The Crystal Ball Chronicles: Lena Clarke's Twisted Tale of Love, Deception, and Crime

There are snakes in the post office.

Ambitious young reporter Kate Brennan thought she had found a tranquil paradise. Instead, a fateful meeting with Lena Clarke, the spinster postmistress of West Palm Beach, Florida, entangles Kate in Lena's mysterious and delusional life. Clarke's obsession with snakes, foreign spies, and the supernatural led to one of 1921's most bizarre crime sprees.

This true crime story recounts Lena Clarke's downfall following the tragic death of her most trusted confidant. As officials closed in on Clarke's scheme, she fled and hid out in an Orlando, Florida hotel room where she unleashed a night of terror.

In the spirit of In Cold Blood and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, this haunting tale from Florida Authors and Publishers Association and Historical Society of Palm Beach County award-winning authors G.L. Pedersen and J.M. Naughton will appeal to true crime and mystery novel fans of all ages.