Wrap it! Read it! Love it!

My recommend for the book you should rush out and get combines two of my favorite topics -- mysteries and the tarot. It's The Eight of Pentacles by Eloise Hill, and it's the first in her Eileen McGrath Tarot Mysteries series.

Here's a synopsis to get your appetite whetted:

Eileen McGrath, a 43-year-old disabled nurse and barely employed psychic, is used to visions, but not the recurring nightmares that have crowded her sleep since her client, Laura Neff, was found drowned in Oakland, California's Lake Merritt. When Daniel Burnette, the homicide investigator assigned to the case, rules the death accidental, she realizes it will be up to her to prove what her senses already know—that the teenager was murdered and that the policeman has his own reasons for wanting the case closed. With the help of the Tarot and private investigator, Atticus Spencer, Eileen uncovers a handful of suspects who have reason to want Laura dead—including her ex-boyfriend, an Oaktown rap producer. As she hones in on the killer's identity and places her own life in danger, Eileen is forced to confront her doubts about her intuitive abilities, her feelings for Atticus, and the deadly message hidden in the Eight of Pentacles.

I'm picky about my tarot in pop culture -- if there's anything that makes me cringe, it's the stereotypical fortune teller in gauzy gypsy garb slapping down the Death card as thunder crackles ominously. Bletch.

But Hill is deft with her touch, and much more realistic in her use of the cards as a way to provoke and gather intuitive understanding. If I were a criminal investigator, the tarot would be one of the primary tools in my toolkit. Plus, there's romance. I am a sucker for love and death all tied up together.

So go grab a copy of The Eight of Pentacles and wrap it up nice -- any reader of amateur sleuth crime fiction, especially those who appreciate a little paranormality, will find this book a satisfying read. It's available now on Amazon in both print and Kindle versions.