Confound It: A Dreamwalker Mystery

In Toussaint’s middling fifth Dream- walker novel (after 2017’s Dadgummit), Sheriff Wayne Thompson of Georgia’s Sinclair County calls early one morning on the services of Baxley Powell, a dreamwalker who’s still learning to use her special powers, which include the ability to enter the realm of the dead. When Wayne arrives at Baxley’s house to pick her up, he’s surprised to see Deputy Sam Mayes, a fellow dreamwalker who spent the night with her. Happily, the two men hit it off, and Wayne enlists Sam’s help on the case—the death of Mandy Patterson in a fire in her meth-lab home. At the possible crime scene, Baxley succeeds in contacting Mandy’s spirit and learns that Mandy was murdered, but not who killed her. Among the many suspects are Mandy’s business partner and a scruffy neighbor. Meanwhile, Baxley must contend with Burnell Escoe, who’s leading the case for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and the dual romantic attentions of Wayne and Sam. This one’s strictly for fans of paranormal romantic suspense. (July)