Mermaids, Magic, and Mist
(2026)(The first book in the Tidewater Witch Mysteries series)
A novel by Sara Bourgeois
Merritt Tallow came back to Saltwick to settle an estate, sell the family shop, and leave before the town could remember she existed.
That was the plan.
Then a black cat broke into her shop, criticized her burglary response, and started talking.
Sebastian is not a stray. He is a familiar, unbonded, unimpressed, and absolutely not looking for a witch, thank you very much. Unfortunately, Merritt can hear him, which means something magical has already gone sideways.
And Saltwick specializes in sideways.
The misty seaside town is famous for mermaid legends, tourist festivals, and old family secrets nobody wants disturbed. When an estate appraiser turns up dead in the abandoned Mermaid Room during the Mermaid Mist Festival, Merritt’s fresh start goes from inconvenient to criminally suspicious. The murder scene includes one of her family’s black candles, a missing antique comb tied to an old mermaid bargain, and enough magical weirdness to make even Sebastian stop insulting the local fish.
Briefly.
Now Merritt has to untangle a murder, a theft, and a family legacy she never asked for, all while dealing with a sheriff who wants real evidence, witches who enjoy withholding information, mermaid magic that refuses to stay decorative, and a familiar who keeps insisting he is only staying because she requires supervision.
The pearl mist is rising.
The comb is missing.
The cat is judging everyone.
And if Merritt doesn’t figure out who killed Sable Hark, Saltwick’s oldest secret might drag her under with the tide.
Mermaids, Magic, and Mist is a funny, witchy paranormal cozy mystery full of coastal secrets, old magic, murder, mermaid trouble, and one black cat who has no intention of being emotionally supportive on purpose.
Genre: Cozy Mystery
That was the plan.
Then a black cat broke into her shop, criticized her burglary response, and started talking.
Sebastian is not a stray. He is a familiar, unbonded, unimpressed, and absolutely not looking for a witch, thank you very much. Unfortunately, Merritt can hear him, which means something magical has already gone sideways.
And Saltwick specializes in sideways.
The misty seaside town is famous for mermaid legends, tourist festivals, and old family secrets nobody wants disturbed. When an estate appraiser turns up dead in the abandoned Mermaid Room during the Mermaid Mist Festival, Merritt’s fresh start goes from inconvenient to criminally suspicious. The murder scene includes one of her family’s black candles, a missing antique comb tied to an old mermaid bargain, and enough magical weirdness to make even Sebastian stop insulting the local fish.
Briefly.
Now Merritt has to untangle a murder, a theft, and a family legacy she never asked for, all while dealing with a sheriff who wants real evidence, witches who enjoy withholding information, mermaid magic that refuses to stay decorative, and a familiar who keeps insisting he is only staying because she requires supervision.
The pearl mist is rising.
The comb is missing.
The cat is judging everyone.
And if Merritt doesn’t figure out who killed Sable Hark, Saltwick’s oldest secret might drag her under with the tide.
Mermaids, Magic, and Mist is a funny, witchy paranormal cozy mystery full of coastal secrets, old magic, murder, mermaid trouble, and one black cat who has no intention of being emotionally supportive on purpose.
Genre: Cozy Mystery