Who Stole My Car?

Who Stole My Car? is set in the winter of 1938-9, with the first rumblings of war in Europe, and begins with a mysterious mansion filled with secret passages and a distressed essence known only as Maude; then, an unusual Egyptian talisman recovered from a patient by Joel's friend, Dr. Khryscoff, leads to a terrifying New Year's Eve prediction.

Joel's first independent assignment as a full-fledged detective with the London Police Force involves an aggressively run car theft ring, which is stealing cars from used car lots and private residential driveways. Cracking the ring is going to demand a lot careful planning and research on Joel's part, along with interdepartmental coordination, lengthy stakeouts, and clever interrogations. But the criminal organization behind the thefts turns out to be bigger than Joel realized, and the missing cars prove to be just the tip of the iceberg.

With the assistance of the ancient Egyptian amulet, which seems to have some occult impact on his ability to communicate with essences--the lingering personalities of the dead--Joel makes contact with some very angry spirits and uncovers evidence of a new crime related to an old, neglected missing persons report. Along the way, events continue to unfold in the private lives of the Franklin family and their friends.

Who Stole My Car? is the ninth installment in the Joel Franklin Mystery series, which began with Lightning at 200 Durham Street. Set in Ontario, Canada, in the 1930s, with a cast of recurring characters, this paranormal historical whodunit harks back to the Golden Age of detective fiction and will appeal to readers of all ages.