Kathy Childs
Author
Puzzle Me Dead
A Suspense Thriller
On her nineteenth birthday Careen survived a terrifying assault at the hands of the Clown Killer. She was lucky; she escaped – the next eleven girls did not. On each dead body the killer left a card numbered two to twelve.
Careen has tried to move on, to forget, but it appears someone has decided to revisit her past. She starts to receive pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that make up the face of a clown, each numbered and counting down from twelve. The message is clear – this time his number one will not get away. Is the Clown Killer back to finish what he started or is someone else playing a deadly game? And if so, why?
Puzzle Me Dead is a compelling tale of family, friendship, betrayal and revenge that leaves you wondering just who you can trust.
Slow Burn
YA Fantasy
Brianna understood she was different, frighteningly different. First there was the accident with Joey, then an ex friend who exploded, and well, a couple of other mishaps she’d rather not think about.
Caitlin was smart, pretty and popular – everything a seventeen-year-old girl could ask for. Orphaned at birth, she’d been brought up in a loving family, had a good education, a great circle of friends and once she finished high school, she’d be off to college to study medicine. Why then did she feel something was missing?
When Brianna and Caitlin meet they discover a terrible secret. As they learn more, their world starts to unravel and things they believed were myth and legend become very real.
Ghostly Hugh
In the dim, smoky quiet of the Montague pub, Millie keeps to her rituals: a splash of Glenmorangie, a seat at the bar, and nightly conversations with Hugh—the ghost of a barman tragically murdered a decade ago. Bound to the pub, Hugh silently listens as Millie shares tales spun from the lives she observes, all while nursing secrets of her own.
But when a theft threatens the pub’s reputation, Millie takes justice into her own hands, adding a sinister twist to her orderly life. Soon, a new specter joins the bar—a younger, more unruly presence with his own regrets.
Darkly humorous and deliciously chilling, Ghostly Hugh is a tale of loyalty, betrayal, and the eerie consequences of unfinished business. Millie’s world is steeped in whisky, secrets, and the ghosts of her past—both literal and metaphorical.
No Tea Tomorrow
No Tea Tomorrow is a poignant and evocative tale of loss, resilience, and quiet rebellion. After her husband’s passing, a widowed farmer finds herself alone, tending to a land that holds the memories of a life once shared. Faced with the impending arrival of her late husband’s calculating family, who plan to strip the land of its life and meaning, she grapples with grief, anger, and the slow erosion of her purpose. As the autumn leaves and broken branches ignite in her hearth, so too does a spark of defiance, culminating in a fiery act that intertwines her fate with the land she loves. A moving meditation on love, loss, and the fierce spirit of a woman refusing to let go, this story will linger long after the flames have died.
Do Ghosts Have Freckles
“Grandma, if I were a ghost, would I still have freckles?” Twelve-year-old Alma’s innocent question lingers in the air, much like the spirit she becomes.
In the bustling streets of 1920s Melbourne, Alma’s life is cut tragically short when an errand turns into a nightmare. Her brutal murder shocks the city, and a man is swiftly convicted and hanged for the crime. But Alma knows the truth—and the real killer walks free. Trapped between worlds, her ghost lingers in Gun Alley, desperate to tell her story and clear the name of an innocent man.
Decades later, Alma’s presence becomes a haunting legend, her tale retold on Melbourne’s ghost tours. But when a woman appears, carrying a message from Alma’s beloved niece Viola, the past and present collide, revealing a chilling connection and the enduring bonds of family.
Inspired by the true story of Alma Tirtschke’s unsolved murder and a haunting miscarriage of justice, Do Ghosts Have Freckles? is a poignant and atmospheric tale of innocence, tragedy, and the enduring search for truth.
Lighting the Way
Caroline is sent to Port Fairy on a forced retreat, seeking solace for her frayed mind. Drawn to the waves and the island’s solitary lighthouse, she finds herself unraveling more than her own turmoil. A chance encounter with a mysterious stranger and whispers of a ghostly past pull her into a web of secrets stretching across time.
As the boundary between reality and the supernatural blurs, Caroline is thrust into a haunting loop where the past demands answers, and the future feels out of reach. To find peace, she must confront the mysteries of the island—and herself—before the tide turns for good.
A mesmerizing tale of isolation, identity, and the unrelenting pull of destiny, Lighting the Way shines a light on the power of connection in the darkest of places.