Dead Focused and Hocus Pocused
(2026)(The first book in the Empty Nest Mystical Cozy Mystery series)
A novel by Marcy Blesy
The Empty Nest Retreat was supposed to help Juli find herself.Not question her sanity—or reality.
When Juli Tully’s kids fly the coop and she takes early retirement, the silence in her house is deafening—and not in a calming, spa-music kind of way. At her mother’s not-so-subtle urging, she signs for the Empty Nest Retreat at the Sand Bur Estate, a stately mansion perched on the windswept dunes of Lake Michigan.
Juli nearly bolts when she learns the retreat is phone-free. No texts. No doom-scrolling. No emergency updates from her kids. Instead, she’s stuck with an unusual group of fellow empty nesters: Nelle, a perpetually cheerful optimist; Kimmie, a bubbly influencer convinced the estate is magical; and Jedd, an arrogant dad who fancies himself Parent of the Year—and takes an instant dislike to Juli.
Then things get… strange.
Temperatures swing wildly. Lights flicker. Objects float. Juli can’t tell if her menopausal symptoms have gone off the rails or if rumors about the estate’s supernatural past are true.
Between meditation sessions and awkward financial-planning talks, one of the estate’s employees dies under suspicious circumstances. Thanks to Juli’s increasingly unpredictable ‘episodes,’ she becomes the prime suspect.
With a murder to solve, a reputation to save, and a sarcastic talking cat who knows more than she’s letting on, Juli must uncover the truth—before this empty nest lands her in handcuffs.
If you love:
When Juli Tully’s kids fly the coop and she takes early retirement, the silence in her house is deafening—and not in a calming, spa-music kind of way. At her mother’s not-so-subtle urging, she signs for the Empty Nest Retreat at the Sand Bur Estate, a stately mansion perched on the windswept dunes of Lake Michigan.
Juli nearly bolts when she learns the retreat is phone-free. No texts. No doom-scrolling. No emergency updates from her kids. Instead, she’s stuck with an unusual group of fellow empty nesters: Nelle, a perpetually cheerful optimist; Kimmie, a bubbly influencer convinced the estate is magical; and Jedd, an arrogant dad who fancies himself Parent of the Year—and takes an instant dislike to Juli.
Then things get… strange.
Temperatures swing wildly. Lights flicker. Objects float. Juli can’t tell if her menopausal symptoms have gone off the rails or if rumors about the estate’s supernatural past are true.
Between meditation sessions and awkward financial-planning talks, one of the estate’s employees dies under suspicious circumstances. Thanks to Juli’s increasingly unpredictable ‘episodes,’ she becomes the prime suspect.
With a murder to solve, a reputation to save, and a sarcastic talking cat who knows more than she’s letting on, Juli must uncover the truth—before this empty nest lands her in handcuffs.
If you love:
- Empty nest reinvention
Midlife amateur sleuth
Retreat gone wrong
Isolated estate near Lake Michigan
Light paranormal elements
Self-help retreat chaos
Haunted (or is it?) mansion
Sarcastic talking cat
Humor with heart
Found family friendships
Wrongly suspected heroine
Cozy whodunit
You’ll adore this humorous cozy mystery set under along the shores of Lake Michigan!
Empty nests bring new beginnings… and unexpected secrets.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Visitors also looked at these books
Used availability for Marcy Blesy's Dead Focused and Hocus Pocused