with her spirit ancestor, yearning for love, and dealing with cashflow issues foreshadowed in Book 1. In fact, Issy’s credit card is in such bad shape she can’t even charge an espresso to it. So, you can count on Issy and her women’s group to perform an angelic prosperity petition with fragrances to cure their ills as well as a rain petition to bring much needed moisture to The Front Range, which is part of Issy’s vow to help others.

As the book opens, a heat wave is plaguing the city, and a serial rapist is on the loose. But Issy is concentrating on helping her student, Dora, heal from date rape, encouraging a high school friend to leave a failed marriage, and dissuading her sister Angela from falling into the physical and emotional clutches of Issy’s old enemy, Big Carlos Machado.

Soon Issy visits a dance club and meets a handsome nursing home employee. But a whiff of something about the man strikes her as odd. Later that night, her high school nemesis is killed. Although the murderer remains unidentified, Issy suspects the culprit is the guy she danced with and vows to avenge the former Homecoming Queen’s death.

Meanwhile, Issy discovers that militant little sister Angela has been persuaded to meet Big Carlos in a church meditation garden at midnight to collude with him on who knows what nefarious mission. Issy and her friends fly to the rescue, save Angela, and foil Carlos’ plot. This snake in the green grass vows revenge.

Issy manages to bag the rapist-turned-killer, but not before she barely escapes becoming his next victim. Unfortunately, Carlos persists with his threats and wreaks revenge in a terrible way that almost destroys the Castillo family. In the end, he remains free to carry out even worse crimes in the next book.

Doña Isabella, Issy’s Indian ancestor and spirit guide, flits in and out of the story to croon ‘60’s rock tunes, render advice, and teach Issy lessons about her heritage, fragrance crafting, love, compassion, healing, and the meaning of true prosperity.

At the end of the book, Issy is about to journey with her sister to Galicia, Spain to attend a conference, pick up an inheritance for Papi, and further explore their roots together. Issy has matured and although she doesn’t realize it, has already encountered the love of her life. She will meet him again and fall in love in Killer Scent. But will she survive long enough to consummate their relationship?

Killer Scent: Synopsis

In Killer Scent, romantic and mysterious Santiago de Compostela, Spain provides the backdrop for young Hispanic literature professor and budding aromatherapist Issy Castillo’s quest for her Galician roots and true love. She finds both, along with a reeking bouquet of deception and murder. Issy’s efforts to discover how her friend died from smoking a strawberry-scented cigarette catapults her and her sister Angela on a wild ride across northern Spain, enveloping them both in an odiferous potpourri of international cigarette smuggling, revolutionary insurgency, and festering passions that lead Issy to discover earth-shattering secrets hidden deep within the heart of the Iberian soul.

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